Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4606 - 3685 Movie Plan (1)

The Holy Sanctuary was as busy as ever, with employees coming and going. Telephones flashing with magic light flew incessantly. In addition to the hurried tones of the customer service agents, there were the loud voices of various demon gods. The sound of high heels and leather shoes striking the wooden floor mixed within. The sharp, intense beep of the coffee machine was like a sudden pause.

Strange's office, however, was exceptionally quiet. The floating bookshelf trembled slightly in the air. The magic carpet similarly suspended was piled with scrolls. A large cauldron in the corner of the room emitted the scent of exotic spices. The cloak draped over a single sofa managed to present a somewhat drowsy demeanor from a piece of soft fabric.

Entering the office, Stark unbuttoned his suit, sitting on another single sofa by the window. Strange walked out of the resting room, waved to close the door.

He placed the red wine and decanter he was holding on the table beside him, pouring wine as he spoke: "Where are you coming from? The Avengers' base or the Stark Building?"

"Neither, I just got back from the Arkham Sanatorium. Shiller has highly praised your speech during the congressional inquiry, calling you 'the strongest Supreme Magician in history.'"

Strange held a glass of wine in one hand, placed the wine in his right hand in front of Stark, himself sat on another single sofa. He took a sip and then snorted coldly, saying, "Doesn't sound like a real compliment."

Stark leaned his body towards him, resting his elbow on the armrest, saying, "Seriously, your speech was indeed impressive. You scared those sleepy old men quite a bit. How did you think of persuading them that way?"

"I thought of it? I don't think so." Strange took another sip of wine, saying, "I fear our good Doctor had long anticipated I would speak that way."

"He taught you, then it's no surprise. But didn't he say he wouldn't involve himself in this matter?"

"He didn't teach me word by word, but what he said made me understand a principle." Strange roughly recounted what he said with Shiller that day.

Stark made a knowing expression, then said, "So his meaning is, you should honestly tell the congressmen the truth about magic as an ordinary person, and let them make their own choice?"

Strange snorted coldly, saying, "His meaning is, rather than spending effort arguing with them, make it so they have no choice!"

"Haven't you noticed? Shiller almost never argues, nor does he choose for ordinary people. He's only choosing for all of us but doesn't tell us!"

Stark was still somewhat confused. Strange spread his hands, saying, "When he wants you, us, the whole Earth to do something, does he hold a meeting to consult our opinions? Isn't it always when things are nearly finished that we find out?"

"But..." Stark shook his head, saying, "He did have some logic. At the time he suggested researching aerial transportation system technology, it was indeed just a suggestion. We ourselves thought the idea was good, so we proceeded with the research..."

"Did he tell you then that this might lead to unemployment issues?"

"Uh... Come on, he isn't a Seer. We can't ask him to foresee the future, right?"

"Do you think he can't foresee it?"

Stark was silent for a moment, saying, "Your meaning is, he indeed didn't force us, he only guided us, showed us the good side of something, but hid the potential bad side?"

Strange shook his head again, saying, "No. He only lets you know the information that can advance these matters, but hides the information that could block something. The information that promotes matters is both good and bad. The good part is an enticing benefit, telling you the benefits of achieving this; the bad part is intimidation, telling you the dangers of not doing this. Just like what I did at Congress."

"I told them magic was dangerous. If you don't build a school and institute, magic could easily get out of control. This gives them no choice. I also told them building a school is to recruit talents from the Multiverse, ensuring our cosmos has more magic talent, which is a benefit, letting them willingly act. Scaring with a slap and offering a sweet date, using both approaches can easily persuade others."

"When he said these words, I started thinking about some of his past actions." Strange placed both hands on the armrests, saying, "Then I realized how to persuade Congress."

"So he wants to build this magical school?"

Strange shook his head again, saying, "When he started investigating the environmental issues, it proved that the magical school will certainly be built. No matter how many hurdles and turns the process faces, the final result will not change. It's just that he doesn't plan to build it immediately; dragging it for three to five years or even ten years is normal."

"What if you hadn't learned this negotiation technique?" Stark still turned his head to look at Strange, saying, "He didn't explicitly tell you. What if you didn't grasp it or didn't perform well at the inquiry, leading to losing the argument?"

"Then it wouldn't be long before a Magician's out-of-control incident erupts somewhere. The Federal Government would be concerned about causing panic, would suppress the matter, then send people to handle it. Except Congress will surely realize the danger of magic through this event. Factual evidence is much more potent than speeches."

Stark leaned back against the chair, saying, "Magicians all listen to you, how could it get out of control? If he himself steps in, he'd surely be at odds with you orthodox magicians. You could stand up to expose him then."

"He wouldn't truly launch an attack. He only needs to simulate such an attack. The congressmen won't verify if it's real, and they couldn't find out even if they tried." Strange said after taking a sip of wine.

"Then how will he access a virtual platform? Through a short video platform?"

"Of course, through S.H.I.E.L.D.! As long as the agents discover, investigate, and handle it, the entire matter can be resolved within S.H.I.E.L.D. Organizations like the Federal Bureau of Investigation don't understand magic, so the senators can only get information from S.H.I.E.L.D. Isn't it just whatever they say it is?"

"But why would S.H.I.E.L.D. help Shiller? You know, Nick is against the establishment of a Magic Academy."

"Obviously because handling magic-related incidents requires at least 50,000 agents, 250,000 trainee agents, and 2,500,000 agent assistants, costing 3 billion in defense funds!"

Stark clicked his tongue; he had forgotten about this. Strange continued, "Besides, his opposition is only because monitoring visitors from other worlds would needlessly add many tasks to S.H.I.E.L.D."

"But wouldn't that mean more funds?"

"Getting the money and being able to spend it are two different things. Spending money to keep an eye on Spider Man is, of course, a lucrative deal because they are mostly well-behaved and won't cause any trouble. Even if some unexpected incidents occur, Nick fully has the ability to clean up the mess for them. But Batman? Unless next year's defense budget doubles and is all allocated to S.H.I.E.L.D., it will definitely be more risk than reward."

Stark sighed and said, "That's indeed a problem. Is there no way to stop them from coming?"

"Batman won't miss this opportunity. It would be fine if they send an adopted child, but what if they send their own son? In any case, you can't stop a father from visiting his son, can you?"

Strange turned his palm over, glanced to the side, and sighed lightly, saying, "Moreover, we must find a way to ensure that those who come are on our side. If a few Evil Batmen sneak in, that would be a big problem."

Stark obviously understood this as well. He said, "But there are a few Batmen we know well, aren't there?"

"You'll have to ask Shiller about that. He has some otherworldly knowledge about people from both worlds. His choices should not be wrong. But we can't rely solely on him; we need to have some understanding ourselves."

"If that's the case, I think there are still many things to prepare, and it's probably not something that can be rushed," Stark lightly tapped the rim of his wine glass with his fingers and said, "To solve the problem from the root, the school's building must be sufficiently secure. It would be best if it could be completely isolated from the outside world. It's starting to make sense why Shiller studies environmental protection."

"Of course. If isolation from the outside world can be truly achieved, many issues would be easily resolved. But in reality, that's difficult. Even Kamar-Taj hasn't completely achieved it, and that's up in the Himalayas. In Massachusetts, a magical town might form directly nearby."

The more he thought about it, the more troublesome it seemed, Stark lamented, "Do you think that opposing senator will use their veto power?"

"At least not in the next meeting," Strange said, "They are also worried that I'll expose the dangers of magic to the public. If I let ordinary people know what's going on but they still veto, it will surely cause a lot of dissatisfaction."

"Will you make it public?"

Strange shook his head and said, "There's no need. In fact, the talk in Congress is exaggerated. After all, we are different from Mutants. Magic energy is not inherently active energy, you could even say it's inert. Mobilizing it requires careful consideration. If not disturbed, it won't have any impact."

"That's true. Your teleportation portals are small and discreet, they hardly cause any commotion. Comparatively, Magneto's wormholes are much louder. This might also reflect the different nature of the energies."

"I'd prefer to think it reflects Magneto's character. He doesn't care how much his actions impact others, but Mages are different. We strive to be as low-profile as possible, ideally staying completely out of society and not causing any significant impact."

Strange finished the wine in his glass and said, "Mages aren't inherently powerful. Even if magical talent is innate, and the compatibility with a Demon God's energy is also innate, without cultivation, even infinite energy can't be converted into something useful. In a way, this is similar to most ordinary people, who improve themselves through learning. Hence, we have a complete education system."

"Quite the opposite of Mutants," Stark said, "Their strength types and forms vary greatly, and their methods of control are entirely different. This makes it difficult for them to establish a complete education system. Whether a strong individual emerges is reliant on luck. Therefore, I believe they can only be the sharp edge of humanity, but not the cornerstone, while Mages can be."

"Exactly." Strange put down his wine glass and said, "Mutants, through media propaganda, have partially changed the public's perception. I think Magicians can do the same. So I won't emphasize the dangers of magic to the public. Instead, I should package magic as romantically as possible, so at least they won't resent it. That way, if they have a magic talent and need to enroll, they won't be too resistant."

"It seems you already have an idea," Stark said, "Care to share?"

"It's not exactly my strategy. Do you remember our time studying at the Magic Academy in Shiller's High Tower? I think it was quite good. Shiller said it was from a novel, but clearly, we don't have that here. I'm planning to ask him more about the plot and other details, then integrate our own stories to make a movie. What do you think?"

"Sounds good." Stark nodded, "I think the Stark Group can invest, but I strongly suggest removing the rowing scene. Who would find rowing in the cold wind at night romantic?"

"Of course, you wouldn't because you don't know how to row at all. You nearly got us all dumped in the lake!"

"It's because the boat was too small, and I'm not used to being turned into a child. Plus, the wind on the lake was too strong. Have you heard of aerodynamics? Clearly, it's not my fault..."