Chapter 137: Jor-El Refuses To Rebuild Krypton
Located 363,300 kilometers away from Earth, on the far side of the moon, the transformed cosmic mothership, lay quietly hidden, blending into the lunar surface.
The adaptive camouflage system shielded it from all radar detection, rendering the mothership invisible, seamlessly merging it with the moon.
Inside the living quarters of the Kryptonians, nestled within the mothership's belly, an assembly alarm began to sound.
Seven million Kryptonians once again gathered in the vast steel square, with individuals from various communities, police officers, and military soldiers maintaining order. People were discussing what was happening.
Initially, they had been diligently absorbing solar energy to strengthen themselves, preparing to secure a new homeland for the Kryptonians.
General Karu stood at the edge of the square, and soldiers escorted Nimda-El over. People noticed and started inquiring, "General Kar, what's happening?"
"His Majesty has found Jor-El and the Life Codex. He has called you all here to pass judgment on Jor-El," General Karu commanded the soldiers to create a gap, isolating Nimda from the crowd, as the hateful glares of the people might tear her apart. Literally.
Crazed Nimda's body shook as she heard her son's name. She was no longer insane and, along with seven million others, looked at the huge projection in the sky.
Jor-El's figure appeared from the room in the Fortress of Solitude.
"That's Jor, my son! Just wait! Jor will definitely tell you that Krypton will rise again from the hands of our El family! My dear son will certainly create a great Krypton once more!"
Nimda held her head high, full of honor and pride, her eyes glittering with arrogance. The white prison uniform she wore couldn't conceal her superior and proud demeanor. Jor-El was the son she was most proud of.
"Aren't you supposed to be crazy?" someone sneered coldly.
"Foolish, I was only pretending to be crazy to save my life. Now that I've seen Jor, even if I die, I'll die without regrets," Keira-El laughed sarcastically at the surrounding crowd, her head held high and proud.
The people around her glared at her with hatred, and if not for the soldiers separating them, they might have torn this shameless woman apart.
As soon as the projection started, they saw H'el choking Superman, and in H'el's wicked smile, they learned that the person in his grip was Jor-El's son, with the Life Codex hidden inside his body.
Nimda, filled with resentment, shouted loudly to the crowd, "Look, look at what your Majesty has done! He's using my grandson to blackmail Jor. Jor, you poor thing, my grandson, you poor thing!"
Nimda loudly lamented, tears pouring down like rain, a pitiful sight.
However, no one paid her any attention, and they didn't even glance at her performance.
[Krypton's upper class was already corrupted. The research applications were rejected...]
"Another excuse!"
"His Majesty and General Zod are doing their best to save us."
"Nimda, your son only knows how to obstruct and cater to the upper class! Because you are the upper class! You are all bound by those unbreakable rules."
"I wish I could kill you!"
The anger of the people couldn't be contained as they vehemently cursed Nimda, their eyes red with fury, wishing to strike down these upper-class individuals who had caused Krypton's decay and destruction.
"No, no, Jor can save Krypton! It's the inaction of other upper-class individuals that's the problem! Jor is working to save Krypton! Jor is saving Krypton!" Nimda hurriedly explained to those around her. She could withstand insults, but she couldn't let her son be slandered.
Next, she watched as H'el punched through Jor-El's chest, unable to stifle a cry of despair, while the crowd cheered.
The conversation on the projection continued, with H'el now standing on Jor-El's head, looking down and questioning.
"Stealing the Life Codex, violating Krypton's laws on natural reproduction, and infusing the vital Life Codex into your naturally born son's body, then sending your son alone away from Krypton. Did you not do all of these?"
"I did it only to ensure Krypton's survival!" Jor-El said under H'el's feet, making Nimda proud and forcefully supporting her son. "Jor is saving Krypton!"
The situation took a swift and violent turn. The sentence, "Why not use the Anti-Matter Engine to save the Kryptonian civilians?" followed by a long period of silence, had sparked intense public outrage.
He could have saved them but chose not to, only caring about his own son.
"I'm just a father," Jor-El's words made some of the people break down in tears.
"My son was studying at the university."
"My daughter didn't escape Krypton's destruction!"
"Is your son the only son? Are only you father?"
"Do the sons and daughters of the commoners not count?"
Among the people who had lost their sons and daughters in Krypton's destruction, there was an outpouring of painful cries.
Then, seeing Jor-El's different treatment of H'el and his own son, they realized that Jor-El, while in the upper-class circles, had displayed indifference toward the commoners, revealing his extreme selfishness.
Nimda couldn't help but shout angrily, "My son, everything he did was for the continuation of Kryptonian civilization! You don't understand any of this! You only know how to cry over your losses. It won't change anything! Jor, my son, has been working tirelessly for the continuation of Krypton! He's not doing this for personal gain, but for the Kryptonian civilization!"
Nimda's words infuriated tens of thousands of people, and if it weren't for the soldiers nearby, their furious glares might have shot straight at her.
How could they care about Jor-El's place in history when their loved ones had truly perished in the destruction of Krypton, vanished forever without a trace of their bodies? They couldn't care less about Jor-El's place in history.
The people joined Nimda in furious rebukes.
"Every one of you is disgustingly selfish. Every single one of you!"
"Jor-El is a father, with the choice not to save you!"
Nimda's wrinkled face contorted with a wicked expression as she roared, and the chests of the crowd heaved with anger.
The people found it difficult to blame Jor-El for his choice not to save them. After all, everyone had the right to make choices, but the pain they felt was unbearable.
If Jor-El had died during Krypton's destruction, they wouldn't have had an outlet for their anger. But Jor-El not only survived, he also prevented H'el and General Zod from saving Krypton, allowing his own son to escape the planet's destruction. This made them seethe with anger.
Unable to refute the commoners' arguments, Nimda watched as they grew furious.
"Jor-El didn't!" General Karu said with a stern face, looking at Keira-El. "A high tower is built upon individual bricks. The upper class of Krypton, the upper class that defines the meaning of Krypton's upper class, is built upon the basic foundation of the common people below. The significance of the upper class of Krypton lies in providing a more reasonable, equal, and secure life for Kryptonians. Your beautiful handmade silk clothes, carefully cultivated fruits, comfortable carved chairs—all of it, over ninety percent of the resources that sustain you, come from the basic foundation below."
"In a civilization, the foundation is the ninety-nine percent of commoners. The high class citizens can be selfish, focusing solely on their own interests, but the lower class of Krypton cannot. You carry the responsibility for everything that supports the commoners below. You enjoy all of this, built by the lower class, without bearing the corresponding responsibility."
"General Zod of the House of Zod, my uncle, saw this clearly and boldly initiated a rebellion. But you, you're still immersed in the vain and superficial luxuries of the upper class."
"Jor-El had no right to be selfish!"
General Karu had much more to say, such as how civilization shouldn't be so distorted, with over ninety percent of resources supplied to the upper class. In such a technologically advanced civilization as Krypton, where talents could be innate, there should not be slums or people going hungry. This showed how warped the upper class had become.
The upper class didn't want the lower class to eat their fill, not even a little, as they toiled eternally in servitude.
Nimda couldn't refute General Karu's words, and she shook her head in madness, roaring, "You don't understand! My son, Jor, did everything for Krypton, for a new hope! For a new Krypton."
"In your foolish minds, how could you ever understand Jor? He's the smartest person! He's Krypton's first scientist. He's destined to be a great scientist in history! He'll carry on Krypton's honor, build a new hope, and establish a new Krypton!"
The people snorted in anger, their disdain evident. They couldn't believe that Jor-El had such ambition. A man who didn't even consider the commoners could only be building an altar to his own opulence, not a new hope for Krypton.
The projection continued to play.
"Have you started rebuilding Krypton, you who stole the Life Codex?"
"I won't let my son step into that desperate Kryptonian society again!"
"Have you abandoned Krypton, Jor-El?"
"Let Krypton disappear!"
Hearing Jor-El's final words, the people erupted in furious outrage, their anger reignited. They couldn't believe it.
"I knew it; he's extremely selfish!"
"He never cared about Krypton!"
"He only cares about himself!"
"Unforgivable."
"Jor-El will forever be Krypton's criminal."
"See that, Nimda-El? Your beloved son is Krypton's greatest sinner! He never wanted to rebuild Krypton!"
Nimda stared blankly at her son's face, a face that now embodied righteousness, and heard words she never thought her son would say.
How could Jor ever refuse to rebuild Krypton?
"My son, he should have been the greatest figure in Krypton's future, the hope of Krypton, the pride of the House of El."
Keira-El couldn't snap out of it; she remained frozen in place.
°°°
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