Chapter 141: The Ancient Internet Forum Controversy
Julia fell silent.
When she had first gone to the manor with Nava, she had thought that if her father came looking for her, the MACUSA Aurors would simply use a Memory Charm to tie up the loose ends, and then everyone would go their separate ways. But now, after all this time, she had started to see things from Nava's perspective.
"The Statute of Secrecy..." she mumbled, wanting to beat her chest and guarantee that everything would be fine. But the Statute, which had reigned for centuries, was like a great mountain, crushing any wizard who dared to challenge it. She couldn't make a guarantee. She couldn't make a promise. She had no way to fight it.
"That depends on your choice."
Ryan had been thinking for so long that the steel knife and fork in his hands had been twisted into new shapes. Finally, he spoke.
Nava leaned forward slightly. "My choice? I'm sorry, Professor Welles, I have no intention of questioning you, but shouldn't this be a matter for the gentleman from the Ministry to decide?"
From the wizards' conversations and actions, she had gathered that wizarding laws were malleable things—if they were useful, you used them; if not, you changed them. But the Statute of Secrecy was different. It was a regulation that had to be obeyed. And yet, in the face of this absolute rule, the youngest-looking wizard here was confidently telling her it was her choice.
Moreover, from the flow of the entire conversation, it was clear that this boy, this self-proclaimed acting professor from Hogwarts, was the one with the most authority in the room, even more so than the young man who was a high-ranking Ministry official.
"The British Ministry has seven departments. I'm just the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Transportation," Ralvin said, surprised to be pulled into this. He was just an ordinary Deputy Head, a dime a dozen. The only thing that set him apart was his age. He didn't think he had anything particularly noteworthy about him. "After all, once you join the Ministry, becoming a Deputy Head is a very simple matter. Any wizard can do it."
(Never mind the countless Ministry employees who had just been stripped of their "wizard" status by that statement.)
Nava's eyes glazed over, unable to believe what she was hearing. What did he mean, "becoming a Deputy Head is a very simple matter"?! Their Ministry only had seven departments! This was the largest administrative body under their government! What was that equivalent to? A twenty-something becoming a White House advisor and leading the Department of Transportation, on a fast track to Secretary of State, then President...
"You have a wonderful sense of humor, Mr. Ralvin," Nava said with a forced laugh.
"It's the truth," Ralvin insisted. "Ask any wizard in the magical world, and they'll tell you that Ryan's words carry far more weight than mine." Especially in the British wizarding world, which was teeming with Ryan's "protégés."
Nava's mind raced, trying to understand the political ecosystem of the magical world. How could a professor's authority surpass that of a high-ranking government official? The worldview and mental framework of 1991 simply did not equip her to understand such a structure.
"It's like this, Ms. Nava," Ryan explained. "I have good connections. I know a lot of friends, and they are all kind enough to listen to what I have to say. I also have some say with the French Ministry of Magic. As for MACUSA... Miss Julia?"
"Me? If my sister Nava is unwilling to accept... I—I will discuss it with my father," Julia said, gritting her teeth, even though she knew it violated the Statute. She had argued with her father before over decisions she felt were wrong and against the law. But her father was an autocrat, concerned only with covering things up and maintaining his position, which had driven them further and further apart. The Statute of Secrecy was the biggest cover-up of all—Julia knew this. And it wasn't just her father who was holding the lid down; it was the entire MACUSA, the entire wizarding world.
It seems their father-daughter relationship isn't very good, Ryan noted, seeing the pained expression on Julia's face. It wasn't the look of someone with a healthy relationship. If things were good, she would have contacted her father immediately, regardless of the outcome. Whether they would have a falling out later was another matter, but she wouldn't have shown such difficulty from the start.
"Then, can you tell me about the wizarding world?" Nava asked, her expression unreadable, though a flicker of curiosity danced in her eyes.
"Big news in the City of Romance!"
A heated discussion was raging on the internet. The World Wide Web had only been proposed in 1989, and the first web browser and server had just been born. In 1991, a few primitive internet forums existed for online discussion. This was both good news and bad news.
The good news was that this breach of the Statute of Secrecy, this public display of magic, would not spread very far. The bad news was that the people who could use internet forums at this time were either rich or powerful, all with a certain level of education and high social standing. These people were representative of the entire upper class. If they became interested, it was as if the entire ruling class had become interested. And when a large group of people needs a voice to lead them, these were the people who would provide it.
This meant that if even one of them became a firm believer, they would dedicate themselves to exposing the truth behind the world and finding the hidden magical community. And that would be a very big problem.
But events do not bend to the will of man. The problem was growing.
With a few blurry images and some people on the forums repeatedly insisting that this was a real event, more and more people began to share their own eyewitness accounts of supernatural phenomena. Real and fake stories circulated in the world of data. The uninformed used their imaginations and legends to paint a picture of what they believed to be true, unaware that among the stories, there were grains of genuine truth.
One person, claiming to be a French corporate worker who was secretly using his boss's account during overtime, said that he had twice seen figures suddenly appear and then disappear during his smoke breaks. The first time, it was a magnificent, large red bird. The second time, it was an old man and a young boy, both dressed very strangely, looking just like wizards from the legends.
Another person claimed that while exploring the Po River basin, he had become lost. On the verge of death from hunger and cold, a guiding light had suddenly appeared. Starlight had led him to food and water that had materialized out of thin air, and then guided him out of the swamp. He insisted that the food he had found was exquisitely delicious, and the table, tablecloth, and cutlery were all of a style that did not match any known architectural or artistic trend. This aesthetic, never before seen in the world, was filled with an air of mystery and nobility.
He repeated several times: "There is definitely something supernatural in this world!"
~~~
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