Chapter 140 Lagrange Plan_1

Step three, the Underground City enters a multipolar societal structure.

Over the coming decades, according to Lin Sen's conception, the Underground City will develop a variety of new societal structures, emerging and highly authoritarian in nature.

As civilizations in Underground Cities are small in scale, each possessing different limiting factors, a diverse array of societal structures will emerge, making a new type of "Hundred Schools of Thought" possible.

The most likely to arise are numerous authoritarian societal structures, with foreseeable forms including: digital authoritarianism, capital-driven authoritarianism, academic authoritarianism, and pluralist authoritarianism…

Digital Authoritarian Society:

Is where ruling institutions, in order to maximize the use of all human resource, utilize an extensively deployed Internet of Things and smart facilities to comprehensively collect and analyze personal behavior, preferences… etc., thereby exerting unprecedented precise control over the general populace.

However, the commitment to technology under authoritarianism is tireless, and every bit of resource must be tapped for its utmost value.

While this might ensure a certain degree of social stability and development, digital authoritarianism is also highly likely to suppress market vitality and innovation.

Capital-Driven Authoritarian Society:

Is when capital has completed its monopoly over resources and industry in a certain field, occupying over 90% of the society's share.

Capital-driven authoritarianism demands extreme marketization; money may not be of much consequence, rather a contribution-based system might be employed, as this would centralize control over all aspects of society.

The market requires constant technological upgrades and transitions, aiming to achieve more with less resources, again emphasizing the utmost extraction of value from any resource.

The potential consequence of capital-driven authoritarianism is the monopolistic control and plundering of resources, limiting market competition and innovation, thus reducing economic efficiency and momentum for development.

Academic Authoritarian Society:

This has a euphemistic name, the Society of Scientists, ruled by researchers who hold decision-making power.

Society would enter an academic grading system, where obtaining more scientific or technological results leads to broader social recognition, championing academic freedom, diversity, and innovation.

With centralized power and resources, the decision-making process becomes quicker and more efficient. The relentless pursuit of technological achievements can better drive industrial development.

The consensus in a Society of Scientists is easier to reach and is typically highly accurate, whether regarding short-term specific goals or national-level scientific challenges.

Authoritarian management in academia could help maintain and pass down specific academic values and methodologies.

But its risks might be the highest, as it could potentially form a rigid academic autocracy. Scientists are not only the most correct but also the most obstinate individuals.

If such a system becomes long-term, it could suppress innovation and critical thinking, aggravate academic corruption and abuse of power, thereby restricting the development of academic innovation.

A pluralist authoritarian society, as the name implies, incorporates a mix of various societal forms, more open, tolerant, embracing and respectful of differences, promoting innovation and creativity.

But its downside is the further wasting of resources; over the long term, the difficulty of societal integration increases, resource allocation becomes problematic, and balancing the interests and priorities of different groups will consume extensive time and resources.

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The advantages of an authoritarian society are high decision-making efficiency, stable social order, and in the face of a societal crisis, strong control helps to rapidly foster reforms.

Of course, there are many more disadvantages: such a system cannot last, but it is also a necessary preparation for entering the Interstellar Era.

Additionally, non-authoritarian societies will also exist in abundance; should an Underground City make a breakthrough in a certain aspect, it will tend to extremize development in that direction, with hardly any path to retreat.

No societal system is perfect, and what Lin Sen must do is observe, observe every type of societal structure without interference.

A societal system is a highly complex and dynamic organism, each being the product of specific societal environments and limiting factors, reflecting their own social needs, values, and relationships in benefit distribution.

For a system to maintain its vitality and value, it must progress with the times, continuously undergoing self-renewal and adjustment.

Of course, the multipolar development of Underground Cities is just a highly autonomous societal structure and does not imply their independence from national oversight.

If a country is unable to control its Underground Cities, it can only mean it is not qualified to enter the future Interstellar Era.

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Step four, the egression from the Great Decline, the Thawing of the Isolated Island.

Where there is oppression, there will be resistance. Decades later, as the Earth's environment gradually improved, humanity began to emerge from the great depression, and the union of the various Underground Cities became inevitable.

This period is akin to what the cyclical view of history would call the Union Hegemony Era, in which both technology and cultural thoughts would experience an explosion.

The collision of various social structures, technologies, and the integration of all kinds of resources would push this era into a golden age.

The great depression ended, humanity's development and resource supply were no longer restricted, and the environment improved greatly, allowing humanity to step out of the "forest".

During this period, the Underground Cities competed and merged with each other, accompanied by intense transformations in politics, economy, culture, and military.

The means of merging the Underground Cities varied, including controlling economic lifelines, dissolving cultural cohesion, holding political decisions hostage, manipulating digital autocracy...

The politicians who stood out in this social transformation were not only able to keenly capture the pulse of the times but also had the extraordinary courage and wisdom to lead society forward.

Those who emerged from this new era would be more outstanding than the people of the Common Era.

This is the complete Island Project, which aims to cultivate a new type of human who can lead the centuries to come.

Entering the Interstellar Era, human lifespan would be significantly extended, and with the technology of hibernation allowing for time migration, this generation would influence history for thousands of years.

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After the completion of the Island Project, Lin Sen's next plan would commence... the Lagrange Project.

This is also a project with the greatest timespan.

At the end of the Island Project, it's highly likely that a Human Alliance led by the new PDC would be established, uniting all the Underground Cities.

As for the formation process, it goes without saying that a common enemy is required.

In a high-tech era half a century later, large-scale warfare is unlikely, as it could truly destroy humanity, and Lin Sen would never let that happen.

Half a century of oppression and exploitation had filled everyone with hatred towards the Moon Base.

The newly established alliance was fraught with internal strife, and attacking the Moon Base would inevitably become a way to divert those conflicts.

The sole aim of the Earth Alliance was to fight for helium-3 on the Moon, in resistance to the Moon's tyranny.

Lin Sen's goal for the Moon Base was to accelerate humanity's adaptation to the Interstellar Era, maintaining the Earth-Moon war at a balanced point, a conflict known as the Lagrange War.

In the initial stages of the war, the Moon would certainly achieve certain victories, given that the Moon Base had developed stably for nearly half a century, and had various interstellar warships and new types of weaponry that the Earth Alliance couldn't match.

The Earth would suffer significant losses, but once the Human Alliance adapted, the Moon wouldn't withstand it; opposing a civilization that had one and a half feet in the interstellar era, with just a corner, would yield no chance of victory.

Besides, Lin Sen was fighting the Lagrange Campaign, where he could not afford heavy losses, nor could he deliver a devastating blow to the Alliance.

The weapons on future interstellar warships would be unimaginably powerful, with even a single ship capable of destroying the surface of a planet. Under such circumstances, controlling the intensity of the war was almost impossible.

Therefore, Lin Sen needed support beyond conventional forces.

At the same time, Lin Sen also required a military genius of extraordinary talent.

Lin Sen didn't believe he was capable of commanding future interstellar warships, nor was Rey Diaz, who excelled at strategic levels.

Of course, Lin Sen still had time to find this commander, who was the most critical part of the plan.

Not only would this individual need outstanding military ability, but also a deep understanding of the Interstellar Era and an ability to see through its future development.

If such a commander couldn't be found, Lin Sen would have to resort to Zhang Beihai, even though he didn't think Zhang was the best choice.

With over a century to go before the apocalyptic battle, Whirlwind Stomp arrived, humanity needed to adapt quickly to interstellar warfare which required a vast scale, extending even to the Kuiper Belt.

For the final battle, Lin Sen was willing to become a devil, maintaining an antagonistic stance against the Earth Alliance even until the end.

PS: The multipolar social structure mentioned in this chapter is the author's conception and is bound to have some unreasonable aspects. If interested, feel free to discuss.

Originally, the author planned to write more about social transformation, as this is a direction of thought in science fiction. But this kind of plot carries high risks, and it's not advisable to elaborate further.