Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 105 A Question of Ideals (Seeking Recommendations!)

"I have no idea where your hostility towards Americans comes from. Why don't you tell me?" Nick Fury scoffed. "I remember you said that you were born with gold, frankincense, and myrrh? I thought you were Jesus! Given your savior status, I can hear your opinion."

"Humanity doesn't need a savior, nor does it need any god," Salomon said with equal disdain. "The essence of superheroes is the worship of gods by ordinary people, and this worship is most fervent in America—culturally, there's Superman and Batman; in reality, there's Captain America and Iron Man. Humans expect superheroes to do what they themselves cannot, and they idolize them, making them their spiritual pillars, hoping they are as omnipotent as God, performing miracles. In fact, whether it's religion or the idol industry, it's all just to fill the void in the human heart; the underlying theory is the same. The human mind is that fragile; otherwise, why would the Sorcerer Supreme want to keep those demons outside Earth?"

Tragically, superheroes are still human; they are not perfect, and their hearts are not much different from ordinary people. In this fanatical environment, any mistake they make is magnified infinitely, because what they cannot do is equivalent to the blood flowing in their veins. As long as gods bleed, countless greedy eyes will be fixed on them.

I have no doubt about the shortsightedness of politicians and the folly of Christians. Have you heard of the spiral of silence theory? In this age where public opinion is manipulated by social media, with just a little money to fuel the flames, this fanatical worship can be transformed into envy—"Why can he do it, but I can't? He's just lucky!", "It's because he's rich; if I were rich, I could do it too!" At that point, those who worship superheroes will blame all the bad things in their lives on the superheroes. The more fanatical the worship at the beginning, the more terrifying the subsequent outburst will be.

Doesn't that sound incredibly foolish? Doesn't it seem short-sighted? This is the inevitable result; this situation is essentially the consequence of the tyranny of the majority. Politicians don't need professional skills, they don't need to learn how to govern a country; all they need are votes and political manifestos. The more democratic it is, the more foolish it becomes. The United States, as the largest democracy on Earth, is the most foolish one.

"It sounds like you're quite dissatisfied with democracy, which I can understand, since you live in a dictatorial environment. But I didn't expect you to be such an elitist!" Nick Fury stepped on the gas and drove the car onto the street. He said with some dissatisfaction, "America doesn't have kings or nobles. Whether a decision is smart or stupid, it's the people's own choice, and they bear the consequences. At least in this country, people are equal."

"I'm not a believer in elitism, Nick Fury, and equality for all has always been a false proposition, especially in capitalist countries. Don't tell me you weren't watched by security guards when you were shopping at the supermarket, and how many times you had to show your ID to avoid being stopped?" Salomon's expression grew even more disdainful. "I think most people in the world are stupid. Voting requires absolutely no qualifications, and entrusting the fate of humanity to a bunch of idiots is suicidal. Don't forget how gangs got involved in politics during Prohibition, and you'd better tell me the US president isn't a mouthpiece for those corporations, otherwise your argument has no credibility whatsoever."

"So what do you think is the best form of governance?"

"The Sorcerer Supreme has relinquished all his emotions. As a ruler devoid of personal feelings, this is the ultimate ruling class I envision for humanity. However, this state places an immense burden on the human mind and is a torment for everyone," Salomon said. "Artificial intelligence is the best option. Only in that state can the value of each individual be realized, and true equality for all be achieved. I believe the Kree Empire is a model for humanity to learn from, but we must do better. I call this the integration of human intelligence."

Nick Fury was silent for a moment, then a possibility suddenly dawned on him, a possibility that horrified him. "You don't...?" He stared at Salomon in disbelief, "I never imagined you'd support another ideology, otherwise I can't explain all your thoughts!"

"At least I believe that the next stage of human society will not begin until the integration of human intelligence is complete," Salomon nodded. He said, "No country in the world is perfect because the state is a product of irreconcilable class contradictions. Unless humanity integrates all the countries on Earth, it will be impossible to move to the next stage. The issues involved are very complex, and the theories I have studied have not provided answers. However, I think that until humanity can colonize outer space and achieve a massive explosion in productivity, all of this is just empty talk."

"See? Even you don't have the answers, so don't hate the existing system." Nick Fury looked at Big Ben in the distance. The London sky was just beginning to lighten, the clouds a mix of warm and leaden hues, hanging silently over the city; it looked like it might rain today. He said, "Leave these questions to philosophers. This isn't something you should be thinking about at your age—at least the Soviet Union has collapsed, proving that path is a dead end. Let me take you to breakfast; I know where to find good food."

“You’re wrong, Nick Fury. Ideas don’t die,” Salomon said. “America can’t stop the greed of capitalists, and the proletariat will only grow. Sooner or later, what you fear will happen—though it will probably be a long time. If human society goes down a dead end, I wouldn’t mind giving it a push.”

After a long conversation, Nick Fury and Salomon became somewhat more open with each other, and the underlying hostility between them eased slightly. Although he strongly opposed some of Salomon's theories, for the sake of human freedom, a difference of opinion could be temporarily set aside. As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury was extremely experienced in dealing with jet lag, as was Salomon. After having a typical London breakfast (paid for by Nick Fury), he asked Salomon to take him back to Washington, so Salomon teleported him and his car to the top of the Tri-Wing Building.

As for how to get the car down there, that was not something he needed to think about.

After doing all this, Salomon planned to return to Bayonetta's apartment for a pleasant night before heading back to Old Bridge the next morning. However, Nick Fury stopped him, insisting that Salomon stay with him to observe the troop movements, as he had already ordered the army to establish positions in Old Bridge. He also planned to order agents to take Jane Foster and Saul to the positions in the New Mexico desert after the night ended, to receive military protection, and to evacuate all the residents of Old Bridge to prevent them from being affected by the impending battle. Salomon fully agreed with his actions; in the wizard's view, ordinary people were not worth sacrificing their lives for the conflict of the Aesir.

Nick Fury also wanted to know what methods Loki would use to attack Thor, and who would be involved in the assassination. He felt he knew nothing about Asgard, so he wanted Salomon by his side to point out any problems.

Nick Fury also secretly instructed Agent Coulson to collect samples from the alchemical bomb explosion, out of Salomon's sight. In fact, after his contact with Salomon, Nick Fury began searching for information about magic, including alchemy. However, aside from the existing chemical formulas, he still couldn't understand what alchemical magic was. Even the alchemical potions he traded with Salomon were something the research lab couldn't analyze, and ultimately, due to Tony Stark's health condition, the remaining samples were extremely few.

But when he tried to make another deal with Salomon, the sorcerer flatly refused—because Tony Stark was also a target of Salomon's observation. His potions had sustained Stark for several months. Although he wouldn't just watch Stark die from poisoning, he wanted to know what had relieved the palladium poisoning symptoms before that.

Whatever it is, it can't be lithium dioxide, unless S.H.I.E.L.D. wants Tony Stark dead.

"Those medications of yours have alleviated Stark's symptoms." Nick Fury told Salomon this news after closing his office. "Agent Romanov injected the recovery medication directly into Stark's body, and it worked very well."

"But that's oral; direct injection would definitely cause a systemic infection!" Salomon glanced at Nick Fury's head. "Don't try to fool me. What's the truth?"

"The fact is, after we sterilized the agent, we found that its physical properties remained unchanged, so we chose to inject it directly. If you ask more questions, then I can only answer that it's classified." Nick Fury raised his eyebrows, looking somewhat smug. This was the first time he had outmaneuvered Salomon in intelligence, which gave him a long-lost sense of accomplishment. You see, ever since he rose from a low-level agent to the director of a S.H.I.E.L.D. branch, he had rarely experienced this feeling, let alone now that he was the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., where such face-to-face intelligence battles were almost always handled by other agents.

"F*ck you, Nick Fury!" Salomon glared at him, then downed a vial of potion. This was a miracle cure for energizing him, and Salomon was far from foolish enough to let his guard down in the territory of S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization he considered both friend and foe.

"That Howard Stark case you wanted, we've given it to Tony Stark too." Nick Fury seemed eager to see Salomon's angry expression, deliberately spewing out one piece of bad news after another. But surprisingly, this time Salomon didn't show any disappointment; he seemed completely indifferent to the case. This left Nick Fury somewhat unsure; he didn't know whether the case was important or not to Salomon.

"I have just one small question." Salomon's eyes darted around, and he lowered his voice, asking, "Have you done a paternity test for Howard Stark and Tony Stark?"

Please vote for me!

Thank you to reader 20190119202038843 for the 100-point reward.

Ideological issues cannot be discussed too much, otherwise this book will be lost.

Also, stop guessing! Do you really think I'd let you figure out what happens next? When Iron Man and Coulson first appeared, everyone thought they were about to make contact with S.H.I.E.L.D.

(End of this chapter)