The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman

February 23, 1987, Chicago, night.

In the Chicago Grand Theater, Miss Tina, who had finished the gorgeous and lively ball, gently stroked her fur cape. She held the driver's hand and got into a luxury car. When she returned to her luxurious apartment , a handsome man with blue eyes put his arms around the young lady's waist, and Tina said, Our dance has just begun, right? Mr. Bruce?

The moonlight came in from the window, those beautiful blue eyes were shrouded in the shadow of the arch of the eyebrows, Tina was fascinated by the handsome profile, the man turned around, it was Bruce Wayne.

On an ordinary afternoon on February 20, 1987, Schiller woke up in his bed at the Falcone Manor. He did not forget that before he traveled to Marvel, he rested in the guest room of the Godfather Manor.

The mornings in Gotham are never sunny, but early mornings always bring special inspiration to Schiller. When enjoying breakfast with Falcone and his son, the professor got some inspiration again and quickly perfected it in his mind .

How do you see the future of Gotham? Schiller asked Falcone.

Falcone shook his head and said: If you had asked me this question 40 years ago, I would have told you that this city was hopeless, but now I want to say that this city does not need anyone to save it. This way, it will continue to be like this...

Do you think Gotham needs a new order?

I've had a lot of people ask me this question, but all I can say is that any effort to make this city a better place will eventually come to naught, no matter how impassioned it starts, it will eventually come to nothing.

why is that?

You asked the key, but I don't know the answer.

The godfather lit a cigar, and the smoke slowly drifted away. He said: In the past 40 years, it's not that I haven't seen a staunch revolutionist, and it's not that I haven't seen a savior with a moral realm like a saint. There are so many people in this world. Lots of people, one or two good guys or heroes, determined to save the city.

They came to Gotham with that in mind, and you have to admit, even though you knew they weren't going to succeed, you were still deeply shocked by that determination.

Maybe you will find it ridiculous, but I have indeed been changed by these people. Many people may think, if this is the case, how could I become the godfather of Gotham? How could I become the biggest gangster in this gangster city ?”

But it is precisely because I have seen these, I have experienced that era first-hand, that I know that good people can't save Gotham, and neither can heroes.

So now, where did these people go?

Most of them died, and some of them escaped here by fate. People who don't belong to Gotham will eventually leave Gotham. If there are any left, then he must be someone who originally belonged to Gotham.

Is there such a person? Where is he?

The godfather seemed to be lost in memory. After a while, he crossed himself on his chest and said, I swore to the Lord to keep this secret for him.

He didn't give Schiller a definitive answer, but Schiller already knew who he was referring to.

The next day, Bruce was called into the office by Schiller. Schiller almost never asked him to come over, so Bruce was very curious about Schiller's business.

They sat down on opposite sides of the desk, as they had first met, and Schiller asked him:

Have you ever thought for a second that you want to completely save this city?

Of course I...

I mean, after you realize very clearly what the essence of this city is.

Bruce opened his mouth, and Schiller took off his glasses. He looked directly at Bruce and said, I think you should have seen the essence of this city that doesn't need to be saved, and it can't be saved at all.

So, are you trying to persuade me to stop doing this? Stop being Batman?

Of course not, I don't care if you are Batman or not, I just want to know if you really want to save Gotham?

Is there any difference between the two?

Are you sure you did Batman to save Gotham?

Bruce fell silent.

Let me change the question. If there is a possibility to bring a new order to Gotham, are you willing to make some efforts for it?

Although I have this kind of speculation now, I still can't be sure, what is the essence of this city? Why did it become like this? Is it really impossible to be saved?

Falcone once told me that there are many people who tried to save this city, but they didn't succeed, most of them are buried here, but some people stayed, integrated into this place, became Part of Gotham.

who is he?

The only priest in Gotham Cathedral, I think you can go and meet him, and then come back and give me the answer.

Bruce shook his head, he felt that Schiller was a little baffled.

But he is also very interested in Gotham's past stories. There are too many fans in this city that he can explore.

At first his purpose was simple, he wanted to avenge all the criminals, but when he learned a part of Gotham, he felt that he should also save the city, but when he learned more of Gotham, he felt that This city does not need to be saved.

And now, he learned Gotham again, and he found that this city seemed impossible to save.

As Schiller said, Gotham is like a book that can never be read. There are endless puzzles here. Every time you read it, you will have new insights.

When Bruce came to Gotham Cathedral, the priest received him warmly. The old priest seemed to be over seventy years old. To be honest, there are very few ordinary people in Gotham who can live to such an old age.

No one in Gotham teaches kids to help old people across the street because there's no one to teach kids or old people here.

In front of the pulpit, the priest smiled and took Bruce's arm and said, I've heard of Mr. Wayne's name a long time ago, of course, I'm sorry I don't have anything better to receive you, after all, this church is too old , as old as me.

Look, these tables and chairs are falling apart. I don't know if there is any kind-hearted person who can replace the pulpit for the Lord without bricks for the table legs...

Bruce is very familiar with this kind of words, he drew a cross on his chest and said: I am not the Lord's grace to me, the Wayne construction team will carry out a complete renovation of the interior of the church, allowing His kingdom of God to Clean as new, all to the Lord...

The old priest seemed to be very satisfied with this, and when Bruce chatted with him about the past, he didn't mean to hide it, but spoke bluntly about his experience.

I come from an ordinary family in the UK. I served in the church when I was young. I came here to let more people hear the gospel of the Lord.

Originally, I just settled down in a small town on the east coast, but I heard that Gotham is not bad, so I came here.

You may think it's unbelievable, but in fact, Gotham at that time was really good. Because of the existence of the pier, it was still prosperous, with many people and good living conditions. By the way, the gangsters at that time were in their infancy. A total of Not many people.

At that time, there were still some ordinary people here with dreams. They wanted to establish order here and grow together with this city. Of course, I thought so too at that time.

Then, the priest's voice became deeper and deeper, echoing in the empty church. The colorful light from the stained glass at the top of the church windows was like a tunnel through time and space. Tunnel, back to that era.

At that time, there were a lot of people like this. They were ambitious and felt that this was a Gold Coast and a new Golden Mountain. Although it was a bit chaotic at that time, everyone felt that it was just an ordinary pain relief in the urban development stage.

A young missionary, with a Bible in his arms, set foot on this land with the fleet. This story that came from a long distance is actually not as grand as others imagined, but there are still many stories here. People are interested in me.

Of course, I'm here to spread my faith, help everyone as much as possible, and mediate some too intense conflicts and disputes between gangsters. Almost everyone is willing to sell me.

When Bruce heard this, he looked at the priest with admiration. This old man who was a contemporary of Falcone seemed to have once occupied a place in Gotham.

In this city ruled by gangsters, you can eat recklessly, but you can't talk recklessly.

No one would dare to fabricate such a story, claiming that all the gangsters want to sell him. As far as Bruce knows, only Falcone has this ability. If anyone else dares to brag about this, the first His body will be thrown into the sea the next day.

But the old priest seemed to be talking about something insignificant, and Bruce could hear the humility in his tone. He thought, maybe this old man who was a contemporary of Falcone once had the same reputation as His Excellency the Godfather.

But now they are very different. Falcone has become the Godfather admired by everyone in Gotham, but the old priest is guarding a dilapidated church, and no believer may come to pray for a few days.

Bruce has always had a lot of curiosity about that era that was a bit faded like a faded photo, just like people always dream about the glory of their fathers.

The story about the pier that Falcone told him once showed the rise of gangsters in that turbulent era.

But now, in this empty cathedral, what the old priest revealed to him seemed to be another look of the city at that time.

When I came to the city of Gotham, the war was far from over. Here, isolationism prevailed, but more civilians at the bottom were afraid of war. Suddenly it became a pot of porridge.

I started to spread teachings here. I believe that faith can bring peace to people's hearts. I did a good job at first. You know, there were still many British people who hadn't evacuated here in those days. They would invite me to their Manor, listen to my sermons, I spend almost every afternoon like this.

In the beginning, some small gangsters were just wandering around the pier, and even few of them could go to the inner street. At that time, I knew Falcone, but there were no Falcone and Twelve at that time. family, maybe the whole of Gotham can’t find a dozen decent gangsters.”

At that time, it was basically a colonial economy. Because of an accident, I started dealing with gangsters. They saw that I had channels from rich people in the UK. They hoped that I could be a middleman to strengthen their power for them.

I don't want to be involved in these vortexes, but I have no choice. If I had to, I would choose the most promising one, which is Falcone.

Later, many people began to discover that Gotham was not as good as they had imagined. Those wealthy people from the UK began to gradually withdraw from this place and gather in other places that are more prosperous and have more potential.

The main legacy they left to this city is the manor area and this cathedral. Under my lobbying, they collectively funded the establishment of this place, and I became the only priest in this church.

And after that? What happened after that?

When the upper layers that maintain a stable order suddenly leave, those who fill these upper layers become the people with the most bullets in their guns. Falcone and his twelve families are such people. They quarreled for a while, and then took over here.

I used to be a good partner with Falcone, because I knew that he was different from other gangsters. He wanted to create a new order here. Although it was a violent order, it was better than no order.

I helped him as much as I could. I thought the mob was just a temporary replacement for those upper blocks that were evacuated. One day, Gotham would get back on track.

But I didn't expect that it all got out of control. After Falcone and his gangster family ruled the city, it started to become a real crime capital. From twelve gangsters, it was 120 1,200 gangs, and in the end, it's a city where everyone is a gangster and a criminal.

Evil is spreading here, but I can't do anything about it. I know that Falcone may be the same. Many people think that he is the culprit for Gotham's deterioration, but I know very well that this is not the truth.

Finally, the priest looked up and looked around the church. He said: There are not many buildings left from that era. I thank them for leaving me such a place, so that I can have a shelter.

Then why don't you leave? Even if you can't go back to your hometown, you can at least go to the church in the metropolis. There are quite a lot of clergy there, and life is pretty good.

The priest said: You don't understand, I have not only witnessed how evil has infected this city little by little, but I have also been deeply involved in it for a long time.

He made a sign of the cross on his chest, prayed a few words in a low voice, and said: The biggest truth I learned during this process is that this city will only accept people who belong here, and those who really want to save this city. The heroes will eventually leave because they don't belong here.

So what's all this about?

I don't know, but I always firmly believe that my choice back then was right. Falcone is like me. We are all defenders of this city, not destroyers.

In your opinion, the Godfather may be a winner. He has ruled the Gotham underground for 40 years, but I know that Falcone and I know that we are all nothing but losers who can only weave in the abyss of crime. An order that is not stable, to protect itself.

The priest shook his head and said: But unfortunately, I am just an ordinary person, I just lived longer than others, what I know is not even as good as Falcone, or maybe Falcone doesn't know the real answer either. .”

As the sun gradually set, the shadows of the tables and chairs in the church were dragged longer and longer, and the light from the stained glass began to flow onto Bruce.

In the end, the old priest said: I can only keep a piece of His kingdom here, and after I die, this piece of pure land will dissipate, just like countless hopes that once dissipated in Gotham.

The group of people back then, only me and Falcone are left, we are all old, maybe when we all go to meet our Lord, the only remaining order in this city will no longer exist .”

Do you think it is possible to establish a new order?

Countless people have worked hard for this, but they all failed. Falcone succeeded in a small part, but it was only delayed for a while, and perhaps no one can delay it for longer.

Along with the old priest's sighing voice, Bruce fell into deep thought again.

Whenever he heard these historical stories about his hometown, Bruce couldn't help being full of nostalgic emotions like a wanderer returning home.

Because the story of Gotham reveals absurdity and despair from beginning to end, everything that happens here has no cause and no result, even people who have experienced that era can't tell clearly.

In this mysterious journey of exploring Gotham's history, the parts of the time machine are always stuck in some foggy fragments. Whenever Bruce wants to fix this old-fashioned projector and find out the truth , There are always various forces stopping him.

Bruce, who walked out of the church, began to think about the question that Schiller asked him. The answer given to him by the priest was that this city might not have any chance of having a new order. into darkness.

He suddenly came up with a strange metaphor, but felt very vivid.

All the crimes in Gotham, and all the criminals who live here, are like grains of salt thrown out of a salt shaker.

This is a salt jar that will never be empty. The person holding this salt jar pours out some crystal salt grains without haste, just like a patient fisherman making his bait.

Bruce, who has just grown up, learned a fact earlier from his professor, from Falcone, and from the old priest.

Gotham will become what it is today. It is not a simple natural evolution. His goal of revenge against criminals may never be accomplished, and he will never be able to completely save Gotham, because the salt shaker above Gotham will never be empty, and the criminals are full of crimes. The salt grains are crystal clear and come with the wind, just like the fine rain lines that will never stop in Gotham City.

But this didn't make Batman feel frustrated, but made him have an earlier ambition.

Batman had no desire to fly around these grains of salt that were thrown like alms, like a stupid fish circling a bait, hoping the current would flush out some scraps to fill its belly.

What he wanted to do was to just crush the salt shaker, or, as he once did to Louis—appear behind him like a bat, and let the shadow fall over the smug holding salt shaker. Man, let him tremble with fear of bats.

Then, get this salt shaker, and all the grains of salt in there.

If the world is destined to have a salt shaker for all criminals, it better belong to Batman.

Must belong to Batman too.