Not only were the folks on the Astral Express easy to talk to, but they even threw Noldrei a welcoming party.
The party itself was nothing elaborate, as the benefits Noldrei had brought from the Xianzhou far outweighed its cost.
He hadn't just secured the friendship and aid of the Xianzhou; he had also established a connection with the Divination Commission and even resolved some of Dan Heng's past troubles.
All in all, the future of the Express was looking bright.
Everyone was curious about the "proliferationist" ideology Noldrei had mentioned, and even more so about the "geneticism" that preceded it.
As companions on the Express, one of their favorite pastimes was chatting about the many interesting worlds scattered across the cosmos.
"We won't be leaving the Xianzhou right away," Mr. Yang said. "On General Jing Yuan's recommendation, there are a few matters we need to attend to."
"For example, the Vidyadhara power within Dan Heng. We need to see if we can help the next High Elder shoulder their responsibilities."
"March 7th as well. She wants to ask the Master Diviner to help divine some memories of her past. She's hoping to find the truth of her origins. These are things we need to take care of as soon in the coming days."
Mr. Yang briefly explained the reasons for the train's extended stay on the Xianzhou. These were relatively simple tasks that would only take a day or two to complete.
He looked at Noldrei. "During these two days, you can have Stelle show you around and introduce you to everyone on the train. That's also why we're throwing this welcoming party for you."
Noldrei was currently observing Pom-Pom. He found the Conductor's appearance quite intriguing; the fluffy creature reminded him of many animal protagonists from cartoons.
The little thing was gobbling down food, seemingly unable to leave the train at will. Noldrei wondered if there was a deeper reason for it.
"I'm fine, but a rather awkward incident occurred before I left, which led to some unfortunate misunderstandings. So, for the time being, I can't accompany you to see the Master Diviner."
Noldrei didn't elaborate on the misunderstanding, but those who had a vague idea of what happened wore subtle expressions.
He pulled the conversation back on track. "The so-called 'proliferationism' is a new form of civilization that arises when humanity masters the power of life's reproduction and develops it continuously. Its foundation is built upon the dialectical relationship between development and contradiction."
"In our typical understanding of civilizational development, isn't there a common saying? 'Trust in the wisdom of future generations.' To put it simply, proliferationism is the infinite shortening of life's reproduction cycle, thereby extending the experience of life, the power of the individual, and the power of the collective. Through these three methods, new life is integrated into social conflicts, creating a new future for humanity with their new wisdom."
"In such a system, organizers must constantly create more equal and efficient organizations, and laborers must constantly create more excellent and convenient products. Wisdom is constantly devalued and cheapened in the process of life's reproduction."
"Sounds like a wonderful society, doesn't it?"
Noldrei raised an eyebrow, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
Although March 7th didn't fully understand, she could still sense how comfortable life must be for humans in such a society.
The others on the train exchanged glances, unsure of what Noldrei meant by his question.
"I won't keep you in suspense. In the early stages of its history, it was indeed like that. It even gave rise to unique phases like the private ownership of life production, the collective ownership of life production, and the public ownership of life production."
"But the essence remains the same. In this social state, human wisdom can be produced, human activity can be guaranteed, and human endeavors are destined for success."
"And the result of this was a mad world. The human will became unbreakably firm to the point of insanity. Contradictions and struggles between people were constantly refreshed and changed every moment. An astonishing rate of development pushed all of human civilization to an explosive peak."
"Everyone is replaceable. Everyone is producible. Everyone possesses the power to inevitably realize their own will. Thus, struggle and contradiction become a constant, omnipresent state, to the point where humanity itself cannot stop it."
"Even if there are differences in strength, the weaker ones believe their will must be realized, and they will not hesitate to sacrifice their own lives to achieve it. And the organizations these people create all possess the power of life's reproduction. You can imagine what happens next."
Even without Noldrei continuing, Mr. Yang could guess what would follow.
Humanity would be born through a continuous process of proliferation, further strengthening and solidifying the human will on a material basis.
This was the so-called "proliferationism."
Noldrei explained, "I am a super-lifeform produced in such a society, with the purpose of changing this proliferationist social state of constant struggle and contradiction. But therein lies the problem. To oppose such a system, I must possess power no less than that of proliferationism itself. And to possess such power, I must inevitably walk the same path as proliferationism."
"It's less about the reproduction of life and more about the reproduction of life's wisdom."
"As for geneticism... that's the social path that precedes the reproduction of life. It's the creation of a new power that can achieve the reproduction of life, allowing everyone to cheaply create new life. In other words, it allows every human to freely choose whether to possess the power of a maternal figure."
"Because the essence of geneticism is the high degree of control over the human genome, and using genes as an anchor to determine the value system of society, a geneticist society is the primitive form from which proliferationism develops. It is also the inevitable choice for humanity to break the shackles of biological reproduction."
"For example, on my Earth right now, I possess the genetic data of all humanity, as does the Kaslana family that controls all human genetic information. Although the genetic information is used for the development of all humanity, the ownership of the genes lies in the hands of the Kaslanas."
"This has led to a situation where all human genes are concentrated in the hands of the Kaslanas through a form of feudal power."
"The current social form of my home is a geneticist society under the private ownership of genes."
A cold sweat broke out on everyone's foreheads as they stared at Noldrei in stunned silence.
They could roughly imagine what a society with private ownership of genes would be like. They could even guess why Noldrei had taken the initiative to leave his home planet and venture into the cosmos.