Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1262 Novikov's Principle of Self-Consistency (Second Update)

In the 1980s, Soviet physicist Igor Dmitrievich Novikov proposed the principle of time paradoxes, aiming to resolve paradoxes related to time travel. In 1975, Soviet physicist and physical chemist, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, Zeldovich Yakovborisovich, along with Soviet theoretical astrophysicist and cosmologist Igor Dmitrievich Novikov, first mentioned this idea in scientific literature, arguing that the existence of closed timelines does not necessarily violate the principle of causality; events on such a timeline can influence each other within a closed loop, i.e., "self-consistent."

This rule is also known as the Novikov self-consistency principle.

Although increasing evidence has emerged suggesting that Novikov's self-consistency principle may not be entirely correct, neither parallel universe theory nor multiverse theory can eliminate the interference caused by time travel in Novikov's self-consistency principle. In other words, the world we live in is already a world modified by time travel, even if time travelers from the future or another timeline have not yet jumped and participated in past events, the event that changed the status quo has already occurred.

"What do you know?" The Sorcerer Supreme's first words, spoken amidst the joy, excitement, and apprehension of finding the Emperor, were this very question. This question wasn't heard by the medical team, the Royal Guard, or the androids surrounding the Emperor; it was communicated through telepathy. In response, the Emperor's telepathic vision conjured a scene of an ancient city-state: beyond its exquisite mosaic walls, lush vegetation and farmland were submerged by a murky flood that stretched to the horizon. The Sorcerer Supreme stood atop the ancient brick walls, behind him towering water gardens, thousands of gardeners and slaves walking in the shade, and a vast array of armored mortal soldiers, spears in hand, gathering on the wide main road below.

The Venerable One gazed into the distance. The murky floodwaters shimmered under the blazing sun, the surface scalding hot. The stench of mud mingled with the nausea of ​​bloated corpses floating below the city walls, baked by the sun, making one gag on this windless day. On the horizon, a colossal, indistinct creature rose from the water and then remained still. The Venerable One knew this perspective was real, existing in time and space, and that its owner was a soldier standing on the city walls. The Venerable One could even sense the soldier's fear of the unknown monster, his worry for his family, and his faith in the divine.

"Uruk?"

"It could also be Babylon or Nippur; it says this is the third time."

The emperor closed his eyes, savoring the brief respite brought by the painkiller. An automated surgical robot was stitching up the muscles, internal organs, and blood vessels in his waist that had been cut open by the feathers, peeling away the charred flesh from his chest, and separating tiny bone fragments from his thigh bones. Little intervention was needed; the emperor's body was healing itself. The automated surgical robot's job was to adjust the position of certain tiny blood vessels and bone fragments to prevent the emperor's overly powerful self-healing ability from causing tissue hyperplasia that could affect his health and movement. However, the surgical scene wasn't as orderly as many imagined. The acrid smell from the high-frequency electrocautery burning the wounds and sealing the blood vessels was nauseating. Martian technicians and medical personnel had to bring in an industrial laser cutter to remove the hardened feathers from the emperor's body.

"Tiamat, Quetzalcoatl, they both came from the same place."

"I knew, but I didn't know you would encounter them so many times in the future. None of the historical records of Kamar-Taj documented the details. Now it seems you're in big trouble; you can only rely on your memories to achieve a closed time loop."

"The bigger trouble is that I know who Marduk is. It's not the true First Daedric Pillar; it's merely a temporary replacement for that position. And I'm the one who started all this." The Emperor nodded, taking the wet wipe Constantine offered to clean the blood from his body. Everything in this infirmary had to undergo rigorous processing to prevent the leakage of his genetic information. This work was personally supervised by the Royal Guard, and even the medical staff and Martian technicians had to undergo comprehensive treatment—including but not limited to brainwashing and replacing their bio-engineered bodies to avoid leaving surgical data behind. "I must be betrayed once, even if it causes me immense harm, because only in this way can I defeat Tiamat."

"I won't ask any more questions. Knowing the past is just as troublesome as knowing the future," the Sorcerer Supreme shrugged. To others, the Sorcerer Supreme stood silently beside the medical bed, while the Emperor, with his eyes closed, endured the pain while listening to the report from the Commander of the Royal Guard. "When do you plan to return to Earth?"

"Two hours from now. At the very least, we need to confirm that Quetzalcoatl's body will leave no trace." The Emperor suddenly spoke, startling everyone except the Royal Guard and the Sorcerer Supreme. He hadn't uttered a single word since the teleportation beacon intercepted the signal from his power armor and transported him from the high-speed asteroid belt. "Execute the cleanup protocol," he ordered Tita and Constantine. "Accelerate the destruction process of Quetzalcoatl's remains. I don't want any contaminants left here."

"I will do it right away, my lord." Tita wiped away her tears and nodded to indicate that she had received the order.

As the Emperor was dragged from the void back to the Sky Battleship hangar by two Eagle Assault Transports, Tita and her escorts immediately donned their power armor and rushed over. Had the Emperor not intervened, the intense emotions they erupted upon seeing his wounds might have torn the hangar apart. Upon receiving orders, Tita immediately turned and left the medical bay, heading towards her waiting sisters—they were bombarding her with questions about the Emperor's condition, each one visibly agitated; few in the world could keep them calm. This agitation was dangerous, for the Sisterhood's ideology was far from gentle; it could even be described as fanatical, cruel, and insane—otherwise, they wouldn't be waiting outside the medical bay in force-feedback assault armor and combat formation.

They firmly believed that the Royal Guard could not replace the Sisterhood's position in the Emperor's heart. They even believed that if the Royal Guard or the Knights betrayed the Emperor, the Sisterhood had the ability and the obligation to purge the traitors from their creator. This fanatical and cruel ideology stemmed from the doctrines written by the first homunculus, Dina, which were later acknowledged and implemented by the homunculus group led by Tita. Only after Tita confirmed that the Emperor was safe and sound did these homunculus individuals gradually quiet down and joyfully begin to carry out the tasks assigned to them by the Emperor.

This sky battleship was a symbol of the Emperor's favoritism towards the Sorority, and almost all its official members were proud of it. Even when they sailed the sky battleship to Palestine, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Eastern Europe to plunder war orphans and impoverished children, they would explain the battleship's power and the Emperor's glory to the bewildered, crying children (referring to those who had been whipped by the androids to quiet down before boarding the plane). The Sorority knew the children couldn't understand, but that didn't stop them from showing off, just like when they flaunted their explosive guns to the children—it was all driven by a clumsy sense of honor. The Emperor, knowing this, didn't stop them. Instead, he found these androids endearingly foolish; even though they could crush an ordinary person's skull with their bare hands, they remained incredibly cute in his eyes.

Dita pushed aside the Martian foundry technicians and servants blocking her way, and without hesitation rejected the Martian technicians' request to conduct sampling, because the Emperor had ordered that no contaminants be left there. She locked the unfortunate man who had made the suggestion in a confinement cell and assigned a mortal officer to guard him until the operation was over.

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(End of this chapter)