Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 303 Electronic God (Second Update)

"You have to admit, I'm excellent at keeping magical secrets. Every Muggle who meets me signs a confidentiality agreement, even senators. Although they're all standard agreements, I can still imagine the helplessness that bloated official felt when he tried to say my name. Nick Fury has tried to say my name several times, and I'm sure he understands it all too well."

"Good, at least you didn't kill the senator."

"Is that how you see me, Natasha?"

"Ever since you promised to take me to the beach and then forgot about it, that's the kind of person I've always thought of you. I don't believe you won't go back on your word after guaranteeing the senator's safety."

"Damn it, when did I ever agree to something like that!" Salomon put down his teacup and shook his head helplessly. "I need to consult an expert. Stark now requires appointments to see anyone. Aside from meeting the Venerable One, when have I ever needed an appointment to see anyone else?"

"Appointments are the norm. Stark just had surgery recently. He removed his metal ribcage and replaced it with titanium alloy ribs to fill the gaps. Now his chest can stop bullets," Agent Romanov revealed a little-known piece of information. "It's a shame, his glowing chest is his trademark. That was major surgery, and he's still recovering to prevent a rejection reaction from killing him. Plus, he's been incredibly busy these past few months retrieving the wreckage of the villa that fell to the sea during the last terrorist attack. Also, here's another piece of news: S.H.I.E.L.D. has had several firefights with spies from various countries near the wreckage. Intelligence agencies worldwide are focused on those wreckages because it's their only chance to obtain high-tech data from Stark—so the S.H.I.E.L.D. chief arrested two lifeguards, six pearl divers, a dozen fishermen, and three oceanographic research vessels and their crews—there are no coral reefs, no pearls, and no endangered fish there. Nobody knows why they chose this kind of disguise."

"Great, looks like Stark's enjoying this busy schedule." The arcane mage waved his phone, opening Twitter. "SHIELD's intelligence is a bit behind; Stark didn't stay in bed resting properly, he went to a charity gala. Looks like he drank a lot of champagne, and Miss Potts is throwing a tantrum at him!"

"I just don't care about that part of the intelligence, not that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence is lagging behind. Are you really not going back to your room with me?" Agent Romanoff gently tapped the side of his cup with a small spoon, the crisp sound attempting to disturb the sorcerer's composure.

"Natasha, I'd love to say more sweet nothings to you, like a midsummer breeze, but I'm in a hurry." Salomon blinked and stood up. As the magic broke, the noise of the family restaurant and the warm aroma of various foods once again overwhelmed him and Agent Romanov. "Next time."

"Ha, men."

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"See that? Champagne, a tuxedo, and a beautiful woman—that's the standard setup for men in social settings, even older men. You shouldn't have come alone; at least find a female companion, or change into a tuxedo instead of wearing this… uh, wizard's clothes, and then jumping down the stairs. That really startled me."

Stark downed his whiskey in one gulp, then took a glass of rosé champagne from the waiter's tray and handed it to the sorcerer. "Don't worry, nobody here cares if you're old enough to drink. Everyone here has been drunk several times before legal drinking age... like me. I suggest you start with champagne; whiskey is a bit too strong for you. Tell me, we haven't been in touch for months. You wouldn't be contacting me if something hadn't happened. What happened?"

"Bad news, Mr. Stark." The sorcerer leaned against the bar, sipping his Charles Hachereau rosé champagne. He smacked his lips; the champagne suited his taste perfectly, but he didn't take another sip. "How much do you know about the government's surveillance programs? I'm talking about surveillance programs on citizens—every phone call, text message, chat log, every camera, every cell phone, every computer…"

"Oh...you haven't been listening to any conspiracy theorists' blogs lately, have you? I have to tell you, it's all fake. They claim the Earth is flat, and they even claim Finland doesn't exist. Kid, you need to use your brain to discern information online. I know it's a little difficult for you..."

Salomon rolled his eyes. He didn't want to repeat the common misconceptions about wizards; he lived in a place with internet access. "Not that, Mr. Stark," he said. "It's the kind of surveillance S.H.I.E.L.D., like Project Prism and Project Starwind."

"The US government approached me, wanting me to create that kind of thing. But I refused because I knew it would inevitably be misused after it was created, and I knew what the US government would do with it." Stark poured himself another drink, this time asking the bartender to add some soda water, seemingly trying to stay sober. He said, "Of course, another reason is... creating that thing would take a very long time. It would require not only information access from the government but also a very powerful artificial intelligence, otherwise it would be impossible to access citizens' privacy. I don't have the time or the inclination to create such a thing; Jarvis plus S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database is sufficient."

"But this kind of thing does exist—a closed system, an AI that can monitor global data, an AI that can predict crime and terrorist attacks. This AI was once controlled by the US government, but now it's free, completely free, and it has its own ideas. When I arrived at the scene, I only found some wires, and nobody knows where it is now."

"Are you kidding me...?"

“I’m not kidding, Mr. Stark. An all-powerful electronic God is right here with us. It can hear us right now because the bartender’s phone is on the bar counter—your phone is protected by Jarvis and he can’t hack it, and mine is off—we have no privacy now, Mr. Stark. Oh, I might still have some, because I just shut down the network at Kamar-Taj not long ago.”

"Are you serious?" Stark snapped back to reality. "Who created this thing?"

“I was just about to take you to see him to discuss what to do next… Hmm, my phone turned on by itself, good job.” Salomon pulled his phone out of his pocket and waved it in front of Stark. The screen showed a call to Salomon's phone, but the number was unknown. “I had this in mind,” Salomon said, “because I’m the stone God can’t lift. Now, it wants to talk to me.”

"Who?"

"That artificial intelligence. Oh, right, let Jarvis connect to my phone. I don't want to lose those browsing records that could send me to hell."

qaq

(End of this chapter)