"What's going on here?" Magneto asked, "Weren't they already dead? How did their consciousness get uploaded to the Red Orchid Factory's system?"
"I think you should know, the Red Orchid Factory isn't entirely human technology." Dr. Mendel, who had been through the Red Orchid Factory system, had a deeper understanding and said, "In fact, even the materials aren't entirely from Earth."
"How is that possible?" Moira squinted and asked, "Besides Earth, where else could they get materials from?"
"The Shi'ar Empire," Dr. Mendel said confidently. He took a flash from his wife's hand, placed it in front of everyone, and said, "Many years ago, the laboratory where I worked on flash technology provided us with a material that couldn't possibly have originated from Earth. This critical material enabled us to achieve the seemingly impossible feat of consciousness transmission."
Magneto took the flash from his hand. He could sense that this thing was indeed different from all Earthly materials, possessing a radiation that felt unfamiliar, likely coming from another star system.
"This is the 'Energy Crystal' used by the Shi'ar Empire," Dr. Mendel said, "Simply put, it's a versatile crystal material with quite magical properties. It's the key material that allowed the human race to complete such an advanced factory."
Dr. Mendel adjusted his glasses and continued, "The Red Orchid Factory is built near the sun partly because the Mother Module isn't completely controllable. If something goes wrong, it can be pushed directly into the sun to explode. Another reason is that the magical properties of this crystal material change with increasing temperature, and high temperature is a necessary environment for operations. The temperature near the sun is just right."
"What does this have to do with Mutant consciousness being uploaded?"
"The key is that at a certain temperature, the crystal has the ability to isolate heat energy and even prevent energy exchange. This is used in key equipment at the Red Orchid Factory. But if the temperature is too high and exceeds the threshold of this property, the crystal becomes 'flash'."
Dr. Mendel continued, "When we initially researched the technology for consciousness upload in the lab, we processed the crystal with extremely high temperatures and obtained flash. I guess the Mutant team accidentally heated the crystal material in the factory to extremely high temperatures during their operation, causing the crystal's properties to change and become a flash capable of containing consciousness, which led to their consciousness being uploaded. By a twist of fate, it saved their lives."
Magneto and Professor X exchanged a glance. Indeed, their team included many fire-wielding experts. Setting aside Phoenix, Cyclops alone could generate temperatures sufficiently extreme.
Of course, the sun itself is a high-temperature heat source, which, in theory, shouldn't be surpassed. However, the Red Orchid Factory is merely built near the sun. When they say 'near,' it's relative; it actually isn't as close as Mercury, so the temperature they could feel is limited. The researchers must have meticulously calculated the distance that meets the crystal property requirements before constructing the factory there.
But, the powers used by the Mutants could rapidly heat a region to extreme temperatures, hotter than most parts of the factory near the sun. This caused the crystal's properties to change, turning it into flash capable of containing consciousness, and coincidentally absorbed their consciousness.
Magneto realized the severity of the problem. The revival plan is now ready; they could revive the strike team at any time, just by incubating bodies and inserting the consciousness backup from Professor X's mind.
But now Dr. Mendel has informed them that the strike team isn't actually dead; they're trapped in the factory system and being hunted.
Should they choose direct revival, or rescue the strike team?
If they ignore the consciousness of the team members in the factory system, they're doomed to die, but they can use the revival plan to bring them back. However, sending a rescue would undoubtedly be another suicide mission, with many Mutants possibly perishing in the factory. Save them, or not?
Magneto clenched his fists. This was a difficult choice. Revival was simple, but choosing the revival plan meant watching the once-brave strike team die in despair again. Rescue was clearly the best choice to free them from suffering, but it was extremely difficult, and the Mutants might lack the strength to succeed.
"We can't abandon them." Magneto grasped the edge of his cape, wrapping it around his body, and turned away, "Pause the revival plan and find a way to rescue them."
Professor X slowly closed his eyes. The strike team mostly consisted of X-Men, his children. Cyclops was the eldest of the X-Men. When Mutants faced danger, he unequivocally stood up, sacrificing himself heroically. Now that he's in danger, Mutants cannot abandon him.
"Assemble another strike team?!" The White Queen's incredulous roar echoed in the conference room of the Central Royal Court, "Have you all gone mad?!"
The White Queen paced quickly in the conference room: "Didn't they say they could revive? Then just revive them! Why the hell are we struggling with that oversized brain?! Haven't enough people died already?!"