Augustus and Matt Horner walked side by side, heading south along the bustling commercial street of New Canaan. As the area became more and more prosperous, the aroma of spices, dried fruits and cooked seafood filled their nostrils.
At first, Augustus didn't say much to Matt, but just walked and admired the scenery on the street. The sky was cloudless, and when he looked up, he could see the bright starry sky, the co-orbiting Terrador VIII
Numbers and numbers IX are each other's moons.
"Ah...Mr. Augustus, you are an interstellar trader. You must have traveled to many places, right?" After a while, Matt, who was very curious about Augustus, couldn't help but ask him a question. Since he was wanted,
, Augustus has always presented himself as a middle-aged man, and his weathered image is quite confusing.
"Yes, I have been to many places." Augustus replied: "My friends and I have been to Tarsonis Prime and places outside the Koprulu sector."
"There are many planets where strange animals and plants grow, as if you are in a dreamlike and beautiful world. Garden planets with a warm climate and prosperous life, barren planets where most of the land is desert, and jungle planets with dangerous aliens, which are troubled by the lack of oceans.
A stone planet with a thin atmosphere...the vastness of this world is far beyond your imagination," he said.
"...I really hope that one day I can be like you." Matt said with longing.
"Be a businessman?" Augustus looked at him.
"Not necessarily." Matt shook his head: "Actually, I want to be a pilot. I hope to be able to drive my own spaceship to various planets and explore undiscovered worlds."
"This dream is worth fighting for. Horner, which federal air force university are you going to take? Or obtain a civil aircraft flying license through self-study." Augustus said: "I suggest you go to the federal military academy.
Receive formal military training."
"According to family tradition, I should go to university locally." Matt's face turned redder: "There is no first-class military university in Terrador IX. Most universities train administrators, finance and
Management talents, and few civilian students can afford the high tuition fees of these universities. Universities for civilians are all to serve Terrador's developed tourism industry."
"If I go to college on another planet far away from Terrador, it is very likely that my family will not be able to support the cost of my study abroad... Of course, I believe that I have the ability to obtain a full scholarship to Tarsonis University.
Judging from the requirements, it shouldn't be difficult." There is no doubt that Matt, with his serious personality, is a true learning genius.
"If you are willing, I can write a letter of recommendation for you to the principal of Umoyan Air Force Academy." Augustus said.
"Umoyan?" Matt didn't expect August to say this at all. A stranger who just met said that he was going to recommend him to Umoyan University. Either this is a classic routine of human traffickers, or this is
The matter seemed to Augustus a trivial matter.
Many businessmen are willing to invest in emerging industries and talents.
"My family and I don't know much about Umoyang...it's too far there." Matt said: "My parents are liberal people and they won't object to me going to school on other planets, but
After all, Umo Yang is too far away."
"That's right. After all, you haven't even graduated from high school yet." Augustus said.
"Soon, sir," Matt said.
The topic came to an abrupt end. As they gradually walked out of the commercial streets of New Canaan and away from the city center, the scene of feasting and feasting in the red light district inevitably appeared.
There are gorgeous women standing in front of the cheap bars, the smell of barbecue comes from the mid- to low-end restaurants, there are a surprisingly large number of hotels and capsule hotels, and hot spring baths are also one of the pillar industries of this resort. Here, Austria
Gusdu could clearly see the difference between the people here and the rich people in the commercial street.
Just like all the poor people in the Terran Federation, the poor people in Terrador have the same characteristics as all poor people: bones are destroyed due to a single diet and heavy labor, and children are stunted due to malnutrition. The poorer they are.
The more hopeless people are, the more they rely on drugs to escape reality. From time to time, you can see people with dull eyes or trembling hiding in the depths of the streets taking drugs.
Even at night, they are still working non-stop. In order to keep the streets and beaches clean and tidy, many cleaning workers are working hard in dark green uniforms and focus on cleaning up the garbage on the ground.
In restaurants, spas, hotels and other service industries, uniformed men and women serve wealthy people from all over the Federation, groveling like slaves and doing their best to serve their guests. All of them
The service ensures that guests who come to spend money are comfortable without having to lift any of their fingers, so that they feel that every penny they spend is satisfactory, and they spend more happily.
In this era, cleaning robots have already been able to completely replace labor and become more efficient. Many things can also be done using machines instead of manpower. Although New Canaan’s cleaning companies and store veterans are fully capable and have the channels to replace them with
Cleaning robots, but a cruel fact is: in Terrador, people are cheaper than machines.
The workers in Terrador's service industry and other private industries are "contract workers" from other planets. They are forced to work with Tyranids for various reasons, including loan sharking, bankruptcy and debt.
The lending financial institutions in the Federation signed extremely unequal contracts, which were almost equivalent to signing contracts for prostitution. During the economic turmoil caused by the four-year Kailian War, large numbers of extremely cheap labor workers were forced to come to Terrador to work for them.
The boss creates profits to repay the debts he owes.
Many Federation planets were greatly damaged and their economies collapsed due to the Kailian War, but Terrador IX gradually became prosperous as a result. In the fiercest years of the war, Tarsonis and several other
The wealthy class of the main star world still transferred their wealth and children to Terrador to cope with the worst possible outcome of the Federation being defeated in the war.
Today, such contract workers have become the cornerstone of maintaining the operation of various industries, and their number exceeds 40% of the total population of Terrador. Behind the prosperity and development of Terrador IX resort are those who
The sweat and blood of contract workers and cheap laborers who work hard day and night.
UNN never reports on the plight of the people at the bottom of Terrador IX, nor does it mention that they are actually slaves of the nobles of Terrador and the blood-sucking companies of the Federation. These people are not protected by federal laws, even Tyranids.
The federal unions also turn a deaf ear to these people. After all, they only complain and redress the grievances of the wealthy.
Compared with these people, Matt is undoubtedly lucky. His family finally gained a foothold in Terrador after several generations of hard work through honest and trustworthy small business. The Horner family is not considered wealthy but
At least they have real estate and jobs to survive as citizens rather than homeless people. They cannot hire servants or use robots like the middle class and upper class, but they are not forced to do heavy physical labor.
"Have you seen those people?" Augustus said to Matt: "Many of them are burdened with debts that they cannot repay. Their children must accept such a fate from birth. They can only
Growing up in an environment of extreme material scarcity, it is difficult to achieve higher achievements than their parents."
"I'm much luckier than them." As a native of Terrador, Matt certainly understands the situation of these people, but there is nothing he can do about it.
"If it were me, I would say I must rescue these unfortunate people." Augustus put his hands behind his back.
"Terador's prosperity is built on an unfair system, and the federal government here is as corrupt as on other planets in the Federation territory. Terrador's government officials do their best to profit and use it to curry favor with Tarsonis.
The nobles of the Creation Family, faced with the stubborn disease that has penetrated into Terrador, they turned a deaf ear and did nothing." As he spoke, he said words that sounded quite remarkable to Matt.
"The Planetary Defense Force is nothing more than a fictitious military organization. The total number of soldiers is less than two companies. As the most elite armed force in the entire galaxy, the Knights of Terrador are essentially only for the rich and wealthy.
Powerful men provide services, and they could not be more noble than the police officers of Tarsonis Police Department."
"This is Terrador No. 9, Mr. Augustus. All Terradorians know that this is the back garden of the founding family of Tarsonis. Most of the Terrador nobles actually come from
A nobleman in Tarsonis." Matt was not surprised by Augustus's anti-Federation tendencies. If his hometown was reduced to a dead world full of nuclear wasteland and radioactive fallout by a nuclear bomb, then he must also
Will turn into a devil.
"Do you want to bring any changes to all of this?" Augustus stared into Matt's eyes: "You can and have the ability to bring about great changes to this backwater of the Tyrannic Federation."
At this moment, the topic suddenly became serious. Just like before, Matt did not expect Augustus to say such things. The true identity of Augustus was already clear, even if he was not a
The traitor and traitor who is hated by the federal government must also be a person who deeply hates and hates the federal government.
Generally speaking, sociological scholars will regard this group of people as a traumatized group. Their homes were burned down, they have nothing, and they have endless resentment and anger that need to be vented.
"Me? I can't do anything. I will just watch the ups and downs of the spaceships and calculate the time from when they take off to when they disappear." Matt said: "But I also think that the federal government is implementing it in the federation's allied planets.
Under his own cruel rule, both those in the founding family and the government have begun to become corrupt."
Matt has his own views on the revolution that is breaking out at the other end of the distant Koprulu sector. It is true that he does not believe that the innocent casualties caused by the revolution are a necessary price, but Matt still has a strong sense of justice in his heart
.The important thing is that Matt longs for a change in this unchanging life, and revolution, something that sounds very missionary, is no less attractive to him.
"No, you are fully capable of doing more. Your abilities and the actual contribution you can make to mankind in the Koprulu sector are far beyond your own imagination." Augustus said to Matt seriously.
: "In the past, I thought, as you might imagine, that the federal government has become too corrupt, but what can one person do?"
"In the past?" Matt looked at Augustus. He was no longer so shy and forgot that he was among a group of strangers: "What happened? There must be something that contributed to your change today."
"Korhal IV was destroyed." Augustus said: "The Federation destroyed a beautiful planet and changed many people. The founding family of Tarsonis changed many people. They turned good people into bad people."
"Although I have many shortcomings, there is one thing that makes many people like me, and that is that I am a true activist."
"So you have realized your original ideal, you are a revolutionary!" Matt's voice became smaller. He thought he would be afraid, but in fact he was not.
"Are you a member of the Korhal Revolutionary Army or the Sons of Korhal?" he said excitedly.
"Or are the Sons of Korhal the revolutionary army? Last time it was Mar Sara, now it's Terrador. You will bring salvation to Terrador." Matt said.
"Will Terrador become a base of operations for the revolutionary army? Very good, this will be the birthplace of the revolution. Many people are dissatisfied with the federal government. As long as you show up here, all aspiring people in Terrador will
Scholars will come in droves."
"Do you know that Augustus Mengsk? He actually has the same name as you... Augustus Mengsk led so many successful uprisings, he is a well-deserved hero!"
A good family education and the example set by his parents made Matt Horner understand at an early age what an upright person should be. If the revolution needs a leader, then he should be Augustus Transfer
A person who is firm and unwavering. Only those who firmly believe in the cause they are undertaking will follow him without hesitation.
In the eyes of the young and inexperienced Matt Horner, the image of Augustus has been associated with a freedom fighter. He is undoubtedly an ideological giant.
"..." Augustus didn't expect that Matt was actually a fan of his own.
Then, things are much simpler.
Just as he was talking, the headquarters of the Knights of Terrador was already in sight. It was a castle made of granite cubes, with arc-shaped exterior walls and dead-end square towers. The pure white walls were hung with gorgeous
lanterns, the interior of the castle is brightly lit.
"Here we are." Augustus looked at the castle and said with a smile: "I like you very much, Matt."
"I hope we can talk again." He pointed to a high-end restaurant opposite the Knight's Castle and said, "Let's go, I will pay for everything."
"This..." Just as Matt was about to refuse, the pink-haired girl behind Augustus pulled him toward the restaurant.
"What's wrong? Are you going to refuse Augustus' invitation?" said another tall girl with red hair.
"No, of course not." Matt said quickly.
Matt had rarely walked into a high-end restaurant with gorgeous decorations in his life, and he was still a little dazed when he sat firmly on the gilded seat.
He was sitting between two burly men, and the pink-haired girl was opposite.
When Augustus went to order food, on the table
"Want to play cards?" Suddenly, the bored pink-haired girl suddenly asked Matt.
"..." Matt was stunned: "What?"
"Poker." The playful pink-haired girl was clearly not on the same page as Matt.
"I can't believe there are boys who can't play cards? How could that be?" she said.
"I will." Matt answers all questions. He has always been serious. A good tutor taught him that ignoring a person will put both parties in a very embarrassing situation. Although he can't understand why he was suddenly asked to play cards.
"What's the bet?"
"But I haven't promised you yet..." Matt said.
"People in the Port of the Dead always have something to bet on when playing cards," Mira said.