Shadow of the Beautiful World

How about it?

In the office of the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Merlin looked at Fury in front of him.

The latter had just finished reading the Superhero Registration Act sent by Merlin, and the afternoon sun shone through the window into the office. In the reflection of that light, the expression of Director Braised Egg seemed a little subtle.

Want to tell the truth?

Facing Merlin's question, Fury curled his lips, glanced at Merlin, and commented unceremoniously:

not so good.

Director Braised Egg clapped the text in his hand, and said slowly:

What you handed me is more of a 'proposal' than a mandatory, highly binding bill. You want to incorporate superheroes into a new system, creating order for them as you would for aliens It's a good idea to have rules for action, but your bill is a little too idealistic.

Idealization?

Merlin frowned and asked:

Which aspect are you worthy of?

Fury stretched out his finger, waved it in the air, and said:

About the rules of conduct of heroes, those rules and regulations you listed.

I feel a 'secret association' in your plan, I mean, you don't allow heroes to show their faces in public, ask them to do things in a low-key way, ask them to be as saintly as they want, Honestly, that's unlikely.

Fury stood up, with his hands behind his back, looking at the scenery outside the window, and said eloquently:

I can actually understand your thoughts. You hate those who pretend to be heroes. You also hate those who do high-profile things and always hope to attract people's attention. You are used to operating in the shadows. This is the secret agent. A way of life, but not a hero's.

No matter what kind of work people do, they cannot do without two factors. One is to support their families and maintain their lives, and the other is to achieve self-realization and pursue the meaning of life. I think people who can run to become superheroes have their own unique ideas. People, they may not care about money, but people's praise and pursuit may make them go further on this dangerous road.

Looking back at Merlin, he asked:

Isn't it a hero who goes to fight crime in order to win people's affirmation and admiration? Isn't it a good thing to like to stay in the spotlight, be praised and sought after to push you to do good things?

In this society, Merlin, when everyone judges something, they don't care about what they say. But for us, for this bill, as long as those guys are doing good things, as long as they don't cause trouble, Then they can live their lives however they want, we have no reason to interfere, and I don’t think we need to interfere.”

Everyone has their own ideas, and they have their own reasons for choosing to become a superhero. The classical hero complex is suitable for some people, but not for all.

Fury turned around and said to Merlin:

But to be honest, the idea of ​​professionalizing superheroes is really great. Professionalization means being monitored, a system that is closely linked to the government, and is easier to be accepted by countries, and superheroes are independent of political affairs. , which is a pretty good idea, which can avoid a lot of problems.”

But asking them to register their information won't go so smoothly.

Fury leaned on the desk, folded his arms, and said to Merlin:

People hate being monitored. People fear that their hidden secrets will be exposed. Everyone needs some privacy. Most of them are not professionals, and it is difficult to accept this kind of life under surveillance, especially from the official surveillance, which will greatly contribute to conspiracy theories.

So we've got to take it step by step, Merlin, I mean, slowly, or a different way.

I feel that you already have an idea, Fury, let's hear it.

Merlin urged.

Fury shook his head, and he said to Merlin:

I'll show you something that's my solution to the superhero situation, and Pierce actually came up with it.

Merlin glanced at Fury suspiciously. The latter took out a document from the drawer and handed it to Merlin. He urged:

This is the same as your registration bill. It is a draft. It has been discussed several times within the World Security Council, but it has not been passed. There are great differences among the parties. In short, you can take a look first.

Pierce proposed?

Merlin looked at the document in his hand, with the words Insight Plan written on the cover, he looked up at Fury, and he said:

You two bad old men really have something to hide from me.

We're hiding a lot of things, Merlin, not just this one.

Fury shrugged. He whispered:

Pearce anticipated the troubles this new group would cause when superheroes first appeared a few years ago, and the current situation has confirmed Pierce's original fears. Superheroes have become more and more active and have become a Societal issues that cannot be ignored.

Merlin, let me ask you, what do you think is the most basic reason for the birth of superheroes?

Merlin looked down at the document, and he replied casually:

In addition to the personal desire to perform, perhaps more people choose to stand up to fight evil because they are dissatisfied with the social environment.

What the unscrupulous media promotes, what they see, what they experience, all kinds of injustice, rampant crimes, unbearable threats, incompetent police, bribed judges, bad guys impunity and so on.

Of course, this is just an illusion that was deliberately magnified.

Merlin, who was looking at the file, changed his expression. He seemed to have seen something incredible. While flipping through the contents of the file, he continued to say to Fury:

Let's not say whether this era is good or bad. People's attention is obviously more easily attracted by big events. In this era, people receive information at a speed that is more than a hundred times faster than before, and the media and the Internet that are responsible for delivering information to them do what they like. , peace is boring, so only those eye-popping news, those crimes will be discussed.

But actually?

Even in Gotham City, which has the worst law and order on the east coast, less than 3% of the people are engaged in criminal activities. In other words, the remaining 97% of the residents are ordinary people, but this does not prevent people from Gotham calls it the crime capital, like there are no good people in that city.

People keep saying they want to see the truth, but the irony is that people only believe what they want to believe. People think they are smart. The same goes for superheroes.

Maybe in their eyes, a certain city is hopeless, but from a higher level, most cities are actually unbelievably peaceful. Before they appeared, the worst thing in those cities might just be gangsters ...and after they appeared, the biggest unrest in those cities was the superheroes themselves.

Well, it's very to the point, and very straightforward. But those superheroes probably won't like this statement.

Fury nodded, he obviously agreed with Merlin's statement, he responded:

Pearce's statement at the time was exactly the same as yours. I really think that the two of you often have almost the same way of thinking, and you can always grasp the essence of the problem.

The fundamental reason for the birth of superheroes is that the official forces that should have performed their duties failed to do their jobs well, maybe because of the incompetence of the police, maybe because of the corruption of the upper class, and the direct reason for their birth is because of rampant crime.

People don't want to endure worse and worse social atmosphere, they instinctively seek change, and superheroes come into being. People want to see superheroes fight crime, because watching criminals being beaten by guys in fancy clothes is better than criminals. It's more exciting and dramatic to have them being picked up by the police.

Superheroes also seem to be born to stand in the spotlight. Their strange abilities, their speech, and even their appearance will attract people's heated discussions.

Fury recalled a discussion he had with Pierce on the subject, saying:

People began to worship superheroes instead of policemen or firefighters who performed their duties. Inspired by the halo of superheroes, any bad things would be attributed to the government. The credibility of the government began to collapse rapidly, and the social environment became worse. So Heroes are more alive, people adore them more.

This is a vicious circle. Superheroes have already appeared. It is impossible to make them disappear, but we still have a chance to break the vicious circle that will appear in the future.

We can stop crime, we can stop those instabilities at their source, it just takes our determination.

Fury pointed to the document in Merlin's hand and said to Merlin:

The insight plan was born because of this.

Relying on the worldwide monitoring system and the innovations brought about by Cybertron technology, the insight plan can already be put into practical use.

The armed insight mothership will stay above the stratosphere. Every three ships form a team, and the three teams form a continent-level monitoring system, which is connected to the ground communication database, and artificial intelligence is responsible for information response.

Whenever a crime occurs, a call for help is sent to the command center. After confirming the situation through monitoring near the crime site, according to the level of crime threat, the insight mothership will project non-lethal or lethal weapons from the stratosphere. The weapons are extremely accurate. The projection error is within 30 centimeters.

Fury made a falling motion and said:

A pulse round that will stun a thief, or a bullet that can kill a robber, depends on how much damage those criminals are doing and the circumstances they are in.

The police don't need to draw their guns and shoot the gangsters anymore. They just need to determine the location of the crime. Everything else can be handed over to the ground control center and the insight mothership. The incompetent law enforcement system will be brought into the new technology innovation.

Of course, crimes in high-rise buildings or inside certain buildings may still require the help of superheroes. After all, artificial intelligence is not omnipotent. Some flaws are understandable, and I believe that with the advancement of technology, these flaws will also be compensated.

And the system can be further strengthened, Merlin.

Fury spread his hands and said to the silent Merlin:

According to Pierce's plan, when the insight program enters the second phase and more space carriers are deployed, we will delegate the response authority to each police station.

People used to rely on the police to protect themselves, which is flawed because the police always come after the fact, like the fox has stolen the chicken and then you catch it, people have to rely on themselves to protect themselves, like legally held Like guns, crimes are stopped before they start.

Fury made a button press gesture and said:

In the not-too-distant future, everyone will be able to rely on the insight mothership suspended in the sky to protect themselves and others who are about to be hurt. It's a superhero.

At that time, the cost and risk of criminals committing crimes will increase exponentially, and the crime rate will mostly drop. When the number of criminals decreases, the social atmosphere will naturally improve. At that time, the social nature caused by superheroes The problem is no longer a problem.”

Fury smiled and said:

Sounds weird, right? But I consulted Dr. Reed and George, and they told me that thanks to the update of the Cybertron data module, this system is technically feasible.

But that doesn't mean it works in other ways, Fury.

There was no expression of approval on Merlin's face. On the contrary, he looked serious. He put the document in his hand on the table, and he said to Fury:

Not to mention whether the weapons launched by the insight mothership can fight against those super criminals, let's talk about its safety, Fury, how can you ensure that such weapons will not be abused? How do you ensure the control of the mothership's weapon system? AI can’t be tampered with?”

It only takes one letter wrong and terrible things happen, and one mistake and the system immediately loses its value.

Fry, with all due respect.

Merlin stood up, and he said to his director seriously:

This plan is so extreme, and it's very risky.

It sounds good to put a gun on the world, make everyone a pre-selected target, and correct them when they hurt someone else or hurt themselves, but you and I both know that there are many things in this world that are Difficult to define, we've all seen enough exceptions.

What if an innocent person is coerced into attacking someone else?

What if a father chooses to commit a crime because of a kidnapped child?

What if they're being manipulated by super criminals to do bad things?

Can we just give them a bullet? No, we can't! Our job is to take orders, obey orders, and carry out orders, but we also have to know right from wrong! Fury, you taught me this!

Merlin pointed to the document and said to Fury:

The biggest problem with this plan is, Fury, we can't use data to judge who deserves to live and who deserves to die.

If allowing people to have guns doesn't allow them to protect themselves, you're not going to stop crime even if you put a response button on the Insight Mothership in everyone's hands.

Merlin stared at Fury, and he said:

These two things are essentially the same idea, it's just a different way of using it.

And can't you feel it? Fury, the model of the insight plan, as long as you change it a little, it will become a weapon of suppression

You just said it was proposed by Pierce?