68: population

Deep within the Echo Valley nebula, the passage of time seemed diluted by the faint shimmer of ionized gases. For the fledgling Human Restoration Alliance, every day was a frantic construction day in a race against time.

The first modules of the keystone space station were rapidly produced in the giant shipyards of Forge-I like building blocks. They were then carefully transported to designated orbital nodes within the nebula by worker bee-class support ships and modified large transport barges for remote-controlled assembly. Designed to house tens of thousands in its initial phase, this space station would become the Human Federation's first administrative, scientific research, and small-scale industrial center. it utilized a large number of modular STC designs and integrated an Environmentally Adaptive Shell and a basic Concept Stabilization Field to ensure stability and concealment within the nebula's complex environment.

Meanwhile, reconnaissance reports for the three candidate planets were sent back one after another.

· Candidate Three (the moon Crystal Dust): Confirmed to be rich in high-purity information turbulence crystal variant veins (easier to process than those produced on Forge-I), but surface radiation far exceeds expectations, and there is unstable geological activity (likely related to the gravitational tides of the gas giant). The risk of establishing a permanent settlement is too high, but automated mining outposts can be established.

· Candidate One (the frozen planet Nether Abyss): The scale of the underground caverns is staggering, forming natural, extremely deep hidden spaces. Abundant geothermal resources and rare metal veins have been detected inside. The atmosphere is thin but stable in composition (mainly nitrogen and inert gases), with no liquid water. The potential for terraforming into a habitable underground city is immense, but the initial investment and engineering volume would be astronomical.

· Candidate Two (the Earth-like planet Glimmer): Possesses a thin but oxygenated atmosphere, stable liquid water (concentrated in polar ice caps and underground aquifers), and relatively mild (though cold) surface temperatures. Located at the edge of the dust belt, its position is not absolutely hidden, but it is not on a major shipping lane. The difficulty of terraforming is the lowest, allowing for the fastest establishment of a surface base with natural ecological cycling capabilities.

"Glimmer is the most suitable as the first terrestrial settlement," the Engineering Director pointed at the holographic star map during the Steering Committee meeting. "We can first establish enclosed dome cities, utilizing its water resources and relatively stable environment to quickly launch agriculture (hydroponics and aeroponics) and basic industry, while serving as a transit station for expansion toward Nether Abyss and Crystal Dust."

"But Glimmer's concealment is insufficient," proposed the Military Commissioner (a role held concurrently by Alpha-01). "We need to deploy early warning outposts and hidden defense platforms within the dust belt or the adjacent asteroid belt."

"Agreed. The establishment of the defense system and the construction of the settlement must be synchronized." Han Zhe nodded. "providence, based on Glimmer, design a layered orbital/surface defense system proposal and coordinate it with Forge-I's production plan."

[Generating plan. Preliminary designs include: orbital defense platforms (equipped with light laser arrays and missiles), surface anti-air/anti-orbital battery positions, mobile ground armored unit production lines (upscaled based on cmc armor technology), and hidden fortification networks utilizing Glimmer's own terrain (such as canyons and ice fields).] providence responded swiftly.

With the selection of the settlement site and the finalization of the defense plan, the Human Federation's blueprint for expansion became increasingly clear. However, the foundation of all these grand plans—the population—had become the most urgent and difficult bottleneck.

The hive-ii system, with resource support from Forge-I, was already running at full capacity. But cloning and cultivation take time, especially to ensure quality and reduce unknown risks that the Pristine Embryo protocol might bring; the cultivation cycle could not be excessively compressed. Currently, the Human Federation's total population (including all clone soldiers, technicians, engineers, and necessary service support personnel) had only just surpassed fifty thousand. For controlling a star system, building multiple bases, and simultaneously maintaining an expanding fleet and army, this population was practically a drop in the bucket.

"We need population—a massive, stable population with diversity and growth potential," the Medical Director (also the primary person in charge of hive-ii) said with a grim expression during a special meeting on population strategy. "Relying solely on cloning is not only unable to keep up with the speed, but in the long run, there are risks of a singular gene pool, a distorted social structure, and cultural stagnation. The Pristine Embryo protocol optimized the foundation, but it cannot replace the genetic diversity and social vitality brought by natural reproduction."

"But natural reproduction takes time, a stable social environment, and a complete family structure and education system... We have none of that right now," someone questioned.

"So we need a transitional plan, one that allows us to achieve explosive population growth in the short term while laying the foundation for a future natural reproduction society." Han Zhe spoke slowly, his gaze turning toward providence. "providence, combining the biotechnological potential of Forge-I, the existing framework of hive-ii, and the genetic knowledge we've gained from K-73 and STC, is there an... accelerated, mass-produced cloning protocol with gender differentiation and social role presetting? The goal: to rapidly increase the population base to a level sufficient to support initial expansion within controllable risks, for example... 1.5 billion."

1.5 billion!

A collective gasp filled the meeting room. This number was already equivalent to the permanent population of a moderately prosperous system in the Imperium!

providence fell silent for a few seconds, data streams flashing at high speed. [Theoretically, a possibility exists. However, the risk is extremely high and will fundamentally alter the social composition of the Human Federation.]

[The plan is temporarily named: the prairie fire protocol. Core points:**]

1. Ultra-large-scale parallel cultivation: Utilize suitable large-scale biological reaction chambers in the deep crust of Forge-I to establish tens of thousands of giant cloning cultivation arrays. Each array can simultaneously cultivate thousands of clone embryos.

2. Accelerated growth and neural indoctrination: Based on the Pristine Embryo protocol, introduce controlled growth hormones and neural development catalysts to compress the physiological maturation cycle to one-third of the standard cycle (reaching physiological adulthood in approximately seven Imperial standard years). Simultaneously, pair this with an ultra-large-scale 'quenching' neural training and memory/skill infusion system to ensure new individuals possess basic labor skills, language ability, and a preliminary identification with the Human Federation upon 'birth'.

3. Gender differentiation and social presetting: Preset the gender ratio of cultivated individuals according to expansion needs (suggesting near 1:1 initially) and optimize physical fitness and neural type tendencies for different genders (non-absolute, retaining a range of individual differences). Simultaneously, during the neural indoctrination phase, introduce basic social division of labor concepts (workers, farmers, soldiers, technicians, etc.) for guidance, while allowing for subsequent adjustments based on individual performance and will.

4. Risks and Costs:

- Genetic diversity risk: Even with optimization, large-scale mass cloning will still result in a relatively narrow gene pool, requiring the long-term introduction of natural reproduction and genetic adjustments for improvement.

- Psychological and social risks: Accelerated growth and indoctrinated education may lead to individual psychological stability issues, suppression of creativity, and cognitive confusion regarding their 'created' identity. A powerful psychological support and social integration system must be in place.

- Resource consumption: The prairie fire protocol will exhaust the vast majority of Forge-I's biological resource output for the next twelve months and occupy a massive amount of energy. It will severely crowd out resources for other industrial and military projects.

- Ethical impact: This protocol is essentially 'manufacturing' a population rather than 'reproducing' one. It will have a profound and irreversible impact on the future ethics and social values of the Human Federation.

providence laid the cold choice before everyone: either endure slow population growth and be unable to expand before the window of opportunity closes, or conduct an unprecedented 'population explosion' with massive risks, gambling on the future social structure of the Human Federation.

The meeting fell into a long silence. Everyone understood the weight of this decision.

"Do we need to vote?" Han Zhe looked around at everyone.

"No, Chairman," Alpha-01 spoke first, his voice steady. "You are the supreme decision-maker. A choice regarding the fundamental path of civilization requires your judgment. We... will execute the order."

The others nodded one after another. The pressure ultimately fell on Han Zhe's shoulders.

He closed his eyes, and the dawn's initial lonely voyage flashed through his mind, as did the tragic struggle with the chaos larva ship, the heart-stopping moment of awakening providence, and the hope when formulating the Human Federation's blueprint... On their journey so far, which time had they not been dancing on a knife's edge? Which time had they not gambled everything?

Slow development might be safe, but in this 42nd Millennium fraught with danger, being slow often meant being eliminated or consumed. Only by having a sufficient population base could they quickly digest technology, Pioneer territory, establish solid defensive lines, and form a truly resilient civilization.

"Approve the prairie fire protocol." Han Zhe opened his eyes, his gaze like a torch. "Immediately initiate preliminary preparations and facility construction. The goal: within eighteen months, complete the cultivation and basic socialization of the first 500 million people; within thirty-six months, reach a total population of 1.5 billion. Simultaneously, establish the 'Social Integration and Psychological Support Headquarters,' led by the Medical Director with algorithmic support from providence, to immediately begin designing psychological counseling, social guidance, and long-term planning for the transition to a natural reproduction society for the population produced by the prairie fire protocol. We cannot just 'manufacture' people; we must build a 'home' where they can survive, develop, and find meaning."

[Command confirmed. The prairie fire protocol is initiated. Forge-I industrial protocols redirected. Selection and modification of biological reaction chambers begin.] providence's voice remained cold, but there seemed to be a trace of undetectable... solemnity? Perhaps it was an illusion.

"Furthermore," Han Zhe added, "the population produced by the prairie fire protocol must have citizenship, social status, and development opportunities that are completely equal to those of the natural-born population (in the future). This point must be written into the Human Federation Basic Code. Since we 'manufactured' them, we have the responsibility to grant them full human dignity and rights."

The order was final. Forge-I, the iron planet, once again began its most drastic 'internal modification' since its awakening. Giant engineering machines delved into the crust of designated areas, excavating, reinforcing, and laying pipelines to build biological cultivation arrays of unprecedented scale. Dedicated nutrient solution synthesis plants, gene modulation centers, and ultra-large neural indoctrination hubs sprang up like mushrooms inside Forge-I.

Meanwhile, the settlement construction on the planet Glimmer also pushed forward with full force. The first batch of five thousand engineering personnel (mainly reassigned clone soldiers) and a large number of SCV units landed, beginning construction on the first batch of enclosed dome cities, hydroponic farms, air recycling plants, and basic mineral processing facilities. In orbit, prefabricated defense platform modules were towed into position and assembly began.

Phase one of the keystone space station's construction was nearing completion, and some administrative and scientific research personnel began to move in.

The Human Federation Defense Force's recruit training camps were established simultaneously on Forge-I and Glimmer. More new models of armor (the 'Defender' series heavy infantry armor developed based on cmc technology) and vehicles began to roll off the production lines.

The entire Human Federation control zone (currently including the Echo Valley nebula, the star system where Forge-I is located, the Glimmer star system, and several surrounding resource points) was like a complex machine that had just completed its design and begun operating at full power, with every gear turning frantically.

Han Zhe knew this was the most dangerous and critical period. They were like a cicada molting; the old shell was about to break but hadn't yet, and the new body was incredibly weak. Any strong external interference could lead to catastrophic consequences.

He could only pray that the focus of the Black Crusade remained firmly locked on the Cadia Gate and that the Imperium had no time for anything else; pray that the damaged Chaos Fleet was busy with infighting or looting and would not return for the time being; pray that their concealment measures were effective enough not to attract the scrutiny of other unknown entities.

And behind this prayer, deep within Forge-I, in those hundreds of millions of culture tanks, 1.5 billion new lives—carrying the Human Federation's expansionist ambitions and future uncertainties—were rapidly taking shape.

Population, this most fundamental resource, was about to ignite the first real 'prairie fire' in this dark sea of stars in the most unusual way. The pace of expansion would advance irrepressibly with this surging tide of people.