Jiang Ye's mood was indescribable.
A wealthy family was truly a wealthy family; a single hair plucked from them was thicker than his own waist.
"If too many people are transferred at once, I fear I won't be able to control it," Jiang Ye said. "At most, transferring six million people at once would already put me under immense pressure."
"I have experience with this," said Pique, the planetary governor of Solari. "My planet, in just forty years, transformed from a barren wasteland to a great planet with a population of five billion. The method for dealing with large-scale immigration is actually very simple: first, instill fear in them through high-pressure, terroristic rule, making their lives dark and hopeless. Immediately after, relax the restrictions drastically, granting them complete freedom, even allowing polygamy and polyandry to be registered. This will send them into a frenzy of pleasure, leaving them with no mind for rebellion. The military must be strong, with their guns pointed inward. Wherever there is opposition, a massacre will be carried out. Their ashes, of course, will not cause you any trouble."
Jiang Ye was stunned into silence.
"Enough, Pique. The Galactic Empire has already criticized you by name. Don't bring such disgraceful scandals to harm newcomers."
"Brother Jiang, don't listen to him. Your planet is developing quite well, don't mess with it."
"Don't talk nonsense. Your method is too bloody, and it's not a way to manage a planet."
The other planetary governors objected one after another.
Jiang Ye also heard someone whisper a curse, "Bastard." He was startled, but judging by the expressions of others, no one else had heard it. He wondered if he had hallucinated.
"Are you considering artificial humans?" the beauty across from him asked, her voice soft and enchanting. She wore a low-cut yellow dress, her cleavage drawing attention.
Jiang Ye certainly remembered such a beauty, the planetary governor of Xiji, Yotsuya Yuki.
"Artificial humans? What type are you referring to?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Artificial humans who are exactly like normal humans, or perhaps artificial humans superior to ordinary humans," Yotsuya Yuki smiled, becoming even more beautiful as she did. "If needed, I have a specialized artificial human group that can set various parameters. They are very mature products."
"My thinking is rather conservative. This technology of artificial humans... could it cause major social ethical and moral problems?" Jiang Ye was very worried.
"There are some issues, but they are not significant," Wen Qiurou said casually from across the table.
The other planetary governors had varied expressions, some clearly accepting, others not.
"What kind of ethical or moral issues are you concerned about?" Yotsuya Yuki asked.
"Too many. Creating living beings out of thin air will inevitably lead to problems," Jiang Ye rubbed his nose. "For example, will artificial humans be discriminated against by normal humans? Will open discrimination against one's own kind lead to a cold-hearted citizenry? When children are young and ignorant, they will follow adults in discriminating against artificial humans. One day, they will also discriminate against ordinary people, discriminate against this and that, and society will be filled with violence and disdain. This is not conducive to long-term development."
"If no one knows who is an artificial human, then discrimination cannot arise," Yotsuya Yuki smiled very gently, like a kind female teacher explaining simple questions to children.
"How is that possible?" Jiang Ye was taken aback. "Although artificial humans can look exactly like real humans, they have no parents, no experience of growing up from childhood. The moment someone asks them, they'll be exposed. They might even look down on themselves, feeling like a product rather than a soul-filled person."
"It's all about memories," Yotsuya Yuki's smile remained unchanged, but it felt more profound. "Memories can be fabricated, and identities can be fabricated as well."
Jiang Ye had not expected to receive this answer.
"Let me tell you something truthfully. This is an absolute secret on our planet. If someone who knows this escapes to a village, they might flatten the village immediately to prevent the news from leaking. But since you are all planetary governors, it's not a big deal," Yotsuya Yuki said unhurriedly.
"Xiji Planet initiated its artificial human project seventy years ago. Currently, a total of two hundred and eighty million ordinary artificial humans and eight hundred and ten million elite artificial humans have been manufactured. Except for a few that were destroyed due to technical reasons, most of them have been fully integrated into society, like drops of water merging into the ocean. Almost no artificial humans have been identified, and almost no artificial humans realize they are different from others," Yotsuya Yuki said. "Seventy years of practice have proven that our series of technologies and procedures are perfect and without issues."
"Our planet also has seven to eight hundred million artificial humans, basically all social elites, such as entrepreneurs, high-ranking military officials, celebrities, and intellectuals in schools. Only two genes have been modified: resilience and rebelliousness. These artificial humans are more capable of enduring hardship and are more persistent, thus more likely to succeed. After controlling important social resources, they are also relatively stable and well-behaved, saving me a lot of trouble," Wen Qiurou said, her tone very flat. "No one knows. Those who know are fewer than a thousand people, and out of these thousand people, 950 will never enter society, living their entire lives in underground factories, like moles."
Jiang Ye shivered.
"I need to consider this carefully," Jiang Ye said.
"After the meeting, please come to my place. I'll show you some things, and you should agree," Yotsuya Yuki said gently. "We are in a meeting now, so I won't take up everyone's time."
"Then let's put the population issue aside for now and wait for Jiang Ye to decide whether he wants artificial humans," Liu Shuzeng said. "These are all my proposals."
Next to Liu Shuzeng sat a black girl.
"What Brother Liu said is what I could think of," the black girl shook her head.
The next person was Fang Yan, the planetary governor of Gaohang New Star, a bald fat man.
"There's a technology called a warp chain," Fang Yan said, chewing on candy. "My scientists say that with the size of Jiang Ye's star, we can try to implement a warp chain."
All the planetary governors listened attentively. Fang Yan seemed satisfied and continued speaking while chewing candy.
"I don't have much education, so I don't know the principle of a warp chain. But it is said that this technology can effectively overcome the strong signal interference from the sun and transmit core information. It will briefly pass through the sun like a chain, and it's instantaneous. The downside is that it's very expensive. One warp chain lasts for half a minute at most and costs one billion. This means that to get one hour of solar core data, it would cost twelve billion, and there's no guarantee of obtaining useful information."
"So, you all decide. If you want to try, I'll have my people come. The cost will be split fifty-fifty, I'll pay half, and you'll pay half."
"We can try," Jiang Ye said immediately. "We don't have many good options right now, and we must try any glimmer of hope."
"Alright, that's all for me," Fang Yan sat down.