Chapter 501

Facing the impending aerial arms race, the Ministry of Defense's relatively pragmatic proposal is to rely on the Focused Rainbow technology to upgrade air defense readiness in several major domestic cities, and to organize a group of volunteer wizards to teleport around as needed to support the activation of the Focused Rainbow. At the same time, they intend to share the preliminary plans and successful experiences with the EU, establishing a "seemingly effective" air defense network within NATO to achieve a certain subtle balance.

As for the Prime Minister's proposal—a plan that sounds very pleasant and is relatively idealistic—it is to call upon the United States and the Soviet Union to accept the views of the great educator Severus, and to jointly sign something like the "Statute of Secrecy Supplementary Ordinance" or the "Limited Integration Act," mutually promising not to abuse magic to build engineering wonders.

This might be difficult to succeed, but everyone is very willing to try; even Yanayev does not mind spending a few more words at the negotiating table. Before Christmas, a diplomatic team arrived at Downing Street as scheduled—perhaps out of fear of the super-wizard power, Yanayev did not dare to come in person, and was replaced by Andropov, whom he had appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Arriving with him were some Muggle scientists, military advisors, as well as the corresponding high-ranking officials from the Wizarding World, the head of the KGB's Fifth Directorate, Bondarev; the corresponding educator from the Wizarding World, Vaskov; and Renata, a seventh-year student from the Wizarding World who is perhaps the counterpart to Harry.

Harry sat on the sofa in the conference hall, his eyes glancing at Bondarev from time to time. Some tattoos were vaguely visible on his neck—or perhaps they were not tattoos; Harry suspected he had received some kind of ancient runic inscription. At the same time, his waist was also bulging, very likely concealing a belt. This was a cold-blooded soldier who would not refuse any means of enhancement, an absolute formidable enemy in the field of super-wizard power, which made him feel somewhat nervous, his mind constantly pondering contingency plans.

As for Renata, who was wearing a half-skirt, revealing her slender calves, and signaling to him from time to time with flirtatious winks? Although the seating arrangement placed her opposite Harry, he did not care at all. The experience of the fourth year could explain a lot; she was just a naive child who neglected ordinary wizard training and pinned her fighting style on the opportunistic use of Muggle weapons, with limited room for growth. It was highly unlikely she had any power to change the situation.

"... We are here out of conscience to persuade your side to understand this status quo: magic and science cannot replace each other, and should not even interact too deeply. Look at the Wizarding World itself—because of the convenience of spells, we have never studied the laws of nature, and thus we were quickly surpassed by Muggles. If humanity begins to rely on magic, perhaps our technology will forever remain in the 20th century, and from then on there will be no more refreshing technological breakthroughs, only deformed fusion products. Muggles will mechanically ask you to cast simple spells on those incomprehensible devices; this is absolutely not the future we want."

"Mr. Weasley, what you say is very correct, but you are considering the 'future.' And what we are facing now are the missiles on the European continent, NATO's military exercises, and that mothership that doesn't know when it will take off. If we abandon today's advantages because we are worried about 'future technological stagnation,' then I am afraid that for us, there will be no 'future' to speak of at all."

"In the 1920s, we were forced to accept the humiliation of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ceding territory in exchange for a breathing space. The idealists at the time also opposed it, but Comrade Lenin knew that survival is more important than principles. Today's magical arms race is the same; it is not that we have not accepted your foresight, but that it needs to temporarily give way to war—after we win, we will naturally reinvest in science."

Andropov's understanding of the Muggle world was clearly deeper than Arthur's. He used a tone that was flat yet carried a hint of generosity to firmly refute the Ministry of Magic's proposal.

"If you insist on not making concessions, then we would like to propose another line of thought, which is to turn the arms race into a technological race." Arthur said somewhat nervously, "We could try to put magical resources into some things that are more significant for people's livelihoods, rather than blindly developing weapons. Just as the Muggle world was once devastated by two wars, the Wizarding World has not been without its own dark moments. If future battlefields affect both worlds simultaneously, then what we will face is a super-war that no one can stop, that will get out of control, and perhaps even cause human civilization to be destroyed as a result. I believe no one wants to see that situation."

"If the White House is willing to stop their space-based mothership program first and embrace safer projects, such as exploring Mars or something, we are also willing to happily follow suit. But the fact is, they are making the situation worse, and the super-war you speak of is probably not that easy to avoid. Yes, we gave up the illusion of peace long ago and have prepared contingency plans for the worst-case scenario: even if a hybrid war really breaks out, our vast territory, perfect underground facilities, and the magical exclusion zone established in Siberia all ensure that we can continue civilization."

"When they were building Wall Street, we built the Winter Palace bunker; when they were doing Silicon Valley, we drilled the Kola Superdeep Borehole—in this ultimate contest, the survival advantage is on our side." Andropov suddenly laughed, "In consideration of your kind planning for the future of humanity, I can privately gift you a residence permit for the bunker."

Arthur looked away awkwardly. A Muggle scientist began to take over for him to describe the risks brought by the uncontrollability of magic, but clearly, the Soviet side's attitude was very clear: they just wanted to ignore the risks and continue using it, just to ensure they would win in the Cold War... or perhaps just to ensure they would not fall behind in the Cold War.

After a two-day meeting, both sides reached almost no consensus, and just signed a "Supplementary Treaty on Limiting Super-Wizard Power" as a token gesture, agreeing that when each country cultivates new super-wizard power, they have an obligation to inform the international community. This non-binding treaty was merely to make things look like there was some progress, so that those unscrupulous media would not say Andropov had made a wasted trip.

After experiencing this meeting, Harry originally did not hold much hope for the next meeting, and even vaguely expressed an intention to be absent. However, perhaps it was also because he hinted that he was unwilling to participate in official meetings with the Magical Congress, which led Tang Tang Nade to choose to visit Hogwarts in a private capacity.

In the familiar headmaster's office, under the gaze of Harry and Snape's two pairs of eyes, Tang Tang Nade slowly stated his purpose: "Sorry, I may have messed things up a bit, but at this stage, I do indeed need everyone's help."

"I shouldn't have poked the matter to the Pentagon." He spread his hands and said with a little dissatisfaction, "They pushed the space-based mothership plan to the Magical Congress, while they themselves are committed to using scientific theory to analyze spells—of course, there is not a single sign of success."

"We were discussing that mothership before; it has no benefit to the situation. Is this your idea?" Harry's tone carried a hint of reproach, "Now the Soviet side's reaction is also very intense. I am worried that both sides will go down the path of an arms race and never return."

"The race has always existed. Even if we don't race on this matter, other places will—" Tang Tang Nade shook his head, "Okay, this is my fault, but I also didn't expect it. I just mentioned it to the Pentagon. Who knew they would take it seriously and promote it with great fanfare."

"This is exactly where I hope to get support, friends." He leaned forward and said sincerely, "I think this might also be an opportunity. If the Magical Congress can rely on the power of the Wizarding World, plus some of your small support, to independently complete the space-based mothership project, then we can further break away from the Pentagon's control."

"So, is there also a conflict between the Magical Congress and the Pentagon hidden in this?" Snape frowned and commented, "What exactly do they want? And what do you want?"

"Hmm..." Tang Tang Nade rubbed his face, "The situation is like this: originally we just proposed a creative idea, but the Pentagon went around shouting with a PPT, which put the Magical Congress on the spot, forcing us to accompany them to build the space-based mothership. However, at the same time, there are some differences within the Pentagon regarding the attitude toward the Wizarding World. One faction is pragmatic, believing that it is most important to cooperate as soon as possible to build the warship; the other faction is very ambitious, wanting to use scientific theory to explain magic and wanting to mass-produce the miracles of magic."

"Although the ambitious faction does not have any direct harm to us, the differences between the two factions have led to the warship project being delayed. Another voice has emerged within the Magical Congress, hoping that we can make it a wonder that belongs exclusively to the Wizarding World, and use this matter to try to break away from the Pentagon's jurisdiction to a greater extent." Tang Tang Nade explained, "I personally support this line of thought, so I am thinking, can we package this project and try to hitch a ride on a floating city?"

Dream on, Harry said secretly in his heart.

"This official summit will also mention this issue. Our side suggests trying not to do this kind of magical engineering wonder," Snape answered cautiously, "This is not good for scientific development."

"But this space-based mothership must be done." Tang Tang Nade leaned back on the sofa somewhat helplessly, "No matter what differences we have with the Pentagon, this matter must be done; it's just a question of who does how much."

After Tang Tang Nade came back to his senses, they discussed the future of the combination of magic and technology again. He seemed more inclined to rely on technological creations to develop new spells, or to make specialized armor—in any case, he still couldn't forget his personal heroism.

And on the other side, the Pentagon officials who had an unpleasant parting with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Magic were more inclined to forcibly incorporate magic into the Muggle system, which was undoubtedly another dangerous path.

Both sides of the Cold War are gradually loosening the brakes called the Statute of Secrecy, and neither of them knows whether there is a smooth road or an abyss ahead. And the neutral British Wizarding World, which still has a conscience, has no other clever methods at this moment, and can only watch all this happen.