Chapter 3521: Research on Cats and Dogs (80)

Power is a poison. People often say this.

But what kind of poison is power, exactly? Is it a neurotoxin that kills people in an instant, or is it an addictive drug?

I believe anyone with a little experience should know that the toxicity of power lies somewhere between the two. Although it can cause people to die without a burial place at any time, countless people still flock to it and become addicted to it.

How exactly does power make people addicted?

Some people might feel that status itself brings material enjoyment, which is enough to be pleasing; others feel that the spiritual satisfaction brought by being respected is the key.

But unfortunately, at least in human society, the pleasure brought by power is realized more by satisfying a person's desire for control.

And what is linked to the desire for control is mostly not a very healthy psychological state. An excessively strong desire for control can even lead to various mental problems.

However, the human mind itself is a program that is forced to run on many errors. Satisfying any one need looks like doing evil, and it is truly hard to avoid being linked to pathology.

So, is it power that gives birth to a stronger desire for control, or is it only people who already have a strong desire for control who will desperately pursue power?

At least in the topic of the Justice League, what needs to be discussed is the latter.

To pick a representative with a strong desire for control, everyone naturally puts Batman first. He controls the Justice League and has an irreplaceable position in the Justice League, so naturally, he has power.

However, this precisely shows that others in the Justice League don't have such a strong desire for control. If their desire for control were the same as Batman's, then they would definitely compete with Batman for power.

Because power is exclusive, or rather, the process of establishing power is itself exclusive. To establish unique authority, one must strike and control others. This is the so-called "one mountain cannot hold two tigers."

Now that Batman has become the tiger on the mountain of the Justice League, the rest can only be other animals, and most of them are herbivorous or small animals that cannot threaten the tiger.

However, the slaughter in the field of power is prepared for large carnivorous beasts: either kill or eat the other party, or be killed and eaten. Everyone has sharp teeth and claws and is never satisfied.

Can one expect a group of sheep to compete for power in the universe?

This is precisely the predicament of most of the Justice League.

Batman has become the absolute core of the team, and others have more or less chosen to retreat, chosen to cooperate with him, chosen to accept his plans, and act according to his ideas.

This means that Batman has, to a certain extent, domesticated them, letting them develop a habitual thought of "even if I don't control it, things will definitely develop in the best direction." This is actually very terrifying.

Everyone can think about when they first sprouted the desire for power?

Or ask it another way: when did you first want to control something? When did the desire for control sprout?

The answer is when things are out of control.

Everyone's enlightenment on power must come from an unsatisfactory accident, from "unwillingness."

When you choose to go with the flow, the development of the situation exceeds your control and brings bad results, and you want to change this result.

So when the next thing comes, you prepare yourself, deciding that this time you must have full control, and no one should think about interfering with your decision. This time you will definitely make things develop in the direction you want.

This seemingly ordinary thought is actually the most direct and clear manifestation of the desire for control.

The desire for control itself is not right or wrong. Everyone wants to control their own life, wants to live autonomously, and wants to choose independently. Learning to use the motivation brought by this desire can better control one's life.

And an out-of-control desire for control brings pathology: making people want to control other people's lives, and even the whole world, besides their own lives. This is when it needs to be controlled and corrected.

And once there is a person with a strong desire for control around someone, even if it doesn't reach a pathological level, just controlling the development of events within a reasonable range, and when you are involved in the events he controls, you fall into a state of going with the flow once again.

So, back to the point, if the result this time doesn't satisfy you, you will find a way to escape his control and try to control this matter yourself next time.

But what if the result satisfies you?

Most people will feel: "This is quite good. I didn't spend effort, and I got a result that satisfies me, isn't that a good thing?"

Still the same sentence, humans can be domesticated, and domesticating humans uses human desires.

Not only stimulating desires, but also limiting and smoothing out desires.

When you are always under someone's control, and his control always brings you the good results you want, your desire for control and power will be greatly smoothed out.

Without that "unwillingness" to reverse the development of the situation, there is no strong desire to urgently control the development of the situation. Going with the flow will become a habit.

Some people might feel: "Others always bring me good results, so there doesn't seem to be any need to control it myself?"

But in fact, the goodness or badness of the result is a subjective judgment, and as long as it is a subjective judgment, it can be manipulated and interfered with.

You think he brought you good results, but perhaps what you think is good is just limited to a narrow field of vision, a kind of good based on lack of knowledge and not considering the long-term future.

It might even be that the result is not good, and feeling it's acceptable is just the ethereal spiritual satisfaction brought by being affirmed by others when being controlled for a long time and judged as an object.

So Batman is not doing badly, but he is doing too well.

He is always prepared, always able to solve all troubles, and always able to bring good results.

This will make others in the Justice League fall into this numb state of going with the flow, rather than ambitiously trying to control something.

This point can be seen from the "Death of Batman" events in the comics several times.

The "Death of Batman" here does not mean that Batman really died, but that when Batman could no longer lead the team for some reason and temporarily disappeared from the public eye, the reaction of other team members.

When Batman is there, when the Robins discuss "who is Batman's favorite Robin," it is somewhat joking, rather than saying "I must step on your head to climb up and prove that I am the boss."

But after Batman died, the development of the situation took a sharp turn. The Batman family, which originally looked very united, suddenly began to act on their own, and everyone wanted to get Batman's cape and become his successor.

Did they suddenly become mentally ill?

Of course not. This is because they know that if another Robin controls the development of things, it won't bring the good results they want, so they will try to control it themselves.

And as long as Batman is there, they will feel that Batman will definitely bring the best results, listen to his arrangements, and behave as if they are united.

There is no doubt that there are feelings between members of the Batman family. However, their positions are different. Just the point of whether to kill or not has a great conflict.

Under these circumstances, competition is normal, and unity is abnormal. Because humans cannot predict the future and never know where the car will drive, they all firmly believe that the direction they choose is correct. Everyone should try to grab the steering wheel and turn hard to their side, which is human nature.

And Batman is like anchoring a future: "As long as you all listen to me, the car will definitely drive to the best result."

This to a certain extent deprives members of the right to radiate the desire for control.

The desire for control is weakened, which means they will not actively seize power, will not desperately want to climb up, will not keenly grasp every opportunity, try every possibility, to let themselves acquire greater power.

There will definitely be people who think: "Is this kind of calculating mentality really good? Isn't it happier to do whatever one wants?"

It can be said that if someone says to you when you don't have the ability to control your own life, "There's no need to work hard, no need to control power, just be happy and free every day," then this person must want to harm you.

The so-called "free and unfettered" is a lifestyle chosen after one has tasted the peak of power and enjoyed the prosperity of the world,

Not self-consolation when being manipulated by others, not even having the right to make decisions for oneself, being driven around like a dog, and being exposed to the elements and poorly clothed.

Superheroes are indeed doing voluntary labor. However, when the threat is no longer street fighting or petty theft, but becomes a disaster that endangers the entire Earth and even the entire universe, as a part of Earth or the universe, everyone must do their best to save their home.

The so-called doing one's best in other universes is to formulate plans to defeat the enemy and preserve Earth and the universe when disaster strikes.

And doing one's best in this universe is to try every means to obtain power in all collectives before disaster strikes, use power to mobilize resources, and use resources to feed back power.

When the power you can obtain is large enough and the level is high enough, everything will become resources for you to consolidate power.

Friends are resources that can obtain more benefits after cooperation; enemies are resources that can improve prestige after being fought; friends' friends are more benefits; friends' enemies are more prestige.

Everything running in the society of the universe will be rolled into this huge vortex and begin to circulate. This huge power machine will crush everything, making a deafening roar, and in this, you will not be able to hear anyone speaking loudly to you.

Hal obtained the power belonging to him within the Green Lantern Corps, so he can desperately tilt resources to Earth, and then use Earth to obtain more power.

Lex obtained the power belonging to him within the United States, so he can try every means to tilt resources to Metropolis, and then use Metropolis to obtain greater autonomy.

Diana negotiates with Hera on behalf of humanity, representing that she also possesses her own power within Mount Olympus, and she can also use this to give benefits to the Amazons and humanity, and then use humanity to consolidate her own status.

Even Bruce, he obtained power similar to a high priest from Barbatos and the identity of an archangel in Heaven, so he can use this to seek welfare for his own universe, and then use the development of his own universe to consolidate his identity.

Throughout history, any individual, collective, or country has its own power vortex, and everything is turning and turning inside, turning until order collapses, turning until the dynasty is destroyed.

And the best way to resist foreign enemies is to stir yourself and Earth into this huge vortex. Whether it is a natural disaster or a man-made disaster, as long as you dare to come over, I dare to drag you into the water.

When everyone is spinning endlessly together, no matter how intense the collision is, it is just a small wave turned up by the hem of the skirt of the crazy dance of interest exchange. The blood red in the greedy eyes of the infinite universe cannot compare to a wildfire seen everywhere in the field of power.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3522 =====