Jiao Huanqi's eyes drifted slightly, as if he were thinking about something else.
Snapping back to reality, he said, "Yes, I assume Wade has already briefed you on the state of the world today? I am deeply disappointed. Morals are decaying, and humanity is no longer what it used to be. Can only Common Era people like you from that era be the cure to save this world?"
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"Mr. Beihai, seeing this world the way it is now, you must be very disappointed, right? Humanity has no future. Even without waiting for some catastrophe, humans will destroy their own civilization sooner or later."
"People today enjoy immense freedom, and culture is open and diverse. How could things have reached such an extreme?"
"Alas... what you see is merely superficial. The roots of civilization are on the verge of snapping. Let me give you an example, Brother Beihai. Take that girl who just walked out—look at her outfit and her surgically altered face. Good grief, you can't even tell whether she popped out of a rock or grew that way naturally! Sometimes I can hardly tell men from women anymore. Ever since the great gender equality movement and the advances in biotechnology in the 2060s, sex-reassignment technology has been promoted as standard medical practice. By now, sex-change surgeries are as common as abortions were back in your 2020. Among the people working in your department right now, statistics show that more than half have undergone sex reassignment. In the three million years since humanity walked out of Africa, countless things have happened, but gender relations and family structures had never changed. That is the very root of our civilization. If human family structures break down and gender is swapped back and forth at will, then our civilization is just about finished."
"Is it really that serious?" Zhang Beihai put on a bewildered expression.
"Of course! If anyone can switch their sex whenever they want, on what foundation can morality be built? Sexual relations are an utter mess! Between people there is no longer loyalty, only desire. Men are no longer brave, and women are no longer faithful. Neither men nor women possess the spirit of the classical era; they no longer accept responsibility, nor do they hold any faith. Some people now claim their faith is freedom, but that isn't freedom—it's sheer self-indulgence! Doing whatever they please, never once thinking about responsibility; freedom has just become an excuse to shirk duties. They don't know how to stay vigilant in times of peace. Although nation-states are gone and only the United Nations remains, danger has never been far from us. For instance, what if aliens invade Earth? Could these transitioned soldiers and police officers today actually fight in a war?"
Watching Jiao Huanqi's impassioned expression, Zhang Beihai understood: this man was remarkably easy to manipulate. As long as one expressed agreement with his ideology, he could be steered into offering his support. Wade had clearly discovered this man before him, which was why Zhang's attempt to contact him had alerted Wade right away.
Taking advantage of the moment, Zhang Beihai said, "Wade mentioned a bit of your past to me earlier, and I agree completely with your perspective. The two of us, as Common Era people, feel that humanity cannot continue down this path, so we are preparing plans to save mankind."
Jiao Huanqi said earnestly, "As long as you need me, Mr. Beihai, I will certainly take part."
Jiao Huanqi hesitated for a moment and added, "Mr. Wade seems to have a plan. I've already made a rough guess as to which angle you intend to approach it from, but I hope to learn more about your plan. After all, you'll probably still need me to pull some strings at the General Artificial Intelligence Ethics Review Committee, won't you? Otherwise, I doubt your budget proposal will pass."
Zhang Beihai cursed inwardly. If even Jiao Huanqi could guess the plan, couldn't others figure it out as well? Was Wade, that old fox, trying to set him up?
Zhang Beihai cursed inwardly. If even Jiao Huanqi could guess the plan, couldn't others figure it out as well? Was Wade, that old fox, trying to set him up?
On second thought, perhaps the two of them had already coordinated. It was just that Wade was reluctant to let Zhang Beihai know about it so soon, or perhaps Wade simply didn't want him to know at all. Zhang Beihai realized that this was an opportune moment to uncover Wade's plan. Jiao Huanqi was easy for Wade to manipulate, but just as easy for him to manipulate. After all, Jiao Huanqi's political ambition called for him and Wade to join forces to reshape human civilization. He had no idea that covert probing and maneuvering were taking place between Zhang and Wade—that Wade was wary of his motives, while he wanted to fulfill his own mission, thwarting Wade and the 'Civilization Continuation' organization.
So Zhang Beihai reached out to Jiao Huanqi, clasping his hand, and said, "I am more than willing to do something for human society, and I often worry about the future of human civilization. Whether I am a man of the Common Era or you are of this era, we are all human beings. We all love our civilization, and we all hope for the Earth to prosper and not deteriorate. On this point, we are completely aligned!"
Jiao Huanqi was visibly moved. Gripping Zhang Beihai's hand, he said, "For the future prosperity of Earth's civilization, I am willing to lay down my old life!"
Zhang Beihai followed up by asking, "What do you think of our compatriot Wade's plan?"
Zhang Beihai gazed at Jiao Huanqi, hoping this gambit of an inquiry would bear fruit.
Jiao Huanqi nodded and said, "I have served on the Presidium Intelligence Committee for over five years, so I know a thing or two about the intelligence community. They aren't particularly fond of Zhu Ban right now either, and they plan to weaken his power and strike at his faction before the next election. You know Zhu Ban used to be an investor, an entrepreneur; his roots in the Coalition Government are very shallow. It's just that his secretary, Li Geyu, who has an ambiguous relationship with him, is formidable. That woman is morally bankrupt. She's also an entrepreneur, but her so-called biotech company deals in cosmetic surgery and trendy materials. Seven or eight years ago, I heard she began offering sex-change operations as well—just look at what she has turned today's young girls into! In this administration, the only person I find worthy of respect is Lu Youqi. I don't know why he supports Zhu Ban as well. But none of that matters; Zhu Ban is bound to fall sooner or later."
Zhang Beihai asked in surprise, "Oh? Why is that?"
Jiao Huanqi sighed and said, "The current Co-President, Zhu Ban, is an idealist—which is just another word for naive! He's naive enough to want to downsize the government, cut police forces, and slash intelligence agency budgets, causing widespread resentment against him among these law enforcement and security departments."
Zhang Beihai watched Wade out of the corner of his eye. Wade remained patient, seemingly having no intention of stopping Zhang Beihai from gathering intelligence from Jiao Huanqi.
Zhang Beihai continued to ask, "Who is Lu Youqi? Could we bring him into our ranks as well?"
Wade smiled slightly and said, "I don't think that's very likely."
Jiao Huanqi went on, "Lu Youqi suffers from naivety as well, though he makes keen observations on certain issues. For instance, he has a famous saying: 'Politics is downstream of culture.' That's true enough, but what kind of culture does the man who says this support? He supports a pile of garbage culture, such as the supposed traditional culture since the Great Migration. I'd love to ask him to his face: how on earth did the 'Great Migration' become traditional culture? How can something with barely fifty years of history be called a tradition? Besides, tradition isn't necessarily good; that Great Migration was clearly dregs. Originally, every one of us was a human being in a natural state. Take Mr. Zhang Beihai, for example: when you were born, some people around you liked playing video games, some liked playing basketball, some liked debating, and some liked fixing cars. These were naturally occurring things. This Great Migration bunched people with the same hobbies or specialties together, and the result is neither human nor ghost. The moment you're born, everyone around you is a mathematician—that is clearly a dysfunctional world! And this trend hasn't slowed down yet; it's utterly destroying humanity's future! On top of that, this Lu Youqi supports all kinds of cultures involving cosmetic surgery, bodily modifications, and the like. Are those the kinds of cultures that deserve support? In Mr. Zhang's era, a worker at a gaming factory might get a tattoo just to show he wasn't someone to be messed with. Now, people have gradually started using drugs and surgery to alter their bodies, turning themselves into grotesque shapes just to show strength or rebellion. Can such a culture be endorsed? We should make them work hard to earn others' respect for themselves, not respect their culture while watching them destroy themselves! In short, I could talk about these things for three days and three nights without finishing! As for Lu Youqi, I think we'd better proceed with caution; he's not one of us."
Zhang Beihai nodded and simply asked point-blank, "Old Jiao, walk me through the plan in detail again. Today happens to be a good time for the three of us to discuss the specifics together."
Jiao Huanqi nodded. He then disabled the surrounding communication field and displayed a proposal on the screen titled 'Action Outline 817.'
It was raining heavily in Canberra that day. Zhang Beihai could faintly hear the heavy drumming of raindrops against the windowpane, accompanied by occasional rumbles of thunder, and his heart trembled in sync with the document. Wade and Jiao Huanqi continued talking and laughing, discussing the plan. When the conversation grew spirited, Wade even recited a poem in German: 'General, Your Tank Is a Strong Vehicle.' Zhang Beihai, meanwhile, felt a mix of excitement, disorientation, and a faint touch of melancholy. Yet he knew that starting from that day, he seemed to have become a new man—or perhaps an ancient one. It was as if something encoded in his genes had been unlocked; his soul seemed capable of connecting to the moment Shakyamuni attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, to the moment Genghis Khan and the Golden Horde decided in their tents to launch campaigns in all directions, and to the moment Cao Cao stood facing east at Jieshi, looking out over the boundless ocean and finding the world small in comparison. The great river of history no longer surged chaotically toward Zhang Beihai; instead, he could clearly see every single pebble beneath the water, understanding precisely why the currents rushed as they did. Ethics and law, morality and common sense—they were like stars scattered across the sky, within his reach, ready to be held and turned in the palm of his hand.