Chapter 1096: So What?

"For us," the receptionist said, gazing up at the azure sky as if his thoughts had drifted elsewhere, "getting rid of Libido is a simple thing. It's not just technically simple; there's no insurmountable psychological barrier to it either. The impact on the human psyche is profound and unpredictable, leading to countless distortions, struggles, and pain, with little apparent benefit. In the words of your consumer society, Libido has become an obsolete product."

After he finished speaking, there was silence for almost half a minute. Lin Sanjiu couldn't find her voice.

Dr. Hu closed his eyes upon hearing the words 'human psyche,' aligning with the early mainstream medical attitude towards psychology. Bohemia looked bewildered as if the receptionist had just performed an unexpected Italian opera. Among those present, only Lin Sanjiu realized the significance of his words.

No wonder...

As she looked at the receptionist's half-concealed smile, the small nagging question in the depths of her mind finally unraveled.

Ever since experiencing the 'morning of the garbageman,' a vague question had been floating in her consciousness. It wasn't big or important, but it was as discomforting as a pebble in her shoe.

A man with a remarkably handsome appearance chose to become a garbageman because he found the most profound sense of fulfillment in this job. The receptionist had said, "For us, there are so many things that bring us both physical and mental pleasure, and the joy of appearance contributes only a tiny fraction."

How could that be possible?

Anyone with a certain understanding of human psychology knows that in this ethnic group, it is almost impossible to ignore appearance. 'Judging a book by its cover' is a behavior encoded in human biology since the time of early humans, primarily because of the link between appearance and reproduction.

The most primitive form of aesthetics, which is a basic aesthetic shared across cultures, is essentially a way to identify and pursue health: rosy complexions, clear eyes, well-aligned teeth, lush hair... Humans consider individuals with unhealthy features to be unattractive and seek out mates with healthy traits, fundamentally for the purpose of better reproduction. Even within same-sex courtship, which lacks reproductive functionality, a similar consistency is observed. As for the various diversities in aesthetics that have developed culturally, that's a different story.

If humans no longer had sexual drive...

As Lin Sanjiu thought about this, she had difficulty proceeding. Her imagination couldn't begin to fathom what the human psyche would be like without Libido. Libido isn't just a force in sexual reproduction, even though it originates from sexuality. One psychoanalytic theory even suggests that it is the root driving force behind all human behavior. Even eunuchs who have lost their sexual organs or elderly individuals in the twilight of their lives are continually influenced and driven by Libido in various psychological forms.

"Hey, what exactly is this Libido?" Bohemia leaned in, asking in a hushed voice.

It's too complex to explain to her, Lin Sanjiu thought, still immersed in the various thoughts stirred up by the shock. She waved her hand as if shooing away a fly. Bohemia immediately wore a disgruntled expression and cast a glance at Dr. Hu, who was sleeping on her skirt. She had to hold back her annoyance.

'This... How is that even possible?' Lin Sanjiu gazed at the receptionist, momentarily unable to grasp the concept. Because she couldn't imagine it, she didn't even know where to begin asking questions. All she could do was mumble and repeat, "How is that even possible?"

"In order to prevent you from falling asleep as well," the receptionist glanced at Dr. Hu and chuckled, "I won't go into the technical details. I'm not a scholar of psychoanalysis, and I can't describe the impact of these changes in precise academic language. If you're interested, you can look at relevant academic papers. Oh, I forgot, you can't read the text here."

He furrowed his brow slightly as if he found the situation a bit challenging. "I can only describe personal feelings and understanding... My hobby is writing poetry, so my language might not be very precise. Please bear with me."

Lin Sanjiu nodded.

"Due to my job, I have a much deeper understanding of other human societies than the average local resident here. But the more I delve into it, the more I feel that the Mushroom Society is precious... Of course, that's another topic. In my understanding, members of other human societies are constantly in a state of being judged by others, aren't they?"

"You mean..."

"When a person steps into the public eye, they can never escape the series of value judgments that come with it... Such as the person's occupation, the car they drive, their weight, skin color, and where they come from. Endless judgments. If we don't make judgments based on these standards, your society would have no idea how to perceive a person."

This is indeed a fact.

Lin Sanjiu looked at Bohemia beside her. The conversation had seemed to deviate from the original topic by now. Bohemia tilted her head, her face filled with confusion, but she was still trying to understand what the two were talking about. Whether her thoughts had been shaken, Lin Sanjiu couldn't tell.

"But in the Mushroom Society, when we look at a person, we only see the person themselves. We don't make value judgments about this person based on any external factors—whether you are beautiful and wealthy, I won't envy you, or whether your features are underdeveloped, I won't detest or avoid you. While your society continues to focus on the surface of strength and beauty, what we truly crave is the spiritual connection between people. As you can see, our society doesn't have concepts like money, status, and hierarchy. This is not only because we have generally found spiritual pursuits... but also because after eliminating the pursuit of money, which only brings negative effects, we've also removed biological standards of judgment from within us. This allows our society to see a person's pure essence."

These words carried a lot of information and were somewhat hard to grasp. The receptionist paused here, seemingly wanting to give Lin Sanjiu some time to digest it.

"Initially, you might ask, without money as a motivating factor, what drives people to progress and maintain the society? My answer is that to make humanity progress, there are far more powerful factors than money: faith, ideals, hobbies, a sense of duty... There are so many. You might also ask, without Libido, what drives people to operate society and continue the race?"

Unconsciously, Lin Sanjiu nodded, and the wound at the back of her head throbbed again.

"First, it's important to clarify that giving up reproductive capability is a personal choice, and not everyone is required to do so. However, the current trend is that more and more people are realizing the benefits of shedding this heavy, primal biological instinct. So, people like me have been increasing over the past twenty years."

He smiled slightly, covering his mouth with his fist, briefly taking on a somewhat bashful appearance. The people here all had good complexions, making it hard to discern their ages, and Lin Sanjiu couldn't be sure how old he was. "Second, even if we give up reproductive capability, we still fulfill our responsibilities as members of the species, just like other humans... because we love this place, we love this world. Because we love it, we want it to last for a very long time and be maintained cleanly. To achieve this, we are willing to donate all of our sperm and eggs, or raise our own clones."

1

At the mention of the last few words, Bohemia suddenly gasped for air.

Even though genetic resemblance between family members wasn't enough to make a mother and daughter sound so alike... Lin Sanjiu glanced at her and whispered, "Do you remember the reflection Mei Jia saw in the puddle? If you can ignore the wound and swelling, she is a younger version of her mother..."

In this context, when they had just entered this world, they had seen a news report about a kindergarten fire in Old Da's house. The unhappy parent on television, cradling a child that seemed like a younger version of themselves.

But...

Lin Sanjiu suddenly felt a bit uncertain.

So what? 

1