Otto needed to revive Kallen, and Noldrei would get the new world he created.
It was an incredibly insane fantasy.
But in the hands of these two men, it was indeed something that could be done.
"But, why would Otto listen to you?" Tesla didn't understand. She didn't think Otto was the type to be obedient.
Tesla really wasn't suited to be a leader. He explained, "Tesla, oh Tesla. Just like how you think an emperor's power is that whatever he says, goes, you're truly naively simple. Power isn't about what one person says, but about being able to get people to do things."
"I can't command anyone to do anything, not even Otto. These are things you all wanted to do yourselves. All I can do is control some materials, some technological developments, and so on."
"Otto himself wants to revive Kallen, he wants to do this himself. All I can do is present him with the results of what I will do. Tesla, I simply explained to Otto the two things I would do."
"In the new world, Otto will be punished according to the new criminal law. Of course, I will also allow Otto to choose to be punished by the laws of the old world."
"The laws of the new world?" Tesla was slightly stunned. "That's a huge difference. How do you plan to punish Otto?"
"It's not about how I plan to, but what the laws of the new world are like," Noldrei explained. "With the development of Stigma technology, the advancement of Geneticism, and the founding of the second Academy City, we can now, in fact, tear open a person's inner and spiritual world. This means that the old law of judging by actions and not intentions is completely outdated. Humanity has created a new world where a person can truly be punished based on their intentions."
"In other words, we can directly enter a killer's spiritual world to discover how they formed their motive for murder, and thus pass final judgment on them."
Tesla had never considered this problem. She took a deep breath and asked, "Are you planning to lead the world down this path?"
"Am I really the one leading? Think about it carefully. Humanity has actually been pursuing this possibility all along. From the earliest language and pictures, to later writing, songs, historical records, and now, to the emergence of more in-depth content like video recordings and psychoanalysis. From ancient times to the present, the increasingly cumbersome and subdivided legal categories—what is their purpose?"
"In the end, it's all about accelerating the speed of mutual understanding between people, and reducing the cognitive biases about others caused by intermediaries. It's all for one reason—mutual understanding between people."
"Or, as you in modern industrial society often say—the principle of openness, fairness, and justice!"
"But now, your voice tells me you're afraid. What are you afraid of? When this work is actually possible, why are you shrinking back?"
"It's not that people can't accept being judged by their intentions. It's just that when they don't have this ability, it's best not to give others the power to do so."
Noldrei's explanation fully demonstrated who the real radical in this world was. What made Tesla not know whether to laugh or cry was that Noldrei even thought he was already holding back. He even thought that if he moved too fast, humanity wouldn't be able to keep up, leading to even greater internal division.
In fact, the inside and outside of Academy City were already two completely different worlds. Noldrei was very clear about his own perception.
At this point, the battle between Sirin and Otto had lost all meaning.
Their hatred had become the final war for the right to speak between the old and new worlds. The outcome of this battle was no longer something that others could interfere with or change.
Tesla knew very well that the power structure formed by this event had not yet fully revealed its consequences.
Tesla wasn't afraid of humanity being able to peer into the spiritual world of their own kind. She was afraid of the power of this peering being concentrated in the hands of a few.
The principle of openness, fairness, and justice that Noldrei spoke of was completely different from when others said it. This man from the future dared to expose his every thought, his every inner fluctuation, to the world.
Because he was just that crazy.
But what about others? Tesla would have a big question mark over them.
"My dear, you're too radical. I don't think humanity is ready to accept such an era. So I think what you're doing is a bit out of touch with reality."
Tesla deeply regretted not having the ability to charm an emperor. She felt that she was too useless.
"Tesla, think about it. During a trial, if you can't be sure whether a person is exploiting a legal loophole for their own gain, or if they genuinely think that way, wouldn't that lead to bias in the judgment? But, if we can use the Stigma system to enter this person's spiritual world and expose this wavering issue from the depths of their heart, wouldn't we not have to worry about letting a bad person go?"
Don't do this, you're making me tempted!
Tesla, of course, knew how many people exploited legal loopholes. But if they could directly enter a person's spiritual world and erase this selfish thinking, it would mean that everyone would have to be fair, just, and open.
She had already suffered a mental breakdown just from accepting physical modification. But now she had to accept her spiritual world being completely dissected and exposed to the public eye. The fear of it left her feeling lost.
At this moment, Tesla finally realized how important the power of this private world of thought was.
"Don't worry, Tesla. I won't use it directly on people like that."
Noldrei's explanation did not make Tesla happy. In fact, it made her even more terrified.
You mean you'll use it indirectly on people, right?
Tesla had thought the Stigma Will organization was already a bunch of mental purists. She never expected Noldrei to want to go even further.
"Is this the 'ideological' world you were talking about?"
"After humanity's spirit becomes transparent, different people will inevitably be classified based on their different spiritual needs. Is this the reason for the continuous struggle of future humanity? How deeply unsettling."
Tesla sighed. She no longer wanted to know about the new world Noldrei spoke of.
She now deeply understood how cruel the struggle in Noldrei's world was. The current era of Geneticism was just the beginning.
"Wait? That's not right! Weren't you trying to prevent such a world from being born?"
Tesla suddenly remembered that Noldrei hadn't traveled back in time to build such a human world.
"Yes. So I'm just showing it to you all first, to see if there's anything that needs to be changed."
Noldrei's words were light and airy, yet they blew away the haze in Tesla's heart like the spring sun melting the snow.