"Oppenheimer wanted to own the atomic bomb."
"He wanted to be the man who moved the Earth, talking about putting the nuclear genie back into the bottle."
"Well, I'm here to tell you that I knew J. Robert Oppenheimer, and if he could do it all over again, he would still do it anyway."
"You know, he never said he regretted Hiroshima. He would do it again. Why?! Because it made him the most important man who ever lived!"
Lewis Strauss declared those words openly to the world.
But Gale knew they were only a representation of the distorted and resentment-filled vision Strauss had of J. Robert Oppenheimer, portraying him not as a tormented scientist, but as a selfish man seeking glory.
Although it was true that you cannot commit a sin and then expect to receive the pity of others simply because there were consequences, Gale knew that even if Oppenheimer had not succeeded, sooner or later someone else would have achieved it.
As for himself, he did not seek to become the man the world would call "the destroyer of worlds."
He only wanted to possess a bullet capable of calming the wars of the world.
If he could possess such a kind of power, then the Titans would cease to be useful.
That could change everything, because with the power of the Founding Titan he could make all Titans disappear and, with time, erase those events from history.
After all, history is always written by the victors.
Gale knew that, with time, he would succeed. And if that happened, humanity could continue moving forward without ever looking back, and the Eldians would stop being rejected by the world.
No one would have to die in Gale's plan.
Even if the Eldians were hated by the rest of the world, Gale understood that such a thing could not change overnight.
But perhaps, within hundreds of years, the world's view would be different.
And if it was not… then Paradis would possess enough weaponry to deter any war.
"What are you thinking about?" Robert, who was writing equations on a chalkboard, noticed the silent Gale sitting at the back of the room.
"I have no alternatives." Gale slowly raised his gaze. "I know that if I introduce this technology into my world… the future will completely change."
Although he fought tirelessly to survive, after closely meeting a man who had truly revolutionized science, Gale understood that his actions could bring consequences even worse than the Rumbling.
"I know what worries you… and believe me, I understand it better than anyone." Robert placed the chalk on the table before turning toward Gale.
"When we first began diving deeper into the theory, many of us told ourselves that it was necessary. That if we did not do it, someone else would sooner or later."
"And it was true."
"But there is something no one understands until it is already too late." Robert looked for a moment at the equations written across the chalkboard. "Knowledge changes people."
"Once you become capable of creating something that can alter the world… you never look at humanity the same way again."
"You begin to understand how fragile everything is." Robert fell silent for a few seconds before continuing.
"The scientists of my era believed science was simple. Discover things, improve lives, move the world forward."
"But afterward we understood that knowledge has no morality."
"A tool can illuminate a city… or wipe it off the map."
"And even so…" Robert let out a faint, tired laugh. "We kept moving forward."
His gaze met Gale's directly.
"Because deep down, people like us always end up thinking the same way."
"That carrying such a burden is better than letting someone worse do it." Robert observed Gale's silent face and barely smiled, as though he were seeing a younger version of himself.
"That is what truly torments you, isn't it?"
"Not the power…"
"But realizing that you already made your decision a long time ago."
Gale looked at the man who had destroyed himself in life to change everything and sighed. "Is it that obvious?"
"Fear will make you do things correctly, and being aware will make you make good decisions. That is why I began teaching you in the first place. Your stories about the world you live in are truly tragic."
After a long silence, Robert said, "If you succeed, you will not destroy the world, you will save it."
"Unlike me, you can truly become the change and the salvation of the naïve."
Only then did Gale release the knot in his chest. His hands, which had not stopped trembling, finally became still, and his empty eyes filled with tears.
He did not want to be a demon, nor did he want to be remembered as a man who destroyed the world. He only wanted to survive together with his people.
After all, he was just someone ordinary, the only person capable of changing the lives of the people from where he came, who had already suffered so much.
Gale felt that he had the responsibility to make everyone live a happy life, and for that, he had to become the spear.
"Thank you for your words, mentor." Gale deeply appreciated Robert's words, which changed his vision of the future.