Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 257 - Chapter 257 Chapter 257 The Phenomenon of Technological

Chapter 257: Chapter 257: The Phenomenon of Technological Self-Destruction (4000 words, please subscribe!) Chapter 257: Chapter 257: The Phenomenon of Technological Self-Destruction (4000 words, please subscribe!) Upon careful analysis, we can identify some rather obvious backlash forces. For instance, a large number of drug manufacturers used to believe they were doing a noble job by making medications that save lives. They were happy with their work, but now it’s become a dirty, bad thing. Similarly, being a soldier, and protecting one’s country was seen as a noble pursuit, but invading other countries for the sake of certain productive capabilities turns it into something dirty.

Even if these workers continue to follow the orders of government departments, over time, they may start to harbor doubts deep within, eventually leading to various social issues.

They might even start abusing drugs themselves; such outcomes are not impossible.

“The current population is too small, society is clear-headed, and operating smoothly. If we were to have such problematic individuals, it would be a counterproductive loss.”

When the discussion reached this point, Professor Yamamoto could only helplessly spread his hands, showing a bitter smile. He had merely brought up a viable conquest strategy. Whether others accepted it or not was a different matter. To tell the truth, he wasn’t keen on accepting this research task!

Zhang Yuan clapped his hands, bringing everyone’s thoughts back to the present, “So, let’s put aside that drug usage plan for now…”

“But everyone must remember, these messy drugs can be lethal to some civilizations. Some cosmic civilizations treat them as a sort of weapon.”

“In a way, they are stronger than nuclear weapons. Once you’re hooked, they penetrate to the marrow, spreading like a virus gone wild. They don’t destroy the body but the… spirit!”

“According to the theories of New Civilization History, some periods of mediocrity are due to such technologies. I refer to this phenomenon as: Technology Self-Destruction Phenomenon.”

As talk turned to technology self-destruction, everyone became more interested, no longer as somber as before.

There are many potential factors in technological self-destruction. To give a specific example, atomic energy, if used peacefully, could provide endless energy. If used for war, it could easily destroy the entire world.

Fortunately, atomic energy is within human intellect to utilize, so it has not destroyed the world.

“But I believe that in a universe so vast, there must be foolish civilizations that have destroyed themselves with the invention of nuclear bombs…”

According to Murphy’s Law, if something can go wrong, no matter how small the probability, it will eventually happen. The vastness of space, with billions upon billions of galaxies, is sufficient to accommodate all sorts of low-probability events.

In other words, in the vast universe, there is a high probability that civilizations exist which, inflamed by nuclear bombs, have completely destroyed themselves.

Technology has always been a double-edged sword; it’s not possible to only bring benefits without drawbacks.

Zhang Yuan drew three horizontal lines on the screen and wrote some text under each line, “So, based on current human technology, the world’s technologies can be divided into three types: The first type is white, where technology’s benefits to civilization outweigh its drawbacks.”

Take the internet for instance. Although it gave rise to a large group of internet-addicted youths, who are engrossed in various online games and information, overall, the internet has greatly expedited communication between people, speeding up work efficiency. To civilization, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks;

Or take cars, which inevitably cause environmental pollution during production, but they facilitate people’s transportation and increase the transport capacity of society.

These are the uncontroversial white technologies.

The second type of technology is red, which can bring certain benefits. However, it is not as friendly as white technology; without constraints, it can lead to uncontrollable, vast disasters!

And of course, there’s the third kind… black technologies!

Black, meaning a technology a civilization simply cannot control. Once it emerges, there is a great likelihood it will lead to the demise of the civilization, or cause the entire civilization to fall, no longer possessing the potential to progress.

“Due to the limitations of the era, developing technology is like drawing lots; before we draw it out, we never know whether it will be white, red, or black, which makes it hard to avoid this tendency toward self-destruction.”

The vast majority of technologies that have emerged so far are white, assisting humans in developing productive forces, allowing humans to have a better life, from the Stone Age to the great interstellar era.

The first encountered red technology was the mass production of various chemical items, including large-scale chemical weapons and addictive drugs, especially the latter.

For a civilization like the Gleize Civilization, if everyone started abusing drugs, the entire civilization would naturally be beyond salvation, self-destructing, no longer possessing any potential for ascension.

The second red technology is atomic energy, which gave humans the power to create nuclear bombs, capable of easily destroying humanity itself.

Yet due to nuclear deterrence between nations, like walking a tightrope, the entire civilization miraculously remained trouble-free and achieved a more enduring peace.

The third red technology is biological science and genetic science.

Genes are off-limits areas of life, and humans understand them even less than they understand the universe. Reckless genetic modifications could easily lead to the collapse of the entire system.

Should unique, super bacteria emerge, the extinction of all humanity would not be impossible…

As technology develops, all the white technologies are drawn out, and the likelihood of encountering red technologies grows, along with the chances of civilization self-destructing.

As for black technologies, no one yet knows exactly what they are.

Because once they appear, an entire civilization will rapidly collapse. In certain sci-fi films, these are nano-robots, strong artificial intelligence, or super microbes, with people cautiously restraining the development of these technologies. If these truly come into fruition, no one could predict the consequences, perhaps humanity would live better, or else directly self-destruct due to technology.

“From the outcome, for the Gleize Civilization, these thirteen Universal Factories were, for them, black technologies that became uncontrollable.”

“The Stone Age Gleize Civilization itself did not have sufficient ability to manage such a ‘Universal Factory,’ with its massive productive forces. Such leapfrog development led to the rapid corruption of the entire civilization… including the subsequent emergence of oligarchs, the Happiness Element, and so forth, which were all triggered by the Universal Factory, and without a strong framework to control the situation.”

“Thus, there was no possibility of rising again.”

Listening to Zhang Yuan’s analysis, Li Zhendong, who was standing aside, suddenly interjected, “Actually, I think that red technologies and black technologies can transform into one another…”

“Just like us humans, if we had a Universal Factory gifted by an interstellar civilization, it wouldn’t be possible for us to be led around by it, nor would the entire population become drug addicts…”

“Because in our history, such a catastrophic event has already occurred, and everyone knows the consequences of it.”

“But the Gleize Civilization doesn’t know; their world completely lacks naturally addictive substances and has never experienced anything similar. Their scientific research capabilities are poor, and they don’t strive for thorough understanding, so they have no resistance to such events…”

“The goodness or badness of technology is related to the civilization’s own Inner Strength. The dangerous boundary between red and black technology may be related to a civilization’s outlook, ideology, and level of advancement. If they had been aware of this fact, they could actually have avoided this tragedy.”

There was silence in the conference room for quite some time, Li Zhendong was right.

Yet, in the universe, could there exist things that are commonplace and taken for granted by other civilizations but lethal to humans? Like some kind of waves? Some sort of magnetic fields?

Li Zhendong continued, “Therefore, if there were an interstellar court, the second interstellar civilization would indeed be guilty. Knowing that the other party couldn’t handle such productive capacity and still giving them these things for free is akin to aiding the Gaiglieze People in committing suicide! I strongly doubt their intentions!”

Zhang Yuan said, “Your logic is a bit of a stretch. I kindly give you a knife to help you develop yourself, and if you accidentally stab yourself to death, can you blame me for not warning you in advance? Only your own stupidity is to blame!”

“Maybe in the eyes of that interstellar civilization, the Universal Factory is merely common goods and not Black Technology at all.”

“No, that’s not the case,” Li Zhendong waved his hand dismissively. “What if I were only two or three years old? The likelihood of me injuring myself would be high, and then the blame would have to be on the person who gave me the knife, right?”

Suddenly, one of the Deputy Captains spoke up in a loud voice, “Actually, both of your logics are incorrect. Aren’t we being a bit too condescending and arrogant with our current perspective? Perhaps the majority of individuals in the Gleize Civilization believe their way of life is quite good?”

“They think that the entire meaning of life is to enjoy it; what’s wrong with living in happiness? Perhaps each individual believes this, and pleasure is what they pursue.”

“We view it as bad, as a fall from grace, and as degeneration, but that’s just our point of view. We think a civilization deserves sympathy just for not advancing. So, we pity them, feel compassion for them.”

“But do those Pangolins need it? No, they don’t. The Awakened in Gor City are just a minority of one civilization… Our subconscious sense of superiority, even wanting to correct the others, is actually the most dangerous aspect!”

Yes, everyone was taken aback.

What right do humans have to be arrogant?

Humans are so weak; if a war really broke out at the moment, they might not be able to defeat the Gleize Civilization.

These Pangolins are intelligent beings, possessing their own culture and thoughts, different from the cats and dogs on Earth; not the kind that humans can manipulate at will.

The atmosphere turned somewhat solemn for a while until Li Zhendong broke the tension with forced laughter, “Gentlemen, when it comes to diplomacy, we are very humble and hardly make such elementary mistakes. Aren’t we just having an internal discussion? Discussing how their ideology is poor in certain respects shouldn’t matter, right?”

A sudden thought struck him, and he spoke with a somewhat exaggerated tone, “So, what do you think, does the Universe have civilizations that… love to peddle their value systems? The kind that likes to brainwash others, to convert them to their value system?”

Another person quickly responded, “Definitely… A civilization capable of assimilating others’ ideologies would have to be extremely powerful, and potentially grow like a snowball, sprawling like a cult! It’s unlikely that there’s any sort of law enforcement in the universe that prohibits random proselytizing and such.”

“Let’s hope we don’t encounter such a civilization… Sigh.”

Ideological conflict, it’s the most sensitive issue and the same goes for the cosmos as it does on Earth!

Every person on Earth has their way of life, every nation its own beliefs.

Many domestic disputes between couples are due to incompatible values, and international conflicts go beyond economics to ideologies.

If you try to impose your value system on others, it will undoubtedly lead to abundant contradictions and resistance.

Even within just this tiny corner of Earth, there are numerous conflicts, religious disputes, territorial issues — imagine the vast cosmos.

“Such civilizations that can forcefully propagate their value systems and have strong assimilative abilities will indeed be very powerful. But if they are not far ahead of other civilizations, then they will surely be extinguished in the dim starlit sky.”

After discussing ideological matters, including the religious wars that had occurred on Earth, customs, and rituals, it was clear that humans also had a strong tendency to try to assimilate others.

However, if they actually encountered such an alien civilization, it would just be human bad luck.

To be assimilated or to resist. If even culture is assimilated, can human civilization still be called human? So it’s a fight to the death, a battle without quarter.

“If we don’t encounter it, it’s just needless worrying.”

So everyone just treated it as an interesting topic for discussion. They let their imaginations run wild, hypothesizing various hypocritical, hospitable, crafty, honest, sentimental, or human-like alien ideologies, and then let the matter drop.

But in future exchanges, they would need to be even more careful and alert.

What followed was a more serious matter.

Zhang Yuan and Li Zhendong exchanged glances, content they had talked about in private during their diplomatic visits.

In the end, it was Zhang Yuan who posed the question to everyone.

“Gentlemen, let’s continue our earlier topic, which is about the actions of those two interstellar civilizations, whether they were benevolent or malevolent.”

“Every behavior, every action, has its underlying motives, which should apply to humans, and presumably to interstellar civilizations. We can boldly hypothesize that these two interstellar civilizations are rational and can be analyzed using our existing human logic.”

“Judging from historical records of the Gleize Civilization, analyzing the two interstellar civilizations they encountered can help us discern their motives and ideologies… which will be greatly beneficial for our future interstellar diplomacy!”