Chapter 290: Information Barrier |
At this moment, the Uz Sports Car had completely left Azura’s city circle and ventured into the suburban farm areas. On both sides of the road lay vast expanses of fertile farmland, already bustling with agricultural machinery tilling the soil early in the morning.
Ashe glanced over and saw a village composed of low, flat houses in the distance—though there were some that reached two or three stories, they seemed like remnants of an old era compared to the advanced Double-tiered City. However, the fields were vibrant with young Orcs operating machinery akin to tractors, exuding a youthful vigor.
“Are there so many young people in the countryside?” Ashe wondered aloud. “I thought most young people would head to big cities to work.”
“How could that be?” Annan replied nonchalantly. “In the Gospel Kingdom, 80% are production villages. Even with advanced alchemical machinery, industries like livestock, fishing, and mining still require human hands. The prosperity of the top ten cities is built on the support from all these other villages.”
“Why don’t the young people leave then?” Igor asked. “Rural life can’t possibly be better than the cities, right? There’s not even a Drone in the sky here.”
Ashe frowned, “Don’t mention Drones; Lise would be scared.”
Annan raised an eyebrow, “Curious, are you?”
“Not exactly curious, just that Blood Moon also went through such a phase,” Igor said calmly. “Aspiring for prosperity is a natural instinct. To make the labor force understand their place, the Blood Moon Kingdom has indeed expended much effort.”
Pondering for a moment and as they passed a field, Annan slowly pulled over and called out to a young Orc working the land: “Hello.”
“Do you watch JoyHeart?” Annan asked.
At this, the young Orc relaxed, “Yes, I do! I even have the rank of Count with three thousand Heart friends!”
“That’s great. I’m from Culture Limited Media, and I’m conducting a field survey on JoyHeart user preferences to research advertising segments. Could I take a look at your recent JoyHeart video history?”
The Orc youth readily agreed and summoned his Gospel to show the exiles.
“Clean and Sanitary”
“Handsome Orc Spends a Day Making Big Bone Sauce”
“13 Life Hacks You Can’t Miss”
“Top 10 Attractions in Moro Village”
“…”
“Thank you very much for your cooperation,” Miss Annan said as she took out the bottle of wine they had drunk the previous day. “Here’s a little gift for you.”
“Thank you,” the Orc youth curiously took the bottle. “What kind of wine is this, Pink Rabbit? I’ve never seen it before. Can I exchange it for Throat-Piercer from our village?”
“I’m sorry, I’ll remember that, and next time I’ll bring your preferred brand,” Miss Annan replied with a smile, leaving the Orc youth utterly enchanted. “Goodbye, and may your day be blessed by the Gospel.”
Watching the Orc youth who lingered for a long time, Ashe teased, “Miss Annan, you’ve easily ruined another person’s marriage.”
“Did you all understand?” Miss Annan asked.
“Understand what?” Ashe couldn’t keep up with Miss Annan’s train of thought.
“The Barrier of Information?” Igor asked thoughtfully. “But we’re not far from Azura. You could almost see the Double-tiered City on the horizon. Could they really be trapped by an information barrier?”
“It’s much easier than you think,” Miss Annan stated. “The Gospel’s Barrier has no Loopholes.”
Knowing the others in the back hadn’t understood, Igor explained, “The videos the Orc usually watches are all from other villages and towns, none about the big cities like Azura. Plus, the Pink Rabbit beer that Miss Annan was drinking is a well-known brand in Azura, yet the Orc farmer had no idea about it. This leads to a conclusion — although the Orc has received a medium level of education, his worldview is completely limited to his village; he is totally unaware of the bustling city life.”
“Perhaps in his eyes, Azura, just a few dozen kilometers away, is nothing more than a slightly larger village, not worth aspiring to. He feels his current life is already good. To him, those richer and more powerful than he merely don’t have to work in the fields and can afford to spend their days playing JoyHeart in bed.”
“By the way,” Annan said, “people in the city don’t use the JoyHeart app. Even farmers from regions outside Azura use locally customized information apps. JoyHeart is exclusive to areas below the second-tier cities of Azura.”
Information gulfs, information curtains, information cocoons.
Perhaps there are many names, but the meaning is the same — blocking your channels of information access, allowing you to receive only partial and biased information, thus shaping your shallow and narrow worldview.
The principle is simple, the method uncomplicated, but the consequences are terrifyingly chilling.
Ashe couldn’t help but shake his head, “How is that possible? It would be one thing if they were uneducated, but doesn’t every citizen here receive a middle-level education? How could they be so easily deceived—”
At this moment, Lise had woken up and was hanging on Ashe like a koala, quietly listening to their discussion.
“I don’t know what it’s like in your Blood Moon Kingdom,” Annan said calmly, “but don’t forget, we have the Gospel.”
The Gospel.
A term they had heard countless times over these days, again demonstrating its importance as vital as air, sunlight, and water.
“The class barriers that you exhaust all your wisdom to establish are merely sandcastles to the Gospel. In the social system of the Gospel, it’s not just between classes, but there should be information gulfs between every region, every village, every family, and even every individual.”
“As long as I don’t know about your extravagance, and you don’t know about my vulgarity, everyone can happily collaborate within the Kingdom of the Gospel, and the regional, racial, and class conflicts that should erupt are dissolved by the Gospel.”
“Everyone has their own social position and must adhere to it. Perhaps greed, fear, jealousy, anger, these emotions might lead to irrational decisions, but that’s okay, the Gospel teaches everyone from a young age to be rational and to overcome temptations.”
“Even if you truly can’t do it, it doesn’t matter, the Gospel will help you ‘block’ those pieces of information that might contaminate you. As long as your world is narrow enough, that faint light can illuminate everything for you.”
“What better lubricant for the social machine than lies and ignorance?
At that moment, a highway bridge resembling a road to heaven appeared ahead. This was no mere concrete structure; the surface of the bridge glowed with a pale blue halo, exuding a high-tech, avant-garde feel. The halo formed words representing three directions: “Hemera,” “Astra,” and “Fanmula.”
“Hold on tight, we’re about to speed up.”
Annan said cheerfully as he drove the old sports car onto the bridge. As the distance increased, the passengers noticed the car’s speed accelerating rapidly, almost as if it were going to fly off the bridge!
“A miracle?” Ashe exclaimed.
“This is a miracle constructed by a team of civil sorcerers,” the Butler Youth said with a smile. “This Skybridge leads to other first-tier cities. Once you drive on it, the speed increases to the point of breaking the sound barrier, as if the bridge itself is moving forward. It’s the fastest mode of transportation in the Gospel Kingdom.”
Ashe held Lise, looking through the car window at the land below.
The farmlands were neatly organized, and houses were densely packed. However, raising one’s gaze a little, one could see the bustling double-tiered city of Azura.
The sun was high in the sky, with sunlight so brilliant it was dazzling, heralding another day filled with hope.
