Chapter 861: Splendid Stars (Part 6)_1

"He's not in this battle alone this time."

In the office of Arkham Sanatorium, Shiller chuckled, "There will undoubtedly be several mysterious organizations attempting to leak the plan to him and giving some insignificant suggestions."

"What I'm puzzled by is, what benefit does this bring to you? And don't tell me you're simply being kind-hearted, trying to help mutants?" Strange took a sip of water and continued, "I don't have any special feelings towards mutants. I don't hate them, but I don't particularly like them either. After all, an explosive outburst of a mutant classmate in my school days caused me to miss an exam. They are quite a bother."

"I believe whether it's using Asgard to remove the Lan device from the Red Gate or holding Wakanda hostage with molten steel production, or even Nick's equipment support, they are all just temporary solutions." Stark sighed, "The confrontation between ordinary people and mutants will never end. Even if ordinary people want it to, someone else doesn't. And so the fight continues indefinitely."

"Humans are like this, always bullying the weakest amongst their own kind. The rich take advantage of the poorest among them, and the poor in turn take advantage of those poorer than themselves. Even beggars bully those weaker than they are. This is the inherent inferiority of humanity." Stark shook his head and said.

"Indeed, even if the Red Gate Lan plan is put to an end, there will be plan B and plan C. The confrontation between the two sides won't cease... as long as mutants exist," Shiller said, leaning back in his chair.

Looking at Stark, he asked, "Why do you think ordinary people are so resistant to mutants?"

"Of course, because they are unpredictable."

"Indeed, that appears to be the case on the surface, but it's not just that."

Shiller nodded and said, "Yes, the sudden outburst of a mutant's power can cause harm. But have you ever thought about who gets harmed?"

"Who?" Strange looked at Shiller curiously, feeling that Shiller would have an insightful thought to share, which he found very compelling.

Shiller flashed an ironic smile, "If one day, a mutant's power erupted on a subway, who do you think they are more likely to hurt? The politicians traveling in luxury cars each day with a row of bodyguards or the office workers rushing to catch the subway every day?"

"Of course, it's the latter." Strange answered without hesitation. He paused, then continued, "Those rich guys would never take the subway."

After he said this, he kept glancing at Stark. Stark awkwardly closed his mouth and added, "I'm not comfortable with physical contact with others, and the signal in the subway is bad, it will delay my work…"

"Let's take another example. Suppose a mutant suddenly erupted and injured two people simultaneously. One was Peter, who hadn't yet undergone his spider mutation in his youth, and the other was a similarly young Tony, who had already inherited a large fortune. Both sustained similarly severe injuries. Who would be more affected?"

"It must be Peter." Tony crossed his arms and said, "The economic condition of his family is already quite strained; they're basically living on the breadline. If Peter were injured, his aunt and uncle would certainly be very worried, and at least one of them would have to stay with him at the hospital."

"If one of the two earners stopped working, the family's income would be immediately reduced by half, but their expenditure would increase several folds due to Peter's medical treatment. As for me, regular injuries aren't an issue. Even if I become disabled, I can make a prosthetic."

"So, to summarize, the lower-income people are more likely to be harmed by mutants, and the severity of the harm they suffer is greater than that of the wealthy."

"There are many more poorer people compared to the rich," said Strange, tapping on the armrest, "how many people like him exist in the world? Most people live decently, but hardly have any savings…"

"Exactly, the current situation is that in this country, a small group of elites decide the fate of the majority, right?"

Stark and Strange exchanged a glance, nodded, and Shiller continued, "This group of elite actually knows that mutants do not pose such a substantial threat to them. The probability of them encountering a mutant outburst is much smaller than for ordinary people, and even if they suffer damage, they can afford the loss."

"But have you noticed? This group of people harbors stronger feelings against mutants than the ordinary public."

Strange stroked his chin, "Judging from my experience of working in a hospital, it often seems that we treat mutants who have been physically injured. Ordinary nurses or intern nurses may simply complain that the wounds are horrifying, or that the situations are complex and increase their workload."

"But our deputy dean often curses, saying these mutants should die and should never appear in their hospital."

"What do you think is the reason for this?" asked Shiller.

Strange pondered for a while and then said, "Actually, the injuries of mutants are hard to treat, but so are those of normal people. If you have ever seen someone severely injured in a car accident, you will understand that there's no level of human injury that's too bizarre, there's always something more disturbing. Nurses are used to this."

"However, the hospital where I worked was a private one. The dean has shares in it and his income is tied to the hospital's revenue. Once there's an event where a mutant's powers explode leading to mass casualties, the hospital would be filled with victims, followed by journalists who love to cover such incidents."

"Due to media and journalists, the dean cannot turn them away. But many of these people cannot afford the astronomical medical fees of private hospitals. What's even more important is that, if there are too many patients, they occupy the wards, preventing previously booked patients from checking into the premium wards. Patients who book these wards are the real rich people; when expenses exceed income, the seasonal financial statement will clearly be disappointing…"

"Which is to say, most of the public's anger and hatred towards mutants comes from the threat to their livelihood, like mutants causing them to be late for work or school, increasing their workload, or even taking their lives in accidents. But most of the elites' hatred for mutants is because mutants cause them to lose benefits beyond their livelihood."

"Most of the time, this is the case," Stark remarked. "I have heard some shareholders complaining, but many of them have never even seen a mutant. Just to prevent the fallout from some mutants' loss of control, they have to spend more on security, so they detest mutants."

"Indeed," said Shiller, resting his hand on the armrest. "But not everyone deserves to lose their benefits. They had to work hard to run their industries and it's normal for them to be upset about losses."

"However, there's another typical kind of person, the ones who preach ideology, but in their hearts it's all about business. They can reap more profits from acting against mutants."

"Some politicians leverage this to gain votes. Some corporations choose sides to please the majority of their customers. Unfortunately, these people have more say and can determine the direction of the country."

"Which means, most people do not oppose mutants out of sympathy for the masses, but out of profit. And those who designed this plan are no different."

"They don't prevent mutants from joining the Solar System development plan because they hate them, but rather they hate mutants as a way to prevent them from joining the Solar System development plan. This way they can hog more benefits."

Shiller looked at Stark and Strange, both nodded in agreement with his assessment.

The truth is, many of those who oppose mutants have never seen one.

Looking through the media that reports on anti-mutant sentiments, many of their statements are erroneous, even to the point where one newspaper mistook the X gene of mutants for the Y gene. And there were people underneath chiming in, claiming that the Y gene should be eradicated.

"In conclusion, if these people can oppose mutants for profits, then as long as the benefits are substantial enough, they can also praise mutants as gods. Whether it's black or white, it's all up to them. The speed of their change of stance solely depends on the amount of money."

Stark squinted at Shiller, "Are you suggesting bribery? However, currently, the greatest benefit they can get from opposing mutants is to divert internal conflicts. If you want to lure them to change their stand, you have to offer them greater benefits."

Shiller shook his head, "That is indeed one method, but it's too strenuous, and I have tried it before. I once offered to help them resolve their domestic conflicts once and for all, and they labeled me a far-left lunatic."

"I have no plans to continue this thankless task. Let's try something else." Shiller grinned and continued:

"We may not be able to increase the benefits they gain from praising mutants, but we can certainly increase the losses they incur from opposing them."