"Latveria has already warned the world: an alien fleet is heading for our solar system. Yet fools still wallow in the thrill of scrambling for power and hoarding wealth, instead of actively advancing technology to resist the external enemy or joining hands to end disputes. Here and now, I'm issuing an invitation. I will share our space station and the Martian Foundry with every nation willing to cooperate—share every technology and piece of knowledge that can be used to resist the alien fleet. Latveria has mastered faster-than-light spaceflight. After we defeat the alien armada, humanity will advance together to the sea of stars and embrace the destiny of ruling the galaxy. I pledge that I will always stand at the very front, fending off the extinction crisis and carving out territory for the human race. The premise is… that you stand on the same battle line as I do and face the extinction crisis of our species."
Even a brief pause could be fatal; when he paused, some people even forgot to breathe. Only when a commotion rose did the hush in the hall break. Tita opened the comm channel and signaled the Sisters at the doors to deal with the politicians who had been thrown out earlier. Their treatment seemed to have given them the wrong idea—that Solomon wouldn't dare kill them, that Latveria would "reason" with them—so the moment they left the hall, they started a loud protest. A few gunshots later, everything was quiet. No one dared interrupt Solomon again.
Elected officials are always idiots; Athens proved that more than two thousand years ago.
"Latveria will also fight any nation or organization that tries to sabotage cooperation. Given that NATO is now at war with Latveria, from this moment forward the U.S. Navy will not be allowed to cross a single step beyond the Atlantic. If it does, Latveria's interstellar missiles will strike military-industrial facilities in the United States and every NATO ally in Europe. Starting now, Latveria will set about annihilating all of NATO's space assets—satellites, space stations, and so on—completely crippling every form of communication established since the computer age. Put simply, as of today, Google Maps will no longer work. Of course, that's only one of the results of this campaign."
Solomon's voice bored into everyone's mind with the utmost hardness. He paused slightly to give the dignitaries time to digest his words. "The galaxy is a competitive arena. You flatter yourselves that accepting refugees and then letting them fend for themselves is 'civilized,' that animal rights surpass human rights is 'civilized.' It's nothing but self-gratifying hypocrisy. We are now about to face the most direct, most brutal test: survival. In the face of survival, Latveria does not mind using weapons of mass destruction to annihilate, by the most thorough means, any nation or organization that refuses humanity's progress—and to free from them everything that can save mankind. Any country or group that wages war for religious faith or personal greed will be an enemy of Latveria, because everything Latveria does is to ensure the continuation of the human species, nothing else. I don't want to kill, but I am forced to use the blood of some to spur the rest to live. Your every stupidity is driving me to destroy you and liberate population, thought, and productive power from your hands."
Everyone could see the sorrow in his eyes, but only Natasha Romanoff knew he was telling the truth.
"In the world to come, differences of skin, language, and culture mean nothing. The clouds of war already shroud the Earth; the only goal is the survival of the human race. That is the bloody reality and the future. Everyone must fight to live. Those insatiably greedy who refuse to give up hoarding wealth will be crushed under Latveria's iron heel and missiles, and butchered by the alien invaders' blades. Those who refuse to give up ignorance and choose to drown in religious faith—go ahead and embrace your false gods and beg your idols for mercy. I don't care about your religions or cultures, and neither will the alien fleet. Pray to your false images and then meet your end in the apocalypse. I will calmly watch your destruction and, standing upon your bones, teach science and reason to those under my protection who survive—teach them all the knowledge and skills needed to prolong the human species, teach them to become the strong of the galaxy. There were those in the past who held ideals like mine, but those ideals were betrayed. Today, betrayal is impossible—because I will live forever, watching humanity stride into the cosmos to complete that ideal, as eternal as my life."
Over the wails of the unlucky politician, he issued his final ultimatum.
"Right now, only Latveria possesses space-warfare capability. Only Latveria has the technology to resist the alien fleet and guarantee human independence. The root of every problem I see is you. Either join me—cast off the ignorance of the past and embrace science and reason, devote everything to the survival of our species—and I will unite all who fight for humanity so the majority can live. Or meet total destruction, either under the invasion of the alien fleet or in Latveria's purge. In the future world there will be no uncontrolled capital; personal ambition must be bound, or the only end is death. This is an invitation you cannot refuse. Humanity must unite, eradicate religious belief, cast off ignorance, develop science, and march to the galaxy. All the greedy and the ignorant will die; only those who embrace scientific, rational progress will survive. I am opening communications now. I'll give you seven days to think."
Face dark, Solomon stepped down from the podium. The Praetorians escorted the Wakandan Royal Guard carrying the king's remains, Prince T'Challa, and the Sovereign of the Eternal City together in long strides toward the doors. They waded over shattered granite and boarded the super-heavy shuttle parked on the still-burning plaza. As a means of cordon, the Fortress-class combat robots had, during Solomon's speech, destroyed armored vehicles trying to break out, news helicopters trying to snoop, and "negotiation experts" popping up from who-knows-where. After completing their tasks, they too returned to their bays per the plan, leaving a field of burning wreckage.
After he left, everyone in the hall exhaled—only for the Eternal City to give them no time to rest.
Sisterhood commander Tita and her guard and assault teams stood at the door. She opened the hall doors, kicked aside the blown-apart corpses of those idiots and the security men groveling beside them, and—using her bolter and chainsword—drove a portion of the principal delegates out in order, to board the assault transports perched on the roof like birds returning to the nest. Each participating nation had one slot. Words are worthless; this crowd of political figures would only assume Solomon was fear-mongering. So the Eternal City would take them up to the space station and show them its power in the most direct way. Consider it a rehearsal of security procedures: the Sisterhood and the Praetorians had to eliminate all armed elements around the Sovereign; and this operation, by all measures, was perfect. Natasha Romanoff cast a meaningful look at Solomon's back, then was politely invited by Commander Tita to board another small transport. Solomon hadn't hidden anything from Natasha; it was simply too important—he didn't want even a hint of it leaking.
It would be a seven-day journey in space, whether they liked it or not.
The Eternal City invited the world's dignitaries to witness with their own eyes how it would destroy America's communications network and force the country back to pre-WWII communications—deterrence in its most straightforward form, a blunt statement that other nations' military technology wasn't worth mentioning. They would also ride shuttles to the Martian Foundry to tour the interstellar warship being repaired and refitted, to feel the force of Solomon's words as concretely as possible. The Eternal City would allow them to communicate with their own governments and record ample footage as evidence. The reporters covering Latveria earlier were still on the station—this would be a world-shaking event. Latveria would broadcast to the world the daily lives of these political figures on the station and at the Martian Foundry. The producer Stephanie Malick had hired had been waiting on the station for a long time. It would be the hottest program on Earth in the days to come. But that privilege was a one-off. If any nation declared war on Latveria after this trip, then—and only then—would Solomon lead the army to annihilate them and fold them in with an iron hand.
Just as he'd said in the hall, Latveria would scour them with war until they were white paper, so they could single-mindedly accept Unified Truth and devote everything to the survival of the human race. He had already foreseen how some nations would react—that meant the beginning of large-scale slaughter. Solomon did not want it, but he had no choice.
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