Chapter 362: Chapter 361: The Three Great Foolish Civilizations

“I see, thank you for your reply.”

Wang Junpeng stroked his chin, finally understanding why artworks from the Gleize Civilization were quite valuable.

It was because the art of the Gleize Civilization depicted the arduous pursuit of Science, the contemplation of life.

That sort of intense pursuit tinged with unattainable frustration, even humans could feel it…

As for some religious art from other civilizations, at best they could be considered a curiosity. To empathize with them–well, that was out of the question.

“Do you know what the most foolish civilization in the Universe is?” Prince Bart pointed to his head, excitedly saying, “The first kind is, for some reason or another, a civilization in which the population deteriorates as the worse replaces the better, leading to a race that becomes increasingly foolish.”

“Becoming increasingly foolish… There are civilizations like that?” Wang Junpeng asked, puzzled.

“No no no, they’re abundant!”

“Just a weak civilization that could be extinguished by a large meteor, yet they insist on internal cultural correctness…” Prince Bart said, “As a result, bad money drives out good. Superior individuals are unwilling to reproduce, dwindling in number and then replaced by inferior races, and the civilization naturally halts its progress.”

While saying this, he burst into hearty laughter, “Tell me, isn’t that the most foolish of civilizations?”

“Even Nature selects the fittest for survival. Instead of adapting, these poor creatures resist this natural law! There’s a saying that describes such a race, the kind Holy Mother Faction, replaced by the unkind factions–isn’t it just natural?”

“The first time I read about these matters in a textbook, I laughed so hard my reproductive cells nearly sprayed out! They’re irremediably stupid!”

Wang Junpeng understood what the other meant, “You’re somewhat right. But many things have historical inevitability. What you’re describing can’t be considered the entire civilization’s foolishness… Ah, it’s complicated, not as simple as you imagine.”

The Badeit Civilization was a civilization that greatly revered profits and from a certain angle, wisdom as well, and they even maintained a system of slavery. Their ancestors evolved from short-lived species to long-lived ones.

Certainly, superior individuals had a higher chance of gaining profits and could live better lives.

They found it hard to understand this worsening of the species through the displacement of the better by the worse.

“And the second?”

Prince Bart continued, “The second most foolish, of course, would be the various chaotic religious civilizations. Especially those that had developed marvelously advanced scientific techniques, only to regress backward for some reason! That definitely counts as the second most foolish civilization.”

“Why? There are civilizations that developed technology and then regressed?” Wang Junpeng’s eyes widened in feigned shock as he incredulously asked again.

This over-the-top surprise tickled Prince Bart’s fancy, enlivening him to talk more: “Of course, there are many reasons. The first possibility is that upon reaching a certain stage, technological progress stalls and no longer develops. Think about it, when science doesn’t evolve and can’t explain everything, then you can only turn to religion.”

“The second possibility is that an unavoidable natural disaster occurs, leading to the proliferation of doomsday religions… Like a meteorite, that, while not destroying the whole civilization, destroys its spirit.”

“The third is man-made disasters, where, for various political reasons, you want to use religion to bewitch the populace and stabilize power, and then things spiral out of control, leading to regression…”

“So you see, as long as a civilization stops developing, and a vast number of individuals become bewildered, confused, they can only place their spirits on elusive things. Life is truly fragile, you know, when you realize there are some things that can’t be solved, you lose that spirit.”

Wang Junpeng nodded. It was indeed very possible. One should not assume that with the development of science, religion would disappear.

Even in the 22nd, 25th, 30th centuries, Earth Civilization still had various religions, and the reasons behind this were complex: life’s disappointments, the ambitions of certain individuals, and so on.

“The more people there are who place their faith in something, the easier it is for the entire civilization’s direction to run wild, and of course, chaos ensues,” Prince Bart spoke in a lowered voice, confiding, “Fifty thousand years ago, there was even a Fourth-level Civilization that fell into civil war because it couldn’t handle its internal religious issues!”

“It’s simply a perfect opportunity for plundering. A great number of Third-level Civilizations were involved in that war!”

“…You dare to rob a Fourth-level Civilization?” Wang Junpeng asked in surprise.

He spoke breezily, “Why not? A Fourth-level Civilization in civil war, even if it wants to rise again, will take tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years, so what’s there to fear? Don’t tell me you don’t want to acquire Curvature Technology? This technology is simply unaffordable for a Third-level Civilization in the interstellar trading place! Unless the entire civilization works for the trading place for a hundred thousand years, would you be willing?!”

“Alright,” Wang Junpeng understood, these pirates really were risking their necks. In comparison, humans were far too cautious.

This kind of thinking… well, it has its pros and cons.

“In summary, this type of civilization can definitely be considered the second dumbest of civilizations.”

Prince Bart spoke authoritatively, “It’s the same whether for interstellar civilizations or Primitive Civilizations; you haven’t seen the bizarre scenes. Even an interstellar civilization can be quite similar to a Primitive Civilization from certain aspects.”

“Religion isn’t necessarily bad… a religion that can continually refresh its doctrines to adapt to the times can provide greater spiritual strength, after all, science can’t explain everything right now. But these unenlightened civilizations usually adhere to fundamentalist religions, think about it, you now are actually expected to abide by the rules and regulations set by ancestors tens of thousands of years ago?”

“Even if that ancestor was wise and intelligent, could he possibly imagine the world as it is now?

“Could he imagine your life aboard a spaceship? Does he know about the mass-energy equivalence equation?”

“He couldn’t!”

Wang Junpeng nodded without realizing it, this was indeed a very interesting perspective.

“So, what’s the third dumbest civilization then?”

“Of course, civilizations that destroy themselves. Like those with self-destructing technologies, nuclear bomb crises, oh, and some civilizations remain stuck in the Middle Ages for a long time, living a meaningless cycle of life, just like Riley Star that you are about to reach… The third dumbest civilizations haven’t been ranked yet, after all, there are a thousand different kinds of stupid.”

“So, you see, becoming a true interstellar civilization is not an easy feat.”

“Human Civilization, perhaps we can establish a true commercial alliance. Our Badeit Civilization has already approached the threshold of a Third-level Civilization, and you too are striving for it, right?”

“Why don’t we form a commercial alliance, exchange our technologies? This way, the technological progress of both sides will be greatly accelerated. And I can act as the ambassador.” Prince Bart said this with excitement, this time his intentions were truly sincere.

What a significant achievement it would be to reach friendly agreements and trade deals with another interstellar civilization.

As for losing his spaceship and being captured, in the face of a true windfall, all these become mere trifles, and might even become synonymous with noble character and resolute will!