vrcanaries Chapter 155 Dignity exists only on the edge of a sword, and truth exists only within the range of a
Chapter 155 Dignity exists only on the edge of a sword, and truth exists only within the range of a
The 20th year of the Deterrence Era, 2235 AD.
Sophon's status among humans is rising, and people are gradually recovering from the trauma of twenty years ago.
There was even an organization that erected a statue in the central square in honor of Zhizi, depicting her signing a ceasefire agreement with Luo Congmin, the president of the Earth Federation, to symbolize the era of deterrence for peaceful development.
The Deterrence Era was a comfortable cradle in which humanity lay, transforming from adults into children.
Luo Congmin has proposed expanding the army several times over the years, but each time the proposal has been strongly opposed by the Local Federation Committee.
Left with no other choice, Luo Congmin had to reinstate a group of hardliners and establish a strategic department outside the military headquarters, incorporating military theory into the education system.
But this is far from enough. In a world without war for the past twenty years, the peace-loving ideals of the doves have already taken root in people's hearts.
Luo Congmin is going against the tide of history. People cannot understand or agree with her continuous expansion of the military. Some even associate her actions with her father Luo Ji's methods of intimidation, believing that her actions will inevitably lead to a stalemate in the relationship between the Earth Alliance and the Trisolarans.
The lack of understanding from the grassroots, the trend of the times, and the opposition from the doves all became the biggest obstacles to this proposal, but fortunately, Lin Xuan was prepared.
The Reinforcement for the Future plan was not just a single phase. Before the final battle, Lin Xuan had approached Chang Weisi and asked him to continue with the second phase of the Reinforcement for the Future plan.
If the first phase of the Reinforcements for the Future plan was only to deal with the apocalyptic war, then the second phase of the Reinforcements for the Future plan is to deal with the cradle state that threatens humanity in the Age of Deterrence.
The participants in this phase of the reinforcement plan for the future were mainly representatives of the futurist school of history and the hawkish faction of humanity.
Both participated in the program voluntarily.
The former wanted to verify whether their conjecture was correct, while the latter wanted to see the future development of humankind.
Now is the time to awaken them!
Inside the hibernation center, one by one, former members of the Common Era were awakened from their hibernation pods. They were all experts and scholars in their respective fields, and each of them could be found in textbooks.
"How many years has it been now?" someone asked.
"The 20th year of the Deterrence Era, which is 2235 AD, is more than 30 years since we went into hibernation."
"More than 30 years? How come I've been hibernating for more than a hundred years?"
"I hibernated for two hundred years, haha, can anyone tell me what happened?"
"My God, so many years have passed. My students must have turned to ashes by now."
"Old Zhao, Old Zhao, I didn't expect you old codger to have been hibernating until now. I hibernated after you. Your students are more promising than you. Before I went into hibernation, they had already figured out the model for that project that you couldn't do before. How about that, haha. I told you you old thing, you're outdated. If you hadn't died, it would have really affected your students' performance."
"What the hell? You just woke up and you're already cursing me to die, huh? Besides, those are all my students, what are you getting so worked up about?"
The awakened hibernators searched their surroundings for familiar faces, people from different eras, some with an age gap of up to a hundred years.
However, as historically renowned scholars, they had all heard of each other's fame.
Among the crowd, there was a man wearing a blue shirt, with a dignified appearance and a commanding presence in every gesture.
However, he himself appeared very refined and modest, and did not exert his strong aura on the people around him. He was like a sword about to be drawn from its sheath. When viewed calmly, he was like a poplar tree standing firm in the wind and snow in the dead of winter, but when he drew his sword, he revealed his sharp edge.
He was a figure from the UN General Assembly era and one of the former hawks in China. Around 2016, in the 9th year of the Crisis Era, he had to hibernate due to stomach cancer and wait until the future to receive treatment.
Unexpectedly, plans can't keep up with changes. The early arrival of the Trisolaran crisis forced these scholars into hibernation until now. However, it's not too late, as there are still places in this era that need them.
Soon, the assistants at the hibernation center were responsible for implanting brain networks into each of these hibernators and downloading the data that Lin Xuan had prepared in advance into their memories.
These materials contain major events that occurred in human society during their hibernation, as well as the current technological development, power distribution, and even the social problems and major contradictions faced by human society.
This is one of the advantages of brain-computer interface technology: it can quickly integrate people from different eras into today's society, preventing them from becoming too out of touch with the times.
After the memory implantation was completed, they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Well done, kids! Those Trisolaran bastards have finally surrendered."
"Haha, the PDC has finally been overthrown! Good thing! I told you before that raising the retirement age to 80 would cause trouble. Now they've messed things up, haven't they?"
"Lin Xuan is quite something. He used to be a student in our class, but he hasn't attended a single class since freshman year. I still don't know what he looks like."
At this time, many people were already waiting outside the hibernation center.
These hibernators were scholars from various universities and research institutions. Nowadays, some of these institutions and universities are still in operation, and their current representatives naturally have to send people to pick up these scholars and professors.
"Professor, over here."
The man turned his head and saw a short-haired girl in a white shirt waving at him. The girl's face was full of sunshine and confidence, and she looked like a student in the peaceful era of the Deterrence Era.
"Professor, I am Liu Lu, a student majoring in astronomy at Jinan University. I have come to pick you up on behalf of Jinan University."
Upon hearing this, the man felt somewhat dazed.
"Jinnan University?"
Liu Lu nodded slightly.
"Yes, Professor, you should already know from the information you just received that Nankai University and Tianjin University later merged and are now called Jinnan University."
……
The two quickly boarded the shuttle and headed off into the distance.
Nowadays, with the support of brain-computer interface technology, autonomous driving is no longer a problem.
The shuttle the two were riding in was directly controlled by AI, making it far safer than cars used to be.
"I can't believe so many years have passed." The man looked at the towering city in the distance and couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection).
Although he had already learned about the changes in the world from his memories, seeing it with his own eyes still left him feeling deeply shocked.
Liu Lu, who was standing to the side, nodded slightly.
"Yes, Professor, you must be over two hundred years old by your age, haha, to be honest, I've only ever seen your portrait in the school's museum."
"My portrait is over two hundred years old and it's still hanging there?" The man's expression showed a hint of surprise.
Liu Lu turned her gaze to the city outside the porthole and spoke slowly.
"Yes, after all, everyone thought..."
"You all thought I left a long time ago, right?" the man laughed.
"Your hibernation was kept absolutely secret. Apart from successive principals and some high-ranking military and political officials, the outside world had never known about it. Even I only learned about it two or three days ago."
As Liu Lu spoke, she turned her gaze back, looking up and down at the legendary figure in front of her who only existed in textbooks, her eyes filled with awe, curiosity and admiration.
"The students should also be looking forward to it. After you go back, all your professional titles and status will be restored, and military theory courses will also be reopened."
……
Three days later, at Jinan University.
The man slowly walked up to the podium, behind him was a blackboard used for teaching in the Common Era.
Although the school repeatedly told him that he could now teach directly using the brain network, the man insisted on using the traditional method he was most familiar with to complete the lessons.
The classroom was already packed with people.
The classrooms, which can accommodate tens of thousands of people, were packed with students. Some students had to sit on the floor because there were no chairs available. Everywhere you looked, there were people.
Some admired this professor, who was a legend in the school's history; others were curious after hearing that the professor would be giving a lecture; still others wanted to experience firsthand how teachers in the Common Era conducted their classes.
"Attend class!"
The man's voice was powerful and resonant, like a resounding bell striking the hearts of all the students in the classroom.
Instinctively, the students all stood up.
This tradition had gradually disappeared more than a decade ago, but at this moment, the students spontaneously stood up to show their respect for the person in front of them.
"sit down."
As the man finished speaking, he slowly turned around and wrote several large characters on the blackboard: "Military Theory".
"I will be teaching this course from now on, but before we begin, I need to make one thing clear to you: this is not an ordinary course. Right now, you are serving in the reserves. Do you understand?"
"Listen clearly!"
"Very good. From this moment on, you are no longer students, but soldiers without uniforms. Do you understand your identity?"
"Clear!"
The students responded enthusiastically; it was their first time taking such a unique course, and they were quite excited.
The man stood on the podium, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"So, from now on, I will discipline you in a military manner. Do you agree?"
"agree!"
"Then who can tell me, what is a soldier's duty?"
"obey orders!"
"Yes, obey orders. So, skipping other classes is called truancy, skipping this class is called evading military service, leaving another class midway is called skipping class, and leaving this class is called desertion. In our time, soldiers who deserted during wartime could be shot, and in peacetime they would be discharged from the military. Therefore, you are here to serve in the military, which is a very solemn and glorious thing. Do you understand?"
"Clear!"
The students were instantly captivated by the man's unique teaching style. They had never seen a teacher teach in this way before, and even some students who had initially just come to join in the fun suddenly perked up.
"Now, before we begin the lesson, I'd like to ask you three questions."
"First, what is the purpose of weapons?"
"Second, how do you determine your own political stance?"
Third, what are the prerequisites for ensuring exchanges between two civilizations?
The three questions immediately sparked a heated discussion among the students present.
"Isn't the purpose of weapons to wage war?"
"No, I think it should be used to advance human technological progress."
"How do you determine your political stance? Can't you just follow what the books teach?"
"The premise for ensuring exchanges between the two civilizations... should be peaceful development. As long as everyone is in good faith, then we should be able to exchange ideas and make progress together."
After about ten minutes, the man on the podium slowly reached out and pressed his hand down, signaling everyone to stop discussing.
Instantly, the once noisy lecture hall fell silent as all the students waited for the man on the stage to give the correct answers to the three questions.
"First, what are weapons for? Weapons are used to measure the area of a country. A country or civilization without military power has no voice. Some people say that developing weapons in peacetime is too wasteful and unnecessary, which is completely wrong."
"In times of war, we must develop weapons because political power grows out of the barrel of a gun; in times of peace, we must develop weapons even more because political power is protected by the barrel of a gun!"
"Always remember that the weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons, and the power of matter must be destroyed by matter."
Upon hearing this, all the students suddenly realized what was going on.
Yes, weapons are not only used to wage war, but also the key to ensuring peace. This is precisely the case in the Deterrence Era. If humanity did not have weapons powerful enough to destroy two worlds, would the peace we have today still exist?
They had never thought about this question before, but now, they suddenly felt enlightened.
The man slowly extended his second finger.
"Secondly, how to clarify one's own political stance, I don't know how people of your generation think about that."
"But in our time, between the poor and the rich, I would always side with the poor, because there were many poor people, and I was one of them."
"Between the common people and the officials, I will always side with the common people, because there are many of them, and I am one of them."
"Between China and other countries, I will always side with China, because I am a part of it."
"Similarly, between human civilization and other civilizations, I will always side with human civilization, because I am a part of it."
"It's that simple. I'm one of them, and most people are, so that's my political stance."
Wow!
The students were shocked once again. They had considered countless possibilities, but they never expected it to be so simple!
But upon closer reflection, this is indeed the case. Whether it is a class, a nation, or even a civilization, one's stance within a group must be based on two principles: first, to serve the majority; and second, to serve one's own group.
Those who gain the way help more, those who lose the way help few.
That's what PDC used to be like.
If they hadn't caused a major downturn in the era, perhaps Lin Xuan wouldn't have been able to establish two major international companies so smoothly.
At the time, it was impossible to find a single person who supported the PDC, precisely because the government had lost the support of the people.
Third, what are the prerequisites for ensuring exchanges between two civilizations?
As soon as the man finished speaking, a student immediately raised his hand to speak.
Although they felt a little awkward about this ancient way of asking questions, everyone was completely absorbed in the lesson and didn't care about that.
The man on stage randomly selected two students to answer.
"Professor, I think it's about whether the two civilizations are friendly."
"Professor, I think it's about whether the cultures of the two civilizations are similar."
The man shook his head after hearing the two students' answers.
"In that case, let me give you an example."
"Why was Fleet International able to escape Earth's control so quickly after losing the Gabriel Cannon?"
When the topic of modern history of the Earth was mentioned, the students instantly understood.
"Because the Gabriel cannon is a form of deterrence, a manifestation of military strength, and a prerequisite for equal dialogue between the two major international powers!"
"Therefore, in any international or civilizational interaction, strength is always the foundation for upholding justice, and national defense is the backing of diplomacy."
"Dignity only exists on the edge of a sword, and truth only exists within the range of cannons!"
These words shocked all the students present, and they began to carefully consider what the other person had said.
Dignity exists only on the edge of a sword, and truth exists only within the range of a cannon!
If we apply this statement to the present day, isn't it also true of the relationship between the Trisolaran civilization and humanity?
Without the deterrent power of the Swordholder, will the Era of Deterrence ever arrive?
It seems that after entering the deterrence era, people have gradually forgotten what the premise of the deterrence era was.
It is the swordsman who wields the sword; without the swordsman, humanity would probably have ceased to exist long ago.
The Trisolarans' ability to learn from and imitate human culture is not because they admire human technology as they claim, but because humans have mastered art that threatens the Trisolaran world. This is the premise for dialogue between the two civilizations.
The same scene is playing out in various places.
Humanity, which had been gradually entering its cradle, was pulled back onto the right track.
The Trisolarans' cultural invasion plan against human civilization also ended in complete failure with the return of the hawkish representatives to power.