Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 66 The Future School of History (Available for purchase tomorrow, please subscribe!)

A week after the conclusion of the Pacific Collaboration-2015 military exercise, Beijing was shrouded in a continuous drizzle, a rare occurrence for the north. In early summer, thunderstorms often lash this city of both old and new, accompanied by dark clouds. But now, Beijing could experience a touch of the gentle, continuous rain characteristic of the southern plum rains.

A man, holding an umbrella, pushed open the doors of Tsinghua University's auditorium through the fine drizzle. He glanced around at the seated crowd, found a secluded corner, and sat down, folding his umbrella behind him.

Since its inception, the Future History School has primarily operated in a semi-public manner. As an academic organization with an official background, discussions of its related concepts are almost entirely public, and members of the Future History School can often be seen on political talk shows.

Members of the Future History School also possess the attributes of human society's elite, which is quite similar to the [Science Frontier] Institute supported by the ETO, except that the proportion of scientists and scholars is relatively smaller. Politicians, military strategists, and historians make up a larger proportion, and this combination is not accidental but determined by the nature of the Future History School.

The meeting of the Future History School was chaired by Dongfang Mingxi.

Amidst the gazes of many people far older, more experienced, and more composed than her, Dongfang Mingxi spoke in her uniquely bright and clear voice:

"Gentlemen, the impact of the fleet exercise is gradually becoming apparent. During the 24 hours that Luo Qing, the Wallfacer, disappeared, he did not cause too much chaos in the public opinion. Before the public began to question him, Luo Qing's timely return stabilized the situation, which made all countries in the world—including us—breathe a sigh of relief."

"Currently, news about Luo Qing is everywhere in public opinion, in newspapers around the world, and on the internet. It is expected that this craze will continue for at least two more months before it can gradually return to normal. Fortunately, Professor Luo Qing has already laid the groundwork for public opinion. Polls show that the identity of a cultivator is being recognized by society."

"But the historical impact of this exercise may not be clear for decades or even centuries to come."

An old man in the audience chuckled and said, "Those involved are often blinded by their own perspective, so we need to step outside our own world to see things clearly."

Looking at problems from a broader perspective

This is one of the initial ideas of the Future Historian school.

Dongfang Mingxi continued, "The wave of cultivation brought by Luo Qing, the Wallfacer, cannot mask the weakness of the world economy. Please look at the big screen:"
On the screen, colorful and complex statistical charts were displayed.

"The Sophon blockade has lasted for 11 years, and the Crisis Era has lasted for 9 years. It's not just basic science that's stagnating, but also the economy. This year, 37% of global GDP has been invested in construction related to low Earth orbit and the Space Force, while the remaining 63% is used to support seven billion people—and as you all know, this ratio will eventually fall to 3 to 7 or even higher. The world economy is shrinking continuously, and at this rate, humanity may very well face the complete collapse of the free trade economy since World War II in 20 or 30 years, with a fragile but demand-driven planned economy becoming the mainstream of the world."

After Dongfang Mingxi finished his introduction, he said, "Please share your thoughts and discuss this actively."

A sociologist sitting in the front row adjusted his glasses. "Currently, my country's situation is the most stable. Thanks to its 14 billion population and comprehensive industrial base, we can barely maintain a self-sufficient domestic cycle. On the other hand, due to historical factors, the Chinese people are relatively accepting of a planned economy... But the Western world is a different story; things are completely chaotic there. Except for that US president who can emulate the 'Roosevelt era' and keep things under control, European countries are now rife with chaos, frequent changes in ruling parties, and political instability. Fortunately, NATO (the Northern Hemisphere Convention) acts as a ballast for Eurasia, keeping the turmoil within an acceptable atmosphere."

One economic expert shook his head: "The problem with the world economy now is not production capacity, but distribution. Distribution is the cancer on the production side. Based on the current industrial capacity of human civilization, even if production capacity were reduced to 1/30 of what it is now, as long as it is averaged out, it could still support 70 billion people. But that's not possible now. The distribution of the means of production is a problem that has plagued countless scholars throughout history for thousands of years; it is a deadlock in human social systems. In other words, if foreign governments collapse and refugees flood in, should we intervene or not? — This is not alarmist. Aren't there many small African countries that have collapsed and are now being taken over by the United Nations? Where do the UN's resources come from? Aren't they drawn from a few major powers? Our capabilities are limited, and the United Nations is not a panacea."

A gray-haired physicist raised his hand, and after receiving permission from the host, he slowly began to speak: "Regarding the issue of productivity, I think it can be solved with the development of technology. A few days ago, Xiao Ding completed an experimental demonstration of controlled nuclear fusion in space. If all goes well, humanity could enter an era of unlimited energy within ten years at most. As for resources... the technology for synthesizing starch in air is now almost perfected. I've eaten those air-starch steamed buns; apart from lacking a bit of wheat flavor, they're just as filling."

The economics expert sighed: "The problem lies in distribution, not in productivity... Never mind, Mr. Yang, you're a physicist, it's not your fault that you don't understand the intricacies of human economics."

Zhang Zhaohua, Zhang Beihai's father, spoke up: "Everyone here knows that the country has anticipated the arrival of this great downturn. The attitude from above is very firm: preserve the basic foundation, maintain stability in grassroots governance, ensure the government can operate at a minimum without collapsing, and act as the mainstay of human society during this great downturn. We will absolutely not allow 'cannibalism' to occur during a time of great famine. As long as the country does not collapse, we can weather this great downturn. If the country collapses, then humanity is doomed."

If even the most resilient superpower can't weather this major downturn, then humanity can indeed call it GG prematurely. "Given the current economic growth momentum, it's too early to talk about life and death. The major downturn we're predicting will last at least another forty or fifty years. Unless you all go into hibernation, apart from Mingxi, probably no one here will live to see that time."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Mingxi forced an unnatural smile.
Discussions surrounding global economic issues continue.

An agricultural expert said, "I know everyone is pinning their hopes on controlled nuclear fusion to solve the energy problem and industrially synthesized flour to solve the food problem. But let's not forget that a major economic downturn will bring not only economic collapse, but a total collapse of all aspects of human society. Whether the industrial chain can maintain its current state at that time is also an unknown."

Moreover, we've only just begun to develop the technology for industrial synthetic flour; large-scale application will take many more years. Meanwhile, global food reserves have fallen below critical levels, ecological restoration projects are severely lagging, and everyone is looking to the heavens, no one is digging for food in the fields anymore.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the sky; no one dug for food in the ground anymore.

These words lingered in everyone's ears for a long time.

An environmental expert added, "Moreover, folks, given the industrial pollution caused by mega-projects like the space elevator, the world's environment is experiencing unprecedented desertification. In recent years, my country has been trying to replicate the miracle of planting the Three-North Shelterbelt in the last century, but we have overlooked one point: the Earth's environment is interconnected. If the whole world is desertified, it won't matter if we plant trees all over the country. Not to mention the Taklamakan Desert, just look at Beijing. Haven't we had enough sandstorms in the last two years? They all come from Outer Mongolia and Siberia."

The environmental expert added, "Environmental degradation is accelerating the collapse of countries around the world. When the global economy, industry, agriculture, and environment collapse, no one will be able to escape unscathed. Our borders are just lines on a map, not real barriers. If the outside world collapses, we will collapse too. It's only a matter of sooner or later."

The environmental expert's blunt words stung the attendees, and the meeting fell into deep thought as they faced a bleak future.

Luo Qing sat in the corner, listening to their discussion, and he was also thinking.

He knew that no matter how strong he was, that was only in terms of physical strength. He couldn't conjure food out of thin air, nor could he stop the collapse of human civilization's industrial system or the deterioration of the Earth's environment.

Wait, environmental degradation?
Luo Qing thought of the spirit stones in his storage ring. These things were a specialty of the cultivation world, so perhaps they would be useful?
He used his spiritual sense to examine the storage space and saw a massive pile of spirit stones, as large as the Himalayas.

But the next moment, under Luo Qing's observation, these spirit stones instantly collapsed into a state of destruction and disappeared.

"Grass!"

In the silent hall, Luo Qing unconsciously swore.

Regarding the Great Depression, the original novel of The Three-Body Problem only briefly mentions it: all countries collapsed (none were spared), half of the 70 billion people died, the Second Renaissance arrived, and humanism arose.

Regardless, there are aspects of the major downturn that deserve detailed discussion. Of course, with the main character involved, the downturn can't be too severe.

Quiz with prize: How to solve the environmental degradation problem during a major downturn?
If you guess correctly, you'll receive a minor role in this book, with limited freedom to design the plot, character settings, and death scenarios.

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(End of this chapter)