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Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 146 - 147: Move Forward Endlessly
Chapter 146: Chapter 147: Move Forward Endlessly
New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on ƒгeewebnovёl.com.
Within the anxiety and anticipation, three months had passed. The highest governing body of the Earth Era, the Scientific Council, had finally convened formally.
This session of the meeting was quite grandiose. Knowing that Earth Civilization had already entered the “mediocrity trough,” everyone was eager to find a solution to avoid falling into the same trap with the new civilization.
Especially since the new civilization was still in its nascent stage, the “Seed Period,” it had become easier to make a list of significant changes.
A person without foresight is sure to have immediate worries, and these long-term concerns could very well be tucked away in some corner inaccessible to human vision thousands of years from now. But to become a truly powerful civilization, one must have such foresight!
The meeting was packed with people. Theoretically, all staff of Level 15 and above had the right to vote.
Zhang Yuan encountered many old acquaintances here, including Academician Ding, Senior Brother Zhao, Senior Brother Luo, and the gray-haired Captain Ma.
This captain might belong to the group of people who aged the fastest aboard the spaceship; the years had etched a series of wind-beaten marks on his face, and the wrinkles were like deep ravines.
The last time Zhang Yuan had seen him, he was a middle-aged man, but now he had become an old man.
The higher one’s position, the more frequent their awakenings were, including his mentor, Academician Ding, who had aged much faster than Zhang Yuan himself.
“Zhang Yuan! Oh, my mistake, it’s Dr. Zhang now.” The captain patted his shoulder gently and said with a warm smile, “Do you have any special thoughts on the study of New Civilization History?”
“I have some mathematical papers I’d like to show you… just my personal thoughts,” Zhang Yuan said as he pulled up some calculus drafts from his email storage, some of which pertained to the mathematical models of New Civilization History.
“I’ve already seen the published content,” the captain said as he scrutinized the documents, “I’d like to know about your specific political stance. If our decisions contravene the current ethical moral codes, how should we choose?”
After a few seconds of reflection, Zhang Yuan spoke firmly, “I only adhere to calculations!”
“If the result of those calculations is the globally optimal solution, then what is the need for a political stance? Can humanity’s humble intelligence really manage an entire civilization? Like a computer playing Go, what appears to be a poor move could turn into a brilliant strategy a hundred moves later. This type of calculation is a form of wisdom beyond human reach.”
Captain Ma couldn’t help but laugh heartily and then shook his head gently.
“If everyone could see as clearly as you do, how simple this world would be!”
About half a quarter of an hour later, when everyone was present, Captain Ma took the stage and started with a voice tinged with age, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll skip the pleasantries.”
“Our purpose for this meeting is: how to forge our civilization into an extraordinary one!”
“To maintain a civilization’s low entropy, to endlessly progress forward, that is our essential goal, the true meaning beyond the value of life!”
“Nobody wishes for our successor generations to end up like Earth Civilization.”
“But a truly extraordinary civilization, from their very beginning, is already on the right path. How can we, as humans, achieve this?”
The hall gradually fell silent. Many people had prepared for a long time but didn’t want to be the first to speak.
Zhang Yuan looked up at his mentor, Academician Ding, who just sat quietly in his place without saying a word.
“Then let me be the one to throw out the first idea…”
Professor Lin Fangzheng, the chairman of the Scientific Council, stood up, “I’d like to propose a concept here, and I name it the societal support system…”
Professor Lin Fangzheng sent a document to the large screen.
First, all individuals are to be deprived of their reproductive rights. Secretly having children would constitute a criminal act.
Second, a system maintained by society as a whole for raising children is to be established. The next generation will be uniformly incubated from artificial wombs and will be educated and trained by government agencies.
Third, a powerful planned economy system is to be created. This planned economy is different from that of the old era; it would use big data for comprehensive and coordinated planning.
With just these three simple rules, it swiftly caused a tremendous uproar!
Zhang Yuan saw that the elder sitting in front of him had a flushed face and a thick neck, obviously greatly agitated, and even his breathing hastened!
“Professor Lin, do you have any basis for this?” someone quickly stood up to retort.
Unacceptable, aside from the third point, more than 90% of people could not accept the other two.
Survival and reproduction are human nature; one could say that half of human behavior is driven by the philosophical concept of “reproduction.”
And the family structure, bound by blood relations, had been proven by human history of a million years to be a very stable social system.
What did it amount to, cutting it down now?
Especially since the Scientific Council is the highest governing body of the new civilization, no jokes could possibly be made here. Once a decision is passed, it must be carried out!
“There is no special basis, but according to the calculations of New Civilization History, it can be proven that its general direction is positive. For our civilization, that’s already enough, isn’t it?” Professor Lin smiled faintly.
“If one really wants to conduct a social extrapolation, I can say this…”
“Class is the root of conflict of interest.”
“By sabotaging the concept of the next generation, class will cease to exist. All children born will achieve true equality; no one would be able to live off the family name. Without the concept of clan, a vast amount of corruption would undoubtedly be reduced.”
“Furthermore, having children raised within the family unit is no longer suitable for the interstellar era, under the circumstance of extremely high productivity… Can ordinary parents truly guide the next generation? Regrettably, many parents are failing. Defective parents breed defective children.”
Professor Lin had not finished speaking when a woman immediately rose to her feet, her emotions surging and her speech rapid.
“Professor Lin, the more a technology conforms to human nature, the more likely it is to be developed in a normal society, making society more stable and healthier! Those policies against human nature either won’t have the opportunity to develop, or if they do develop, they’ll end up destroying themselves! Such policies cannot last long!”
“Reproduction is a basic human right deeply rooted in our genes. How do you plan to eliminate it without causing social turmoil?”
Professor Lin smiled as if he knew she would say this, “Actually, it’s not as hard to accept as you imagine. Many families on Earth are DINK families; they prefer not to have children and find living just the two of them quite fine. We are merely wishing to extend this measure to the entire civilization, that’s all.”
“But, reproduction is a fundamental human right!” the woman’s voice suddenly rose, “Do you know what happens when you strip people of the right to enjoy familial love? What then is the meaning of human struggle?”
The debate became more intense; a buzzing noise filled the meeting room.
Professor Lin said indifferently, “No one is stopping you from enjoying familial love. You can continue to look for a husband who loves you, to cherish each other for a lifetime. However, you won’t have the right to raise the next generation. If you really like children, you can engage in specialized educational work.”
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