Four Thousand Years Later

By the year 3999, society's productive forces have become extraordinarily advanced and goods are so abundant that people have little to worry about. Yet people's desires are remarkably weak. This is a challenge not only for the United Government, but also for the "shadow government," the 51-member Alliance. The Alliance's members must use the bodies of ordinary people who have died unnatural deaths to prolong their own lives. Yuan is a member of the Alliance, though she is not at the center of its power. In her heart, she always considers herself one of the ordinary people. Using the identity of the person who provides me with a body, she makes contact with ordinary people and tells, from my point of view, how they live amid such highly advanced productivity, and how the Alliance manipulates and controls the government. Are there really no conflicts between the government and the "shadow government"? What do ordinary people worry about and think about when they have more than enough food, clothing, housing, and transportation? With material abundance and advanced technology, what else do people want? Do they want more tangible power, more elusive philosophical pursuits, or perhaps to search the vast universe for life like themselves...?