A widower's entertainment

Chapter 443 [Different Worlds] (Please Subscribe)
Regardless of how MGM adapts "The Butterfly Effect" into a film, Lin Youcheng is indeed writing another film script, just as Zhang Wei said, which is also a film script for Paramount Pictures.

It's actually a science fiction story script, very simple, just a novel science fiction idea called "Source Code".

The original film tells the story of Colt Stevens, a handsome American Air Force pilot on a mission, who wakes up to find himself on a train bound for Chicago. The train then explodes, and upon waking again, Colt discovers he has the ability to travel back in time. He uses this ability to find the cause of the explosion on the train and experiences a series of thrilling events.

Now that Lin Youcheng is writing this script, he will naturally need to change the location of the battlefield.

Lin Youcheng sat in front of the computer, typing out the first act of the story script, which was written in script format.

The story is essentially about how, amidst the deafening sounds of rapid heartbeats and heavy breathing, everything begins to blur, then distorts and warps. Then, a sharp train whistle pulls Captain Colt Stevens back to reality. Outside the window, green fields rush past. The woman sitting opposite him looks at him with a puzzled expression, then continues the conversation. Colt suddenly feels a chill run down his spine. He isn't the Sean this woman speaks of, and he doesn't know this woman named Christina at all. The last thing he remembers is being on a flight mission in the battlefield.

Colt realized there was only one way to prove the truth. He rushed to the restroom, staring blankly at the mirror. The person reflected there was a middle-aged man in a wool coat and blue shirt, his eyes filled with terror. It wasn't him, at least not the man he remembered. Before he could recover from the shock, a powerful blast of air swept through, and the entire train was blown to pieces in flames. Then, he suddenly opened his eyes, looking around in disbelief. He found himself in a separate space, wearing his own military uniform.

“Welcome back, Captain Colt.” A gentle female voice sounded in his ear. This was followed by a calm male voice. Colt had been selected for a special mission, part of a government experimental project called “Source Code.” Under the supervision of scientists and using special equipment, Colt could repeatedly “travel” into the body of a victim of a train bombing, but each time he could only return to the final eight minutes before the explosion—7:40 AM that morning.

In theory, "Source Code" is not a time machine; Colt, by "going back" to the past, cannot change history, nor can he prevent the explosion. The reason for going to such lengths to immerse Colt, who has received professional military training, in the scenario is that the perpetrator of the bombing claimed he would carry out another, even larger-scale terrorist attack in downtown Chicago in six hours. To prevent the deaths of millions, Colt had to race against time, repeatedly "traveling" through "Source Code" to gather clues and find the culprit in the final "eight minutes" before the explosion.

In fact, just like the plot of this story, it's very simple: if you could turn back time and go back eight minutes, how would you do it?
This story is set beneath the gimmick of time travel and the veneer of science fiction. Its main narrative element is the use of bombs to create suspense, and it also employs a series of mysteries to create challenges for the protagonist. At the same time, it carefully sets up clues to enhance the excitement and tension of the plot, and of course, there are also elements of love.

The love story within is particularly touching.

Xie Shuhua naturally also read the story of Lin Youcheng's "Source Code". In Xie Shuhua's opinion, the idea behind the story is quite novel and unique.

However, Xie Shuhua was still a little confused about the ending and asked, "Youcheng, is the ending of this story also in a parallel universe?"

"Why didn't it end with the two of them kissing?"

Lin Youcheng couldn't help but smile when Xie Shuhua asked him this question. He knew perfectly well that the ending was arguably the most difficult part of the film to understand, and also quite profound, even considered superfluous by some viewers. However, in Lin Youcheng's view, the ending was the true essence of science fiction. After all, hoping to stop at the peak of happiness is actually a sign of inner weakness. Starting from happiness and continuing onward is what truly embodies the strength and hope for the future. Perhaps in another world, those regrets will be made up for.

Lin Youcheng thought for a moment and said, "After completing his mission, the male protagonist told the female officer that he wanted to enter the source code again to save her, and asked to end the life of the unconscious male protagonist in the real world in 8 minutes. The female officer did not believe that he could change everything in the source code, because she thought it would be meaningless after 8 minutes, but at this time the female officer was the female officer in the real world. However, out of sympathy for the male protagonist, she agreed to his request and sent him into the source code."

Xie Shuhua nodded. She knew this was the male protagonist's last time entering the source code, where he combined with the entity to punish the criminals and kissed the female protagonist just at the eighth minute. At the same time, the female officer in the real world ended the male protagonist's life. However, the ending puzzled her because a miracle occurred: the male protagonist in the source code did not die. This naturally led her to believe it was a parallel universe, like the parallel universe in "Coherence".

"There are different interpretations. It could be that the female officer in the real world turning off the device, causing the protagonist's death, doesn't affect the death of the hybrid in the source code. Instead, it conveniently allows the hybrid in the source code to survive. Everything that happens afterward takes place within the source code, and the ending doesn't necessarily occur in the real world. The hybrid sends a text message to the female officer on the train, having already apprehended the criminal and called the police. This text message is crucial. Actually, the female officer reading the message isn't the real-world officer who initially appeared, but the female officer in the source code. She doesn't know who sent her the message. When she faces the doctor and sees the killer's name on the text message matching what others have said, she doesn't understand what's going on. She sees the protagonist, alive and well in the device box, who is the real Colt Stevens from the source code, not the protagonist who died in the real world. Everything at this point is happening in a source code world parallel to the real world."

After listening to Lin Youcheng's explanation, Xie Shuhua roughly understood and said, "It still involves the theory of parallel universes."

Lin Youcheng nodded and said, "That's one way to understand it. The world may differentiate and spread into an infinite number of parallel worlds with each decision and choice, corresponding to an infinite number of possible outcomes. Therefore, there will naturally be different possibilities in different parallel worlds."

In Lin Youcheng's view, the story of *Source Code* is about this parallel universe theory. Of course, this story also has its unique aspects, rising to the level of bioethics, and every character is an individual fighting against the authorities with their own strength, attempting to break through the lies and constraints of life. Sharp talent and restless passion are like a rock singer using screams on stage to vent their confusion and questioning of life.

Xie Shuhua has gained some understanding of science fiction concepts through her interactions with Lin Youcheng.

She found Lin Youcheng's science fiction stories incredibly novel; they were like a gateway to another world for her. Of course, Xie Shuhua was also well aware that Lin Youcheng wrote such science fiction scripts because American film companies didn't need to consider the real-world social environment for such scripts, and these stories could be adapted and filmed in different places.

"Youcheng, I think you really should publish a novel. Maybe you can win the Hugo Award again."

Hearing Xie Shuhua's words, Lin Youcheng couldn't help but laugh. Actually, the Hugo Award wasn't just for novels, and he wasn't particularly concerned about that. If it were to be published as a novel, Lin Youcheng would also choose "The Butterfly Effect" because the plot was more complex. Now that Lin Youcheng had given MGM the screenplay for "The Butterfly Effect," he decided to submit the screenplay for "Source Code" to Paramount Pictures.

In Lin Youcheng's view, Paramount Pictures would never refuse the script for "Source Code".

To some extent, although Source Code is a science fiction film, and a disaster science fiction film at that, because it tells a science fiction story about parallel worlds, it doesn't need to spend a lot of money on special effects. The normal world is already embedded in the science fiction. Moreover, the only special effect used in the disaster scene is the train explosion. The original film reused a single shot seven times, and many of the scenes were also repeated in small indoor settings. Despite the constant repetition of the same shots, the plot made this repetition reasonable. While repeating the same shots, the film maintained clean and crisp editing and a straightforward narrative style. This approach allowed the film to maintain an experimental narrative challenge within a commercial pace, and it also greatly saved on production costs. It's worth noting that the film was completed in just two months.

If Paramount Pictures had refused to produce such a low-budget sci-fi film, Lin Youcheng could have easily found another film company to collaborate with, and it's conceivable that other companies would not have refused.

The outcome was exactly as Lin Youcheng had predicted.

Paramount Pictures was quite fond of the script "Source Code" written by Lin Youcheng. They could see that the movie's plot was very exciting and quite novel and unique. Even with explosion scenes, the production cost could be handled and wouldn't be too high.

It can be said that Paramount Pictures is on the same terms as MGM, with a script rights fee of two million US dollars and a very low share of net profit.

In fact, the script copyright fee of two million US dollars alone is already an absolutely high price!

This number is truly a science fiction shock to some people, like Xie Shuhua.

According to Xie Shuhua, Lin Youcheng's screenplays for Hollywood film companies were not just science fiction stories, but also stories like "The Departed", "The Hunt" and "The City by the Sea". However, from his very first novel "The Time Traveler's Wife" which won the Hugo Award, to the later novel-adapted romance film "The Lake House", as well as "Every Day", including "The Truman Show", most of them were fantasy or science fiction stories full of imagination.

Not to mention, the recently released low-budget sci-fi film "The Night of the Comet" has once again brought praise to Lin Youcheng, the Eastern screenwriter, for his imagination. He truly deserves to be a writer who has won the Hugo Award, the highest honor in science fiction literature.

In Xie Shuhua's eyes, the script copyright fees paid to Lin Youcheng by MGM and Paramount Pictures were a completely different world in China. After all, it was another two million US dollars, which is now equivalent to nearly sixteen million RMB in copyright revenue. This is truly another science fiction world in the domestic literary and film circles.

Of course, when Lin Youcheng's novel "The Time Traveler's Wife" appeared for a million dollars in film adaptation rights, another world had already appeared in the domestic literary world and before her eyes.

The key point is that these two different worlds are still in the same spacetime, not parallel universes.

Xie Shuhua was very clear about this, because her own monthly salary was really just that little bit, which was astonishing compared to the script copyright fee that Lin Youcheng sold to the American film company.

The incredible copyright fee for such a script is something Xie Shuhua could never earn in several lifetimes!
terrible!

That's absolutely terrifying!

Lin Youcheng was well aware of Xie Shuhua's shock, since even though such things had happened a few times, each occurrence was still extremely impactful.

Lin Youcheng was well aware of this, which was why he chose to export his scripts to the United States. After all, the script copyright fees offered by American film companies were worlds apart from those in China.

Of course, no matter how shocking the two million dollars figure may be, the real world continues to move forward as always, just like how Lin Youcheng is now writing a short film script for his daughter Lin Zhaomei without spending a penny.

This is also Lin Youcheng's real world, an incredibly real world.

(End of this chapter)