What kind of city would be born when Gotham's classical gloom meets New York's modern brightness?
Shiller had pondered this question too. After all, Gotham doesn't truly resemble an East Coast city of the United States, mainly due to the influence of dark clouds. Other cities with similar geographical locations, like New York, Boston, and even Baltimore, enjoy plenty of sunny weather throughout the year. The climate prototype for Gotham should be Seattle, which is known as the "Rain City," characterized by its year-round drizzle and temperatures that are not as warm as southern cities, giving a damp and cold feeling.
Moreover, Gotham is considered a rather ancient American city. A sizeable influx of European immigrants brought numerous old-world cultures. Upon arriving in the city, people feel like they are visiting a museum with dim lighting, as Gotham's enigmatic style leads to a wealth of retro decorations, resembling the growth rings of a city. Walking down Gotham's streets, one might feel as if they are navigating through alleys during the Middle Ages' Black Death era.
In contrast, New York is synonymous with modernization. Once the world's most prosperous city, it epitomizes modern society. Coupled with excellent lighting conditions, the city experiences many sunny days, where everything seems laid bare under the sun, blurring lines into extreme simplicity.
If you pick a fine day to visit New York, you may feel like you've suddenly stepped into a toy box, where everything has been simplified. The fast-paced heat wave sweeps everything away, and the modernist buildings lack any detail, as if they were just computer-generated data stacked in the most efficient way. Even the laziest, most leisurely affluent areas can't compare to the swaying charm of the West Coast.
Gotham and New York are like the contrast between maximalism and minimalism. Shiller is quite curious about what changes might occur when these two blend together.
The place where he is now standing is dubbed "New Airport" by the residents of Forward York City, and indeed there is an airport nearby. However, an additional multiverse landing hall has been constructed here, intended to welcome visitors from the multiverse.
Contrary to imagination, this place isn't a heavily guarded fortress; rather, it's a spacious hall not much different in style from the adjacent airport. The overall architectural style leans towards modern but features a stunning hemispherical glass dome. The glass of the dome is specially treated to cast rippling water-like patterns on the ground when sunlight filters through, effectively breaking up the hard lines of modern decor and injecting a lively dynamism.
Shiller arrived right at noon, and the abundant sunlight made the whole hall quite bright, yet the glass dome's filter prevented it from being blinding. Shiller looked up, carefully examining the glass, thinking the design ingenious, perfectly fitting for a re-sunned Gotham.
Or you could say, Forward York City is a kind of re-sunned Gotham. After the fusion of the two great cities, the perpetual clouds of Gotham dispersed, replaced by New York's bright sunshine.
Introducing sunlight to a historically gloomy city is no easy feat. Many buildings that fared well in the overcast, rainy weather would malfunction under intense sunlight. Insufficient sunshades can also lead to heatstroke—problems city planners have to contend with.
Shiller could tell that this landing hall had undergone special design. Although it matched New York's modern style, the circular architectural structure and Romanesque dome seem to lean towards Gotham's retro feel, merging quite well.
"Professor Rodriguez," a female voice called out, prompting Shiller to turn around and see a dashing female agent walking towards him—it was Sharon Carter. Shiller stepped forward to shake her hand.
"Hello, ma'am." Shiller instinctively addressed Agent Carter as ma'am, as in the universe governed by Greed, Sharon Carter was already Mrs. Rogers.
However, this universe's Carter shook her head and said, "I've returned to being single, just call me Ms. Carter, or Sharon if you don't mind."
Shiller instinctively glanced at her hand, noticing no ring but a ring mark on her ring finger. Combined with her choice of words, Shiller surmised she might be divorced. But instead of prying, he said, "Sorry, I confused you with the Mrs. Carter I knew from another universe."
Carter chuckled. Despite looking still very competent, there was a hint of fatigue in her expression: "It's nothing; the whole world doesn't want to believe I divorced Captain America."
Shiller wasn't really surprised—many heroes in comics have tumultuous romantic journeys, with relationships winding through twists and turns. Even famous couples have had breakups and reconciliations or marriages followed by divorces.
Even viewed from a realistic perspective, romantic relationships among superheroes are indeed harder to maintain than those of ordinary people. Their lives are so turbulent, often beyond their control, making love and friendship more prone to breaking.
Many times, those seemingly irrational breakups in comic plots aren't just the writers trying to stir up drama. If you're fighting aliens on Monday, dealing with internal betrayal on Tuesday, backstabbed by the government on Wednesday, nearly drowned by a tsunami on Thursday, and fighting sixteen minor villains on Friday, by the time the weekend rolls around, it's hard for you to be pleasant to anyone. Especially if the other person might be busier than you; when two powder kegs meet, it's no wonder if they explode.
"I believe you once had good times," Shiller said, "so you're only in pain rather than resentful, which I think is a good thing."
Carter was slightly taken aback, then she smiled at Shiller and said, "You've indeed enlightened me, sir. Let's head to the place we'll be staying."
Carter led Shiller outside, introducing along the way: "This is the new airport constructed as part of the second phase of the land reclamation project, merging the styles of New York and Gotham. We call it 'New Classical Style.'"
"Oh?" Shiller seemed curious.
"Apparently, Gotham holds more cultural heritage. That city is absurdly classical, as if an English city had been packed up and transported here. I must admit, that city style is beautiful, but it significantly lacks practicality." Carter shook her head.
"New York, on the other hand, is a little too modern," Carter continued, "To adapt to the fast-paced style, city construction eliminated all details, every skyscraper looks the same, and the streets are indistinguishable, lacking in human touch."
"So, we merged these two styles, using Gotham's classical style as the pillar, employing modern materials, simplifying some complex and hard-to-maintain decorative elements, employing various methods to create a new neoclassical style belonging to Forward York City. This beautiful dome is our pride."
"It's really wonderful," Shiller sincerely praised, "I don't know how you managed to make the light feel as if it's underwater, like in shallow seas, with light gently filtering through..."
Carter looked at Shiller with some surprise and said, "You are the first person to accurately sense our design concept. The alias of this building is 'Oceanarium,' intended to simulate shallow water areas in a tropical ocean, where light filters through the water, with that clear yet hazy feeling."
"You succeeded," Shiller said, looking up at the dome, "If I were to associate further, I would also think of the stained glass windows of a church. I wonder if you've been to Saint Stephen's Church in London, where the dome design is remarkably similar; standing under the dome, the light becomes soft, which greatly diminishes the stern atmosphere of the church, making people feel as if they are truly bathing in divine grace."
Carter frequently glanced to the side, she said: "I indeed heard from the design team that the dome's light arrangement was inspired by Gotham Cathedral, but I am not someone who can deeply feel religious atmospheres."
"Is this land reclaimed from the sea?" Shiller asked, "Why not build it on the shore?"
"There's no space onshore," Carter said, "Although Earth has become larger than before, the population has also increased. The two big cities have merged, tearing down many redundant functional buildings to prevent a real estate bubble, using the space for residential areas. But even then, it's still strained. There's no choice but to reclaim land from the sea. Fortunately, the ocean has also expanded, so it's not a big deal to fill a bit of it."
"I have a question," Shiller looked at her and asked, "Who is leading all of this?"
"The Rebirth Alliance," Carter said, "After long disputes and wars, superheroes from two universes have united to form an organization called the 'Rebirth Alliance,' which includes not only superheroes but also agents from S.H.I.E.L.D. and A.R.G.U.S."
"So, you've combined the Justice League, The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., and A.R.G.U.S. into one?"
Carter nodded, "Yes, now the Rebirth Alliance is the only superpower law enforcement agency in America, or even the entire West."
"What about the East?"
"They don't need to merge; the situation in the East on both Earths is almost identical." Carter gently shook her head and said, "I'm not very clear about their specific titles, our liaison has always been the head of SWORD. But even SWORD is their external name; no one knows the internal situation."
"The fusion process wasn't smooth, was it?"
"Of course," Carter sighed heavily, "It almost escalated into a large-scale war that could have destroyed the entire Earth. Fortunately, we stopped in time, and now things are stabilizing."
"I can't downplay it by saying that integration always comes with pain; such an impact might influence ordinary people for a lifetime." Shiller intentionally glanced at Carter's fingers.
"But it can also teach people a lot," Carter said, "Help people grow, become more mature, or more independent and strong. For superheroes, becoming stronger may not be necessary, but for us who constantly deal with superheroes, realizing certain things and remaining clear-headed is important."
"Indeed," Shiller nodded, "Honestly, I'm very interested in this newly formed organization, can you tell me more about it?"
"Certainly. Let me start with myself." Carter offered a slight smile, her first since meeting Shiller. "To prevent adding more estrangement and keeping superheroes from becoming too isolated and distant from ordinary people, we didn't divide the departments by group but by function."
"Currently, I am the head of the Multiverse Affairs Group in the Foreign Affairs Department, mainly responsible for handling multiverse-related matters and welcoming all multiverse visitors. My colleagues in the Foreign Affairs Department include Superman and Captain Marvel, who are part of the extraterrestrial group, whereas Loki and Martian Manhunter are members of the Mysterious Domain group."