Episode 111 — The Golden Deadlock (Part 2)

Gustav’s shoulders were slumped in despair, while Argo remained frozen, unable to look away from the complex equations hanging in the air of his mind. I watched them for a moment and let out a deliberate sigh.

"Don’t be so down. I’m just refactoring the code so it’s robust enough for the production environment—Felsen. Argo, take a look at this."

I slid several illustrated documents I’d been holding onto the table. The center of the diagram featured a massive "Reserve Pool," with dozens of arrows representing circular flow.

"...Mr. Zect. This is different from the three-way split we discussed earlier? This is a specification for... the 'Direction of Flow,' isn't it?"

Argo pushed his glasses up his nose, his sharp eyes scanning the specifications at high speed.

"Exactly. We’ll call it the 'Felsen Social Security Fund.' ...Listen, Gustav. Like I said, if you distribute cash directly to the citizens, it becomes a fire that incinerates the market. Instead, we’re going to collect that fire in this massive 'Buffer Tank.' The dividends generated by Gara-Mon won't flow into the citizens' pockets; we’ll redirect the entire payout into this fund."

"A tank for the money? But doesn't that mean not a single coin reaches the people’s hands? They won't feel any sense of prosperity that way."

Gustav pushed back. It made sense; for someone in a medieval society, "prosperity" was measured by the weight of coins in one's hand.

"That’s naive, Gustav. Why do the people hoard money so desperately? It’s not because they want luxury. It’s because they’re afraid. Afraid of getting sick tomorrow. Afraid of being unable to work due to an injury. Afraid of being old and unable to buy bread. ...They fear the 'Unexpected Errors' lurking within the system called life. That’s why they hide their coins in their drawers instead of letting them circulate. In my world, we call this the 'Precautionary Motive.' In short, it’s fear of the future."

I took a sip of Cola to wet my throat before explaining the heart of the patch.

"This fund is a social safety net designed to absorb that anxiety. If someone gets sick, the fund covers the medical costs. If someone can’t work, it guarantees a baseline of survival. ...In other words, instead of giving them liquid cash, you’re installing an absolute sense of security—a guarantee that the worst-case scenario will never happen."

"...! You mean the system itself will act as a guarantor for medical care and old age?"

"If you do that, the people will no longer feel the need to hoard coins for a rainy day. The 'Legacy Silver' currently sleeping in their drawers will naturally flow back into the market because they feel safe spending it. ...This is the crucial part: unlike handing out new money, this only circulates 'Capital Already in the Market.' Consumption will grow gradually, keeping pace with the growth of supply—the bread. ...It’s an ideal warm-up for the market’s temperature, raising it slowly without causing spontaneous combustion—inflation."

Gustav’s eyes widened in realization. Argo’s pen began moving at a frantic pace as he performed the calculations.

"...Wait. ...Mr. Zect, the true purpose of this fund isn't just to act as a savings account, is it?"

Argo pointed to the latter half of the specifications, his voice trembling.

"Bingo. We aren't going to let the massive capital sitting in this fund just lie dormant. That would be a waste of resources. We’ll immediately reinvest it as 'Seed Money' for equipment and infrastructure—building the next textile mills, improving roads, and so on. ...Do you see it now, Gustav? By erasing anxiety, we gradually increase 'Demand.' Simultaneously, we use the fund’s capital to build factories and increase 'Supply.' ...This is 'Simultaneous Scaling of Supply and Demand.' This is real economic growth, not just playing with numbers."

"...Erasing the people’s anxiety becomes the very power that fuels the next industry. ...The ROI strengthens the safety net, and the security fuels the will to work. ...Once this starts spinning, it’s a self-propagating system that will never stop..."

"Furthermore," I added, "The fund’s operations will be strictly limited to investments that increase Felsen’s overall productivity. It won't be used for consumption; it will be used for capital formation to raise our supply capacity ceiling."

"Meow. (So you’ve built a massive fishpond and distributed 'the right to never lack feed.' And then you use the leftover feed to build an even bigger pond. Clever.)"

"What do you think, Gustav? With this, you can implement the 'Distribution to All' that you wanted without breaking the country—in fact, it’ll make the country stronger. Are you ready to update Felsen into one giant 'Mutual Aid Investment Corporation'?"

(In my old world, we call this the Sovereign Wealth Fund model—think Norway’s Government Pension Fund or Singapore’s Temasek. A system where the nation itself becomes a massive DAO.)

I offered a slight smirk. Gustav clutched the specifications to his chest and bowed his head deeply.

"...Mr. Zect. You are truly attempting to redefine the very meaning of the word 'Rule' in this world. ...I understand. With the full authority of the Lord, I will integrate this mechanism into Felsen’s core system."

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.