Chapter 490: Shiller's New Industry (Part 1)_1

Inside the Corps Commander's Office in the Green Lantern Corps' Headquarters, Tylenol and Shiller shook hands.

Tylenol learned from Hal that shaking hands is a custom from Earth. His initiation of the act indicated he had faith in Hal's judgement and believed that Shiller indeed had the abilities to help them break through their current predicament.

Shiller made a "please" gesture. Tylenol and Hal took the seats on both sides of the table while Shiller sat in front of them.

Hal turned to Shiller and said, "As I mentioned before, we are currently facing a severe situation. On one hand, the Green Lantern energy is running low, and voices of discontent have begun to emerge among our subordinate sectors. On the other hand, the Guardians of the Universe aim to create a Green Lantern Military Police Team to limit Green Lantern Corps."

Having heard Hal excluding the topic of kickbacks, Tylenol cleared his throat and put on a serious face: "Exactly, Hal has said that you're quite experienced in handling such affairs..."

Shiller, with his head slightly lowered, chuckled: "I'm sure there are many talented individuals in the Green Lantern Corps. It's not necessary that I alone carry this burden. Things change over time and currently, we're drastically short of hands. My suggestions will probably only serve as a catalyst, it won't hurt to listen."

"Enough with the courtesies." Hal interrupted Shiller's bureaucratic rhetoric: "There isn't any surveillance in this room. We're all in the same boat now. How should we break the impasse?"

Shiller glanced at Hal, his gaze indicating, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

He then ditched his forced smile, and took out two documents, passing one to Tylenol and the other to Hal.

Tylenol squinted at the document's cover, "Military expansion plan? What's the meaning behind that?"

"Just as it reads." Shiller placed his hands on the table, "Expanding the army means increasing the military strength."

Tylenol seemed perplexed upon glancing at the proposal. He said, "Increase the military strength? But our energy is already running short, wouldn't the situation be worse off if we enroll more people?"

"And besides, their motivation to form a constabulary is because they're wary of us. By pushing for military expansion at this time, wouldn't we provoke them?"

Hal turned to Shiller and questioned, "At a time like this, isn't it better to maintain a small team?"

"Correct, but expanding the army doesn't necessarily mean increasing the number of troops, rather it refers to expanding the military structure."

Tylenol appeared thoughtful. Clearly having experience in this area, he seemed to anticipate something. Then, he saw Shiller flipping through the documents while speaking,

"According to my knowledge, the cosmos has been divided into 3,600 sectors so far. As per the rules, each sector is supposed to have one Green Lantern. But, that is not the case in reality..."

Tylenol let out a sigh, thinking Shiller was stuck on the same problem Hal was wrestling with. He started explaining,

"I think you understand that the system of assigning a Green Lantern to each sector is merely a theoretical one. Even if we assigned one Green Lantern to every ten sectors, we would still need 360 Lantern Furnaces..."

"Ignoring the cost of building these furnaces, the logistical problem of their traveling to headquarters to recharge their energy is unmanageable..."

"And if a Green Lantern unfortunately perishes in one sector, and the sector can't immediately choose another Green Lantern, then a Green Lantern from a neighboring sector will have to oversee their operations."

"Then, what is going to happen with that Green Lantern's original sector? What if hundreds of Green Lanterns become unable to participate in their duties at the same time, who would oversee their sectors? If a Green Lantern can't handle a problem in their sector, and needs help, then what happens to the wipeout operations in the helping Green Lantern's sector?"

"The aforementioned solution isn't feasible at all. Hence, the corps employs a sector-responsibility system. Around 100 sectors form a larger district, establishing a permanent squad. About 20 sectors form a smaller district, establishing a patrol squad..."

Shiller nodded, "Absolutely, this is a more practical approach. Although it's still a bit rudimentary, but it's barely manageable. The issue I'm pointing out is the problem in the Green Lantern Corps' logistical support system."

"At least, on my home planet, Earth, logistics are of foremost importance. But ..." Shiller was somewhat hesitant as he looked through the documents, "I didn't see any logistical structure in the Green Lantern Corps' organization. How do you deal with logistical issues?"

"Logistics? What do you mean by that? Paperwork?"

"Not just that, also the maintenance of hardware facilities, intelligence gathering, medical treatment, prospecting, monitoring, all of this is missing, right?"

Tylenol spread out his hands, "I'm aware that, on Earth, the army has those positions. It's the same on my planet, but that's because we're both relatively primitive surface-dwelling species."

"Actually, the power of the Green Lantern is immense. The Lantern Furnace neither damages, nor depletes, and the limited number of engineers at the Headquarters more often maintain the breeds around the Lantern Furnace than the furnace itself."

"The Green Lantern ring houses an encyclopedia of the entire galaxy. All Green Lanterns can upload the information they have collected for every other Green Lantern to view."

"The Green Lantern ring has innate healing abilities, and we can treat any injuries incurred by the Green Lanterns anywhere, anytime. Simultaneously, the ring also performs multifaceted scans - biotic, terrain, space, environment, etc. There's no need for additional reconnaissance or monitoring."