Tim, who was helping out in the laboratory, saw Pamela spring up like a carp from holding her phone watching short videos, and dash to the experimental equipment with a loud shout.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Tim was a bit sleepy, but this scared him enough to make his hair stand up. He stared at Pamela and said, "What happened to you? Who's breaking in?!"
Pamela showed a disdainful expression and said, "I can't explain it to you. Quick, give me the research report for the second phase of the expansion plant test; I need to complete the genetic testing tonight..."
"What's the matter with you?" Tim looked at her in surprise.
"Alright, go paint your painting." Pamela gestured to him dismissively.
Tim squinted his eyes; he knew something was happening that he didn't understand. He looked at Pamela with a disapproving Batman-like expression, showing no intention of leaving the laboratory.
"Okay, alright," Pamela said as she brought the report over, "Brainiac sent me a plan for counter-attacking Apocalypse Star, with my plants playing a significant role in the plan. Moreover, in the subsequent development plan for Apocalypse Star, whether it's using the special radiation of the Apocalypse Domain to research mutant plants or applying Darkseid's conversion Type Demon technology to plant mutation, these ideas are genius. If he had said this earlier, I might have started my attack on Apocalypse Star by now..."
Tim opened his mouth; he didn't understand a bit about the mutant plant technology Pamela mentioned. But he understood one thing, so he said, "So you're not planning to slack off anymore?"
Pamela rolled her eyes and said, "What do you mean by slacking off? I'm strategically adjusting my rest time. But after careful thought, humans need to strive to realize their self-worth. I'm still young, I must have some motivation."
"What kind of brainwash did Brainiac give you?"
Just after he said this, the phone rang. He took the phone and walked out, returning in less than two minutes, then started hurriedly packing things.
"What's up with you?" Pamela asked, "Why are you packing up your easel and paints? You're not painting anymore?"
"Painting my ass! As long as I can improve the efficiency of the Drake Factory's fully automated production line by 30%, Brainiac directly sends the notice to my house. I need to go back and do research! Bye!"
Tim ran out of the laboratory quickly and almost collided with Jason, who was running upstairs. Luckily, with a sharp stop, he wasn't knocked out by this giant albatross.
"Why are you running so fast?" Jason was the first to speak, "Did you finish your painting? Why haven't you posted a message in the chat group?"
"Didn't you post either? You don't have any research projects. Why did you come to the lab?"
"Who said I don't? I just received a research project."
"How long has it been since you've conducted research? What project did Brainiac give you? Can you handle it?"
"Researching Batmobile tires."
The two stared at each other, and Tim covered his forehead, saying, "Brainiac can even find such a niche research project. But why did he think of researching tires?"
"To be precise, it's about researching the Batmobile," Jason said, "Or rather, a vehicle with performance similar to the Batmobile."
"Does he want you to build a Batmobile?"
"Not necessarily starting from scratch. I used points to buy the Batmobile's blueprint from Arkham Batman; as long as I gather the materials, I can build one similar. But there are several metals that are harder to obtain; I'm just planning to give Bruce a call."
"What did he offer you?"
"A professional chef on call 24/7."
"That's just like him."
As they were speaking, another figure came up from downstairs; it was Bruce. As soon as he saw Jason, he opened his mouth and said, "Where's the blueprint? Which specific metal is missing?"
"The other metals are manageable; the key is N Metal, which is hard to find. This magic immune metal is the raw material for an important component of the Batmobile's magic engine..."
Before finishing the sentence, a burly figure jumped in through the window, his yellow and black armor particularly striking.
"Deathstroke?!"
"Brainiac asked me to bring you guys something." He pulled out a box from his armor and tossed it to Bruce, who was closest to him, then said, "This is leftover metal from forging a sword. Please sign a receipt."
Bruce took the slip, glanced at it, and found it was Brainiac's order form. He looked Deathstroke over, unsure how Brainiac had persuaded this super mercenary to contribute his treasured materials.
Tim was already probing, as he also wanted to get some metal; after all, from a physics standpoint, the automatic production line can only increase efficiency by 10%. The remaining 20% probably requires some magic insight.
"Points." Deathstroke's answer was very brief.
Tim patted his head, realizing he should have thought of it earlier. This guy is a mercenary; what else would he want besides money?
Just then, his phone buzzed with another message from Brainiac: "I'll provide all information and raw material support for you, but you need to submit your requirements first before I can place an order for you."
Tim breathed a sigh of relief. Initially, he was considering whether he could extract some metal from Bruce and Jason. Unexpectedly, Brainiac was far more generous than he imagined.
"Why were you called back too?" Pamela looked at Bruce with some surprise as she walked out of the laboratory. "And for the Justice League, it should be off-duty hours now. How did he persuade you to work overtime?"
"Honorary PhD in Psychology." Bruce's answer was also very brief.
"Good heavens, can the Professor agree to this?"
"It's just an honorary degree. Besides, I think Brainiac is serious this time. I don't know what kind of provocation Darkseid gave him to make him do this sort of thing."
"I always feel something's off."
"I feel it's a bit strange too."
"Indeed, it's too unusual."
"Do you remember what the agent said?"
"When you discover anything unusual..."
"...either it's done by Greed or related to him."
"But he did offer us a condition we couldn't refuse," Tim sighed. "I'm afraid we're going to be quite busy for a while."
"That's not necessarily a bad thing; otherwise, during lockdown, we'd be idle too," Pamela said. "Let's go and immerse ourselves in great labor."
So they dispersed, throwing themselves into work with such high efficiency that even Brainiac was quite shocked.
"I've offered them incentives before," Brainiac said. "I'd give them bonuses, materials, feature them in reports, making them celebrated figures. Isn't that enough?"
"Theoretically speaking, life is nothing more than the pursuit of fame and fortune. Money and fame can motivate most people, so you're not wrong to do so. I think it would work well on many others too, right?" Greed said while standing in front of the coffee machine, picking beans.
"Yes, for the vast majority, they are quite satisfied. After receiving rewards, they would throw themselves into work with greater enthusiasm, their efficiency also fairly decent. However, some tough cases remain uninterested in rewards, be it monetary or fame. I've tried all sorts of methods to improve their work efficiency, but none were satisfactory. Why is this time different?"
"Because of 'exception'."
"What?"
"Because you made an exception for them. Previously, you were an absolutely fair ruler. Take Tim, for example; despite his considerable achievements in management and mechanical engineering, if he wants to study at the Art College, he'd still have to prepare a portfolio, submit an application, and wait for the school's approval before he could attend classes."
"Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Nothing wrong; it's fair. Even though he's a genius at managing groups and updating production lines, he might not have enough talent for artistic creation, so he must prove himself in another field to pursue advanced studies. For him to follow the regular application process is entirely correct legally and emotionally, so he obediently prepared, didn't he?"
"But you instructed me to give him the acceptance letter directly."
"Yes. It's precisely because, in his heart, he understands that you are right, that you are a very fair ruler. Thus, when someone as fair as you breaks the rules for him, it provides tremendous moral inspiration."
"...?"
Brainiac flashed a big question mark on the giant billboard outside the window visible to Greed.
"Thanks to the image of justice you previously established for yourself, making you look like an omniscient and omnipotent deity of justice. But humans, rather than idolizing, prefer to destroy idols."
"You mean, now I've fallen from grace?"
"Yes, and only for a few people. Or rather, only small-scale exceptions can have this effect."
"Why?"
"Because of greed. As I mentioned earlier, greed and arrogance are mankind's original sins. The fair society you've created cannot satisfy some people's greed because what they want is not fairness but privilege."
"I understand. Now I granted exceptions to give some people special privileges, making them a privileged class. No one doesn't want to be part of the privileged class, so they work harder than before."
"That's about right. But actually, the key isn't just this exception, but the fair society you built previously, making them believe you are truly fair. Hence, your exception holds greater value. A principled person breaking their principle for you proves your significance to them. If a person has no principles at all, no matter how many exceptions they make, no one would be moved by it."
"Alright. But is it beneficial for the long-term development of society?"
"Creating a privileged class may seem wrong to you; absolute fairness means absolute unfairness. But in reality, absolute fairness itself comes at the cost of some people's development. For instance, the individuals you treated specially this time, their talents are not limited to the work you arranged for them, nor has their initiative been fully utilized. Yet, for the sake of fairness, to avoid favoritism, you sacrificed their development. This time, it's just a slight correction."
"But if it continues to develop like this, unfair social phenomena will recur. For instance, Tim directly got the acceptance letter, which is unfair to those students who need long preparation for their portfolios and undergo a strict application process."
"I would never say 'absolute fairness doesn't exist in this world.' An omniscient and omnipotent ruler can ensure absolute fairness in society. However, as I mentioned, absolute fairness itself is an unfairness. Supporting the deficiencies of disadvantaged groups is the simplest part; the hardest is meeting the developmental needs of the talented."
"On the surface, satisfying the developmental needs of the talented without limits inevitably sacrifices some fairness. They need substantial resource support, require exceptions to an extent, and occupy social resources that ordinary people cannot. But what you should focus on is not these things but whether their development can bring sufficient social progress, and if such progress can benefit ordinary people, making their lives, despite some degree of unfairness, still better than when everything was absolutely fair. Isn't that so?"