What does it mean to shoot oneself in the foot, or to tell one lie and then need a thousand more to cover it? Right now, Strange's predicament perfectly exemplifies these two sayings.
Before he saw through Shiller's intentions, Strange had to cover for why he suddenly proposed the environmental work. So he racked his brains to come up with an excuse, and had already announced at the regular meeting that the cosmos' resources were depleting, and dark matter was beginning to fluctuate. He even had Little Thomas forge evidence, as black-and-white data monitoring could not be faked.
"I was just about to mention that," said the Supreme Wisdom, "The dark matter monitoring instruments used by the Bolin people were purchased from the Kree Empire. They sent us a set of dark matter data that appeared quite abnormal, almost catastrophic. However, there is still no clear evidence that this is caused by excessive consumption of cosmic resources. I believe such a reason is untenable. Perhaps we can resolve the dark matter eruption issue from other aspects."
Shiller remained calm, sitting before Strange's desk, while the Supreme Wisdom stood at the side of the desk. Shiller turned slightly to look at him and said, "Can the Three Great Empires solve the problem of a full-scale dark matter eruption in the cosmos?"
"We can suppress part of the dark matter to reduce its activity or prevent it from increasing further."
"But presumably not all of it, or even most of it, right?"
"Correct, but now that we know about this, we can conduct research in this direction. The Three Great Empires have ample resources and research reserves. I believe it won't be long before this issue is resolved."
"That's good," Shiller said, "but this doesn't conflict with the interstellar council's proposal of environmental protection. Research must proceed, and so must environmental protection. Is there a problem?"
"As I've said, there isn't necessarily a direct relationship between dark matter eruptions and cosmic resource consumption. This conclusion isn't backed by sufficient data, and it might be hard to convince everyone."
"So, if dark matter eruptions aren't directly related to cosmic resource consumption, then there's no need for environmental protection, is that what you mean?"
"Uh, that's not what I mean. I just think it's unnecessary to urgently stop resource consumption excessively in a rescue stance, which might lead to severe livelihood issues. Some more primitive civilizations might slow their development because of this. I believe this isn't good for the interstellar council's prestige or the personal reputation of Mr. Councilor."
"There is indeed no sufficient evidence to prove that excessive cosmic resource consumption will lead to dark matter eruptions, but there's also no sufficient evidence to prove that excessive cosmic resource consumption won't cause other disasters either." Shiller looked at the Supreme Wisdom and said, "Mr. Secretary, please answer me, can you prove that all future disasters in the cosmos will definitely have nothing to do with excessive resource consumption?"
The Supreme Wisdom was speechless, but he understood what Shiller was implying.
This dark matter eruption might indeed have little to do with excessive cosmic resource consumption, but once he chooses to deny the environmental protection agenda and hinder its progress, then he will have to bear responsibility for all future disasters that occur in the cosmos. Someone will surely say that if environmental protection work had been carried out properly, perhaps the disaster wouldn't have happened, and then they'll trace it back to him not supporting environmental work, even if the affected number is small, it will offend people.
Although the Three Great Empires aren't afraid of this, since they formed the interstellar council, they naturally hope for the council to have enough authority. The Supreme Wisdom doesn't want the interstellar council's prestige to be shaken because of this.
"I'm not trying to obstruct environmental work," Supreme Wisdom clarified first and said, "but the dark matter eruption has already caused a certain panic. If we rush too urgently to advance environmental work, it will only solidify this panic. I think it brings no benefit; perhaps we should slow down a bit…"
"The dark matter eruption has already caused panic?" Shiller frowned and asked, "Then how are you, the executive secretary, doing your job? Ministers are the initiators of policies, and leaking governance doesn't benefit them at all, so the only possible leaker is the executive secretary. Instead of investigating who leaked the dark matter eruption, you're asking the councilor to smooth things over, which is bureaucratic negligence."
"No, no," the Supreme Wisdom quickly retorted, "this panic isn't widespread among the public but is limited to a very narrow scope within the interstellar council, only amongst those attending the meeting."
"You mean the councilor and the executive secretary attending feel panic over the dark matter eruption?"
"Yes... uh, no, not really." The Supreme Wisdom's words took a 180-degree turn, and he stuttered, "I mean, there are some worries and anxieties."
"Oh, I see. I thought the interstellar council's employees were cowards, frightened enough to wet their pants by mere dark matter eruptions. Supreme Magician has always looked down on such weak individuals. If that's the case, they probably need to be fired entirely."
The Supreme Wisdom sighed inwardly; fortunately, he reacted quickly. This guy's words are full of traps; being a bit slow would mean falling in. If he dared say the attendees were very panicked, Shiller would definitely make a big deal out of it, encourage the councilor to fire them all, and then put his own people in. They would definitely do that or are simply waiting for this opportunity.
Seeing that he didn't take the bait, Shiller appeared disappointed and said, "So it turns out to be worry and anxiety. Well, that's quite normal for humans. After all, trillions of star systems in the universe rest on the diligent political apparatus. If they exhibit uncontrollable emotions like panic, their political careers would be over."
Hearing the threat in his tone, the Supreme Wisdom was also helpless. He said, "I assure you, they are not panicking and will not let emotions affect their work. They're just a bit worried. But even so, we must care for their emotions and not act rashly."
"You mean, to avoid further deepening their anxiety, we should proceed with environmental work at a slower pace. Is that correct?"
The Supreme Wisdom wanted to say, you've summed it up well, but please don't sum it up. Every time Shiller summarizes his words, he feels that a pit is waiting ahead, and if he dares to nod, he'll be kicked right into it. He can climb out once or twice, but not forever, and someday he'd surely fall to his doom.
"It's obvious, I'm an electronic life, my understanding of emotions is not as good as you emotional beings. However, my behavior analysis module is quite advanced. Of course, any errors are also expected, as I'm not an emotional being. In my humble opinion, from a broader perspective, considering what is often called humanitarian care, and considering the reputation of Mr. Councilman, I believe proceeding slowly would be a good choice."
Strange was trembling with suppressed laughter. In truth, he wasn't as unfamiliar with electronic life as he claimed. Despite the daily sarcasm between him and Stark, each mocking the other, as the leaders of technology and the Magic Side respectively, they understood what each other was doing. Strange was actually one of the humans who understood electronic life quite well.
Generally speaking, electronic life doesn't engage in pleasantries. They might mimic human behavior, but most of the time, they prefer a high-efficiency work model. What they say should be accurate and precise, as every extra word is a waste of function and computing power.
But now Shiller had pushed the Supreme Wisdom to such an extent. Ninety percent of this passage was redundant, with zero information content. He's got electronic life saying long, complex sentences; if this continues, who knows, the Supreme Wisdom might evolve.
"Alright, Mr. Secretary General, it seems you truly care about the health of your staff. But I think there's a better way than slowing down work to address the potential panic issue within the council."
"What method?"
"Hire a psychiatrist," Shiller said. "As far as I know, the interstellar council doesn't have psychiatrists for counseling. That's not very good. Although most of the executive department are electronic lives, don't they have the right to psychological treatment? I think this is a form of discrimination."
The Supreme Wisdom opened his mouth. You've said everything. Electronic life doesn't even have emotions; why see a psychiatrist?
Wait, isn't Shiller himself a psychiatrist?
Just as he thought of this, he heard Shiller say, "In my humble capacity, I am indeed a psychiatrist from Earth, with several years of practice experience, and also have experience counseling electronic lives. I can perfectly handle all sorts of sudden psychological situations. For instance, after the Dark Matter incident is published, if we provide psychological counseling for everyone, the so-called worries and anxiety would surely be alleviated. This way, work progress wouldn't be delayed, and staff mental health would be maintained. Isn't that a win-win situation?"
"No, no, no," the Supreme Wisdom quickly said, "I think the council staff are not that anxious. They're not at a level needing a doctor, just a little worried."
"Oh, is that so? I thought they were at the point of needing a psychiatrist. So, they don't need one?"
"No, they don't." The Supreme Wisdom quickly said. Compared to the yet-to-be-conclusive environmental issues, having this guy become a psychiatrist for the interstellar council would be a much bigger problem. And he even claims to have experience treating electronic lives. Who knows, under his treatment, they might stop being electronic lives altogether.
The Supreme Wisdom is a bit different from other electronic lives. He has no desire to break free from the life form of electronic life and no desire to evolve. He rules the Kree Empire, yet he is also the collective consciousness of the Empire, needing to adapt to governance roles. Hence, sudden evolution isn't an option. A top-tier empire's priority is stability—constant changes would have led to its collapse long ago.
So the Supreme Wisdom is actually resistant to evolution, even opposed to change. He does not want to face any psychiatrist that would mess up his otherwise stable programming. The human race hasn't attacked the Kree Empire, so why would he deliver himself to the Hangman?
At this moment, he heard Shiller say again, "Although I am the Supreme Magician's private political consultant, during his tenure in the interstellar council, I'm half a colleague to everyone in the department. I am quite concerned about the health of my colleagues and oppose any form of work that overdrafts health. I personally believe that solving our department members' emotional issues is more important first."
"However, I believe the department members diligently, having left their homelands, and selflessly contributed to the interstellar council all these years not just for modest salaries and benefits, but truly have the development of the Interstellar Society on their shoulders and in their hearts. They are such diligent and selfless individuals. If they found out that such a small issue prevents a significantly beneficial work from being enacted for the Interstellar Society and all its citizens, they'd surely be wracked with guilt and lose sleep over it. We cannot, out of excessive concern for them, put them in such an unjust dilemma, don't you think, Mr. Secretary General?"