Chapter 232 Unsolvable Problem
Riven felt a sense of terror.
This kind of terror is different from the brutal and unreasonable law of the jungle that Noxus displays on the surface.
Rather, it is a social model that is quietly hidden under a glamorous appearance, with rigorous logic, mature theory, and good operation, and it systematically oppresses the "low caste" untouchables.
Noxus beats you up, and then tells you to beat them back if you can.
Ionia, on the other hand, steps on people under its feet, and then uses objective facts to help you analyze why you should be beaten and why you should not fight back.
Riven felt that the latter was more terrifying.
Although she was born a serf, she still knew how to join the army to save herself.
These Ionian pariahs have lived in a "paradise" controlled by sect masters and clan elders since birth, and have been instilled with the religious theory of "balance of all things" since childhood.
If one makes sacrifices to maintain the balance of all things during his lifetime, he can enjoy a "ghost life" in the spiritual realm after death; if he is reincarnated, he can also be born into a good family.
Under the control of this set of religious theories, they don't even want to resist.
"Wait..." Riven couldn't understand. She asked the sailors, "You have been learning Janna's thoughts from me these days, so what do you think of the 'equality for all' that we pursue?"
The sailors looked at each other.
They thought about it and replied: "Everyone is equal, which should be based on the premise of maintaining the balance of all things."
The implication is that...
"You have excluded yourselves from the 'people'?" Riven's eyes widened in disbelief.
How could anyone understand Janna's theory this way?
But that's what these Ionian pariahs think.
They studied Janna's theory only because they admired her power and hoped to rely on the power of the goddess to drive away the invaders from Noxus.
As for themselves...
"We are redundant," the sailors said. "Our existence will only cause a consumption that nature cannot bear."
"Only by dying without attachment can the balance of all things in Ionia be maintained."
"Balance bullshit!" Riven said angrily.
She was very angry. She didn't know why she was so angry.
Perhaps that booklet and the experiences she had had these days really changed her.
In anger, Riven seemed to really think of herself as the leader. She cursed:
"If you just want to save Ionia, then you don't have to follow the goddess Janna—"
"All you need to do is shout 'Ionia is vigorous and immortal' and then go to the battlefield with your sword in hand and fight!"
"Are you not afraid of death anyway?"
"But let me ask you... What kind of Ionia do you want to save? An Ionia that treats you as pariahs, or an Ionia where everyone is equal?"
The sailors were silent.
Miss Fia at the side also drooped her cat ears and thought deeply with a sense of something.
But in the end, the sailors told Riven: "Ms. Oriana, you are a foreigner after all. We in Ionia have our own Ionian rules..."
"..." Riven was speechless.
Because the most terrifying thing about this matter is that the rules of Ionia, the religious ideology of "balance first" that the untouchables have been indoctrinated with since childhood -
These are not fantasy stories to fool people, but objective facts that really exist in this extraordinary world.
If you sacrifice yourself during your lifetime, you can go to "heaven" after your death?
It's true. Because Ionia is rich in magic, it is the place where the physical and spiritual realms are most closely connected and the barriers are the weakest.
When people here die, they really turn into ghosts and go to the spiritual realm.
During the annual Soul Blossoming Festival, the Ionians can even communicate with the spirits of their deceased relatives in the spiritual realm by drinking spiritual tea.
Destroying the balance will bring disaster?
This is still true.
Everything in Ionia is spiritual. If the forest is overexploited and cut down indiscriminately, even if the sect masters and clan elders do not stop it, the forest spirits will take revenge on humans.
The balance that Ionia pursues is not only the balance between man and nature, but also the balance between the material and spiritual realms.
If too many living flowers, plants and trees are destroyed in the material realm and too many spirits are produced, the balance between the material and spiritual realms will be broken, evil spirits will be born to punish humans and even cause more terrible disasters.
Riven felt that it was the masters and elders who oppressed the untouchables.
But the masters and elders also have something to say. They are clearly trying to maintain the balance of all things and protect Ionia's human civilization from suffering a real catastrophe.
As for these untouchables, they are merely necessary sacrifices to maintain balance.
"If we are not sacrificed, it will only bring greater disaster to this material world. By then, the whole of Ionia may be destroyed. Wouldn't we still have to die? So..."
"We accept our fate in order to protect all of Ionia," the sailors said devoutly.
Riven was completely speechless.
After all, she was just an expert on parallel imports. She had no idea how to solve this problem.
It seems that according to the natural laws of Ionia, some people are redundant and are born to disappear.
"No..." Riven couldn't think of a solution, but she still felt that there was something wrong with this theory: "Even if someone needs to be sacrificed, why does it have to be you and not those masters, elders, and landlords?"
“Who decides who is a pariah and who is not?”
"Uh..." The sailors fell silent again.
Who is a pariah is not determined by bloodline but by actual material conditions.
If a poor peasant cannot afford to raise a child and has no land to give to the child after his death, then the child is a pariah and a redundant person.
This child will be labeled a low-born child and driven out of the village, left to fend for himself.
Just like Master Jie of the Shadow Sect - he was abandoned in the wilderness by his poor peasant father when he was 4 years old, and was lucky enough to be adopted by the Kindness of the Order of the Balance.
"So..." Riven understood: "What do you mean by balance? Isn't this the law of the jungle that Noxus respects?"
Because the untouchables are the weak, they need to be sacrificed to protect the limited natural resources from being swallowed up by the infinitely expanding population.
However, the masters, elders, landlords and wealthy merchants, with very few people, occupy a huge amount of resources, but they are not regarded as balanced enemies.
Because they are strong.
Ionia, it turns out, is no different from Noxus.
In other words, all countries in the world are similar. Everyone is secretly following the natural law of survival of the fittest.
Only those who are leading the trend are naive, dreaming that one day the world will be united and everyone will be equal.
But the situation in Ionia is different from other places.
Simply overthrowing the master elder does not seem to be able to completely solve the problem.
"What should I do?" Riven was angry and confused.
She still couldn't see where the road ahead was.
At this time, Feiya interrupted her thoughts with a complicated expression and whispered: "Orianna, I..."
She asked in confusion: "Am I a bad person in the eyes of you leaders?"
"This..." Riven was in a delicate mood.
Feiya's family raised a large number of untouchables, and strictly speaking, they were all big slave owners.
But these untouchables are "free" - if they really want to leave, no one will stop them.
If they left the jobs provided by the Fia family, they would most likely become homeless, wander in the wilderness, and then starve to death in the fruit-filled forest.
Therefore, in the social environment of Ionia, what the Fia family did was considered as helping the untouchables.
"I'm sorry..." Feiya felt guilty: "When I was studying Janna's theory before, I always subconsciously regarded them as redundant people and didn't take them into consideration."
Riven thought she was teaching Janna to think.
But what Fia and those sailors learned in their minds was the improved version of "Balance - Janna Thought" which was combined .
In this version of Janna's thought, the untouchables must be excluded in order to talk about equality for all.
Now that Feiya realized how wrong she had been in the past, she began to feel guilty.
"Ah..." Riven sighed softly, and had no choice but to say to Fia: "No, you are not a bad person."
She recalled the words in the booklet and applied them flexibly: "Just as the goodness or badness of an individual has nothing to do with the progress of his class, the progress or not of his class does not necessarily determine the goodness or badness of an individual."
"Then can I, can I also become a leader?" Feiya asked nervously.
"Of course. We leaders only look at faith, not background. Did you know that Mel, the director of our Leaders Association, is a military noble from Noxus..."
Riven answered inexplicably smoothly, and only closed her mouth with a subtle expression as she spoke.
What is she talking about?
Compared to Feiya, she is the real bad guy... If we only look at beliefs and not background, does she have the right to say these things?
It's just acting, do you really think you are the leader?
"That's great!" Fia was only happy with Riven's answer.
She grabbed Riven's hand and said, "Orianna, please take me to join the Wind Leader!"
"You want to join the Wind Leader?" Riven was slightly stunned: "But you also know that our Wind Leader's theory conflicts with Ionia's current balance."
"I understand." Feiya said seriously, "I have also studied Janna's thoughts for two weeks. I think what you said is right."
“Untouchables…” She looked at these sailors, these people who risked their lives for her: “Untouchables should also be human beings.”
"But I still can't think of the answer to this question..." Riven said.
Feiya answered superstitiously: "Goddess Janna is so powerful, she must have a way!"
"But..." Riven still hesitated.
"The road has to be found by people." Feiya clenched her fists: "If you don't try to solve it, then there is really no way, right?"
"..." Riven was moved by her seriousness.
So she unknowingly put herself in the role of the special envoy and answered in a mysterious way: "Okay, I'd like to recommend you to join the Leader."
