Chapter 187: The Starting Plan
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
However, setting up a constitution was more complicated than saying it out loud.
The constitution was the groundwork for the country in which it will be implemented. When its government violates its constitution, it means that the government has started to rot from its core. Therefore, the constitution is going to decide the path the country is going to take for as long as the country is alive. How to draft a good constitution and ensure that it is paired with a reliable executive power is something that has to be discussed over a long period of time. For the Hope, that period would be as long as 10 years.
To be frank, Yao Yuan had no intention of retiring; he wanted to continue governing for the next 100 years. After all, according to the doctors, with the genetic mesomeric technology, he could live well into his 200s. He was the perfect candidate for presidency, and moreover, he was not one to do things half way. Since the responsibility to lead mankind fell onto his shoulders, he felt it was only responsible for him to continue on doing it to the best of his ability.
Under his leadership, he promised that mankind would have a strong, powerful, and most importantly, united government. The government would not allow the things that transpired on Earth to repeat itself. A small planet with over 100 countries. Each keeping technological secrets and resources from one another, causing international frictions that eventually led to wars. Yao Yuan’s government would not allow that to happen.
Of course, a unified government came with its own downfalls too, the most conspicuous being the lack of individual autonomy…
The political sphere of 21st century Earth might have had its own slew of problem, but there is one good thing that is worth admiring: the freedom of choice. With the exception of the few isolated countries, residents of most countries had the choice to migrate to another country if the ideals of their original country’s government couldn’t fit their worldview.
However, if there is only one government, even though there won’t be the complicated issue of diplomacy, once the government starts to rot and become autocratic, the leaders of such a government usually have control over the military, so the citizens will have no choice but to suffer silently and indefinitely as slaves!
It is thanks to the freedom of choice that free market became a possibility. Politically speaking, it also encourages healthy competition between governments. The possibility of having a closed-off autocratic country is greatly lowered because other countries would step in to intervene. It might not even be an active intervention because the country will eventually fall into starvation when it is isolated by the international community. One of the most important assets of a country is its citizens. This is because they are the sole force that will bring the government’s vision into fruition. Suppressing them is never a good idea when one wishes for a vibrant and powerful country.
In other words, Yao Yuan still had a lot of things to be done.
First, with the arrival of the home planet, mankind could no longer survive under the same governing system as they had on the Hope. To hold a spaceship full of people from different backgrounds together, Yao Yuan had to rely on an autocratic system, to pull the Hope’s citizens together with one voice.
However, with the home planet, it was expected that mankind would not unnecessarily risk migration through the wide cosmos in the next hundred or even thousands of years. This was due to the uncertainty of the warp system. They could warp out of the planet, but it would be impossible for them to return. Furthermore, their 4th revolution stage meant that they still hadn’t mastered curvature navigation, which meant that their range of travel was limited to the star system within the next hundreds to thousands of years.
Then again, that was already a big enough space to explore. The star system they were in had 8 planets, of which 5 were terrestrial and 3 were gas giants. There were 2 meteorite clusters and about 19 moons. Other than the ruined Moon 2, all of the other celestial entities represented important resources. The 4th revolution allowed mankind to terraform planets, but it was limited by the distance from the sun. Temperature was a verifiable worry. Luckily, they had another technology: construction of underground space stations. In other words, other than the gas giants, any other terrestrial planets in the system could be colonized by mankind.
Even though the Hope currently had several tens of thousands people, if there was no giant natural disaster, based on mankind’s medical technology, the government’s policy, birth support, as well as an elongated lifespan, it would not be crazy to expect the number to grow up to ten million people.
In conclusion, the Hope’s way of governing couldn’t be continued. Even though it could still carry on with Yao Yuan’s high popularity and pressure from the military, forced autocracy could only go on for another 10 years before mutiny occurred.
Therefore, the creation of a valid government, the construction of the government’s various departments, as well as a more democratic governing system were necessary…
"…No, the republic system is, theoretically speaking, a forced political compromise. This has been obvious since the Ancient Greeks’ time. It is because the multiple tribes were so close to each other in power that they couldn’t possibly find an agreeable leader that they settled on a circle of elders which eventually evolved into the known republic system. If we select from the more modern countries, it is almost similar to how Washington envisioned America…"
"Academician An… It is too rash to equate the Greek’s republic system with Washington’s. They might have the same roots, but the eras they were born in were too different for us to equate them as one and the same. I’ll be the first to admit that there are various loopholes when it comes to the American political system, but it is not without its positive points as well…"
"Both respected learners, I still feel it is best that we draft the policies according to the Hope’s current situation. It is of no use for us to refer back to these old systems when we’re in a completely brand new environment…"
These were the arguments put forwards by the group of political science experts, sociologists, and the Hope’s current government leaders. This was not the first time they had the discussion about the Hope’s government future governing policies, but each of the experts had their own opinions. Since the policy would decide the constitution which would then form the country for possibly thousands of years, none was willing to compromise. Even within the widely accepted separation of power policy, there were nuanced differences that separated the experts into opposing groups. It was practically wishful thinking for one to want them to discuss these things with an open mind.
This was half a month after the 3 mother nest embryos were burnt. The Hope was still floating at an elevation of 3,000 meters above the ground. However, the Hope had moved from its initial location of the battlefield to a delta plain.
This was a location that was similar to the Amazon plateau. It had a 1 kilometer wide river snaking through it before separating into streams as it met the ocean. This unique environment created verdant grasslands and a lush forest further inland. The location had access to fresh water and a deep riverbed that was suitable for transportation. The lagoons near the ocean that would be perfect for piers. In other words, it was the perfect spot for a starting city.
In Xiao Niao’s terms, this would be a good city tile. If only there was a luxury item tile, like iron, gold, diamond, or sugar nearby, then it would be perfect.
Viewed from the Hope’s window, everyone could see the blue ocean that stretched to the horizon and the green knolls as well as woodlands. The untouched slice of nature was at least 100 times better than Earth’s Hawaii or Eagean Sea.
It was a natural paradise!
This spot was selected after extensive discussion between Yao Yuan and the two Thinkers, as well as many academicians, researchers, scientists, and Guang Zhen. They all agreed that this was a suitable spot to rebuild human civilization.
First, the open grassland allowed them to easily notice approaching threat, be it ambush from the alien or native animals.
Second, there was a supply of fresh water, and the close distance to the sea meant that there would be easy salvage of marine products. The forest nearby also offered fresh meats…
This was the first step of the starting plan, the selection of mankind’s new capital!