Chapter 477: Green Lantern Corps in Trouble (1)
Chapter 477: Green Lantern Corps in Trouble (1)
The Green Lantern Corps, a mysterious organization in space, is known for its members who possess special abilities from the Green Lantern ring. Although considered a secretive group, their existence is known to many civilizations in space.
It cannot be denied that the majority of Green Lanterns are righteous and helpful. The Green Lantern Corps divides space into various sectors, with each sector being protected by a Green Lantern responsible for maintaining peace and order. These Green Lanterns have made significant contributions to the security of space.
If we were to say that Schiller took advantage of the Green Lantern Corps, it would seem like something a villain would do. Although Schiller doesn't care whether people see him as a villain or not, he still has room to justify his actions. The key lies with the creators of the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians of the Universe.
Previously, it was mentioned how unreliable the Guardians of the Universe are. In reality, their level of unreliability surpasses anyone's imagination. For example, the leader of the Red Lantern Corps, representing anger, is actually a product of the trouble caused by the Guardians of the Universe.
The Guardians of the Universe created a mechanical life form that massacred the civilization in Sector 666, leaving only a few survivors. Atrocitus, fueled by anger over the destruction of his civilization, was chosen by the red light spectrum and became the leader of the Red Lantern Corps.
In the context of space, this story may seem uninteresting. However, when viewed at a micro level, Batman only lost his parents and spent his life seeking revenge, while the Guardians of the Universe's small mistake led to the extinction of countless civilizations in a vast space region. And in the end, there was no Batman in space to make them pay for their actions.
Another example is the Blackest Night event in the comics, where various lantern corps engaged in a battle. This was also caused by the Guardians of the Universe. The leaders of the Blue Lantern Corps, Indigo Tribe, Sinestro Corps, and other corps had disagreements with the Guardians of the Universe.
The Guardians of the Universe allowed the leader of the Sinestro Corps to oppress the Green Lanterns, but turned a blind eye to the leader of the Orange Lantern Corps monopolizing all the orange light energy. These actions caused resentment among all the corps, leading to a massive conflict.
At every critical juncture, they made the wrong choices, resulting in this major event. The price they paid for these mistakes was merely a tarnished reputation, or sometimes no reputation at all, as the lantern corps bore the brunt of the blame.
For the lantern corps, their losses due to these mistakes were devastating. Their reputation in space plummeted, and even the foundation of the corps was shaken.Although it may sound severe, compared to the destruction experienced by ordinary civilizations in space, it is nothing. The massacre suffered by Sector 666 alone resulted in the deaths of billions of ordinary lives.
And what lessons did the Guardians of the Universe learn from this? None at all.
They continued to create various rotten situations and instigate conflicts between the lantern corps, causing the Green Lanterns to turn against each other and leading to the Blackest Night.
Humanity always yearns for justice and goodness. Therefore, when the Green Lantern rings arrived on this planet with the banner of justice, many people, like Hal, did not have enough awareness to be cautious. They even longed for the Green Lanterns to bring peace to space...
But in reality, even though most Green Lanterns are righteous and friendly, the ordinary surface dwellers, due to their limited understanding and abilities, cannot comprehend the immense danger that lies behind them.
It's like a colony of ants facing humanity. If humanity is friendly, then everyone is happy. But if any unexpected event occurs, the ants and their nests cannot withstand the terrifying disaster that befalls them.
What is even more worrisome is that due to the friendliness shown by humanity, many ants, even in the face of disaster, not only do not resist but willingly sacrifice themselves, singing songs of friendship with humanity before their demise.
It can be foreseen that if Hal does not break free from the brainwashing of blindly accepting missions and upholding the justice of the Green Lanterns, there will come a day when this world will no longer have Hal Jordan, only a Green Lantern whose mind and body belong to Oa.
"In fact, I rarely mention my hometown to people. Coastal City on the West Coast doesn't have a good reputation due to the influx of immigrants during the gold rush of the previous era. The security situation there was once a cause for concern."
"But I still love my hometown. I was born and raised there, and for a long time, I was afraid of leaving."
Sitting on the sofa in Manor, Hal played with the Kryptonite Crystal infused with Green Lantern energy in his hand. The green light reflected in his pupils, making his eyes look like a glowing emerald.
"Perhaps you may not believe it, but when I came to Gotham, I had a moment of clarity, breaking free from that grandiose sense of justice because I missed home."
"But..." Hal sighed, relaxing his body and leaning against the back of the sofa. He said, "The people and events in Gotham have opened my eyes. I have never been this far from home in the first half of my life. Now it seems like it's time to go out and explore."
"Where do you plan to go?" Schiller asked.
"I think I'll start with a tour of the East Coast. No fixed plans, just go wherever I feel like. Maybe I'll visit the West Coast again. I've always had a cowboy dream..."
"I thought that after understanding all these things in space, your goals would be more ambitious."
Schiller also picked up a green crystal from the box and observed it. The faint green light on it exuded a vibrant vitality, like the tender sprout of spring.
Hal paused for a moment, looked up at Schiller, and heard the implication in his words. He asked, "More ambitious? What do you mean?"
"After becoming a Green Lantern, haven't you thought about visiting the headquarters?""I..." Hal paused for a moment, then sighed and said,
"Well, I acknowledge that I'm not a very adventurous person. So far, Gotham is the farthest place I've been to. I can't just go millions of light-years away to an unfamiliar alien place without even leaving my own hometown."
"But you've been to Gotham, so why fear aliens?" Schiller pointed out again, leaving Hal speechless.
"Hal, even though I said I was joking about cleaning up Rotten's mess for you, you know that was just a joke. I collect these energies for my own purposes, and it can't undo the consequences of leaked information."
Schiller's expression became serious, capturing Hal's attention. He heard Schiller say, "You should know how fragile human civilization is. Not to mention aliens, the situation within Earth itself is on the verge of eruption. Any slight influence could destroy the entire societal civilization."
"At this time, no one wants an unknown force from space to interfere with the situation here. But no one knows if they will target this place based on the information you transmitted."
Hal's expression also became serious, and Schiller sighed, saying, "Indeed, Earth may be a remote place. Even if you transmit all the detailed information here to the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps, no one would care about such a small planet. But, are you willing to bet?"
"Don't say the entire Green Lantern Corps, even if one Green Lantern shows interest in this place, it could lead to unpredictable destruction, just like what you did in Gotham. Maybe they have no malicious intent, but humanity is truly fragile."
"No, I'm sure they will show interest in Earth." Hal's face appeared gloomy as he said, "Or rather, they will definitely show interest in Gotham."
"Fortunately, after I came to Gotham, I entered your dream, and I haven't provided any more information since then. Otherwise, once they know the situation here, a bunch of Green Lanterns would come swarming, wanting to cleanse this city."
Hal covered his forehead with his hand and said, "Oh my, I'm afraid I really have to go to Oa. If someone among them shows interest in Earth, comes here, and discovers Gotham, the Green Lantern Corps will definitely attack this place."
The more he spoke, the more anxious he became, even standing up from the sofa. The green crystal he held in his hand emitted a faint light, spreading along his arm to his body.
"Wait, are you planning to go like this? Do you know where the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps is?"
"Of course, the ring will tell me... Oh, this is not the ring." Hal looked down at his hand, where he held a stone, but it wasn't a ring.
Schiller picked up a bell from the tea table and shook it gently. Soon, Merkel came out with Dick and Aisha.
Schiller beckoned to Dick, and when Dick approached, Schiller patted his shoulder and said, "Just like I told you before, Dick, take off that ring. Your Uncle Hal needs it now."
Dick rubbed his eyes sleepily, extended his arm, and the light emitted from the ring on his finger was already very weak. After such a long time, the Green Lantern ring was almost out of power.
Aisha approached, grabbed Dick's arm, and then pulled the ring off his hand. Just as she was about to put the ring in her mouth, Schiller took the ring and handed it back to Hal.
"The Green Lantern energy in this crystal can also recharge the ring in reverse. The principle is the same as the power battery. This crystal in your hand contains the energy of approximately ten Green Lantern rings, enough to fully charge your ring ten times."
Hal took a deep breath, then looked at the pile of crystals in the large box and said, "My goodness! So, each crystal here is equivalent to ten Green Lantern rings? You didn't empty the central power battery, did you?"
"That's actually something I want to ask you. If you plan to go to the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps later, could you please check how much power is left in the power battery located there?"
"Why do you want to know that? You're not thinking of stealing all the Green Lantern energy, are you?"
"How is that possible..." Schiller denied it, and Hal breathed a sigh of relief. But then, he heard Schiller say,
"I can't do it alone, so it's not 'me' who wants to steal all the energy from the central power battery, it's 'us'."
Ten minutes later, at the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps on Oa, a green Green Lantern wearing an officer's uniform entered the central hall of the power battery with a stack of materials.
He saluted the Corps Leader and said, "Sir, I found out that the Green Lantern who has been using the energy most frequently recently is named Schiller Rodriguez, from Sector 2814, Earth."
The Corps Leader furrowed his brow, and at that moment, another younger Green Lantern walked in, saluting the others and saying, "A new member has reported in, Hal Jordan, who recently joined the Corps, from Sector 2814, Earth."
The Corps Leader and the Deputy exchanged a glance. The young Green Lantern was a bit puzzled and said, "If there are no issues, I'll go arrange a welcome ceremony for him and then have him join the training."
"Wait!" the Corps Leader spoke up, "We will personally welcome him."
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