Did the world end today?

Chapter 439 The Torch

Chapter 439 The Torch
"In fact, we need to find an outlet for personnel."

"Productivity itself does not need to be exported, because productivity is merely an abstract concept."

"It exists in relation to matter and means of production."

"When the means of production perish, so do the productive forces."

In the conference room, Lin Xu sat in the center, speaking with a serious expression:

"Therefore, based on this principle, the main contradiction we need to address has emerged."

"We always say that what is being eliminated is outdated productivity and outdated industrial structure."

"But in fact, what was truly eliminated was a complex system composed of old means of production."

"Within this system, vested interests have invested a lot of resources and costs in exchange for their social status and economic benefits."

"But now, all their interests and status have been wiped out."

"So, that's the root of the problem."

"The unrest did not stem from short-term losses—in fact, with multiple solutions working together, it is very difficult to find a real loser."

"The current situation has already demonstrated this point."

Lin Xu tapped the table, and the screen immediately displayed the characteristics of the "large-scale riot" compiled by Zhiyun through the collection and analysis of information from various sources.

"Large-scale bankruptcies have occurred, but cases of asset enforcement have not increased."

"There was mass unemployment, but no new groups of people faced hardship."

"Large-scale riots, but almost no reports of armed clashes or casualties resulting from the riots were observed."

"This is not just domestic data, but data from all countries in the world."

"As it turns out, this riot was restrained and had its limits."

"The root of the bottom line is that most people clearly know that their actual standard of living will not be lowered because of this industrial upgrade."

"On the contrary, once the 'black box system' matures, everyone can even achieve a leap forward on an equal footing."

"Therefore, they would not be willing to disrupt such expectations."

"All riots ultimately point to one goal."

“Those who have vested interests want to maintain their privileged position, while ordinary people hope to use this opportunity to gain the same or higher status as those who have vested interests in the new world.”

"So what we need to do is give them this opportunity."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the conference room nodded in agreement.

But on the screen, an elderly man with gray hair raised his hand.

The speaking privileges were immediately handed over to him. After a light cough, he began to speak:
"But this is very counterintuitive."

"As far as we know, once the black box system is established, humanity is very likely to enter the communist stage in a true sense."

"In this situation, while complete and thorough equality is not possible, material equality is absolutely achievable."

"Because the black box system combined with faster-than-light travel technology brings about a complete overflow of productivity—no matter what the population size will be in the future, no matter how much the per capita consumption will be, the resources will be overflowing."

"If that's the case, what is the purpose of pursuing a high status?"

"When resources are completely overflowing, uneven resource allocation becomes a false proposition."

"Under this logic, pursuing a high status is completely blind, isn't it?"

"This is a sociological problem."

Lin Xu shook his head and said:
"I cannot answer your question from a sociological theory perspective, because theoretically, your judgment is indeed accurate."

"But the problem is that reality has proven that the vast majority of people in this world are blind to reality."

"They cannot see further into the future, nor do they have the patience to wait for the results after the black box system is fully implemented."

“Even if it only takes three years for the world to change completely, they will still hope to be at a higher level during those three years.”

"We have no way to change this blindness. No matter how much power we have in the real, material world, we cannot simply change people's consciousness."

"Unless we use a memory-burning scheme similar to that used by the fleet."

"But the drawbacks of this memory-burning scheme have already been proven. At the same time, the promotion of this scheme will inevitably lead to larger-scale riots, right?"

"Yes."

The old man nodded slowly.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke:
"So what I find most absurd is that your proposed solution doesn't seem to be a solution to 'change the economic base to solve the problem,' but rather more like..."

"A large-scale, social psychological intervention?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Xu's eyes lit up.

Social psychological counseling?
This is truly a very accurate description.

Because, materially speaking, this world is already very close to its final form.

However, in contrast, spiritually, culturally, and in terms of consciousness, this world is still in a state before the "high-dimensional era".

Technology has left culture far behind, and this mismatch has led to social divisions.

The ultimate result is the various irrational problems the world is currently facing.

In fact, the design of Ni Liu initially included strategies to address these issues, but as Jiang Xingye said, everything happened too fast, so even the most radical strategies that were initially envisioned became conservative.

A chasm has been created, and to bridge it, a purely cultural and psychological drastic remedy is needed.

Psychological counseling
"We can actually internally use this name as the project name."

"My proposed plan for full participation in supporting the fleet is just one example to spark discussion. However, under the overarching premise of 'social psychological counseling,' we can actually develop more complex strategies."

“Under the guidance of these strategies, social culture can develop rapidly and in a directional manner. As long as the threshold of cultural-technological balance is broken, the error correction mechanism of the whole society will naturally start to operate.”

"By then, we will be able to get rid of the 'technological collapse' dilemma."

"agree."

As soon as Lin Xu finished speaking, the old man who had raised the question earlier was the first to raise his hand.

Immediately afterwards, a series of responses rang out.

"agree."

"I think it's feasible."

"agree."

After expressing their initial stance, the meeting continued.

However, at this point, the focus of the discussion has shifted from "whether the underlying logic is reasonable" to "whether it has high executability".

“The idea of recruiting volunteer fleet crew members from the whole society sounds great, but it is quite difficult to implement.”

"We could certainly organize a national exam similar to the 'college entrance examination,' but in reality, the imbalance of resources among the existing population has already created a fixed situation, leading to differences in ability levels, intellectual development levels, physical fitness, and even basic cognitive abilities."

"It's difficult for us to design a purely fair mechanism for selection, and the final result is likely to be..."

"The strong will always be strong, and the weak will always be weak."

“Those who are stronger will get new opportunities, while those who are not strong enough will be eliminated.”

"This is absolutely unsolvable, because the screening cycle is not one or several generations, but may only be a few months or even a few weeks."

"In the next few weeks, is there a way to achieve absolute fairness while also ensuring efficiency?"

"If efficiency is not considered and the screening results are artificially interfered with, wouldn't this operation become a compromise for political correctness?"

As soon as the representative finished speaking, Bai Mo, who had been sitting silently to the side, immediately chimed in:
"In fact, under the current circumstances, even a compromise is acceptable."

"It may sound harsh, but it reflects a very realistic consideration."

"At the same time, with the support of artificial intelligence, the reduction in efficiency should be kept within an acceptable range."

"Finally, is what we consider politically correct actually politically correct?"

"The political correctness here is not like the political correctness in the West in the past, which involved LGBT garbage. We just need to carry out a compensatory distribution."

"I think, all things considered, such compensation is acceptable." "Wait a minute."

Lin Xu suddenly raised his hand to interrupt Lin Xu.

“You two have completely different stances. Bai Mo represents a purely counter-current stance, while you represent the National Development and Reform Commission’s stance.”

"Objectively speaking, your opinions are all biased."

"Next, you need more detailed discussions."

"I suggest that these discussions should not be brought up at this meeting."

"Each of you should form an expert group to conduct a detailed analysis."

"clear."

Bai Mo nodded and did not continue the argument.

As Lin Xu said, this is indeed a complex issue.

It is impossible to reach a conclusion in this small meeting that is purely for "gathering opinions". Subsequent decision-making and implementation must be based on large-scale research.

"It's almost time."

Lin Xu glanced at the time on the screen and then said:

That's all for today, meeting adjourned.

"Meeting dismissed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the meeting room immediately became lively.

Most people did not leave the meeting room or disconnect from the remote meeting; instead, they remained in place to continue discussing the so-called "social psychological counseling" topic.

But Lin Xu was indeed starting to feel the strain.

From the time he entered the other world until his return three days later, he slept for less than 10 hours in total.

He almost dozed off during the latter half of the meeting.

After the meeting was adjourned, he quickly stood up. Qin Feng, who was waiting beside him, noticed that his expression was off and quickly came over, grabbing his elbow and asking:
"Are you okay?"

"It's nothing. You're exaggerating."

Lin Xu shook his head with amusement and said:

"I'm just so sleepy, I need to go back and get some sleep."

"Hurry."

As Qin Feng led Lin Xu outside, he clicked his tongue in admiration:

"I'm starting to think of you as a big shot."

"Big man?"

Lin Xu asked, bewildered:
"How so? Where is it similar?"

"do not know."

Qin Feng laughed and replied:
"It's probably because the issues you discussed before were all technical, and they didn't have much of a practical feel to them."

"I can understand about half of what you're discussing now, so I think it's rather...advanced?"

"You're really honest."

Lin Xu was both amused and exasperated. The two walked out of the office, and Jiang Xingye took two steps to Lin Xu's side, pushing Qin Feng aside, and took Lin Xu's hand.

"Go away, go away."

"This is my place!"

Qin Feng tactfully moved to the other side, then asked curiously:

"If this plan can actually be implemented, could I also sign up to join the support fleet?"

"what?"

Lin Xu was stunned for a moment.

"You want to go too?"

"Of course, would anyone not want to go?"

He answered casually:
"In essence, this can be considered a form of territorial expansion."

"It's hard for anyone to resist such a temptation, especially since it's completely safe and has almost no time cost."

"Isn't it a waste not to go?"

Before Lin Xu could answer, Jiang Xingye rolled his eyes.

"Then you'll have to endure being separated from your family for more than ten years. Can you handle that?"

"Hey, I was just saying."

Qin Feng was immediately defeated.

时间
Time gradually loses its meaning after entering the world of higher dimensions, but it becomes meaningful again when it encounters emotions.

This is humanity's Achilles' heel, and perhaps also the foundation upon which humanity has been able to exist for so long?

After leaving the office, the three got into a car to return to their residence.

As Jiang Xingye helped Lin Xu organize his schedule, he spoke up:
"The most urgent task at present is to complete the next round of testing for Ayana."

"However, you don't actually need to be involved in this matter."

"The limiter prototype can maintain a stable high-dimensional channel for more than 6 minutes. We will take Ayana there for testing."

"Take a nap, and when you wake up, you should have the results."

"it is good."

Lin Xu nodded in agreement.

The car drove on and returned to his residence. He went straight to his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed that had already been made.

Immediately afterwards, I fell asleep in a second.
When I woke up again, it was already evening.

Dusk was falling outside the window, and in the far distance, the enormous gravitational tunnel, like a tower reaching to the heavens, was lit up.

Lin Xu sat by the window for a few seconds, then stood up, stretched, and walked out of the room.

The living room lights were on, and his vision blurred for a moment.

But he was surprised to find that Jiang Xingye was not the only one sitting on the sofa.

And Ayana.