Chapter 1590: The Pursuer of the Sun (31)_1

The biggest issue Shiller's friends had with his treatment previously was that none of those carrying out the treatment had professional knowledge of psychology, psychiatry, or pedagogy, they inferred process from results.

For instance, they thought that Shiller's excessive greed could lead to him harming himself. Hence, the outcome they desired was to prevent Shiller from hurting himself, leading them to deduce that they should not let Shiller be so greedy.

The obvious method to reduce Shiller's greed, then, was to help him lower his threshold. And the way to lower his threshold was to pay him constant attention, not letting him cause trouble.

Such a treatment could not be considered wrong. Yet, just like some parents in the world who force their children towards certain outcomes, even though the intention is good, the process often becomes torturous for both sides, eventually not yielding the desired results, while both parties think the other is being unreasonable, failing to understand them.

The more the desired outcome isn't achieved, the more the contradictions escalate towards extremity. The last time Stark treated Shiller, his treatment only extended as far as ensuring that no one went to him for medical attention. But this time, Strange has resorted to self-harm to deal with Shiller. And if this fails to produce results, both parties would resort to more extreme measures.

What differentiates Professor X from them is that he is a good doctor, as well as a good teacher. His teaching method is not result-oriented. He never tells the students at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, "You must become a powerful mutant," or "You must control your abilities for your whole life without losing control."

His therapy and education methods are often personality shaping oriented; guiding them towards making various behaviors, subtly stabilizing their personality, building correct values, to naturally reach the above aims.

Of course, mutants are a highly complex social issue. Professor X is not facing one or two patients or students, but an entire group.

His situation is somewhat similar to Odin's. Just because an individual barely makes the cut in a test that is way above the knowledge level of their race, doesn't mean he is lacking. In fact, Charles Xavier has already achieved something remarkable by establishing Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and the X-Men within human society. From a single individual's efforts.

Both Dr. Strange and Tony Stark understand this. Hence, when Charles came to Shiller's room in the Tower of Thoughts to take part in the consultation and suggested that he could be Shiller's psychiatrist, neither had any objection.

What they were unsure about was that Professor X insisted that during the process of treating Shiller, Stark and Strange should not interfere. They were allowed to closely observe Shiller's condition, but could not excessively obstruct the treatment, nor could they take extreme measures.

Frankly speaking, Strange and Stark found it challenging to figure out what else apart from extreme measures could limit Shiller.

"Professor Xavier." Strange spoke to Charles in his mind, "Given the serious situation at the Shi'ar Empire's Grand Teleportation Star Zone, I must, of course, lead the Mages there to combat the Destroying Worms. If that's the case, I'll send Shiller to Earth first…"

"No, do not send Shiller back to Earth, take him to the frontlines."

Charles' words completely defied Dr. Strange's expectation. He said in shock, "Send Shiller where? To the frontline against the bugs? But…"

Dr. Strange was confused, even for a moment, he didn't know how to argue that. After a while, he only managed to blurt out one sentence, "But that's very dangerous…"

"Really? Do you guys believe those bugs can threaten Shiller, who even the gods that govern cosmic rules can't harm?"

"But…what's the point?" A puzzled Dr. Strange asked, "Shiller is not a fighter; he hasn't even had a skirmish."

"That's not what you thought when he pointed a ballpoint pen at your head, Dr. Strange."

Dr. Strange was at a loss for words, realizing that he indeed cannot argue with someone capable of mind-reading. Because nobody in this world can hold grudges better than Professor X, not even Magneto, let alone him?

Fortunately, Charles patiently explained, "The method you adopt to deal with Shiller's issue is to have someone watch him, letting him stay in a completely safe environment doing nothing. But if you were in his place, would you be willing to spend your time like that?"

"In the course of treating mental illness, doctors often discourage the patients' families from keeping them at home for too long. Instead, they are encouraged to keep them as busy as possible. In circumstances where the illness is not very serious and there are no signs of aggression, they should normally participate in social activities and work."

A bit of solitude can effectively relieve emotional pressure, but long-term isolation often leads to emotional depression. If the brain's dopamine production remains at a low level due to lack of stimulation, it may even cause depression."

"I have seen many relatives of mentally ill patients who believe that the doctor's advice to 'rest' means to keep the patient in a room, regularly provide water and meals, and let them lie in bed. But, in reality, it's not that simple."

"Emotion regulation is a profound topic. Apart from relieving the patient's stress, sometimes you also have to provide suitable pressure to restore the organ to its normal operating frequency."

"Obviously, what Shiller requires now is not your surveillance or for him to stay in a place all day, eating and sleeping. You must let him experience a different kind of fulfillment, guiding his attention in the right direction, instead of blindly advising him 'You've done too much, so now you can't do anything.'"

Charles' explanation was incredibly simple and easy to understand. Dr. Strange surely understood it, but the wonder of psychology and psychiatry is that they treat something invisible and intangible. Thus, before any progress is noticeable, most people would be skeptical.

But as a doctor, Strange ascribed to a scientific mindset, so he said, "Okay, I think we can give it a try, but if there's a risk of Shiller losing control, we must stop the treatment and find another way."

"Of course." Charles' voice was still mild, and Strange could even imagine his confident smile.

All good doctors in the world are confident in their skills, and Charles Xavier is no different. But unlike Strange, he was very good at explaining, especially to those who lack knowledge in the field.

While Strange opened the portal and embarked on the journey to the Shi'ar Empire's Big Portal New Area Outpost with Shiller, Charles was still explaining to Strange the reasons for his actions.

"Shiller is not a control freak, even if he is, he can't possibly understand everything in the universe. The form of human life determines that they can't see the future like the gods do, the future always holds surprises."

"Then we can exploit this. Humans are always busy dealing with surprises. The bigger the trouble, the more pressure, and the more energy they naturally need to invest. Shiller won't have time to worry about other things while dealing with surprises."

"The chaos of humanity always shocks the gods, we're best at making small matters full of mistakes and accidents. The reason Shiller didn't deal with accidents often before was that he was never directly involved in anything, always scheming behind the scenes."

"Then why don't we let him participate in events like other superheroes? He has an almost negligible chance of getting hurt, and even if there's an accident, his friends like Tony Stark won't stand by."

"Sounds feasible," Strange answered, but he quickly asked, "So how do we get Shiller to participate in this incident like a superhero?"

"How do superheroes get involved?"

"Superheroes generally participate under his arrangement," Strange reluctantly answered. "Regardless of whether they know or whether they are willing, they're always unknowingly pushed to participate in an event under Shiller's plan."

"Then why can't someone else do it? Let others make the plan and let Shiller execute it?"

"But how would Shiller agree to that?" Strange gave a wry smile.

"If he's willing to do nothing in your company, how can you not persuade him?"

Strange frowned in thought for a moment, then said, "You mean, if we tell him directly 'stop making those complicated plans behind the scenes, go fight in the front', he definitely wouldn't be happy. However, if we tell him 'you should stay on Earth, do nothing', he might be willing to fight at the front."

Charles sighed. That's not what he meant. He meant that if Shiller is willing to back down for his friends, a good talk would definitely convince him. However, Strange's understanding wasn't wrong either - it was better to go to the front line for excitement than stay on Earth with someone watching all day and night.

So, he stayed silent. Instead, Strange, who had understood the essence of the window effect, grabbed Shiller, who was about to go off on his own, and said, "Don't go. Come with me to the war meeting of the Three Great Empires."

"I'm only a psychologist, what am I supposed to do at a war meeting?" Shiller turned back to look at Strange in confusion.

"Don't think I don't know. You can also fight. Wait for me while I contact Thor, and recommend you as a staff officer at the mission planning meeting, to lead an army at the front."

"What?!"

Shiller gave a puzzled exclamation, glaring at Strange and saying: "Did you get that wrong? Me, leading troops to fight on the front line?!"

But Strange wasn't joking in the slightest. The more he thought about it, the more he figured Charles was right. The more Shiller wanted to hide behind the scenes, the more he should be brought to the front line. The more trouble Shiller has to deal with immediately, the less time he has to plan for the future, and he'll not be too miserable because of emptiness.

Thinking of this, Strange felt that it was useless to say it to Shiller alone. He must first communicate with Stark and Thor to ensure that the Human United Army has enough say at the upcoming meeting, and can put Shiller in the proper position.

Strange and Shiller arrived at the outpost on the edge of the Big Portal Area, at the located they had previously evacuated to. After delivering Shiller to Professor Xavier, Strange attended the meeting with the ninth Major Kingdom representative.

Besides the few fleets brought by Odin, the nine Major Kingdoms had no other soldiers. Their combat units were mainly individuals as powerful as the Iron Demon God, or Superhero Squads from other universes like the Avengers.

And when Strange stated his intention, everyone was shocked. Stark stared at Strange's face, and said:

"Let Shiller go to the front line? Are you out of your mind?!?!"