Chapter 108: Opportunity in the Great Depression_1

Rey Diaz: "I will execute all of your orders, and if you say we have a chance in the future, then I'll wait for that opportunity."

Lin Sen: "We do have a chance to build interstellar warships. Huge upheavals might occur in human society, and those upheavals could be our opportunity. Besides, with your intelligence, you must know that one of the purposes of the Moon Base is to prepare for the manufacture of warships, right?"

Rey Diaz: "Haha... You're still so shrewd. Facing PDC, we must be highly vigilant, and having you as a backing, I can be at ease. However, I'm not sure how much influence the upheaval you mentioned will have on humanity."

Actually, these conversations were not something to be hidden from the Trisolarans; it was a matter of infighting among humans. The Trisolarans didn't care, nor did Lin Sen or Rey Diaz mind being monitored by them.

Lin Sen: "How do you view the future situation of human society?"

Rey Diaz: "I'm not optimistic. I understand the voice of the common people. While human governments are overexploiting resources, they're also scheming against each other. The rapid change in social structure following technological sharing has left everyone unprepared for such transformations.

"There's nothing to worry about, as I believe any country can handle it. It's just a matter of time. But, as you know, because of the Trisolaran crisis, humans need to maintain this survival mode for 400 years, and no system can last that long.

"In such a contradictory situation, to demand selfless dedication from everyone, I feel that this system won't even last for 20 years, but PDC did it anyway; they had no choice but to!

"Predictably, within 20 years, the human economy will inevitably become unsustainable, and sooner or later the lower classes will realize the filth of the upper echelons. Their accumulated resentment will surely erupt.

"Another issue is environmental and ecological problems. In recent years, all sorts of severe weather are emerging time and again, as human governments intensify resource development, no longer focusing on people's welfare.

"They are exploiting resources vigorously not so much to deal with the Trisolaran crisis, but for their status.

"Technology can be shared, but status cannot, in any era.

"What the future's status will be, they see very clearly: it's resources.

"Under the guise of building defense systems, they're crazily exploiting resources in various small countries, even destructively extracting and then bringing these resources back home, indifferent to the life and death of the people in those countries.

"Human nature will never become kind due to the arrival of the Trisolaran crisis; on the contrary, it becomes more and more frenzied.

"Indeed, many people strive for the future, dedicating their lives to the cause of combating the Trisolarans. But there are also many who are not fighting for the future but are hysterically venting, numbly escaping, or merely reacting instinctively. Their nature is defeatism.

"You have changed all this to a great extent. Now more and more people are regaining rationality and can see the future correctly. Otherwise, I don't know how much longer I could have held on."

Lin Sen: "You see very clearly; their madness will eventually harm them. You anticipated that the future of human society could be turbulent, and Earth's environment might deteriorate drastically, but you may not know how serious it will be.

"In the future, perhaps just over a decade from now, Earth's climate will deteriorate rapidly, and one or several large-scale disasters could sweep across the globe. Crop yields will decrease dramatically, causing widespread famine in the human world. Then there will be tens of millions, even hundreds of millions, of refugees fleeing hunger.

"Severe cold, extreme heat, and starvation will torment everyone. Social unrest, billions of people displaced, millions dead, even countries might not be able to maintain stability. This is our not-so-distant future, which I call the Great Nadir, a time that everyone underestimates… the Great Nadir."

Rey Diaz, a bit shocked, looked at Lin Sen: "Is it really that serious? Is this the future? How do you know all this so clearly? What you said sounds more like history, and not like a prophecy."

"That's beyond my imagination and what I can accept. If it's true, do we still have hope?"

Lin Sen: "There will be hope. Our civilization will suffer an unprecedented setback, but new life may also be born from this adversity. As long as we grasp the key moment, this could be the rebirth of human civilization."

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"As for how I know, these are not hard to speculate, and I hope I'm wrong in my deductions."

Rey Diaz, "Then what should we do?"

Lin Sen, "The great trough of humanity is your opportunity. Construct a large number of controllable nuclear fusion power stations on the Moon, significantly improve the processes of artificial synthesis of starch and protein, and store them in bulk.

"It's best to build more than 10 large third-generation controlled nuclear fusion power stations dedicated to artificial synthesis of starch and protein. You need to produce enough food for famine relief during the great trough. We have to think about the future.

"Research into genetic technology must begin now, combining it with the technology for artificial synthesis of starch and protein, to greatly increase food production. This is of utmost importance.

"When the great trough arrives, the PDC will be preoccupied with its own troubles and won't have the strength to deal with you anymore. You can use the food produced over these years for disaster relief. While providing relief, you can also attract a large number of scientific researchers, technical personnel, and outstanding military and political talents.

"The helium-3 resources on the Moon will also be your most important bargaining chip. Humanity will need to rely on helium-3 controlled fusion to produce food to get through the great trough. You'll hold the power in your hands then.

"The cultural foundations of the civilized world will be worthless at that time, so you should develop yourself by all means possible, and secretly design and validate the feasibility of space battleships on the far side of the Moon.

"I estimate the great trough will last between 30 to 50 years, and during that time you'll also need to make the utmost effort to save humanity.

"The giant reflective mirror at the Moon's Lagrange point might also be a good choice. You can also construct several giant reflective mirrors in geosynchronous Earth orbit.

"Simulate the movement of the atmosphere with a supercomputer to find a key point. Then, use the giant reflective mirror to influence and change the climate in the targeted area.

"The giant reflective mirror may not be very effective in the face of very large climate disasters, but persisting will definitely have an effect, perhaps allowing humanity to end the great trough a day earlier. You can also make extra materials for the giant reflective mirror in advance. You can leave these tasks to Zhuang Yu.

"After the end of the great trough, humanity will definitely redirect their sights to you. Given your strength and military power, humanity will hesitate to wage war against you for a while, but you must never let down your guard.

"If war does break out between you, I hope it will be the Lagrange War, also known as the Balance War."

Rey Diaz, "The Lagrange War? That means we need to try to keep the war confined to Lagrange points and also to maintain a state of conflict without breaking. That won't be easy to achieve."

Lin Sen continued, "That's a necessary evil. The human world will always be our main force against the Trisolarans. The Moon Base's primary role is to aid them, but we must assist in our own way.

"I have three requirements for you:

"First, you cannot completely detach from humanity. If you break entirely with humanity, you will surely fail. Attempting to resist the whole of humanity with just a corner will undoubtedly lead to defeat, but I hope you can participate in the final battle. Before relations completely collapse, you can negotiate with the human world. All your battleships should have Steel Mark Clan members as Executive Captains.

"If they have reservations about Thoughtcontrol, let them select someone who is absolutely free of Steel Mark and who can control all of the Steel Mark Clan.

"Second, various uprisings may break out amongst humanity after the great trough. They will be desperate, and in their madness, they might even target Ding Yi's Particle Accelerator Spaceship, blaming it for their disaster. At that time, I need you to ensure their protection.

"Third, I've already contacted Wade to lead Ding Yi's team of scientific experts. When your fleet is dispatched to protect Ding Yi, I trust that Wade will be reliable."

Within the great trough, new life gestates. Discovering new life might be the key to saving humanity. At the same time, should Lin Sen indeed encounter an unfortunate event, Rey Diaz would also need to take up Lin Sen's mission.

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