Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 208 - Human Archvillain

Chapter 208: Chapter 208 Human Archvillain

Chapter 208: Chapter 208 Human Archvillain

The first approach aimed to suppress the birth rate of natural persons, which was not a planned parenthood strategy, but a more gentle method.

Want to have children? Sure, no problem at all, even with some policy support for individual childbearing.

However, raising a child always requires nurturing. The process of parenting is not just a private matter but a public affair of the whole society; one must have the necessary capabilities to do so, and being a parent is not easy.

Most of the spaceship’s inhabitants were young people. Aside from a few kindergarten teachers, they lacked parenting experience and did not have the older generation’s help. And caregiving robots were still in the experimental stage, not yet mass-produced, so it was impossible to allocate one to every family.

To reduce the emergence of unqualified parents, please take a test for a “Parent Certificate” first.

According to regulations, both parents must take the exam, and only after obtaining the certificate can they have children.

This naturally “politically correct” measure, of course, won unanimous approval from the overwhelming majority of the public – most people had no desire to have children. The remaining minority could only grit their teeth and accept it, as having children without a certificate would be met with universal condemnation from public opinion.

With such a small population, where everyone is in everyone else’s sight, being despised by others for an extended period can make life very difficult.

As a result, these parents discovered that the exam was much harder than they had imagined. Many struggled to pass after several attempts – including understanding children’s rebellious phases, determining what nutrients were needed and when, and how to navigate those rebellious periods. These were difficult questions.

Some people, seeing the trouble involved, simply couldn’t be bothered to have children.

The second approach was to advocate for eugenic childbearing.

The new civilization was thriving from its ruins, and even though living conditions had improved somewhat, certain essentials like baby formula were still nonexistent. Not even a single dairy cow was available; cows still needed to be cloned from artificial wombs…

Diapers, pacifiers, and the like were, of course, also out of the question.

Well, regardless of the lack of such material conditions, these were the facts; the civilization did not lack the need for these items, but it would take time to accumulate the resources to produce them.

If, under these circumstances, one still insisted on having children, they would need to figure out how to overcome difficulties themselves…

Especially since long-term public opinion propaganda had made it natural for everyone to think that “under unripe conditions, not having children casually is the basic quality of a responsible adult.”

“We’re dirt poor; people are still mining and farming.”

“Traveled 20 light years just to have children? Aliens would die laughing at you.”

“Will a few more years kill you? What’s the rush?”

Furthermore, the higher one’s education, the lower the desire to have children, which is an objective fact.

Thus, under the combination of objective circumstances and subjective policies, the birth rate of the entire civilization was naturally kept quite low.

The depressed birth rate had some insightful people jumping anxiously, calling for everyone to let go and procreate. However, this desire couldn’t simply increase by calling for it… Who would want to breed like pigs, having ten children?

After pondering these objective factors and organizing his thoughts, Zhang Yuan lifted his head and walked into the conference room.

This Scientific Council meeting was quite grand. Everyone was already aware of the developing data, but it was still officially announced again in a formal manner.

Captain Zhao spoke seriously on stage, “…This year’s work tasks have been satisfactorily completed, even exceeding expectations. I am deeply grateful for everyone’s hard work and the silent dedication of the sixty thousand engineers on the Earth’s surface. Without your active labor, the society would not function properly, nor would we have our ever-improving lives.”

Applause erupted!

The auditorium erupted into enthusiastic applause.

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“In the next few years, our first task is to develop even more cutting-edge technology. Earth Civilization has left us with a vast amount of valuable heritage, enough for us to enter the true interstellar era. Second, we need to raise the level of automation for all projects. There is still a significant amount of room for optimization. With industrial population unable to grow on a large scale, enhancing automation capacity is the only way to improve work efficiency…”

“Another issue is the population crisis, a more pressing problem. About this, every enlightened individual should feel concerned…”

“Population has become a significant factor restricting our development. Many projects can’t continue because we lack people. Do you know what job contributes most to our civilization?”

After a brief pause, Captain Zhao said with a smile, “It’s not mining on the surface, nor becoming a scientist, and certainly not giving speeches on stage like me. It is to give birth to and raise more than 10 or even 20 children. Those parents are comparable to the greatest heroes in the world!”

Some people in the audience couldn’t help but laugh, for it was just a light joke in a serious meeting.

Captain Zhao continued, “…Of course, humans aren’t like pigs, unable to simply have ten all at once. The next generation’s birth isn’t just a matter for civilization but also individual freedom. Thus, we cannot enforce birthing, and the objective environment is concerning. Even I don’t have children. Frankly, I’m too busy; I have neither the ability nor the interest to have a child…”

After these words, the conference room fell into a long silence.

Everyone seemed to anticipate what was coming next…

Then came the main event; the true solution to the population problem!

This population bill should have been proposed by the Minister of Human Resources, but given its key role in New Civilization History and that the minister’s influence and fame might not suffice… they could be verbally tarred and feathered by the public once they proposed it.

Only someone of Zhang Yuan’s standing, with high prestige and a key figure within the New Civilization Development Department, could make a significant splash!

The time… had come.

Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and rose from his chair.

“Mr. Zhang Yuan, I believe you know what will happen after this proposal is submitted. If I were you, I would have second thoughts… Its impact on us is just too great.”

A female legislator from the Ministry of Education seated nearby suddenly spoke up, “Have we really reached the point where we must mass-produce babies with artificial womb technology? Or… is it just personal ambition within your entire scholastic community?”

Zhang Yuan looked at her with a smile: “You know well enough whether the situation is critical. I do it solely for civilization.”

His expression and tone were very calm.

But within that calm, the legislator suddenly felt a chilling breeze, as if from the distant Arctic.

In the core of civilization itself, a strong and cold will seemed to be slowly advancing everything. Any resistance was futile.

Feeling the pressure, she frowned and said, “I will vote against it.”

Zhang Yuan smiled, but his words were not gentle: “Your single opposition is ineffective; we are a democratic society… Of course, you have the right to speak and pose objections at any time.”

He confidently ascended the stage, holding a stack of documents, his stride steady and composed.

Information flashed across the big screen.

In an instant, like boiling water, the entire conference room erupted!

“Proposal for Mass Incubation of Infants Using Artificial Womb Technology”!