Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 389 - 387: The Aging of Life

Chapter 389: Chapter 387: The Aging of Life

Just like that, since departing from Riley Star, a hundred years had passed...

That day, a few old friends were having a private gathering, and those seated in the room were essentially Zhang Yuan, Li Zhendong, and Ye Kaifu, the first generation of astronauts who had embarked from Earth. They gazed at the magnificent scenery of the Universe while reflecting on the passage of time.

For high-ranking officials like Zhang Yuan, the ratio of hibernation to waking times was maintained at about 3:1, while for ordinary people it was roughly 9:1. Therefore, what felt like ten years to ordinary people, felt like 25 years to Zhang Yuan.

"Time really flows like water. Speaking of which, I can still remember the moment we first left Earth... It was truly a one-way time travel."

"How many years has it been now, 5576? Nearly 3500 years..."

"Ha-ha, I actually never bother to remember the years, because I always mix up the era we’re in!"

As they talked, everyone suddenly felt an eerie sense of unreality, which is to say, most of those present had lived for 3500 years, even if most of that time was spent in hibernation... But such a long time had indeed passed.

Even the journey from Kunlun Mountain had been underway for over two hundred years.

The journey to the interstellar trading market had only completed one-third.

"And the interstellar trading market is just the first destination of Kunlun Mountain, there’s a second and third, perhaps even more grand objectives." Zhang Yuan couldn’t help feeling thrilled, "What a magnificent journey... It requires the relay of several generations to complete the first interstellar journey!"

"Indeed it is quite exaggerated, even thousand-year-old turtles don’t live that long!" Li Zhendong shook his head jokingly and added, "Speaking of which, Old Ye, Old Zhang, I’ve already retired, when do you plan on retiring? There’s no need to keep hibernating at our age..."

"Only by staying awake are we truly alive. What’s the point of living for ten thousand or a hundred million years in a hibernation state? It’s merely the blink of an eye; all that long time in between is just a blank."

"Are you talking about me?" Ye Kaifu licked his lips, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of water, "It should be soon. My health is still good, so I can hold on for a while. Once we reach the next planet and let the younger ones take over, I can basically retire. Retirement isn’t bad."

As the chief engineer on Kunlun Mountain, Ye Kaifu was mainly responsible for planetary resource extraction, which was crucial during the maintenance period of Kunlun Mountain. Without those resources, the spaceship couldn’t travel several light years.

"That’s pretty much my plan as well. Once everyone is woken up, I can retire smoothly," Zhang Yuan nodded.

"Retirement is good, retirement, finally time to live out our days in peace. It’s not really suitable to hibernate anymore; various hibernation sicknesses, if they come, are just unbearably painful!" Li Zhendong rubbed his knee joints; sometimes, they hurt for no apparent reason, but according to the doctor, it was due to aging from hibernation. The chronic pain made him consider getting a prosthetic leg.

"By the way, after a while, we brothers can go to the newly opened lawn park to play some golf, rest up, and try to live a few more years. The pension we’ve paid, we ought to earn it back."

Li Zhendong was trying his best to live a few more years, intending to exploit the whole society...

Of course, allowing the elderly to enjoy their twilight years was what any normal civilization should do, and the new civilization had prepared for it for a long time.

In the ancient times of humanity, there was such a saying that Emperor Qin Shi Huang had ordered that anyone not dead by sixty should be buried alive. Its reason was ridiculous—disliking the elderly for their lack of labor ability, wastefully consuming the nation’s food.

But that was probably a rumor; even the historical records did not find anything about "burying alive," as respecting the elderly and loving the young was a tradition in Xia Country.

Then there was the Yuan Dynasty, after unifying the Central Plains, they implemented a brutal high-pressure policy. Not only did they classify the people of the Central Plains into several categories, but they also adopted a policy of burying alive those who did not die by sixty, aiming to humiliate the Han people and reduce the population.

Whether this is a rumor, no one knows.

In summary, a well-established pension system is the cornerstone of future society’s stability.

The productivity of Kunlun Mountain has exceeded that of ancient times by tens of thousands of times, and the pension system has been perfected. In the coming decades, the civilization will face the first wave of aging, involving roughly two to three hundred thousand people.

Zhang Yuan smiled in response, "You are right, after we reach the next planet and hand over the tasks, I don’t think I’ll hibernate any longer... But the whole process of handover isn’t that easy, it might take several more years."

"Golf? Such a boring activity, I’d rather travel in the Virtual World or play some common sports like badminton. You should be able to live a few more years, not die halfway through, right?"

"Another fifty years won’t be a problem!" Li Zhendong slapped his chest, took a sip of water, and said excitedly, "I need to plan out these fifty years of life. I don’t need to work hard anymore, it feels too relaxing..."

"I just want to lie in bed and sleep, bragging about my achievements when I was young to the younger people..."

He sprawled on the chair, imagining the future, and began the bullshitting he had always been known for.

This guy had finished his retirement handover work a few days ago and has been very idle ever since!

In fact, Zhang Yuan knew that Li Zhendong was just feeling a bit hollow for the time being, otherwise why would he still frequent the research institute?

Even though Li Zhendong has retired and aged, he is still a hundred times stronger than a rookie!

But then again, making room for talented young people is the right thing to do... Although human Intelligence can be maintained for a long time, creative capabilities inevitably decline with reduced energy.

Zhang Yuan himself was also preparing for things related to his retirement.

Aging is indeed the most formidable enemy for humans, even though he had managed to delay aging through prolonged hibernation.

As one ages, all bodily functions decline. Under such conditions, forced hibernation upon waking might result in various comprehensive symptoms, such as memory loss, paralysis, and massive neuron death.

Thus, many people of his generation no longer hibernated, completing their tasks and then enjoying their twilight years in the following decades. As for how the new civilization will develop, that would be a concern for the new generation.

"How many candidates are there for Captain?"

Zhang Yuan said, "Probably two or three decent seeds..."

In the new civilization, there is an abundance of talent, and selecting a successor is quite easy, such as Ye Junchang from the military department who played a significant role in the last interstellar war, with command capabilities and military capacities exceeding the ordinary, and his age is also quite suitable.

There is also Dr. Li Cheng from the secretariat, who is already a Deputy Captain. Whether it comes to handling interpersonal relations or familiarity with the spaceship, he is quite skilled.

Of course, unless there are special circumstances, the Captain is also a senior official in the Scientific Council.

Many important decisions are made collectively, and middle and lower management rely on large data AI; this management mode is gradually being accepted by the people.

"So, the next planet will be key for the succession between the old and new generations."