"I do not deny this," Strange said, "However, I need to emphasize that learning magic requires talent. If you're inherently unable to communicate with those mysterious entities, you will never learn magic; even if you can communicate, if your body lacks affinity, it will also be very unstable. The requirents for learning magic are extrely high, so it is destined that there won't be many students. I think there might only be a few hundred."
"That's still a lot," Binn said. "At least to ordinary people, they are walking bombs. Aren't they?"
"No. At most, a bomb can destroy a street. If all the energy within a magician is unleashed, Earth might cease to exist."
The senators were in an uproar. Strange continued, "Take for example. If I lose control now and all my energy explodes uncontrollably, it could flatten half the Milky Way. Compared to mutants you often describe as 'bombs', it's about the destructive power of an Oga-level mutant."
Now everyone was silent again. Although they did not know much about magicians, they were very familiar with mutants. If you had compared them to mutants earlier, we would have understood much sooner.
"Perhaps contrary to what you imagine, I did not co here to persuade you to agree to the establishnt of a magic academy." Strange said with a serious expression, "On the contrary, I am here to tell you what magic is, how dangerous it is, and what kind of harm it could cause if it is abused uncontrollably."
"If possible, I very much hope humans would not use this unreliable power for anything. But the reality now is that we have to partially rely on this power—at the very least, we absolutely cannot dismantle the magic defense network. I am sure you agree with my point of view."
"Since humans and magic must coexist, governnts of all countries and ordinary people have the right to understand this power. Even if I am called the Supre Magician, I cannot deprive you of this right. You have the right to know the truth."
"Magic is extrely dangerous. Magicians are even more dangerous. The Demon Gods behind magicians are more dangerous than most things in the cosmos. We must be extrely cautious; we must strive to control it. If possible, we should also study carefully, striving to understand the deeper aning behind the power, so we can control it better."
"This is the original intention behind my proposal to establish a magic school. Magic is dangerous, but humans cannot rid themselves of it; therefore, we must study it more deeply. Even if the source is not in our hands, we must understand its principles and regulate its use to minimize danger."
"It's like the steam engine of the industrial revolution, internal combustion engines, various dangerous chemicals, and bomb materials. They are all dangerous, but they are also useful. Humans have established one discipline after another to be able to benefit from them while avoiding safety accidents. Magic lacks these things, but now it is not too late to establish them."
"Unfortunately, foundational sciences are sothing almost everyone can learn—most people with normal intelligence can learn at least the basics. But magic is not like that, it requires so much talent. This ans that magic-related talents will be very rare, so rare that they may not be enough to establish a foundational discipline."
"Without a unified school and research institute, they would be scattered around the world, making it even less likely to produce any results. What we need to do is gather these already scarce talents together so that research can be conducted more efficiently."
"And because the talent from a single universe is insufficient, we must search for talent within the multiverse, absorb and accept them, and let them contribute to our universe's magic research endeavors."
"The reason for choosing Massachusetts is because it's the place in Arica that absorbs the most talent from around the world. The Federation developed into what it is today thanks to these scientists from all around the world. The academic atmosphere there is rich, the natural environnt is beautiful, and the policies for high-tech talent are excellent."
"In short, because it is dangerous, it requires research; but because the threshold is too high and talent is too scarce, it requires immigration talent. This is the reason I advocate for establishing a magic school. Any more questions?"
Nick listened in stunned silence.
The senators obviously did not expect Strange to say this. In their view, Strange should be desperately praising the benefits of magic, emphasizing that magic is not dangerous, and that the school would not cause any harm, so that they would agree to the plan to build a magic school.
But now it's completely the opposite. Strange kept talking about how incredibly dangerous magic is, yet humans cannot go without magic; now there are also quite a few active magicians, and to minimize the danger, a school must be established.
What's the difference?
The difference is: if it were the forr thod of presentation, not establishing a magic school, and then magic causing troubles afterward, it would highlight the foresight of the politicians—"See, I told you magic was dangerous, right? If we had agreed to build the school, wouldn't it have been more dangerous?"
But if it were the latter presentation, if you didn't establish the school, and magic causes problems in the future, the politicians would take the bla.
Even if in reality, having the school is not important, the public would feel that the path not chosen at the ti would definitely lead to a good outco. They might think that if the magic school had been established, they might have completely mastered magic by now, and there would be no accidents. The politicians stopped it, so wouldn't they be taking the bla?
Politicians hate taking the bla the most. The essence of politics is to make sure everyone avoids bla. After Strange finished speaking, all the senators began to discuss frantically because no one wanted to be the one left taking the bla.
Moreover, this also solved the problem of no short-term benefits. We are inviting people from other universes to absorb immigration talent—talent itself is a benefit. Isn't Arica developed by a large influx of immigrant talent?
In the case where people with magic talent are extrely scarce, by absorbing talent from there, not only can they reduce the talent in other universes, they can also increase the talent here, achieving the dual strategic goals of weakening the opponent and strengthening oneself, which is Arica's favorite zero-sum ga. It looks like a big win no matter how you see it.
Strange managed to reverse the awkward situation of establishing the magic academy through a strategic retreat. Although the fact remains that the establishnt of the magic academy has mixed pros and cons, at least in na, there's no longer any valid reason to oppose it.
The originally tangled theoretical problem was swiftly untangled. Now Strange understood why Shiller was eager to investigate environntal issues in the construction process.
This kind of upside-down reasoning and reversal of cause and effect seed so familiar? Nick couldn't help but look towards Strange.
"I think I know who your psychiatrist is."
Strange smiled slightly.
"He may be unscrupulous, but he's definitely not a quack."
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