Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 434 - 432 Anti-Sakura Alliance

"Especially those who have used ’Sakura’ often feel it brings a higher level of happiness, a deeper form of ’freedom.’ They think it’s a good thing and promote it to others on their own initiative."

"It spreads through social contact from city to city, exploiting legal loopholes, and even the robots do not manage or restrain it. If we do not resist, the world will change dramatically in less than three years..."

"Influence, it’s higher influence that we need," Zhang Yuan sighed. "I’ve now made a game, and I can only call for action in the game announcement. How many will listen is another matter..."

He was no longer the Captain of the Kunlun Mountain Fleet, with no special powers, just an ordinary common person, with too many things beyond his ability.

At this moment, he was visiting a musician. This artist had also criticized this phenomenon on his social media and shared the same thoughts as Zhang Yuan.

"Indeed, mere calls to action are useless."

The old gentleman said with a hint of helplessness, "Although I have some popularity online and a loyal audience, it still doesn’t seem to have much effect. If I speak out and tell everyone to stop gaming, quit the Internet, stop reading novels, do you think anyone would listen?"

"The same goes for those who are already using ’Sakura’; they simply ignore my advice... But for those who haven’t used it, they’ll think I’m spouting nonsense, talking gibberish, or wonder if I’ve lost my mind."

"It’s admirable that you care."

Zhang Yuan shook his head. He could only forcefully protect Ma Mingtao and Wang Nana through familial bonds. But as for everyone else, it was really not so easy to change them; they trusted the policies set by their ancestors far too much.

Many common people always believed that their society was perfect.

After some thought, he said, "Our robotic system has enough power to maintain social stability, even if everyone indulges in drugs, the world would still function, and humans could still survive on a physical level..."

"That’s true."

"But drugs like these, which skirt the edge of legality, undoubtedly affect the social atmosphere, the spirit of society. This world is mostly made of ordinary people, with few who have ideals, but at least there are some. Some will choose mountain climbing after graduation, others will travel around the world."

"If the social atmosphere worsens, with everyone focused on getting high on drugs for pleasure, then the small number who have their own ideals will vanish completely. What about the children in school? When they engage in social practice, they will be exposed to this society."

"...a clean sheet, once tainted, is easy to stain but hard to clean. Where can we find a lotus that rises unsullied from the mud?"

The musician nodded in agreement, "Yes, you’re absolutely right..."

Zhang Yuan asked, "Regarding the Anti-Sakura Alliance... what are your thoughts?"

"I’ve heard of it and am willing to support it, but it’s difficult to predict just how many people will take part," the gentleman hesitated, then said, "Many of my peers oppose ’Sakura’ as well and are willing to cast their vote and mobilize a segment of the populace. But still, the names on the list are far too few."

Zhang Yuan nodded helplessly, "We have no choice but to mobilize more people to understand the seriousness of this. In fact, many people don’t understand this. They think it’s just a new beverage... They have too little knowledge, nor do they seek to understand history. I wonder, is it really good for common people to have equal voting rights on certain major issues?"

"Mr. Zhang Yuan, you need to be careful with your words... Your reputation could plummet if this gets out."

The best course now would be a city-wide vote to amend the law, declaring ’Sakura’ a banned substance. Then, the robotic force could intervene and curb the spread of ’Sakura.’

The fair and just robots don’t care about the concept that ’the law does not punish the multitude;’ even if a hundred million people break the law, they would still lock up all hundred million.

If everyone violates the law, then all will be detained. Erecting temporary prisons is a trivial matter for the productivity of the robots!

Then the robots would educate the next generation of citizens according to their pre-established patterns.

But the current difficulty is that amending the law through a city-wide vote requires a certain number of people.

That is, at least 20% of the city’s population must participate in the vote, and more than half of the votes cast must be in favor for it to pass.

With a population of over two million in the city where Zhang Yuan lived, the Anti-Sakura Alliance had to mobilize more than 400,000 people to take part in the vote, with 200,000 choosing to prohibit ’Sakura’ in order to achieve their goal.

This task is truly arduous!

Because in this world, people’s sense of social engagement is not high; they all believe that the systems their ancestors left are almost perfect.

The calls of a few celebrities, authors, artists, or game developers have a limited impact. Do others care about you? Not at all.

Unless something causes an outrage to both heavens and humans and people can easily distinguish between ’justice’ and ’evil,’ they will get involved. For example, animal abuse, men who deceive women into casual relationships, and so on. Occasionally, people will cast that one vote when they see such news.

As for something as ambiguous as ’Sakura,’ many homebodies simply don’t bother to understand. They’re preoccupied with gaming, eating, sleeping, and even when informed, they may retort, "That’s just personal choice. If the robots have determined it’s not addictive, who are you to say otherwise?"

Even worse, some secretly hope for an even better form of entertainment, feeling that this stuff isn’t much different from chewing gum or soda!

Time is of the essence, and the preparations are insufficient. Zhang Yuan just wanted to secure a vote before ’Sakura’ completely flooded the market...

Because in East Sea City, where he lived, ’Sakura’ had already begun to appear, just like Wang Nana’s former boyfriend.

These drug users also have the right to vote, and for issues that affect their direct interests, their willingness to fight greatly surpasses that of unrelated bystanders! They will inevitably cast dissenting votes and mobilize others to do the same.

When that time comes, with the proliferation of Sakura and an increasing amount of dissenters, passing the legislation will become even more unlikely...

Upon leaving the artist’s room, Zhang Yuan glanced at the distant sky, hesitated little, and hurried off to another science fiction author’s home...