Chapter 434: Chapter 422: The End Has Finally Come
Watching as Kallen boarded the train, and then as the train departed the station until even the smoke it spewed had dissipated, Perfikot finally rose from his seat and turned to look at the station master who was standing respectfully and hardly daring to breathe.
"Remember the faces of these people, especially that woman. If they appear again, do not alert them, but immediately send someone to inform me, understood?" Perfikot gave orders with the authority of the Lord of the North without any further explanation.
The station master, feeling as if granted a reprieve, nodded quickly and assured repeatedly, "Rest assured, my Lord Count! I will keep a close watch on these people, and should there be any news, I will inform you at once! Oh, no! I will report to you! Please forgive my improper wording!"
Perfikot didn’t mind this at all, he simply waved a hand leisurely and said, "No need for formalities, I am a person who is easy to talk to, as long as you have the ability to earn my favor, or you are loyal enough to receive my rewards, minor discourtesy and disrespect need not be minded. I haven’t reached the stage where I need to use these things to establish my prestige."
"Thank you for your... benevolence!" However, Perfikot’s reassurance did not ease the station master’s nerves much; instead, it made him even more tense.
Perfikot shook his head helplessly, then left the station.
"Am I really that intimidating?" Sitting in a modest steam carriage, Perfikot looked at Beifa sitting beside him, seeking her response.
However, Beifa was merely a puppet. Although she was very intelligent and even showed signs of awakening artificial intelligence, she could not answer Perfikot’s question.
Not that there was anything wrong with Perfikot discussing the matter with Beifa, it’s just that Beifa did not possess the function of conversation, even though Perfikot had installed the latest language module and mechanical logic in her.
After she and Weir created the miniature magical puppet computer, Perfikot tried using this technology to upgrade the intelligence of the Alchemy Puppet.
In the Northern Territory, such alchemical puppets were ubiquitous, but none had truly mastered language skills and intelligence; even the most optimistic Beifa had not awakened self-awareness.
Even though Perfikot was lenient and indulgent enough, investing significant time and effort in research, all the intelligence demonstrated by the alchemical puppets consistently relied on mechanical logic, without any genuine self-awareness or potential for artificial intelligence.
Perfikot felt neither disappointment nor relief about this, considering it merely a recreational research project.
More than this, the empire finally deciding to announce news of the world’s end was the real focus of Perfikot’s attention.
Originally, the royal court had decided to issue a warning of the apocalypse to the entire empire this winter, while also extending goodwill to other nations of the old world.
Truth be told, until now, other nations seemed unaware of the apocalyptic signs, which Perfikot found somewhat unbelievable.
However, considering that she had overthrown the capital of the Triple Alliance in one stroke, and the academic world of other old-world countries had declined significantly, with the empire strictly controlling and restricting related research, it seemed somewhat understandable that other countries might not have discovered it.
The research capabilities of many small countries might not even match those of an arbitrary university in Langton, let alone the fact that there were only a few powerful countries left in the old world, and after Perfikot had eliminated three of them, whether the remaining ones had the capability to detect the signs of the apocalypse was questionable.
In fact, had she not discovered all this in advance, the empire might not have been able to prepare so much ahead of time.
In the worst-case scenario, the entire world might have spent the most valuable time before the apocalypse in blissful ignorance, leading to all nations being caught off guard when the apocalypse arrived.
Instead of the current situation where, at least, the empire had sufficient preparations and contingency plans; although still suffering significant losses, the empire could at least save a substantial portion of its citizens and retain most of its industrial and research prowess.
Of course, abandoning the motherland of the empire was still heartbreaking, even though over the past three years, Perfikot had done all he could to relocate the empire’s homeland, it was impossible to completely transfer the empire’s homeland industry to the Northern Territory before the apocalyptic crisis was fully unveiled.
And now, although this critical information has been disclosed, considering the impending apocalypse and the impact on sea transportation routes, transporting those precious industries from the empire’s homeland to the Northern Territory will probably be an exceedingly difficult task.
Moreover, the key point is that in the past, the empire sustained its homeland consumption and demands through a vast network of overseas colonies, relying on continuous resource influx from overseas, allowing the Victor Empire to sustain the consumption of the industrial revolution and leap to become the most developed nation in the world.
Now, with the apocalypse imminent, the empire’s vast overseas colonies are virtually zero, even the empire’s homeland is to be abandoned, leaving only the Northern Territory and the neighboring New Continent colony. Relying solely on their output to meet all industrial demands is indeed somewhat trying.
Not to mention, in the apocalyptic winter, agriculture and animal husbandry are nearly non-existent, and a large volume of raw material processing and production will also suffer greatly. The future of the Victor Empire is uncertain; even Perfikot, who planned all this, finds it challenging to make an accurate prediction.
After all, the future has entered a stage that no one has experienced before; under the weight of the apocalypse, how the world will develop and how human nature will change are all unknowns.
Yet behind all this, Perfikot feels that if someone were to ask her a question as stupid as those in the original world, she could at least confidently answer that all of this is very worthwhile.
Whether she established the Northern Territory shelter, destroyed the Triple Alliance, or made various stern or ruthless decisions, if these actions can ensure the continuity of human civilization, then it is all worth it.
Civilization is called civilization because it is composed of people.
A civilization without people is meaningless, but a civilization with only people is equally meaningless.
Perfikot has saved the civilization of this world, leaving enough sparks for the inheritance of civilization, which is undoubtedly a dazzling and great achievement for all of humanity.
But her work is not over yet, for she still has to ensure that humanity can transition smoothly through the period of the apocalypse, leading human civilization from its original prosperity to survival in the apocalypse.
Indeed, there is something even more important, which is to let the torch of civilization and wisdom be carried forward.