Hidden Yao Era

"Well, wake up, what are you reading?" asked Casto.

Sonia replied, "I have just watched Crime and Punishment, The Demons and Solaris, and I have just listened to Bruckner's Eighth Symphony and Mahler's Fifth Symphony. "

"Ah, you've read so many books, I've heard of some of them, and they're probably hundreds of thousands of words each, right? Don't you feel heavy after reading something of this size?" asked Castor.

"I don't think it, but after reading it, I feel good, the protagonist in "Crime and Punishment" chooses pious faith and rebirth. The leaders of the devils in "The Demons" finally chose to return to God and the earth. This proves that no matter what kind of person can wake up and attain inner salvation. I also want to go to that fantastical place in "Solaris" to meet my parents again. It's great to feel these beautiful things!" Sonia grew more and more vigorous, her clear blue eyes shining in the bright library.

"Your parents, what's wrong with them?" Castor actually knew that Sonya's parents might have died long ago, but he wanted to escape the fact that he asked a question that he also thought was stupid.

"They all died, when I was 12 years old. Sonia said calmly, she had long since accepted the fact that there seemed to be no emotional ups and downs on the surface.

"Is it because of the Empire?" asked Casto, his luck still at work.

"Hahaha, how come, of course not, how long has the empire been destroyed. However, they also died because of the war. Sonia was silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry! Our war with you has ruined your family! and your happiness. Casto bowed and apologized to Sonya. He knew that there was no way back in his heart, that he could not continue to escape from reality, and that he had to express himself to this girl for the sake of a stable conscience.

"Huh?" Sonia was taken aback, she didn't expect Casto to apologize suddenly. After a moment's pause, she said, "This is the first time anyone has apologized to me like that. Most people would not apologize even if they admit to the guilt of war. I always think it's good for them to admit it, and I think it's hard for everyone to stand up and admit their mistakes. Actually, you don't need to apologize, you are not the one who started the war, you are also a victim of the war. "

"Why am I a victim too?" Casto wondered.

"Are you free now? You're a captive now. Sonia said.

Casto realized who he was now, but he didn't want to continue the conversation, and instead asked about Sonia's family: "Dr. Francesca said that the empire ruined your family, what is going on?".

"My family originally migrated from Pluto to the Empire's territory to spread monotheism, and family members became important members of the Empire for a time. Later, before the fall of the Empire, a policy of terror was carried out, and we religious believers were slaughtered and purged. My ancestors went back to Pluto. Sonia said.

Casto speculated with good intentions: "The Empire has indeed ruined your happy life, so you must have lived well on Pluto." "

"My ancestors were all genetically modified humans, and we were born with microchips and used to processing large amounts of information, and this gene has been passed down from generation to generation. And we have a tradition of genetically modified offspring in our family. However, this has caused our family to be somewhat alienated from the inhabitants of Pluto, and only the Hearts of the Voices are willing to accept us. Sonia explained.

"Well, don't you really like fellow citizens of other sects?" asked Casto.

"Well, sometimes it's a bit annoying. Sonia admits somewhat reluctantly.

"But I have a feeling that your sect may not be the dominant one. Casto guessed.

"Yes, but I believe that the politicians at the top want to govern the country well. They will not blindly be good to a certain faction, nor will they blindly suppress a certain faction, balance is the secret of politics. Sonya's rationality at this time made Casto suddenly feel ashamed, and he suddenly felt that his views on politics were very naïve, and even his friend Winston was not necessarily as mature as the beautiful and intelligent woman in front of him.

"Well, I also believe that the same is true of our politicians. Casto said.

"Then you go on, I've just downloaded a few more symphonies, I'm going to listen to them. Sonia said.

"Ah, can you listen to a symphony for a long time?" said Casto, puzzled.

"Of course, they can be 30-40 minutes, and more than an hour. Sonia said.

"It's crazy, why listen to music for so long? Why don't you just listen to a tune, listen to a melody, and memorize a few lyrics?" Castor complained.

Sonia smiled and closed her eyes and deliberately made a slightly arrogant gesture and shook her finger at Casto, "You have to allow the world to have simple things, and you have to see the rationality of complex things. When musicians write these music, they rely on a lot of music theory and logic to support them to complete such a huge piece of music. Isn't that all the rationality that you emphasized, and do you still feel crazy?"

Casto was speechless for a moment, so he had to say, "Okay, then you listen first, I'll continue reading here." "

He then clicked on "Apocalypse of the Fall of Empires" and read it. In this book, the author analyzes the decline and fall of empires in a very complex way, arguing that there are military and political reasons for the failure of empires, and even intellectual, economic, and even cultural factors that contribute to the demise of empires. But the 450,000-word book did not make Casto feel obscure, after all, it was written 100 years ago, which was quite in line with Casto's reading habits, so it took him five hours to read it.

"Well, is the destruction of the Empire inevitable?" Castor sighed alone.

"Huh?" Sonya, immersed in the music, didn't hear Casto.

"There are so many factors that the empire can't take care of. Each of these factors created divisions, which eventually turned into the total collapse of the empire. So, is the destruction of the empire inevitable?" asked Castor.

"I don't think it's such an absolute thing, a lot of rifts can be repaired at the beginning, they can be salvaged in the bud, but in the end when they are already deeply rooted in the country, they may be irreparable. Sonya's words inspired Casto. He thought that the empire might be because of the inertia in the middle period, which laid the groundwork for the demise of the later period.

"So inert government leads to the destruction of the country, and even if decades of inert government do not immediately lead to the destruction of the country, it will also sow the seeds for future destruction. Casto said solemnly.

That's true, but a lot of people are still very lazy. They have enough food and clothing, and it is easy to lose sight of the goal of moving forward. Sonia said regretfully.

"You're right, it's up to surveillance! Control them with equipment and systems!" Casto insisted in his heart that the empire was destroyed by the lack of technology and institutions.

"That doesn't last long, the system and all kinds of technologies are made by people, if people's spirit produces inertia and fatigue, then the designed system and control technology will also be full of loopholes, and even take the initiative to leave loopholes for lazy people. Sonia rejects Casto.

"Laziness in the heart? You may have a point, once people are lazy, they don't want to think about many things and don't want to do more. Casto agreed with Sonya's words, and although he was still a little resistant in his heart, he also felt that there was some truth in what she said.

Sonia continued: "Moreover, once people start to be lazy, they will make all kinds of excuses, and even use kindness as a cover to bring more lazy people together and live in peace. "

"Including designing institutions and environments where lazy people can live in peace, right?" Casto said.

"That's right!hahahaha, you're easy to get your toes, you're really different from your officers. Sonia said happily.

"Hahaha, thank you for the compliment, then I'll look at other books and see what I can get out of my enlightened mind. Casto then opens the interactive screen and looks at a book called The Chronicles of the Last Empire. The book contains detailed data and events on all the battles of the late Empire.

These battle records made Casto, who was familiar with military theory, feel a little strange. He had learned in school that the Divine Star Empire had perished because of the misuse of AI. The AI deliberately caused the collapse of the empire in order to destroy humanity. As a result, after the war, humans forcibly limited AI to areas such as life services. Militarily, it is only responsible for retreat and individual defense. However, the AI technology documented here is not so versatile at all, and even the command ability in the later stages of the war is very clumsy. This surprised Castor.

"Am I being deceived by the textbooks?" Casto reflected.

Casto then read "Walking in the Embers of Empire". This is a collection of essays and essays that the author emotionally depicts the suffering of the common people and the destruction of the universe after the destruction of the empire in more than a dozen essays. In the ruins of this empire, the author thinks about the destruction and oppression of ordinary people by the will of the individual, and he believes that the emperor is a complete tyrant who has destroyed the empire and the happiness of countless people. The emperor maintained the unity of the empire through war for the sake of his pride, but he could not undo the destruction of the empire. He believes that the Emperor should be aware of the inevitable end of the Empire from the outset, and that it is the right path to choose to maintain the rule of the Empire's major galaxies and use this to accumulate strength for time.

After reading this collection of essays and essays of more than 80,000 words, Castor began to read a political science book called "The Possibility of Rebuilding an Empire." The book analyzes the reasons for the decline of empires, and the author argues that the imperial system has been almost perfect, but the secession forces of each galaxy are too strong, and this powerful separatist force is not only military, but also economic and even cultural. Therefore, under the combined force of such divisive forces, it becomes extremely difficult for the empire to exercise power through a single will. This divisive force constantly tore at the Emperor's nerves, making him more and more irritable until he went insane. However, the author also argues that after the collapse of the Empire, the power of the galaxies was weakened in the war, so it was not impossible to rebuild the Empire.

Casto was lost in thought after reading these two books. The empire he had previously learned in school was a brilliant and splendid unified nation. And the information received in the military academy was a review of the battle of the great military exploits of the Empire. He remembered what Yang Dongming said, 100 years ago, the government of the earth circle adopted a completely negative attitude towards the Divine Star Empire in textbooks, but in the last 30 years, it has become a partial affirmation and implicit criticism. At the time, he was still unimpressed by Yang Dongming's statement, and in the face of so much information and scholars' opinions, Casto had to rethink what a real empire in history was like.

"You've read quite a few books again, do you have any ideas?" Sonia said.

"Is the Emperor of the Empire a good man or a bad man?" asked Casto.

"There are elements of good and evil in people's hearts, which determines that people can do both bad and good things. There may not be pure good or bad people in this world. Sonia said.

Casto thought for a while and said with a smile: "It's amazing that these words come out of the mouth of a religious believer, but I think that if a person can suppress his evil thoughts and do more good deeds, he can basically be considered a good person." "

Sonia said: "The emperors of the empire have good and evil, but the last emperor must have been mostly evil. "

"Otherwise, he would not have allowed his country to collapse. Casto said.

"No, it's not something he can stop. He may even have become brutal in order to prevent the collapse of the empire, and as a result, the speed of the collapse of the empire was objectively exacerbated. Sonia said.

"Can you take me to Dr. Francesca again? I'm going to apologize to him and ask him a few more questions. Casto said.

"Okay!" said Sonya, happily. He then took Casto to Dr. Francesca.