Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 492 - 290: True Solitude

Chapter 492: Chapter 290: True Solitude

Zhang Yuan glanced at the coffee table a few times and asked, "There’s water over there, pour yourselves a drink if you want... This psychological evaluation project of yours has been going on for decades now, have there been any noteworthy results?"

Jin Kangyi saw Zhang Yuan’s half-paralyzed state and knew it wouldn’t be possible for him to act as a host, so he just smiled, got up and poured some water for everyone.

He replied, "Of course, there are results. Returnees like you are selected under the most stringent conditions. Whether from a personal quality or psychological perspective, you are all more excellent than normal people. Take this time for example, you’ve made a great contribution. It’s truly remarkable."

Zhang Yuan said modestly, "That may not be the case, the other party had no ill intentions toward us, almost anyone would have sufficed. It’s just that at that time everyone trusted me, and I was the only one more proficient in New Civilization History, that’s all."

Jin Kangyi shook his head, "Regardless, this is still an impressive achievement! According to our statistics, over these twenty years, the Civilization Contribution of just over a hundred returnees from the Virtual World has been steadily rising. The positive impact brought by each person on average is about 42 times that of ordinary people."

Zhang Yuan was startled, the Civilization Contribution here was similar in calculation to that in the Virtual World.

Forty-two times that of an ordinary person was an extremely exaggerated figure. This was because the society of the new human civilization was still rapidly progressing, and most people’s influence was positive. It was not like in the Virtual World, where the majority were negatives.

Therefore, faced with these excellent results, some members of the Scientific Council believed that the standards could be slightly lowered to allow more talents to return to the real world.

Those who already met certain standards didn’t need to continue the cycle in Virtual Space indefinitely; the new civilization needed more talent to push the entire civilization forward. Transcendents are meant to lead the charge, and now is a critical moment for New Human Civilization.

"We still need to be cautious in this regard, the standards can’t be lowered too much," Zhang Yuan said, tilting his head, "Of course, it all comes down to data. Emotional judgments are never rational."

He suddenly realized that he seemed to have no strength to straighten his head until several seconds later when the surrounding robot nurses noticed his intention and reached out to help him.

"Alright, let’s get straight to business," seeing that Zhang Yuan was somewhat weary, Jin Kangyi quickly said, "Actually, it’s nothing much, just a brief chat will do."

Following that, a young woman sat in front of Zhang Yuan, "Do you feel that mornings are the best part of the day?"

"I don’t have that feeling... but I’ve been in a good mood these past few days, all day long," Zhang Yuan replied, "In a few days I should be able to move around, then I’ll be even happier."

"When you’re in close contact with the opposite sex, do you feel as happy as before?"

Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "Being with my two older sisters has always been a pleasure, but it’s familial affection, not any other emotion."

"I’ve been lying in bed all this time and haven’t had any intimate contact with other members of the opposite sex. However, I do find interacting with that Artificial Intelligence, Sigma, quite pleasant. It even helped me out. If I could interact with it for a longer period, I’d be able to extract more information... Ah, what a pity."

"The Artificial Intelligences of the Gaia Faction are all quite interesting; encountering one is always an opportunity for us."

The doctors looked at each other, a slightly amused expression appearing on their faces. They had already learned about the recent meeting’s content over the past few hours.

The young woman who asked couldn’t help but laugh, "You’re really humorous."

"In recent times, you’ve met some old acquaintances, do you find yourself more eager to spend time with old friends? Old friends from your past life, like Mr. Zhao Qingfeng."

That was a somewhat novel question.

"Actually, no, it’s always a pleasure to meet old friends and reminisce about the past. It always makes me feel poignant; we’ve developed from weakness to where we are now. Every step has been difficult. But I also enjoy the company of new friends. A person’s emotional state is largely influenced by physical health. When the body is young, a person feels young; when the body ages, a person feels old. Once you have a few experiences, you’ll understand this feeling."

Zhang Yuan remembered his many likeminded friends in the Virtual World, and couldn’t help feeling wistful, "...If you don’t make new friends, you’ll always just be an old person, never able to regain youth. If you’re obsessed with past glories, you’ll never be able to stand out from the Virtual World."

The young men and women nodded in agreement.

Every citizen of the New Human Civilization will eventually need to undergo an assessment in the Virtual World. Even though they’re still young now and rarely consider such matters, as psychological counselors in the "Transcendent Project," having seen many odd cases, they were bound to have their unique thoughts.

Especially Zhang Yuan, this "600 million Civilization Contribution" legendary figure, was considered a legendary presence in many Virtual Worlds.

Don’t think everyone’s "age" is the same; the actual difference is enormous. Those who truly knew Zhang Yuan’s identity couldn’t help but feel a bit of awe, and it was beneficial to learn something from him.

At this point, another young woman asked, "I have a somewhat unrelated question I want to ask you. When uploading your consciousness to travel to another galaxy, do you feel lonely and scared? Facing the vast, infinite starry sky and an unknown civilization, not knowing whether they have good or ill intentions, if it were me, I would surely be terrified."

This question was indeed something that everyone wanted to know.

Nearly every citizen of the New Human race had ventured out from their Mother Ship, coming face to face with the boundless expanse of space.

When confronted with the vast river of stars and endless Constant Stars, comparing the human civilization’s satellite, spaceship, and Mother Ship achievements through tens of thousands of years of arduous struggle, these were almost negligible. The great journey over thousands of light years, while monumental for humanity, was nothing compared to the Universe, just a single hair compared to nine oxen.

Especially the first time stepping out of the Mother Ship, many children would break down and cry outright.

The idea of having your consciousness uploaded and sent to the distant Andromeda Galaxy, with clan members millions of light years away, was terrifying to even think about.

Zhang Yuan said with a smile, "Of course there is panic, that is a human’s instinctive reaction to the unknown. For that, I even sought help from that apparently Self-aware Artificial Intelligence to cover my anxiety."

"As for loneliness..." he paused and said thoughtfully, "The loneliness that comes from the vast emptiness of deep space certainly exists, but that’s not the most extreme form of loneliness. I came to the Andromeda Galaxy with a mission; someone has to stand here. There are countless comrades waiting for me in the distance, even if a million light years separate us. Is that loneliness? Not at all."

"The deepest form of loneliness is walking on a bustling street with people coming and going, hearing the voices of others everywhere. Yet, you keenly know that in this world, there are no comrades, no friends with whom to confide. Your ideals can never be realized, and you can only fall right here."

"That is true loneliness..."

...