Ultimate Iron Man followed Shiller back to a room on the spacecraft. As a special guest, he had an entire suite, complete with a spectacular viewing window unique to this spaceship.
The summit was held here because the Ring Region Nebula was visible to the naked eye from here, a stunningly beautiful, nearly perfect circular nebula, a rare sight in the vast cosmos.
Through the huge teardrop-shaped floor-to-ceiling window, one could see a brilliant nebula twinkling with vibrant light in the darkness, formed by countless stars and colorful air currents, a grand and magnificent spectacle.
Shiller, too, was astounded by the breath-taking beauty when he first entered the room. The nebula emitted various colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple; it was intricate, mysterious, and brilliant.
Shiller stood in front of the window, gazing at the nebula as if transfixed by its tranquil depth. Ultimate Iron Man didn't speak. He occupied himself by playing with a small ornament on the coffee table.
After a while, Shiller snapped back to reality. He seemed a little awkward, and moved to the other end of the room. But Ultimate Iron Man proactively said, "It's really beautiful, isn't it? What do you see in a scenery like this?"
Shiller paused, then gave a slight shake of his head. "I've seen it before. What more could I discern?"
"Beauty does not lose its charm with the number of gazes bestowed upon it." Ultimate Iron Man's tone was devoid of the previous joviality; instead, he was quite serious. "It must have left a profound impression on you. Each time you gaze at it, you recall every epiphany it inspired."
Ultimate Iron Man moved to sit down on a single sofa by the window. He pointed to the chair opposite him and said, "I, too, am a guest who has come from afar. Don't you plan to have a chat with me?"
"You shouldn't have come here at all." Shiller turned to Ultimate Iron Man. "You should go back to your cosmos and do what you're supposed to do."
"There's nothing I'm 'supposed' to do, just as there's nothing you have to force yourself to do against your will right now." Ultimate Iron Man leaned on an armrest, tilting towards Shiller. "I can tell that it's difficult for you to tear yourself away from such beauty and awe. But a person can't always make tough decisions."
"You just called people who can't make tough decisions idiots, who deserve to be harvested." Shiller retorted.
"You've gotten the cause and effect reversed, I think," Ultimate Iron Man shook his head. "They can't make the decision to give up pleasure because they are idiots. Since you've been making these tough decisions all along, it proves that you have stronger willpower than them."
True enough, Ultimate Iron Man noticed Shiller shifting awkwardly, a sign that he was feeling uneasy.
"Have a seat, Doctor. Or, we can sit together in silence, contemplating the eternally spinning nebula as it projects a disdain for any self-proclaimed grandeur into infinity. That's just the way of the world. Some people's mere existences are denigrations of others."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Ultimate Iron Man distinctly saw Shiller's fingers tremble.
Shiller walked over and sat down. The two sat quietly, opposite one another under the massive viewing window.
The room was dark, without any light save for the faint radiance from the nebula outside the window. It cast long shadows of the two men, making them seem even more insignificant than the most elusive cosmic dust in the vast nebula, like rocks illuminated by moonlight.
"When was the last time you provided psychotherapy to a human?"
"Just yesterday, I... "
"You know that's not what I'm talking about," Ultimate Iron Man shook his head. "Aliens aren't our kind."
"But they have feelings too. They... aren't much different from us."
"Is that how you convince yourself?" Ultimate Iron Man straightened his body, crossing his hands over his lap. "At one point, you began to feel a loss of your ability to alleviate negative emotions in others. At some point, you realized you were gradually losing the ability to perceive other's emotions."
"But these abilities aren't essential for a psychotherapist." Shiller refuted, "Empathy and sympathy are indeed important, but that's not how this job works. We don't empathize and then console; we also rely on knowledge, theories, and extensive experience – with major emphasis on the latter."
"But the gradual fading and retreat still caused you pain. You felt something slipping away, but you were powerless to stop it."
"I just haven't been able to focus on that recently." After scoffing, Shiller said, "because of the imminent destruction of the cosmos, which doesn't seem to worry you a bit."
"Do you consider your talent a curse?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Let me guess." Ultimate Iron Man held up a hand, fingers spread, "To some extent, you can foresee the future, or at least, have an extraordinary premonition that goes beyond normal perspectives. This isn't only about the immediate crisis, but also includes impending calamities."
"But this can't be regarded as a talent, more like a curse. Ignorance is indeed the greatest bliss for mankind. If you're unaware, you don't have to be accountable. But once you know, you can't help feeling guilty."
"If that's the case, I should become a hero."
"You certainly can't." Ultimate Iron Man shook his head, "You really don't want to take this as your responsibility. If you're not a hero, you have some room for evasion. It's a justification for not trying your best, for assuaging your guilt when you fail."
"You do have a knack for being a psychotherapist."
"But you said this doesn't come from talent."
Shiller silently looked at Ultimate Iron Man, who then said, "When coming to find me, you chose not to show yourself. Understandable, given that we're not familiar with each other, and you weren't ready to reveal the whole truth. The less contact, the better to prevent me from probing too much."
"What strikes me as strange is that you're mingling with a bunch of aliens instead of actively preparing for the impending crisis with your hero friends back on Earth."
Leaning forward, Stark moved his elbow a bit closer and stared intently into Shiller's eyes. "Tell me, why not?"
Shiller turned to look at the nebula outside the window.
"I should have thought of that earlier," said Ultimate Iron Man. "True friends wouldn't mind going through hell and high water for you, you should know this. If you share everything with everyone, the scene should be as I described. You would be unified, not alone. Answer me, Doctor Shiller, have you never told anyone what you have seen?"
"It doesn't make sense," Shiller returned his gaze to Ultimate Iron Man. "What if someone came to you one day and told you that the world was about to end, we should prepare, would you believe them?"
"If I didn't believe, would I be here?"
"But what if nothing happened afterward?"
Ultimate Iron Man frowned slightly, "Aren't your prophecies always accurate?"
"In this world, there is no entirely accurate prophecy, only the content of the prophecy that can be changed has meaning, otherwise, I won't say anything."
With a little thought, Ultimate Iron Man understood Shiller's point. If Shiller had informed others about the prediction, and they prepared in advance to prevent the disaster from happening, it would imply that the prediction isn't entirely accurate. But if they knew in advance and prepared accordingly, utilizing various methods, but still couldn't change the outcome of the prophecy, then Shiller wouldn't need to tell anyone about the result of the prophecy at all. It was bound to happen, no matter how hard they tried.
Since Shiller implied that he had talked about it, it suggests that the disaster mentioned in the prediction could have been prevented.
But that wasn't the point, the point was that Ultimate Iron Man was sure that Shiller really knew what would happen in the future. It was an extraordinarily astonishing talent.
"Of course I know. As long as such a situation happens once, it would significantly damage your relationship with those close to you. It's a tough decision," Ultimate Iron Man said, then asked, "Before you told me, did you think I would believe it?"
Shiller finally showed his most complicated expression of the day, then shook his head.
Ultimate Iron Man chuckled lowly. He looked at Shiller with amusement in his eyes, "How ironic. Your heroic friends no longer believe in you, thinking you're only crying wolf, yet a wicked criminal that you intended to use has no hesitation in believing your words and works hard for it."
"So why do you believe?" Shiller asked.
"Because I am smart enough."
"But Iron Man..."
"No, I'm not talking about IQ," said Ultimate Iron Man. "I know what I once was. Iron Man understood almost everything in the cosmos, but he didn't understand the human heart. It's a privilege for madmen."
The eyes of this Crazy Iron Man showed a warm pink and cold blue refraction in the faint light emitted by the nebula, as dazzling as a pearl in a dark room.
"When you begin to contemplate things beyond formulas and theories, you will inevitably reach a conclusion that drives you insane, and suddenly understand what Hero Iron Man will never comprehend, which is human feelings."
"In the past, I was like a huge signal receiver, picking up on people's complex emotions, and responding with an equally overwhelming sentiment. When I learned to observe with detachment, I could naturally see more than others."
"What did you see in me?"
"Despair."
Ultimate Iron Man saw something in Shiller's eyes collapse in an instant, shattering like a fragile mirror, as the light from the nebula outside the window streamed in, unable to penetrate the bottomless abyss.
"Knowing but being powerless is the most despairing thing in the world," said Shiller. "That's why I said you shouldn't be here. You believed it, and you may have the means to change it, but you chose to give up. Nothing will change."
"I said it as well; the motivation that would lead me to save the cosmos is no longer goodness." Ultimate Iron Man's eyes moistened as if he has reverted to the time when he was still a hero, so sensitive and moving.
"So, what will it be?" Shiller asked.
Ultimate Iron Man heard the rustling sound of prey treading lightly on the snow beside a trap, but he could also hear the sniffing sound of alertness blowing away the falling snow. Then he lowered his eyes to speak.
"Honestly, I think you deserve a significant counterattack, you found me among countless Iron Men in the myriad universes because I have Iron Man's talent but without any bottom line."
"I can indeed do more than Iron Man, but that doesn't mean I'll do it for the sake of the cosmos. If I'll sacrifice more than your heroic friend Iron Man, it will only be because I think, I too, can see in you, amongst infinite alternate versions in various universes, the matching talents and bottom lines. — Can I?"
Shiller looked at him incredulously and asked, "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why me?"
"Certainly not because you've never been chosen before."
Shiller forcefully closed his eyes.
"He's taken the bait," Ultimate Iron Man said in his heart.
"He's taken the bait," Shiller said in his heart.