Chapter 268: Personal Troubles
Two weeks later...
"...As you can see from the decrypted documents, the Nyx Civilization once consisted of seventy-six distinct nations of varying sizes, mostly clustered around the volcanic belt! This indicates that, much like Earth during our old era, their civilization had not yet achieved global unification."
"The most powerful nation was known as Balgoria, and its capital, Thor City, was located at 113.8 degrees east longitude and 33.4 degrees north latitude... directly beneath a massive extinct volcano!"
On the stage stood Norbert, a lead informatics specialist. Having just translated this data fragment, he couldn’t wait to hold an emergency press conference. His voice trembled with excitement, his tone growing more fervent by the second.
Displayed on the massive holographic screen was the translated text of a Nyx Civilization "Children’s Geography Primer"!
This basic textbook held the foundational geographical layout of the entire planet.
They had finally found the global capital!
Hearing this, the Senior Scientists and engineers in the audience erupted into ecstasy. The small suburban ruins they were currently excavating were simply too limited to satisfy the Federation’s needs.
"Therefore, Thor City must become our absolute top priority for excavation! At its peak, it housed twenty percent of the planet’s population. It was the crown jewel of the Nyx Civilization, infinitely more advanced than the small settlement we are currently digging out. We are guaranteed to find something monumental there..."
"...We might find a centralized patent database or a global academic archive!"
"Archives of that magnitude must be located in a major metropolis! Or within a national research institute!"
As Norbert shouted into the microphone, the atmosphere in the auditorium reached a boiling point...
It was absolute chaos! The Senior Scientists were acting like they were high on stimulants. The sheer euphoria in the room was indescribable.
Naturally, a global capital would hold infinitely more technological wealth...
Jason walked out of the conference room, rubbing his temples. He felt dizzy and completely disoriented. He had no idea what he had just authorized; he had just kept signing requisition forms! Sign! Sign! Sign!
Driven by the collective frenzy of the science division, the personnel transfers requested for the Thor City excavation were already exceeding their safe operational limits.
This is getting ridiculous!
Jason offered a wry smile, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. Whatever. Exceeding the manpower cap by a small margin won’t cause a structural collapse.
Besides, he had his own pressing matters to deal with...
The most pressing issue in any person’s life: settling down!
He watched Lily walk past him in the corridor and instinctively reached out to gently grab her arm. "Let’s grab dinner together. I have a lot of things I need to talk to you about."
Given the current stability of The Ark in orbit, surface operations on Nyx had naturally become the Federation’s primary focus.
However, because so many citizens had families and the number of personnel permitted on the hazardous surface was strictly capped, the unattached, single men had become the primary vanguard for the colony...
But... it had been over nine years since Earth was destroyed. With the Federation heavily incentivizing marriage and childbirth, there were actually very few single adults left.
If this trend continued, the remaining bachelors would probably have to wait for the next generation to come of age just to find a partner.
To be fair, the age gap wasn’t a massive issue!
Thanks to the widespread use of stem cell rejuvenation therapies, the colonists retained their youth and vitality. Even a twenty-year age gap didn’t matter biologically, provided the couple could handle the social gossip... and the individuals involved were comfortable with it.
The real problem was... Jason himself was one of those remaining bachelors!
And he was already over thirty. As the supreme leader of the Federation, he couldn’t exactly set a public example by marrying a girl a full generation younger than him; the public relations fallout would be terrible!
Therefore... the Captain’s personal love life had become a topic of intense public interest.
Jason was constantly bombarded with "well-meaning" inquiries about his marital status from older men and women in the colony. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was interrogated daily.
As a species, humanity had an evolutionary imperative to reproduce...
Beyond mere survival, reproduction was the most critical objective hardwired into human genetics.
Senior figures like Dr. Roman, Dr. Kelly, and Professor Hao Yu were old friends of Jason, some having known him since their time on Earth.
Many of them had watched Jason grow up and viewed him as a younger relative, which meant they constantly nagged him about his personal life...
Professor Hao Yu had once bluntly scolded him: "How can you lead a civilization like this? No matter how busy you are, you need to get married and have children! Even an old fossil like me managed to find a wife! The birth rate is starting to plateau, and it’s entirely because of workaholics like you setting a bad example. You need to step up and have at least three or four kids! Hell, five or six wouldn’t be too many!"
Jason had been trapped in incredibly awkward situations, not knowing whether to nod politely or argue back. Am I really holding the Federation back?
In their current society, choosing not to have children... was practically viewed as a crime against humanity!
An absolute felony!
Besides, Jason wasn’t even sure if biologically enhanced humans faced reproductive compatibility issues with standard humans... Who had the clinical data on that sort of thing?
Then came the earnest, deeply uncomfortable conversation with Dr. Roman just a few days prior.
"Lily might be my adopted daughter, but she’s still my daughter, and she’s already twenty-nine. If you keep dragging your feet, she’s going to end up a thirty-year-old spinster! Give me a straight answer, and step up like a man!"
Jason had felt completely cornered. What was all this about?
They weren’t even officially dating. At best, they shared a mutual, unspoken affection... a comfortable professional closeness.
Could you really just settle down with someone just because you got along well at work?
It felt impossible!
Jason had been completely stunned by Dr. Roman’s ultimatum... and hadn’t known how to refuse.
However, upon deeper reflection, he realized he really did need to resolve his "major life event." Otherwise, he would never hear the end of it from the senior staff.
As the leader of the Federation, his actions set the standard!
Even his closest officers, like Marcus and Austin, had settled down and found partners years ago. He really couldn’t put it off any longer.
After agonizing over it, Lily was undeniably the best possible match. The two had worked side-by-side for nine years and understood each other perfectly. Furthermore, the public had already widely accepted the idea of them being together, and the once-rampant gossip had naturally settled into a quiet expectation.
If Jason were completely honest with himself, the thought of Lily marrying another man made him feel strangely uncomfortable and deeply possessive...
Ugh, this is so frustrating!
Given his current predicament, he was essentially forcing himself into a "blind date," or rather, an awkward attempt to "initiate a relationship"!
It was a bizarre, surreal situation...
Even though Lily’s adoptive father had effectively given his blessing, Jason was still mortified.
He was a thirty-something bachelor with zero romantic experience, and he was completely out of his depth. He had absolutely no idea what to say or how to act.
Should he ask Marcus for advice? Or Austin?
Absolutely not. They would laugh him out of the room!
From Jason’s pragmatic perspective, there simply weren’t any other suitable candidates left. The women his age were all married, leaving his options virtually nonexistent.
Objectively speaking, Lily was beautiful. She was fit, healthy, and possessed excellent genetics, meaning they wouldn’t have any medical issues if they decided to start a family...
Most importantly, she was brilliant. She could keep up with his intellect and fully grasp his vision for the Federation. That was more than enough.
Physical attraction was fleeting, but an intellectual and spiritual connection lasted a lifetime...
Both of them were incredibly driven individuals with exceptionally low baseline desires; to put it bluntly, they were massive workaholics.
Jason could easily dedicate his entire life to leading the civilization, while Lily could happily dedicate hers to scientific research. If they never got married, they probably wouldn’t mind.
By that logic, since their personalities were so perfectly aligned, why not just make it official and navigate life together?
Feelings took time to cultivate; love would grow naturally over time...
The concept of "love at first sight" was a romanticized myth, mostly used by people who prioritized superficial physical appearances. A hyper-pragmatist like Jason would never fall in love at first sight anyway.
