Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1085 The Final Question (First Update)

Viktor von Doom appeared displeased because his monarch continued to refuse to appear in public outside the battlefield (a battlefield that included the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan). However, this situation relieved the countries receiving state visits, as the Latvian monarch's name remained unknown, making it impossible to use a precise title in official announcements. Furthermore, official media outlets were reluctant to photograph the Latvian emperor, a giant in golden power armor who always made everyone appear dwarfed when standing next to their leaders, thus subtly damaging the nation's image.

The emperor of Latvia was truly an enigmatic figure.

According to eyewitnesses who had seen him in Vienna or New York, whenever the Emperor of Latvia appeared, everyone was involuntarily awestruck by his majesty and radiance, as if he were some supreme being, not an ordinary human. Some considered this a supernatural phenomenon, thus harboring doubts about the state established by the Emperor of Latvia; others secretly consulted religious texts, attempting to find answers within them. It seems the Emperor of Latvia also considered this question, and therefore, during secret meetings, he removed his power armor and changed into civilian clothes, refraining from displaying his powerful charisma.

In fact, when Viktor von Dum refused to sit at the head of the negotiating table and instead took a secondary seat, everyone knew that he wasn't the one in charge of the negotiations regarding the secret agreement. There was only one person of higher status than the Latvian regent: the Latvian emperor. The Latvian emperor who entered the meeting room was the tall, young man they had seen in the delegation earlier, the one who hadn't joined the formal dinner—many had seen him sitting in a corner, chugging glass after glass of ice-cold vodka during official exchanges between low-ranking Russian and Latvian officials. He chatted amiably with the low-ranking Russian officials, his fluent Russian even leading them to believe he was a translator. He quickly downed an entire bottle of liquor strong enough to freeze one's tongue, startling them into repeatedly urging him to prioritize his work.

Emperor Latvinia first apologized quite politely for concealing his identity, then explained that his reluctance to come with fanfare was due to the significant commotion caused by teleportation technology. The security procedures devised for him by Commander Constantine of the Imperial Guard would be interpreted by any nation in the world as a signal for war. The purpose of this visit was not war, but peace. Just as Latvinia's initial goal was to end wars among humanity, establish a community of shared future for mankind, and then venture into the stars, he was unwilling to provoke war for such foolish reasons. He stated that apart from the Regent, no one in the delegation knew his true identity, and therefore he requested that they not consider this an insult or disrespect, offering to compensate for this small act of concealment.

This explanation was readily accepted, and the tense atmosphere immediately eased.

Following this, Emperor Latvinia and Victor von Doom collaborated to discuss the details of the agreement with the leaders, intelligence agencies, and administrative teams of the other nations. This was a secret agreement, inaccessible to the public through any information channels, and it included provisions for troop aid, weaponry, and other supplies to be sent to Latvinia should the alien fleet appear. If the alien fleet arrived and humanity faced a life-or-death situation, a continuous stream of soldiers and weapons would be transported from the cooperating nations to Latvinia, aboard the spaceports that would be completed by then, to board spaceships, receive command, and fight a war to defend humanity. Latvinia would then become a key force among all cooperating nations in leading humanity against the alien fleet, and many technologies would be unconditionally shared with Latvinia. Of course, this was conditional, and the agreement contained many details open to negotiation. Emperor Latvinia was responsible for explaining some of the parts that raised concerns on the part of the other side.

For example, they need to confirm their status as unadulterated humans, explain their immortality and what immortality is, clarify that so-called psychics are simply people with powerful mental abilities and not aliens, address why psychics need strict control, and whether Latvia has the right to take individuals demonstrating psychic potential from partner countries for education and control. He stated that the Sokovia Accords are incomplete and inadequate; what they need is a set of effective and accurate legal codes, not a tool dominated by the United Nations and used by Western countries to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations.

He explained that he chose dictatorship because he could remain almost forever young and possessed extremely strong personal fighting abilities. He alone could ensure that the course of the entire country would not change, and that the Soviet Union's fate would never be repeated. Latvia would forever fight for the survival of the human race, and the authority he held in power would ensure that this goal would never change, and that he would not make wrong decisions due to age or other reasons.

The other party certainly wouldn't completely believe such a thing, and Latvia didn't force them to believe it.

Therefore, the secret agreement regarding deeper cooperation was temporarily shelved.

The Emperor and Regent worked with astonishing efficiency; terms that would normally require lengthy negotiations were quickly finalized due to a pragmatic approach. Latvia did not employ its usual negotiating tactics of demonstrating its willingness and ability to cause harm, as its experience of nearly conquering the entire Balkans and Yugoslavia during the First Expansion War had already proven its worth. For countries willing to agree to this secret agreement, Latvia was willing to offer something far more valuable than the THAAD anti-missile system.

Latvia possesses technology that allows it to completely break free from the monopolies of all high-tech companies and military-industrial complexes currently on Earth. Take, for example, seemingly insignificant semiconductors. Latvia's semiconductor manufacturing industry has already overcome the quantum tunneling effect, choosing a development path entirely different from that of transistor chips. This makes it virtually impossible for foreign electronic warfare agencies to sabotage Latvia. The viral attacks by the US and Israel on Iran's nuclear reactors would not have the same effect on Latvia. No country can tolerate its nuclear power plants and power grids being attacked by cyber viruses. No one knows whether their own nuclear power plants will suffer core meltdowns due to electronic warfare. No one dares to gamble on this possibility. Few countries can maintain their fighting will in the face of widespread power outages, water shortages, and communication disruptions. At least, European countries currently lack both the possibility and the will. This was one of Latvia's key tactics in controlling European countries during its first expansionist war, second only to cutting off satellite communications.

Therefore, the secret agreement also included cooperation on cybersecurity, nuclear power plant upgrades, and other areas, but those are issues for later discussion.

"Have you read Asimov's novel *The Last Question*?" the Latvian emperor asked the regent before the meeting ended. It was a question about whether entropy increase was reversible—a question spoken in Latin, understood by only one translator. This was now the official language of Latvia; during previous negotiations, the Latvian side had used portable automatic translation headsets. The novel depicted the gradual development of artificial intelligence created by humanity, culminating in humanity's spread throughout the universe and even into hyperspace, yet artificial intelligence still couldn't solve the problem. Even trillions of years later, when humanity achieved immortality and its consciousness ascended to become one, leaving its immortal body in the real world, the question of artificial intelligence remained unanswered, and the universe inevitably headed for heat death. All the stars went out, the universe plunged into utter darkness and began to collapse, leaving only a last bit of matter slowly moving, driven by a last vestige of energy. The universe was deathly silent; absolute zero descended upon it, and the concepts of time and space ceased to exist.

This is the end of the universe, a peaceful, eternal heat death. In this eternal darkness, even death will vanish.

"Are you worried about the heat death of the universe right now?" Victor von Doom asked with a smile. This was the first time he had smiled since the meeting began, as if chatting with his monarch was a very relaxing experience. "Are you worried about your retirement?"

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)