Chapter 170: Democracy

Once the major retrofitting plan for the ship was finalized, a massive fleet of construction robots was deployed.

First, they systematically sealed the thermal vents using heavy-duty, heat-resistant materials. Then, they released compressed air reserves and began a large-scale cooling operation using stored ice to stabilize the ambient temperatures.

All residential and structural modifications proceeded smoothly. The Federation spared no expense, allocating precious mineral resources to complete these essential facilities. Intelligent machinery handled the bulk of the labor, with humans serving only as supervisors, resulting in rapid progress.

For any individual, survival is the absolute priority. Only after basic survival needs are met can a society address safety, psychological health, or self-actualization. The Federation’s leadership understood this hierarchy perfectly.

What humanity truly lacked now were inorganic fertilizers, specifically nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as well as organic matter for manufacturing plastics and paper, and above all, freshwater. These items might seem mundane, but they were the absolute bedrock of daily life.

Most modern crops were grown hydroponically. Once fertilizers were absorbed by the plants, they were incredibly difficult to reclaim and recycle. Similarly, while plastics and paper could technically be recycled, they often became contaminated with use, causing efficiency rates to drop.

Other materials, like heavy metals, were rarely consumed in daily civilian life, so Jason didn’t need to worry about them. As for energy… with the new geothermal power plants coming online, power wouldn’t be a concern for at least several decades.

Therefore, the scientific laboratories had ample materials and power, ensuring that humanity’s technological progress wouldn’t stagnate. This brought Jason some relief. In this universe, technological supremacy was paramount.

However… the severe shortage of daily necessities was a looming crisis.

Material wealth is the ultimate guarantor of survival; a deficit here would inevitably degrade every aspect of society. A lack of fertilizers and inorganic salts meant a sharp decline in the diversity and nutritional quality of their food. The water shortage meant that simple pleasures, like taking a hot shower, would become an extreme luxury. The overall standard of living was going to plummet.

Drifting in the void, they couldn’t simply strip-mine a planet to supply their population like they had on Mars. The stockpiles aboard the Noah were all that remained of human wealth; every single drop was precious. They had no choice but to embrace extreme frugality.

Although the spaceship was equipped with advanced material recycling systems, they weren’t 100% efficient. Trace amounts were inevitably lost during every cycle. Over time, those tiny losses added up to a massive deficit.

It is easy to upgrade your lifestyle, but agonizingly hard to downgrade it. Who wants to live in poverty when they’ve grown accustomed to comfort? Material scarcity easily breeds discontent, kills work ethic, and can eventually spark social unrest. This was a nightmare scenario the Federation desperately wanted to avoid.

While unrest hadn’t fermented yet, who could guarantee the future? No one knew if long-suppressed frustrations would eventually boil over.

Resource scarcity is a massive problem, Jason sighed internally.

To tackle this crisis, Jason, Professor Shane, Evan, and other senior Federation officials held a series of intense strategic meetings. They ultimately narrowed it down to a few potential solutions.

The first option was economic manipulation.

The Federation could deliberately inflate the prices of daily necessities to weaken the purchasing power of Federation credits, thereby forcibly reducing consumption and quality of life. However, this would inevitably trigger massive public outrage. Even if the citizens were paid enough to scrape by, they would feel cheated.

These hard times would persist until the Noah intercepted a viable exoplanet.

“But this would destroy the Federation’s public image,” Professor Shane noted. “It would look like the government is actively robbing the people of their livelihoods.”

If you reasoned with the citizens, they would understand the logic temporarily. But logic doesn’t soothe an empty stomach. In the long run, resentment would build.

Shane sighed. “Even if we secure a new planet and restore their quality of life, the Federation’s credibility will be ruined. The unity and mobility of our civilization will never be the same… It’s easy to break a society’s trust, but nearly impossible to rebuild it.”

Jason frowned. “Exactly. That’s my biggest fear.”

Core livelihood issues, food, housing, healthcare, transportation, and education were the most immediate and practical concerns of the populace. Mishandling them was a guaranteed recipe for chaos, which the Federation had to avoid at all costs. How could a fractured civilization with a crumbling government expect to survive the perilous expanse of deep space? The slightest internal conflict could wipe them out completely!

Thus, rigid economic manipulation was off the table.

The second option was total militarization: implementing a strict, universal rationing system.

In reality, the outcome was the same as the first method, but it might generate slightly less resentment. At least under martial law, everyone suffered equally. It was forced egalitarianism; even if people felt wronged, they couldn’t point fingers at a privileged class.

However, the drawbacks of a one-size-fits-all rationing system were glaring. It was overly rigid and historically destroyed civilian motivation and innovation. Jason was deeply reluctant to declare martial law unless it was the absolute last resort.

The council debated further, the weight of the dilemma pressing down on them.

It seemed practically impossible to force extreme frugality while simultaneously preventing public unrest!

“Right now, if we just release the shortage data to the public, they would probably volunteer to conserve resources out of sheer survival instinct…” Professor Shane suggested.

Jason nodded. The citizens aboard the Noah were highly educated and pragmatic. It was highly likely they would spontaneously adopt a frugal lifestyle to ensure collective survival.

But the real question was: could they maintain that discipline in the long run without strict enforcement? It was highly doubtful. If even one person started acting selfishly and living extravagantly, others would look at them and ask, Why should I suffer when they aren’t? It was the classic tragedy. One bad apple ruins the bunch.

The room fell into a heavy, defeated silence…

“I think we should put it to a public vote. Let democracy solve the problem,” Evan suddenly spoke up.

“We publish the exact data on our material shortages. We lay all our cards on the table. Then, we let the citizens themselves vote on what their monthly production quotas should be. They decide the quality of their food rations, their water allowances, and their access to consumer goods.”

“When the Federation makes the hard choices, we become the bad guys,” Evan explained. “But if they make the choice themselves, even if they vote for a brutal standard of living they have no one to blame but themselves. They will own the hardship.”

Jason stroked his chin, nodding slowly. Having acted as the supreme commander for so long, he had inadvertently slipped into a dictatorial mindset, assuming he had to single-handedly dictate every aspect of their lives. It was an exhausting, thankless approach.

Authoritarianism has its place. In a life-or-death crisis, a dictator can make split-second decisions that save a civilization. But in times of relative stability, it inexplicably breeds resentment.

“The citizens of the Noah are highly educated and capable of critical thought. If we give them the hard data, they will logically conclude that extreme frugality is our only path forward. And when they make that choice… they won’t blame us for the resulting drop in living standards. The Federation’s credibility remains intact,” Evan concluded seriously.

Jason looked at Evan, realizing that underneath his upright, scholarly exterior, the man possessed a ruthlessly cunning political mind.

However, Jason couldn’t deny the brilliance of the strategy. Letting the people vote on their own austerity measures was the perfect solution.

This was the true utility of democracy… In reality, the final outcome was already mathematically predetermined by their sheer lack of resources, but the illusion of choice made it palatable.

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit Jason. “We can actually take this a step further…”

“Could we use this crisis as an opportunity to build a truly unified, harmonious society?”

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