Chapter 118: The Grand Celebration
Chapter 118: The Grand Celebration
“Huaxin News Agency reports.”
“Authorized by the HCC and the Negentropy Research Institute, the following information is publicly released.”
“…With the advancement of development and construction on Mars and other regions, multiple Martian cities have completed preliminary construction. The industrial and agricultural products from the corresponding Smart Industrial Zones on the Martian surface can now meet the basic operational needs of the cities. Based on data provided by other research teams and analyzed by the Social Philosophy Department of the Negentropy Research Institute, preliminary assessments indicate that these off-Earth cities on Mars have met the basic conditions for limited personnel migration and habitation.”
“Now, the HCC and the Negentropy Research Institute have decided to open the first group of migration slots—one million spots in total—available to residents of Earth, Lunar Surface Cities, and Humanity as a whole.”
“Individuals interested in relocating to reside on the Martian surface and within its cities may contact their local Urban Intelligent Management System or register directly on the official HCC website listed here…”
“Based on the registration list, strong artificial intelligence will directly conduct a lottery… Those selected should pay attention to information delivered to their devices in the near future to confirm migration details and specific arrangements.”
The method of relocating people to these newly habitable Martian cities,
was actually quite similar to the approach taken during Lunar development before.
The only difference was that Human Civilization prioritized developing the Martian surface Smart Industrial Zones to a certain level first,
then used Martian resources, combined with the manufacturing power of both the Martian and the Earth-Moon System’s Smart Industrial Clusters, to build the surface cities concurrently,
unlike the Lunar development, which proceeded step-by-step with migration, Smart Industrial Zones, and city construction unfolding sequentially.
Therefore, the number of people in this first wave migrating to Martian cities significantly exceeded the number initially moving to Lunar cities.
Of course,
the current Earth population hadn’t yet reached levels placing significant pressure on the planet itself,
so migration to Mars was entirely voluntary.
Even if fewer than a million people ultimately chose to reside in Martian cities,
it wouldn’t matter to the HCC or the Negentropy Research Institute.
After all, developing and building Mars was fundamentally about acquiring more resources, space, and ultimately increasing the population base,
not that the current population desperately needed Martian resources right now.
They could simply establish the Social Upbringing Bureau directly on the Martian surface to cultivate and nurture new population growth there.
This way, the Martian cities would flourish regardless.
However,
it was clear that a mere one million slots for relocating to Mars weren’t nearly enough for all those expressing interest right now.
With the HCC’s population exceeding seven billion, even if only one person in seven hundred fancied a change or novelty, that alone would easily fill one million spots.
“…I registered! Now to wait to be picked. I’ve already been to the Moon; Mars, I’m coming!”
“Haha! I got picked! I got picked!”
“Crazy? Registration just started. How could you possibly have been picked already?”
“I won’t move over. Seems like a lot of hassle. Maybe when there are more Earth-Mars routes, I’ll just go for a tourist visit.”
“What hassle for you? It’s your service robot that will handle the hassle, packing your luggage and then setting it all up again once it arrives.”
“Heh, my wife and I are planning to move to Mars together. We’re both mathematics researchers, and it kinda suits us not needing heavy collaboration with large research teams. The only downside is the high communication delay between Earth and Mars now. Guess it means we can’t easily join our friends on Earth or the Moon in virtual reality spaces anymore.”
“I envy people with partners. Didn’t the stats last year show the lifetime singles rate exceeded seventy percent?”
“Yeah, and once those from before the Intelligent Era have passed, that rate will probably go higher… The Earth-Mars delay won’t be a big deal. Mars will have a million people to start with, plenty for a local Martian server.”
The online world buzzed with activity.
Soon after, strong artificial intelligence statistics showed well over a million registrations for Martian city migration.
…
2028, 2029…
Following the completion of the first phase of interstellar migration to Mars,
just like on the Moon, within the new Martian cities and the newly established Social Upbringing Bureau on Mars,
the first generation of ‘Martian natives’ were born.
Two million newborns entered the world via Human Reproduction Devices in the various Martian surface cities.
After that,
development and construction in the regions of Mars, Venus, and the Asteroid Belt continued steadily.
The Smart Industrial Belt in Venus’s synchronous orbit gradually completed its circle, fully surrounding the planet.
On the surface of Mars, the already-built cities expanded further, supported by nearby surface Smart Industrial Zones.
Near other Smart Industrial Zones lacking adjacent cities, new Martian cities began construction.
For the very first Martian city,
unsurprisingly, people named it Yinghuo City.
For years after, it remained the most populous among all Martian surface cities.
As for the Asteroid Belt, further expansion primarily involved voluntary development projects.
However, as Martian development became more established,
more resources mined from the Asteroid Belt were no longer solely shipped back to the Earth-Moon System; some began going directly to Mars for processing and manufacturing by Martian Smart Industrial Clusters.
Consequently,
the growth rate of the permanent population within the Martian surface cities also accelerated dramatically during these two years.
After the first year yielded two million newborns via Human Reproduction Devices,
the very next year, that number jumped to four million.
Similarly,
to adapt to the changing pace of Martian development,
the Negentropy Research Institute and the HCC further adjusted the Human Civilization population growth plan.
Human Civilization’s annual population growth target for this year was revised to 300 million.
The scale of this annual population increase was staggering.
It’s crucial to remember that this plan refers to net growth – the number after accounting for natural deaths – meaning the actual number of births each year was even larger than 300 million.
Raising such a vast number of children burned through resources at colossal rates.
Yet, for a civilization racing from Type I towards Type II status,
whose reach now extended from the Earth-Moon System throughout the Solar System, at least to the Asteroid Belt,
sustaining this growth posed no significant pressure.
For Human Civilization,
it just meant allocating more resources towards the Social Upbringing Bureaus.
With sufficient resources and production capacity,
there could be as many of the Bureau’s nurture-focused Intelligent Machinery units as needed,
and as many mature Human Reproduction Devices as necessary.
The explosive growth of human industrial scale and resource exploitation on Earth, the Lunar Surface, Mars, and Venus in recent years generated output that covered these expenditures many times over.
Historically,
the productive forces consumed for basic societal functions were only a minor fraction of Human Civilization’s total industrial capacity.
By this time, even though the population had grown much larger,
the total resources of Human Civilization, now including Venus, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt,
had more than doubled.
Industrial scale and productivity had surged several times over that baseline.
In such conditions,
the basic operational needs of society now consumed
a much smaller share of Human Civilization’s total industrial output.
…
Year 30 of the Human United Era (HUE).
It was exactly the third full decade since entering the HCC era.
Also, in Human Civilization’s development and construction plans for the inner Solar System – Venus, Mars, the Asteroid Belt, and so on –
the development and construction of Mars had begun to show real results by this time.
Thus,
in this year,
the HCC, Human Civilization,
held an incredibly grand celebration marking both the thirtieth year of the HUE and the fruits of the Martian project.
On Spring Festival day of HUE Year 30, which was also the very first day of the year,
in over four hundred Surface Cities on Earth, across their streets and within every community of their living zones,
in every corner of the Lunar Surface Cities’ living areas, and throughout the habitation zones of Mars surface cities,
lanterns glowed and festive decorations were hung high creating a jubilant scene.
As people counted down the seconds to the New Year deep in the night,
standing in squares, on streets, across Mars, and everywhere on the Moon,
their faces filled with delighted smiles and beaming expressions,
spectacular fireworks blossomed simultaneously in the skies over all Earth’s four hundred giant Surface Cities.
Across Earth’s entire surface, wherever there was a city, the night sky seemed bathed in light.
If not for Human Civilization’s ceaseless restoration efforts reviving Earth’s ecosystem long ago,
concerns about harming its fragile balance would have surely arisen.
After the fireworks,
in all HCC cities,
colossal, breathtakingly beautiful celebratory images were displayed in the sky using holographic projections and dense drone light formations.
Against a backdrop of magnificent music playing in the heavens,
a panorama of Human Civilization’s journey since the Industrial Age unfolded.
Within this grand historical display, one could see Professor Qin Yu developing the 2611 Longevity Injection and the Human Reproduction Device.
One could also witness the birth of Collective Social Rearing and the conflict it had with family-based upbringing.
The projection showed the 236 Algae Crisis, which turned out to be a scare for Human Civilization,
and then the genuine crisis that forced Humanity’s migration into the Underground Refuge Cities.
Starting from scenes of that forced migration underground,
the accompanying music grew heavy and mournful.
People watched again as, led by the Negentropy Research Institute,
Humanity overcame not just the Doomsday Crisis, but also successive disasters upon emerging: global volcanic eruptions, relentless worldwide rainfall…
Until! Human Civilization returned to the surface!
This historical sequence included the live broadcast footage of Academician Qin Yu, leading fellow researchers as the first group back above ground.
The music shifted from oppressive to stirring, from sorrowful to heroic, rising to immense heights, grand and soaring.
Human Civilization rebuilt its Surface Cities!
Human Civilization migrated back from underground to reclaim Earth’s surface!
Human Civilization restored Earth’s ecology!
Human Civilization defeated its Doomsday Crisis!
And the images didn’t end there… a camera shot started from the rebuilt Lingchuan City, pulling back further and further,
until it encompassed the entire Earth, showing countless giant cities as hazy outlines.
The music paused briefly into silence.
An electric propulsion spaceship – specifically, Humanity’s first of its kind, the ‘New Era’ – drifted off towards the distant cosmos.
A plasma jet shot from its rear as the ship began to accelerate.
Both the music and the images surged back into motion!
The music became even more vibrant and stirring.
More electric propulsion spaceships appeared on screen, filling the space lanes between Earth and the Moon.
The view shifted from Earth, to near-Earth orbit, landing on the Lunar Surface.
In accelerated sequence, it showed the entire process of Human Civilization constructing multiple Lunar Surface Cities and developing Moon settlements.
The lunar scene froze at the moment Humanity celebrated the Moon project’s initial completion!
Human Civilization had conquered the Moon!
The view switched again: the newest ships reached the transit lines to Mars, Venus, and the Asteroid Belt.
Human Civilization charged once more towards the far reaches of space, towards ever more distant celestial bodies!
Scenes of lunar development were replicated simultaneously above Mars, the Asteroid Belt, and Venus,
and the displays above every city projected these three views side-by-side.
Finally, after an extremely brief pause,
the projection showed the real-time image of this very celebration taking place across Human Civilization!
…
People were excited, indeed, almost ecstatic.
Each time the sky-projected historical images reached a pivotal milestone in Human Civilization’s journey,
the crowd erupted in thunderous applause!
Looking back at these grand chapters of Human Civilization’s past years, hearts swelled with fervent pride!
This cheering wasn’t just from Earth’s over four hundred cities, but echoed in every extraterrestrial city on the Moon and Mars.
In the Moon surface cities and Mars cities, the displays were simpler,
as smart systems transformed the dome projections normally seen in these off-world habitats!
This majestic, awe-inspiring spectacle etched profound memories into the minds of everyone throughout the HCC experiencing it.
When the projected images on the sky and domes arrived at their breathtaking final scene,
the loudest, most passionate cheers of the entire night filled the air.
Many screamed themselves hoarse, their excitement impossible to contain!
People celebrated, cheered for this magnificent moment in Human Civilization’s history,
gave release to the passions stirred by Humanity’s epic past,
and roared back at the projected images capturing their very own celebration!
“HCC!”
“Negentropy Research Institute!”
“Human Civilization!”
“Long live humanity!”
Voices shouted these cries. In Earth cities, in cities beyond, their calls either merged into a powerful surge or interwove with equally impassioned shouts.
And here, the grand celebration for the thirtieth HUE Year
had barely begun.
Setting off from just that very night,
starting from Earth and its synchronous orbit,
a fleet of thirty of Humanity’s giant electric propulsion spaceships,
acting as ‘parade floats’ for the celebration,
loaded with hundreds of thousands of people from Earth Surface Cities, Lunar Surface Cities, and Martian surface cities,
began their celebratory journey under the watchful eyes of countless HCC citizens everywhere.
First traveling from Earth to the Moon, then from the Moon towards Venus.
Doubling back from Venus, they finally headed to Mars and the Asteroid Belt,
reaching the current frontier of Human Civilization’s settlement –
a smart scientific research station at the outer edge of the Asteroid Belt!
After nearly two months,
when the thirty festive ‘floats’ arrived at the station, the people watching the live broadcast
gave another heartfelt, resounding cheer.
Only then
did this celebration of HUE Year Thirty conclude!
Throughout this monumental event,
the most prosperous state Human Civilization had ever achieved was vividly showcased!
Within a single year, they seemed to have reached the pinnacle of a Type I Civilization!
This spectacle was unprecedented, a display of their peak condition after three more decades of HUE growth.
A territory unlike any before.
Productive power greater than ever.
Technical capabilities beyond anything previously known.