章 3944: 3058
Shiller roughly scanned the people in the hall. At this moment, about 100 people were gathered here, roughly 30 people from each power. From their physiques and mental states, it was clear that these were the elite of the elite. These individuals would likely become the mainstay of the Justice League in the future.
Of course, the future wouldn't be limited to just these people, but this first group was crucial. They were the most important foundation for the work that would follow, and the management and training of these people could not be taken lightly.
Fortunately, both Bruce and Oliver had solid management experience. Both came from prominent families—Bruce managed Wayne Enterprises, and Oliver had led the Mexican Revolutionary Army. These two organizations each managed tens of thousands of people, so handling a few hundred here was easy for them.
Soon, the teams in the hall were organized. They used the simplest method of lining up by height, counted the people, and once the list was confirmed, they began to draw lots to decide the classes.
The basic training had no targeted courses; it mainly involved getting acquainted with social conditions. Therefore, there was no need to divide classes by race and superpower; the classes were mainly for organizing living areas.
The 100-plus people were divided into four classes, with each class having 25 to 30 people, one class leader for each class. Bruce and Oliver served as homeroom teachers with each taking charge of two classes. Apart from teaching, others were also responsible for logistical management.
Since Shiller was drawing a consultant's salary from the Justice League, and since he was there, he took up the role of a psychology professor.
However, for these students, psychology was not a very important subject. Shiller had only about two to three classes per week, so his teaching load was light.
But this did not mean his work was easy because he also had to conduct remote meetings for graduate and doctoral students and give online classes to undergraduates, keeping him busy all week.
Bruce and Clark took the students on a tour of the living area, while Diana, accompanied by Shiller and Oliver—both visiting for the first time—took them to see the dormitories and the offices.
The living area on Mercury Base was unlike any other residence they had lived in before; it lacked any sense of domestic life and featured a technological feel.
Just like many movies depicted, the bedrooms had metallic floors and walls with sleeping pods resembling small spacecraft, and the offices boasted holographic projection screens paired with floating chairs. The lighting was completely hidden; it was bright but you couldn't tell exactly where the light was coming from.
Shiller liked to call this decorating style the "Stark aesthetic."
In fact, Stark could have technically built ordinary houses inside Mercury Base, but he chose not to. He was the kind of person who feared that others might not recognize the technological content of his creations and insisted on stacking all the technology visibly on the surface.
Shiller actually quite liked this minimalist style because it was spacious and bright, and it featured an automatic cleaning function, meaning he didn't need to do any cleaning.
Oliver was clearly also satisfied. He and Shiller lived opposite each other, sharing a very spacious office, and when Shiller was busy with other tasks, Oliver could even monitor his studies through the screen.
Now, it was about lunchtime. Diana ordered meals through an electronic screen, and about ten minutes later, the robots delivered hot food, which Shiller discovered was freshly made.
"Most of the facilities here needed to sustain basic survival run automatically; we just need to be prepared with the raw ingredients," Diana explained.
"You mean we need to transport ingredients from Earth?" Oliver asked.
"No, no, no, having plant seeds is enough. Planting, rearing, harvesting, cooking—all of that is done by machines," Diana said. "According to Bruce, this system includes some space-tested seeds, but they need some time to grow. So, Clark still managed to bring some food along with nutritional supplements, which should be enough for everyone."
"That's amazing," Oliver remarked, holding a coffee cup.
"Actually, the most incredible thing here is the energy system," Diana clearly had discussed this with Bruce previously. She continued, "The energy system can extract almost unlimited clean energy from the sun and send it back to Earth in the form of electromagnetic waves."
"They've actually achieved infinite energy? I mean, from the technology of this cosmos?"
"Yes, but this is only the threshold of interstellar exploration. All civilizations that have ventured beyond their star systems have achieved what we call narrow infinite energy; it's just a matter of extraction and utilization efficiency."
"Narrow infinite energy, so it's still not infinite enough?"
"Yes, in our view, the sun's energy is endless, but that's only because we use so little of it. I've heard that one of the Three Great Empires in their universe consumes the energy of a sun every two minutes."
"Good heavens, that's hard to imagine."
"But at their level, they possess another form of infinite energy," Shiller said. "Plus, there are Universe administrators who maintain a dynamic balance between the cosmos's mass consumption and growth, promptly stopping any abnormal consumption."
"What qualifies as abnormal consumption?"
"The consumption of civilization's development isn't abnormal, but we must beware of strange phenomena like other universe invasions," Shiller said. "He often listened to Greed talking eloquently within the High Tower and understood the abstract like Eternity and the concrete aspects of the work."
Oliver looked down at his watch and said, "Why haven't Clark and the others returned yet? Is the residential area over there very large?"
"The entire base's residential area is unimaginably large," Diana said somewhat admiringly. "It is from the scale of this base that I truly realize how advanced that universe is. At its peak, there might be 40,000 to 50,000 employees working here simultaneously, and everything was orderly, not chaotic at all."
"That's amazing," Oliver said, putting down his sandwich. "We'll have our day too; there's no need to rush."
"However, I think they didn't come over because they are not having lunch here," Diana continued. "There are still some tasks left unfinished on Earth, maybe we will only see them at dinner."
"Are there still some people we need to fetch?" Shiller asked. "I haven't seen any of the civilian youth heroes on Earth."
"Yes, we have contacted many of them, and the vast majority are willing to join. Upon preliminary assessments, we have selected a few, but since they are scattered all over the place, they might arrive sometime within the next week."
"Who exactly?" Shiller asked.
"Based on the list from other universe's Robin and the Teen Titans, we found Cassandra Cain who is still in Hong Kong, the Blue Beetle who just graduated from college and started a company but suffered a business crisis, the Golden Vanguards who was kicked out of the sports team due to betting on games, the Magic Twins who landed on Earth not long ago and caused a lot of trouble, and Heavenly Sign, who is like a weakened version of Professor X but has the ability to prophecy..."
"Haven't found Starfire?" Shiller asked.
Diana shook her head and said, "According to the information Hal sent back, Starfire hasn't arrived at Earth yet. He has Green Lantern keeping an eye on her. If she approaches Earth, we will receive a message."
"What about the Spoiler?"
"Stephanie? We found out her father's identity, but he escaped from jail during the first freeze of Gotham and has been missing ever since. She hasn't been active in Gotham either," Diana replied.
"Our universe is too different from the others," Diana continued, shaking her head. "Firstly, it's younger, many members of the Justice League from other universes haven't even appeared yet, so we can't find them, like so far, we haven't heard anything from Martian Manhunter."
"Those we did find are either too young to be superheroes or had their destinies altered and simply became ordinary people. We can't force them to follow the paths of those in other universes."
"The young heroes we can find are mostly natural superpower users, and their ages are also suitable. Most importantly, they are willing to come. If they aren't, we cannot force them."
Oliver shook his head and said, "Some are too indecisive. I guess many among them faced troubles in ordinary society and see this place as a shelter, or they are simply after fame and fortune."
"Although it's not to say that we can't recruit for that reason, using it as motivation, it might be hard for them to keep up with the rigorous training."
"I've also discussed this issue with Bruce," Diana said, touching her ear and nodding. "We will try our best to set goals for the young heroes, to let them have their own ideals. I believe they can also feel the charm of this cause, but if not, then perhaps they aren't the successors we are looking for."
"Don't worry too much, Oliver," Shiller also spoke up. "There's no shortage of young geniuses on Earth. Even if they are unwilling now, when humanity steps into the interstellar era, in order not to be eliminated, they must strive to keep up with everyone else."
Oliver nodded and said, "Bruce and Clark both told me to talk more with the young ones. They think I can guide them."
"Of course, you can," Diana said. "You are the spiritual leader of the Justice League, and in some ways, we are all here because of you."
"You don't need to do much, just to keep thinking and stay sober here, and you've already contributed to the Justice League and the entire human race."
Shiller also looked at Oliver and nodded. Diana was a very practical person, not one to flatter meaninglessly, nor was she one to comfort against her conscience. She always spoke the truth and was realistic.
And the fact is, Oliver Queen is one of the most iconic spiritual leaders, not just in the Justice League but globally—a true non-nationalist and revolutionary.
Clark, Arthur, and Hal had followed him in guerrilla warfare in Mexico. Bruce and Lex had provided him support from behind, Diana campaigned for him in the international social circles, and even Shiller often communicated with him, discussing philosophy and idealism.
So long as he existed, his presence could inspire people, providing endless strength, enabling the youth to witness a living legend, and thereby find their own direction.
Diana's phone buzzed, and after checking it, she said, "Bruce and the others are back, they've brought some newcomers too. Shall we go have a look?"
"Let's go," Shiller and Oliver both stood up and said.
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