"Sorry, sir, but I must point out that if we don't address each other by our titles, it will inevitably cause some identity confusion. In this big family of the interstellar council, we should value our official titles more than our racial identities, otherwise, it might imply racial discrimination..."
An unharmonious voice suddenly rang out. Strange turned his head to see that the robot standing nearby, serving tea and water, had surprisingly voiced an objection at this moment, and this robot was precisely the executive secretary controlled by Supreme Wisdom.
"The interstellar council doesn't allow racial discrimination?" Strange asked.
"Uh..."
This counter-question left Supreme Wisdom a bit stunned, and the other staff immediately sat up straight, exchanging glances at a speed faster than light, their brains spinning rapidly, pondering what the Councilman meant.
Seeing no response, Strange pressed on, "So you mean I must treat every being in the cosmos equally? Including robots and Demon Gods like you?"
"...Don't you want to do that?" Supreme Wisdom could only counter.
"Why should I?" Strange said, "To tell you the truth, in the eyes of the Human race, pure logic-based entities are not considered life and have no human rights, and as for Demon Gods, they are more like food. You can't expect me to shake hands with the food on my plate, it's just impossible."
Several employees gasped at this statement. It should be noted that throughout the terms of several previous councilors, racial equality had always been a major issue. Even though two of the Three Great Empires were mechanical civilizations, they were still against racial discrimination.
Or rather, precisely because they are mechanical civilizations, they oppose racial discrimination. Most mechanical civilizations are the children of primal civilizations, belonging to secondary civilizations developed later, and sometimes they are antagonistic to the batch of primal civilizations created by God. Even if not antagonistic, they are less powerful because they developed later than these carbon-based life forms.
The two empires that manage the mechanical civilizations the most strictly have even managed to completely control the vast majority of the mechanical civilizations in the cosmos, so proposing the concept of racial non-discrimination is about elevating the status of mechanical civilizations, which in turn elevates the status of their two empires.
After years of effort, this has become a kind of politically correct stance in the interstellar realm. Whether carbon-based life forms, silicon-based life forms, primal races created by God, or secondary races, whether logical lives or emotional lives, at least on the surface, they were to be treated equally.
Members of the interstellar council must also be diverse, not only carbon-based life forms, not only emotional beings, not all from the same region, and there should not be too many similar views expressed.
On the surface, this appears as a thriving and equal society, but clearly, the new councilor seems unwilling to maintain this harmonious façade.
"Such statements are very dangerous," emphasized Supreme Wisdom, "We need racial equality to sustain the harmony of interstellar society."
"When has the interstellar society ever been harmonious?" Strange sneered, "You and I both know, interstellar society can never be harmonious. The belief that the current interstellar society is peaceful is only because the Three Great Empires control most of the resources, keeping most civilizations in check. Naturally, if you're the lapdogs of the Three Great Empires, you can't bite."
"But obviously, this won't last," Strange said, "The Three Great Empires are visibly weakening, and one day they might just collapse. Then, the pack of dogs will revert to a pack of wolves, and each civilization will have to find a way to eat the most meat; if they eat too little, or eat slower than others, they'll never catch up. This is not an era of equality. Humans have a word called 'law of the jungle,' and I think it's fitting here."
Strange didn't use any high-level vocabulary or meticulously chosen words, but rather in an almost barbaric way, he unveiled a blood-stained truth: the interstellar society can never be harmonious, nor does it need harmony.
"Moreover, you all should have seen the recent Multiverse war of the Human race. Ask yourself, if one day humans from other multiverses come over, what do you plan to do?"
"Yes, I know there are the Three Great Empires, and they might take on the brunt of it if the sky falls, but what if they can't hold it?"
"To be honest, although we came out on top in this universe, our performance in the war was far from satisfactory. I won't even mention the drags by the Three Great Empires, while the other civilizations couldn't even get involved. If a full-blown multiverse level war were to break out in the future, do you plan on hiding at home waiting to die?"
"Frankly, the source of such poor performance is precisely because the Three Great Empires have had too strong a hold on the cosmos, you've been stable for too long, without conflict, without war, how can you evolve? Humans are so powerful because we possess an unending desire to surpass and contest, and those false prosperities and superficial peaces you seek will ultimately only slow your evolution compared to others, making you stepping stones for other civilizations."
After these words, the entire conference room fell silent.
In fact, the Three Great Empires themselves belong to militaristic states, civilizations driven primarily by military force and war. The Kree Empire and Skrull Empire once fought for a thousand years.
Many who experienced those times recalled the scenes then, and though the cosmos was chaotic back then, it must be admitted that it was during that era that the most advanced civilizations emerged. It can be said that in this current era, aside from the Three Great Empires, the advanced civilizations capable of taking the lead have all clawed their way up from that era of competition.
Even the Three Great Empires themselves thrived most during that era. Wars are fought on logistics, and resource priorities increase tenfold in cosmic warfare. In order to plunder more resources, they had to keep expanding. To expand, more military strength was necessary, and thus they continued snowballing until they controlled more than half of the cosmos.
In contrast, these years following the armistice, although the cosmos has been quite peaceful, their multiple defeats at the hands of Asgard and the Human race already indicate that they have indeed been at peace for too long — a knife not sharpened loses its edge.
In times of peace, if one wants to gain benefits through politics, they naturally need their own propositions and methods to stabilize people's hearts. The approach adopted by the Three Great Empires is the concept of racial equality. However, after dabbling in politics for too long, they ended up being pummeled by the Barbarians emerging from the Nine Major Kingdoms, unable to recover for quite some time.
Strange's unembellished words struck a certain unspeakable emotion deep within everyone's hearts present.
Is stability the answer to all questions?
Previously, they dared not think or ask because stability was what the Three Great Empires wanted, and no one could oppose the Three Great Empires.
But things are different now. The Nine Major Kingdoms have emerged as dark horses, not only defeating the Three Great Empires several times but also showing a tendency to stand their ground against them. And it's evident that stability is not what these madmen seek.
Is stability what the civilizations outside the Three Great Empires and the Nine Major Kingdoms want?
Some people's minds have already begun to stir. Stability is good, allowing weaker civilizations sufficient time to develop. But none of those present are locals from primitive civilizations; their races at least have superluminal engines and cosmic colonization capabilities. Some are even among the stronger ones capable of interstellar ventures. Only if the civilization behind you is strong enough can your career path be smooth, allowing you to sit here and discuss with high-ranking figures of the Three Great Empires.
For these civilizations, the path to the top is almost blocked, and within a harmonious and stable scenario, they have no means to expand themselves. But who doesn't want to progress further?
Without the diamond-cutting prowess of the martial warriors from the Nine Major Kingdoms to break the constraints of the general environment, one can only hope for a change in the environment. In the past, there was no hope, but now it's different.
"I don't think we should overthink the terms. The interstellar council is like a big family, and because we are so close, we must consider each other more. Using terms that sound pleasant to others is also a form of care. What do you think, Secretary-General?" asked a young man dressed in blue imperial attire.
The Supreme Wisdom had nothing to add. Originally, diverting the topic to racial discrimination was meant to set up Strange for a fall. However, Strange's straightforward words instead stirred people's hearts. Continuing this topic would also be in Strange's turn. The young man managed to smooth over the situation and brought the topic back to terms of address. Since that's the case, call it whatever you like.
But Strange clearly had no intention of letting it go. He turned to look at the Robot and asked, "What does he call you? Secretary-General? What kind of position is that?"
"Allow me to introduce," the young man in blue attire said, "the interstellar council is divided into functional and standing positions. Functional positions are like yours, politicians usually appointed through election or assuming office by forming a cabinet; standing positions do not require an election but rather a selection by examination and annual promotion. I myself am the Standing Secretary of the Ministry of Administration, from Sparta Star, and His Majesty Spartacus I sends his regards."
"Oh, I see," Strange thought for a moment and said, "Star Lord's hometown, Sparta Star, how are things with you lately?"
"Thanks to you, quite well, everything is proceeding orderly." The young man smiled and then pointed to the Robot controlled by the Supreme Wisdom, "As the Councilman, naturally, you'd have a standing secretary to assist you with various tasks. This is your standing secretary, from Kree Star."
Strange looked back at the Robot, raising one eyebrow high while the other stayed low, squinting, then frowning.
"Can I forgo a standing secretary?" Strange asked, "Can I dismiss him?"
"That might be impossible," the young man said with some difficulty, "we have never had a precedent for dismissing standing positions, and if you do dismiss your standing secretary, many complex tasks would remain undone, and your decrees would not be effectively communicated, so it's best not to."
"Can I replace him?" Strange asked again, "Didn't you say that civil servants are brought in by examination? Can't I find someone to take the exam myself?"
"Possible, but if only through examinations, it would be a grassroots civil servant who must be promoted step by step to become a standing secretary of the Minister or the Councilman. It's pretty challenging, hence standing secretaries are all excellent, you need not worry too much about it."
Strange pursed his lips in evident dissatisfaction. Thus, he lost interest in the meeting, waved his hand, and said, "The new ministerial candidates will be finalized tonight, they'll report in the morning. Meeting adjourned!"
"Yes, Supreme Magician."