Chapter 70: Ironclad Order

To achieve the monumental goal of doubling production in six months, their only hope was science.

Relying solely on manpower to double their output was a mathematical impossibility; it could only be achieved through extreme mechanization! They needed one machine to build ten, and those ten to build a hundred. Only through an explosive, exponential scaling of automated manufacturing could productivity meet the demands of the new era.

But even that wasn’t enough. Machines had to manage machines. Humans would step back to handle only the initial design architecture and top-level maintenance.

Therefore, “automation,” “artificial intelligence,” and “robotics” became the holy trinity of the new blueprint.

At the center of this blueprint stood the cornerstone of their new heavy industry: the Aegis Industrial Complex!

“…I, Ivanovich, accept the mantle as the first Director of the Aegis Industrial Complex… I swear I will not fail you. I will complete this mandate, and I will achieve total automation!”

The middle-aged engineer had stepped up to the podium simply to introduce himself, but as he spoke, his adrenaline spiked. His eyes burned with sudden, fervent intensity. He raised his fists, spontaneously swearing an oath to the entire assembly, his voice rising to a roar.

“For the Federation, I will give everything I have! I will double our industrial output in record time!”

“We will forge our future in electricity and steel!”

He stood there, face flushed, fists clenched, caught in a state of absolute industrial ecstasy.

In the audience sat dozens of his colleagues, engineers and heavy-machinery specialists hailing from the old Siberian Sectors of Earth. They were a tight-knit group, and hearing Ivanovich’s impassioned roar ignited something fierce within them.

If a super-factory of this scale were fully realized, its automated productivity could rival that of an entire pre-collapse nation! As the men and women chosen to build it, how could they not be thrilled?

“Urah! Urah!” The engineers roared in unison, chanting the ancient battle cry of their ancestors. The Aegis Industrial Complex, the project they had dreamed of for months, was finally a reality. They cheered, completely abandoning their professional decorum, honored to be part of such a titan of industry.

Everyone who had read the master blueprint knew that this wasn’t just manufacturing. This was grand industry. The kind of industry that made an engineer’s blood boil with purpose!

This tidal wave of passion and vitality quickly swept over the other department heads and Council members in the room.

In truth, this wasn’t on the meeting agenda. Ivanovich, acting as if possessed by the spirit of the forge, had gone off-script to make a binding public oath, an ironclad guarantee of success or ruin. He was simply too elated to hold back.

Steel and heavy machinery were practically a religion to these people. They had a relentless, unyielding spirit in their bones, tales of their ancestors surviving frozen wastelands, drinking harsh synthesized spirits, and driving massive armored crawlers were legendary. They had once formed the most formidable industrial bloc on Earth, the old Soviet Bloc. Over the decades, that dominance had vanished, but the wild, fighting spirit had never truly died out.

But it wasn’t just them. Every single person in that room yearned for strength. And the only way to become strong was through the relentless march of industry!

Back on Earth, Ivanovich had been a world-renowned engineer. He had served as the chief director of several massive military-industrial projects. Both his resume and his raw talent made him the perfect man for this job. However, the pre-collapse economy had never been robust enough to fully realize his grandest ambitions. He had often sighed, regretting that he hadn’t been born in a golden age of limitless expansion.

But here, today, Ivanovich had found his life’s ultimate purpose. The Aegis Industrial Complex would embody the absolute pinnacle of the Federation’s manufacturing capabilities, and he was ready to dedicate the rest of his life to it!

And so, he put his head on the chopping block with a public oath of execution.

Standing tall at the podium, the man was well over fifty, one of the older veterans aboard The Noah yet he was vibrating with the unchecked enthusiasm of a young man. The slight tremble in his booming voice proved how genuinely moved he was.

The Aegis Industrial Complex would be responsible for fabricating all heavy machinery, automated assembly lines, and AI robotics for the colonies. The weight of the civilization rested on its steel shoulders.

“Urah! Urah!”

Caught in the frenzy, the directors of the other major enterprises practically sprinted to the stage one after another. They were all brilliant scientists and veteran engineers; none of them were ordinary individuals.

“I am Sullivan, stepping up as the Director of the Advanced AI Laboratory…”

“I am William, Director of the Federation Ore Refinery…”

One by one, the department heads took the stage. Some were visibly thrilled; others looked perfectly calm. But whether they had originally planned to or not, every single one of them followed Ivanovich’s lead, swearing their own ironclad oaths to double their sector’s output.

There was simply no other choice. Once the fire had started, it couldn’t be extinguished. Everyone else was making blood oaths; how could you sit in silence? The entire Council was watching! Even if they had to grit their teeth, they had to make the pledge!

And strangely, once the words left their mouths, a massive weight lifted from their shoulders. Since they were all in the trenches together, bound by the exact same impossible goal, the fear of failure was replaced by a shared, burning passion.

Looking at the stage, the crowd saw a blazing sun, a fusion of raw passion and unstoppable momentum. Everyone knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were standing at the precipice of an explosive era of technological and industrial growth!

What was originally supposed to be a boring administrative process for the new directors to introduce themselves had suddenly transformed into a fanatical swearing-in ceremony. It was highly irregular, but nobody cared. Not even Jason. Sitting at the head of the table, he found himself grinning, entirely infected by the room’s energy.

They certainly aren’t lacking confidence… he thought.

“Alright… settle down. Does everyone understand the parameters of the blueprint?” Jason finally spoke up, cutting through the cheers after letting them run for several minutes.

“Furthermore, I require every Director to prioritize the safety of their personnel above all else. I will not tolerate corners being cut that result in industrial accidents. Are we clear?”

The scientists sobered up slightly, nodding in unison. “Understood, Captain! Personnel safety remains the absolute priority!”

“Then this meeting is adjourned. Get to work!”

As the Council members filed out of the room, energized and chatting animatedly, a small group of scientists hung back near the podium. They were the newly appointed Directors. Now that the adrenaline had faded, the cold, hard reality of the math was settling in.

They looked at each other with pale, worried faces.

“Ivan… you really screwed us this time,” someone groaned.

“Ugh, I’ve got a splitting headache…” Ivanovich murmured. His earlier bravado had vanished. He rubbed his temples with a bitter smile, looking thoroughly deflated. “Professor Hao Yu, Dr. Felix, Ms. Sullivan… you all have to help me coordinate this. My quotas are absolutely insane.”

He had been too caught up in the moment and completely forgot the sheer magnitude of what he had promised. If he failed to deliver after shouting an oath like that in front of the entire Federation, he would never live down the humiliation.

“Honestly, Ivan, what possessed you? You made the rest of us act like lunatics,” Ms. Sullivan said, shaking her head with a weary, incredulous smile.

“You lot think you have it bad?” a voice snapped. It was William, the distinguished British engineer tasked with running the Federation Ore Refinery. The man looked as if he were about to faint.

“Do you have any idea how much raw ore I have to extract and process to feed your factories now? Bloody hell!” William cursed, his face completely drained of color after running a quick mental calculation.

He regretted it immensely. Why had he let the peer pressure get to him? Why had he spouted the same nonsense as everyone else?

But you can’t unring a bell. The oaths were sworn, the quotas were set, and William had absolutely no idea how he was going to pull it off.

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