"Let's discuss them one by one."
Harry sat down somewhere as he spoke, and Tony did the same.
"Fine, though I'd rather sit on that sign." Tony pointed to the Arabic barbecue sign under Harry's rear.
Harry scratched his head. "If you want, you can sit here. This sign is quite long."
Not only that, the quality was pretty good; it hadn't snapped into pieces.
"Never mind, forget it." Tony waved his hand. "First thing first, we need to properly handle these... alien things."
Harry said, "I agree. Osborn and Stark provide the funding, and the authorities supervise."
Tony nodded; that was what he was thinking too.
Neither mentioned whether the government needed to provide funding—it was obvious they didn't.
As for supervision, once Norman took office, this oversight organization would fall under the President's jurisdiction anyway.
The referee and the athletes were all on the same side.
"Actually, Osborn's people are already on their way. Manhattan will likely remain under lockdown for a while."
"You're moving that fast?" Tony expressed his surprise; he had planned on giving himself a day off.
"Of course. Aliens might carry some nasty microbes; that's no small matter." Harry shrugged.
Not only that, Harry had already instructed Hurley to negotiate real estate acquisitions according to his plans; the Osborn Tower was due for a renewal.
This invasion would deal a heavy blow to New York real estate. Those alien microbes weren't just Harry's alarmism; they truly existed.
By buying up large swaths of land and driving out those companies, Osborn would build true mega-structures here.
The new Osborn Group campus would be a massive, fortress-like complex.
Within the fortress, Osborn would first build a massive Osborn Bio-Building, featuring the World's largest Genetic Clinic, Biological Research Institute, and even a Sociological Research Center, representing the World's most advanced medical and biological technology. Osborn would study the secrets of life here.
These alien creatures would also be brought here for study.
"Alien viruses." Tony said thoughtfully. He immediately stood up from the ground, intending to rub his chin with his hands, but then remembered he had just touched the ground and pulled them back.
Looking at him, Harry genuinely feared he might suit up in his mark armor and flee the next second.
"In any case, Manhattan will be locked down for a while. The city and state governments will use Osborn's Construction Robots to repair the infrastructure."
"Hmm, Construction Robots. Good idea. Why don't we talk outside?" Tony suggested.
"Alright, there's a camp not far away."
Tony, after all, wasn't some sort of enhanced human, and his mindset had undergone some changes; it was better to find a place to sit and talk.
Stepping out of the disinfection tunnel, the first-aid station was filled with wounded. The air was thick with wails, and the scene of emergency triage was bloody. Tony's heart felt heavy.
Here, no one paid him much attention, nor were there any fanatical fans seeking his autograph.
By comparison, Harry was much more cold-blooded.
The two found a spot outside and sat down.
Tony said, "Second thing: that system of yours, ctOS. Restart it."
He knew that when the Hulk rampaged through the Harlem District last time, the district had completed its evacuation in less than thirty minutes with the help of ctOS.
But this time, due to some social opposition, ctOS's efficiency wasn't as high.
Most of the people lying in the hospital now were from the opposition; he believed the lesson learned this time would be enough to change their minds.
In fact, the media was already preparing their drafts.
Harry said, "Of course, I'll restart it."
Tony continued, "Not only that, I want to join your development team. A more powerful artificial intelligence will use this information to manage the city, without even needing human intervention."
Harry was stunned. Was Tony talking about Ultron?
But the development of Ultron was supposed to start only after Tony was affected by the Scarlet Witch's magic and obtained the Mind Stone.
That meant Tony had actually had this idea for a long time, and the efficiency of ctOS made him realize they needed it.
Harry tested the waters, "Let me guess, you don't happen to want an Iron Legion to protect the Earth twenty-four-seven, do you?"
Hearing this, Tony paused and paced in a circle twice.
Finally, he looked up. "Yes. Although it's just an idea, I believe it's necessary."
An iron army, on standby twenty-four hours a day, monitoring the globe, ready for war at any moment.
One had to admit, Tony was truly daring in his vision.
But in Harry's view, defending everything one had was not just a responsibility but also a right. If this responsibility and right were stripped away, human civilization would gradually degenerate into one wrapped in a cradle.
This would make a civilization incomplete.
"But I must say, I don't agree." Harry sighed.
Tony showed a puzzled expression.
"Creating an Iron Legion to hold all of humanity in the palm of your hand like babies? Tony, tell me, is there anyone who grows up in a cradle?"
"People must learn to walk, to run, to fall in love with something, and then fight for what they love; that struggle will lead to failure or success, and then to regret or pride. This is just a small example. What I'm saying is that without any of these steps, a person won't be complete. The same goes for civilization."
"By letting Iron Soldiers fight, war becomes someone else's business. Like the United States now, war to them is just lines of small print in the newspaper every morning. If the small print says good news, they live well; if it's bad news, they have to tighten their belts."
"But tell me, is that what war is?"
Tony fell silent. He knew, of course, that it wasn't like that.
He used to be such a person. As the largest arms dealer in the U.S., he didn't think about what his inventions looked like on the battlefield or the roles these weapons played there.
All these war-related things were just small print to him—lines of insignificant numbers, words, or choreographed footage.
"If people cannot succeed in society and can only fail, civilization will lack motivation. If people can only see casualty figures and not the truth, civilization will become cold-blooded. If this war is not fought by people, and if a civilization cannot face war, then such a civilization is a Giant-infant Civilization."
"Tell me, do you think a Giant-infant Civilization is a normal one?"
In reality, the nations of the World in the original story, which relied entirely on superheroes to fight, were much like giant infants. Aliens came and went, while nations were still researching how to restrict superheroes and control these "Humanoid Weapons," never thinking about the World beyond Earth.
Harry said this just to make Tony understand one thing—that war needs to be fought by people, or rather, by members of the civilization.
After a long silence, Tony said, "But at least they're alive."
Harry nodded. "I don't deny that. But I still stand by my view."
Tony said, "It seems we're not on the same page?"
"Not entirely. I must say, if this artificial intelligence can become a part of our civilization, I would still support your idea."
Tony was stunned for a moment. "Sorry? I'm not sure I follow?"
Harry said:
"I'm saying we can create a complete life form. It would think, create, and do everything humans do. The only difference from humans is that what flows through its veins is electricity or something else. This might give it some unique talents, but it can still be regarded as a form of life."
"Instead of creating an execution machine that naturally only knows how to obey—no one would be willing to hand over their safety entirely to a machine."
"And then make it, or them, a part of human civilization. In that case, we might have to change our name to Earth Civilization or something else, but in any case, not'some cradle civilization protected by robots'."
Tony was dazed.
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