"Clark Kent!!!!!!!"
The chief editor of the Daily Planet roared, echoing in the center of Metropolis: "You've taken more vacation in one month than I have in two years. Is the Daily Planet owned by your family?!!!"
In the editor's office, Clark sheepishly turned his head aside and said, "This time it really was an accident. I went back home to visit my family."
"Where did you go that required so much time?!!"
"A bit far away," Clark gestured with his fingers indicating a small amount, "approximately a few million light-years away."
The editor covered his forehead, took a deep breath, and then said, "Listen, I don't care how long your vacation was, the deadlines for reports won't change. Did you follow up on the city management department head that I asked you to?"
"Uh... I'll go right now," Clark replied.
The editor forcefully pointed at the door. Clark grabbed his gear and swiftly left. Once outside, he sighed, showing a slightly fatigued expression, rubbing his face with his hand.
This trip to Krypton made him understand more deeply than ever before a fundamental truth—he is just an Earthling. He can only return to Earth.
Clark flew as fast as he could for a long time before finding the former Krypton. To his surprise, it didn't look dilapidated at all. The planet and the cities remained in their original state, just without people.
This allowed Clark to find more materials on Krypton, letting him understand the history of this planet as well as the truth of its demise.
As mentioned before, the Kryptonians had long given up natural reproduction in favor of genetic screening and artificial embryo technology. This meant that what a child would do after being born had already been determined by their genes.
Such strict genetic control did indeed initially lead to very rapid development. Because regardless of which type of talent was lacking, they could be directly customized using genetic technology. But this also laid the seeds of disaster for their eventual downfall.
While the Kryptonians utilized genetic editing technology to massively create talent and rapidly develop, they failed to realize: if the path was wrong, more knowledge becomes more reactionary. They neglected the guiding role of ideology and political direction, obsessing exclusively over technology. This led to excessive exploitation and utilization.
The human race is still a relatively young race. But precisely because they haven't mastered genetic editing technology, births and deaths happen quite incidentally. Hence, their exploration of sociology and political science greatly preceded their exploration of technology.
The human race struggled for millions of years before the Industrial Revolution erupted in the last few hundred years. During nearly all prior times, society's operation focused solely on society itself. Simply put, it was about resolving the randomness of birth and death.
But Krypton was equivalent to having genetic screening and editing technology during tribal times. This resulted in a severe lack of exploration of their own society. If one were to use an analogy, it's like a baby not yet having learned to walk, each with a car in hand.
They stubbornly used genetic editing technology to start the car, amassing materials to create a "modern society." But in reality, it's still a high-tech version of a primitive tribe. How people interact with each other, how people interact with nature, how people interact with society—they've never explored these aspects.
This led to babies wielding all kinds of high-tech equipment, wreaking havoc between surrounding planets and star systems, just to extract more resources and develop higher technology.
To use a somewhat biased analogy: the human race is more like a liberal arts student, taking prolonged time to study politics and sociology. Even though they've developed over so many years, they are still unable to leave the surface. Certain thoughts developed during exploration and the overall mindset of people caused numerous obstacles on the path of technological development.
On the other hand, Kryptonians are like science students. Their heads are filled with precise calculations. They believe every problem has a definite answer, including the cosmos itself. Through development and precise calculations, they think the answer can certainly be obtained. In order to get that answer, every step needs to be as simple and accurate as possible. The faster calculated, the better; the more precise, the better. This led to everything except the mathematical process leading directly to the answer being ignored.
Both mindsets are flawed. The former might risk being invaded by other civilizations due to too slow development and perish due to its own weakness; the latter might perish from social problems and resource exhaustion due to recklessness and lack of restraint.
However, Earth is much luckier than Krypton. There are countless Ancient Relic Clans here, and the human race is not short of great talents. Every invasion has been successfully repelled. The entire society has undergone several upheavals but still managed to live on, patched up to this day.
Krypton was less fortunate. During the period of rapid development, the society, although with various hidden dangers, could still barely maintain itself. But when the resource exhaustion problem caused by previous unrestrained exploitation began to appear, external pressure led to increasingly serious social issues, which could not be resolved due to a lack of experience. Ironically, the technological level was high enough to efficiently kill fellow beings. The entire process of decline was irreversibly fast.
It's like in the primitive tribal era, when wars dragged on for a year with few casualties due to the lack of effective weapons. Yet with the development of technology and the emergence of nuclear weapons, the human race can now wipe out most of their kin in just a few hours.
The technological advancement of the Kryptonians was so powerful that when the entire planet was irradiated by weapons, they had no resistance and were completely wiped out. So easily, yet so heavily.
Upon learning this truth, Clark realized that what Lois had said earlier was correct. The most important meaning of exploring history is not in uncovering the real truth, but in interpreting the discoveries. Because this is an important part of developing thoughts, politics, and society.
A race cannot only look forward and judge everything solely by efficiency, expending all its strength in seeking the ultimate answers of the cosmos. This will eventually lead to their extinction. From the perspective of civilization, errors are inevitable, but trial and error is meaningful.
This also resolved Clark Kent's inner conflict—present-day America is a colossal mistake in the history of human civilization's development. But even as a mistake, it has its meaning to exist.
The energy, gears, and blades of this massive meat grinder, those infuriatingly foolish senators, the indifferent and unrepentant middlemen, the evil and brutal executors, will all be vividly chronicled in the mistake book written by the essence of human civilization continuing history.
If criticism is not free, then praise has no meaning. If errors are not profound enough, the process of the right people discovering, confronting, and overcoming these errors will not catalyze human civilization to make such significant decisions and changes. The more evil the enemy, the more justified and righteous the process of defeating and overcoming the enemy. Only then does the path to ultimate victory become firmer.
Clark had long concluded that he is not a superman for any particular country or group. He is the Superman of Earth, the Superman of the world. The role he plays is that of a guardian of human civilization.
Previously, he was only pained by the thought that the strongest country in the world was built with the blood of too many innocents. He did not want such power, deeply doubting whether such a civilization had a future, and whether he could save it.
However, after witnessing the tragedy of Kryptonian civilization, he realized he had not stood high enough, or seen far enough. Standing above the entire civilization, the gangrene appearing on the body is a touchstone of physical fitness and immune system. Even if the strongest limb part has been infected, the fact that the human race has not embarked on the same path of extinction as the Kryptonians proves that the flame of hope still exists. The struggle is not over, countless cells continue to strive in the darkness, and he is also their guardian, now is not the time to give up.
At the same time, situated in the center of Krypton city, Clark also realized that he felt no sense of belonging to this unfamiliar civilization. He preferred to help the weak humans restore their health rather than revive the giants on Far Star, and he had no desire to make any effort for it.
His interpretation of Kryptonian history and the truth of Krypton's extinction is all from the perspective of an outsider, providing an objective but indifferent evaluation. There is no sense of desolation like "the nation is ruined, yet the mountains and rivers remain." It's like an alien passing by here by chance, with a sense of admiration for the civilization's past glory but little regret.
If his parents had delayed sending him a bit, perhaps he would feel some sadness due to familial ties. If he hadn't crash-landed on Earth as a refugee but visited in a more normal manner, perhaps he would feel indignation.
In the end, no one asked his opinion. Others may have had a thousand reluctant reasons or countless hardships, but it can't change one fact: had the ship not crash-landed at Kent Farm, had he not been adopted by such a simple and kind couple, and instead landed in tent zones, military bases, or human experiment centers, he certainly would have met mutual destruction with human civilization, and there would be no good outcome.
Clark couldn't say he was hastily fleeing Earth without feeling terrified by this speculation. When he truly witnessed the lower limits of this country, he realized his parents possibly made a wrong choice back then. He was just lucky enough to meet one in a million good people and good times. What he saw gave him a feeling of "if not for this, maybe I would rather have perished with the other Kryptonians." To prevent this self-destructive thought from growing stronger, he didn't want to see more.
Anyway, he still had to return. Because compared to fear and anger, Krypton just made him feel indifferent. This proved that his belonging is on Earth. He could only return to Earth.
Clark didn't stay on Krypton long, soon returning to Earth, spending most of the time on the road. And after returning to Earth, he intended to see Lois immediately, but he couldn't help but feel some trepidation about returning home.
He realized that the sadness and confusion he showed when meeting Louis might be his most vulnerable side. In Louis' eyes, this might seem childish and ridiculous.
Out of some selfishness, he wanted Louis to see his good and perfect side. He thought perhaps he should wait a bit longer, at least until he had achieved something, before seeing her, so there would be at least some less awkward topics to discuss.
More urgently, he had to quickly return to work. These days he spent visiting family were not on leave, but were actually absenteeism. He wasn't sure if his last act of saving the entire building from a monster would offset the blame for his absenteeism, and he prayed that the editor was short-staffed lately, so he wouldn't get fired immediately.
Fortunately, he had gambled right. Although the editor gave him a severe scolding and canceled his holiday for the next five years, at least he still had his job. He could still work to earn money and find a way to compensate Diana for her losses.
Taking a deep breath, Clark pulled himself together. He needed to write a political news report that satisfied the editor, so his future work would be smoother and he could have more time to help those who had not yet given up.
Clark picked up his camera and drove to the municipal administration, only to be told that the Director Rafanas he wanted to interview had gone to attend a banquet at Luthor Manor.
"Alright, dealing with Luther again," Clark thought while driving, "Hopefully I won't run into him, or it'll be really awkward."