Chapter 1933 - Naturalized Citizens of the Data Center

The Secretary of State and the Minister of Planning sought to reduce current machine time consumption through this strategy, cultivating statistical analysis capabilities independent of computers—maintaining some ability to govern through data even in a post-computational future. On this foundation, the Planning Agency planned to consolidate relevant departments and expand existing operations under the unified external designation of "National Data and Computing Center."

This policy brought the calculation and data processing departments of all ministries under the Data and Computing Center's umbrella, implementing vertical management. Ministerial calculation and data departments were reclassified as dispatched agencies. Simultaneously, a comprehensive audit of departmental equipment and personnel was conducted, with underutilized or misused equipment confiscated. Related operators were uniformly subjected to "rotational training in batches" by the Calculation and Data Center.

Consequently, Xu Laowu's operation expanded dramatically. Collected equipment passed to Feng Nuo's team for maintenance and refurbishment, while operators concentrated for remedial training. Xu Laowu harbored considerable dissatisfaction with the operators he inherited—these individuals had worked in scattered locations without holistic training, and a substantial number exhibited deplorable usage habits. Quite a few "relationship hires" had infiltrated agencies as operators through various connections, inevitably carrying airs of "I have pull," particularly those who'd entered via Senators' Living Secretaries. Xu Laowu resolved to administer a brutal first lesson, an unmistakable show of force. He specifically recruited several ruthless aunties from the Quarantine Camp to deliver "outward bound training."

Let them learn the power of the Data and Computing Center, Xu Laowu thought with grim satisfaction.

He glanced at the enormous quartz clock adorning the wall—a three-fold creation combining a movement brought from the old timeline, a battery homebrewed by Dr. Zhong, and a casing crafted by a naturalized artisan.

The Data and Computing Center maintained relatively stringent timekeeping requirements, thus was entirely equipped with quartz clocks transported from the old timeline.

The clock indicated five-thirty. The middle shift staff began organizing their work in preparation for changeover. With no high-intensity tasks like the census currently underway, today's operations were winding down. According to center regulations, the daily data declaration deadline was 18:00. By this hour, departments generally ceased submitting documents. Folder movement frequency dropped precipitously. The front-end reception counter had commenced filling daily work logs for archiving. Reporting groups in the central zone had people tidying desktops in anticipation of departure. Even the backend data entry group, still operating under high load, was conducting middle-to-evening shift handovers. Occasionally, girls finishing their shifts could be glimpsed leaving the work area to change in the staff rest area at the rear.

The Calculation and Data Center's working environment likely surpassed all other Senate institutions in Lingao. The rest area subdivided into several rooms of varying dimensions. Beyond coat lockers lining walls and independent changing cubicles, each room featured two rows of long tables with corresponding benches. Table ends hosted self-service beverage stations stocked with drinks and small snacks. Three insulated buckets containing hot water, black tea, and coffee respectively sat atop the tables. Unlike certain powerful departments providing copious so-called "Energy Potions," Senator Xu adamantly refused such kill-the-goose-that-lays-the-golden-egg substances, advocating instead for reasonable scheduling and management systems.

Quite a few girls occupied the benches. Some organized personal items, others seized moments for water and rest, while groups gathered discussing topics of particular interest to young women. Seeing the Senator enter, they rose in unison before immediately dispersing. Given the proximity to quitting time, Senator Xu simply nodded repeatedly, signaled them to sit, and walked past. Due to the work's nature, the Data Center's reception and data entry groups constituted female domains, and for an extended period, Senator Xu remained an object of envy, jealousy, and hatred from various otaku "soy sauce" Senators. But heaven knew—for quite a protracted period, this place had essentially been the realm of all varieties of "dinosaurs." Senator Xu felt he was beginning to comprehend Hong Changqing; facing such appearance levels, having no amorous thoughts was perfectly normal.

However, this had begun changing recently. With the new office building's completion, the Data Center's office conditions and benefits gained renown, particularly attracting College of Arts and Sciences graduates. After all, the location lay within Bairen City where Senators congregated, the working environment was excellent, compensation was respectable, and one could acquire genuine skills. Senator Xu realized this had evolved into a quintessential white-collar occupation of this timeline. Especially following the Maid School's abolition, many trainees transferred here for employment. Correspondingly, staff appearance levels escalated rapidly, and College of Arts and Sciences students pioneered this timeline's fashion trends. Even girls originally employed here began attending to clothing, cosmetics, makeup, and similar matters. As the adage proclaimed: "there are no ugly women, only lazy women." Former dinosaurs had undergone remarkable transformations recently. Correspondingly, the frequency of various Senators arriving to "inspect and coordinate work" had increased exponentially. Xu Laowu was compelled to issue a decree: "No visits or inspections without legitimate business contact."

Observing everything proceeding normally, Senator Xu prepared to descend for server room inspection—the Senate's precious darling. But turning around, through the window by the stairs, he spotted several "Golden Star Zero" vehicles parked in the lawn's parking lot. Though access control to Bairen City had relaxed with the new administrative center's gradual activation in the original county seat, it wasn't accessible to any Tom, Dick, or Harry. Needless to say, behind every vehicle lurked a certain Senator, and every vehicle awaited a certain girl or girls within the building.

"Damn it, it's become a mistress concentration camp," Senator Xu muttered, shaking his head to dispel a slightly acidic sensation in his chest, and descended the stairs.

He changed into the smock, shoes, and cap worn by operators in the dedicated changing room, washed his hands, then entered the dedicated corridor. Pushing open the thick soundproof door wrapped in kapok at the corridor's terminus, he entered the Planning Agency Data Center's highest confidentiality zone—the Entry Center and Server Room. A frigid blast struck him in the face, instantly creating the sensation of stepping into a refrigerator. In fact, calling it a refrigerator wasn't inaccurate. The design here paralleled the mobile coal gas cold storage that had performed admirably during the Pearl River Delta Invasion. The surrounding outer walls contained thermal insulation layers filled with multiple strata of diatomaceous earth and kapok, and even the door was a composite structure sandwiching insulation. Apart from the cooling primarily employing a ground-source heat pump and the installation of ventilation fans, it was essentially identical to cold storage.

Exceedingly stringent temperature and humidity controls were implemented here, no less rigorous than Feng Nuo's computer room. Thermohygrometers brought from another timeline strictly monitored indoor conditions, ensuring equipment operated under optimal parameters. Dedicated personnel inspected thermohygrometers everywhere every fifteen minutes. Once needles exceeded corresponding zones, immediate corrective measures were enacted.

The rationale for adopting such a seemingly deranged design, to Senator Xu's mind, originated from a major BBS discussion among code monkeys during the traversal's early years. To the Senate's various industrial party members, code monkeys appeared to possess the least promising futures. Even if the ultimate first-generation traversers devoted entire lifetimes, no one anticipated producing electronic products at twenty-first century levels. Though some proposed that simple 8-bit machines could potentially be developed eventually, Senator Xu estimated successfully creating a Lingao version of ENIAC would already warrant thanking the heavens. Thus, maintaining usage efficiency and lifespan of precision electronic products represented by computers as extensively as possible became a major preoccupation for code monkeys still willing to remain in their profession, and for the Planning Agency which harbored special preferences for digital management grounded in computer databases.

To ensure equipment could extend its operational life maximally, once material conditions permitted, the Data Center's new building fully integrated these considerations during design. Though the current Senate couldn't yet manufacture complete anti-static flooring, a copper mesh laid on iron framework was indeed installed beneath the machine room floor, with wires directly grounded. To ensure safety, the machine room itself possessed no windows, relying entirely on electric lighting and mechanical ventilation. To achieve temperature and humidity control efficiently and economically with reduced costs, designers essentially replicated the coal gas cold storage's design philosophy and material technology, ultimately forming the current appearance: more than a dozen computers lined both sides of the room, with a relatively spacious passage down the center. Tables requiring input were passed through a small door at one terminus, and dispatched directly from a small door at the opposite end upon completion. Girls responsible for input wore half-cotton padded uniforms similar to Shandong Detachment attire, inputting data into screens whose principles they utterly failed to comprehend.

Though after discovering the Fox Immortal legend, Senator Xu had requested replacing the FoxPro fox pattern with the Star Fist National Emblem, whether they still worshipped remained unclear. After all, Senator Xu wasn't sufficiently perverted to inspect girls' bosoms daily. However, to some extent, these girls should indeed thank the divine artifacts before them. Thanks to their skills' scarcity, their job grades all reached the "Technician" level assessed by the Senate, and several leading team leaders were even assessed as "Associate Engineers." Coupled with work meals and employee dormitories originally provided by the Data Center, these girls unquestionably lived well in Lingao. Since most originated from the initial refugee intake, and some were taken in without even fathers or brothers, their monthly salaries suddenly appeared quite substantial. These girls possessed high incomes and broadened horizons, inevitably becoming selective about men. Consequently, in Lingao where the gender ratio was so disparate, a "leftover women" phenomenon actually emerged. The shift leader walking toward Senator Xu exemplified this category.

(End of Chapter)