Gundam 00: Rise of China

I hope that in the future we will still be ourselves.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant Colonel Wang Ye."

A group of people emerged from the conference room, looking dazed and confused. It was the veteran Sergei who managed to keep his composure.

While Piris and his ilk were still engrossed in their grand plans for the future of their country and hadn't yet come to their senses.

Sergei remained unfazed by the situation, even though he hadn't been promoted and Wang Ye, who was now at the same level as him.

Sergei extended his hand and sincerely congratulated the other party.

"There, there."

In this respect, he was a little inferior to Sergei. Wang Ye still had the memory of what he had just seen lingering in his mind.

Wang Ye instinctively reached out his hand, responding politely, but it was obvious to everyone that he was distracted.

With a smile, Sergei was not angered by Wang Ye's attitude; his face was full of satisfaction at having high hopes for his junior.

"What? Even the next generation of rising stars of our prestigious People's Revolutionary Alliance are intimidated?"

With a joking remark laced with encouragement, Sergei looked at everyone with a cheerful expression.

"I was definitely intimidated."

He readily agreed, and Wang Ye casually tossed his head.

It cannot be said that Wang Ye has poor psychological resilience, or that he lost his composure when suddenly faced with a large-scale event because he had never experienced such a situation before.

It's really...

There's not much to say about the first life, so let's not mention it. In the second life, Wang Ye was truly disgusted by the Federal Army at the time.

God knows, the elite troops led by Amuro, Wang Ye and others fought with all their might to turn the tide and win every battle.

But the end of each war is the beginning of the next. Despite representing a very bad ideology, in the end, the Zeon flag actually became a symbol of resistance against tyranny.

When the Axis miracle occurred and Wang Ye went to push the satellite with Amuro, he could also sense the weariness in his old friend's spiritual world.

Perhaps it is because Amuro truly loves this world, and so many other people love this world.

Looking up, Wang Ye sometimes wondered why he, who should have turned to ashes in that miracle, had reappeared in this world.

"Maybe that was a miracle; that guy saved the final miracle for himself?"

"I wish I could stand in his place and see what a normal government should be like?"

"That guy? A miracle?"

Because of Wang Ye's momentary remark, Sergei asked curiously.

"Your comrades? Were they killed?"

Upon hearing this, Piris and the others, who had just regained some composure, looked at Wang Ye with renewed tension and worry.

"Ah, a companion from my dream."

With a smile, Wang Ye casually offered a rather unconvincing explanation, but no one in the room questioned it further.

We're all soldiers, and everyone knows what a soldier's life is like.

"In short, the future definitely belongs to our People's Revolutionary Alliance."

Without delving deeper, Sergei patted Wang Ye hard on the back, then glanced at Piris, who had reached out but then pulled his hand back because of his action.

Sergei, who considered himself "the old father of these young people," suddenly regretted it. He should have known better than to act so quickly!

Sergei gave an awkward smile to Piris, who wasn't looking at him, and changed the subject.

"Lieutenant Colonel Wang Ye, of those plans you just discussed, which one were you most concerned about?"

While they were still at the Ministry of War, and could casually chat about classified matters, Sergei was eager to know what Wang Ye cared about.

This would also make it easier for him to keep up with the future grand strategy of the People's Revolutionary Alliance. Sergei had great faith in Wang Ye's vision.

"Let's make contact with possible civilizations from other universes."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ye blurted out without hesitation, after all, the biggest problem in this world has never been something within the Earth's sphere.

Rather, they are things from outside the Earth's orbit that will visit us in the future.

"An extraterrestrial civilization?"

After hesitating for a moment, Sergei originally thought that a rising officer like Wang Ye would focus on strengthening military power.

It's worth noting that in the package of agreements we just saw, he actually believed that extraterrestrial civilizations were the last thing he needed to consider.

Compared to the development of new warships, the development of new mobile suits, and so on.

The exploration and contact with extraterrestrial civilizations is a truly long-term plan, one that Sergei himself believes he will not live to see.

"You don't think you'll live to see it, do you?"

Just by glancing at Sergei's expression, Wang Ye could guess what the other was thinking.

However, if things had followed the original timeline, Sergei really wouldn't have lived to see it.

However, within his own timeline, Sergei, this old horse still eager to gallop a thousand miles, is probably aiming for great things when ELS appears before humanity.

Sergei was always among the figures leading the way.

"Will we really be able to see it? What would extraterrestrial civilizations look like?"

"Did they come with good intentions or bad intentions?"

Who hasn't dreamed of real extraterrestrial civilizations while gazing at the stars in their youth? It's just that as people grow older, they tend to focus more on the quality of their own lives.

The dreams and aspirations of my youth are locked away in the safe of my memories and no longer cared about.

Wang Ye's mention awakened Sergei's youthful fantasies, and he asked with some interest.

"It should be well-intentioned, but I don't know if we humans can accept such goodwill."

"Or rather, do we actively accept goodwill, or do we passively accept goodwill?"

"Then, in the form of a psychological victory, we say that we have successfully achieved evolution."

Wang Ye's answer surprised everyone. His ambiguous statement made it difficult to understand his true intentions.

"Lieutenant Colonel Wang Ye, you..."

'

After pondering this answer for a moment, Sergei asked with considerable doubt.

"I don't understand, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"Um.

"

Looking down, Wang Ye recalled what he would encounter in the future. After pondering it over and over, he did not directly answer Sergei's question. Instead, he organized his thoughts and said...

"There's a theory about a ship, I forgot what it was called, but it was something like this."

"From the moment the ship is built, parts of a certain part of the ship are replaced every once in a while. After a very long time, all the parts of the ship have been replaced."

"So, was the ship at that time the same as the original ship?"

"The Ship of Theseus is a philosophical thought experiment recorded by the ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch."

Surprisingly, it was Piris who answered first, staring at Wang Ye who had asked the question and asking him in return.

"To understand and answer this question, you must first consider your personal perspective; otherwise, you will never arrive at a correct answer."

"And there is no right answer to this question."

"Lieutenant Colonel Wang Ye, where does your stance lie?"

"That's my answer."

Looking around, Wang Ye saw that everyone was waiting for his answer, so he didn't keep them in suspense and directly revealed his true thoughts.

"I believe that ship is still the same ship because the spirit and soul we gave it are still there."

"No matter how many parts of that ship are replaced, its spirit and soul cannot be replaced."

"Then it is itself, and it will not become any other ship."

"On the contrary, even if the ship doesn't move at all, as long as its spirit and soul are damaged, the ship is no longer the same ship."

"I agree with your answer, Lieutenant Colonel."

Piris was the first to respond, looking solemn. She had to nod to show her undisputed support for Wang Ye.

Then the others nodded in agreement; Wang Ye's answer was simple, clear, and aligned with their understanding.

"hiss."

However, Sergei gasped. After pondering it repeatedly, he suddenly realized that Wang Ye's answer didn't match his original question at all.

"For example, one day in the future, an extraterrestrial civilization might arrive with their goodwill."

They "tried to convey their goodwill" to us, but due to fundamental differences in our civilizations' understanding, we cannot accept this "goodwill."

"Even after a desperate resistance, we ultimately accepted that kindness, whether passively, actively, or helplessly."

"We've become one with each other, coexisting and prospering together. Do you think we're still ourselves?"

"From body to mind to soul, 'them' exist within us."

"this..

'

Standing there in shock, Sergei and Piris alike were all dumbfounded, feeling a chill run down their spines at the prospect of the future Wang Ye had described.

"By the way, they'll say, we haven't touched your personal will or soul, you are still you."

"Those who live in harmony and coexistence also say that I am still me."

Do you believe it?

"Lieutenant Colonel Wang Ye, you're joking, aren't you?"

This time it was Anura who spoke. Although he was smiling, his smile was more like a grimace.

"No, since it's just a hypothetical scenario, who can say that such a day won't come in the future?"

Wang Ye shook his head, his expression indifferent, clearly indicating that he was not joking.

"What a joke! With foreign objects existing in your body, mind, and soul, how can you judge whether what they're saying is true or false?"

"Humans are prone to lying, but once someone becomes that kind of person, who can understand what they say!"

"How do we know if it's true? Nobody knows. Everyone would be suspicious!"

Anura, who had once been through hell on Ceylon, reacted strongly, for in such a place, even actions, let alone words, could be deceitful.

People who have been brainwashed genuinely believe that evil is also good!

"Then let's add a prerequisite: that both parties have reached a heart-to-heart understanding and directly recognize each other's thoughts and ideas."

Lightly, Wang Ye added another condition.

"That's hell."

Now it wasn't just Anura who was affected; even the seasoned Sergei bluntly stated that it was hell.

The ancients spoke of a gentleman who seeks harmony without uniformity, but that still had a buffer of a mental barrier. Now, that buffer of a mental barrier is gone.

In short, from Sergei's personal perspective, it's unimaginable what the world would have been like back then.

What will happen if there are irreconcilable differences in opinion?

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