Chapter 3064: Mercury Memoirs (14)

In the afternoon, Bruce decided to go out for a stroll since Diana and Clark both had classes that day, and he was preparing to observe their teaching styles.

Diana was teaching a physical education class, where she had developed a basic physical training program for each race; as it stood, the training methods were rather traditional, consisting mainly of push-ups, squats, and running, which the students seemed to handle quite easily.

The second class was already a bit more intense, and Bruce could tell that some of the students were struggling, but no one gave up; they were persevering through gritted teeth.

Clark was teaching a social knowledge class that was essentially an introduction to human social knowledge. Normally, human students wouldn't need to take this class, but given that most of the human students were Mexicans with an inadequate educational foundation, they often lacked general knowledge, so the course was quite useful.

Moreover, the class didn't just teach everyday knowledge; it also introduced Earth's current political landscape, such as the strengths of various countries, the nature of different organizations, and their member states, among other things.

The class was well-suited for Clark to teach because he was sufficiently objective, never excessively biased toward any camp or country, and he was careful enough that even Bruce felt overwhelmed just thinking about organizing information on so many national power structures.

Victor Fries taught basic science, which was so elementary it couldn't even be called high school level; it should be more like primary school curriculum, covering simple experiments such as freezing water, flames, and steam.

But Bruce knew it wouldn't be long before the freezing water experiment would evolve into an experiment involving dense ice—"You've already grasped the basic principle of freezing water, now go and win the Nobel Prize".

He hoped these students could adapt.

Then there were the agent skills teaching sessions arranged by Amanda, which consisted of basic skills like breaking doors, lock picking, and interrogation; as it was very fundamental, there was no need to worry about her adding anything extra to the curriculum.

Amanda herself was currently busy on Earth recruiting superheroes; aside from needing young members for the Justice League, she also wanted to build her own team to bring this group into her Federation Shield. Bruce thought the prospects were slim.

Not everyone was willing to work for a special agent organization, especially since Amanda's offer was not that attractive, far inferior to Nick Fury's.

The main issue was that Amanda didn't have Nick's ability to make money. Despite Nick's tendency to exhaust funds limitlessly, shuffling money from one place to another, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s employee benefits were among the best. Many from Hydra or the KGB actually knew what Nick was up to, but as the saying goes, self-preservation comes first; lose such a good job and it's gone, so they wholeheartedly supported Nick, solidifying his reputation as Nick, the King of Agents.

Amanda fell short in this regard; she could manage funds, but she didn't know how to make money grow and found it even harder to obtain illicit or gray income. In short, she was too young, her heart and hands weren't dirty enough, the compensation wasn't enough, and agents couldn't gain much recognition. People would rather join the Justice League, at least it sounded more prestigious.

Of course, Bruce also went to watch Shiller's class.

When he entered, Shiller was just having a recitation session, calling on one student after the other to recite, each doing so more fluently than the last.

Some of the Mexican youths spoke English in a very jumbled manner, so their recitations were heavily accented but correct in content.

Without even looking up, Shiller said, "Now, let's begin our second lesson, the history of psychological development and famous psychological schools..."

Bruce thought this was when they would be assigned homework, probably writing about the lives and theories of great psychologists, but by the time he returned from a walk, the class was already over.

As the students walked out discussing the day's content, Bruce discovered that Shiller had already covered all the modern well-known psychologists' lives and theories.

He stopped a student to ask about the homework for the day, and to his surprise, he learned that it was to preview the next day's lesson.

What's going on? Was Shiller sparing paper? Why no written homework?

Bruce couldn't figure it out, but soon he received a call from Jenna, and when he returned to the office, Jenna was waiting for him there, holding a psychology textbook.

"Professor, in Professor Rodriguez's class today, he introduced behavior analysis and the psychoanalytical school, and I think I understand where our differences lie," Jenna said.

"But there are a few theories concerning psychoanalysis I don't quite understand. Could you explain them to me?"

Bruce was full of question marks, saying, "I'm a criminology professor, not a psychology professor. Shouldn't you be asking Professor Rodriguez about the content he taught in class?"

"He said he wasn't feeling well," Jenna scratched her head, "I noticed he seemed a bit listless too, not sure what's up with him."

Bruce immediately thought that perhaps Shiller's curse hadn't been fully lifted, and that he could only be active for a few hours a day now. Teaching classes would be manageable, but after-class questioning might be a struggle.

But Bruce remembered that ectothermic animals could be active for normal periods in suitable temperatures; if they could only be active for a few hours a day, snakes and lizards would have gone extinct long ago.

Mercury Base was fully temperature-controlled, and one could adjust the temperature if it wasn't sufficient. Additionally, there was an intelligent identity recognition system ensuring warmth wherever one went.

Was Shiller really too busy due to the curse to answer questions? Bruce felt something was amiss.

However, seeing Jenna looking at him with big eyes, Bruce didn't have the heart to refuse to explain. After all, it was just some theoretical stuff, not involving real cases, and it wasn't too difficult.

Bruce spent half a day explaining to Jenna, mainly clarifying the theories of masters of psychoanalysis. Some theories did indeed have small differences that were difficult to distinguish and required looking at their lives and a range of opinions to understand.

Bruce had become more and more convinced that Jenna was truly a genius. She grasped concepts in the learning process as if by instinct; you only had to say the first half of a sentence, and she could finish the second half in perfect concordance with your thoughts. Who wouldn't want such a student?

Such a person could learn anything quickly and do well at it, which begs the question: was it possible she could also excel in behavioral analysis?

It wasn't that Bruce obstinately wanted to prove something out of spite; the key issue was that Gotham indeed needed someone like Batman.

He had walked away easily, but in that time, both Gordon and Shiller had been worn out. Gotham's improvement had only been over the past few years. The serial killers left from the previous generation were still committing crimes; a good detective was absolutely necessary.

Dick had already been developing towards becoming an artist and showed little interest in these matters; Jason had a straightforward personality, not cut out to be a detective, and he himself wasn't too keen on it.

Tim, on the other hand, was suitable in every respect, but Wayne Enterprises also needed an heir. Just managing such a large corporation could tire him out considerably; it would likely be impossible for him to serve two masters at once.

As for Lucius Fox, the reliable assistant that all the other Batmen had, Bruce had investigated a couple days ago and found out that he had already joined the Luther Group. So, his fine son was probably not going to join the Batman Family either. Bruce itched with irritation at the thought.

Looking at the current situation, there seemed to be no immediate hope for Damian and Helena to come into the world; moreover, even if they were born, they probably wouldn't suit the detective role.

Aisha actually had a lot of talent, but her biggest issue was her lack of focus and her playful nature. She only paid attention to cases she found interesting, and ignored the ones she deemed dull. The good news was that she would not become a superhero in the future; the bad news was that it wasn't impossible for her to become a supervillain.

Gotham might not need a super pre-cog, but it definitely needed a clever detective. Counting and recounting—the young ones were all unsuitable. It seemed that the young girl before him was the most hopeful candidate after all.

Bruce decided to try harder.

After Jenna finished asking her theoretical questions, Bruce asked, "What do you think of behavioral analysis?"

"It's a very respectable discipline, logical and clear-cut in its conclusions; it's just not quite for me."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't think there are that many whys in this world," Jenna said with a smile. "Not every question needs an answer. I'm more concerned with how the questions come about."

Picking up her book again, Jenna then added after some thought, "Compared to searching downstream for answers, I prefer tracing upstream to the source. Every issue that arises in society is because of people. Once I understand what humans are about, their behavior, the problems they create, and the solutions to those problems will all be easily resolved. Don't you think this is a more permanent solution?"

"But modern detection emphasizes evidence. If you don't have enough evidence, even if you understand the situation yourself, you might not convince the jury and the judge, and justice might not be served," he countered.

"That's only because my voice isn't strong enough," Jenna replied. "Isn't the jury also human? As long as I can make them believe me, is it really important whether it's the evidence that convinces them?"

Bruce stared at her, and Jenna tilted her head, saying, "I know you won't like this line of reasoning because it sounds like it's disdainful of the law. You take pride in the social order you've established and believe the law is the fence that protects you."

"But if you step out of that boundary and gain a broader vision, you'll realize that law is almost indispensable to every intelligent creature society; it's not extraordinary, nor is there anything to be proud of, and it doesn't possess any real sanctity."

"Given that, being bound to the law doesn't prove how just justice is, and not being bound to the law doesn't diminish the righteousness of justice. So, I can take justice without the law."

"Without the law, justice has a broader horizon. What I need to do is to constantly hone my skills to ensure I can discern what true justice is using my abilities and then ensure that justice is truly carried out in my way."

"You wouldn't let the criminals you track down have the chance to face the jury?"

"I'd only let them see the jury if the jury would consider them a criminal. If that's not the case, then it's also fine if they don't see them," she asserted.

"Would you kill them?"

Asking an alien whether they would kill was not typically friendly, but Jenna did not feel any anger from Bruce; so after some reflection, she said.

"I wouldn't."

"Then what would you do with such people?"

"Hand them over to you."

Bruce shook his head slightly and couldn't help but marvel inwardly at what a clever girl she was.

What Jenna's philosophy and abilities were actually wasn't the point; the important thing was that she was very clear about her position. It had taken him years to realize that the Earth did not stop turning without him, to understand that he didn't need to take responsibility for everything.

Almost a perfect answer. Since she knew the law couldn't punish certain people, but didn't want to kill, then handing them over to the Justice League was the best way to handle it.

Jenna might not be able to make the law punish them, but Bruce Wayne could; if Bruce Wayne couldn't, then Superman could, then Wonder Woman could. And if the entire Justice League couldn't, at least, for now, they were close to the sun.