Chapter 289: Theory of Survival and Reproduction
Jason got out of bed; he needed to go for a walk.
As the leader of the Federation, he undoubtedly bore the heaviest burden of pressure. Although the impending energy crisis was still a very, very long time away, and perhaps it wasn’t even a problem their generation or the next needed to worry about!
"Yes, it’s not a question we should be obsessing over right now," Jason shook his head, a wry smile on his lips.
However, before the Nix Civilization perished, every single one of its citizens had thought the exact same thing, and then... they went extinct.
"The Federation must never follow down that same doomed path!" He clenched his fist tightly, pressing it against his chest.
"But expecting an entire civilization to unite and plan for a crisis thousands, or even tens of thousands of years in the future, just to conquer this ’Great Filter’... it defies basic psychology."
The more he thought about it, the more he felt the bone-chilling dread of the Great Filter. His temples throbbed with a splitting headache, feeling as though the blood in his veins might burst.
"I just can’t... sleep."
Jason finished getting dressed. Massaging his temples with one hand, he walked out of his quarters.
Two soldiers were stationed on guard duty outside his door. When they saw Jason emerge, they were so startled they almost didn’t react in time. A second later, one of them instinctively raised his rifle to attention, while the other, reacting faster, quickly pushed the weapon down and hissed, "It’s the Captain, don’t panic!"
It was the middle of the night, just past 1:00 AM. Someone suddenly appearing in the quiet corridor naturally put the night-shift guards on edge.
Jason didn’t blame them. He offered them a tired smile and said, "It’s nothing. I just couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a walk. That’s all... You two can head back and turn in early tonight. Just say it was my direct order."
"Dismissed. Both of you, go get some rest."
"Yes, sir!"
The two soldiers immediately saluted, secretly wondering why so many people on the ship were suffering from insomnia tonight. What exactly was going on?
Watching the two soldiers head back to the barracks, Jason wandered aimlessly through the massive corridors of the Noah.
Along the way, he encountered several Senior Scientists who looked completely distracted. They all stood around with their heads bowed, lost in heavy thought. Some were sipping from water bottles, while others smoked in silence, the tiny glowing embers of their cigarettes looking as dim and lifeless as dying stars.
Jason greeted them with a casual nod and moved on without saying a word. Some burdens were simply too heavy for words; silence was the best response.
Jason suddenly felt like he had nowhere to go. In that moment, there wasn’t even anyone he could truly talk to. A wave of profound depression washed over him.
Before he knew it, he had wandered up to the fourth floor. He noticed a room ahead where the lights were still on. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked forward and knocked on the door.
The person inside heard the knock but took a long moment to check the peephole. The door only slowly creaked open once she clearly identified her late-night visitor.
Lily was wearing a loose set of pajamas and pink slippers, but her eyes showed absolutely no signs of fatigue. It was past 1:00 AM, and she was still wide awake; clearly, something was deeply troubling her as well.
Seeing Jason, she maintained her usual indifferent expression. "What is it? Why are you still awake this late?"
Jason rubbed his temples and answered honestly. "I can’t sleep. The stress is getting to me, and I just wanted to talk to someone. Since you’re still awake..."
In the dim light of the corridor, her expression was impossible to read. She thought for a moment, then stepped aside slightly. "Come in."
Before he could step fully through the door, she quickly added, "But I don’t want to discuss any work issues!"
Jason opened his mouth to reply but held his tongue. He knew exactly what "not wanting to discuss work" meant, but... he certainly wasn’t there for late-night romance. He was genuinely there to have a serious intellectual discussion.
He found a chair, sat down, and took a look around.
Her small quarters were only about twenty square meters, but the space was exceptionally clean and tidy. Everything was meticulously organized, a stark contrast to the messy, chaotic dorms of most other scientists. It was a rather endearing trait.
Her personal computer screen was glowing brightly on the desk, displaying a dense, highly complex paper on advanced electromagnetism. She had probably been engrossed in research deep into the night.
"Here, have some water." She quickly prepared a cup of hot tea and handed it to Jason. Then, as if suddenly remembering the late hour and her attire, she hurriedly grabbed a long coat and draped it over her shoulders. Being alone in a room with a man while wearing nothing but thin pajamas felt a bit too intimate.
Jason couldn’t help but feel a tiny, fleeting sting of disappointment at the gesture...
"I really don’t want to talk about the Filter right now..." she muttered with a hint of embarrassment, secretly glancing down to make sure her pajamas weren’t revealing anything they shouldn’t.
However, Lily’s tone had softened noticeably, shifting from a firm "I don’t want to discuss work" to a hesitant "I really don’t want to."
In that brief exchange, Jason felt a significant portion of his psychological pressure lift. He picked up his cup, took a slow sip of the hot tea, and organized his thoughts.
He wasn’t made of steel; he was, fundamentally, just a carbon-based biological organism. His psychological needs weren’t much different from any other normal human being. Everyone has their breaking point, and everyone craves mutual support and comfort when facing the abyss.
The Great Filter was an unprecedented, monumental existential threat. Shouldering that burden alone was agonizing, but sharing it with someone who understood made it slightly more bearable.
"Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to talk about it?" Jason asked gently.
Lily remained silent for a moment, absentmindedly running a hand through her soft hair. She frowned slightly, then finally let out a defeated sigh. "Go ahead. Say what’s on your mind."
Hearing this, Jason immediately and enthusiastically launched into his theories regarding the Great Filter.
The technological barrier of fusion wasn’t inherently unsolvable by the laws of physics. The true bottleneck was fundamentally a social problem. Societal issues, however, are infinitely complex and multi-faceted. If one were to analyze them in exhaustive detail, the resulting text would fill an entire library.
These social problems are notoriously difficult to solve. How difficult? Difficult enough to force hyper-capitalist mega-corporations to voluntarily surrender all their wealth and assets for the sheer utopian good of humanity!
But at their absolute core, these societal dysfunctions are rooted in the inherent flaws of our biological genes... and genetic programming is even more difficult to override.
Therefore... breaking through this barrier is practically an impossible task.
"So, according to your theory, the foundational philosophy programmed into a species’ genes boils down to two primary directives: ’survival’ and ’reproduction’?" Lily sat down across from Jason, resting her chin in her hand as she pondered the concept.
Jason nodded earnestly. "Yes. I believe that almost all human behaviors can ultimately be traced back to the drives for ’survival’ and ’reproduction.’ In evolutionary terms, natural selection dictates the former, while sexual selection drives the latter."
"To survive as a biological organism and successfully pass on your genetic material to the next generation is, biologically speaking, fulfilling the ultimate, glorious mission of life. Think about the wild animals and insects on Earth. Isn’t all their brutal, daily struggle solely dedicated to surviving long enough to reproduce? Isn’t that the literal, biological meaning of life?"
"As a sentient species, we’ve simply attached a bunch of noble, philosophical labels to that meaning. The development of advanced civilization has given humanity more choices and birthed complex cultures. People set diverse, lofty goals for their lives—art, legacy, exploration—but at our absolute core, we still cannot escape those two fundamental biological directives: survive and reproduce."
"Therefore, from a strictly genetic perspective, there really isn’t much difference between humans and primitive animals. We are all slaves to survival and reproduction. Every complex societal action we take ultimately serves those two master directives... on a macro scale, we aren’t much different from single-celled paramecia."
"’Survival’ and ’reproduction’... is that truly all there is to the meaning of life?" Lily murmured, pondering the grim reductionism of the theory. She tried to find a logical counterargument, but couldn’t come up with a valid reason to refute him. She sat there in the quiet room, completely lost in deep thought.
Comments