Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 180 A Conversation About the Future (Second Update!)

"Where did you learn about this thing..." Salomon stopped mid-sentence. Howard Stark and the Tesseract did indeed have an inextricable connection, and it was understandable that Tony Stark knew about it, but why would this guy bring it up now? Salomon couldn't help but think of Nick Fury's experiment in New Mexico, the one that kept Kamar-Taj incredibly busy.

"I probably know a little more than you do." Stark narrowed his eyes, held out his palm, and gestured with his thumb and forefinger. "That's about it. But I do know about Captain America being pulled out of the water, and about that fiery skull. When Captain America stopped Red Skull, the Tesseract fell into the ocean, and it was my father who retrieved it and stored it at S.H.I.E.L.D., so I do know a bit."

Salomon sat up straight, intending to hear what Tony Stark had to say.

“I haven’t been able to get in touch with Nick Fury lately,” he said. “Do you know Agent Philip Coulson? He’s a pretty nice guy, he was there when the Asgardians came, but I haven’t been able to reach him either. But you probably don’t know about Stark’s space program, do you? Stark Industries has its own satellites, so I’ve uncovered some of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s little secrets…”

Is it about the experimental site in New Mexico? Salomon was somewhat puzzled, and he let Tony Stark continue.

"Project Pegasus, or Project Pegasus." Tony Stark, as expected, uttered something Salomon had vaguely heard before. "This project was jointly led by NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and S.H.I.E.L.D. in 1989. The research target was the Tesseract, which my father, Howard Stark, salvaged. The goal was to develop alternative energy sources and a light-speed engine. My father was one of the project's initiators; the other initiator, Dr. Lawson, has died unexpectedly."

"I know about the Cosmic Cube," Salomon nodded in reply. "I also know about Project Pegasus, but not in as much detail as you do."

"I told you I was right to come to Magic Boy. You really do know a lot." Stark shook his head smugly and snapped his fingers. He placed his phone on the table, tapped the screen, and a holographic image was projected onto the table. It seemed that Stark's technological skills had improved considerably in the past year, but that wasn't Salomon's concern. He turned his attention to the documents Stark had provided.

"Project Pegasus has a base in New Mexico," Stark said confidently, pointing to the new reactor on his chest. "I discovered traces of Project Pegasus while researching this thing. But coincidentally, Stark Industries' satellites detected a high-energy reaction in New Mexico—and very coincidentally, right at Project Pegasus's base. Let me put it this way, S.H.I.E.L.D. is researching the Tesseract, or rather, they've been researching the Tesseract all along, and have never stopped." (From Iron Man 2)

Stark is truly a smart man. Although Nick Fury strictly controlled his information channels, preventing Stark from knowing things he shouldn't, resulting in Stark obtaining very little information from S.H.I.E.L.D., he still managed to deduce S.H.I.E.L.D.'s actions based on the available evidence. However…

"Are you sure you launched a civilian satellite?" Salomon raised an eyebrow and curled his lip. "Civilian satellites don't have this level of detection equipment."

"Stark Industries used to be an arms dealer, and the missiles they sold had to be accompanied by satellite navigation systems—that's called bundled sales. And Stark's satellites are excellent enough that the U.S. military spends a lot of money every year to acquire the rights to use them." Tony Stark snapped his fingers, his expression somewhat excited. "But that's all in the past. I closed the weapons production division a long time ago. Now Stark's main businesses are clean energy, materials, aerospace, and a little bit of biotechnology."

"The vaccines I received as a child were manufactured by the Osborne Group..."

"Fuck Osborn... Sorry, I shouldn't have sworn in front of a minor." Stark blinked and leaned closer, so much so that Salomon could see the light emanating from the reactor in his chest.

"I know you know a lot of secrets," he said, "but I have to get involved in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s research on the Tesseract. Since I know absolutely nothing about your field and there are no textbooks for me to read, I want you to be my assistant, my magical assistant and my scientific assistant... That wouldn't be considered revealing magical secrets, would it? Won't Hogwarts or the Ministry of Magic give you trouble? Or is J.K. Rowling actually a wizard?"

"I didn't come from Hogwarts, and there's no Ministry of Magic in the wizarding world!" Salomon corrected Stark's wild imagination with a helpless expression. He sighed and said in an even more helpless tone, "I don't know if you can understand, but whether you participate in this or not, the outcome won't change."

"What do you mean?" Stark asked, frowning.

"This is a very big question," Salomon said, stroking the cat in his arms. "It concerns whether fate is predetermined, and the correct path for the continuation of human reason..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Stark quickly gestured with his hands. "I'm just here to talk to you about the Tesseract, not to ask you for divination."

"No, you came to me to interfere with fate." Salomon took out his wand and drew a colorful arc in the air. "The actions of certain key figures will affect the course of this world. Different points on a timeline divide into different worldlines, which is the basis for the operation of parallel worlds. Everything that happens in this world is recorded in the Akashic Records. I know what you want to ask, so I will answer your questions. First, you need to understand what the Akashic Records are."

The Akashic Records are divided into two parts:

The first part is the divine blueprint of life in the universe, or the source. This reality or blueprint is formless, immutable, eternal, without beginning or end. The second part is all the experiences and activities of the source as an individual life form in different times and spaces. It records all the experiences and activities of a soul in different reincarnations and time periods. From what happened in the past to what will happen in the future, everything has been recorded—except for your coming to find me now. Because I believe that I myself am not in the Akashic Records, your coming to find me is an act beyond the Akashic Records.”

The Akashic Records that Salomon spoke of actually refer to the origin of this world, the eternal god who is the superior of the superior of Kamar-Taj. This is what the Sorcerer Supreme seeks, and to pursue it, he must abandon his physical body and travel to the spirit realm (the ethereal plane) for an endless exploration. He's telling Stark these things not because he expects Stark to understand, but simply because he wants Stark to know that anything connected to him will have a profound impact.

But clearly, Stark had no patience to listen to these things.

"That's not the kind of weird stuff I'm asking!" Stark snapped, becoming increasingly agitated. "I just want to know if you can help me..."

"The answer is: I refuse." Salomon shook his head. "The outcome of this matter is predetermined, but not by any person, but by the universe itself. Moreover, time does not operate linearly; the ending of this matter has already occurred, and no matter what you do, you cannot change the outcome."

"What do you mean?" Stark was completely bewildered. He had just pulled up the explanation of the Akashic Records. "The universe doesn't have its own ideas."

"However, the truth is that this universe itself has its own thoughts, and every flash of light in the gaseous nebula represents the universe's mind. I do have the ability to change the course of events, but changing it would bring far worse consequences. My teacher could only choose between the less terrible outcome," Salomon said. "Is it to let humanity die peacefully like pigs and sheep in a slaughterhouse, or to look up at the stars and fight back—my teacher chose the latter, and I agree with that option."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Stark said, his face displeased. He stood up and buttoned his suit jacket tightly. "But I hear a sense of fatalism in your voice."

"I said I'm not in the Akashic Records, and I have the power to change this. But if I do, the outcome will be even worse." Salomon stood up as well. "I had the Asgardians' arrival reported, but the White House suppressed it. However, Asgard isn't the only power in this universe. The Allfather is old, and the Sorcerer Supreme intends to pursue the mysteries of the universe. We must prepare everyone, instead of pretending nothing happened and continuing to indulge in sensationalized politics."

"Okay, I'm only now realizing you have antisocial personality disorder." Stark walked to the entryway, preparing to leave. "I guess I came to the wrong place."

"No, I'm telling you all this for one thing." Salomon followed him into the entryway, placing a hand on Stark's shoulder. "I'm not talking to you now, but to you in the future: Don't blame yourself, Stark. You've done enough. The world needs you. I want you to send your daughter to kindergarten, watch her enter adolescence, and then threaten her boyfriend with a shotgun. And I will find the perfect solution."

"And the lives of those innocents will be my responsibility. This is my duty as the future king, Stark, not yours."

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(End of this chapter)