While the empire’s military and law enforcement agencies were busy quelling the chaos incited by Aron’s recent address, the ministry of the exterior was just as busy. Half an hour after Aron finished speaking, they released details of the colonization plan, including the destination star systems and breakdowns of the planets the migrants would be landing on. There were so many details that nobody thought it could possibly have been faked, though they did wonder just how the imperial space agency had managed to gather all of that information.

Every bit of information about the destinations was released, including the backup destinations and the backups of those backups. Accompanying it were details about the ships they would be sent on, the travel time they would take (though from beginning to end it would be spent in stasis), information on any threats—both detected and theorized—what kind of city the colony ships would become upon landing, the enhancements they would all receive in flight.... Everything was made transparent and publicly released with great fanfare, and anyone who was curious could easily find it, written as it was in language that would be understandable to anyone.

Once they entered the training program, they would be placed in a simulated environment that mirrored what they would find at the end of their journey, assuming that they didn’t have to use one of the backup options. Their training would give them “real” experience and allow them to acclimatize to their new environment in advance, giving them a leg up so that, upon arrival, they wouldn’t need to waste the first few years getting accustomed to basic things, like the different number of hours in a day. The first few years after landing would be absolutely crucial, and the less time they needed to waste, the better.

Included in the information was a section on how imperial citizens could apply to join the diaspora and what the process would entail for them, since they weren’t part of the forced migration. There was even already a website set up for them to apply, should they be interested in doing so.And a few thousand people had immediately made that decision, for good or ill. Whether it was in protest or for bragging rights, or even genuine belief in the goal—that being survival of the species—all of them were met with the same warning in the very beginning of the application process. Once they submitted their applications, they would have their choice locked in and would be unable to retract it, even if they later changed their minds.

If they did change their minds, they would simply be shit out of luck; they would be arrested and forcefully dragged to the training centers whether they wanted it or not. It was a good reminder of the irrevocability of certain decisions that people make, yet people still made the decision with the belief that, surely, the warning was just that: a warning. There was no way in hell it would ever be enforced... or so they thought, anyway.

Thus, screenshots began populating social media with the hashtag #ISignedUp or #StandWithTheDisenfranchised, and many others. All of the screenshots were the same: “<Name>, you have successfully applied to join the colonization effort. Please stand by while your application is processed. You will be notified within 48 hours of the result of your application.”

It was a simple acceptance screen, but it brought home the fact that the emperor, and by extension, the Terran Empire as a whole, was serious.

Beyond the first few thousand applicants, there were millions more imperial citizens poring through the colonization plans and the application itself, either for content creation or interest. Content creators posted videos and messages on social media platforms either in support of or hating on the program, while those who were interested were checking to see if the empire had indeed done their due diligence.

If the interested people felt they could thrive, as Aron had promised, then they would go through with the application process. And most of the millions of interested citizens felt that they could, so they put in their applications. Especially since, as imperial citizens, they were given the option to choose which colonies they wanted to go with. At least within reason, anyway, as there was still a limited number of slots in each colony. They would at least get preference over noncitizens, though, which was one of the differences between being forced to go and choosing to go.lightsnovel

Either way, the number of applications only continued growing over time, as people made their choices.

Aron also chose to extend an amnesty to those prisoners serving life sentences for crimes committed before the founding of the empire. Those who’d at first had no possibility of parole suddenly found themselves offered a new life on a new planet. Those serving sentences in excess of thirty years were also given the opportunity to join them in their new leases on life, but those who were awaiting execution or serving relatively short sentences of 29 years or less weren’t given the same option.

Along with the extension of the human lifespan to two hundred years came with a new perception of “long” and “short” time, after all.

That said, there were relatively few death row inmates to begin with; the empire was nothing if not efficient. The only evidence they required to deny all appeals and hasten the legal process beyond all reasonability was a simple brain scan, and even as backed up as the justice system was, the process never took more than a month from trial to execution.

But almost every one of the prisoners serving life sentences, including the leadership of pre-empire countries, chose to accept the empire’s offer and apply to join the diaspora. For them, there would be no downside. Upon being sent to prison, they had been given the same basic genetic enhancements that any imperial citizen received, which meant their life without parole had gone from perhaps twenty years to, in some cases, more than a hundred and fifty years.

Now, to not only be released, but to be given an opportunity to claw their way back into positions of wealth and power? In their minds, anyone that refused that offer was an absolute moron of the highest order.

However, what they DIDN’T know, or rather, what wasn’t included in the information released by the ministry of the exterior, was that along with all of that training would come some very subtle subliminal reprogramming.

lightsnοvεl It wasn’t anything too intrusive, though. The reprogramming was mainly to bolster their drive to survive and withstand the early years of their colonies. But it would also be reinforced that they would simply not want to return to Earth after they awoke, and they were directed to influence their descendants in the same way.

The programming wasn’t generational, as Aron hadn’t felt the need to buy genetic recall of any tier, but given that the first landing would be the one that shaped the new civilizations from the ground up, it shouldn’t be an issue.

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