Chapter 293: The Road Is Right Under Your Feet
Jason didn’t know what kind of civilization could successfully break through this solid, imposing "paradigm cage."
Passing the Great Filter meant ascending to the prestigious rank of an Interstellar Civilization; failing it meant becoming just another pile of dust in the cosmos.
And wasn’t becoming an Interstellar Civilization... precisely the ultimate goal that the Federation tirelessly pursued?
At that moment, Jason suddenly grasped the true weight of an Interstellar Civilization.
The Great Filter...
While perhaps not comparable to "Extraordinary Beings," an Interstellar Civilization was more than capable of effortlessly crushing lower civilizations. This absolute power extended beyond mere science, encompassing social systems, morality, and intellectual capacity—a comprehensive domination... a true qualitative leap in existence.
Could the Federation achieve this? Was it even possible?
Jason didn’t know. He really didn’t know.
After witnessing the tragic history of the Nix, Jason felt a profound sense of confusion; he couldn’t see the road ahead. The evolution of a civilization followed an inevitable, rigid trend, and it was practically impossible for a single individual to reverse it!
A civilization was like a high-speed maglev train; the collective will of the masses was its guiding rail, and its direction was essentially fixed. The "Leader" was merely the conductor; his actual power was quite limited. The tracks had already been laid; all the conductor could do was keep the train moving forward. Trying to forcibly yank the train in a radically new direction would only cause a catastrophic derailment and plunge society into chaos...
Following this grim logic...
"I am willing," Lily suddenly said after a long silence.
Jason was still deep in thought when he heard Lily’s sudden declaration. He instinctively asked, "What are you willing to do?"
"I am willing to work myself to the bone for the rest of my life!" Lily clenched her fists and said with absolute seriousness, "For my part, I am willing to challenge the Great Filter!"
Her voice wasn’t particularly loud when she said those words; it was even a little hoarse. But to Jason, it rang as loud as the Big Bang. He froze, silently holding his breath.
He never imagined that someone would genuinely be willing to sacrifice their entire life to accomplish something so seemingly impossible, and that this person was sitting right in front of him.
Lily continued seriously, "If we don’t do it, if we refuse to even face this issue, are we just going to dump the burden on the next generation and expect them to succeed?"
"And will the next generation just expect the generation after them to handle it? If so, we are doomed to repeat the exact same mistakes as the Nix!"
"I don’t have infinite wisdom. I only know that... the path forward is right under our feet. But if no one takes the first step, it will never become a paved highway!"
"So what if we fail? Facing the Great Filter, at least I will have tried my absolute best, and I won’t have any regrets! And it won’t just be me, but all of us!"
"There are countless others who feel the exact same way, and we are not afraid! Jason... Captain, do not underestimate our civilization!"
Lily looked at Jason expectantly. "Besides... aren’t you here, too?"
"Your lifespan far exceeds ours, allowing you to steadfastly guide us forward! If one generation isn’t enough, we’ll take two! If two generations aren’t enough, we’ll take ten!"
"If ten generations isn’t enough, then we’ll take twenty! We will keep pushing the boulder up the mountain, over and over, until this endless struggle becomes the very inertia of our civilization!"
"You promised... that we would become an Interstellar Civilization!"
Meeting Lily’s resolute gaze, Jason’s confusion gradually melted away, rapidly replaced by a surging tide of passion.
She was right. Did they have any other option besides facing the challenge head-on?
Should they just choose to back down? Should they act like the Nix, declining amidst mindless revelry, generation after generation, until the apocalypse arrived and they were utterly powerless to change anything?
No, that was unacceptable!
It was a gross dereliction of duty to their future descendants! ...It was even irresponsible to themselves! Was the sole purpose of life really just "survival" and "reproduction"? Couldn’t it be for something infinitely greater?
He suddenly reached a total epiphany. "Our generation must take action right now. Without a vision that spans several generations, we will never be able to complete this monumental project!"
"Regardless of whether we succeed or fail, I will forge ahead and guide our civilization onto this path!"
Fueled by this revelation, Jason slammed his fist hard onto the table.
With a loud bang, the force was so immense that it left a shallow dent in the metal surface, and a sharp jolt of pain shot through his hand.
But he paid the pain no heed. His fighting spirit surged, burning like a raging inferno!
To think that it was a young scientist who fired the first spiritual shot for their civilization! As the leader of the Federation, what did he have to fear? How could he allow himself to fall behind?
"Yes, we choose the challenge!" Jason clenched his reddened fist tightly, stood up, and declared loudly.
"We will fight. We will fight relentlessly until our dying breaths! And even... at the exact moment of our death, we will pass this spiritual legacy down to future generations, so that they may carry the torch forward!"
"We will be the grand pioneers, the first to willingly take that impossible step!"
He threw another punch at the desk, this time making the entire table shake violently. Several items clattered to the floor.
After making this ambitious oath, Jason’s heart continued to pound against his ribs. But this time, the beating wasn’t weighed down by suffocating despair; instead, it brimmed with a resolute, unyielding vitality—a fiery fervor born from an absolute decision.
Humans were remarkably pragmatic creatures. No matter how impossible the road ahead seemed or how abysmally low the success rate was, once they fully committed to fighting to the bitter end, all their anxiety and panic simply evaporated.
Since they were going to fight to the death anyway, what was left to fear? So be it! Let’s fight to the death!
Besides, given the highly unified social structure of the Federation, the final outcome was still far from determined!
"Thank you!" Jason looked at Lily, completely overcome with emotion, and pulled her into a tight, fierce hug.
"Alright... let go, let go. You just dented my desk, and my teacup fell and shattered all over the floor..." Lily said, turning her head away to hide a blush. She then added in a quiet murmur, "You aren’t going to have a habit of domestic violence in the future, are you?"
"Of course not..."
Jason felt deeply embarrassed and quickly let go of her. He had been so fired up that he nearly overturned the entire table, knocking all her neatly organized materials to the floor.
Seeing the mess he had made, he quickly squatted down to clean it up. "I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to."
"Never mind, you don’t need to help... Go get some sleep."
Lily smiled faintly at his flustered, awkward state. She quickly grabbed a broom and dustpan, sweeping up the glass shards with a few practiced motions. She then knelt down to reorganize her fallen books...
Jason glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that their intense discussion had carried them past 5:00 AM. Normally, official shifts began at 8:30 AM, leaving him with just over three hours to rest. Time was incredibly tight.
He was a highly self-disciplined leader; he couldn’t afford to be late or be caught sleeping in his office, as it would set a terrible example.
However, now that his existential dread had vanished, an immense, crashing wave of sheer physical exhaustion washed over him.
Without giving it much thought, Jason brazenly kicked off his shoes, removed his outer jacket, and collapsed onto the bed...
After Lily finished tidying up her books, she turned around to find the Federation Captain sprawled out on her small single bed, already breathing evenly in a deep sleep.
Her face flushed slightly red. She wasn’t entirely sure if Jason was genuinely asleep or just faking it. However, he was only occupying exactly half of the mattress, deliberately leaving a small strip of space open for her.
Feeling utterly helpless, she frowned, slipped off her heavy coat, and awkwardly squeezed into the other half of the tiny single bed...
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