Dreaming for 10,000 years

Chapter 351 Responsibilities
Jack stood in the dimly lit room, his hands trembling slightly, a complex light flickering in his eyes. He murmured softly, "Why did Gough City become like this?"

His voice was filled with deep confusion and pain: "Now, I finally understand, because nobody in this city is truly in charge."

“Responsible?” George frowned; the word sounded so foreign and distant to him.

Who can take responsibility for Gough City?
Are they ordinary people like them? Are they the officials in the city hall? Are they the Wayne Corporation, which controls the entire city?
Jack's eyes suddenly sharpened as he turned to George: "You understand, those officials are nothing but puppets of the rich; they'll never take responsibility for this city."

"Power is not accountable for its source, but only for those who possess it!"

George nodded involuntarily.

He recalled the election campaigns he'd seen on television since childhood, each candidate shouting thunderous slogans, but four years later, everything remained the same. It was like a never-ending farce, with actors changing again and again, but the script never changing.

“It doesn’t matter who we choose, the result will be the same, won’t it?” Jack’s voice was sarcastic.

“Yes!” George blurted out. Even at his young age, he saw through the game. Managing a company can't rely solely on administrative orders, let alone a city.
"This city has fallen into a quagmire of irresponsibility!" Jack's voice rose.

"No one needs to be held responsible for the city's decline; politicians can act with impunity. The Monkey Party and the Pig Party only care about profits, and the Wayne Corporation only cares about gains. Who cares about the lives of ordinary people like us?"

Jack became more and more agitated as he spoke, his words like a sharp knife slicing through the glamorous facade of Gough City: "The most ironic thing is that in the end, it is precisely those of us who are the most powerless to resist who bear the brunt of all these evil consequences!"

As George watched Jack's increasingly fanatical expression, he suddenly felt that the old man he had only recently met had become a stranger.

He had never seen Jack like this before, with flames burning in his eyes and power in his words.

"We shift the blame to politicians, to others!" Jack's voice was almost a roar. "But we've forgotten that we are the true owners of this city! It's time to take back everything that's rightfully ours! If they don't give it to us—"

“Violence is certainly bad,” Jack’s voice suddenly calmed, yet it was all the more chilling: “But when we are driven to desperation, instead of inflicting violence on the innocent, we should return it to those who oppress us!”

He paused, a dangerous glint in his eyes: "Put them in prison, in concentration camps!!"

George unconsciously took a half-step back. Jack noticed his reaction and suddenly gave him a gentle smile: "I'm going to start a political campaign. Since they're unwilling to take responsibility for this city, then I will."

"You want to run for mayor?" George asked cautiously.

Jack shook his head dismissively: "The mayor can't solve anything."

"That"

"Only the Führer can save this city!" Jack's voice was firm and powerful.

As a person of German descent, he once despised dictatorship, but now he finally understands another side of history. When democracy becomes a fig leaf for shirking responsibility, perhaps authoritarianism is the only cure.

Since democracy cannot solve the problem, he chooses dictatorship! At least dictators bear some responsibility!
It's better to blame everything on dictatorship than to absolve everyone of responsibility. Dictatorship itself isn't wrong; the mistake lies in dictators' inability to lead a strong nation!
This is Jack's realization.

Contrary to Shi Fei's prediction, he did not choose the left, but instead chose the unexpected right.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. In their minds, there is only the extreme left giving rise to the extreme right, and the extreme right giving rise to the extreme left; there are no other options at all.

George gasped. "Jack...this is too extreme!" In his eyes, Jack was insane. Jack actually wanted to become a dictator!
What the hell...

Jack took a deep breath and calmed himself. He looked George straight in the eye: "If—I mean, if—there were a regime that allowed you to work only eight hours a day and support your whole family without overtime, would you support it?"

"This..." George's eyes widened; such a life was simply unbelievable to him.

Does such a job really exist? Right now, he's really, really tired.

“I saw your painkillers.” Jack pointed to the 2000 acetaminophen tablets in the corner, his voice softening. “If in the future you can have sick leave and affordable healthcare, and you don’t have to rely on selling blood to survive…”

In Gave, when most people get sick and go to the doctor for medication, the doctor will prescribe a bunch of painkillers. These painkillers are cheap and come in large doses, so many people feel pain immediately after taking them and can go back to work.

For a working stiff like George, getting sick can severely disrupt his life. It might mean missing several days at work, risking being fired, and losing several days' worth of income.

Add to that the cost of medical treatment, and even with insurance deductions, it's still incredibly expensive. Calling an ambulance alone can bankrupt someone!

After this back and forth, George became afraid to see a doctor. Painkillers became his best companion when he was sick.

A flicker of longing flashed in George's eyes. He couldn't imagine the world Jack had described.

"This is the Gough City I want to build!" Jack patted George on the shoulder. "Will you support me?"

George's throat tightened, and he nodded slowly. "If what you said can be achieved, I will certainly support it." His voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet it contained all the longing of a young man for a better life.

Jack said, "Now that we have the first one, we'll go find the second, and then there will be the third, and countless others."

He glanced at Shi Fei, who simply shrugged and didn't interfere with his actions.

Jack has his choices, and while his choices may not be right, they are certainly more suitable for the city, the land, and Jack himself.

Jack saw that it was Shi Fei and didn't stop him. He said gently to George, "I'm going down there to develop new supporters. Will you come with me?"

"..." George instinctively wanted to refuse. He knew what was down there, and he rarely went into the lower world except to buy some necessities.

But then he thought, if he doesn't try any opportunity that could change his fate, will he be stuck working two jobs a day in a supermarket for the rest of his life?

His life was filled with only hardship and no hope.

He needs hope!
So he said to George, "Okay! I'll go with you!"

What the hell is going to work? What the hell is this bullshit lifestyle? That grueling, relentless pace of life was suffocating him.

He had already overturned all of that long ago!

So he and Jack left their home and went into the darkness.

(End of this chapter)