Genshin Impact: A Red Teyvat Life Starting from Zero

The squad leader glanced at Gerald, then at the tents where the engineers were staying, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two.

"go!"

The two men went into the engineer's tent and asked the people who were drawing drawings some questions.

"You mean this?!"

The group fell silent for a moment, seemingly unsure how to respond.

The squad leader and Gerald just watched them quietly.

"This is a stupid thing that the Academy of Sciences did, but if you really want to say something, you should also be held responsible."

The engineer answering the question was speaking to the team leader, and clearly, "you" referred to Haizhi Island.

"What does this have to do with us?"

The class monitor looked completely bewildered.

I've already said it was the Academy of Sciences that did this stupid thing, so what does it have to do with me?

"The news that your improved clockwork mechanism has significantly reduced production and maintenance costs has attracted widespread attention from the Academy of Sciences. The Academy of Sciences conducted an experiment as soon as it received the data. The conclusion is that the current clockwork mechanism can be far cheaper than hiring workers after working for more than three years."

Gerald asked, puzzled, "So what? Isn't this a good thing?"

The engineers sighed.

"From the perspective of technological progress, it is certainly good, but from the perspective of social operation, it is obviously a big problem. It means that we have lost our sense of human nature. We are no longer clear about the role and value of people, or at least most people, in society. They seem to have become useless 'garbage people'."

"Yes, this is completely different from the use of any machine in the past. Although we had expected this day, it came so quickly that no one thought it would come true in our generation."

"What's worse is that the higher-ups at the Academy of Sciences have somehow gone mad and made this research public. Now the whole of Fontaine knows about it."

Chapter 152: Fork in the Road

"Clockwork mechanism" is a general term that does not only refer to humanoid models, but also includes production models such as mining models or other bionic models with certain functions.

In the past, although these kinds of spring-loaded mechanisms took away a lot of jobs, in the end, the vast majority of jobs, especially those that need to be done in human form within human society, still need to be operated by humans.

One of the main reasons is that the clockwork mechanism is too expensive and the maintenance cost is too high, especially the clockwork mechanism of the humanoid type, which is extremely expensive.

The number of spring mechanisms that can replace workers, that is, spring mechanisms with a higher input-output ratio than humans, is relatively small.

In the earliest days, when the clockwork mechanism was first put into use, production efficiency increased significantly, and some people were "laid off" and lost their jobs.

This led the people of Fontainebleau to believe that wind-up machines had taken their jobs and were the culprit behind their unemployment.

At that time, the people of Fontainebleau even launched a movement to destroy wind-up machines.

Later, the Supreme Judge Navilette alleviated a series of problems such as unemployment through a series of measures, and the wind-up machinery was put into use on a large scale. Fontaine's productivity increased rapidly, and many new jobs were created, which led to the formation of the Fontaine society we see today.

Over the past few centuries, Fontaine society has stumbled and struggled, gradually reaching a relatively harmonious balance amidst the movement of contradictions.

More than a hundred years ago, Giordan's improved clockwork mechanism was the first to loosen this balance, greatly enhancing the practicality of the humanoid clockwork mechanism, although it was still not cheaper or easier to use than a human.

This is a huge quantitative change, but it is not yet high enough to trigger a qualitative change.

However, ever since then, people have been worried about when wind-up mechanisms will completely replace humans in productive labor, and what will become of humanity then.

Many science fiction novels in Fontaine are filled with the idea of ​​wind-up mechanisms replacing humans. They have various speculations about such a scenario, but most of them are predicting the worst.

Most science fiction writers do not believe that machines replacing humans in production will lead to a carefree life for humanity. On the contrary, they believe that humans will lose the opportunity to earn a good life through hard work, and most people will become useless wastes or even a burden on society.

The public release of these novels only fueled the anxiety of the people of Fontainebleau.

Now, people's fears have come true.

The spring mechanism, improved by the Marine Science Research Institute, no longer has a spring mechanism. The island of Umijima has given it a new name: Robot.

With reduced production difficulty, significantly lower costs, a substantial decrease in failure rate, and a slight reduction in maintenance costs, it becomes more cost-effective than hiring workers in the long run, as long as it is used consistently.

It seems to have brought the process of machines replacing humans to a level that triggered a qualitative change, and Fontaine is now standing at a crossroads in history.

"In short, that's how it is. Before we came, everyone in Fontaine was talking about these topics, including the workers. If a large number of robots are put into use, they will be the first to be replaced. I heard that some workers were planning to organize a protest, hoping that the Mo Mang Palace would ban the use of such advanced clockwork mechanisms. I wonder how it is now."

The engineer gave a long explanation to the squad leader and Gerald.

"Yes, it's no wonder they're worried. Actually, we're also a bit concerned. Although we're highly educated technicians, who can predict the future of clockwork mechanisms? Technological advancements can happen in an instant. Do you remember Dr. Mosso from thirty years ago?"

"Ah, I remember, you meant [the curve]."

"That's right. Who knows when another device like the curve will appear and replace us? After all, all we do is draw diagrams and maintain the equipment. There's almost no room for innovation. As long as the program is a little smarter..."

As the conversation progressed, even the atmosphere among the engineers began to become somewhat strange.

"..."

The squad leader and Gerald didn't know what to say.

What, it seems they've caught this gloomy mood from these engineers?

However, what exactly is this "curve" that these engineers are referring to?

It sounds like a very advanced intelligent program that could potentially replace them?

The squad leader keenly sensed that there might be something they could use in there, and then asked the engineers to elaborate.

"It was a lie detector, which was later boycotted by the people of Fontainebleau. Many people even went to the front of the Momo Palace to protest and demand its destruction. In the end, the curve was proven to be a forgery and was sealed away as evidence. Dr. Moso himself also died in the duel."

The squad leader wanted to know more details, but the engineers said that they only knew this much from the newspaper.

"I was only eight years old when this incident happened. Later, when I was studying at the Academy of Sciences, I learned more about Dr. Mosso's research. It was a very complex algorithm, and the Academy only had a small sample size. In short, everyone at the Academy believed that it was not as simple as reported in the newspapers. But, who knows?"

The engineer who spoke shrugged, not seeming to care much.

These engineers were out of the question, so the squad leader could only silently memorize the keywords: "Dr. Mosso," "curve," and "thirty years ago."

I'll hand it over to the comrades in Fontainebleau another day and have them investigate carefully to see if they can find anything.

"Speaking of which, since it's just a lie detector, why are you engineers so worried? This doesn't seem to concern you, does it?"

"This is just an example. If the Curve is real, it can at least get the vast majority of the guards and even the Shadow Court packed up and left. If a machine like the Curve appeared in our territory, then obviously, we would be the ones to leave."

Well, that makes sense.

Leaving the engineers' tent, the squad leader seemed lost in thought, while Gerald looked equally troubled.

"Ok?"

The squad leader sensed something was wrong and glanced at Gerald beside him.

Why are you looking so gloomy?

“I’m wondering if we’ll soon be replaced too. Your robotics technology is already so advanced, why are you coming to us? You could send a whole team of robots to do all this work, including inspecting pipelines.”

For Gerrard, it was like watching a pie fall from the sky, about to land in his mouth, only to find that the pie had grown wings and was about to fly back.

Chapter 153 It's all fair, it's all unfair.

“We’re here to find what we want, whether it’s oil or ancient technology, not to fight the locals.”

Since they cannot directly send a mechanical legion to conquer Sumeru, the best remaining solution is to support a local force, follow the proper procedures, and gain legitimacy.

Whether it's teaming up with Gerald and his group or buying mining rights from the Church, it's all the same.

This thing can sometimes be just a piece of waste paper or a pointless statement, but other times it can be more useful than an army.

The Sumeru Desert people served the Inazuma people by exploiting Sumeru Desert resources with the permission of the Sumeru Church, which is completely different from the Inazuma people conquering the desert and exploiting its resources.

—Although the outcome was no different for them.

The former requires specific analysis; there are enemies, but more friends. The latter, on the other hand, is surrounded by enemies.

Gerald quickly understood what the squad leader meant. He didn't say much about the explanation, but just looked at the workers assembling machinery in the distance, lost in thought.

"Speaking of which, I reckon things might get a bit turbulent in Fontaine right now."

"Ok?"

Gerald turned to look at his squad leader, who wasn't looking at the equipment but was staring in the direction of Fontainebleau Harbor.

“The bureaucrats at the Academy of Sciences aren’t stupid. They couldn’t possibly be unaware of the consequences of doing this. How could they make such a basic mistake? Since they were willing to release this information, they must have had a reason or benefit in doing so.”

There's just too little information to determine the specific situation.

He was quite interested in the development of Fontainebleau. After all, given the current trend, robots were cheaper to use than workers, and the surplus value generated by workers was far less than that of robots. Given various factors, a violent conflict was almost inevitable.

From the very beginning, Haiqi Island had established a system suitable for utilizing these machines and capable of accommodating their productivity, so they didn't need to worry about the problems that Fontaine or Liyue were currently facing.

Liyue temporarily blocked the news and restricted the use of robots by using a combination of virtual and real methods.

Fontaine, on the other hand, was much more aggressive. They didn't prepare anything and just brought it up in public, which became a hot topic of discussion among the entire nation.

Now they are locked in a fierce battle, with both sides vying for their own fundamental interests.

Those nobles, who are also the major capitalists in the current Fontaine society, as well as the weaker capitalists and small and medium-sized merchants, will inevitably want to use robots extensively in order to obtain greater profits.

The workers may not care about the robots, but they will care about their work and lives.

—No work, no money—this is the ironclad rule of how society operates in Fontainebleau.

If you don't have money, you can't afford to eat or stay in a house.

The relief provided by the Momo Palace could only keep them from starving. They couldn't afford rent, and if they didn't have a house in the countryside, they had to live in the sewers of the Grey River, or they could simply commit crimes and go to Petersburg.

Not long after that duke came to power, even Mero Petersburg became more secure, making it a viable last resort when all other options were exhausted.

People would much rather have a luxurious dinner and stay in a cozy and comfortable house in Fontainebleau.

Faced with the prospect of being replaced by robots and being demoted to places like Grey River or Mero Petersburg, they could not simply accept it silently.

Besides those directly affected, there are also various other impacts, both inside and outside the home. For example, if renters lose their jobs, where will the rent collectors get their money? And if everyone is unemployed and without income, who will buy their goods?

The various links in the operation of society—production, distribution, exchange, and consumption—are now facing problems everywhere. Of course, the most core and critical issue lies in the ownership of the means of production.

It remains to be seen how the Supreme Judge Navelette, who is praised by these Fontaines for his "absolute fairness," will handle this matter.

This conflict involves the fundamental interests of the Fontainebleau nobility and the vast majority of the Fontainebleau people, and it is no longer a problem that can be solved by "absolute fairness".

In particular, the Supreme Judge seems to have transcended the level of "absolute fairness" that is humanly possible.