Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Short-lived Species and Longevity Species Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Short-lived Species and Longevity Species Zhao Qingfeng pondered for a while, “I think we can start from public opinion, advocating for natural death, leaving social resources to future generations. Let me be the first representative of natural death… and there should be quite a few such representatives.”
“It’s no use, Senior Brother Zhao.”
Zhang Yuan smiled, then continued, “You are a fighter with firm beliefs, unafraid of death for the sake of our civilization, but others are afraid, aren’t they? Even religion has not eliminated humanity’s fear of death, let alone ordinary social pressures?”
“You can’t expect everyone to be like you; the world is mostly filled with mediocrity, and such examples are meaningless–at best they can only delay the course of history… In the end, what’s going to happen will happen.”
Zhao Qingfeng spoke again, “Then what if everyone were immortal? With our current population being not too large, just ten million, it is actually feasible for all citizens to have eternal life.”
It was a sensible opinion, but Zhang Yuan still shook his head.
“No, I’ve thought it over. This plan might work for some long-lived aliens, but not for humans. Human behavior, our way of life, doesn’t suit an extended lifespan.”
Zhang Yuan opened a monitor, and the screen displayed the bustling crowd in Central Square, with young people talking about love, and some children participating in social practice.
“We are a short-lived species, our every action and behavioral pattern, the philosophical concepts in our minds, are all based on a short-lived mold.”
“The process of a person growing from childhood to adulthood and then to death gives meaning to life.”
“Rashly evolving into a Longevity Species would obliterate a great deal of meaning associated with survival, and social interactions between people would undergo drastic changes. If we evolved from jellyfish, with lifespans of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, I’d say transitioning to immortality wouldn’t be a problem, but it’s definitely not possible now…”
Think about it, there will always be disparities between people, disparities that exist both inherently and are acquired throughout life.
Those of high caliber gain more wealth and better treatments through effort, which is acceptable in the current climate, as everyone can accept it.
Who can blame those smarter, more hardworking individuals?
But if everyone were Immortal, no one would be willing. As time passes, a thousand or ten thousand years later, the divide in wealth will become qualitative!
It’s not just wealth, but also networking, power, and all sorts of things. Under the current social model, without fresh blood, humans with immortality technology would quickly stagnate, emanating true decay.
“At best, it leads to instability; at worst, complete collapse!”
Having deduced all this, Zhao Qingfeng also became grave, finding the matter more complicated and difficult than he had imagined.
This won’t do, that won’t do–it’s quite the conundrum.
He saw Zhang Yuan’s enigmatic smile and suddenly asked, “Do you have a plan?”
“Of course, there has to be one… after all, there have been many years of research in this area. We’ve conducted so many experiments with the Glizerians, it’s impossible not to have achieved anything.”
Zhang Yuan smiled, seemingly confident, “It took me thirty years of thought!”
The allure of this huge opportunity is too great; even if it’s poisonous and might kill humanity, we’re compelled to go ahead and consume it.
Therefore, the most crucial consideration is how to minimize its toxicity.
Zhang Yuan drew a few lines on the screen, “First, using the Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter as the core, along with our own biological computer processors, and following the construction model of Virtual World 14, we’ll establish a massive virtual world community, which I call the Pangu Brain!”
“All Glizerians uploaded so far are laying the foundation for this world community.”
The Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter gifted by the Gaia Civilization has an enormous computing capacity. It’s not merely a biological computer but also a variant quantum computer, even capable of hosting the self-awareness of billions of people!
And the biological computers manufactured by humans can also carry the self-awareness of thousands of people.
Thus, the computer community built around the “Bozeman Quantum Consciousness Converter” will be that supreme instrument.
Of course, for future safety, scientists will extensively test this supreme instrument. As it stands, no problems have been detected so far.
“Next is creating a virtual world where human life can thrive. Research in this area is progressing fast, with significant technological accumulation. We’ve developed an entire set of algorithms for automatic world generation, which can be completed in a year.”
“Then comes the key part; using Virtual World Technology to cultivate citizens’ ideology, evolving this mindset from Short-lived Species to Longevity Species. What does this mean? We must find long-term objectives and the sense of purpose in life.”
“But this is very difficult… the meaning of life?” Zhao Qingfeng frowned, “Most people would become engrossed in World 14, wouldn’t they? Just like the Glizerians.”
Zhang Yuan smiled again, not addressing Old Zhao’s skepticism, instead holding up two fingers, “Now comes the question: in the real world, who is allowed to enter the virtual world to start the whole plan? We must be cautious in this experiment.”
“First are the patients with brain diseases, those reduced to vegetative states from various accidents, or suffering from incurable diseases like ALS…”
Zhao Qingfeng nodded; there’s a strong call for this among the informed.
The medical technology of the new humans is exponentially more advanced than before, but when faced with various complex diseases, there are still times when they are unable to do anything…
So for those incurable cases, why not just read their memories and proceed with Consciousness Upload? Life in the virtual world is certainly better than being paralyzed in bed.
This policy is one that people look forward to the most and are most willing to accept.
Zhang Yuan continued, “These patients won’t die directly; they’ll start their normal lives in Virtual World 13.”
“In Virtual World 13, except for cutting-edge topics in Physics, Science Material, and genetics that can’t be studied, disciplines like Mathematics, Mechanics, and various macro subjects can function normally in this world.”