Caged Humanity

Chapter 4: Public Enemy of Humanity

"Thirty years from now, at the Copenhagen Conference in 2042, an event occurred that was significant enough to be recorded in the history of all humanity."

"At that conference, where the future path of the entire human race was being discussed, a scientist made a statement that greatly unsettled the people of Earth at that time."

"Based on his own childhood experiences, his study of past history, and his observation of human behavior, that scientist expressed his disappointment and dissatisfaction with humanity."

"That scientist said that humans were undoubtedly highly intelligent creatures. However, the mechanism of fairness that should have spread throughout human society had never been fully realized. In fact, in any era, complete fairness had never truly been possible."

"Humans love to create convenience for themselves. This is especially true inside state institutions formed to serve humanity. Public officials who hold public power often like to damage the interests of others for their own benefit."

"From ancient times to the present, corruption, bribery, and the trade between power and money have never truly been eliminated. Those with power can ensure that their children attend the best schools, buy houses at the lowest prices, and receive the best medical care. But humans without power must bear unfair social opportunities, high housing prices, high education costs, high medical expenses, and countless other burdens. For ordinary people who have no public power, gaining that power is as difficult as climbing to the heavens."

"Humans enjoy selfishness and self-interest. This is something that cannot be changed. In matters of public power, there is often a strange situation where the state itself is not necessarily wrong, but the humans who execute public power are wrong. In some serious countries or regions, the entire administrative structure can become rotten, and the whole area can be thrown into chaos."

"That scientist always claimed that he was a scientist. The purpose of a scientist, he said, was to make human life happier. However, no matter how much research was carried out in previous fields, it seemed impossible to achieve a state where all humans could live fairly and happily."

"Therefore, this scientist began to think about what kind of invention or creation could allow all humans to receive fairness and preserve justice for everyone."

"At first, the scientist believed that more and better technological products should be invented to provide better services for humanity. But very soon, he discovered that this was a bottomless pit. No matter how much resources were released, humans, as masters, would still consciously or unconsciously divide people into ranks and carry out exploitation."

"Later, by a very accidental opportunity, the scientist thought of a method."

"If humans, when standing as masters, could never achieve complete equality, then what if all humans became slaves to some other existence? Would that not make them equal?"

The girl's voice was soft. It was clear that she was only repeating facts. But when Yuan Ling heard this, he still could not help being slightly shocked. He pushed up the glasses on his nose, lowered his head in thought, and muttered to himself, "Make everyone... become slaves?"

"After thinking and verification, this scientist proposed a bold theory. That theory was to place all human beings under the rule of robots. Machines have no emotional factors. Machines do not accept bribes. Machines do not bend the law for personal gain. As long as the public security, prosecution, and judicial institutions of the state are completely handed over to robots, and humans are governed by robots, the most perfect fair society will be obtained."

Yuan Ling supported his chin with one hand. The energy-saving lamp above his head continued to shine steadily. Outside the window, it was still completely dark, but that did not affect this man's thinking at all.

The girl took a sip of tea and continued speaking.

"This proposal immediately met with opposition from many other countries around the world. However, that scientist did not demand that other countries accept the proposal immediately. After all, he was only Chinese, and at that point, he had only transformed China's governmental power structure."

"It was at that time that people from other countries finally realized that the Chinese government officials attending that conference were, in fact, all robots."

"It was also after that conference that ordinary citizens at the grassroots level in China learned that the government which had managed them for thirty years had already been replaced, one by one, by robots."

"Although the words 'rule' and 's*****y' were used, their true meaning was still quite different from their literal meaning. Humans could continue living exactly as before, without any additional restrictions. The only difference was that every unit functioning as part of state power had been replaced by robots."

"For example, in modern society, hidden manipulation in government construction bidding projects is countless. Various forms of so-called 'reciprocity' often prevent truly capable companies from winning bids, while companies specializing in poor-quality projects obtain those contracts instead. But if the government becomes robotic, such a result becomes completely impossible. A machine government will not accept bribes, and all kinds of hidden manipulation will be completely eliminated. Everything will be decided by genuine ability. That is truly beneficial to social fairness."

"Another example is schools. If a school semi-forcibly requires students to pay various fees, even if parents are unwilling, they will still hand over their money under many forms of so-called 'voluntary' payment. Teachers often turn a blind eye to this. Under ordinary circumstances, even if you complain, it will probably be useless. The current government will not bother to deal with such a small matter and will tell you to go to the school. But the school will not deal with it either. In the end, you can only swallow the injustice."

"But when the state is controlled by robots, you can file complaints and reports at any time. Because they are machines, there will be no situation where matters pile up and cannot be handled in time. No matter what the issue is, no matter how small it is, it will be handled properly. The robots will urge the school administration to deal with the incident within a time limit. After the matter has been handled, the machine government will also send feedback to the student and ask whether the student accepts the result. If the student does not agree, the case will be required to be handled again."

"Under the rule of robots, it is not fantasy for an elementary school student to bring down a school principal and destroy an illegal profit chain inside a school. Everyone will have a place where reason can be heard."

"The days when petitioners are rejected will become history. Expensive housing prices will be immediately suppressed. A government without private interests or personal emotions is precisely the fairest government. Only in this way can there be a truly perfect human society."

At this point, the girl's explanation temporarily came to an end.

Yuan Ling listened until here and nodded slightly. He stood up, took the thermos, poured another cup of hot water for the girl, and placed it in front of her.

"In other words... this was the statement of a scientist who wanted to use robots to rule humanity. Then what happened after that?"