Freedom and democracy can only exist under rational conditions—that is, when each individual possesses emotional maturity, foresight, and sufficient wisdom. This was the lesson taught to Solomon by the Goddess of Wisdom herself. She personally recounted to him the story of Socrates' death, as she saw it, and instructed him to read The Apology of Socrates and The Republic.
What truly made Athena turn away from the city that bore her name wasn't Socrates' supposed atheism, but the fact that the Athenians rejected his reverence for truth. Until Solomon completes the mission of spreading truth, reason, and science—until humanity achieves the elevation of the soul—the majority of people will continue to lack foresight and sufficient wisdom. In the modern world, capitalism and democracy have become hollow excuses, with all noble visions twisted into hypocrisy and self-interest.
As long as the Latverian royal family continued funneling wealth to Western financial powers by exploiting their people, they remained "valued partners," and no one dared to question "the will of the Latverian people." But once those interests were disrupted, Latveria would be painted as "a terrifying dictatorship drenched in fear and oppression," regardless of the truth. Should Victor Von Doom liberate Latveria and bring prosperity to its people, the Western media would still describe it that way. But that wasn't the real threat. Media slander alone was trivial.
Solomon had already explained in detail what would come after Latveria's liberation—grain embargoes, tech industry blackouts, social media campaigns of vilification, CIA infiltration, and organized insurrection. Even if the Eternal City demonstrated its nuclear capabilities and unmatched global strike force, even if the West couldn't fabricate "weapons of mass destruction" with a vial of detergent, this new Cold War would continue until the United States itself collapsed.
This would be the greatest challenge after liberating Latveria.
War itself was not the hardest part. The real danger was that the Eternal City could not endlessly pour resources into Latveria—it would eventually drain and collapse itself. The Eternal City's currency would be linked to Latveria's, and even if the Eternal City could withstand the strain, the Latverian people could not. In that case, Victor Von Doom's rule might end up worse than that of the royal family. The only solution was for the Eternal City and Latveria to become complementary powers—much like the global industrial network of the former Soviet Union—sustained by a powerful economic engine.
Perhaps it was the dawning light of his nation's liberation that lifted Victor Von Doom's spirits. His mood had noticeably improved, and even his tone carried a hint of upward lilt.
"In that case, let's get even more radical," he said. "Like refusing to sign the UN's nuclear limitation treaties. Let them believe we're always seconds away from launching a nuke. The bourgeoisie will fold—they always do. And the Latverians have nothing left to lose."
"But that can't last forever," Solomon replied. "Once the Latverians start building real lives, they'll do anything to protect what they have. Even if they know sacrifice could bring a better future, people with that kind of wisdom and willingness are always in the minority. You can't defeat the petty-bourgeois mindset. The moment you take away what they have, they'll string you up. Education is the only way to change that—but that's at least a decade away."
"Our economists ran projections," Stephanie said, weighing in as an active participant. "The Eternal City can provide Latveria with loans—in Eternal City currency. The banks in Latveria will actually be branches of the Eternal City's central bank. What we need now is a way to legitimize the Eternal City's currency globally. That'll strengthen future governance."
"If the Western media is going to call me a dictator anyway, I might as well become one," Victor Von Doom said with a smirk. "Those traitors who take CIA deals in exchange for political asylum don't deserve sympathy. I'll wield the most ruthless powers a ruler can. But before Latveria collapses under its own weight, you need to accomplish Phase One: unify humanity. Build a world that transcends race and culture. That's what you told me. You said only a species like that deserves to reach the stars. I believe you can do it."
Solomon blinked at those words. Stephanie could see that he was genuinely moved—perhaps even a little pleased.
"Excellent. Then let's take care of things one step at a time. Diana List, please bring in the sample products from the hydroponic farm. These were originally by-products of our bio-genetics lab, and they've already been taste-tested by Eternal City personnel. Now it's our turn. For a long while, the people of Latveria will be surviving on this."
"I suppose I'll need to eat these first," Victor said, intrigued as he unwrapped one of the waterproof foil packets. "I need to know whether my people can tolerate them. What flavor is this? I remember your alchemical potions for Mordo tasting like boogers and eyelashes. I'd rather not find out this has some weird shit in it."
"It's… beef flavor!" Lara Croft said as she eagerly chewed through one of the nutritional bars, her eyes narrowing with satisfaction as she analyzed the Eternal City's emergency rations. Typically, one bar provided enough energy for a soldier to endure a full day of high-intensity activity while keeping hunger at bay. Even the bulky Jonah couldn't finish more than one and a third, yet Lara had eaten three in front of everyone—and looked like she was reaching for a fourth.
All flavors of the bars had been personally approved by Solomon, who took flavor seriously, even in alchemy. Naturally, the bars tasted quite good. Their only flaw was their high calorie count, which could become cloying and lead to rapid weight gain if overconsumed.
"I got the strawberry one—urp—and honestly, I didn't expect emergency rations to taste this good," Jonah said, clutching his belly. "I'm stuffed."
"That's because you drank water while eating it," Camila said. Compared to the first-timers, the archaeologists, Camila and her squad were much calmer—chewing slowly and deliberately. This wasn't her first time eating these. Back when she'd led her team to eradicate warlords on the African continent, Eternal City rations had included these bars, along with self-heating tea packets and water filters. What once tasted like maggots and felt just as slimy had evolved into a menu with real variety. Even though they now tasted fine, Camila still had to fight off nausea with every bite.
The reason? She was simply sick of them.
"Don't forget to take your vitamins and quinine supplements. Malaria is a bigger threat near the forest edges than in the deep jungle. I don't want anyone falling ill during the next mission," she added. "We've already cleared out all drug cartels linked to Trinity. Now Trinity will have no choice but to confront us directly. The good news is, we've got an assault transport. That makes things simple—Lara Croft will find the next clue, we'll hop on the transport, and if Trinity tries to stop us, we'll wipe them out."
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