Deep Space Wandering Fleet

"Eh..." As he looked on, Ma Mingtao's face slightly changed, "Their system... is a bit odd... Memory engraving? What's this about, they're not a bunch of lunatics, are they?"

Seeing that every Half-sphere person had to undergo memory engraving, and then everyone's goal was to create Saints, a chill ran down Ma Mingtao's spine, and before he knew it, a cold sweat broke out.

This Half-sphere Civilization was too bizarre!

Although they could sit in the same room and happily play cards and games, deep down, they were actually obsessed with resurrecting ancestors?! What a peculiar idea, simply unbelievable!

"So that means, they've already altered their own thinking... I get it now, why the higher-ups want these Half-sphere people as allies." Ma Mingtao patted his head.

"This is kinda like a Level 5 Civilization, huh!"

For humans, this kind of thing is like a fantasy. Changing thoughts is far more terrifying than changing the body!

The transformation of the body is nothing for humans nowadays, we can even absorb quantum consciousness into the Virtual World and come back to life, so what's abandoning the body?

But changing thought, that really targets the core.

But this is also a key step towards a Level 5 Civilization.

"This civilization is a bit sick."

Watching Old Ma's weird expression, the others started to open the file and ponder the social system and ideology described about the Half-sphere Civilization.

Ten minutes later, each of them had an even weirder look on their faces.

"Man, their biggest purpose in life is 'reproducing their ancestors'... This goal is also triggered by memory engraving."

"There are a total of 366 memory templates, what the heck? They want to resurrect this group of people!"

"Holy shit, the Half-sphere Civilization even has the potential of a Level 5 Civilization, did the person who wrote this article just make it up? Level 5 Civilization? They have the potential to become a Level 5 Civilization?! What nonsense, are they out of their minds?"

Another young man also started exclaiming softly. Obviously, he had strong doubts, as the citizens of the New Human Civilization knew very well the immense difficulty of a Level 5 Civilization.

"That's impossible, the article is signed by Professor Zhang."

"Which Professor Zhang?"

"Who else?"

As soon as everyone saw that the signer of the file was Zhang Yuan, they all fell silent. This renowned Professor Zhang, they all knew him, he held a lot of credibilities. Moreover, an official document published on the official website, how could it be a joke?

"Could it be true?"

Hold on, think again, think deeply.

The more Ma Mingtao pondered, the more he felt there might be some truth in those theories... a Level 5 Civilization?

A civilization that "does not regress" is truly only a step away from "eternal progress."

Just one step away!

His eyes grew brighter and brighter, eager to come up with a title and write an article about it.

"Then, based on what you have said, could you accept a new ally?" he asked, "A somewhat strange ally."

The others sitting around him were at a loss for words for a moment. Although they often engaged in keyboard politics, when faced with such a historical event, they still dared not speak recklessly.

Ma Mingtao stroked his chin. He prided himself as the "impartial and objective Key Governance Bureau Director," but even he felt a little troubled now, as this seemed to venture beyond his field of expertise.

"This societal model is truly too domineering! But how should I write the article? From which angle should I start... Hmm, if I praise the Half-sphere Civilization too much, my followers will dislike it."

On first impression, the societal model of the Half-sphere Civilization appeared quite terrifying, but upon deeper reflection, it revealed significant potential. Although humans could not adopt this feature; the public would not abandon their own worldview and values for those of others. Even if the values were provided by a Saint among humans.

If you give up your own thoughts, how is that different from death? The saying "Give me liberty, or give me death" captures this sentiment...

"But a civilization that is too free lacks high potential. It is apparent that the personal freedoms of the Half-sphere Civilization do not compare to those of the New Human Civilization."

"That's it!"

With this thought, the title appeared on Ma Mingtao's personal terminal screen: "The Enlightenment from the Half-sphere Civilization: Is Self-awareness Really the Greatest Obstacle to the Development of Civilization?"

The title was set.

As he listened to the ongoing discussions around him, the text on the screen changed, growing and shrinking with his thoughts.

[...There has long been speculation about whether self-awareness hinders the development of civilization. Some scholars compare an individual "entity" to a cell within the human body and civilization to the body itself. Then, is it good or bad for the whole if internal cells are too active and have their own thoughts?]

[This is a complex conundrum, and there is no consensus within the academic community. However, in cases where individual freedom is unrestricted, the overwhelming likelihood is that there will be a negative impact on the whole.]

[In the year 4933 of the Earth Era, the Earth Era Spaceship was attacked by the super-life form Zero-XZ from the Gaia Civilization, who once claimed that self-awareness was the biggest obstacle to the development of civilization.]

[We cannot fully trust the words of this super-life form, yet we should not completely ignore them either.]

[Looking at the social science samples collected so far, civilizations with an excess of self-awareness indeed have a high probability of becoming Sinking Civilizations, and once an atmosphere of complete freedom emerges, it becomes difficult to reverse. Individual freedom and the grand goals of the civilization often conflict with one another...]

[So, the question arises, to become a true Level 5 Civilization, must we weaken individual freedom to some extent?]

Writing up to this point, Ma Mingtao's thoughts flowed like a spring, and he wrote fervently; this was the core concept of his article.

[Consciousness is indeed one of the manifestations of higher life forms. The problem lies in the fact that every individual has their own consciousness, leading to disorder in the whole. A complex civilization is essentially a collective of human consciousnesses, and if the whole becomes disordered, civilization will lose its direction.]

[...Now let us focus on the recently encountered Half-sphere Civilization. The author has spent a considerable amount of time studying government-released documents, and the social system of this civilization is as follows: They have 366 different professional memory templates, and each infant is forced to have memories imposed upon them at birth.]

[What does this mean? It means to forcefully implant the memories of a Saint into the mind. After receiving these memories, they understand the current state of the world and possess their own professional ethic perceptions from birth. Scientists will always love science, artists will always love art, and so on...]

[Of course, the power of genetics is ubiquitous, and only a part of the memories are inherited by the individuals, who may still show tendencies to slack off. However, such individuals are exceedingly rare, and most of the Half-sphere people are able to follow the values that have been instilled in them.]

[This model sacrifices self-awareness to a degree but in return gains powerful cohesion.]

[Thus, we have reason to believe that their slow scientific development is not due to a lack of intelligence but rather a lack of diversity in talent. Of course, the author does not have accurate data analysis to back this up, it is merely a small speculation, and I think our scientists could undertake investigations in this area.]

[...]