Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 251 - Chapter 251 Chapter 251 The Trend of National Fawning over

Chapter 251: Chapter 251: The Trend of National Fawning over Foreigners Chapter 251: Chapter 251: The Trend of National Fawning over Foreigners For many industries, knowing that something exists and actually producing it are completely different matters.

High school students understand the theory of the atomic bomb, isn’t it just a chain reaction? But to actually produce a nuclear bomb, the difficulty skyrockets by who knows how many orders of magnitude.

The core theory of silicon-based chips is the “band theory,” a simplified theory accessible at the undergraduate level. However, to utilize this theory to manufacture real chips requires a great deal of exploration and trial, with significant economic experimentation.

From millimeter to micrometer, and then to nanometer scale, it requires countless investment and talent, and moreover, it will experience countless failures, but those failures also lay a solid foundation for future development.

Now, they’ve directly acquired ready-made products, and not just any products–these are the technological outputs of a Cosmic Level 2 Civilization!

A Cosmic Level 2 Civilization, even if the Ganyador Civilization were to develop independently for tens of thousands of years, might never surpass such an existence!

Therefore, comprehending these technologies is no easy feat, and of course, few people are willing to increase investment and challenge alien technology, let alone reserve the necessary talent.

Without sufficient exploration, the Ganyador Civilization would find it difficult to develop its own high-tech industrial system.

Moreover, all industrial standards are designed by the Alien Civilization. For many standards, reverse engineering is excessively difficult; the Ganyadorians simply don’t understand why they have been designed that way and just copy them exactly as they are.

Of course, from a practicality standpoint, this alien technology is faultless. The technology storehouse doesn’t contain any deceptions, ranging from the fundamental steam revolution, to internal combustion engines, then to the electrical era, and the informational age.

Because Ganyador’s Planet 581g has no oxygen, they can’t fully replicate the technological products therein. So, the main work of researchers day in and day out is to search the technology storehouse for products suitable for their civilization, with genuine innovation for their own civilization being rare…

This invisible suppression is the entire civilization effectively stifling itself, but when you’re in the midst of it, enjoying the rapid progress of technology, how could you possibly step back and see the problem?

One can only realize this regret by examining the long river of history.

Naturally, over time, the people of Ganyador have developed an unconditional trust in alien technology.

Aristocrats purchase top-grade commodities produced directly by the Universal Factory, common people buy products from the technology storehouse, and only beggars would buy goods researched by their own people.

There was once a scientist who proposed a concept regarding satellites, and it ended up becoming a temporary joke!

Because the Universal Factory did not have that technology, it was considered a wild fantasy. It was bad enough to be mocked by colleagues, but even worse, no one was willing to invest… The scientist was so ashamed he nearly hanged himself.

“Under the influence of this ideology, it becomes even harder for a civilization to birth its own industries,” he said.

And with an oligarchy composed of military lords, they could hardly be expected to have the detached vision or broad-mindedness to use the “Universal Factory” to propel the era forward. They were content merely to protect their power and wealth.

But what can be done?

It was virtually impossible for anyone to overthrow this regime through force…

The advanced and massive productive capacity of the Universal Factory had nearly killed all potential for change!

…

As time passed, the output of the Universal Factory continued to accumulate, and the era continued to progress. When societal resources accumulated to a certain extent, essentially every citizen was able to escape living in the Stone Age and enjoy the conveniences provided, albeit some were poorer and some were richer…

An industrial system centered around the Universal Factory gradually emerged on this planet.

Unlike a normal civilization’s technology tree, this industrial system was quite deformed. The high-end, middle-end, and low-end were sharply delineated; the high-end would always be high-end, and the low-end would always be low-end. National innovation and industry were only engaged in low-end manufacturing, merely servicing the output of the Universal Factory.

Zhang Yuan let out a sigh when he heard this, aware of how such an ideology could hinder the development of an entire civilization.

Xia Country had also gone through a similar bizarre period in history, where its citizens blindly believed that all its industrial products were trash and that the moon elsewhere in the world seemed more round. Once such strange notions took root, they were indeed difficult to change.

The Gleize Civilization was even more extreme, as its implicit competitor was none other than a Cosmic Level 2 Civilization! Capital is always profit-seeking, and no capital was willing to challenge the Universal Factory. Not even on the national level was it an exception, since it was simply impossible to succeed.

Even to this day… this subservient mindset influenced them so much that Glizerians instinctively believed that all Alien Civilizations were very powerful, advanced, and morally superior.

“So this civilization could more easily come to a peaceful treaty with Humans, even though Humans are not at all powerful at the moment. They indeed bask in the reflected glory of being the second interstellar civilization!” Zhang Yuan had a clearer understanding now.

Bringing the topic back on track…

With the high-end industries firmly controlled by the Universal Factory, the vast majority of profits were inevitably captured by the oligarchs who owned the Universal Factory.

Due to the innate tendency of intelligent beings to chase profits and under the influence of authocracy, social inequality, and the corruption of money, the entire society gradually shifted towards materialism and bureaucratismin an attempt to please the Aristocrats.

There were some discerning individuals who called for resistance against this trend, but such calls seemed so feeble in the face of the whole era…

When the conversation reached this point, Zhang Yuan fell silent for a while before asking, “Then… what about Gor City?”

“The political structure of Gor City is indeed different from other cities, but if it’s the same the world over, it’s naturally hard to resist such a trend. It’s just a question of more or less.”

Zhang Yuan then asked, “So you mean to say, all the sins are brought by the Universal Factory?”

“No.”

Ganyador shook his head, “Technology has no sins… It’s the civilization itself that’s sinful. If we didn’t have the Universal Factory, we’d still be living in the primitive Stone Age, wouldn’t we? Where would we be without these good days?”

“The entire society is still developing, and there is fierce technological competition between cities. Even if there are various problems, at the end of the day, it’s not the fault of the Universal Factory.”

No, that’s not right either.

Zhang Yuan always felt there was something amiss: “So, the second interstellar civilization, did they foresee this?”

“The trade is a win-win for both parties, we weren’t forced by the other side. It’s all our own choice… Even if the other side anticipated it, so what? It’s not their fault, is it?”

Zhang Yuan frowned, unsure of how to respond.

How to put it…

Technological progress has brought people from the Stone Age to the era of electrification, with more convenient transportation, and a complete change in clothing, food, shelter, and travel.

It looks as though the civilization has progressed considerably.

But on the other hand, the potential for development seems to have been reduced unconsciously. It’s like a child who grows taller from growth hormones but also develops difficult-to-cure problems like osteoporosis and obesity. Without solving these problems, it’s hard to claim it’s a normal civilization.

The saying goes, “There’s no gain without loss.” If one were to judge solely from a human perspective, it’s really difficult to say whether the history of the Gleize Civilization over such a long period of time has turned “better” or “worse.”

Assessing the “good” and “bad” of a civilization is an important part of New Civilization History. A bunch of complicated functions attempt to quantify public ideology, happiness of life, technological strength, social organizational capability, potential for future development, degree of corruption, and more, to arrive at a specific number.

Zhang Yuan was temporarily unable to evaluate the Gleize Civilization, as the historical process was still too vague, and if it were only to be described, it would be utterly inaccurate.