One of life's greatest pleasures might just be a spur-of-the-moment journey.
Bucky left without a second thought. But his departure didn't mean he was shirking responsibility; in fact, at this critical juncture, it might have been the best decision he could make.
Meanwhile, Arthur had business to handle.
The next morning, he issued a meeting notice for that afternoon.
In the conference room, Arthur sat at the head of a large round table, casting a curious glance at everyone present. With a hint of disbelief, he said, "Honestly, I didn't expect the day would come when I'd be the one chairing a meeting."
Aside from Thor, who had been tricked into an "assignment" by Loki, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, who were still causing chaos somewhere in the cosmos, all members of the Superhero Alliance were in attendance. Also present was Harry.
"So… first order of business: our team has gained a few new members," Arthur announced, introducing Brock and Sharon to everyone.
As for Falcon, Steve hadn't taken formal action yet, but he had already started to test the waters. It wouldn't be long before the Alliance welcomed another new face.
After the introductions, Arthur offered an awkward smile. "To be honest, I'm still not used to this kind of formal setting… but there are a few important things that we need to discuss today. Everyone here should already know that one of Camp Lehigh's most crucial issues right now is our information link with outer space. We've built a solid foundation, and both sides are prepared. Now, we're down to two final components."
He paused for effect. "First: a liaison for the cosmic side. My recommendation is former SHIELD agent Phil Coulson. He's currently undergoing treatment in Asgard and should be recovering well."
This was already common knowledge among the group, so no one raised any objections.
Arthur continued, "The second point is information security. Any intel we receive from outer space needs to be perfectly masked. So, what's the progress on that?"
Tony stood up, adjusting his glasses. "Dr. Banner and I have been working on a cosmic communications system. The core functionality is now in place. While it can't yet cover the entire universe, as a dedicated communication tool, it works perfectly. The most important feature is its signal masking capability. Any signal we receive will not appear to originate from space; instead, it will look like…"
And thus began Tony's long-winded technical presentation.
About half an hour later, Tony finally sat down, and Banner stood up.
"To put it simply: we can fully guarantee that no information will leak, and we can perfectly disguise all transmissions. Once the tech matures, we could even sell simplified versions across the universe, turning this into a valuable cosmic communication commodity."
"Now that explanation makes sense," Arthur said, rubbing his forehead. "Does anyone else have something to add?"
Spider-Man instantly raised his hand. "I do! I do!"
Arthur nodded at him, ready to hear what he had to say.
"About the communication system, can we each get one when it's ready?" Spider-Man asked eagerly.
"I mean, for future team battles, having something more secure and portable as a comms device would really help us coordinate during fights."
"That's a pretty good idea," Tony nodded in agreement. "Personally, I wasn't thinking that far ahead, but it's definitely a topic we can hand off to the R&D team to explore."
Arthur then glanced over at the others, especially Steve and his group. Everyone shook their heads, indicating they had no objections.
"Well then, that matter is settled," Arthur said. "Next up… I plan to open a media company in San Francisco! It will be the first company funded by Camp Lehigh."
He briefly outlined the company's vision and shared some additional ideas. "Lately, I've been hearing complaints about how being a superhero comes with no salary. Of course, some of you might not worry about that at all. But looking at long-term development, salaries are definitely something we need to address. So I think investing in a company where everyone holds shares could help cover everyday expenses."
Most importantly, Arthur continued, "Camp Lehigh has always been dedicated to technological innovation. While the main purpose is to help us adapt to various battlefields, if we carefully plan to introduce these innovations to the world, we could also subtly promote the advancement of global technology!"
Everyone exchanged glances, intrigued. The key phrase was "carefully planned." If Camp Lehigh's tech were released directly to the world, it would undoubtedly create a massive impact.
It would be like Wakanda revealing all its technology at once—an earth-shattering event.
Finally, Tony spoke up, "I agree!"
Everyone turned to look at him, curious.
Tony shrugged. "The Superhero Alliance might be a noble team of heroes fighting for the world, human freedom, and Earth, but we can't survive without money. Relying solely on Stark Industries or the Osborn Group isn't a sustainable solution. Supporting ourselves and providing our own research funding is a long-term issue we have to face."
He then launched into a detailed, easy-to-understand explanation. This time, everyone grasped the concept clearly. In the end, only Steve raised a concern.
"Will pushing world technology development too fast lead to growing pains?"
"Hm…" Arthur shook his head. "I don't know. I can only say it will be subtle and gradual. To avoid issues, we must strictly control the process and slowly transfer the technology.
Actually, I think the first thing we need to do is let the world know who we are! Don't underestimate humanity's capacity to accept new things. They've already embraced people in iron suits, flying miniature aircraft, and masked individuals with black wings rushing into space with nuclear bombs. So why can't they accept more advanced technology that makes life easier?
In this era of information explosion, people's tolerance is at its highest. Plus, with our planning, I believe it will only take some time to connect everything! And honestly, our initial goal isn't to change the world; it's just to cover some people's makeup expenses."
Natasha gave Arthur a big, exaggerated eye roll.
(End of Chapter)
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