T/N: This chapter has some interesting philosophical values, please read it only for entertainment and don't take it too seriously.
Took some time translating this chapter. I had too check the meanings, the references, if it matches correctly and modify some extreme examples.
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Seeing everyone in the chat praising Furina.
In Xia Wen's mind. Furina's barely suppressed smug laughter immediately surfaced.
He chuckled softly, not minding it. Just let the silly Furina enjoy it.
...
At this moment, somewhere far away.
Inside the dinner hall of the Okhema Theatre, everyone was having a lovely group meal.
"Wow, so this is Furina's money power?"
Tribios poked at her phone screen and said, "This consultant's words sound really impressive, like he's the kind of guy with strong influence in both the light and dark sides of society."
"Eh?" Furina, who was eating macaroni on the side, froze: "Both light and dark sides?"
"Yeah."
Tribios nodded. "Look at that 'subtle field' he specifically mentioned. Hehe, there must be a hidden meaning behind it. Hey, he's your consultant, Furina. You don't know?"
Seeing Tribios's gaze, Furina immediately coughed and pretended to say, "Me? O-of course I know. I-I just didn't want to scare you, so I didn't mention it."
Tribios instantly made a "just as expected" expression. Aglaea, sitting nearby, smiled as she listened to everyone's discussion.
To her, the joining of Furina's consultant had indeed helped the theatre greatly.
After all, most people here were absorbed in the arts, and when it came to real-world issues, sometimes relying on oneself simply wasn't enough.
All at once, Aglaea felt a lot of weight lift off her shoulders.
She felt a bit emotional.
She had once gritted her teeth and persisted for the sake of the Okhema Theatre and her dream, not knowing when she would ever see an end.
And yet now, everything was slowly getting better.
I was in Arcadia and Heart of the Spring's performances had already run several times.
Not just in this little place, its reputation had even spread to the cities. In the past few days, many people had travelled long distances just to see these two new shows of the Okhema.
Next, they needed recognition from a higher level. To make the Okhema theatre more famous.
By then, half her dream would be complete.
Even though Aglaea's idealism made her indifferent to fame, she was still a realist, and she understood that only higher recognition could pave the way for the future of Okhema.
To let more people see them. During this time, naturally, many practical issues had to be solved.
But Aglaea had never told anyone; she kept them all inside, because real-world problems would heavily affect everyone's morale and cause unnecessary worry.
Now that there was this consultant, maybe she could ask him for advice.
Just as Aglaea was lost in thought. The conversation at the table caught her attention.
"The latest episode of Honkai: Star Rail is really interesting."
"MiHoYo presented Nietzschean philosophy in a way that modern people can accept more easily."
"I noticed that ever since Penacony, MiHoYo's method to bring in new concepts has become more and more subtle."
The one speaking was Anaxagoras.
As a researcher, he was the one who took the philosophical references, precious like gold but obscure and hard to understand, and explained them to others so that they could understand.
Tribios nodded in agreement. "I noticed too! And the relation between Dr. Primitive and the Nietzschean philosophy, it's full of metaphor and interesting meaning!"
Anaxagoras raised a brow. "As expected, you noticed it too."
The discussion between the two left the others confused.
Phainon scratched his head.
"Teachers, what are you talking about? I… sorta don't understand."
Mydeimos crossed his arms and stayed silent, pretending to be a master, but he didn't understand either.
"Hmph, let me help you understand then." Anaxagoras snorted proudly, then began explaining to the group.
He started with the most important part first.
There is a part in Thus Spoke Zarathustra where Nietzsche went wild and started scolding everything.
Its core idea was that Nietzsche believed the consensus of human society was collapsing.
The collective narratives built by our ancestors (past civilizations) were being worn away in the new era.
Many dark-humor memes actually originated from this core idea. For example: "Pope, how many wives do you have? Should I marry and then have s**."
This is a classic example of what happens after faith collapses.
In the old era, theocracy was the absolute ruler of the world. It could judge others at will through spiritual authority, until physical judgment replaced it.
Before, the value of a person's actions was determined by that shared worldview.
If you die for God, your death has meaning. It has value.
Respecting elders, loving the young, kindness, perseverance, helping others in need, these were universal values that didn't require books to teach you.
But even that system was collapsing.
People discovered that saving others doesn't guarantee gratitude, sometimes it even puts you in danger.
Doing good only gets you called a "saint," and nothing else.
Working hard doesn't guarantee results. Helping someone in trouble often leads to serious consequences.
The result of this is that no one believes in following the faith or god anymore. Since everything done under the previous values has no meaning or value,
'Why should we bother?'
Everyone becomes more self-centred, yet also lost.
This is the universal crisis of nihilism. In simpler terms: existential burnout.
And also the phrase: "None of my damn business; none of your damn business."
Nietzsche's "God is dead" refers precisely to this state of collapsed values. There is no unified standard for how people should act, so society keeps tearing itself apart, over and over.
Moreover, in modern times, a moral standard in one civilization could be considered evil in another.
...
Examples from the Honkai Star Rail can be taken in this case:
When Umbra Headmistress scolded Kucha, she gave examples of warped morality.
In the Pegasus Principality, bipedal creatures are slaves to quadrupedal creatures from birth.
On another planet, morality is that blue-eyed people are forbidden from walking the streets.
On some other planet, morality is that the second-born son must be offered as a sacrifice to Nanook no questions asked.
...
The reason for these things, Nietzsche believed, is that the world is divided into two kinds of people: slaves who follow others, and masters who create rules.
Slaves only follow the moral rules created by the masters, while masters create their own morals which they are comfortable with.
"All that I do or think is justice."
In Star Rail's last episodes final part, Master Kucha reaches this state.
He no longer blindly follows the arguments of others, but firmly believes that he is right, he is correct. He directly executes Umbra Headmistress.
No matter what Umbra Headmistress says, he sticks to one principle: this is her karma.
"I'm killing you because I want to."
The evolution of "Master Kucha" is also Nietzsche's proposed solution to the crisis brought about by "God/Faith is dead."
The Will to Power and the Übermensch philosophy.
The so-called Will to Power means that humans possess a continuous drive to move upward and progress.
Its most direct expression is desire. And this will drives people to constantly create miracles.
But in today's climate of collapsing faith, many people have abandoned this will and instead embraced nihilism.
In Nietzsche's eyes, those who fall into nihilism have abandoned the primal drive that pushes humanity to continue "evolving."
In the end, they're no different from a group of monkeys.
Once you understand this, going back to look at Dr. Primitive becomes subtly different.
Those worlds mentioned by Umbra Headmistress, in the end, all have become stagnant and rigid.
Because they too, lost the ability to continue evolving, to continue moving forward. Whether worship or slavery, none of their actions reflected the Will to Power inherent in life itself.
What's most ridiculous is that Dr. Primitive might genuinely believe he's doing good.
His moral values and worldview are undoubtedly the same as most of his colleagues in the Genius Club, possessing grand ideals and visions. And for the sake of achieving these goals, he doesn't see any issue with the people who die along the way.
Applying universal labels like good and evil to someone like this is pure nonsense.
After Anaxagoras finished delivering an entire lecture-like speech… Everyone at the table fell quiet.
They all had a solid understanding of philosophy; otherwise they wouldn't be thinking about creating a script like Amphoreus.
"Since we've talked about Faith and the Will to Power, next is the Übermensch philosophy, also the part Tribios just mentioned, the most interesting part."
Anaxagoras drank a sip of water to moisten his throat, then continued.
The so-called Übermensch philosophy, is about a spiritual setting; what matters is spiritual breakthrough and evolution.
But in many people's understanding, Übermensch* is simply… an evolved human.
Genetically enhanced, or someone whose physique, intelligence, and strength vastly surpass normal humans.
Nietzsche's idea is: Übermenschen mostly grow in unfavorable environments; torment and suffering only make them stronger.
They transcend concepts of good and evil, always walking confidently on the path they know is right…
Ordinary people will never truly understand the Übermensch.
Yet most people interpret the Übermensch as strength, genes, something biological.
So if you look again at Rappa's story, you'll find that Rappa, who sounds mentally off when she speaks, was seen by the researchers as a failed product.
Yet she perfectly fits Nietzsche's Übermensch philosophy!
She is the true Übermensch!
Suffering and torment still allowed her spirit to grow stronger and break the known laws, and she firmly walked her own chosen path.
So how would Dr. Primitive, whose values aligns similarly with Nietzsche, view Rappa?
If Dr. Primitive were a bit more abstract, he might just yell: "Holy crap, human!"
"This is Mihoyo's most amazing point."
"We don't know Dr. Primitive's personality or life."
"But through indirect description, we can identify this person completely within a fictional world purely through his philosophical values."
"We can even fully understand this person's spirit."
After Anaxagoras finished saying this, he spread his hands. "So this is what Tribios meant earlier by 'the interesting part.'"
"How would Dr. Primitive, who believes in such a spirit, view Rappa?"
"In Nietzsche's theory, reaching the Übermensch requires three stages."
"The camel, the lion, the child."
"The camel obeys others' orders, lives by others' will, and lives within a value system created by others, bearing the pain it 'ought' to bear."
"The lion makes its own decisions, takes responsibility for itself, chooses its own path, consciously rebels against fate, and struggles with it."
"And the child symbolizes infinite possibility, a state of complete freedom."
Just as everyone was listening intently, Anaxagoras suddenly stopped. "Alright, Phainon, you answer: which stage is Rappa in?"
A sense of being called on during dinner by the teacher washed over Phainon.
He stiffly stood up, thought for a moment, and said weakly, "Uh… the lion?"
"Correct." Anaxagoras nodded.
The oppressive feeling over Phainon's head dispersed; he took a breath and obediently sat down.
"Rappa broke through the research facility and chose her own path, transforming from a Ninja Initiate into a Ninja Hero, that's the camel becoming the lion."
"But, in this storyline, there's one person who reaches the child stage. Mydeimos, your turn."
Anaxagoras turned to Mydeimos.
Even Mydeimos, who always acted like a master, felt the pressure explode at this moment.
But he didn't hesitate and answered directly: "Boothill…"
"Huh?"
Anaxagoras said in surprise, "You actually got it right? Explain why."
Mydeimos coughed awkwardly. "Because in the episode, only Boothill became a child."
"..." Anaxagoras fell silent.
Tribios giggled beside her. "Don't get mad~ His answer is also very 'child-like,' you know."
Anaxagoras ultimately didn't blow up.
Instead, he explained Boothill's "child" stage.
"The so-called child is returning to innocence, and after Boothill's regression, he still stayed true to the path he chose, kept his will firm, 'defeat evil.'"
"In the philosophy we just discussed, this is the final stage of the Übermensch."
Everyone finally understood. They also finally grasped what Tribios meant when she said it felt 'subtle.'
"No wonder… earlier web leaks said Dr. Primitive and the Galaxy Rangers are deeply entangled."
Hyacine held her chin and analyzed, "Looking at it now, in Dr. Primitive's eyes, the Galaxy Rangers are practically a group of perfect Übermenschen who meet all his criteria."
The clever Hyacine's eyes lit up, and she reached a conclusion.
"So Dr. Primitive is just a hardcore Galaxy Rangers-only fan!"
Hearing this, Anaxagoras clenched his fist so tightly the veins bulged. He felt like all his years of teaching had gone to waste.
He wanted them to learn how to modernize philosophical thought!!
Where on earth did this 'hardcore-fan' theory come from?!
'I swear, these idiots…!!'
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*Übermensch/ Übermenschen - the ideal superior man of the future who could rise above conventional Christian morality to create and impose his own values, originally described by Nietzsche in Thus Spake Zarathustra.
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T/N: I agree with Rappa's example and Boothill's example (not 100%) but I'm not sure about the other Galaxy Rangers.
And about Dr. Primitive, we don't know much about him so can't be sure.