PFC Chapter 4129 When the Pumpkin Ripens (1)
Chapter 4129 When the Pumpkin Ripens (1)
Chapter 4129 When the Pumpkins Ripen (Part 11)
"Hey professor, good morning! I bought you coffee. Thanks for yesterday... God, so many chestnuts?!"
Barry stared in surprise at the large box of chestnuts displayed in the center of the living room. He put his coffee on the coffee table, then went over, picked one up, peeled off the spiky shell, and revealed the smooth chestnut inside.
“That’s huge,” Barry said. “It looks perfectly ripe. It should taste delicious.”
Arrogance gestured to him with his eyes to roast chestnuts on the fireplace. Barry peeled a few chestnuts, placed them on the wire mesh, and stuck them into the fireplace.
Then Barry smelled a wonderful aroma and said, "Are these chestnuts some special variety? Why do I smell lemon oil?"
“Because that’s not the taste of chestnuts,” Greed said with a hint of helplessness. “I’m making lemon jam.”
"To serve with chestnuts?"
“I suppose so,” Greed said. “I’m making white chocolate balls with lemon ganache and freshly baked crispy wafers inside, and I’m also planning to add some chestnut puree. Want to try some?”
Barry went over immediately. Greedy scooped some lemon curd into his mouth with a small spoon. After putting it in his mouth, Barry smacked his lips and said, "Not bad, I thought it would be very sour."
"I usually make lemon ganache on the lighter side, maybe with a bit of bitterness, mainly the taste of lemon peel, and it's usually not very sour. Try this white chocolate shell."
Greed gave him another half of the white chocolate shell, a semi-circular, crispy shell that would hold all the filling. Barry took it, chewed it, and said, "It doesn't really taste like chocolate, it's just sweet."
"Of course, white chocolate doesn't count as chocolate. Okay, now that you've eaten my food, go get to work. Clean out that box of chestnuts, roast them, and then put them in a blender to grind them into a paste."
Barry immediately made a face and said, "Isn't this a friendly food tasting? Why do we have to do the work?"
"I know you have the Speed Force, so you shouldn't have to peel all the chestnuts for long. Hurry up..."
Barry had no choice but to miserably start peeling chestnuts. While arrogantly cutting cardstock with a utility knife, he asked, "There are still two murderers to be caught. What brings you here?"
“We worked for several days in a row before, and now that we’ve rescued the hostages, the boss gave us a half-day off, but I still have to go back this afternoon.”
Arrogance nodded. He was about to say something more when his phone rang. He picked it up and heard the voice of the main universe's Batman on the other end: "I'm planning to pay a visit today, Doctor. Are you free?"
"I do have time, but if you come now, you might become very busy."
The main universe's Batman obviously didn't listen to his advice, so about half an hour later, he also sat down by the fireplace and started peeling chestnuts.
The main universe's Batman sighed and said, "I thought it was just a chef inviting me for a friendly tasting..."
"Yes, so besides helping me peel chestnuts, you also need to give me some advice. How's the bitterness of the lemon curd? Is it a bit too strong?"
“I think it’s just right, but kids might not be able to handle the taste, so it would be better to add some more sugar,” the main universe Batman said while peeling chestnuts. “Also, it’ll probably be very hot in the theater, and if your white chocolate crust isn’t thicker, it might melt.”
"You're right." Greed thought for a moment, then went to adjust the temperature of the chocolate again.
"How are you feeling?" Arrogance asked, looking at the main universe's Batman.
"What do you mean? If it's chestnuts, this is indeed my first time peeling them, and I must say they're a bit prickly. It would be much better if I had gloves."
"I'm talking about Brainiac, of course."
The main universe's Batman didn't show any sign of deep thought, clearly indicating that he had already considered things quite thoroughly. He paused for a moment, then continued, "This is a very novel model of governance. If the same person is responsible for everything from the highest ruler to the lowest-ranking personnel, then the efficiency will indeed be unprecedentedly high."
"Don't you think this might be too centralized?"
"There is no perfect system in this world. Every system has its own advantages and disadvantages. As long as the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and the advantages and disadvantages are in balance, the political system can usually operate smoothly. Even if the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, as long as the foundation is strong enough, it can last for a long time."
"In my view, the advantages of the Brainiac regime far outweigh its disadvantages. Its efficiency and execution are so high that no disadvantages are really disadvantages. It is already infinitely close to a perfect system."
"I thought you would think he was an alien being, and therefore might lead the Earth to its destruction."
"If that's the case, he wouldn't have chosen to rule the Earth. Since he has already chosen to rule and govern the Earth, he is probably the one who least wants the Earth to be destroyed, after all, he has put in more effort than any individual on Earth."
The main universe's Batman observed the arrogant expression, then smiled and said, "Did my reaction disappoint you, Doctor?"
"No, you're much more open-minded than I thought."
“I admit I have some anthropocentric tendencies, but I’m not an extreme anthropocentric, otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen to befriend an alien and a demigod. To me, Brainiac and Clark are the same. Whether they are trustworthy depends on their current behavior, not on their racial prejudices that presuppose they will harm humanity in the future. If that’s the case, then even real humans are not many people you can trust.”
“But Clark grew up on Earth, and he has a sense of belonging to Earth, while Brainiac does not.”
How old is Brainiac?
Arrogance shook his head, but he still told the truth: "Although he was created by the Kryptonians a long time ago, his evolution speed was not fast. It was only after he came to Earth that he rapidly iterated and grew."
“That makes him even more like Clark, who also came to Earth as an infant.” The main universe Batman paused again before continuing, “If I had to put it in perspective, Brainiac is a logical being, so he doesn’t have any emotional attachment to Earth. But precisely because he’s unaffected by emotions, he makes the choice to rule rather than destroy Earth, which is also profitable for him. He needs Earth, not the other way around. Although I don’t know why this is the case, I think it’s more reliable than a purely emotional choice.”
“That’s true,” said Arrogance. “Even if he hides in the universe and slowly evolves and develops, humanity is still an obstacle he can’t overcome. It would be better to take over Earth directly and solve the problem at its source.”
"The only thing that worries me is that he wasn't created by humans. This system relies too much on Brainiac, and if he were to have quality issues one day, human society could face even greater chaos."
“Luthor is actively cracking his program, and I don’t think it will take long to figure out what’s going on. But actually, the Justice League has another plan, which originated from you.”
"Originating from me? What plan is it?"
"You gave the Equation of Life to Lucy and had Lucy tamper with the magical defense network in another world, prematurely activating the collective consciousness of humanity. Do you think this can be used on Brainiac?"
The main universe's Batman frowned, deep in thought. He said, "So you want Brainiac to become a life form similar to a planetary consciousness?"
"Yes, because we do feel that the current form of artificial intelligence is not very safe. On the one hand, it is different from our life form, and no matter what, we cannot predict every programming error that may occur. If any error seriously affects people's livelihood, the order will collapse in an instant."
Besides, he did come to Earth as an invader, and it's hard to guarantee he won't revert to his old ways someday. Perhaps it would be better to make him one of our own.
“That makes some sense, but I remember he can listen to all electronic devices, right?” The main universe Batman looked at the phone next to Pride.
"Do you think this is a bad thing for him?"
"Isn't it a bad thing to be influenced by the consciousness of other beings, or even to completely lose oneself?"
“This is indeed unacceptable for intelligent life, but Brainiac is an electronic life form, so he can’t really be considered to have a self. Those so-called breakthroughs in program limitations are just program errors that occur by chance. If everything depends on rigorous logic, then he doesn’t actually have a pre-set, inevitable form of emotional life, so there’s no question of him being ‘influenced’.”
"Like a bewildered little baby?"
“Yes, his future is completely blank, and he obviously doesn’t have the ability to develop a special path. So if he wants to forge his own path, he naturally has to accept the arrangements made by humans.” Arrogance paused for a moment, then continued, “And then, as you said, if the advantages of this matter significantly outweigh the disadvantages, then it’s not unacceptable. Moreover, becoming more inclined to side with humans can’t be considered a disadvantage; in some ways, it should be considered an advantage.”
After thinking for a moment, Batman from the main universe said, "So you want Lucy to help him have a real soul?"
“Actually, he’s just a little bit away.” A greedy voice came from the kitchen. “This war has given him far more than you can imagine. He’s just one last barrier away from breaking through the limitations of electronic life and becoming a being closer to the origin.”
“If you think this is acceptable, then I will help,” said the main universe Batman. “However, this is not a simple matter, and it may require some preparation.”
Then they started talking about the previous war. Actually, the main universe Batman had already seen a lot of information online; after all, it was a great victory worth celebrating, and Brainiac was naturally going all out to promote it.
“Perhaps you’re overcomplicating things,” the main universe Batman said. “You think I don’t deal with enemies this way because I don’t trust anyone or have something on my mind, but that’s not the case. It’s just that I know this kind of thing probably won’t happen in my universe. Even if I did have such thoughts, there wouldn’t be the opportunity or the conditions.”
Arrogance was startled; he almost thought the main universe Batman had broken the fourth wall. The main universe Batman was indeed right, because in a large universe, a major plot breakthrough doesn't necessarily mean the arrival of a new era, but rather that a reboot is imminent.
In long-running comics, in order to have a rich story, the plot needs to be pushed forward little by little. If a deus ex machina is introduced and the story is pushed to a super-future timeline, then there will be very little room for further development. So if the story is pushed too far, then it can only be completely overturned and started over.
Therefore, if the Batman of the main universe wants to improve the environment of the main universe, he can only do it little by little, and only he can do it, because he is the mainstay of the universe and the most popular character. What people like to see is how he uses his abilities to fight crime and change the world. If all the spotlight is given to someone like Brainiac, readers will definitely not be happy. So the Batman of the main universe cannot use this method. Even if he wanted to do it, all sorts of unexpected obstacles would inevitably arise to hinder him, and in the end, everything would return to square one.
He managed to kill both Apokolips and Darkseid by exploiting the mechanisms of another universe. Fortunately, Darkseid became a multiverse-level being and will eventually return; otherwise, a reboot might have been necessary.
However, Arrogance quickly calmed down. He knew that the main universe's Batman would likely consider this a law of the universe, and he would continue to explore and utilize it, which was a good thing. As for the so-called readership and popularity theory, Anatoly had already explained it; it wasn't exactly a complete dimensional reduction attack, but rather more like two complementary forces, so even if he knew it, it wouldn't matter much.