The second volume is full of glory and splendor in the capital, and the spirit is full of vitality in the foggy city. Chapter 214 Foundation
Subtitle of this chapter: SCP is officially established
It was noon on Thursday, April 28, 1921.
In the living room of the luxurious apartment that John McCall lent to Yuan Yanshu, "His Majesty the Emperor", who seemed to have gained a little weight recently, was curled up on the sofa.
Master Yuan's personal lawyer is very smart and courageous, otherwise he would not have joined the SCP Foundation to make the world more terrifying.
But to be honest, Mr. Victor Eden, who was in the same room with him, did look a little scary.
Mr. "Sword 10" is a very tough guy, tall and strong, with an overall appearance that is very intimidating. No wonder he is highly valued by law enforcement agencies such as the Army Military Police, the Texas Rangers, and the BoI.
At this time, he probably hadn't shaved for several days, and probably hadn't even slept much. His messy beard and red eyes made him look even more ferocious.
He had been restless since he entered the house. He walked quickly around the living room with his hands behind his back, looking up at the grandfather clock from time to time. He looked extremely anxious.
This of course made Mr. McCall feel uneasy, as he always felt that he was in the same cage with a ferocious beast on the verge of exploding.
He didn't even dare to breathe, let alone say hello.
“Ding…ding…ding!”
The bell rang, it was noon.
General ZOD's expression changed immediately, and his eyes, which were ready to devour anyone, turned to Mr. McCall, causing the latter to shudder.
The Ten of Swords asked hoarsely, "Tell me, that Chinese guy isn't coming back today?! He... No, are you two lying to me again?!"
That's right, these two people set up a trap for Victor Eden in the interrogation room of the New York Metropolitan Police Department, making it impossible for him to continue working in the BOI, so he had to resign and join the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
"His Majesty the Emperor" swallowed and said, "Well, that... Mr. Aiden, please don't worry. Neo called yesterday and asked me to wait for him here at this time. He wouldn't lie to me, would he?"
"Haha, who knows?" Mr. Aiden, on the verge of collapse, sneered, "Maybe that Chinese guy wants you to hold me back so he can get away."
"No, no, no." The private lawyer of "that Chinese man" shook his head like a rattle and said, "Mr. Aiden, you don't know Neo well enough. He is a gentleman who keeps his word..."
He thought to himself, that should be the case.
Anyway, ever since he met Master Yuan, that guy has always done what he said, and no matter how absurd the things he said were, it turned out that he did it.
Thinking of this, Mr. McCall felt more confident. His face was firm, and he straightened his back and said calmly, "Mr. Aiden, I know that you have joined our SCP Foundation and have witnessed the extraordinary qualities of 'Lord Fool'. Then you should know that we..."
"It's you, not us!" General ZOD replied impatiently, "Unlike you rich kids who have nothing to do after eating, I was forced to do this!"
“Who was forced?”
When they heard the sound, they looked and saw our Master Yuan standing at the door of the living room, playing with a pair of leather gloves in his hands and looking at them with a smile.
"you……"
Without waiting for Mr. Aiden to speak, Mr. McCall, as if he had been pardoned, jumped up from the sofa and walked quickly to his important client.
Finally regaining a sense of security, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Nio, you're finally back!"
"Yes, I'm back." Yuan Yan nodded to him and sighed, "I've been sitting on the night train for two consecutive days. I'm really tired and starving..."
"By the way, have you had lunch yet?" He didn't wait for the two to answer and shouted, "Sister Lian, Sister Lian!"
His cook came out upon hearing the noise: "Sir, what's the matter?"
Master Yuan instructed, "Sister Lian, please prepare lunch for me, these two guests, and Xiaokang."
"Mr. Yuan..." Mr. Aiden calmed down and walked up to me, saying anxiously, "I really don't have the appetite for lunch. And you promised me..."
"Victor, I promised you that I would cure your wife in three days." Yuan Yan suddenly raised her hand and pointed out the window. "But it's only noon now, and your wife won't die right away, so let's talk about it after we have lunch!"
"This..." General ZOD was becoming increasingly wary of this Chinese man, especially when he saw his black eyes. He nodded involuntarily and said, "Mr. Yuan, I'll do as you say."
"Is that right?" Master Yuan patted his shoulder and pointed to the sofa, saying, "Please sit down first. I need you to do me a small favor later."
He remembered something and turned to the driver behind him and said, "Xiaokang, don't leave either. You have to help with that little favor too."
"Yes, Second Master."
Yuan Yanshu then asked his personal lawyer, "John, have you completed everything I asked you to do?"
"Of course." McCall pulled out a document from his briefcase and said, "The SCP Foundation has approved it. This is the organizational charter drafted based on your opinion."
That's right, up to now the SCP Foundation mentioned by "Lord Fool" is still a fictitious thing, but as the acting director of the North American branch, Yuan Yanshu naturally has to establish a real foundation.
"Very Good!" He took it, flipped through it, and then handed it to "Ten of Swords" and said, "Take a look, Mr. Aiden. After all, you are now a member of our SCP Foundation."
"Hmm... okay." General ZOD, who had no interest in this, had no choice but to watch it under his insistence.
What is a foundation?
First of all, since it is called a foundation, as the name suggests, it is an institution that specializes in managing special funds and grants.
Secondly, foundations are non-profit organizations, and most of them are private non-profit organizations.
Finally, the purpose of a foundation is to carry out some kind of public welfare undertaking. It can promote scientific exploration, support the humanities and arts, and even provide social welfare assistance.
In fact, this thing has existed for a long time, but it matured and developed in the United States where Master Yuan lived, especially after entering the 20th century, various foundations began to flourish.
The Carnegie Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, established in 1900, are two of the most well-known of the earliest foundations.
The Ford Foundation, founded in 1936, has billions of dollars and is the largest foundation in the world.
In 1982, the famous National Endowment for Democracy (NED) was established.
The National Endowment for Democracy is the "leader" among American non-governmental organizations. It is a non-governmental organization with a government background and has a very special status.
Its establishment stemmed directly from President Reagan's speech to the British Parliament, in which he proposed that Western powers jointly fund the construction of democracy in "non-democratic countries", including free media, trade unions, political parties and universities.
The NED has shown great concern for Serbia. Among all Asian countries, the NED has the most funding for China, divided into four sections: "China," "China (Hong Kong)," "China (Highlands)," and "China (Western Regions)," demonstrating its commitment to promoting democracy and freedom in Serbia.
By the way, in addition to NED, there is another foundation that pays close attention to the democratic process around the world, and that is the Open Society Foundations (OSF) founded by Soros.
Just listen to the name—Open Society—and you'll know just how open this foundation is. OSF has had a hand in everything from Czechoslovakia's Charter 77 movement, Poland's Solidarity movement and its "Big Bang Reform" (a Polish version of shock therapy), to the Ukrainian independence movement. It's no wonder Soros isn't well-received in his home region of Eastern Europe.
By the way, the term "open society" comes from "The Open Society and Its Enemies", one of the three must-read books for public intellectuals.
The author of this book, Karl Raimund Popper (1902-1994), is a fellow student of Yuan Yanshu.
If mathematics is the mother of natural sciences, without mathematics as the womb, it would be impossible for physical and chemical disciplines that perform quantitative analysis of natural phenomena to be born; then philosophy is the father of the humanities, and all humanities and the schools under these sciences carry some kind of philosophical DNA.
So in this sense, the Austrian School to which Yuan Yanshu belongs is actually the economics branch of the Vienna School of Philosophy (Vienna Circle, also known as the Vienna Group).
The Vienna School, formed in the 1920s, has two main propositions: first, it rejects metaphysics and believes that experience is the only reliable source of knowledge; second, it believes that only by applying the method of logical analysis can traditional philosophical problems be ultimately solved.
In short, rationality is supreme... No, absolutely rationality is supreme!
Popper was an important member of the Vienna School, and his book was a criticism of the "irrationality" of Plato, Hegel and Marx.
In his view, the "utopia" these three sought to create was the philosophical source of modern totalitarianism. He believed that the construction of human society should adopt a "piecemeal social engineering" approach. The transition from utopia to piecemeal engineering was precisely the process of humanity's return from romanticism to rationality.
To put it simply, a radical overall social revolution is unnecessary; instead, gradual improvements to individual social systems are sufficient.
This is a bit off topic. You know, under the care of the Master Ball system, it is still a question whether Yuan Yanshu can have in-depth dealings with the Vienna School in the future.
Anyway, with such a shining example, as a cared-for Seres, the Fool will naturally return the favor and "promote" the cause of "justice" around the world.
So, please remember this day, because starting from April 28, 1921... or more precisely, since Yuan Yanshu came into this world, human civilization will surely become more and more "just"!
Unfortunately, the people present were not aware enough and did not realize how important this day was.
"John, what about one more thing?" Yuan Yan suddenly turned around and asked.
"Oh, you're talking about that matter..." His private lawyer nodded and took out another document.
However, Mr. McCall did not hand it to Master Yuan immediately. He looked suspicious and asked, "Neo, why do you want me to help you prepare your will?"
Yuan Yan suddenly took her own will and said frankly: "My friend, even a man like me..."
He humbly corrected himself, "I'm just a mortal. One day I'll have to meet God or some other goddamn thing... well, some other inestimable being. So what's wrong with making some preparations?"
"But..." His lawyer thought for a moment, then leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Neo, but after your death, you want to donate all your property, even the copyrights to those novels, to the SCP Foundation, leaving nothing for your family?"
Yuan Yanshu flipped through the will and said calmly, "John, speaking of my family, if I don't die, there's no need to worry about it . If I die... then I won't be able to take care of them."
After reading it hastily, he took out a gold pen and quickly signed his name on the will.
"Mr. Victor Eden and Mr. Condor, please sign your names as witnesses to the will."
General ZOD didn't mind and stepped forward to sign his name.
But Xiaokang said with an embarrassed look on his face, "Second Master, this matter... I'm just a driver, how can I be a witness?"
"Hahaha, Xiaokang, you, you..."
Master Yuan smiled and shook his head. This time he turned to Detective Pinkerton and said, "Mr. Aiden, what about what I asked you to do last time?"
"10 of Swords" glanced at Xiaokang and took out a document from the inside pocket of his suit.
Yuan Yan took the document without opening it. She put her arm around her driver's shoulder and said, "Come on, Xiaokang, let's go to the study and have a chat..."
In less than a quarter of an hour the two Seres returned to the living room.
"Gentlemen, welcome to our new member of the SCP Foundation..." "Lord Fool" pointed at the new member and said, "Mr. Sword 8!"
The sword naturally represents force, and 8...isn't this the number Cantonese people like?
While clapping his hands, he gestured to the other two veteran members, "Gentlemen, applause!"
"His Majesty the Emperor" and "Ten of Swords" looked at the dazed "Eight of Swords" with sympathy... and one of them applauded enthusiastically.
They knew without asking that this new member was either "tricked" or "coerced".
“Snap, snap, snap…”
“STOP!”
"Alright, Eight of Swords." Yuan Yan suddenly handed Xiao Kang his will and pen, saying softly, "My brother, you are now qualified to be a witness. Please sign."
Driver Kang, who has not yet recovered from his shock, signed his name on the will like a puppet.
“Perfect!”
"Gentlemen, today is a good day." Our Master Yuan said happily: "To congratulate the official establishment of our SCP Foundation..."
"To welcome our new brothers..."
"By the way, we should have a drink to celebrate my death!"
John McCall couldn't help but ask loudly, "Wait a minute, Neo. What did you say?"
Yuan Yan, who had walked to the wine cabinet to pour a glass of wine, replied without turning around, "I just said we should have a drink."
The private lawyer shook his head and said, "No, no, no. Neo, it's the first sentence!"
"John, what are you saying? I'm pleased to inform you and the two of you that I'm going right now..."
Our Master Yuan turned around, handed three glasses of wine to the three gentlemen in the living room, and then smiled brightly and said, "Die, die!"
"Gentlemen, CHERRS!"
