"I think our planet is swallowed by a black hole. After I expressed this view, Rodriguez surprisingly didn't mock my naive metaphor. 'Darkness causes time to stagnate, I suppose that's what you're hinting at, Mr. Fries. It's plausible both in terms of physics and sociology, and quite interesting.' I didn't expect such a comment, perhaps he was just comforting me, but it did make me feel better. See, even a cold and proud detective isn't stingy when it comes to offering thorough discoveries when trying to comfort someone."
The phone suddenly rang. I looked in the direction, the screen lit up only to reflect Rodriguez's cold demeanor. 'Moriarty has arrived,' he said. From the look on his face, this wasn't a good sign, but we've been through so many bad things that even I generously thought, one more wouldn't make a difference.
'He greeted an old friend, Mr. Fries, what do you think that means?' Honestly, I didn't know. But still, I tried my best to guess: 'He must have known you before.'
It was a completely foolish answer. Of course, an old friend wouldn't use such a term for a stranger they've never met. But if he compares himself to Moriarty, it certainly doesn't sound like someone Rodriguez would know.
'Who is Moriarty's rival?' Detective asked and answered himself, 'Of course it's Holmes.' He began to pace, seeming to be reasoning but actually with a hint of contempt, 'Only a puzzle of this level...'
I looked at him somewhat confused, but he had already put on his coat and headed for the door. I followed his steps into the damp night. It wasn't until we got in the car that I still hadn't figured out what it was about.
'A cliff,' he said, 'The cliffside restaurant on the shore.'"
Victor raised his head, shaking his somewhat stiff neck. Though the segment wasn't long, he had revised it several times already. Knowing that Hugo had arranged to meet Shiller at the cliffside restaurant, he had to deduce what kind of puzzle Hugo had set.
But Victor wasn't very skilled at designing puzzles himself. Even with word games, he could only suggest using the cliff where Holmes and Moriarty perished together as an implication. Perhaps Hugo might design some more complex puzzles, but that's all he could think of.
Victor recanted his view that he wouldn't need to research. To make the confrontation exciting and thrilling, various puzzles were essential. But what should he research about this stuff?
Sitting there, unable to think of anything, Victor had to take out his phone, intending to consult Brainiac. However, he found there was no signal and had to take his phone downstairs.
'I only know number and symbol puzzles,' Brainiac said, 'But I think neither of them favors this style, what do you think?'
'Uh, indeed.' Victor rubbed his forehead, unable to imagine Shiller decoding digital combination puzzles.
'I can help you consult a professional,' Brainiac said, 'I happen to know a riddle master, and he knows Shiller. Perhaps he can tailor some riddles...'
'That would be the best,' Victor said, 'Not just riddles, but also the process of solving them. It should be more exciting, with a psychology and psychoanalysis style.'
Soon after, Brainiac returned with a message. It was very long, and Victor's head buzzed from reading it. But he had to admit, this riddle master was quite skillful. He wrote a series of connected riddles around the spiritual world's 'imagery' and 'metaphor', also providing a detailed Shiller-style way of solving them.
Not only did it contain professional terms, but it was crucial for both sides' viewpoints and ideological battle. Shiller's view is 'The essence of manipulation is love,' while Hugo's view is 'The essence of manipulation is hate.' The two sides engaged in a series of confrontations based on this theme.
This gave Victor inspiration. He knew how to handle the part with the little girl. He returned upstairs, writing vigorously, quickly finishing the prelude to the confrontation, the part where Hugo sets the riddle and Shiller solves it. Apart from solving puzzles, there was also a lot of verbal sparring.
Then, the little girl Noel appeared. She wasn't thrown down like a corpse, but stood before Shiller, and the two of them had a conversation.
The main content was what Shiller had previously told Victor, the little girl's experiences at Wayne Manor. In Victor's story, Hugo did not warp the girl's memory to produce hostility towards Shiller, instead amplified Noel's 'hate' towards Bruce, using it to attack Shiller. This also demonstrated Hugo's viewpoint, that the essence of manipulation is hate. If Noel didn't hate Bruce, Hugo's manipulation couldn't succeed.
However, how to express Shiller's viewpoint troubled Victor a bit. He wanted Shiller to persuade Noel, but the matter between Bruce and Noel was inherently not justified on Bruce's part. No matter how persuasive it seemed, it was like arguing fallaciously. Although Shiller was adept at fallacious arguments, the occasion wasn't quite right.
Indeed, designing the ending first then reasoning back through the process was a bit inhumane. For this dish of dumplings with vinegar, the vinegar only needs to be poured out, while the dumplings require much more consideration.
Victor scratched his head for a long time but couldn't write it out. He had no choice but to head back to Brainiac, but Brainiac didn't understand much about literary creation.
'I think you should ask the person involved,' Brainiac said, 'Why not ask Bruce Wayne?'
Victor was taken aback and then said, 'Isn't he busy now?'
'Well, it depends on how you define "busy". If forming a Dark Knights group to disrupt multiverse harmony counts as busy, then he is indeed quite busy.'
'Forget it, could you send him a message asking what he would do in this situation? By the way, emphasize that I'm writing a novel, or he might come and disrupt my peaceful life.'
Brainiac did as told. Shortly after, Victor received Bruce's reply – 'Professor should show Noel how inept I am at psychoanalysis methods, which might help Noel understand me.'
Victor was enlightened. How did he not think of that?
Although Victor wasn't involved in what happened back then, he can imagine what it was like, especially after he and Nora adopted Billy. He fully understood how difficult raising a child can be.
Both he and Nora used to be elementary school teachers and have dealt with many children before. They are both quite patient people, respectful to children, willing to communicate, knowledgeable, and experienced. Billy is also a very sensible child who never throws unreasonable tantrums. Because he had been in foster care before, he is a bit cautious and good at reading people's expressions. However, even so, sometimes things can still turn into chaos.
Back then, Bruce was under 20 years old, had never been a parent, and hadn't had much contact with children. When he was a child, his parents passed away early, so he was extremely inexperienced in being both a parent and a child. Even now, he still is.
Currently, there are no conflicts between Bruce and Dick, not because Bruce has become much more mature and skillful, but because Dick and the others have grown up. Those kids are past their rebellious phase and have become contemporaries of Bruce, naturally leading to mutual understanding and forgiveness.
As long as Noel understands Bruce's difficulties and can put herself in his shoes, perhaps she will forgive him.
But Noel is just a child, and she is a child whose mind has been twisted by Hugo. Even adults find it hard to empathize with others, let alone her. How could she possibly be made to understand?
Getting here, Victor was stuck again. He felt a bit frenzied. Indeed, once something becomes a targeted task, it turns painful. It no longer has the joy of free creation that it once did.
Victor didn't know whether this pain came from limitations or from literary creation itself. Perhaps it was a bit of both, but there was no turning back. No matter what, he had to finish it.
Victor sat quietly behind his desk in the study, pondering how to complete the plot satisfactorily. He thought about discussing it with Brainiac again, so he went to the first floor. At that moment, he received a text message, "I'm back. - Shiller"
Victor quickly put away his phone, left the library, and drove back to Gotham University. Seeing Shiller standing at the office door, Victor walked up and gave him a hug.
"You have no idea how worried I've been," Victor said.
"You hold too many unrealistic illusions about me," Shiller looked at him and said, "You know I'm the last person to take risks without absolute certainty."
"That may be true…"
"How's your novel coming along?"
"Your way of changing the subject is too abrupt." Victor walked into the office with him and said, "I'm facing a challenge."
"Let's hear it."
Victor briefly explained, and Shiller paused, then said, "I sent you rings to expel the behind-the-scenes manipulator, not for you to make up things about me…"
"Then how do you plan to undo Noel's brainwashing?" Victor spread his hands, "This is the fastest way."
"No need to undo it." Shiller shook his head.
"What?"
"Hugo only altered Noel's perception of me. That is to say, she only hates me. I just need to stay out of her sight."
"But…" Victor didn't react immediately, then quickly remembered. He said, "But don't you want to manipulate her to comfort Bruce? How can you do that without appearing in front of her?"
"No manipulation needed." Shiller looked at him and said, "That's the biggest takeaway from this journey."
Victor looked at him with confusion.
"Noel does not hate Bruce." Shiller went over and sat down, saying, "Remember I mentioned her strong survival will?"
Victor nodded and said, "So where does that come from?"
"In her final moments, she processed most of the information through thinking and understood—Bruce wanted to save her."
Victor's expression froze. He said, somewhat shocked, "So…"
"She just wants to say 'thank you' to him."
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