They're All Copies (@Spirit of Fog Monkey-Certified Master)
In Mechanical Civilization, decision-making involves the Domain Lords and the governing officials discussing and proposing several directions and agendas, which are then put to a public referendum. The Domain Lords guide the outcome through their influence; this is the standard procedure.
In name and in reality, all citizens of the Mechanical Civilization have the same voting rights; the chief Scholar and the frontline soldier each have one vote—this is a legacy of history.
At the time of the nationwide ascension, "equal voting rights for all citizens" was one of the promises that prompted this ascension.
Later, they found it too troublesome and difficult to change, since the Essence of the Mechanical Civilization's ascension was some kind of interstellar technology brought out by the Survivor above, and the underlying code could not be modified at will.
"In recent years, with advancements in related technologies, we have gained a deeper understanding of the Virtual World."
"It was eventually discovered that the voting system for civilized decision-making actually had an untraceable backend that was constantly interfering with the decision-making process."
The hall was silent.
"This voting system is hereby permanently abolished, and all related functions of the Virtual World are also abolished." The governor's tone left no room for argument. "Any decisions regarding civilizations shall be made by the Domain Lords present and by me."
Centralization?
Sensing that a major transformation was about to occur in Mechanical Civilization, Yun Xiaoxiao looked at the nearby leaders Scholars in astonishment, only to find that they were merely somewhat surprised, but no one objected and simply acquiesced.
That's true. First-class citizens can influence second-class citizens of the corresponding social status. In a sense, the resources and power of first-class citizens also increase.
In the past, in national referendums, the vote of a leader or Scholar was considered equal to that of a janitor, which was absurd to the higher-ups. Now that power has been centralized at the top, it is a good thing for them.
"Secondly, we need to take another step forward in our attempt to join the All-Civilization Alliance led by Tracing Light..."
What followed wasn't so important to Yun Xiaoxiao; she was thinking about how to use this Mechanical Civilization revolution to gain more control over Mechanical Civilization.
The abolition of the voting system means that decision-making power is concentrated in the hands of the Domain Lord and the governor. If a few key figures can be influenced, the direction of the entire civilization can be indirectly affected.
Just then, the Subconscious detected enough important data and summoned Xiao Luo, who was traveling through the Dreamscape.
"The access point for joining the alliance is most likely that of the Silent Civilization." A Domain Lord nearby nodded. "Their people have taken the initiative to contact us."
After observing the situation in the venue from Yun Xiaoxiao's perspective for a while, Xiao Luo suddenly spoke up, "Check the computing power of your main body and Tracing Light. I can't see through the data shells of these creatures."
In Mechanical Civilizations, beings are all Consciousness Entity encased in a data shell unique to the Virtual World, providing a degree of protection. Seeing through it is no easy task. Yun Xiaoxiao's Consciousness Entity doesn't resemble that of other beings in the Mechanical Civilization; it relies entirely on the data shell for disguise. If the shell is seen through, her identity will be exposed.
Yun Xiaoxiao silently did as she was told.
From Xiao Luo's perspective, the appearances of those bizarre creatures instantly turned into black and white noise, then dissipated as a data stream, revealing the true form of the Consciousness Entity beneath.
"What's wrong? What did you see?" Yun Xiaoxiao, who was maintaining the supply, was puzzled when Xiao Luo didn't respond for a long time.
Xiao Luo didn't speak. After scanning everyone present, she called Su Luo over.
Su Luo obtained information through the Dreamscape with some doubt, and upon seeing the situation in the hall, she laughed in anger.
In the hall, there were over ninety Domain Lords, and eighty-five of their Consciousness Entity looked exactly alike.
The Consciousness Entity beneath the governor's shadow was identical, and Su Luo recognized it.
He was Survivor had been sealed away in the Black Hole. Through some means, he Copy his Consciousness Entity countless times and directly threw it into the upper echelons of the Mechanical Civilization.
Eighty-five Domain Lords and one governor are all his Copy.
She looks beautiful.
"In a sense, it's a multi-pronged approach. The Survivor version dies, but the Consciousness Entity Copy might survive. If you don't mind, it's actually a good method."
After watching for a while, Su Luo told Yun Xiaoxiao not to think about fighting for power and profit in the Mechanical Civilization, but to do more research and build good relationships with the leading Scholars.
Yun Xiaoxiao isn't cut out for this, and in this situation, Yun Xiaoxiao really can't influence the Mechanical Civilization, since their top leadership is almost entirely the same person.
"Speaking of which, isn't this something we could try? Since that Survivor has such a strong grasp of civilization, and it's not like the Legendary they've already lost control..."
[Silent] finished the sixteenth timeline observation, frowning, unsure of what to say.
He leaned back in the Pure White Space chair, with chess pieces scattered across the chessboard in front of him, black and white pieces intertwined.
His finger was still on the spot where he had just placed the piece, but that piece no longer needed to be moved. Everything he saw in the timeline was more troublesome than he had anticipated.
As time goes by, the next timeline observation will reveal the outcome of the Continued Battle.
The number of chess pieces in their hands seems to increase with each move. Currently, the Chess Players on the Continued Battle Battlefield are mostly Survivors from various powerful civilizations, all constantly seeking to develop.
Some are frantically expanding their territories, some are desperately climbing the technological ladder, and some are secretly forming alliances and forming political alliances.
Some Survivors were even very perceptive, realizing that behind the chessboard was a Chess Player using a pre-game cheat, gradually manipulating their civilization to withdraw from the alliance in an attempt to survive.
But it doesn't matter; my current position is still very solid.
Ten years later, the Silent Civilization All-Civilization Alliance, led by Tracing Light, had risen to second place in overall strength, while Sarah's Jianjia Civilization, through its own efforts, had also successfully climbed to fifth place.
This has been verified twice in his timeline, and it is the optimal solution. It's not that he didn't want to push the Silent Civilization to the top, but that he couldn't.
The first position is occupied by Tracing Light, a position that cannot be attained simply through the Civilization Development.
Of course, direct methods cannot surpass the power of Tracing Light. Even if we rely on historical information to seize opportunities and exchange technical support from Tracing Light, it will be difficult to keep up with Tracing Light's pace in the Continued Battle.
They seem to have fully entered the late stage of information technology development, and their development speed will experience a small explosion that is difficult to surpass.
The gap between the late information age and the middle information age is not just a technological gap, but a productivity gap. The Mechanical Civilization was able to make all other civilizations suffer so much because of its technological gap, and the Tracing Light is about to take this step as well.
Unless a new war breaks out, drawing in other civilizations to besiege the Tracing Light, delaying development and prolonging the battle lines, and relying on foresight Future win close allies...
But that's too difficult.
"Well..."