Professor Connors

Empire State University and Arasaka Academy had very different styles.

Unlike that feeling of everything having been designed for you from birth, Empire State University was genuinely much better.

After all, in 2011, a top university like this held considerable standing in society. It not only produced talented people for all sorts of professions but also conducted scientific research. It was one of the "grown-ups" itself.

The surrounding area was much more open, with parks making up most of it, so it felt less oppressive.

To be fair, New York's air wasn't exactly great, but it really was much sweeter than Night City's...

Suddenly, a small line of text popped up on the Biomonitor-

[Blood lead levels have risen slightly. Please be mindful of air pollution.]

Oh, so that sweet smell was leaded gasoline. Never mind, then.

2011 looked more hopeful and freer, but the technological gap was very real.

Sensing Lier looking around, Matt finally felt that his young boss was acting a little like someone his age-

Of course, he had no idea what Lier was thinking.

Matt smiled. "Want to go to school?"

"My school days..." Lier paused and rephrased it. "They might be some of the happiest days I could imagine."

In truth, Lier was talking about the past-his previous life.

But he wasn't the nostalgic type. His current life was plenty colorful, too.

Lier gave Matt a surprised look instead. "So, Mr. Murdock, you've got some extraordinary abilities, and you're not planning to hide them anymore?"

Remember, Matt was blind.

How could he see Lier looking around? Because, of course, he wasn't blind in the strictest sense.

Still smiling, Matt adjusted his glasses. "We've put our lives on the line together. That counts for something, doesn't it? You seem pretty extraordinary yourself. I'm guessing being splashed with dangerous chemicals isn't the only thing we have in common."

"Looks like I can't deny it." Lier shrugged.

"There's no need to deny it, either. You're different from me. You're gifted enough that everyone will envy that brain of yours. I can see that future."

"Really? I think your gifts are something everyone would envy, too." Lier paused. "I don't mean physically. I mean mentally."

Matt paused in surprise. "I didn't know you had such a perceptive pair of eyes."

The two walked through campus in brief silence before Matt suddenly asked, "I have a question. Actually, what happened this time... maybe you could have handled it alone. The cameras, the circuits...

"You could have dealt with those guys all by yourself, couldn't you?"

Having witnessed Bullseye being crushed to pulp and the car crash afterward, Matt didn't think Lier had needed to rally those residents.

He could easily have killed Bullseye himself, or even Kingpin, and done all sorts of things. No one would have known. He could have quietly taken care of everything.

Just like Iron Man slaughtering terrorists single-handedly. No need to say anything-just get it done.

Lier smiled. "Like a superhero?"

"Strange choice of words... but yes, like a superhero. You could have stepped up and handled everything yourself, but you didn't."

"And then, whenever something goes wrong, everyone prays, 'Please, let a superhero come save me!'"

Lier shook his head as he spoke. "I want them to stand up, just like they did this time. Maybe they can't bring themselves to kill, can't make much money, don't have any knowledge, or even... any courage.

"But they have to take action. They might not dare fight back against thugs, but they can take John, who did dare to fight, to the hospital.

"They don't have money or homes, but they can save the life of the landlord who looks after them, Mr. Rigordo.

"There's a term in the East: 'Upright Official.' It was originally an expression of respect, but over time, it took on a different meaning.

"Your house gets robbed, and you beg heaven to send an Upright Official to punish the thief. You get beaten, and you drag your wounded body before an Upright Official, begging him to judge fairly.

"Your family gets killed... and you kowtow on the steps until you die, begging an Upright Official to appear and deliver justice."

Matt looked thoughtful. "It sounds like... you're worried they'll rely on you for everything from now on."

"Yes-people with greater abilities should shoulder greater responsibilities, but that doesn't mean you're useless and can hide in a hole, waiting for the crisis to pass.

"Or rather, when all you know how to do is cover your eyes, plug your ears, and hide in a hole, that's a disaster in itself."

"But... what can they actually do? You're not going to need some kind passerby to take you to the hospital every time, are you?"

Lier broke into a grin. "That's why I say capitalism poisons society, but money is a great sociological invention.

"They can do the work they're good at, and they can pay me. I'm good at things they aren't. Isn't facilitating that exchange exactly what money is for?"

Matt wore an odd expression. "That sounds like a politician making excuses for the system."

"No. If you think about it carefully, you'll realize that this division of labor really does create an environment where people can do the work they're good at.

"Otherwise, if I wanted to do research, I'd first have to learn to grow my own food, build a house, and so on. By the time I finished all that work, I'd be seventy or eighty."

"Good at it, huh... being good at something doesn't necessarily mean you enjoy it."

"So..." Lier pointed at his head. "As a researcher, what I should really be offering those manual laborers in exchange is a future.

"A future brought about by better technology, where we don't need to force so many people into backbreaking labor.

"Or, to put it another way, what everyone really hopes to get from others is a better future, not merely money on the surface.

"The latter means being seduced by a tool and forgetting why you set out in the first place.

"In the end, rather than calling someone like that a person, you might as well call them a personified... bank card?"

After listening, Matt said nothing for a long time. This was an angle he had never considered.

He suddenly thought of his father.

His father had been an underground boxer. As a child, Matt had often seen him looking worried, hoping to earn more money.

But he knew his father hadn't really loved money.

At that thought, a glimmer of understanding arose in Matt's heart. He smiled and said:

"You really do think about a lot of things. But I agree with what you said about superheroes. People really do need to learn to change their circumstances through effort rather than prayer.

"You should take classes in the Philosophy Department."

"Oh, come on-just introduce me to this professor already."

By then, the two had reached the laboratory door.

Matt, however, merely smiled without saying anything.

Just then, a man's voice came from behind Lier. "Well said."

Lier turned around and saw a middle-aged blond man wearing glasses, looking at him appreciatively. Though there seemed to be something... complicated in that appreciation.

Complicated?

"Good to see you, Mr. Murdock. And this must be Mr. Li?"

Matt turned and nodded. "Yes. Lier, this is Professor Curt Connors. Hello, Professor."

So this professor had been following them the whole time?

Considering Matt's sharp senses, he had probably noticed the professor following them long ago... he shouldn't have overheard anything sensitive.

"Uh... it's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Connors. Sorry, I mean, this meeting came about rather suddenly."

They shook hands, and Connors smiled as he adjusted his glasses. "I'm the one who should apologize. I heard you and Mr. Murdock discussing something and unconsciously softened my footsteps. I wanted to hear what you were talking about.

"Well, let's head inside-just as you said, I also hope to give patients tormented by illness a future."

That included himself.

Lier saw Professor Connors's empty right sleeve.