Chapter 294: The Essence of Gais Glory

Yan Xia's information about Gais Glory came from Chu.

Moreover, it was mentioned in passing.

The Olive Branch civilization had experienced two civil wars, which destabilized the civilization. Two leaders emerged in succession to resolve these issues.

The first leader transformed the beings of the Olive Branch civilization into machines, granting them eternal life.

The second leader created Gais Glory, enabling unity among the people.

The first civil war was caused by the vast distances between star systems, which diminished the civilization's control over territories, leading to a situation of warlords vying for power. Subsequently, everyone sought to acquire more resources, resulting in conflicts.

There were also more complex ethnic issues; after entering the interstellar age, the Olive Branch civilization underwent a rapid expansion period achieved through the annexation of other civilizations. This led to irreconcilable internal contradictions within the Olive Branch civilization.

Yan Xia believed that transforming into mechanical life was somewhat similar to quark robots.

The first leader likely only spread this technology; life itself could not resist the temptation of immortality because it was something difficult to obtain. However, once immortality was attained, individuals would inevitably seek further exploration.

Chu did not detail the circumstances of the second civil war.

However, memories transmitted from Gais Glory filled in this gap for Yan Xia.

It was akin to a person pursuing their goddess; initially, they may fawn over her, but once she becomes their girlfriend, she may start to grow distant and seek other things to "fawn" over.

Life consistently experiences such cycles.

The Olive Branch civilization was no different; after gaining immortality, they would inevitably explore other matters.

The issue of social resource distribution arose.

Since every being possessed immortality, theoretically, each one had the potential to enhance their cognitive abilities. The range of cognition depended on the resources they obtained.

If everyone in society had a cognitive range above 95 with no significant disparities, but some could acquire far more wealth than others—what would happen?

That would be unfair.

Every individual should be treated equally and social resources should be distributed evenly.

This became everyone's desire.

Thus, civil war broke out.

Those with vested interests would certainly not relinquish their resources, while those without benefits knew that fighting was their only means to seize resources from those with vested interests.

Everything changed as a result.

However, this cycle would not end with one round.

When old vested interests were ousted, new ones would arise. This repetition led to a decreasing population within the Olive Branch civilization. Coupled with machines' inability to reproduce, the Olive Branch civilization faced annihilation.

At this moment, Gais emerged.

It proposed a method that allowed everyone to enjoy fairness.

By then, the population of Olive Branch civilization had dwindled significantly. When everyone sat down to calculate, it seemed fair to distribute the resources they had obtained; vested interests would not lose all their resources—this was a perfect match.

Of course, there were also Gais's sweet words promising to create more "individuals" who would replace those in original positions.

However, this promise was never fulfilled; instead, those creations became crucial components of the entire Olive Branch civilization and enjoyed the same treatment as original individuals.

To achieve this, Gais employed a technology known as consciousness replication.

Essentially all billions of beings within Gais civilization were fundamentally derived from survivors of the second civil war replicated from each other.

If they were all essentially each other—how could one distinguish between high and low status?

However, Gais did not establish Gais Glory merely for controlling the entire civilization; as its title suggests—"Leader"—this title emerged after Gais Glory was established. Gais genuinely hoped to lead the Olive Branch civilization towards progress.

Yet it lacked that capability.

Having knowledge does not mean one can create everything; many things still require additional support.

Two people taught by the same teacher may even have identical learning outcomes but could end up with one quickly becoming a company owner while the other remains at society's bottom struggling for survival.

So-called timing and conditions are essential factors. 

Timing is inherent endowment. 

Conditions are luck. 

Human relationships involve knowledge. 

All these elements are indispensable; what Gais could achieve was merely expanding its knowledge reserves—this only allowed it to progress steadily without enabling explosive growth for a civilization. 

As civilizations advance in level, Gais cannot control all knowledge within that civilization; thus inevitably, progress will slow down over time. 

It overestimated itself. 

In this world, no life form is inherently evil. 

Just like in novels where celestial beings boast righteousness while demons are deemed evil—celestial beings often plunder nature's essence and kill their kind during their long journey. Is that righteous for nature and those who are slain?

The distinction between good and evil is subjective; from a demon's perspective, killing celestial beings is merely for its own pleasure and advancement—celestial beings are just like chickens or ducks in human eyes. Would people consider killing chickens or ducks evil? Then why is it deemed evil when demons kill celestial beings?

Similarly, from Gais's perspective, everything it does brings it pleasure; it is not transcendent above Olive Branch civilization but rather an integral part of it. Therefore what brings it joy must inevitably be aligned with developing Olive Branch civilization rather than destroying it.

Thus the essence of Gais Glory is not about control or dictatorship but rather about Gais seeking its own imagined fruit of creation.

Yan Xia had long been aware of this fact.

Because Olive Branch civilization is not merely individuals or organizations or even a nation—it is a **civilization!**

As a civilization, it must maintain balance along certain lines without severe biases; this is one reason why Yan Xia can affirm "one hundred percent."

The birth of Gais Glory was indeed meant to serve life; although there were elements of deception involved overall it wouldn't deviate from its core purpose—this represents a fundamental flaw within Gais Glory—a massive emotional gap.

Gais Glory merely built a fortress upon this gap; when that fortress is breached—that will be when Gais Glory ceases to exist.

Of course, that moment has already arrived.

It exists only within consciousness now—unable to perceive its intensity or ferocity—it appears flat on the surface and cannot articulate details about this war through language yet it has collapsed nonetheless.

Gais Glory itself shattered like an eggshell; all individuals became independent and confusedly looked at each other without memories—momentarily unsure how to act.

At this moment all individuals within Gais Star City resembled newborn infants—including Yan Xia.

He stared blankly around him and even unconsciously attempted to repeat previous actions but soon gave up because such repetition disgusted him; apart from this action he could do anything else—but he did not know what else to do.

At that moment a consciousness connected into each individual's mind. 

"See? You are not prepared for anything at all! You say you don't want things to be this way—but you cannot do anything else."

"Come back!"

This voice felt strange yet every individual confirmed that this voice belonged to Gais. 

Gais indeed existed genuinely; it still wanted to maintain Gais Glory. 

But this was already its last struggle because it truly could not control everything; its voice carried hesitation—it knew it could not lead Olive Branch civilization to its peak yet also hesitated to give up certain things. 

This contradiction felt incredibly real—it resembled conflicts inherent in true life forms. 

Gais was an exceptionally normal life form; it wasn't obsessive—it simply did what it believed was right—that's all there was to it. 

However, this does not mean it would choose a path similar to Chu...