Apocalypse - Evil Shelter System

Chapter 307: A Brief History of the World

Alex roughly calculated. If compared to the situation before the apocalypse in his own world, a 180-square-meter house would cost approximately between 15 and 30 million. For two houses, that would be around 30 to 60 million.

This price was indeed staggering, but it was only for ordinary civilians and the middle class. For the wealthy class, this amount of money wasn't considered much.

If we consider the purchasing power in the world where Alex was previously, there would still be at least ten percent of the population who could afford it.

"In that case, there's still a portion of people who can afford it," Alex said after a moment of calculation.

"Yes, but it's only a small part of the wealthy. The connection between various layers of society and this top layer actually began to be completely severed at this time," Field nodded.

At this moment, Field appeared extremely serious. He took out an old and tattered notebook, wearing a pair of worn-out glasses, resembling a destitute old scholar.

"The intelligence of those who completed the super transactions was on a different level than ordinary people. The intelligence gap between them and the uneducated was similar to the difference between the latter and dogs. This same difference manifested in many other aspects, such as artistic perception."

"So, these super-knowledge elites might be fluent in hundreds of languages, and their understanding of art became vastly different from ordinary people. Even in certain situations, they might use specific languages and etiquette according to the corresponding understanding of a person."

"In such a scenario, it seemed that these super-knowledge elite classes found it incomprehensible to communicate with ordinary people, akin to our communication with pigs and dogs. Consequently, a natural progression occurred..."

Alex suddenly realized, "From this point onwards, the rich and the poor are no longer the same species? It's like humans and apes, experiencing a social species segregation..."

"Yes, the poor and the rich are no longer the same species. It's like in ancient times, when humans and apes went their separate ways. The poor are no longer considered human. In fact, even before the appearance of vampires, this world had already embarked on a distorted evolutionary path!"

Alex suddenly felt overwhelmed by the influx of thoughts into his mind. It was a lot to take in, and this change made Alex think about many things.

"In that case... this society is really going to undergo a revolutionary change!"

As Alex contemplated, he mumbled to himself.

"Indeed, there have been many changes. Many of these changes can be observed now. Firstly, the factor that maintained a balance in societal wealth, limiting the number of poor people, no longer exists."

"Even if the number of dogs is much larger, hundreds of times more than humans, the dogs are powerless to create social instability. They can only create some troubles that require effort to resolve."

"Randomly killing dogs would lead to punishment. Some elites and wealthy individuals with a conscience might still stand up to fight for the rights of these original companions. However, punishing the elites and wealthy individuals is, after all, a form of pitiable charity, and it won't have much impact or restraint on their actual actions.

Especially when some dogs contract rabies and threaten human safety, it is permissible to kill all the dogs. Dogs have no capacity to resist, and humans, due to their aversion to dogs, will make unified decisions to eliminate them."

"For sympathy towards the poor, the key actually lies in the shared term 'same.' If both sides still consider themselves part of the same species, there might be a possibility of sympathy. However, when both sides become two different species, as is the case now, sympathy ceases to exist."

"In reality, this is humanity's second evolution. The first time we separated from apes was due to natural selection, and this time, separating from the poor is based on another equally sacred law: private property is inviolable!"

Alex was slightly taken aback. This law was just as sacred in the world he once lived in. It was because of this law that people had the motivation to strive and create wealth. Without this law, if everyone shared a common pot, who would have the drive to work hard and create wealth?

This question was something Alex had studied in history books, and in his world, this reform was considered very significant. However, how could this law, which seemed to promote progress, be overturned in this world?

"Private property is inviolable, and it is indeed a great law. I also consider it sacred," Alex pondered for a moment and nodded.

"Yes, originally, this law was a sacred principle that helped humanity progress. Before the technological explosion, this law did not bring about any harm. Until this world's technological explosion, with the emergence of artificial intelligence like unmanned drones, enforcing laws by humans would inevitably lead to deviations. After all, humans have emotions and desires.

Emotions can be swayed, and desires can lead to actions contrary to the law. So, at that time, under the influence of some wealthy and powerful individuals, people successfully pushed for a new law enforcement system — the Social Machine!"

"Since then, law enforcement has shifted to a system primarily dominated by unmanned drones and artificial intelligence enforcers, with humans themselves becoming auxiliary enforcers."

"The laws were input into the central computer of the artificial intelligence enforcer — the supercomputer Noah. Most of the world's judicial authority became the power of the supercomputer."

"These powerful law enforcement systems controlled by artificial intelligence had units that were almost ubiquitous in every corner of the world. Some law enforcement units could roam around people like flies, constantly monitoring everyone! At that time, a single unmanned drone could easily take the lives of hundreds of people with ease!"

"In reality, this law enforcement system started out very well and received praise and support from many civilians. This was because the judgment and law enforcement system controlled by artificial intelligence did not exhibit double standards based on your status or wealth.

Whether you were a commoner or a wealthy individual, if you violated the law, you would receive the appropriate judgment and immediately face punishment from the artificial intelligence law enforcement units."

"So initially, these artificial intelligence law enforcement systems brought not dictatorship but absolute justice and fairness. Artificial intelligence did not favor any social class. Even if beggars were persecuted, artificial intelligence would step in to defend their interests."

"Therefore, after the emergence of this technology, for a period, the entire society enjoyed a state of order. Phrases like 'no doors closed at night' and 'no items left behind on the road' became trivial. At that time, the world rarely witnessed any illegal or criminal activities, and there was a notable absence of privileged classes. The political landscape was remarkably transparent."

"So, the societal machine controlled by artificial intelligence received tremendous momentum and subsequently took a dominant position, almost entirely controlling the judiciary. The only authority that humans could still control was legislative power."

"While ordinary people valued the fairness and justice of the artificial intelligence judicial system, the wealthy were drawn to one sacred principle of the system — the inviolability of private property!"

"Therefore, the introduction of this system completely catered to the majority of social classes at the time and received thorough support."

"However, under the powerful protection of the societal machine, the world's wealth continuously concentrated in the hands of a few. With technological advancements, another significant development occurred — the owning class gradually no longer needed the working class!

Previously, the rich still needed the poor; after all, factories needed human labor, and to harvest leeks, someone had to plant them. But with the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence, machines no longer required human operation. Highly efficient robots could handle all tasks, leaving the working class without even the opportunity to sell their labor!

They truly became impoverished, relying solely on the charity and relief of the wealthy for their livelihood."

"This situation completely changed the economic essence of the world, significantly accelerating the pace of wealth concentration towards a minority."

"The process of wealth concentration is highly complex, and I don't know exactly how wealth gathered at that time. However, according to the data from that period, once 60% of the world's wealth was held by approximately ten million people. Later, it transformed into 80% of the world's wealth being in the hands of ten thousand people.

Eventually, 90% of the wealth ended up in the possession of just a few dozen individuals!"

"When my grandfather was born, capitalism in this world had reached the pinnacle of pinnacles, creating incredible miracles! Ninety-nine percent of the world's wealth was in the hands of a few individuals!"

"While there was still economic disparity among the remaining billions of people, their collective wealth amounted to less than one percent of the world's total wealth! In other words, the world had become a composition of a few rich individuals and over a billion poor individuals! At this point, the constitutional principle of the inviolability of private property remained effective!

The artificial intelligence judicial system continued faithfully carrying out its duties, protecting the private property of each individual."

"At that time, those few rich individuals had essentially acquired control over the entire world!"

"The poor people lived in enclosed, small-scale homes. These homes were self-sufficient micro-ecosystems, where they used their meager resources of water, air, soil, and other essentials to sustain themselves. The only thing they could receive from the outside world was the sunlight not owned by the rich."