Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 265 - Chapter 265 Chapter 265 Let Them Enter the Virtual World

Chapter 265: Chapter 265: Let Them Enter the Virtual World Chapter 265: Chapter 265: Let Them Enter the Virtual World Of course, regarding the internal politics of the Gleize Civilization, humans couldn’t possibly meddle excessively. Considering the current state of affairs, the situation was more beneficial than detrimental to humans.

Letting them continue in disarray seemed fine. Since those few nuclear bombs hadn’t caused any damage, they could only be treated as if nothing had happened.

“We can’t expect every civilization to have very high political standards. Who knows, we might encounter even quirkier, more childish, and laughable civilizations in the future.”

While listening to everyone’s idle chatter, suddenly, Zhang Yuan had a flash of inspiration, as if he had thought of a very strange idea.

“Ha ha, got it, a good idea! A very good idea!”

When the idea struck him, Zhang Yuan’s face flushed with excitement, his blood circulation sped up rapidly. The sheer exhilaration of having figured out the problem even made him dance with joy!

He glanced at the screen again, which displayed a cultural product about to be sent out. Some VR game character models had already been converted from humans to Glizerians, and some content that shouldn’t be revealed had been deleted as well.

“That’s it, it must be this!”

Zhao Qingfeng asked, “What idea, have you made an important discovery?”

Zhang Yuan excitedly raised his eyebrows, playing coy, “Yes, I’ve thought of a major policy regarding trade with the Glizerians! At the same time, it could also help address some of the restrictions related to Consciousness Upload!”

Zhang Yuan leaned in and whispered a few words in his ear, which made Zhao Qingfeng’s heart beat wildly. Then, Zhao turned to stare at Zhang Yuan for a long time, his face turning pale as if he had seen a ghost.

After a while, more members of the Science Assembly entered the conference room.

Having achieved significant negotiation results, everyone was in high spirits, talking and laughing merrily. People were discussing how a species that had lost its sense of crisis could think so casually–it truly was difficult to comprehend…

“Some of the problems that humans are most concerned about seem to be completely irrelevant to them.”

One of the Deputy Captains said, “These guys might have lost their ability to innovate, and no new culture would be born anymore. It’s unbelievable… I still can’t figure out how such a civilization could exist…”

“Right, Mr. Zhang Yuan, what innovation have you thought of? You called us all here, and everyone is busy…”

“Of course, it’s a big deal.”

Through Zhang Yuan’s reasoning, the crowd gradually began to understand.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please take note, this is a civilization that has entered the late stages of decline… They are profoundly aware that they can’t defeat us in the short term, so they’ve simply stopped waging wars.”

“The cities are not united, unable to act in concert. If there’s no existential threat necessitating war, the soldiers can’t take it, the civilians can’t take it, even the rulers lack such ambition.”

“The ideological decay caused by long-term use of ‘Happiness Element’ has led the population to become increasingly unwilling to stay in a normal world… If they can’t distinguish between reality and fantasy, where is there any ambition for external warfare?”

“Of course, we must not grow complacent, as a middling civilization may not have entirely lost its combative ability… For instance, Earth Civilization still maintains a decent military state, it’s just no longer advancing.”

“So, I’ve thought of an even better, special scheme for trading with this civilization. Or perhaps it’s not so much a trade, but a form of invasive strategy.”

“Invasion? Do you have some good insights?” a female Diplomat raised her hand to ask.

These diplomatic workers had truly had enough of negotiating with the Glizerians, a year and a half had passed, and so little had been agreed upon. Although Zhang Yuan and his peers were satisfied, the diplomats still felt dissatisfied, as if they had wasted time and dragged feet.

“The Gleize Civilization still has many good things at their disposal, but they’re so disillusioned with the world they hardly want to talk.”

Zhang Yuan listed a bunch of tables on the screen, containing the contents of the first batch of trades.

“Look, they have proposed many entertainment projects, like music, films, and novels, but the main focus is on Immersive VR games and certain sensory movies.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, this much was obvious.

Zhang Yuan then asked, “Why VR games, and not other forms of entertainment? Has anyone considered that it’s not just because VR games offer a deeper sense of immersion and stronger stimulation on the brain?”

This question seemed a bit silly, but there was certainly a deeper meaning behind it.

Because the program languages and equipment between the two civilizations were very different, all these games had to be converted. The other party even specially sent a gaming device via Rocket for analysis and research.

“If that’s really the case…” Li Zhendong furrowed his brows as if he had thought of something, “it can only mean that these types of games are very attractive. Some games are indeed a lot of fun, allowing one to experience different lifes, even I sometimes play them at home for a while.”

All the bigwigs present were very busy people, and many hadn’t played games in a long time; they all looked at Zhang Yuan with suspicion, not knowing what he was trying to say.

Zhang Yuan took a deep breath: “Intelligent life is still intelligent life, even if it is controlled by some kind of substance, and its ideology collapses, but it is still intelligent life with its own thoughts. How should I put it…”

“Even if in their ideology, pursuing the so-called ‘happiness’ is completely the right behavior, there would also be other demands that emerge subconsciously, such as the desire for true freedom, which totally contradicts their current state.”

“From the data in these charts, we can draw a conclusion. I wonder if the population of the Gleize Civilization desires to seek the lifes they want in a virtual world?”

“That’s why they are so eager for these games. What do you think, could this be possible?”

There was a moment of silence among the crowd, then a quiet discussion started, analyzing the correctness of this conclusion.

Captain Zhao was the first to speak: “There is some truth to it. Since the real world no longer offers the possibility of fulfilling their own demands, they naturally lean toward seeking their own meaning in the virtual world… Are you saying that we have been under-selling these VR games?”

“But we still have a lot of electronic games that we haven’t sold yet, the first batch, being a bit cheaper, is not a problem. The next few batches won’t be sold so cheaply.”

Zhang Yuan waved his hand, “Whether it’s under-sold or not is not important, nor is it what I’m concerned about. But this point is related to the ultimate ending of a civilization!”

“I believe that the happiness brought about by drugs is not the ultimate limit of the Gleize Civilization.”

“If living has no meaning, a world completely virtualized by computers would be the ultimate ending for this civilization!”

“There are many hypotheses about this, such as Brain in a Vat, cyberpunk worlds, and so on. In these hypotheses, all citizens enter the virtual world to seek the value of their existence!”

This deduction was almost too incredible.

But according to New Civilization History calculations, that’s how it is!

Captain Zhao clapped his hands, signaling everyone to be quiet, “I recall a fact; their Universal Factory also contains data on equipment for ‘Brain in a Vat,’ but due to the complexity of the technology, it can’t be produced automatically for now, so…”

“If Zhang Yuan’s deduction is correct, it is because of technological limitations that they have not reached this stage. They are also incapable of independently researching technology.”

Zhang Yuan spread his hands and said earnestly, “If, and I mean if, it was us humans who created the technology for this virtual world, could we directly accelerate this civilization towards its ultimate ending?”

“And then, could we take over all the other cities’ Universal Factories? It can’t be called a trade, just take them, because all Glizerians would have entered the Virtual Space and would no longer need the Universal Factory.”

“We have the equipment for Consciousness Upload, technology even more advanced than Brain in a Vat!”

“Let them all enter the virtual world!”

“A more beautiful world without troubles or sorrows, where the brain is no longer controlled by drugs and can enjoy to its content until one’s consciousness completely dissipates… A truly beautiful new world!”

Li Zhendong shivered involuntarily; he felt Zhang Yuan was unbelievably Machiavellian, and he had become even more extreme over the years. He quickly exclaimed: “How could that be possible?! Would the Glizerians really agree to all enter a virtual world? You don’t have the final say! Don’t they know the consequences of doing so, would they just trust us humans for no reason?”

It wasn’t just Li Zhendong who found it absurd; the rest of the members were also in a state of doubt.

“How could that be? It’s ridiculous!”

“They wouldn’t agree to it.”

“How could this be possible?”

Zhang Yuan, toughening his scalp, retorted: “Why is it impossible? As long as we expand communication, cultural invasion, decades pass, and the Glizerians will naturally come to trust humans slowly. On one hand, we could obtain firsthand data after the Consciousness Upload of intelligent life which is very, very important to us, we need to try this technology with real intelligent life; on the other hand, all the Universal Factories, would have a huge impact on the development of the entire productivity!”

An opportune philosopher pondered deeply: “My main concern is: what is reality? I even question this universe, I want to know whether it is real, I want to know whether we all are real! Perhaps we are merely characters in a novel, or people in a movie?”

“If the virtual is indistinguishable from reality, what’s wrong with that statement?”

…

(PS: Subscription rates are about to drop below 1000 o(++)o! Recommendations are getting worse too, friends who have read up to here, please support the legitimate version and throw in a recommendation ticket!)