Zhang Yuan nodded, "Then there’s no problem with the Unreal Laboratory, it’s technically feasible."
The diplomat continued with his topic, "Also, the next point, each civilization within the Military Alliance has independent political rights, and they do not interfere in each other’s internal affairs, nor export ideology."
"In the event of a major unexpected accident, the Half-sphere Civilization will have the right to make its own choices..."
This point ant that their political systems were still equal; normally each would develop on its own without ddling in internal affairs. Essential communication would be maintained, and they would present a united front in tis of war.
But if there was so major special event, or if one party was not doing well, they could choose to leave the Military Alliance and go their own way, roughly like that.
This condition could also be understood; the two sides were in a cooperative relationship, not a vassal relationship, naturally, they could choose to leave.
However, once cooperation had started, it was not easy to peacefully part ways, various technology projects would continue, industrial cooperation would be launched, and community activities would expand. These people would find it hard to withdraw anyti soon.
The breakup between civilizations was not like a breakup between lovers; you couldn’t just say it’s over. Based on current observations, the political systems of both sides placed significant importance on civilian sentints. If they had gotten along harmoniously for hundreds or thousands of years, it wouldn’t be easy to separate.
Moreover, "peaceful separation" would at least require settling past accounts. If the Half-sphere Civilization wanted to take away a War Star, they would have to pay a price, trading away 10% of human dominant rights. If humans wanted to run, it might be easier, but they would have to abandon many of their existing benefits.
The likelihood of such an event was not very high, assuming that neither side had gone mad or encountered an insurmountable calamity.
"The general frawork is these; specific rules still need to be discussed."
Zhang Yuan thought for a while and didn’t find any major flaws, but he believed that sothing was slightly missing from this big frawork.
He raised his hand to indicate, "Since both parties are forming an alliance, there definitely needs to be a programmatic docunt. An alliance without ideological guidance is not solid."
"Ideological program?" Foreign Minister Old Yang frowned and said unhurriedly, "Old Zhang, you’re making this difficult for us. An ideological program would be like exporting ideology, wouldn’t it? That would create major conflicts between the two sides!"
Zhang Yuan waved his hand and said, "The purpose of a program is not only to guide the mbers of the alliance but also to guide our own civilians, to recognize its righteousness and legitimacy. If the first impression of the so-called ’Alliance’ is that civilizations are coming together rely for survival, then that’s too crude and narrow!"
"Survival is important, but it’s only the bare minimum. An alliance born rely out of survival gives a not-so-great first impression. If the survival issues are resolved, does the Alliance imdiately dissolve?"
"If the civilians within our New Human Civilization all feel this way, then how could the entire alliance last long? Therefore, I believe a program that can fully mobilize moral righteousness is indispensable."
Zhang Yuan’s aning was simple. In the final years of the Qin Dynasty, when Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebelled, they hid the banner in a fish belly that proclaid ’Great Chu Revival, King Chen Sheng.’ People back then already understood this; you couldn’t just rebel because you couldn’t survive.
The slogan of the 1911 Revolution was "Three Principles of the People"; the slogan of the Autumn Harvest Uprising was "Overthrow the Powers, Overthrow the Warlords."
Every major historical event needed a righteous slogan; rely surviving wasn’t a solid stand.
But in fact, were these uprisings and revolutions not about solving survival issues? Why did they shout slogans instead of just saying "we want to live"?
Such slogans were aningful. Humans are not animals; re survival is far from enough. Such ideological programs can bring strength.
The sa holds true in the interstellar era. An alliance must also make people feel it’s just. When talking about this Alliance, it should generally create a good impression, not just "Oh, we’re coming together just to survive, just to escape!"
This issue made the diplomat a bit troubled.
What humans considered "justice," the Half-sphere people might not see it the sa way. The goals humans pursued, Half-sphere people might not pursue.
"What about other civilizations? If, in the future, a third or fourth party joins the Alliance, will they accept this ideological program?"
After much discussion, everyone agreed that phrases like freedom and democracy were trivial; only "progress" could be considered a aningful program.
Just like the interstellar standard etiquette saying, "May your civilization progress forever," this was not a re slogan but a common pursuit of all ambitious civilizations, a struggle to escape the ultimate fate.
So, using "Progress" as the program for the Alliance was unproblematic.
The sides joined together to make collective progress; this seed quite righteous.
And the banner of this program was big enough; hearing this term could evoke a certain degree of mission in people’s hearts, at least not likely to be repulsive.
"Galactic Progress Alliance!"
Zhang Yuan was also quite satisfied with this point, "Very good, this na is quite nice. But we still need to refine it a bit; it can’t be too vague. It would be best to produce a detailed charter, regulating the activities of mbers within the Alliance."
Including the definition of the Sinking Civilization, what constitutes progress, why progress is necessary, and so on, answering various fundantal questions. After all, considering the next few hundred to a thousand years, being thorough now could avoid a lot of trouble in the future...
By the ti these issues were all discussed, it was already deep into the night.
The Captain took the stage and said, "Well, the overall frawork is decided."
"Regarding full cooperation between the two sides, does anyone have any different opinions? Since all the pros and cons are very clear, are we really willing to form a semi-military alliance with the Half-sphere Civilization?"
In this treaty, humans clearly had the upper hand, gaining a plethora of technology and a genuine War Star. With this, humans now possessed two War Stars, and their foundations had instantly doubled.
The Half-sphere people suddenly gained Fourth-level Civilization’s military strength, their scope of operation no longer limited to near the Cosmic String, which was a significant gain. And in the upcoming technology exchange, they could potentially earn so benefits, which counted as potential interests.
So, it could be considered a win-win outco.
But... did they really want to cooperate?
Zhang Yuan felt his heartbeat gradually accelerate; this feeling was strange.
As the mont approached, everyone started hesitating, even Comrade Li Zhendong, who had always been very supportive using "They have the potential of a Level 5 Civilization" as his rationale, remained silent for a while without speaking.
According to various calculations and deductions, this cooperation was more beneficial than harmful to the entire New Human Civilization.
Yet, even so, humans were unable to make up their minds imdiately...
An unknown path lay before them, once stepped upon, there was no turning back.
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