Chapter 861: Glittering Stars, Rotten Hearts (Part 6) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

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"In this battle, he is not alone," Schiller remarked with a smile in the Arkham Sanatorium's office. "There will certainly be many mysterious organizations sharing information about this plan with him and offering some insignificant suggestions."

"What puzzles me is, what's in it for you? Don't tell me you're feeling philanthropic and just want to help mutants?" Strange took a sip of water and said, "I don't have any special feelings towards mutants. Although I don't harbor hatred towards them, I don't have any fondness either. Back in my high school days, I missed an exam because a mutant classmate's abilities suddenly went haywire, and they can be quite troublesome."

"I think whether it's using Asgard to eliminate the Red Gate Orchid device or leveraging Molten Steel's production to influence Wakanda, or even Nick's equipment support, it's all just temporary measures," Stark sighed. "The conflict between ordinary people and mutants will never end. Even if ordinary folks want it to end, there will always be someone who doesn't, and so it will never truly end."

"That's how humans are, always picking on the weakest among their own kind. The rich bully the poorest among them, and the poor, in turn, bully those even less fortunate, even beggars pick on those weaker than themselves. It's the dark side of human nature," Stark shook his head.

"Indeed, without the Red Gate Orchid plan, they will have Plan B and Plan C. As long as mutants don't go extinct, the conflict between the two sides will persist," Schiller leaned back in his chair, looking at Stark. "Why do you think ordinary people are so averse to mutants?"

"Because of their unpredictability, of course," Strange replied.

"On the surface, yes, but it's much more than that," Schiller nodded. "Correct, the sudden eruption of mutant abilities can cause harm, but have you ever thought about who gets harmed?"

"Who?" Strange looked at Schiller with curiosity, sensing that Schiller had some insightful thoughts on this matter, which piqued his interest.

Schiller wore a mocking smile as he said, "Imagine if one day a mutant's abilities went haywire on a subway. Who do you think he's more likely to harm – a politician who drives luxury cars daily with a line of bodyguards or a working-class commuter rushing to work every day on the subway?"

"Definitely the latter," Strange answered without hesitation. He paused for a moment and added, "Those rich folks wouldn't be caught dead on the subway."

After saying this, he shot a meaningful glance at Stark, who awkwardly cleared his throat and said, "I'm not used to physical contact with others, and the signal in the subway is terrible; it would disrupt my work."

"Let me give you another example. If a mutant suddenly erupted, causing harm to two individuals – one being Peter, who is still in his teenage years and hasn't gained Spider-mutation abilities yet, and the other being Tony, who is also young but has inherited a substantial fortune. Both of them suffer equally severe injuries. Whose life is more affected?" Schiller inquired.

"Definitely Peter," Tony replied while clutching his arm. "His family's financial situation is already struggling, barely above the poverty line. If Peter gets injured, his uncle and aunt would be extremely worried and would have to leave someone at the hospital with him, at least."

"Out of two working individuals, if one stops working, the family income is immediately halved, but expenses increase several-fold due to Peter's medical treatment. As for me, ordinary injuries are not a problem, and even if I were disabled, I could create prosthetics," Tony explained.

"So, we can conclude that the likelihood of harm and the severity of the harm that mutants inflict upon the poor is much greater than that upon the wealthy," Strange tapped the armrest and said. "People like him, how many are there in the world? Most people are in a situation similar to my previous family, living comfortably but with little surplus."

"Correct, the current situation is that in this country, a tiny elite class determines the fate of the majority," Schiller affirmed.

Stark and Strange exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement. Schiller continued, "These elite individuals are aware that mutants pose less actual harm to them. Their chances of encountering a mutant outbreak are much smaller than those of ordinary people, and even if they do suffer harm, they can afford the losses."

"But have you noticed that this group of people's anti-mutant sentiments are even stronger than those of the general public?" Strange stroked his chin and said, "Based on my experience working in a hospital, it does seem to be the case. Hospitals often treat mutants with deformities, and regular nurses or interns might only complain about the unsettling wounds or the added workload due to their complicated conditions."

"But our Vice Director often curses, saying that these mutants should just die and never appear in their hospital again."

"Why do you think that is?" Schiller asked.

Strange furrowed his brows, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Actually, those mutant injuries aren't any more challenging to treat than injuries suffered by ordinary people. If you've seen people involved in severe accidents, you'd know that the extent of bodily harm can be equally bizarre. Nurses are accustomed to such cases."

"However, the hospital I used to work at was a private institution, and the Director had a stake in it. His income was tied to the hospital's revenue. If a large-scale event occurred due to mutant abilities causing harm to people, the hospital would be overwhelmed with patients, accompanied by journalists who love reporting on such incidents."

"Due to the media and journalists, the Director couldn't just kick them out. However, many of these people couldn't afford the exorbitant medical fees of a private hospital. More importantly, as the number of patients increased, it occupied recovery rooms that were previously reserved for affluent patients. Those who reserved such rooms are genuinely wealthy individuals. In the end, this quarter's financial statement is bound to look bleak."

"In other words, the anger and hatred of the general population towards mutants are mostly due to threats to their livelihood, such as being delayed for work or school because of mutants, increased workload caused by mutants, or even losing their lives in accidents. However, for most of the elite class, their hatred towards mutants stems from the loss of their interests."

"That's the case for most of them," Stark chimed in. "I've heard some shareholders complain, but many of them have never even seen mutants. They're just spending extra money on security measures to prevent potential incidents caused by mutants going berserk, and that's why they despise mutants."

"That's indeed true," Schiller said, leaning on the armrest. "However, not everyone deserves to lose their interests. They work hard to run their industries, and not being able to accept losses is also normal."

"But there's another type of people, those who talk about principles but prioritize business in their hearts. They gain more interests from opposing mutants through this behavior."

"Some politicians use this stance to gain votes for themselves, and some businesses choose sides to please the majority of their customers. Ironically, these people have more influence and power than ordinary folks, determining the future direction of the country."

"In other words, many people don't oppose mutants out of sympathy for the common people but because it's profitable. The same goes for those who devised this plan."

"They don't hate mutants because they want to prevent them from joining the Solar System development plan; rather, they want to prevent mutants from joining the plan so that they can gain a bigger share of the pie. Their motivation to hate mutants is rooted in their pursuit of interests."

Schiller looked at Stark and Strange, both of whom nodded, agreeing with his analysis.

In fact, many of the people who passionately oppose mutants have never even seen mutants.

If you scour the media reports on anti-mutant sentiments, you'll find that many of them contain factual inaccuracies in their language and wording, and there's even one newspaper that confused mutants' X genes with Y genes. Some individuals chimed in, saying that Y genes should be eliminated.

"In summary, since these people can oppose mutants for the sake of their interests, as long as the interests are significant enough, they can also worship mutants as gods. They can twist their opinions at the speed of money," Stark squinted at Schiller and said, "Are you suggesting we use bribery? But now, the greatest interest they can obtain is through their anti-mutant stance. It's a way to divert domestic conflicts. If you want to persuade them to change their minds, you'll need to offer even greater interests."

Schiller shook his head, saying, "That is indeed one approach, but it's too labor-intensive, and I've tried it before. I proposed that I could help them deal with domestic conflicts once and for all, but they called me a radical leftist."

"I'm not planning to engage in such thankless efforts again. We'll try a different approach," Schiller smiled and continued, "We may not be able to increase the interest they gain from praising mutants, but we can increase the losses they incur from rejecting mutants."

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

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 862: A Shining Galaxy of Rotten (Part Seven)