73 Scientists
"Savant stood at the docks and looked far into the horizon as ships started disappearing beyond the seas. He had been overseeing the overall distribution of the Cure Serum. Each shipment was being protected by a group of stealth robots controlled by Terra AI. As for threats beyond human capabilities, Savant would step in if something like that happened.
"How long before all the shipments are sent out?" Savant asked without turning around.
The logistics manager was an official from the Earth Federation's logistical support division. He checked the logs and replied, "Two more, and we will be done, sir. They should be leaving in an hour."
Savant nodded. "And what about the awareness campaign regarding the serum?"
Safely injecting the serum required some precautions, as even with the hard work put in by both Terra and Savant, it was inevitable that some humans and mutants with unnaturally different genes would face some complications in the process of the serum acting on their genes.
To combat this problem, a hotline was created, and people were instructed to administer the serum only when they had someone by their side, ready to call the hotline at any moment. The hotline would go to Terra who would then sort out the problem and either send a superhero, mage, or, in extreme cases, Savant himself to help treat the complication.
"We have already sent out the announcements to everyone all over the world. The Chancellor has also proposed sending out a worldwide alert using Allspeak, which should be announced right before the first shipment arrives," the official replied.
Savant chuckled, "That's one way of doing it I guess. The most primitive but effective one, just shouting it out to the world."
After the final shipment was sent off, Savant handed over the work to the official and flew back to EAS. The EAS will be welcoming some guests today.
When he arrived in his office, he found the guests were already entering the lobby, so he quickly went down to greet them.
"Welcome to the EAS, mighty heroes!" Savant jokingly greeted the guests.
Tony rolled his eyes, "Wasn't Adam Brashear supposed to give us the tour? I thought we could talk to Blue Marvel about his anti-matter energy."
Hank Pym nodded and greeted back, "Now that you are a big shot, you don't even remember to call me, huh?"
Reed, Bruce, and the others just nodded in acknowledgment and greeting.
"Come on, Hank, you could have just called me instead as well. But we were both busy, that's how things are with people like us. As for the Blue Marvel, he is very strict when it comes to his work. He is currently teaching a class and won't be out for at least another 15 minutes. So you guys got me instead."
Amadeus Cho, the youngest visitor, excitedly said, "Let's go see the cool stuff now."
Amadeus was a recently orphaned genius who was under the care of Hulk and Bruce for the time being. Savant knew him as the kid who would become the new Hulk in the future. However that future was now in question due to Savant's intervention.
"Let's start the tour then. I must warn you guys though, I know all of you are geniuses in one way or another so I would very much appreciate it if you would not try to hack into our system. And Tony, stop Jarvis from infiltrating the network before we counterattack." Savant said sternly before leading the group inside.
The tour was quick, and it didn't really make the heroes feel surprised all that much either. They were all perfectly capable of recreating some of the projects that were being done by the scientists in the EAS. Some of their inventions even far outclassed what was being developed in the EAS.
"How many scientists have joined your little organization then?" Tony asked curiously. He had seen thousands of people walking around in white coats in the massive EAS compound.
"The headquarters employs about ten thousand right now. It should be doubled by the next year. As for the branches that are still being rapidly constructed all over the world, I'd say it's in the millions. The age of prosperity of knowledge is coming. I hope you all will be a part of it and help us move it forward."
Amadeus Cho, who was looking at the scientists using micro-bots the size of ants to create different shapes, turned around in amazement at Savant's words, "You mean you want to hire the heroes? I'm not a hero, can I join too?"
Savant nodded, "Of course. I am not offering the cooperation to the heroes Iron Man or Hulk; I am offering it to the scientists Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. And from what I know, you are an unprecedented genius yourself. We can always use the help of geniuses here. You could even give lectures in the online university of Earth Federation."
Amadeus' eyes sparkled at the prospect of working in the most cutting-edge facility with the planet's greatest minds. And not just that, he would get to give a lecture that would be learned by the whole world.
Hank Pym asked back, "And what would we get out of it?" The others nodded as if to support the statement.
"You will get what you have always wanted. Humanity will progress further than ever, the crime rate will go down significantly, you will get to create a legacy of invention and discoveries, and you will work with the greatest minds on the planet. What more do you want?
I doubt any of you would actually need us to pay you large sums of money, but that will be arranged too. You will still get the recognition you have, if not more, for your inventions. If you have something specific you'd want, EAS will provide it too as long as it is reasonable." Savant replied before taking the platform through a teleportation.
The heroes were in contemplation. The offer that Savant was giving them was very tempting. With Doom becoming the Chancellor, the superhero industry had been slowly drying up recently, with more and more of them being recruited into Doom's army. The villains themselves were disappearing due to Doom.
Reed was the first to look at the garden below them through the window, "Are those the villains you have captured?"
"Yes, this is the last and best part of our tour. You must have been told by Spider-Man about what we are doing here. We have been rapidly capturing, depowering, and helping the villains with their mental illnesses. We have already reformed quite a few of them actually.
That guy over there painting by himself used to be Sand Man. Doctor Octopus is still undergoing therapy for his personality issues and the recent loss of the mechanical arms, but he is recovering too." Savant went on to introduce some more villains.
"What do you do to them after you cure them?" Amadeus asked coldly. His parents were killed by a villain like the guys down in the garden. He still hated that guy with a passion.
"They get to live in captivity for the rest of their lives and help the other scientists with their projects. Only theoretical work, of course; they have no access to any labs for a long time." Savant explained.
"Doesn't sound like much of a punishment to me." Amadeus retorted. He didn't like the idea of villains getting to live their lives in relative comfort while doing scientific research.
"Oh, don't worry about it. The truly heinous ones are not brought here. We kill them on sight, Chancellor's orders. He doesn't want anything that can hinder human progress and cause chaos to roam free." Savant shrugged.
"A tyrant and a dictator then?" Reed retorted with some gloom in his voice.
"Maybe. But you guys have to admit that incidents of random villains jumping out and causing a commotion have almost disappeared in the past few weeks. And it's not like he ordered saints to be killed. At least I won't be mourning the deaths of psychopaths who enjoy hurting people."
Reed snorted at Savant's answer and continued to observe the villains outside the window.
"So, what do you guys say? After the social security net is done, EAS will get the full support of the Earth Federation to build spaceships and colonize Mars. It will be terraformed and used as the production and manufacturing hub for the Federation." Savant gave a surprise announcement.
"And how will you fund such a massive project?" Hank asked.
"By selling the rights to the land on the terraformed Mars. Any corporation, country, or individual is welcome to buy out the fertile and untapped lands on Mars. Of course, they will have to pay out taxes so that the Federation can keep its other projects running." Savant answered.
"Aren't you afraid of some nations or corporations becoming too powerful?" Bruce furrowed his brows. If people with massive resources were allowed to grow unchecked, they might surpass the federation.
"Not really, the federation will continue to hold the greatest military might for a long time. As for the far future where things might change, the Federation will change and evolve to meet the needs of that future as well." Savant answered.
What he was thinking was, as long as I live, that is nothing to worry about. As for if I die for some reason, then it entirely doesn't matter."
