"Nick Fury, given that you concealed important information and caused significant losses to this country, we all agree that you are no longer suitable to serve as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."
General Ross, an old acquaintance of Nick's, was reading from the stage. Below him sat a serene Nick Fury. In the circular space surrounding the left and right stairs, a sparse gathering of prominent figures sat.
There is no doubt that this was an emergency hearing that Nick had not expected.
"Sorry, which one of the important news you mentioned that I concealed?" Nick raised his hand and asked calmly.
"It seems you haven't realized the seriousness of the problem." General Ross forced a sympathetic smile on his face.
"It's you, Ross, and everyone else here who don't realize the seriousness of this situation," Nick said softly, looking around. However, his voice, through the loudspeaker, was loud enough to reach everyone in the room.
He said seriously: "Even if you want me to step down, you should at least explain the reason clearly."
"You concealed the information about that [Paradise]—that's what you called the game—and its super-sized power." Ross gave the answer.
"It was originally made for an extraordinary dimensional lord. I didn't hide any information in this regard." Nick retorted.
"But you didn't mention that this game can give people powers!" Ross accused. "At least thirty people have exposed their powers online! We originally thought it was just another marketing ploy, but after investigating and tracking them down, we discovered that those thirty people do possess certain extraordinary powers.
If you had explained it earlier, the Council would have been able to internalize all of this rather than share it with the world."
"Everyone has agreed to this," Nick said.
"This decision was made based on the fact that you provided us with wrong information! We have always trusted you, but you betrayed our trust," Ross said coldly.
"I don't know this information." Nick retorted.
"Where's the evidence?" Ross asked.
"Luke, Thor, Odin and the Sorcerer Supreme Strange can all testify for me." Nick cited many witnesses.
"But we can't find them. They're only communicating with S.H.I.E.L.D., or rather, only with you." Ross shrugged. "Before we absolve you of responsibility, you must temporarily hand over the contact information of these people and your access to the data world. During this period of investigation, you must be monitored and cannot communicate with the outside world alone."
"What's the deadline?" Nick asked.
"It won't be long. You will still hold an important position." Ross said meaningfully.
"So, this is a hearing to force me to step down and relinquish my power? I'm curious, have you gotten permission from anyone else?" Nick understood what Ross meant. Ross hadn't concealed anything, and had only just revealed it to him. This time, they were after the power he held.
As for why it wasn't any other time, but this critical moment, after thinking about it, Nick could only attribute the reason to the "Paradise" game that Luke and the others had created.
Is it because this game can mass-produce extraordinary powers that they have set their sights on it and want to take control of it?
It's possible! After all, the Council behind S.H.I.E.L.D. and radical figures like Ross are always vulnerable to this kind of mass-produced supernatural power. They're jumping around and stirring up trouble, which is exactly what Nick expected. After all, they've never been content, it's just that this time, the support they've received is a bit overwhelming.
But that didn't mean they could completely gain the upper hand. Clearly surrounded by prominent figures who supported Ross and his group, this emergency hearing seemed like a plan to execute first and report later.
Nick didn't know how much preparation these people had made for today, and how many people they had persuaded and won over, but it was obvious that Ross and the others could not cover up everything in bringing him down. They just wanted to create a fait accompli.
After realizing this, Nick felt much more relaxed.
"Of course, the affairs of S.H.I.E.L.D. must be decided by the Board of Directors," Ross said.
"So you've got the Council? If you've convinced them, then you can remove me without this hearing. But the reality is, my position remains irreplaceable. Even if you pass the Council's resolution, how will you gain the approval of Stephen Strange and Luke Field?" Nick laid out all the hidden dangers. By the time he finished, Ross's expression had darkened considerably.
"Strange is just a doctor." Ross opened his mouth.
"You used to be a doctor. Now you're the Supreme Mage of this planet's mage lineage! In other words, you're the head mage, so you'd better show some respect to him," Nick reminded him. "If you can still say that Luke is just a businessman, then I'll be impressed."
Ross's face suddenly turned darker.
…
"Is everything okay? That Mr. Nick? He seems to be facing some trouble now." Strange walked beside Luke, looking curiously at the space inside the Silent City.
"What are you referring to? Those political intrigues and struggles? Never mind. I'm sure he can handle it himself," Luke said nonchalantly. His reliance on S.H.I.E.L.D. had greatly decreased, and it was S.H.I.E.L.D. who needed to rely on him. If it weren't for the need to provide him with the necessary support and a sense of security at home, Luke wouldn't have needed to constantly be pulling S.H.I.E.L.D. around.
Now, unless it is necessary, he rarely pays attention to things in the atrium other than technology.
"Then what do you want to tell me? There are still some troublesome things in the real world that I need to deal with." Strange looked at Luke. After the meeting, he received Luke's signal and followed him to his laboratory in Silent City.
"Your troubles refer to those few shallow believers who have been affected by the Nightmare?" Luke smiled. Although he didn't pay much attention to it, as the area most deeply eroded by the Data Dimension, any movement in the atrium, especially information on technology and the supernatural, would be collected and summarized by the Data Dimension, and then the key points would be selected and presented to him immediately.
Of course, the wizards may have certain shielding methods, and Dr. Stark and Banner can also use technology to achieve similar shielding effects. It is somewhat difficult to collect their information silently.
But it didn't matter. As long as Stark and the others were still using the data dimension and helping him improve and maintain it, Luke's goal would be achieved. He wasn't some controlling voyeur.
"Yes, it's obvious he's crossed the line," Strange said. The Nine Realms of Midgard, as a special place for life, is the most sought-after piece of cake for the invading demons of many dimensions. This planet is a mess of followers of various dimensional demons and totemic demons. A planet as dusty as the universe, harboring a mixture of apostles and followers of so many demons, is unique.
It's impossible to completely clean it up. The only thing the Sorcerer Supremes could do was to try to isolate the demons that posed a great threat to the planet, such as Dormammu and Mephisto.
As for the others, Ancient One, who had lived for hundreds or even thousands of years, didn't bother to care. As long as they didn't touch the energy red line she set, and the barrier was functioning well, they wouldn't attract her attention or attack.
Compared to Ancient One, who has a Buddhist mentality and is only thinking about how to retire safely, Strange, who has just taken office and is still young in both mind and age, will be more tolerant and more realistic in corresponding aspects. Similarly, his sense of responsibility and desire for control will obviously be stronger.
"This is just the beginning. You know, once the game starts, this kind of thing will be difficult to stop. There may be more demons joining in in the future." Luke reminded.
"But we've discovered it, and we can't ignore it!" Strange replied, "Although Nightmare's power in the real world is not strong, his power attributes are very special. If we let him go, it may cause us great trouble."
"But there will always be people who seek power and access those so-called Easter eggs he placed in the game. And those lucky ones will attract even more people chasing them." Luke suggested, "If you really want to solve this problem from the root, rather than passively solving problems after they arise, then the first thing you need to do is add a power filter to Paradise, or a demonic firewall like the Atrium barrier."
"This is a good idea. But it is not appropriate to transplant the barrier protection system of the atrium to the [Paradise] in the data dimension. This may bring certain hidden dangers. I think it would be better to gather the power of all the wizards and recompile a customized firewall for the paradise. Although this still cannot guarantee 100% safety, it will greatly reduce our workload later." Strange pondered for a moment and agreed.
"But that still won't stop those who enter Paradise from pursuing power. After all, simple scripts and games will eventually tire people. We must endow it with a durable property, making it impossible for those who enter to abandon it," Luke said cautiously. In reality, Paradise currently possesses relatively low technological capabilities among the major civilizations in the universe, aside from the interface between the Data Dimension and the Nightmare Dimension. They may not be able to connect to the Nightmare Dimension, nor can they, like the Data Dimension, accommodate an unfathomable number of people while maintaining authenticity. But creating a limited-edition version wouldn't be difficult at all.
This was Luke's future plan to connect the multiverse, allowing civilizations, the intelligent and the powerful from every universe to communicate and utilize this space. He needed to constantly elevate its importance and functionality early on.
"What do you mean?" Strange asked cautiously.
"New currency and power," Luke said.
"You're planning to use the new currency as the currency of Paradise?" Strange gave him a surprised look. This news alone was enough to make Nick and his men leap for joy, kicking and punching their entire staff into working for Paradise. For Nick and his men, who were suffering from severe New Currency Insufficiency, the prospect of a stable channel for obtaining the new currency was enough to make them fight tooth and nail.
As a smart man, Strange also knows that once a certain currency attribute establishes its own trust and value, its future potential and importance will also increase.
This is good news for shareholders of these new currencies.
The only thing that made Strange hesitate was the question of giving power to those who entered. This obviously brought many uncertainties to the future and would greatly increase his workload in observing the future.
Who, unless they were desperate, would want to revisit the future of a person, or even all the participants in a situation, millions of times? Without a natural talent, the brain would be overloaded in a short period of time.
Luke noticed Strange's hesitation and explained, "We can allow them to gain power in the form of data bodies. After entering Paradise, they will automatically be transformed into data bodies that are more in line with the data dimension. This way, the power they gain cannot be brought into reality. Of course, if necessary, they can consume a certain amount of new currency. The amount of new currency consumed will determine the time when their data bodies will be summoned to connect to reality. This way, when they summon, information will be left within the mage's barrier and the data dimension for monitoring. If something is wrong, you, as the GM, can terminate the summoning at any time. This can reduce losses and trouble to an acceptable level."
Strange nodded silently upon hearing this. If simply using his authority could solve the problem, then that was certainly acceptable. The only concern was that there would undoubtedly be some buggy characters and dimensional demons that still needed to be monitored.
"That needs to be discussed at the next Alliance meeting. But I can go back and create the so-called firewall first," Strange said. He was eager to find more things for the mages of Kamar-Taj. If he could keep them busy, they would not care to watch him and Mordo's show.
Will Luke's proposal be passed or not? Strange did not doubt it.
As for the possible losses of the new currency?
The wool comes from the sheep, and given Luke's personality, he'll definitely make sure they produce and sell it themselves, while also collecting some of the losses from Nightmare. The financial talent Mephisto had painstakingly gathered within the Energy Bank, along with the top talent pool within Midgard, will likely be drawn into this Paradise by Luke to contribute to its smooth operation.
No matter what, Strange believed that Luke couldn't lose money. He and Nick were more convinced of this than anything else!