The sunset above the Hudson River was no brighter or longer-lasting than anywhere else, it disappeared after a short hour. As night enshrouded Hell's Kitchen, Shiller, sitting in the clinic, got up to turn on the lights.
Daredevil Matt was blinded in an accident when attempting to rescue a blind person and was splashed with radioactive material from a truck. Given that his optic nerves remained intact, to the current standard of dical science, there was a chance for him to see again, but he didn't need it.
The Heart's Eye Skill he possessed allowed his other amplified senses to sketch out the surroundings in his mind, in even finer detail than many people could see and without any limits of vision.
Thus, as Shiller stood to turn on the light, Matt's eyebrows furrowed slightly, the muscles under his suit tightened, and his waist flexed, like a beast ready to strike at any mont.
Matt's eyes were insensitive to light. After hearing a few "click" sounds coming from the switch, he felt Shiller sit back down.
"Would you like another drink?" Matt, his empty eyes staring at the glass in front of Shiller, asked.
"No." Shiller shook his head in response, crossed one leg over the other, and held his hands in front of him, saying, "It's too sweet."
"Then, how about more fish?"
"I have no interest in raw food." Shiller lowered his eyes to the few remaining slices of honey mandarin sashimi on his plate and shook his head.
"It seems like you are the old-fashioned person that Shiller ntioned, the one who likes Sherry," Matt was not surprised, he just picked up the ice wine and poured himself another glass and selected a piece of fish to put on the plate.
"I regret his tendency to generalize, but he had to step away for a while and didn't want to end the conversation with his friend, so I'm filling in for him," ca the reply.
"You have a child?"
Matt couldn't tell if the previous statent was made by Shiller or this stranger, so he had to ask.
"Not quite," Shiller's tone was calm. He said, "I have many students, each with different characteristics."
"It seems one of them left a strong impression on you."
Perhaps due to the commonalities of lawyers and doctors, Matt's way of speaking differed from many of the superheroes here, his pacing and rhythm matched Shiller's more.
"I suppose so," Shiller didn't deny it, but paused a little, feeling his attitude was unsuitable, so he added, "Especially with his thesis."
"You're a teacher?"
"Yes."
Matt noticed that the man seed to be accommodating to him being blind and hadn't made any gestures. Normally, in response to this question, he could have simply nodded, but he still chose to verbalize his response.
"It seems that this student has caused you considerable distress, causing your behavior to tend towards caution and tiliness." Matt conjectured, but he soon touched the space between his eyebrows with his hand, adding, "Sotis, I am the sa, when dealing with my own students, I can't help but act a more perfect version of myself."
Shiller tilted his head, seemingly intrigued by his viewpoint. Matt switched chopsticks hands, picked up a piece of fish, and put it in his mouth, chewing while continuing, "Should a teacher also be a role model? In the eyes of parents and students, the answer to this question is definitely yes. The teacher must first do it themselves before they can teach the students."
"Is it not so?" Shiller asked.
Matt shook his head, continuing, "My students have thousands of different lives, and I can't possibly experience every single one of them. They also have countless possible futures, and I can't possibly experience all of them. I tend to help as much as I can and let go when it's ti."
"Motherly teaching," Shiller assessed.
"That way, I don't have to hurt my child and clash against one another — one trying to control, the other rebelling. I'm only willing to do that to criminals."
"Do you know Freud?" Shiller asked, but didn't wait for Matt's answer and continued, "He once made significant contributions in cognitive psychology, and he has an interesting theory called 'Attraction to Mother, Imitation of Father, Attraction to Father, Imitation of Mother.'"
"Even though I personally believe he places too much importance on sexual tendencies within cognitive theory, I still agree with parts of his theory, including his understanding of attachnt formation during childhood."
"As adults, people imitate others through rational cognition, to better communicate and integrate into a group."
"But in childhood, we have no power to choose who we socialize with. Whether we want to or not, human offspring all need to grow up under the care of their parents."
"Relationships with parents are the most complex equations in the world, but everyone has to face them. At this ti, an interesting phenonon erges: when we start to depend on one of them, we don't imitate their behavior, but choose to imitate the other."
"Because the family itself involves a form of mutual possession — the father possesses the mother, the mother also possesses the father. When a new child wants to join this relationship, they develop a possessive desire for the one they love the most. Since they don't know how to possess, they learn from the one who already does."
"We can then consider it in reverse: if a child forms an attachnt to the mother and develops a desire to possess her, the child's behavioral pattern is closer to that of the father's, and if the object of possession is the father, then their behavior is closer to the mother's."
Matt paused, his hand holding the glass of wine froze while Shiller's voice tily chid in, "The image that just popped into your head should be your father, correct?"
"So you're saying that my thod of education is gentler, more motherly, because I was raised by my father?"
"To so extent, indeed, it is."
"So, are you suggesting that Shiller's parenting style tends towards the strict father because of his stronger attachnt to his mother?"
Shiller dropped his gaze. Although he knew Matt couldn't directly see his expression, he still dutifully conveyed his emotions through subtle changes in his facial muscles. He said, "Yes, but there's another point to explain, and that is jealousy."
"Jealousy?"
"Possessing the mother, one would be jealous of the father. Possessing the father, one would be jealous of the mother."
"That's absurd," Matt remarked, but he also reasoned, "Sotis the conclusions of psychiatrists and philosophers make feel like the human race is truly beyond hope."
"Indeed, it is so," Shiller unusually did not argue but instead continued, "I'm just repeating so existing theories; it doesn't an I agree with them. It's just a way of viewing things."
"What I want to know now is, how on earth does Shiller ensure the safety of those children he threw into a dangerous cosmos?"
"That's what I'm discussing with you."
Shiller leaned back against the back of the sofa, moved his hands from the front of his body to his sides, and then said, "Broadly speaking, jealousy stems from possessiveness, which stems from greed."
"Greed is an almost unavoidable human trait," Shiller began with a conclusion, then continued, "After the end of a child's attachnt phase, there can be two scenarios. If the child's desire to possess their parents is not satisfied, they will not only deepen their jealousy, but also foster feelings of insecurity and even vengeance, ultimately leading to rebellion."
"And if it's satisfied?" asked Matt.
Shiller leaned forward, examined an empty wine glass in his hand and said in a slightly complicated tone, "If it's satisfied, they will feel secure, which makes the personality more stable... but there is actually another scenario."
"What's that?"
"It's a little too satisfied," Shiller looked up at Matt's expressionless eyes and said, "To satisfy the child, sacrificing oneself, even one's own safety and life."
Matt's arm suddenly tensed. Without a doubt, the image of his father appeared in his mind again.
The father who, for him and to let his child see his victory, rebelled against the mob, rejected match-fixing, and was brutally murdered by the mob.
"Do you know what this leads to?"
"Guilt," Matt answered.
"That's only when there's a chance for compensation. If there's no chance for compensation, it will evolve into another kind of obsessive pursuit — an internal drive driven by fear of the tragedy recurring, just like you with the mob."
Matt felt a sudden chill, as if his clothes were stripped in front of a stranger he hardly knew, and his deepest secrets were seen through by the tranquil gaze of the other.
"You fight the mob, not just for justice and to avenge your father, but for another motive — control. You believe that the mob, once out of your control, is perpetrating tragedies like your father's every second. You're afraid of it, so you have to avoid it at all costs."
Matt pursed his lips, looked up at Shiller, and said, "Weren't we talking about Shiller? Why has the topic co back to ?"
"I am talking about Shiller."
Shiller put the wine glass back on the table. It seed that the superhero sitting opposite, who did not understand his riddles, made him have to explicitly state it.
"Among those people thrown into the cosmos, one is special to Shiller. He's important to Shiller."
"Then why would he..." As Matt spoke, he suddenly halted, then murmured to himself, "Shiller is worried about a certain tragedy happening again, so he has to control soone, or change them?"
Shiller sighed slightly. It seed he was relieved for Matt's sudden comprehension. However, he didn't expect that the superhero here didn't know when to stop or even sense emotions. Matt pressed on:
"What is this tragedy?"
Shiller tightened his lips. He didn't want to say, but from Matt's expression, he knew that if he didn't, this man before him would persistently probe until he got his answer, or even make it public.
Consequently, he pointed out as much as he could.
"A mother loses a child; she can't lose a second."
Matt looked puzzled. Before he could ask further, Shiller exhaled deeply, forced to explain:
"The first child was special and could survive in the unique world, but the second was just an ordinary person, totally incapable of coping with this dangerous world."
"What Shiller had to do was to do whatever it took to make him capable of survival. Shiller's ultimate goal was to let him survive on his own, so you don't need to worry about him or them dying."
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