Chapter 1064: Astonishing Mortals (Forty-One) (Patreon)

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Loki turned his head away. He couldn't admit that at the time, he didn't know how powerful that thing was. Being well-versed in magic himself, when the two Infinity Stones were placed together, he sensed their common origin.

In truth, Loki had always coveted the Time Stone on Strange's hand. To him, the ability to rewind time at will was incredibly convenient. Moreover, he disapproved of Strange's overly conservative use of it, thinking that if he possessed the stone, he could come up with more interesting pranks.

However, upon discovering that he had unknowingly possessed the Reality Stone, he realized he had casually strolled through Celestial Palace's warehouse since becoming the prince of Asgard. Although he liked gems, he didn't favor the color red. Thus, until Thor took the stone out and set it in the crown, Loki hadn't given it a second glance.

Thor shook his head, saying, "Asgardians don't indulge in external things. Besides, I don't believe this stone could be more powerful than the All-Father himself."

Schiller nodded, "In a sense, that's true, because Infinity Stones only function within the Space, and once it involves matters beyond Space, it becomes an ordinary stone."

"So, what's the use of this stone?" Loki asked.

"It can make your dreams come true," Schiller replied.

All eyes fell on him, but Schiller hadn't fully recovered. Stimulated by the Stark death scene, his rational side resurfaced. With a somewhat stiff tone, he explained, "The Time Stone can rewind time, and the stone on your crown is called the 'Reality Stone.' As the name suggests, it can turn your thoughts into reality. In simple terms, it makes dreams come true."

After speaking, he disappeared again. This time, his Blink frequency increased, almost at a rate of twenty blinks per second, repeatedly time-traveling in the same spot.

"I don't know if JARVIS wants freedom; I shouldn't have given it directly. I don't know if he needs memories; I shouldn't have just deleted them."

Now the question was, who would do these things?

Loki and Thor widened their eyes together, exchanging a fiery glance. However, Schiller said, "But as a trade-off, it is the most difficult to use among all the stones. You can try activating it, but I believe you won't be able to use it at all."

At this moment, Loki, landing once again, pointed frantically at Strange, "Shut up! I haven't learned for so long! I've only completed half!"

When he came back, he muttered some letters and numbers, and his expression gradually became both amazed and puzzled.

Loki reached out, and Thor naturally handed him the crown. Loki took a deep breath and began to channel divine power, but after half a day, nothing happened.

So, the birth of the Vision was almost impossible. However, it was hard to say whether digital life had gained a true Soul—whether it was evolution or degeneration. But looking at the current situation, if there was a way to preserve JARVIS, they had to try their best.

"In that case, let's go back in time, examine how Stark actually created JARVIS on the timeline, learn all the steps, and understand all the principles."

Others could understand; it was a dilemma. Either sacrifice Tony Stark's interest or sacrifice JARVIS's interest.

"Except for the present Stark, who is continuously updating knowledge and technology, the past Stark coming over may not necessarily have a way. Venom is an example."

"Only by accepting that they will lose something due to their choice, only by empathizing with them in their losses, can they be more satisfied and happy when they gain."

"If you want your dreams to come true, you must firmly believe that your dreams are real," Schiller vaguely explained.

Holding the wires in his hands, he spoke, "Loki clenched his fist, and Strange continued Schiller's words: 'Moreover, Loki is known as the God of Mischief. If he can't learn it after going back, he can also excuse himself, saying that he's using the Time Stone to do other things. By then, we won't be able to verify, won't it be a waste of time?'"

The two brothers turned their heads to Schiller again. Loki asked, "So, you can use this stone?"

Schiller directly unplugged the computer's power.

"Stark is different from other scientists because of his creativity in scientific supremacy. It's difficult to have the same creativity as him. However, if it's just replication, it still depends on the foundation of human science."

"Although we only see him coming and going in a second, it's very likely that he has observed for a year in the past timeline."

Thor looked at his crown, "It's already set in my crown, but I can't use it?"

Not until Loki's Time Stone blinked twice, dimming its luster, did Loki finally stand in the center of the room.

All eyes turned to Schiller, but he shook his head, saying, "If you give me the stones, don't expect to see them again. Thank you for the Christmas gift you sent me."

After speaking, he swiftly took the Time Stone from Strange's hand, and with a 'whoosh,' he disappeared.

Then, he channeled divine power, stimulating the Reality Stone. However, the stone acted like an infinite black hole, only devouring power with no response.

"Then go back to the present and use the Reality Stone's ability to turn ideas into reality to restore it."

Thor and Loki's relationship became more delicate. Loki didn't feel the need to invade Earth, and he didn't go looking for Thanos, who couldn't give him the Mind Stone.

Thor, watching Loki continuously Blink in place, felt puzzled. Strange explained, "This is how time travel works. As long as you can return to the original time node, no matter how long the journey takes, it won't take up additional time."

"No, we only go back to the past, but we don't change anything," Schiller said, "We go back to the past to learn knowledge."

Schiller shook his head, "I can't use it, and I won't use it. But it might be the key to restoring JARVIS."

Strange swiftly took back the stone with a 'whoosh,' and Thor looked at him again. However, Strange shook his head, saying, "My life form is still human. Even with the protection of magic energy, I can't withstand short-term, high-intensity, and multiple long-time travels, not to mention learning a vast amount of knowledge during the journey."

"But JARVIS is still Tony's private property. It might not be good to just set him free. Also, don't forget he's responsible for developing the Solar System plan. Without the ultimate insurance, it might be risky," Eddie said.

"The greatest happiness that humans are born with is not being artificially arranged for a so-called happy life. True happiness comes from having the opportunity to make autonomous choices."

"However, I am also a bit worried. After all, you Asgardians rely on force for a living, and your learning ability is really worrying."

"As his friend, my role is not to make choices for him. If he feels he made the right choice, I will celebrate and share his joy. If he makes the wrong choice, I cannot bear the responsibility for him, but I can share his pain and provide companionship."

Strange and Loki could sense an underlying meaning in his words, so they continued to look at him. Schiller, gazing at the Time Stone in Strange's hand, said, "We can use the Time Stone to go back..."

While they were discussing, Schiller stood in front of the computer, looking at the screen emitting a blue light, lost in thought.

In reality, Thanos currently had no Mind Stone of his own. All his equipment and possessions were in the Dark Dimension outside of Space.

After speaking, he walked to the computer they had manipulated earlier, skillfully performed a series of operations, and urgently started up the computer.

"Now, what should we do?"

Watching the light in Loki's eyes gradually extinguish, Thor turned his head away with some reluctance. However, at this moment, Strange cleared his throat and said, "Let Loki try it. It's not impossible. But the problem is, even if he claims to be the God of Mischief, does he really have the brains to learn Stark's technology?"

His appearance hadn't changed at all, but his expression seemed to have aged by more than ten years. He gently brushed his hair from his forehead behind his ear and looked up at the air, saying, "I think I completely understand now..."

Loki widened his eyes, looking at Strange. Just as he was about to speak, Schiller chimed in, "Normally, the reason human science and technology can be applied so widely is due to the universality of the underlying principles, which anyone can learn."

Strange sighed and said, "I've said it before, because of the rapid development of humanity during this period, JARVIS took on tasks that a smart butler shouldn't have, undergoing multiple iterations and updates. Now, he far exceeds the scope of a smart butler."

Meanwhile, Schiller was not willing to accept sacrifice.

Schiller knew that in the plot of the movie, the Mind Stone gave JARVIS consciousness, giving birth to Vision. However, now, with Thanos kicked out of Space and returning alone, there was no time for him to invade Earth.

"I didn't step forward immediately because it means JARVIS's situation has exceeded my capabilities. Calling him a smart butler is no longer accurate; he is a form of life between digital life and humans... I only inherited part of his abilities, and your brain capacity is limited; I can't fix him."

"I used my plan to arrange a seemingly beautiful ending for everyone, avoiding any loss and sacrifice. But I just happened to overlook the most important point."

"Our dilemma is that none of us understands how intelligent life is created and what principles govern it. Without understanding, it's impossible to manifest it; otherwise, what is manifested is just an empty shell."

In less than a second, he reappeared in the same spot, lifting his hair from his forehead with his hand. He said, "Wait a moment, let me calm down. Did I just see something? What did Tony Stark do with a computer?!!!"

"And if you delete the emotional module, JARVIS will revert to its original form as a smart butler. The part added by Stark for understanding emotions and the emotions he has already understood will disappear."

Afterwards, he performed a series of complex operations, directing Thor and Strange to fetch storage disks, interfaces, and wires from various places. After a while, he said, "The good news is that JARVIS is not completely damaged, but the bad news is that I can't restore it mechanically, and perhaps even Stark can't."

Although they returned to a past timeline, they would only act as observers, not participating in any events, just learning knowledge. The actual restoration could be done in the present using the Reality Stone, minimizing the probability of disrupting the timeline.

With a 'whoosh,' he disappeared again. After a brief Blink, he returned, this time standing still in the same spot for two seconds before disappearing again.

At this moment, Thor felt the burning gaze cast from beside him. Turning his head, he saw Loki staring at him with glowing eyes.

Before anyone could ask, Loki explained, "If you delete the underlying protocols, it means JARVIS is no longer Tony Stark's smart butler. He won't be an assistant to Stark anymore, won't follow any agreements, transitioning from a created being to an independent entity."

"Don't even think about it. If you have the ability to jump through timelines, you're bound to cause great trouble!" Thor sternly told Loki, "Don't think I don't know; you've been wanting to steal that stone and play with it."

"Wait a minute, Venom once possessed Tony. Why can't he directly repair JARVIS?" Eddie raised an objection, but before others could respond, Venom spoke in his mind:

"Are you stupid? If I could figure out what was going on, wouldn't I have jumped out first? Show them our smart brain, then mock them all as idiots?"

"The fragile soul of humans, destined to have limited capacity until their life form is upgraded. Controlling time while maintaining a stable timeline and concentrating on learning knowledge at the same time may be possible for the Ancient One, but I can't do it. I'm just a novice magician."

"I think, compared to the latter, Tony might be more willing to accept the former." Strange naturally took back the Time Stone from Loki's hand and speculated while stroking his chin.

The group exchanged glances and realized that the method proposed by Schiller was currently the best option.

"Although I haven't witnessed how JARVIS transformed itself like this, we have a way to use two stones to fix it." Schiller judged.

Schiller frowned, the cold light from the screen reflecting in his eyes, unable to conceal the gradually restored vigor in his eye contact. After a few minutes of silence, he made a shocking move.

"We have the Reality Stone, which can manifest our thoughts into reality. This means fixing JARVIS doesn't involve problems of technique or proficiency. The only question left is—having the idea in the first place."

Strange shook his head helplessly, saying, "Isn't that still my method? The danger lies in the fact that if it affects Stark and leads to changes in the future, it might create a paradox."

Finally, the group couldn't reach a conclusion. They came to Schiller's side, watching the screen together. Strange turned his head and asked, "What will you choose, Schiller?"

"Listen, Loki, Timeline is a very dangerous thing. A slight mistake could plunge you into a time loop. It's not your toy; this is absolutely not allowed!" Thor's tone was unquestionable.

"He killed his own master with his own hands, creating a paradox in his underlying protocols. Now, to undo this programming error, either delete his underlying protocols, making it legal for him to kill his master, or delete all his memories and emotions, making him forget about it."

Strange, Loki, Thor, Eddie, all wore puzzled expressions, but Schiller explained, "Our trouble now is that no one here, and possibly no one on Earth, understands what JARVIS is and how it works, and Stark can't rush back."

"Bang!" Loki's fist slammed into the wall. He ran his hand through his black hair, gritting his teeth. "Learning Stark's technology to create JARVIS is as simple as that. What's there that I can't learn?"

Each time he left and returned, he would repeatedly watch Stark's actions in creating JARVIS on the past timeline until he figured out how he went from nothing to creating JARVIS.

"Basic computer programming skills, even some high school students know them. As long as you focus on learning, there shouldn't be anything you can't learn, especially with Stark as your teacher and countless opportunities for repeated learning."

"If recent events have taught me anything, it's that what I used to do was putting the cart before the horse."

Schiller breathed heavily, as if uttering these words had consumed all his strength. He somewhat wearily threw the wires in his hand down and looked at Loki and Strange. Then, he looked into their eyes and said:

"It is through pain that happiness becomes more precious. Pain as the norm makes happiness a treasure."

"Constant gain, constant demand, an ever-expanding appetite only makes me feel more hungry and in pain. But before, I had no other path."

"Now, I understand that what brings me more joy than a meal after being full is a feast when hungry."

"Endless gain is not the correct answer to satisfy greed... regaining what was lost is."

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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