"So you think we must find a way for humans to be self-sufficient in extraterrestrial worlds?" Liu Haiyang repeated her point.

Jiang Ling nodded, then continued, "Yes, but that's not enough. I mean, self-sufficiency alone isn't enough. How should I put it? Let's use an analogy! Suppose there's a small island with enough resources to support a hundred people. Now a stranded boat lands. How many people do you think can be on board to satisfy everyone?"

"I think it's definitely not a hundred people?" Liu Haiyang replied in a joking tone, "Maybe ten people? That way everyone can have ten people's worth of resources, and they'll live a prosperous life."

"Yes, you can do that." Jiang Ling continued to calculate using the initial conditions he provided. "After they settled on the island for a while, they discovered that resources weren't refreshed regularly like in the game. Instead, they were determined from the beginning and would gradually decrease as consumption increased. In this case, how would your ten people change?"

"Will they have conflicts and then go to war?"

"No, you said it too. They are very wealthy. In fact, even if they were to live lavishly, they would never run out of resources in their lifetime."

"Then the population should increase." Liu Haiyang thought for a while and gave a definite answer.

"Yes, they will increase rapidly at first. I'm not counting other problems caused by inbreeding; this is just a scaled-down model. Then, how high do you think they will continue to grow?"

"If it's uncontrolled, it should be three to four times the total resources, followed by a rapid population loss, up to one-fifth of the total resources. Our history records this, and the actual situation may be even worse. If it's controlled, it will be about 1.5 times the total resources, maybe even less. A small number of people will control the vast majority of resources, oppressing and enslaving the majority, who will be in a state of rapid growth and death." Liu Haiyang paused and continued, "However, they can also implement extremely strict population control, so that they can always maintain a prosperous and stable life."

"These three states seem to correspond to different social processes? Which state do you think is more likely?" Jiang Ling asked.

Liu Haiyang said with a relaxed smile: "To be fair, I hope they don't reverse history. So they should be somewhere between the second and third options, that is, strict laws but a compassionate society."

"Okay, then let's be more idealistic. In the end, the population grows to a reasonable level, just like the top designers among them did, reaching the maximum allowed by the total amount of resources, which is one hundred people." Jiang Ling nodded, then his tone suddenly changed. "Unfortunately, the island is not the legendary Garden of Eden. The people who just solved the population problem were surprised to find that the island has been sinking. Now they have two paths before them: one is to build large ships and find new islands; the other is to build dams to prevent the erosion of the sea. Building large ships naturally consumes resources, while building dams does not require resources, but it requires a lot of manpower. You can choose one or both paths, or neither."

"Do I have a choice?" Liu Haiyang was speechless.

"No, you don't have a choice, because you've blocked all escape routes from the start," Jiang Ling replied, minding her own business. "You chose population control and self-sufficiency. This means you not only lack the power to force others to build dams, but also lack the resources to build large ships. Your ability to withstand risks is extremely low. Once a natural disaster strikes, you'll permanently lose a portion of your population and resources until you can no longer withstand any risks... What's that look in your eyes? Are you trying to say that in a society like that, there would be people willing to sacrifice themselves?"

Liu Haiyang nodded sincerely, but quickly shook his head.

"In that situation, the sacrifice of a few people doesn't work," he said.

"Don't be so pessimistic. This assumption was made from the beginning. None of your choices will have good results." Jiang Ling patted his shoulder and consoled him. "Let's go back to the beginning. If they reversed history and returned to a primitive slave society, they would definitely choose to build a dam. Slave owners won't give up their slaves, otherwise they wouldn't be slave owners. In our opinion, building a dam is only a temporary solution, because the island will continue to sink and eventually disappear from the sea. So, it's obvious that this option will only prolong their survival."

"What about the other kind?"

"If they choose the middle way, their small society will have a false sense of stability. They can offset unforeseen risks through the sacrifice of some people. But unfortunately, the longer people live, the less willing they are to sacrifice. In the end, there will be no one left willing to sacrifice."

"Come to think of it, there are only 150 of them at best. The probability of a great man appearing is too low."

"The last type is the other extreme. A life of abundance can make people complacent. Even if they're willing to devote some resources to building large ships, they won't think about lighting up the technology tree and breaking out of this cycle. And if they can anticipate natural disasters, then they won't be able to maintain their abundance. Natural disasters mean they need to have reserves, and who wouldn't want to have more reserves? Do you think a society of only ten people can produce civilization? They're already doing their best just to remain the same."

"so......"

Jiang Ling concluded, "So this hypothesis has two very obvious limitations: insufficient population and insufficient resources. Of course, population here doesn't represent productivity; it's also considered a type of resource—only when other resources are sufficient can population be an external manifestation of productivity."