bookbashuk Chapter 4173 is about the Supreme Sorcerer (3)
Chapter 4173 is about the Supreme Sorcerer (3)
Chapter 4173 is about the Supreme Mage (Thirteen)
After Schiller left, Strange intended to take a short rest, but Jarvis soon brought him new official business that required his review and signature. He had no choice but to continue working at his desk.
But just as he was browsing the documents, Jarvis suddenly spoke up, "Sir, what do you think of these documents?"
Without looking up, Strange said, "Not bad, beautiful handwriting, reasonable word count, everything is fine except that I can't understand what it's saying at all."
"I've already highlighted the key points, but you still don't understand?"
“I can read the text, but I can’t understand the content,” Strange said. “If you’re going to say that it’s something you’ve painstakingly translated, and that it’s disrespectful for me to just casually glance at it, then I can pretend to read it a little longer. But you know, Jarvis, my level of education is simply not high enough for me to read this. I can only put on a good attitude and let the content drift away on my brain.”
"No, sir, this is not my translation, but the Supreme Wisdom."
"How good is his translation?"
"Actually, it's not bad, there are no major errors, but he deliberately writes the sentences in a more convoluted way, which makes it inconvenient for you to read."
"So you want me to cause trouble for him?"
"No, I mean, these documents aren't actually that good."
What do you mean by "not very good"?
"It's just not very useful."
"Oh, I see. The Supreme Intelligence is planning to drown me in junk files so I won't have time to do anything important. But that's okay, there's still Schiller, isn't there?"
"What I'm saying is that if you get overwhelmed with junk files and leave all the useful work to Dr. Rodriguez, it could lead to some unforeseen, out-of-control situations."
Strange paused, then asked, "What do you mean?"
“Dr. Schiller is very good at his job, a little too good. If you don’t do something to interfere, things could go on much faster than anyone expects, spiraling out of control. And this isn’t the first time, is it?”
Strange suddenly remembered that the last time he released Schiller into space, it triggered a massive upheaval in interstellar society. Accidents were happening here today, and there was no doubt that someone else was in trouble tomorrow, and all of it was related to Schiller.
“So what if it gets out of control?” Strange said. “Anyway, it’s the three great empires and other aliens who will suffer, not me.”
“Really?” Jarvis asked in return.
Strange immediately remembered that Schiller was extremely adept at forcing growth, and his methods were usually not gentle; they could even be described as cruel and insane. Was he planning to put humanity through a great trial?
Strange then recalled that he had recently returned from the Great World next door, where he had reportedly spent the entire Halloween holiday. However, Strange didn't believe he had actually gone on vacation. He had also heard a little about the situation in that universe; he'd heard that a solar system war had broken out there, and now an electronic life form ruled Earth…
Strange jumped to his feet.
“No, Jarvis,” he said, “this isn’t right!”
"If I'm not mistaken, Dr. Schiller may have seen some advantages of Earth under Brainiac's rule in the neighboring world and wants to replicate them on our planet. For true global unification, an interstellar war is necessary; and to wage an interstellar war, we must first create enemies for humanity in the universe..."
“He wouldn’t be trying to get you to take Brainiac’s place in the next world, would he?” Strange started pacing behind his desk. “He called me in here just to make me a scapegoat. As long as it’s said that the aliens attacked Earth because I did a bad job, then it’ll all be my fault!”
“I’m afraid so,” Jarvis said helplessly. “I’m not like Brainiac; I’m no longer a fully electronic life form. I have no interest in ruling the Earth, and I probably can’t act like Brainiac. So if we let the Doctor do that, we could both be in big trouble.”
Strange stopped, then said with a sudden realization, "You're right, Jarvis. If I get bogged down in these junk files and leave all the useful work to Schiller, we'll both end up in big trouble. We can't go on like this!"
“Schiller! Schiller!!!” Strange shouted into the communicator, “Get to the office right now!”
A few minutes later, Schiller walked in carrying a stack of documents and said, "Quite a few people have come to ask me for my opinion as a political advisor, which saves me the trouble of collecting leads from each of them individually. Currently, a few people on this list can be trusted, while a few others are wavering and are potential candidates. The rest are die-hards..."
Strange's eyes widened immediately. He said, "You've only been gone for less than half an hour, right? And it's already been confirmed?"
“I said I don’t need to confirm it myself. You’ve created such a big problem for them, so naturally they’ll come to me, their political advisor, to solve it. Of course, I can confirm their position.”
Strange opened his mouth, but didn't know how to begin. He knew that if Schiller was determined to do something, it would be very difficult for him to stop him. Somewhat counterintuitively, the best way to stop Schiller from doing something was actually to persuade him to give it up himself. But Strange couldn't think of a good reason to start the conversation.
Just as Strange was racking his brains, the Supreme Intelligence suddenly entered. He bowed to Strange and said, “I heard that your meeting this morning with the new ministers of various departments was very pleasant, and that you announced the main tasks for the next phase. It’s a pity you didn’t invite me, but as the Permanent Secretary, I believe I have the right to know about the main tasks of the Interstellar Council for the next phase. I wonder if you could take some time to explain in detail the key points of the new departments and their new objectives…”
Strange's dislike for the new departments and jobs vanished at the thought that they were likely creations of Schiller to complete his grand scheme. He then considered that while he didn't particularly like the three Empires, they were certainly as apprehensive as he was about the new departments and jobs, especially since he had deliberately avoided calling them "permanent departments" during his meetings. If the Supreme Intelligence had feelings, it would be furious by now; even as an emotionless electronic being, its tone was chillingly cold. Given his wary attitude towards them, they were unlikely to support the new jobs.
"It's good that they don't support him," Strange thought. Although he didn't expect them to bring down Schiller, at least it would buy him some time to come up with a good reason to dissuade Schiller from being so radical. Don't underestimate the power of this delay. Schiller had just said he wanted to test his subordinates' stance, and the results were in less than half an hour. If no one had tried to delay him, the person he wanted to target would probably have been thrown in jail by the end of the day.
Strange sighed inwardly, then walked over with a forced smile, patted the Supreme Intelligence on the shoulder, and said, "It's not that I deliberately didn't call you. You know I'm the Sorcerer Supreme, a doctor on Earth. I've never held any real official position and have no idea how this process works. So, your standing committee has to attend the morning meeting?"
Because Strange had already perfectly established the image of a straightforward, clueless simpleton, the Supreme Intelligence wasn't surprised by his words. Instead, it patiently explained to him, "Although I am the Permanent Secretary, we both belong to the Speaker's Office; we are in the same department. And when departments hold meetings, I naturally represent my department. Don't the ministers of other departments also bring their Permanent Secretaries?"
Strange thought for a moment, then said somewhat awkwardly, "But those following behind them are all robots. How was I supposed to know they were department employees? I thought..."
"What do you think you are?"
The Supreme Intelligence's tone was inscrutable, but its gaze was beginning to harden into a death stare. Strange, still somewhat uneasy, said, "You know, humans rarely create decent robots, and we haven't had much contact with mechanical civilizations. So when I encounter robots, I find it difficult to consider them as beings capable of communication. And you also know that most electronic life forms lack souls, and as the Sorcerer Supreme, I generally distinguish different life forms by their soul fluctuations. Therefore, I usually can't see robots. If you weren't speaking, I'd think they were potted plants."
In reality, Strange's actions were blatant discrimination. Since two of the three empires were mechanical civilizations—the Skrull Empire at least had some purely carbon-based life forms, while the Kree Empire was largely mechanized, one could even say they had only one member, the Supreme Intelligence, with everyone else merely its threads—plus years of anti-discrimination efforts had elevated the status of mechanical life forms, even subtly surpassing carbon-based life forms to become first-class citizens under the protection of political correctness. He hadn't been discriminated against like this in a long time.
It's fair to say that Strange's emphasis on his identity as the Sorcerer Supreme was somewhat effective. At least for now, the droid body controlled by the Supreme Intelligence can do nothing but spin its engines and cooling modules. Strange is so blatantly discriminating against him, he can only endure it.
But Strange clearly understood the principle of giving a slap followed by a sweet treat, so he said, "Don't mind me, I'm just a straightforward person, I say what I mean and I don't want to play games with you guys. Okay, isn't the point the work content announced at the meeting? Actually, even if you didn't come to me, I would have come to you anyway, after all, I'm just making decisions, while you're the one who gets the policies implemented."
This improved the Supreme Intelligence's expression somewhat. Strange added, "However, the issue of environmental protection wasn't my idea; it actually came from my personal political advisor. This is Dr. Schiller. I think you two could have a chat. After all, I don't understand those complicated political affairs, so I won't take up your time, you professionals."
Strange perfectly passed the buck. The Supreme Intelligence glanced at Schiller, but didn't complain. From the day he learned that a human was to become Speaker, he knew he would inevitably clash with Schiller, and a war of words between them was bound to happen sooner or later. He had just mentally prepared his remarks when Schiller said, "Actually, this all started with His Excellency the Sorcerer Supreme's trip to the Temple of Eternity..."
Strange slapped himself on the forehead.