Age of Cosmic Exploration Chapter 208

Even compared to life in the villa, life on the Hope wasn’t too bad either. Other than the lack of fresh air, sun, and plants, the people on the Hope had a more convenient lifestyle. There were a lot more amenities available, and there was a market street where they could go shopping using H-coins instead of being forced to order them online.

However, there was one thing that wasn’t common for every household on the Hope: the computer.

While every villa on the new planet was fitted with 2 computers, only the computer scientists and engineers had access to home computers on the Hope. Normal citizens couldn’t purchase one even if they wanted to. The reason was because the Academy was still working on the supermagnetic processor, a product of the 4th industrial revolution similar to the one used in the central mainframe.

Regrettably, the time mankind had spent in the 4th revolution was still too short. Even though supermagnetic computer could be manufactured already, the required cost was simply too high. The specialized parts used in manufacturing greatly hiked up the production cost. Therefore, other than the settlers who needed to maintain a constant communication link to the Hope, the Hope was still using old computers salvaged from Earth, and the government wouldn’t be selling manufactured computers any time soon.

Therefore, the only way to access the government server on the Hope to catch up on the latest news was through the internet cafés. That was why the cafés were the favorite spots for teens to hang out in after work. Of course, not all of them were there to get government information. Most, if not all, were there to study or to read, and surfing the government site was something they did on rare occasions.

However, in the past 5 days, the amount of people visiting the official government websites and forums had increased tremendously. It had attracted even some elders to visit the internet cafes. The key change was the first batch of settlers. In 5 days on the new planet, they had taken a lot of pictures to share on the forum. These pictures were wildly different from the official promotional banners; they had an everyday feel to them. There were pictures of children running happily on the field, grandparents fishing idly by the river side, and even pictures of families around a campfire.

People on the Hope were excited even though they weren’t experiencing these things themselves, as there was that vicarious link. Furthermore, they would be experiencing all these things in the near future.

Simultaneously, the official asking price for the accommodation near the new capital was out. Depending on the size and location, the price for a villa, furniture included, was about 18,000 to 20,000 H-coins.

Honestly, the price wasn’t high. If converted to US dollars, it would be around 10,000 to 20,000 dollars. This included the permanent land ownership, so technically speaking, it really wasn’t that expensive.

At the same time, the government introduced the 50-year 0 interest loan. The condition was, if the loan wasn’t cleared after the 50 years, the government would confiscate the land and everything on it. The loan broke down to having to repay 20 H-coins per month, which really wasn’t much.

Actually, according to Guang Zhen and a few other higher authorities’ opinions, since the construction of the villas didn’t really cost much due to the fact that the construction robots pretty much did all the work, the villas could be given away for free.

However, Yao Yuan and another group of experts had another opinion in mind, which was contribution and reward should come hand-in-hand. If the government gave away the villas for free, it would cultivate a society that would depend on governmental hand-outs. It would create a culture of laziness. Until the day where humanity no longer needed to work but could focus solely on recreational activities like hobbies, arts,

learning, or research, there would not be governmental freebies.

This life of recreation wouldn’t arrive until the end of the 4th industrial revolution, at least according to the Academy’s projection. Before then, mankind had to work for their meals, so the 50 year loan was absolutely necessary and logical.

The loan, though, was well-accepted by the public. You have to pay for what you want, that’s only fair. They would be worried that if the villas were free, the unfairness of it all would be too obvious. What about the people who had worked hard for their H-coins and the manifesto’s third rule?

Even though a 50 year loan was indeed a bit long, the people on the Hope were all well-educated individuals, so they could do their own analyses and come up with the conclusion that the location of the villas were not only near the capital but also near the sea. This meant that they had a great environment that was worthy of investment. In the future where the human population will break through the billion mark, the villas will be a veritable sign of wealth and status. It meant that that family was one of the first to settle on the new planet.

Won’t that sound impressive?

Therefore, there was no complaints about the 20 H-coin monthly repayment. It was an amount even the lowest of workers could satisfy. In other words, it was the biggest benefit the Hope had ever given its citizens.

Lee Jun was scrolling through the forum and typed on his messenger, "Bro, didn’t you say you will post some pictures of a pretty woman? Why I can’t find them?"

On the other end, Qing Yang replied with a sly smile. "It’s because your computer is delaying, okay? You’re not using the supermagnetic computer, so get used to it. By the way, her name is Sara Thompson, and she has a daughter called Penny…"

Lee Jun frowned. "Dude, you’re pursuing a widow? Aren’t you still a virgin? Why are you setting your mark so high? Wait… a westerner? I had no idea your tastes were so international."

Qing Yang responded, "She’s a good woman, so I don’t care if she’s a widow. The point is I like her. So, have you seen the pictures?"

Lee Jun refreshed the page and finally, in the settler’s diary column, he saw the pictures uploaded by Qing Yang’s ID. There were a lot of pictures of a family dinner. Other than his friend, there was indeed a beautiful, busty, and blonde woman in the frame. Beside her was a cute little girl, about 8 or 9 years old. She had a ponytail and was munching on the fruit the Academy dubbed the purple plum. She was giving the camera a wide smile.

"F*ck, dude you’re tasting both mom and daughter at the same time? Such an appetite!" Lee Jun typed.

Qing Yang’s reply came immediately. "Could you stop with jokes like that? It’s really not funny. Seriously though, what do you think about the girl? Do you think my dad will kill me if I bring her home?"

Lee Jun answered after giving it some thought, "I don't think he will. After all, this is no longer Earth. Didn’t your dad just praise several European scientists a few days ago? Furthermore, didn’t I hear that the government is encouraging mixed marriages since there are way too many of us Asian dudes to go around? So you see, if you marry her, you’ll even get some government benefits. So go for it!"

"F*ck you," Qing Yang responded jokingly, then he continued, "After these few days of contact, I really think she’s an excellent woman; hardworking, loves her daughter, and is so pretty on top of that. I think I’ll really try to pursue her."

"I wish you the best of luck, but seriously… the reason you’re chasing her is because you like big breasts, right? Don’t think I don’t know your tastes; I’ve screened through the collection you have in your hard-disc. Come on, don’t be shy," Lee Jun teased.

Qing Yang gave him a ‘sweat’ emoticon and no explanation. After Lee Jun finished looking through the album, he asked, "How’s life down there? Damn, based on the pictures, it does look like heaven."

Qing Yang’s interest returned. "It is like heaven downright. Just breathing the air alone can make you feel refreshed. I won’t get into the technical stuff, like oxygen percentages and all that, but everything here is truly something else. Bro, don’t be envious; it’s your own fault for taking the military industry course when I asked you to take architecture and robotics with me. Good, now eat your heart out."

Lee Jun burst out laughing. He replied, "Dude, I see your moment in paradise is ending soon too, okay? Construction of the capital and the second batch of residential area, I bet you won’t have the time to go home, much less chase after the girl. Furthermore, not all is bad with military industry. I’ll be going down there the day after tomorrow as well, as they need me for the experiment on new electromagnetic weaponry. I have half a month of holiday coming up, and I have the chance to explore the jungle with the Black Star Troopers, then we’ll see who the envious one is…"

This kind of conversation was happening all over the Hope. After gaining contact with the first batch of settlers, the people still remaining on the Hope were inspired to work harder. Everyone was waiting for the second selection with bated breath.

The future was so exciting, and everyone couldn’t wait for it to arrive!

Chapter end