"What you probably don't understand is that in intelligence work, it's extremely difficult to earn a Red Flag Medal. It requires making a significant contribution. As for the Cambridge Five, you should know of them, right?"
Stark and Steve both nodded, and Natasha said: "Harold. Jin. Philby, the most renowned of the Cambridge Five, was a holder of the Red Flag Medal, and I don't think I need to explain how important his contributions were."
Natasha shook her head and said: "I thought of myself as a top spy in the Soviet Union before leaving the Red Room. I did more than the average agent, even participating in wars. Yet, I didn't receive this medal."
"If, at that time, another female agent had received this medal, I would certainly know. Moreover, if there existed such an outstanding female agent, we would undoubtedly be familiar with each other. But as far as I know, no such person exists."
The deduction was again at a deadlock, Stark and Steve had fallen into a pondering silence when Natasha suddenly spoke:
"Your story seems a bit far-fetched; it doesn't quite line up with reality. There's quite a stretch in many aspects, whether in terms of time or space, there are numerous loopholes."
"In my opinion, it's quite simple." Natasha speculated: "You said in his adolescence, he was antisocial and somehow was cured."
"Consider this: If there truly existed such an outstanding psychiatrist in this world, she must be an academic authority, how could you have never heard of her name?"
"A female, a Soviet agent, a renowned scholar in the field of psychology, a long-liver, a sufferer of degenerative brain disease... Each of these is rare on its own, let alone all combined. You should be well aware of the improbability of that."
"I think, Shiller wasn't cured by someone else; it is quite probable that he healed himself."
"But Shiller has emphasized to us many times that a doctor cannot self-heal," Steve interjected.
"Well, it's not self-healing per se, but could it be possible that he was healed by certain ideologies and ideals?"
Steve and Stark were both stunned. Evidently, they thought of something. Stark wanted to interject, but Steve said, "Indeed, that is quite possible."
"Don't tell me you're suggesting Shiller was indeed this Soviet agent, who was then won over by communism and joined the KGB?" Stark's incredulity was palpable in his tone.
"Are such occurrences so infrequent?" Natasha retorted: "In that era, there were countless such people. Even though I was always working in other countries, I knew that the vast majority of my colleagues were moving forward unyieldingly..."
At that moment, Stark heard Steve sigh: his tone was somewhat melancholic, reminiscing a bygone era. "That's right, you might find it hard to imagine, but that was an era full of idealists."
"Every Soviet I knew, when they spoke of their country, their eyes lit up. I haven't seen that kind of pure idealistic light since."
"Perhaps, we may not understand or agree with their ideology, but the strength of that nation didn't come unwarranted."
Stark fell silent, the sound of his battlesuit echoed in his ears. As a person who had not experienced that era, it was indeed hard to imagine.
But, the pages of historical documents flipping before him were filled with similar testimonies, even more exaggerated than the stories they had heard; they came forth in an endless stream, igniting a prairie fire...
And yet, standing at the downstream of history, Stark knew about the fate of that once colossal force that stood on top of the Earth. He looked at Natasha.
At that moment, Natasha was staring absently at the badge in her hand. Stark thought he was hallucinating because he thought he saw a hint of yearning in Natasha's eyes.
He had heard Natasha denounce that country on countless occasions with a sincerity that could not have been faked, a genuine resentment that even he, an American, could not match.
What was she loathing, and what was she reminiscing?
Seeing Natasha's reaction, Stark somewhat started to believe. Perhaps, that once glorious time became both their lifelong pride and their lifelong torment.
Stark looked back down at the folder, was Shiller the same?
The so-called lover did not exist. What he loved, cured him, and saved him from the edge of the abyss, was the campfire on the Siberian snow fields and the brilliance under the red flag.
And what now tortures him, haunts him, and he can never forget, is this worn red medal.
In other words, all that they saw in Shiller's Thought Palace, and all that they speculated, could only be conjectures, and the only tangible evidence they had were this folder and this medal.
If there was something that could be truly confirmed, it was that Shiller did own this red medal, did see this extremely important list, and did have ties to that now dead country.
Perhaps, the only real hurt comes from this, and it is irreversible.
Stark and Steve both came to this understanding.
In Shiller's Thought Palace, after witnessing the gruesome scene, they believed that if given a choice between the collapse of one's spiritual pillar and death, they would choose the latter.