American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

When Doctor Strange stepped into the Ancient One's library, there were already people inside. A man and a woman wearing mage robes; the woman seemed engrossed in the spellbook in her hands, not noticing their arrival, while the man started to approach them, only to be stopped by Wang's outstretched hand.

Wang didn't disturb them either, leading Strange around the area and into another section of bookshelves.

"Those two?" After walking a distance, Strange instinctively sensed something different about them. Both of them possessed a special kind of energy.

"They are two apprentices from another world who have come here to study. They are a prince and princess from two human kingdoms in their world. After establishing diplomatic relations with us, they sent the two of them to Kamar-Taj to learn Kamar-Taj magic," Wang explained. "Their world is the source of the spells in the previous magic library. There, energies known as arcane and fel exist. Jaina, the princess, studied at Dalaran, the human magic sanctuary in that world, and she has quite the talent."

"It seems this isn't an isolated case? Aren't you worried that outsiders will affect your universe?" Strange was surprised by this. Generally, lifeforms from other universes entering a universe are seen as invaders and dangerous individuals who need to be expelled to avoid causing a major impact on one's own world and universe. But this place didn't seem to adhere to that theory.

Especially Kamar-Taj, as guardians, should adhere to this theory even more.

"Indeed, this isn't an isolated case," Wang nodded. "This universe is different from other universes. Strictly speaking, it has been strengthened and modified a lot. This makes its ability to withstand risks and its stability higher.

Generally, entrants must obtain permission from three organizations to reside here for a relatively long period. Like you, you need to obtain permission from Kamar-Taj. Of course, if problems arise, Kamar-Taj, as the one who gave permission, must also take responsibility for resolving them.

The other institutions are Hebron and S.H.I.E.L.D. If mages and the mystical are the responsibility of Kamar-Taj, then researchers and intellectuals are the responsibility of Hebron. The rest is uniformly handed over to S.H.I.E.L.D."

"So you don't mind the changes that outsiders bring to the universe?" Strange understood what Wang was saying. Since there were such institutions, it was clear that this situation was already established and aboveboard.

"As long as the changes are beneficial, then we don't mind," Wang replied.

"Won't this cause some confusing influence on your duties?" Strange pressed.

"Which aspect are you referring to? If it's the impact on the universe and the world, it's not to that extent," Wang glanced at Strange and said.

"I mean, what if there are stowaways? There will always be outsiders who aren't registered by you, right? If they do something that affects the balance of the universe and you can't detect it in time..."

"That's impossible," Wang interrupted Strange, answering under his gaze, "In this universe, no outsider can escape the search of Hebron's monitoring system."

"Monitoring?" Strange showed interest in Hebron, which was mentioned frequently. He had keenly noticed that many of the changes here seemed to be related to this organization that was unfamiliar to him.

"Yes, the Dataverse! You can think of it as the shadow of the universe, or the center of the mind. Its monitoring methods used to combine Kamar-Taj's spells, but now it has been modified by Hebron to be more complex and sensitive. Different levels of outsiders will trigger different levels of alerts.

If you feel unwell, you will definitely feel it, right? The sensitivity of the Dataverse far exceeds human perception of physical discomfort," Wang knew very well what Strange was exploring. After all, he knew Strange too well: intelligent and curious, arrogant and stubborn. Of course, he was referring to the Strange from other universes. The Strange in this universe was already an old hand. But he didn't mind saying more, as these weren't secrets and there was nothing to hide.

"I think this Dataverse is also related to Hebron, isn't it?" Strange guessed.

"It was first discovered, or rather, created by the leader of Hebron. It used to be just a network-like existence, serving to distribute energy and communicate. But now it has become a behemoth that everyone can't live without," Wang nodded, giving an affirmative answer.

"When I traveled in other universes, I also saw many organizations, such as the Illuminati. Their philosophies don't seem to be consistent with yours," Strange embellished his escape journey. Although this Wang wasn't the Wang he was familiar with, looking at the other's face, which was like Wang's twin in his memory, he subconsciously saved some face for himself.

"What do you want to know?" Wang asked directly.

"I want to know about Hebron. What kind of organization is it?" Strange said his intention without concealment.

"That depends on how you look at it. If we're talking about the early Hebron, it was just a high-tech company, just a little special," Wang shrugged. "But after the Dataverse appeared, it could no longer be encompassed by a simple high-tech company. At this time, it was more like a brain playing a research role. It guided and led to great changes in the Nine Realms.

Now, if you ask me to give it a definition, it's hard for me to give a relatively accurate answer. But if it's just my personal opinion, a cross-dimensional, multi-universe organization?"

"What do you mean? Your tentacles have also extended to other multiverses?" Strange looked surprised.

"This isn't a surprising question, is it? In fact, there are many multiverses that extend, gather, and establish close ties with this universe as the main trunk. I need to check to give a definite answer on how many there are.

Hebron will determine the amount of energy that exists in the universe based on the contributions of these affiliated universes. This may sound a little vague and not easy to understand, but if you put it another way, you will understand the great power it can do. It can determine the upper and lower limits of a universe! And even, when necessary, such as when a disaster that could affect the multiverse crisis occurs, completely lock down a universe."

(End of chapter)