The literary era since 1979

The World Science Fiction Society convention was held as scheduled at a conference center near the hotel.

Yang Xiao, Yao Haijun and others each carried a briefcase containing the remaining brochures and Chinese science fiction short stories.

This morning is just the customary opening ceremony and reception. This is the last time for teams vying for the site of the World Science Fiction Convention to canvass for votes. In the afternoon, voting on the countries that have registered to host the convention will begin. Before that, each team will be given about 10 minutes of speaking time.

The sky was overcast and a drizzle was falling.

Fangyan held an umbrella and followed the crowd into one of the conference halls in the conference center.

Soon, he found Heinlein and Asimov in the crowd, but to Liu Cixin's great regret, Clarke missed this science fiction event due to illness, and he had no chance to meet the guide who introduced him to the path of science fiction literature creation.

"These two are editors of the Chinese Science Fiction Literature Magazine. They are also first-class science fiction writers in China, just like me."

The dialect introduced the two parties to each other and consciously elevated the status of Yang Xiao, Liu Cixin and others.

Asimov laughed. "Nice to meet you here."

Liu Cixin temporarily put aside the regrets in his heart and, like Yao Haijun, Ye Yonglie and others, was extremely excited.

After all, this was the first time they had seen the two giants of world science fiction literature at such close range.

"They came with me this time to discuss the site selection and bid for the 1987 and 1988 World Science Fiction Convention."

Fang Yan pretended to be helpless and said, "The competition this time is really too fierce. If possible, I hope you can help me."

There was a hint of sincerity in his tone. It didn't matter whether it was in 1987 or 1988. What mattered was that it could be held in Chengdu.

Heinlein and Asimov readily agreed, and then asked for the person who would give a speech on stage in the afternoon to canvass for votes.

"it's me!"

Under Fangyan's encouraging gaze, Yang Xiao raised his hand high.

In fact, if we really talk about it, Fangyan is a more suitable candidate. Although Yang Xiao and his team have successfully become familiar to some members of science fiction associations over the past few days, compared with Fangyan's popularity and fame, there is still a world of difference. However, the organizing committee has also taken this situation into consideration.

If famous science fiction writers from all over the world raise their arms to canvass for votes, it would be very unfair to other countries and regions.

Therefore, the organizing committee allowed Fangyan, Asimov and others to canvass for votes privately, but hoped to avoid suspicion at least in public.

And Yang Xiao happens to be the most suitable person among the remaining people. She is the editor-in-chief of "Science Fiction World" magazine and the chairman of the first science fiction literature committee in the country. At this moment, if she doesn't step forward with her status, who else can step forward?

Heinlein smiled and asked Yang Xiao to come with him. He planned to introduce him to the members of the organizing committee with whom he had a good relationship.

Fangyan asked Li the translator to follow Yang Xiao. While watching the three people disappear into the crowd, he explained to Liu Cixin and the others:
"The voting rights for the selection of the venue for the World Science Fiction Convention are not only held by the members, but also by the members of the organizing committee, who have greater decision-making power."

"So that's it."

Ye Yonglie, Yao Haijun and others' eyes suddenly lit up.

"I'm really sorry to bother you."

Fangyan thanked Asimov.

"No, no, I didn't help much. You should thank Robert. When he comes back, you can thank him in person."

Asimov told them not to worry, Heinlein would take good care of Yang Xiao, and then turned his attention to Liu Cixin and the other person.

Fang Yan first introduced Ye Yonglie, then patted Liu Cixin on the shoulder and said in a more serious tone:
"After me, he is the only Chinese writer who can become a world-class science fiction writer."

"Oh!"

After hearing this, Asimov had to look at Liu Cixin differently. "Since you said so, you must be very impressed by his talent."

I kept looking him up and down, curiously asking about Liu Cixin's science fiction works, and listened to his emotional narration.

Fangyan added that if he was interested, he could give him a copy of the novel he had translated as soon as the reception was over.

Asimov nodded and said that if the quality of the article was good, he could help a little.

When Liu Cixin heard that he was going to recommend his novel to Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine for reprint and publication, his heart began to beat wildly.

"Xiao Liu, why don't you thank Isaac quickly?"

The dialects were also happy. The two mainstream science fiction magazines, "Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine" and "Similarity", have long monopolized the Nebula Awards for Best Novella, Best Short Novella, and Best Short Story.

Liu Cixin's "Cosmic Collapse" was published in "Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine". Even if it is impossible to win a Nebula Award right away, being nominated for a short story or a medium-length novel would also make him a small name in the international science fiction literary world.

"Not so polite."

Asimov said that last time dialect helped him improve his laws of robotics. Once the revised "Zeroth Law" and "Eight Laws" were published in "Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine", they aroused widespread discussion, and his "Robot" series became popular again.

Fangyan smiled. His "Base" series and "Robot" series of novels were the first choices that "Science Fiction World" was going to introduce into China this time. However, considering that getting the copyright for free might affect the friendship between them, he came straight to the point and hoped that he would agree to reprint them.

"Well..."

Asimov's simple smile revealed a hint of shrewdness. "Of course, no problem, but I have one condition."

Fangyan asked, "What?"

Asimov hoped to make an exchange so that his "Foundation" series and "Robot" series could be reprinted in "Science Fiction World" magazine, and correspondingly, the novel mentioned by Fangyan at the beginning with "Dark Forest Law" as the core would be published in "Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine".

"That's no problem. To be honest, the first part of The Three-Body Problem has already been serialized in Science Fiction World."

Fangyan only talked about the situation of the first part, and did not reveal that the second part has also entered the translation stage.

"That's really great!" Asimov was pleasantly surprised and curious about how "The Three-Body Problem" would explain the Fermi Paradox.

Fang Yan told the plot of the first part of "The Three-Body Problem" in detail, with Liu Cixin and Ye Yonglie occasionally interjecting a few words.

From the story of how the Sophon locked down Earth's technology to the Three-Body Fleet's invasion of Earth, the more Asimov listened, the more frightened and interested he became. He especially wanted to know what incredible and imaginative methods Fangyan would use to reverse such a serious and desperate situation and save the Earth.

Although I know it must be related to the "Dark Forest Law", I still can't figure it out.

"Sophon has only locked down the development of basic science on Earth, but has not locked down the field of applied science, such as nanotechnology."

Ye Yonglie touched his chin and said the most classic and common routine in science fiction literature, which is that the Earth fleet rushes out of the Earth for self-defense.

However, the dialect revealed the plot of the second part, which is that a mere drop of water from the Three-Body Civilization can completely destroy the entire Earth fleet.

These words caught Asimov, Liu Cixin and others by surprise. They had never expected him to be so cruel. It was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

Asimov muttered to himself, "It's like the story of David in the Bible, who killed the giant Goliath with a stone."

Fangyan smiled. The description of the destruction of the Earth fleet in "The Three-Body Problem" was very clever. It used an indestructible object to smash the seemingly huge and invincible opponent. It did not invent some strange power system or complex and powerful future weapons to create an indestructible battleship. Instead, it used a primitive stone model to solve all scientific problems and logical traps.

Just imagine, if you really try to describe the battles between interstellar fleets and explain a series of technical details of the battles between the two sides, it will not only be boring, but also full of loopholes and a thankless task. The final disaster of fleet destruction may not be as brilliant and glorious as "The Three-Body Problem".

Just like the difference between the novel version and the movie version of "The Wandering Earth", the movie actually makes many scientific errors.

For example, MOSS made a mistake in calculating the Roche limit, and Jupiter's gravitational acceleration...

Good science fiction generally needs to find a good balance between scientific facts and fantasy. If it deviates too far from scientific facts, it will become a fantasy novel. If it is just cold scientific facts without artistic imagination and processing, it will also be boring.

The setting of "The Three-Body Problem" is so complicated, but it does not feel unreasonable at all, and it is even very "scientific". This is because Liu Cixin's trilogy novels are full of this technique of hiding one's shortcomings and taking shortcuts, avoiding many contradictions in scientific common sense, reducing details, and going straight to the ending.

“Does that mean we are using the Dark Forest Law?”

Asimov speculated: "When the hunter of the Trisolarian civilization discovered you, the hunter who sent the signal, you sent the information about the Trisolarian civilization to other alien civilizations. As a result, when the Trisolarian civilization shot at the earth, the third alien civilization took the lead in shooting and destroying the Trisolarian civilization?"

"Although your answer is not correct, it is very close. At least the idea is correct."

Fangyan disagrees, saying that the narrative method of a savior from outer space is too cliché. If "The Three-Body Problem" is like this, it is not worthy of being praised as a masterpiece.

The so-called "savior from outer space" can be called "deus ex machina". For example, when the protagonist is in a predicament beyond his ability or even in a desperate situation, a "savior" from a higher dimension suddenly appears and solves the story conflict in a devastating way.

Like the "Sweeping Monk" in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", he is this kind of "mechanical deity" who takes action to resolve the feud between Murong Bo and Xiao Yuanshan.

The main storyline that runs through Qiao Feng and others from beginning to end has come to an end. Without the Sweeping Monk, it would not be easy to complete the story.

"Fang, then how should we use the 'Dark Forest Law' correctly?"

Asimov was intrigued.

Liu Cixin and Ye Yonglie also pricked up their ears and heard a meaningful sentence in dialect:
"Isaac, you must know about nuclear deterrence and nuclear blackmail."

"of course."

Asimov was stunned at first. Nowadays, most of the doomsday science fiction themes in the world are basically about the earth after the outbreak of nuclear war, such as "A Canticle for Leibowitz", "The Girl Who Walked Through the Clouds", "Planet of the Apes"...

Fangyan held up five fingers. "Putting this together, the 'Dark Forest Law' can derive five hypotheses. The first is that civilizations in the universe have only the lowest level of goodwill. Second, the cruelty of competition between civilizations is comparable to that of the Dark War. Third, it is difficult for different intelligent species to communicate. Fourth, communication will definitely expose the location of civilizations... Then, adhering to the principle of 'once discovered, it will be destroyed'..."

When Asimov heard that he had unlocked the many levels set in the first part in a weird and clever way, he could not find any scientific or logical problems for a moment. It felt reasonable and maintained the tension of the story, and it was done in an unprecedented way.

"Sigh~"

Liu Cixin took a deep breath and looked at Fang Yan again with eyes full of admiration and respect. This problem can actually be solved this way?

But when I think about it carefully, I feel more and more that it is familiar. "Teacher Fang, you seem to be referring to the modern history of China?"

"You are right, and it is mainly modern revolutionary history."

Fangyan smiled. Whether it is "Huaxia 2185", "Full-Band Blocking Interference" or the "Three-Body" series, they all have a strong red gene. For example, Zhang Beihai's so-called "escape plan" is actually an interstellar version of the Long March to preserve the fire.

Like Luo Ji, the "sword wielder", he has more or less the will or shadow of that person.

The invasion of the Earth civilization by the Three-Body Civilization is simply a replica of the industrial civilization's dimensionality reduction attack on the agricultural civilization. The Ottoman Empire, which once spanned Asia, Africa and Europe, became a lamb to be slaughtered in the face of modern industrial civilization and subsequently collapsed.

"Fang, these ideas of yours are really great!"

Asimov was very glad to have made this deal with Fangyan, agreeing to allow such a work with the potential to win the Nebula Award and the Hugo Award to be serialized in "Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine". Just based on the unimaginable setting and unprecedented cosmic view of "The Three-Body Problem", it is sure to be a hit once published.

Just as the two were discussing the details of the exchange, Heinlein came back with Yang Xiao and Li the translator.

Asimov couldn't wait to share the story of "The Three-Body Problem" with Heinlein, while Fangyan glanced at Yang Xiao, who had a sad face.

Yang Xiao lowered his voice and revealed that the competition at the World Science Fiction Convention is extremely fierce right now.

Although many organizing committee members and association members support the China Chengdu Science Fiction Literature Committee, some European countries have raised objections and hope that two of the three countries, Italy, Poland and France, will be chosen to host the event in the next two years.

"It's up to you next."

The dialect refers to the speech session in the afternoon, which is the last chance to canvass for votes.

"Teacher Fang, I will do my best!"

Yang Xiao nodded solemnly. No matter what, at least everyone present could feel the development and passion of Chinese science fiction literature. (End of this chapter)