Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1465 Concerns about the Future (First Update)

In these negotiations, T'Challa seemed to completely relinquish control to his mother, and Queen Mother Ramonda readily accepted her authority, maintaining the unity and harmony of the Black Panther royal family in the eyes of outsiders. However, neither T'Challa nor Queen Mother Ramonda knew that the Emperor had made two preparations. This informal meeting, which received no media coverage, revealed a crucial piece of information: Wakanda was divided on opening its borders, and its policies regarding the chaotic situation on the African continent after opening the borders differed drastically. Since opening the borders was inevitable, how to secure the greatest benefit for Wakanda would be a key consideration for the Black Panther royal family.

If former King T'Chaka were still alive, Wakanda's approach would simply be to send medical aid and work with the UN Health Organization to address the pandemic in Africa or neighboring countries. In the event of a terrorist attack or a military coup, Wakanda could only evacuate its citizens and wait for the situation to stabilize before providing assistance. However, Queen Mother Ramonda and the Wakanda nobility now advocate direct intervention, using the most direct means to stabilize neighboring countries, eradicate poverty, war, disease, drugs, and violent crime, and stabilize Wakanda's investment environment.

T'Challa was undoubtedly opposed to this approach. As the one most capable of carrying on his father T'Chaka's legacy, he had no means to restrain his mother and the Wakandan nobility. Moreover, he himself wasn't particularly resolute, especially when he saw the impoverished people of Kenya who had no hope for the future and could only drown in cough syrup and jet fuel. He himself wasn't sure if Wakanda's intervention would be beneficial to them—anyway, their situation couldn't be worse than the impoverished people's current lives. Wakanda's intervention would at least give them something to look forward to, instead of constantly worrying about their children's charity schools being attacked by warlords, and they wouldn't be exploited to the point of being drained of their blood by multinational corporations, or forced to scavenge dangerous, toxic waste for a meager amount of food.

This plunged T'Challa into a philosophical dilemma, because what worried him most was not his mother, who clung to power, but the future of Wakanda. He was unsure whether the future Wakanda would follow the path of the white colonists of the past, using the banner of spreading civilization to carry out colonial exploitation. He wondered if the rational, scientific future he envisioned would be led down the path he and his father had rejected because of the selfish desires of some. How could he ensure that his father's ideals were not tainted or distorted? The heart-shaped herb had given him a health far beyond that of ordinary people, but he was unsure if he could maintain control over Wakanda's future. He was terrified that Wakanda under his control would head in a direction neither he nor any of the Black Panthers wanted to see, abandoning all the beautiful things worth sacrificing their lives for, and transforming into an uncontrollable, ravenous wolf.

“We need to talk,” he said to Steve Rogers. “I think there are some questions that only you can answer.”

"You should know I only have an elementary school education, right?" Steve Rogers chuckled self-deprecatingly, holding his beer. He wasn't very comfortable in this kind of setting, but with the country that granted him political asylum here, and his old friends here, he still had to participate in the social activities he loathed most. However, the situation here was a relief; he didn't encounter the awkward situation he had anticipated. On the contrary, the Wakanda craft beer was quite appealing. "Wakanda's technology is a thousand years ahead of the outside world. I don't think there's any problem that scientists in Fort Hahn can't solve," Steve Rogers said. "All I can do here is tell stories… Do you know what I've been doing all this time?"

T'Challa couldn't help but smile.

Steve Rogers was invited by the Department of Education to speak to children in major Wakanda cities like Golden City about the world war happening outside. Especially after the Civil War broke out, although many cities were not directly affected, strengthening anti-war education became a regular practice. This was a plan personally approved by T'Challa, and Steve Rogers became the best lecturer—no one understood the cruelty of war better than him. He could use his personal experience to instill in the children of Wakanda the idea that war is a painful, wounded, and filthy experience, and that war is not justified unless it is to defend their homeland and bring peace. Of course, the children certainly wouldn't understand these things, so Steve Rogers could only try his best to give more lectures, rather than recording physical education videos for students like he did in the United States.

"One hundred lectures, you did a good job," T'Challa patted Steve Rogers on the shoulder. But worry quickly returned to his eyes. "I don't think I'm any smarter than those students. My only advantage is that I've left this country; I've seen the world as it is. Have you been to Kenya, Captain?"

"You mean the hunt for Hydra...?"

“No… that was just an accident. My father admired the Avengers' ideals and only opposed them because someone misused the organization.” T'Challa waved his hand, skipping over that unpleasant topic. “What I want to ask is, have you seen the lives of those impoverished people in Kenya? I don’t mean those working in shipbreaking yards, Steve, I mean those living in garbage dumps. Do you think Wakanda can save them?”

"You've already sent out medical support teams and established schools, haven't you?"

"I mean a complete salvation, Steve. Schools and hospitals can certainly change their lives in the short term, but as long as things remain the same, poverty will continue to emerge. Schools and hospitals alone cannot save everyone. The truly effective way is to change their environment."

Steve Rogers sensed a dangerous undercurrent in the topic.

"You're worried about Wakanda, not Kenya."

“Yes, my friend,” T’Challa sighed. “Many Wakandans believe they can bring civilization to Kenya, and they certainly do. Wakanda has eradicated corruption, built public infrastructure, and established stable political and economic systems… But will we degenerate into arrogant, self-proclaimed saviors, attributing everything to ourselves and then exploiting the people we are supposed to save, just like those white colonists?”

“I don’t know, T’Challa.” Steve Rogers looked around, pulled up two chairs, and invited T’Challa to sit opposite him. He also gestured for his good friends Sam Wilson and James Buchanan to sit beside him, arranging the chairs in a circle, like a therapy session. “Let’s hear what others have to say. Sam, you’ve heard T’Challa’s thoughts too, what advice do you have?”

"How much worse can life get for those Kenyans?" Sam Wilson was the most direct. "I've worked in Kenya, arresting arms dealers, diamond smugglers, drug traffickers, corrupt officials, and bloodthirsty rural warlords. I haven't seen any of those people in Wakanda. If Wakanda could get rid of those guys, life for the Kenyans would definitely be better."

“I reserve my opinion.” James Buchanan used his only arm to snatch the beer bottle from Sam Wilson’s hand. “T'Challa’s concerns are not that simple. Don’t you understand, Sam? He’s worried about the future of this behavior.”

"In fact, there are also concerns about the present," T'Challa said. "War means death, and Wakanda cannot control all armed forces in a short time. Those rural warlords will inevitably reappear. At that time, no matter what my intentions are, innocent people will die tragically."

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(End of this chapter)