Shadow Empire

Chapter 896 Freedom and Further Communication

The movie was really good, but Pedro's attention was attracted by a young man next to Mr. Jack.

A very handsome young man.

He wasn't sure how old the young man was, the Federals were different from the Lapas.

The Lapa people need to work all day long, exposed to wind, rain and sun, and they age very quickly.

The Federation members all looked younger than they appeared, maybe a few years older, or maybe a dozen years younger, or even more.

He wasn't sure if the gentleman was in his twenties, as he looked, or older.

Mr. Jack was also chatting with him, and the principal next to him also stretched his head to look at the young man with a flattering smile on his face.

This made Pedro curious about who this young man was.

In Lapa, not everyone can be the principal of a high school. This means that he must at least have some connection with the ruling group, otherwise he would not be able to sit in this position.

He acted almost fawningly; this young man must be someone special.

He observed for a while, confirmed his opinion, and quickly turned his attention back to the movie.

The movie ended quickly and people stood up and applauded spontaneously, applauding enthusiastically!

This is absolutely unprecedented for the students in today's high school!
It was the first time I saw a movie, the first time I learned about the lifestyle of the federal people, and the first time I felt the differences between one society and another in an intuitive way.

They had a lot to say at this moment, and after watching this movie, they also had more doubts.

The principal and Mr. Jack gave way to each other for a while, and then Mr. Jack took the initiative to walk to the podium.

There are microphones and speakers, but it's a bit noisy.

He tapped the microphone to confirm that it was working, then said with a smile, "I just had a chat with the principal. After the movie, you must have a lot of questions or emotions that you want to vent, so we will have 30 minutes to chat."

"In fact, in addition to me, there is also a very special gentleman who is here today," he looked towards the audience.

Lance buttoned up his clothes and walked up to the podium from the stairs on the side.

Mr. Jack comes from the Public Culture and Education Promotion Administration of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which is a federal department responsible for popularizing education, promoting culture, improving the educational level of the people, and combating illiteracy.

They will provide funding to support the development of education and culture, including the Federal Arts Council, which is also a non-official department funded by them. It has received many government "orders" and has great influence and interference in the entire art industry.

The work of promoting federal cultural exchanges in Yalan was specifically assigned to the General Administration of Public Cultural and Educational Revitalization, and they also brought some non-governmental organizations to visit Yalan.

For example, members of the Federal Writers Association and the cabinet once developed a writing plan called "Tell My Story". They hope that more authors will come forward to write and that every federal citizen will have at least two hours of reading time per month.

Although this kind of work may seem like formalism, it cannot be said that it has no effect at all.

The emergence of a group of cutting-edge authors quickly aroused a positive response in society. Of course, there were also some people who used the federal government's money to criticize the federal government. In any case, the federal literary world is now in a stage of flourishing.

Some people wrote "My Slave-Owner Grandfather", some people wrote "My Slave Grandfather", anyway, there were all kinds of things.

These people, some authors who are willing to cooperate with the federal government, and some new wave people who keep up with the trend, have all become members of this Asian Blue cultural exchange.

After all, it's a federal government grant, and federal people also like to eat and drink on public funds, not to mention that they can also come to travel. Maybe they can also help girls in need to supplement protein at public expense. Everyone who has the opportunity will sign up enthusiastically.

Mr. Jack is an official of the Public Culture and Education Promotion Administration and also a member of some unofficial associations. He was originally considering how to turn the content of the post-movie discussion meeting into his work tasks.

His main job is to carry out cultural propaganda in the few schools in Lapa.

Lance had nothing else to do recently, so he came along.

This place is about two hundred kilometers away from Zhuolan, which is not far. Except that the muddy ground is a little difficult to walk on, it can be arrived in a few hours.

He heard that this school would have several students from the Czech National University every year, and that it was also quite famous in the vicinity, including Zhuolan, so he came here specially to take a look.

The proportion of students going to college from the private aristocratic high school in Zhuolan is high, but it doesn't mean anything.

Lance’s main propaganda is still aimed at civilians and the middle class. Among these people, all information about the Federation will spread very quickly!

The middle class is always the group with the most ideas.

When Lance walked onto the stage, Mr. Jack took the initiative to introduce him, “Mr. Lance is the main initiator of this event and the sponsor of some rewards, including the fees and places for exchange students to the Federation, all provided by Mr. Lance.”

Lance smiled and nodded to everyone, then sat down on the sofa nearby amid the applause.

He then introduced some of the accompanying personnel, such as sociologists.

After introducing these people, Mr. Jack sat on the sofa himself. "Our conversation is also part of cultural exchange, so if anyone wants to ask questions, please raise your hand."

In Lapa, those who can go to high school are basically from middle-class families, and they can receive some information different from that of the ordinary class through other channels.

A student raised his hand, and Mr. Jack motioned for him to speak his mind.

This student is dressed very neatly. They don't have so-called uniform school uniforms here, so everyone looks more individual.

But there are very few people who dress really well.

"Mr. Jack, movies are really a great invention!"

"It's incredible that I can see what's happening in the Federation thousands of kilometers away just by sitting in the auditorium!"

"I noticed that the male and female protagonists in the movie mentioned 'freedom' many times, and there were also slogans related to 'freedom' in some backgrounds."

“My question is, what exactly is freedom?”

This question made Mr. Jack stunned. This is actually a very broad question: What exactly is freedom?

Before he could think of how to answer this question, Lance raised the microphone in his hand.

"You are very observant!" He first praised the student, and the student's face also showed an unconcealable smile.

He bowed slightly, "Thank you."

Lance crossed his legs and looked at the student, then at the other students who were looking at him.

“I believe there are three stages of freedom.”

"The first stage is freedom of movement."

"I want to do something, I don't want to do something, and no one else, including myself, can force me to do it or not do it."

Everyone nodded, including the student who asked the question. This was a very simple understanding. To put it more bluntly, it was the most common control issue between parents and students.

“You can do this!”

"You can't do this!"

These are all part of life. Lance just mentioned them briefly and they understood them immediately.

After they showed an expression of "understanding", Lance continued, "The second stage is freedom of thought."

"That's a very general explanation. It's more like..."

"People always tell you what you should do and what you shouldn't do, but they don't directly and strongly ask you to do it or not do it."

“But the way they spread their ideas tells you that you shouldn’t do it.”

“I wanted to eat candy, but my mother told me that eating candy would cause tooth decay and I shouldn’t do it.”

"We didn't discuss the matter itself, whether eating candy is good or not, whether it will cause tooth decay, but only talked about the warnings and influences that my role as a mother has had on me."

"Under her influence, even though I wanted to eat candy, I didn't eat it. This is the lack of spiritual freedom."

"I could eat, but my spirit was restricted and imprisoned, and even though the candy was right in my hand, I eventually put it down."

“Spiritual freedom is the questioning of authority and the exploration of the rules that people are accustomed to following.”

“Does eating candy really cause tooth decay?”

"Maybe, maybe not, but why don't I give it a try?" "Breaking the shackles of the spirit is the second stage of freedom!"

Lance changed his sitting position and handed the microphone to his other hand. To be honest, this sofa was a bit uncomfortable for his butt. "The third stage of freedom is freedom of the soul."

“This is a broader interpretation and it’s harder to get to the heart of it because it’s hard to understand what freedom of the soul actually is.”

“I tried to explain it.”

"Freedom of the soul means 'I'."

"Sounds more confused?"

The students nodded one after another. In fact, they were already a little confused during the second stage of freedom, let alone the third stage.

Lance smiled, "I was confused before, but I finally figured it out."

"This may be difficult for you to interpret or understand in the short term, but I believe that your life will be long, and one day in the future, you will reach a certain stage in your life."

"Think back again about what I said to you today, and you will have a kind of enlightenment."

"What am I?"

“This is a question that no one can explain.”

“I am not necessarily who I am, because I may be who others see me as, rather than who I see myself.”

“Your teachers hope that you will become an excellent student with outstanding academic performance, your parents hope that you will have a brilliant performance in the future, and your friends hope that you will be a model friend.”

"Your family, your partner, your future children..."

"There is an 'I' in each of their eyes, but the 'I' in their eyes may not be the real me!"

“Do you really like studying?”

"Are you really consistent with the outward appearance you present to your elders?"

"I think, not necessarily!"

The entire auditorium was silent, with only Lance's voice and the occasional noise coming from the speakers.

This was an important diplomatic event, so there were reporters from the Federation, reporters from some developed areas of Asia, and cameramen on the scene, who faithfully recorded everything that happened here.

“I don’t like reading, but in order not to make my father or mother sad, I can only pretend that I like reading. This is not freedom.”

"I don't like this child, but because he is related to me by blood, I have to pretend that I like him very much and take all the responsibilities. This is not freedom either."

“Freedom should be unconstrained and shapeless, rather than getting into a tangible box made by others, becoming the ‘me’ in their eyes, rather than the real me.”

"I said, freedom is a very complex and broad issue. We cannot accurately explain it. This is just my explanation. Maybe you have other explanations for freedom."

"I'm just telling you my understanding of freedom."

“You desire everything about youth, so embrace it. That’s freedom!”

"If you hate studying and are willing to bear the consequences, then throw away your stationery and books. This is also freedom!"

"Protecting is freedom, resisting is also freedom, doing whatever you want to do, doing what you want to do from the bottom of your heart, is freedom!"

As Lance's voice stopped, there was a brief silence in the auditorium, but applause soon broke out again.

The student asked with longing, "Mr. Lance, is there true freedom in this world?"

Lance smiled, "I don't know if there is, but each of us is looking for it, I believe that one day we will find it!"

The applause got louder.

Lance seemed to have said something, but it also seemed as if he had said nothing. However, his words planted a seed in people's hearts.

The questions asked by the following students were obviously of a much lower level.

Such as the learning and living environment of federal students, the admission rate of federal universities, and whether they can find suitable jobs after graduating from university.

These questions were answered by Mr. Jack, not Lance.

Some of the content is not suitable to be discussed in too much depth all at once, and it needs some time to be bred.

Half an hour passed quickly, and Lance, Mr. Jack and other entourage soon left with the farewell of teachers and students.

As Lapa people rarely have the opportunity to interact with foreigners, this is an extremely rare experience for every teacher and student, enough for them to savor for a long time.

After Lance and the others left, both teachers and students returned to the classroom, with the images that had been played not long ago and the words that Lance had said in their minds filled with thoughts.

Many people started writing their reviews of this movie with the title "Freedom".

The students may not have realized anything yet, but Perold always felt that a feeling of "offense" was constantly growing in the process of writing.

He offended the President, offended the laws of Lapa, and offended everything here!
He didn't feel that he was not free before, but after watching this Federal movie, he felt that he was not so free either.

This scene happened in many places, in the few factories in Lapa and on the roadside where crowds gathered.

It’s just that what these people watch is different from what teachers and students in the school see.

For example, the workers in the factory watch the daily life and work of some federal workers.

They learned some special words from these movies, such as "weekend".

Being able to have two days off a week is simply incredible in Lapa!

Because there are no days off in Lapa!

If there is work in the factory, all the workers must work until it is finished.

It may be more than ten days, or even twenty or thirty days, before you can rest before the next order arrives, and you don't get paid for the rest.

But look at FedEx, no matter how busy the orders are every week, there are two days off every week, and the salary is so high.

People are watching and trying to understand the Federation. The more one-sidedly they understand the Federation through various propaganda methods, the more they yearn for and desire life in the Federation!
Why is life in the Federation so good?

There is no exploitation, no oppression, equal pay for equal work, and there is also rest time, free food, and wages are paid on time.

In fact, many Lapa people did not realize how miserable their lives were before.

Although it is indeed very hard, this kind of hardship is shared by everyone, so it does not feel special. Instead, I feel that this may be how life is.

But now, after seeing these propaganda and cultural exchanges, their lives are really starting to become hard.

At the end of November and the beginning of December, Pedro's "Reviews after Watching a Movie" won a prize of ten dollars.

Even the principal patted his shoulder with envy, "You are so lucky!"

Pedro was grinning with joy as he received the ten dollars. He was also surprised that he received half a month's salary just for writing a book review.

The principal handed him the money, a ten-dollar federal sol note, and an envelope. "This is what Mr. Jack asked me to give you."

"They have read your review and think it is very well written and has a deep understanding of the cultural differences between the two countries."

"There will be a seminar in Zhuolan next week. You are invited to come. They will reimburse your travel expenses, accommodation and all other expenses. You can participate in the discussion on how to continue to promote exchanges in all aspects between the two regions."

"do you want to go?"

In fact, the principal's subtext is "You'd better not want to go, so that I can go."

If it were in the past, he might have said that he didn't want to go, but Lance's words gave him some new ideas, and as he recalled everything in the movie, he became more curious and yearning about the Federation society.

How did such a free and easy country develop into such a powerful country?
He wants to know more!
"Thank you, I'll be there on time!"

He pinched the envelope and pulled it, using a little force to pull it out of the principal's hand.

(End of this chapter)