Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 551 - 548: Unreliable Plan

Chapter 551: Chapter 548: Unreliable Plan

"Think about it, if a person could retire after working for a hundred or two hundred years, instead of retiring at 70% of the average lifespan as it’s now, people wouldn’t harbor as much resentment."

Zhang Yuan’s tone shifted, his gaze seemed to traverse the corridors of time, landing upon each person present. "But here I am, earnestly requesting the upcoming captains and leaders of various departments to absolutely prevent the implementation of this plan. Any legislation regarding the Virtual World must be approached with utmost caution and care."

All the generals and leaders in the meeting room were direct representatives of the New Civilization School. Upon hearing these words, they all stiffened, then collectively turned their gaze toward a female captain.

They had not seen this video beforehand, which was perhaps confidential material accessible only to captains.

This female captain had been opposing such plans in some previous meetings...

Initially, they didn’t understand why she opposed them, but after some reflection, it gradually became clear.

Sure enough, Zhang Yuan smiled briefly and began to explain, "Why, you ask? Because Virtual World Technology is a piece of ’Black Technology.’ Do you really believe we’ve got it fully under control?"

"We’ve developed a vast number of Virtual Worlds, initiated the Extraordinary Test, and even selected some talents within the Virtual Worlds. It seems we’ve made good use of this technology..."

"Have we truly got it under control?"

"My answer is: No, we haven’t."

"Many people are still tempted by it. Our societal ideology has shifted greatly; even death is no longer so feared."

"Our past population standard for entering the Virtual World was: only when one’s body has aged to the limit and met certain medical criteria could they enter the Virtual World. This became a widespread understanding derived from long-term practices, accustomed to by the majority of the public, and also their fundamental belief."

"Humans are timid creatures; if they don’t live well in this life, they yearn for the next. They think the next life will be more agreeable, and this is exactly where many religions draw their appeal."

"Our Virtual World Technology has something in common with this."

"So, some individuals got clever. They gave up on the Longevity Species plan, living out their unremarkable lives just to enter the Virtual World sooner. In our era, they are called ’Abandoned people’ or simply ’Sinners.’"

"I believe that in your times, such individuals still exist and are not few in number."

At that moment, everyone was intently focused on the screen, their breath seemingly paused.

Zhang Yuan was right; in this era, the population of such people had indeed grown.

"Yet, are we humans alive merely to enter the Virtual World in the end? Absolutely not. That’s just the so-called ’Sinking Civilization’ that we despise. We must set more magnificent goals to resist the temptation of the Virtual World."

"In the distant past, many legislators proposed easing the criteria. Some plans were quite tempting, like taking extended vacations in the Virtual World."

"Or packing people into the Virtual World, abandoning the flesh, and whisking them away so we wouldn’t have to endure an aging population... Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?"

"But these schemes were sternly judged and rejected by us."

"If we can change something today, we’ll change something else tomorrow, and the day after, change a little more; principles will no longer be principles."

"The river of time can infinitely amplify any butterfly effect, forming an immense storm in the distant future that we cannot withstand. No sole great person can resist such a storm! The only thing we can do is prevent the formation of this storm at its source."

"Therefore, this standard is a matter of principle, a principle derived from long-term engagement with Black Technology, and should not be simply changed!"

Zhang Yuan spoke slowly and deliberately, "Even if life is extremely difficult for you now, you must adhere to your principles!"

Everyone present wore a bitter expression, then they each let out a sigh; so far, they had managed to do just that.

There had been proposals made in the past...

However, none passed in the meetings.

The idea of uploading a large population into the Virtual World, abandoning their physical bodies, and taking them along sounded simple and easy, offering an instant solution to the population issue and future transportation shortages.

But in reality? It was using a big problem to cover up a small one.

This was easy to understand, starting with an ethical dilemma: Were those entering the Virtual World dead or alive?

Many believed these people were still alive, so upon arrival at their destination, they intended to release these individuals, starting anew from a fertilized egg, essentially giving them younger bodies.

Yet, in the real world, the privilege of youth should only be granted to the elite who passed the Extraordinary Test after becoming Transcendents.

Why should ordinary people have it?

Some argued that special circumstances demanded special treatment, that these people who had struggled for so long deserved to be young again, and the extra lifespan was just a one-time exception.

But in reality, no one could ensure that this "exception" would only occur once.

When people reborn into youth made up half or even the majority of the population, society would change. What would they think when they aged once more? Would they continually demand exceptions to return to youth?

Did they align with the ideology of the Transcendents?

How strong would this political force become, and what adverse effects would it bring?

This was the so-called folly of using future major troubles to obscure current minor ones – a shortsighted choice. If people overcame the current difficulties, the future would bring troubles.

Using the Virtual World to provide people with extended holidays followed the same logic, because the balance was difficult to maintain. Now, each adult’s annual quota is 15 days, but what if it were increased to 30 or 40 days? While happiness would indeed rise, who could predict the future troubles this could bring?

Zhang Yuan fell silent in the video for a while, then said, "On the other hand, the strategy of rapidly iterating the population contradicts our future Longevity Species program."

"Humans must adapt to increasingly longer lifespans to better fit into this Universe, rather than escaping setbacks or misfortune by starting anew in a Virtual World."

"The reason the average human lifespan is capped at five hundred years is that our current societal ideologies aren’t ready to handle even longer lifespans. Marriage systems are nearly abandoned, but we haven’t yet found a more stable social system."

"In fact, with our current technological level, this average lifespan could be further extended, something I believe you are also aware of."

"To introduce the population to the Virtual World prematurely would equate to significantly reducing the average human lifespan, effectively abandoning the ’Longevity Species Breeding Program’, trading the essential for the trivial..."

"If everyone is eager to enjoy life in the Virtual World ahead of time, how should we proceed in the future? Even if we become a Fourth-level Civilization, what can we achieve with a five-hundred-year lifespan?"

"People typically work one or two hundred years before heading to the Virtual World. If this becomes a social trend, a habit, how can we reverse this mindset in the future? It’s very difficult, so we might as well not open that door at all."

Zhang Yuan spread his hands open and said with a smile, "So, friends of the future, since we can’t simply upload the aging population into the Virtual World and we can’t iterate population quickly, what should we do? There is only one other path: let those who want to leave, leave."