Martin had previously made an attempt to offer sacrifices and had received a response from the Feathered Serpent God, and he could communicate with it through some vague senses, but perhaps because there were some issues with the Aztec Deity System, such communication was always intermittent.
Shiller and the others bought tickets and lined up to visit The Great Pyramid, but things were more complicated than they had imagined because there were too many tourists inside the Pyramid, and it clearly wasn't possible to take any action at that time.
So they agreed to come back at night, and during the day they simply visited the Pyramid and figured out the general layout, then left the magnificent structure.
With some time before The Great Pyramid closed at dark, Shiller decided to address the Mutant issue first; he decided to meet with Magneto but asked Martin which restaurant was farthest from the city center, preferably located in the middle of the desert.
This question really stumped Martin. Most restaurants acceptable to tourists were clustered in one area, the most prosperous, and although there were restaurants in remote locations, they were mostly local establishments with unimpressive decor and overly local dishes.
At Shiller's insistence, however, after inquiring around, Martin managed to find a decent-looking restaurant on the outskirts of Mexico City.
This restaurant was on the essential route to The Great Pyramid and catered to tourists, so it was quite good, and the surrounding environment was open, with no village in front nor shop in back.
Martin was still puzzled as to why Shiller wanted such a place, but on their way back, they entered the restaurant, and Shiller sent the address to Magneto.
Magneto didn't come alone; he brought a group of people, Mutants, members of the Brotherhood, but he was surprised to see that Shiller had only brought one person with him.
However, Magneto didn't say anything and sat down opposite Shiller, sizing up Clark with an eagle-like gaze, but he couldn't see anything special from his appearance.
Mystique, on the other hand, could tell—Clark was especially handsome.
Clark greeted the older man before him with a brilliant smile, so dazzling that it reminded Magneto of many memories from his younger days with Charles, and he was the least adept at dealing with such people.
"Hello, sir, my name is Clark Kent."
Magneto took another close look at Clark and then realized—wasn't this Superman?
His slow response was because this Clark looked a bit different from the Superman he had met in Battleworld, with a different demeanor, and also younger.
He remembered him as a Superhero from another universe and a parrot who only repeated Batman's name. Could this guy even farm?
A hint of skepticism appeared in Magneto's eyes, but Shiller didn't steer the conversation to farming; instead, he said, "My two friends have made quite an accomplishment in Mexico, and they're very curious about the situation of Mutants in this universe."
"But after all, I'm not a Mutant and not very familiar with your history. It would be great if you could tell him about it."
Magneto looked at Shiller sidelong, had he known about this step, he would have brought Charles with him; he was not one for storytelling.
Fortunately, his old partner didn't need to be present to tell a story. Magneto whispered a few words, and a gentle voice rang in Clark's ear, that of Professor X.
Clark was startled at first but quickly became curious about this ability. He actively connected his mental power with the other's, and at Professor X's end, Magneto heard a gasp of surprise.
As expected, Professor X was dazzled, as Magneto had already noticed that the young man's magnetic field was unusually disorderly, likely the fluctuations of his escaping spiritual power, a sign of his immense mental energy.
Soon, however, Professor X adjusted, and he transferred some of his memories to Clark, many destinies of Mutants he had personally witnessed—which were generally not good.
Although the Brotherhood led by Magneto was a bona fide terrorist group, the majority of Mutants in the world were also factually persecuted.
In a society where ordinary people with little difference between them commonly face school bullying and workplace bullying, how much more so for those who are visibly different?
The number of Mutants with positive abilities is actually in the minority; most would be better called Mutants with afflictions.
Take Beast, a teacher at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, for example. His mutation is entirely negative; it's just that his high intelligence allows him to conduct scientific research. His personality is very likable, making him very popular among teachers and students, Charles's right-hand man.
But many Mutants don't have his intelligence and suffer mutations similar to his, their skin might be red, yellow, blue, or green, or they may have hair like a Beast, or a pair of large fangs that make eating difficult. Some have claws of a Beast and can't grasp things properly.
Those with abnormal appearances are still manageable, but some have an extra eyeball growing behind their eyes, requiring surgery to remove, and others are born with hip dysplasia, bound to lie in a hospital bed for life.
The mutation of the X-gene is truly too uncontrollable. For humans, it's more like a disease than a gift.
Even Magneto, such a powerful mutant, couldn't control his mutant abilities well when he first experienced them as a child. The vertigo of being able to sense the pulse of the Earth at any moment, and the strange sensation of seemingly growing countless other organs, cast a lifelong shadow over him.
Even as a child, Charles was exposed to too many vile human thoughts at an age when he shouldn't have been receiving such information.
Therefore, it's no exaggeration to say the X-gene is a curse for humans. This group has no sense of collective honor; the vast majority of mutants resent this gene within them. They are inciting violence against their own kind, what more can be expected?
Thus, mutants living in other parts of the world have long suffered severe persecution. Had it not been for the emergence of Magneto and Charles, research efforts might have been more focused on completely eradicating the X-gene rather than utilizing it.
In fact, Shiller speculated that at this time, an Eastern Great Nation might already have similar research underway, simply not disclosed for social stability reasons. However, eliminating these detrimental X-genes would likely become the trend.
The only issue is, if such a drug could affect all mutants, then a wave of mandatory injections would surely arise. But these powerful mutants will not submit to fate, and when that happens, the conflict will become irreparable.
What Magneto and Professor X are doing now is to ensure that, once the conflict erupts, they have an alternative other than mutual destruction with Earth.
Mutants cannot bring about mutual destruction with Earth, because they come from ordinary people; to exterminate ordinary people is akin to exterminating themselves. Yet they are unwilling to perish in such a manner. If they cannot defeat their foes, is fleeing not an option?
Having seen these memories, Clark Kent also thought of these issues. With a serious expression, he shook his head and said, "This is a tough problem to solve. I think you're on the right path, you're just moving too fast."
Clark's super brain quickly processed information as he said, "You haven't solved any of the problems mutants face on Earth; you've simply shifted them to another galaxy. So, the issues that exist among them remain. In the end, problems faced by Earth's mutants will become those of the Andromeda Galaxy's mutants. Nothing has changed."
"And if you only care about the powerful mutants and neglect the weaker ones, a true utopia for mutants will never exist. You won't be able to truly lead all the powerful mutants."
"To solve the problems mutants face on Earth, you still need to call for an end to discrimination. But you have been calling for many years without much effect. Why not think about the reason behind it?"
"If I must say it, I think that some of your destructive actions and verbal advocacies still only affect those powerful mutants. Governments realize that mutants with great powers pose a threat to them, so they naturally pay them more respect."
"But the government also knows that the vast majority of mutants don't have such power. If so, why bother with discrimination incidents?"
"This results in the majority of mutants' situation remaining unchanged. They are still living in dire straits, but your actions have made them aware that you have the power to save them. Now, you're left with only two choices: completely abandon them or save them. What do you plan to do?"
Magneto's face didn't show any change. He had long made his decision; he did not want to deal with these disabled mutants.
He believed that Epsilon Level and Omega-Level mutants were not even the same species. He didn't feel the need to take care of these innately defective individuals. All he needed to do was gather all the powerful Omega-Level mutants to establish his own civilization, which had no place for these "useless" individuals.
Professor X's attitude was more neutral. He believed that the resources obtained by powerful mutants should also be used to care for those inherently disadvantaged.
But in reality, the two shared the same stance—their vision of mutant civilization did not include these disabled mutants.
Some might think this is utterly inhumane.
Humans indeed regard mutual aid as a virtue. Taking care of the old, weak, sick, and disabled in a community is a reflection of inclusiveness.
But among mutants, it's not just one in ten that are old, weak, sick, or disabled. It's about six or seven out of ten, and perhaps only one in ten thousand is a strong individual above the average.
And for an ultra-powerful being like Magneto, there is only one among millions of people from the current and previous generations.
In such a scenario, it's not a matter of goodwill to help the old, weak, sick, and disabled. To save others is Sisyphean—it's not like four horses pulling one person, but a single horse dragging a building.
If they had spare capacity, they wouldn't be opposed to using some resources to help their lagging brethren. But given their own dire circumstances, they definitely wouldn't be able to help.
Magneto wanted to speak his mind, but Professor X stopped him, explaining the principles behind mutants' birth and the general data so far as well as their current situation to Clark in a gentler way.
Then Clark asked a soul-searching question, "Does the union of powerful mutants necessarily produce powerful offspring?"