October 3, 2026 Saturday The Edge of the New Continent
October 3, 2026 Saturday The Edge of the New Continent
After school, Peiyu and I sat beside the convenience station for a while.
After school, Peiyu and I sat beside the convenience station for a while.
She was holding a score sheet from the competition platform. She was not crying. She was not especially angry. She only kept staring at the rankings. She had not done badly this time. Only three people in the class solved the mathematical modelling problem. She was one of them.
She was holding a score sheet from the competition platform. She was not crying. She was not especially angry. She only kept staring at the rankings. She had not done badly this time. Only three people in the class solved the mathematical modelling problem. She was one of them.
The problem was that she was not in the top three.
The problem was that she was not in the top three.
All three of them were students from private schools in the corporate cities. They had dedicated competition coaches, paid question banks, mock-test systems, and people who could revise their work and write recommendation letters for them. Some had even started preparing for this competition last year.
All three of them were students from private schools in the corporate cities. They had dedicated competition coaches, paid question banks, mock-test systems, and people who could revise their work and write recommendation letters for them. Some had even started preparing for this competition last year.
Peiyu asked me, “So how are we supposed to win?”
Peiyu asked me, “So how are we supposed to win?”
I almost told her that if we could not win, we should stop playing their game.
I almost told her that if we could not win, we should stop playing their game.
But that sounded too much like comfort. It would not help.
But that sounded too much like comfort. It would not help.
University admissions use rankings. Scholarships use rankings. Corporate talent programs use rankings. You can choose not to care about one competition, but this world will use its result to decide whether you qualify for the next opportunity.
University admissions use rankings. Scholarships use rankings. Corporate talent programs use rankings. You can choose not to care about one competition, but this world will use its result to decide whether you qualify for the next opportunity.
So I only said, “The problem is not that you are not good enough. The problem is that some people started close to the finish line.”
So I only said, “The problem is not that you are not good enough. The problem is that some people started close to the finish line.”
She smiled once and said that was even harsher.
She smiled once and said that was even harsher.
It was.
It was.
Education likes to talk about fairness.
Education likes to talk about fairness.
Everyone can register for the same exam. Everyone can log into the same learning platform. Everyone can see the same textbooks. It looks fair, right?
Everyone can register for the same exam. Everyone can log into the same learning platform. Everyone can see the same textbooks. It looks fair, right?
But some people use high-end terminals, private tutors, and networks that never go down. Others have to organize data for their families, look after younger siblings, deal with daily life, and then find time to study. The first group can treat one failure as experience. For the second group, one failure may mean there is no next attempt.
But some people use high-end terminals, private tutors, and networks that never go down. Others have to organize data for their families, look after younger siblings, deal with daily life, and then find time to study. The first group can treat one failure as experience. For the second group, one failure may mean there is no next attempt.
The platform says it only looks at results.
The platform says it only looks at results.
The exam says it only looks at scores.
The exam says it only looks at scores.
The competition says it only looks at ability.
The competition says it only looks at ability.
But they rarely ask how much effort you spent reaching this point before you could even stand on the same starting line as everyone else.
But they rarely ask how much effort you spent reaching this point before you could even stand on the same starting line as everyone else.
The strong become stronger not because they do not work hard, but because the entire system keeps handing more resources to people who have already proven they can win. It sounds efficient. It is efficient. Giving resources to those with the highest probability of success produces the best short-term results.
The strong become stronger not because they do not work hard, but because the entire system keeps handing more resources to people who have already proven they can win. It sounds efficient. It is efficient. Giving resources to those with the highest probability of success produces the best short-term results.
After doing that for long enough, though, the system begins to overlook people who have not yet been proven.
After doing that for long enough, though, the system begins to overlook people who have not yet been proven.
It overlooks the fact that Peiyu is good at mathematics, but does not believe she has the right to raise her hand.
It overlooks the fact that Peiyu is good at mathematics, but does not believe she has the right to raise her hand.
It overlooks Kevin's ability to repair broken equipment, because he is told that does not count as an achievement.
It overlooks Kevin's ability to repair broken equipment, because he is told that does not count as an achievement.
It overlooks all the people who are not incapable. They were simply never placed where they could perform.
It overlooks all the people who are not incapable. They were simply never placed where they could perform.
I was only complaining about education at first. Then I thought about interstellar society. It seems to work the same way.
I was only complaining about education at first. Then I thought about interstellar society. It seems to work the same way.
Powerful civilizations have more routes, better technology, and larger media networks. When they release one message, billions of terminals receive it at once. When a small civilization says something, it must first be translated, filtered, and judged worthy of occupying bandwidth.
Powerful civilizations have more routes, better technology, and larger media networks. When they release one message, billions of terminals receive it at once. When a small civilization says something, it must first be translated, filtered, and judged worthy of occupying bandwidth.
Humanity is not the weakest species in the stars. It is not strong either.
Humanity is not the weakest species in the stars. It is not strong either.
We work to secure a place. We work to join organizations. We work to prove that we deserve to be heard. But whether we are heard often depends less on whether we are right than on who is standing behind us.
We work to secure a place. We work to join organizations. We work to prove that we deserve to be heard. But whether we are heard often depends less on whether we are right than on who is standing behind us.
The media makes this especially obvious.
The media makes this especially obvious.
Everyone says the media delivers information. Often, it is actually distributing attention. What deserves to be seen and what is allowed to sink; whose voice can become a public issue and whose voice is treated as background noise.
Everyone says the media delivers information. Often, it is actually distributing attention. What deserves to be seen and what is allowed to sink; whose voice can become a public issue and whose voice is treated as background noise.
Once the media is treated as a tool for controlling thought, it starts deciding what matters for everyone else.
Once the media is treated as a tool for controlling thought, it starts deciding what matters for everyone else.
Corporations want it to retain their customers. Governments want it to preserve order. The powerful want it to keep proving that the powerful deserve to be powerful.
Corporations want it to retain their customers. Governments want it to preserve order. The powerful want it to keep proving that the powerful deserve to be powerful.
This is not a conspiracy theory. Power naturally wants to control the signal.
This is not a conspiracy theory. Power naturally wants to control the signal.
But today I suddenly wondered whether the media has to be this way.
But today I suddenly wondered whether the media has to be this way.
Maybe the media does not have to be a machine for pushing an idea or shaping a position. It could be more like a historian.
Maybe the media does not have to be a machine for pushing an idea or shaping a position. It could be more like a historian.
Not speaking for anyone. Not pretending to have no position at all. Simply recording what happened as accurately as possible: who did what, who objected, where the evidence is, what the dispute is, and what happened afterward.
Not speaking for anyone. Not pretending to have no position at all. Simply recording what happened as accurately as possible: who did what, who objected, where the evidence is, what the dispute is, and what happened afterward.
People should open a news report because they genuinely want to know what happened in the world, not because a system decided that they should be angry.
People should open a news report because they genuinely want to know what happened in the world, not because a system decided that they should be angry.
That is probably what INN—the Interstellar Federation News Network—wants to do.
That is probably what INN—the Interstellar Federation News Network—wants to do.
It is not large. It is not wealthy. On Earth, hardly anyone has heard of it. But it wants to establish an independent node, so news does not always have to pass through a corporate or government gate first. When I saw the announcement, my first thought was security. It still is. An entrance without any review mechanism can easily become a vulnerability.
It is not large. It is not wealthy. On Earth, hardly anyone has heard of it. But it wants to establish an independent node, so news does not always have to pass through a corporate or government gate first. When I saw the announcement, my first thought was security. It still is. An entrance without any review mechanism can easily become a vulnerability.
But if we lock every door because we are afraid of vulnerabilities, the only people left who can enter and leave will be the ones with keys.
But if we lock every door because we are afraid of vulnerabilities, the only people left who can enter and leave will be the ones with keys.
No one has taken the Earth node yet.
No one has taken the Earth node yet.
Every time I see the announcement, it irritates me.
Every time I see the announcement, it irritates me.
Because I genuinely want to do it.
Because I genuinely want to do it.
Not the kind of wanting that means “it sounds cool.” The kind where imagining it actually working makes something heat up inside my head.
Not the kind of wanting that means “it sounds cool.” The kind where imagining it actually working makes something heat up inside my head.
But my parents argued again this morning.
But my parents argued again this morning.
It was not a major argument. They did not break anything. They did not say anything especially cruel. They were only calculating next month's mortgage, car loan, and living expenses. Which payment could wait. Which one could not be reduced. Which one would become a problem if it was not paid.
It was not a major argument. They did not break anything. They did not say anything especially cruel. They were only calculating next month's mortgage, car loan, and living expenses. Which payment could wait. Which one could not be reduced. Which one would become a problem if it was not paid.
My mother said we should not spend any more money for a while.
My mother said we should not spend any more money for a while.
My father said he knew.
My father said he knew.
They never spend an extra cent on enjoyment. They do not waste any resource. They want to send me somewhere better to study. They want me to move up later, so I will not have to live like them—calculating at the start of every month and worrying at the end.
They never spend an extra cent on enjoyment. They do not waste any resource. They want to send me somewhere better to study. They want me to move up later, so I will not have to live like them—calculating at the start of every month and worrying at the end.
I listened to them lower their voices and suddenly felt ridiculous.
I listened to them lower their voices and suddenly felt ridiculous.
What am I?
What am I?
A first-year student at a public school in a marginal district. The daughter of a code mover. I do not even know whether I will be able to leave this place in the future, yet I am thinking about spending time on an interstellar news node.
A first-year student at a public school in a marginal district. The daughter of a code mover. I do not even know whether I will be able to leave this place in the future, yet I am thinking about spending time on an interstellar news node.
And INN is not an influential organization on Earth.
And INN is not an influential organization on Earth.
It will not get me a scholarship. It will not reduce my mother's next batch of code. It will not lower one of my parents' bills next month. It may not change anything at all.
It will not get me a scholarship. It will not reduce my mother's next batch of code. It will not lower one of my parents' bills next month. It may not change anything at all.
So I have not done anything yet.
So I have not done anything yet.
I only saved the announcement.
I only saved the announcement.
But I know that is not because I do not care.
But I know that is not because I do not care.
It is because I care too much.
It is because I care too much.