Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 418 Are you ok
When Zhang Chao received Ma Boyong's call, he could still hear the faint sound of quarreling coming from the other side. One of the voices was particularly familiar, it was Lan Ting.

Ma Boyong said on the phone: "How about you come over? I'm afraid if we continue arguing, we'll start a fight!"

Zhang Chao was surprised and said, "We are all intellectuals, it shouldn't be that serious, right? It's just a novel, why are you all so excited?"

Ma Boyong's voice was full of helplessness: "You think it's a novel, but everyone thinks it's the future life.

Because the previous novel had such a huge social response, everyone now feels that every choice they make is related to the future development of society.

You know, once the sense of social responsibility kicks in, politeness and etiquette are no longer a concern.”

Zhang Chao hesitated for a moment and did not agree to Ma Boyong immediately. However, he was greatly surprised that the young editors of "Youth" would argue to this extent.

But according to Ma Boyong, it is actually normal. Who doesn’t want to have a chance to “influence the future”? Especially since Zhang Chao’s works have been proven to have this ability.

After "The Last Lesson", not only did the stock price of the largest education and training institution in the country plummet, but many parents also chose to "let their children go" and "let themselves go".

"Letter from an Unknown Woman" dealt a heavy blow to the domestic organ transplant black market and also helped Guangdong to rectify its labor market.

Not to mention "Painted Skin", which is simply putting several major domestic Internet companies on the fire.

Once this novel "The Man in the Shell" is published, it will surely shock everyone with its unique way of writing. It may even go down in history in the future.

Coupled with the "sense of social responsibility" that Ma Boyong mentioned, it is indeed easy for young editors to go "crazy".

After a long while, Zhang Chao said, “The quarrel was so fierce, which shows that everyone is concerned not only about the fate of the protagonist, but also about their own fate.

This is also my original intention for writing this novel - we are naturally wary of large-scale infringements on personal rights, but we always inadvertently give up our rights little by little in the subtle ways.

Of course, this kind of concession can indeed bring convenience, but the question is - does it have to be this way?

I don't have the answers here, but I hope you do. So I'm not going to get involved in this argument.

But you can tell everyone that when the novel is finished, I will treat everyone to a meal, and you can choose the place."

After saying that, he said "goodbye" to Ma Boyong and hung up the phone.

Ma Boyong stared at the beeping landline receiver for a while, then he heard Lan Ting say behind him, "Does he not want to get involved in our quarrel?"

Ma Boyong turned his chair around and nodded awkwardly.

Lan Ting said with a smile: "Zhang Chao still keeps his word. He said that he would give us the right to choose, and he will not break his promise."

Ma Boyong pointed at the editors who were "fighting against each other" in the editorial office and said helplessly: "Are you still going to work? We can't just focus on this one novel!
Otherwise, I think we should just vote!"

Lan Ting glared at him and, regardless of Ma Boyong's identity, she directly denied it: "No, this choice is too important, we can't resort to 'majority violence'.

We should fully discuss and reach a consensus!"

At this time, other editors came over and said, "It's not appropriate to force a vote when there are so many differences now."

Ma Bo was so overwhelmed that he had to use the authority of his position to forcibly stop everyone's quarrel and go about his other work.

He rubbed his temples and began to sort out the opinions of all parties.

I agree with "Option 1", that is, Luo Zhi raised his hand to take on the task, and I think that writing in this way can better highlight the tragedy of the free nature of human beings compromising with laziness, greed, and capital.

The affection that "Luo Zhi" had before because of "Zhou Yingying" and the self-doubt he had because of "Huang Tiantian" will become the catalyst for this tragedy, making the whole novel even more ironic.

Those who agree with "Option 2", that is, Luo Zhi remains silent and refuses the task, do so from the perspective of maintaining the development logic of the novel and the human dignity of the character "Luo Zhi".

Since he has begun to doubt his own choices and is gradually moving towards freedom from the constraints of homogeneous information, why should he be deprived of his free will?
Although the characters in the novel do not exist in reality, the author has endowed them with vitality and logic of action, and their fate should not be forcibly reversed in order to show the drama of the novel.

The husband said he was right, while the wife said she was right, and their arguments were almost equal, and they argued all morning without any result.

Looking at his colleagues sitting in the editorial office with resentment in their eyes, Ma Boyong suddenly had an epiphany: Does Zhang Chao regard everyone here as part of the novel?
"Luo Zhi" in the novel actively chooses to allow himself to be constantly surrounded by homogeneous information, and eventually even the strong emotion of "love" is erased in this process.

Is the relationship between him and "Liu Ying" a love affair? From an ordinary person's point of view, it is probably hard to say.

"Luo Zhi" has continuously consolidated his labels of "highly educated" and "elite" by watching recommended videos and reading recommended articles again and again, and by the way, solidified his choice of mate.

The situation of "Liu Ying" is similar. She was influenced by online information and decided that she would get married at the age of 30 because "30 is the best age for highly educated women to get married."

In the final analysis, their acquaintance was the result of algorithm recommendation, and their relationship was strictly carried out according to the established procedures recommended by various emotional bloggers. Even their physical contact lacked the "passion" that it should have...

The editors of "Youth" are all young people, and they are all literary youths. They can't stand this - so they have a consensus on this point - the only disagreement is whether "Luo Zhi" should live a tragedy or give him a warm ending.

No matter which one you choose, isn't it essentially asking Zhang Chao to write a novel that you "want to read" and "love to read"? Isn't this a metaphor...

The fictional characters in the novel and the real humans outside the novel who choose the fate of the characters form a wonderful contrast - the inside and outside of the novel are mirrors of each other and complement each other.

Ma Boyong couldn't help but laugh at himself when he thought of this. He once thought he knew Zhang Chao well enough and that he had read enough, but he didn't expect Zhang Chao to surprise him.

Writing novels this way is no longer like traditional personal creation, but more like an interactive game. Ma Boyong thinks Zhang Chao must have hidden some trap somewhere, ready to give them a hard blow...

After finally getting to the end of the workday, the editors from the Youth Pie editorial department all stayed on their own initiative, and Shuang Xuetao also came over from another office. Each of them had murderous intent in their eyes, waiting for Ma Boyong's order.

Ma Boyong said helplessly: "Everyone, calm down! We are literary editors, not market ladies! Xuetao, you are not allowed to stand on the chair again... Lanting, stop yelling with a rolled-up magazine!"

Lan Ting stood up and said loudly: "Boss Ma, how can you be calm? Choosing 'Option 1' is murdering Luo Zhi's soul! He finally began to doubt the control of the algorithm because of Zhou Yingying and Huang Tiantian.

Now asking him to develop the more terrifying 'All-Seeing Eye' with his own hands is equivalent to turning him from a victim into an executioner!"

The older editor Xu Feng laughed and said, "Fresh graduates are naive. In reality, which worker has the right to refuse a task from his boss? Luo Zhi is an algorithm engineer. If he doesn't take this project, wouldn't he be an executioner?
His salary, mortgage, and social status are all controlled by the company. Don't take the project? You will be laid off tomorrow! Zhang Chao's writing is true - free will? That's a luxury that only rich people can afford to play with! "

Another female editor, Wang Yulan, was not happy. She said dissatisfiedly: "It's ridiculous! If novels only pursue 'truth', what is the difference between them and news reports? The value of literature lies in revealing the glimmer of light in difficult situations!
So Luo Zhi had to refuse, because his hesitation represented that his humanity had not yet completely fallen. Zhang Chao had laid so many foreshadowings before—Zhou Yingying's bracelet, Huang Tiantian's photo, and the emptiness when he stared at Liu Ying—all of these were to pave the way for his awakening! "

Shuang Xuetao laughed and said, "Hope is opium. The most cruel part of Zhang Chao's novel is that it shatters all fantasies. Luo Zhi's acceptance of the task is a stroke of genius - the more he consciously participates in the evil, the more he can prove that the system is unshakable.

This is more profound than simply criticizing capital, just like Winston finally falling in love with Big Brother in "1984", that is the art of despair. "

At this time, Xiao Wu, a college student who had just come to "Youth" for internship from the Chinese Department of Yan University, said timidly: "Belikov was forced to death by the old system. But Luo Zhi's 'shell' was woven by Luo Zhi himself. If he chooses to continue weaving the shell, does it mean that modern people are more miserable than Belikov?

After all, the Tsar will not push you a guide to the ‘information comfort zone’. ”

Ma Boyong's eyes lit up when he heard this - everyone had spent most of the day reflecting on the work, and their feelings about it had been upgraded to a new level, which made him feel a little interesting, so he continued, "This angle is interesting. Chekhov criticized institutional violence, and Zhang Chao satirized self-domestication.

Choosing option 1, Luo Zhi becomes the Belikov of the new era—except that his condoms are softer and sweeter, and he even enjoys them.”

Lan Ting said dissatisfiedly: "Boss Ma, you are changing the concept! Belikov is passively suppressed, but Luo Zhi is actively alienated. If he accepts the task, it means he admits that humans do not deserve true freedom.

But Zhang Chao said at the October magazine forum, "Literature should prove that humans deserve the crisis!" We need to let Luo Zhi resist, even if he fails!

Another editor, Qian Feng, spoke up: "Didn't you listen to Zhang Chao's speech at the Internet Conference? He said, 'Humanity's problems will never decrease.' Expect a novel to change the world?
Forget it! Choosing option 1 is to face reality - let alone the future, we are all immersed in Internet information now. I searched 'what to eat to prevent hair loss' on the search engine; then I opened the shopping website, and the homepage was full of hair growth pills. "

There was a burst of laughter in the editorial office and the atmosphere eased a little.

After the laughter stopped, Xu Yanling, the oldest female editor of Youth View, who once worked at West Lake, said in her usual calm tone: "That's why literature has to fight. If Luo Zhi compromises, readers will think, 'It's hopeless anyway, so I might as well lie down.'

But if he refuses, at least someone will be touched, like...like the wreath on Xia Yu's grave in "Medicine"! "

Ma Boyong shook his head and said, "Zhang Chao's move is quite vicious. He threw the choice to us and forced us to look in the mirror. Choose option 1 and admit that we are cowardly; choose option 2 and pretend that we are noble. No matter which choice we make, it will be a slap in the face... How about we draw lots?"

Everyone in the office said in unison: "No!"

After shouting, everyone burst into laughter again. Ma Boyong smiled and said to everyone: "That's right! This is the atmosphere of our "Youth Party"."

Ma Boyong continued, “Think about our editorial department - isn’t it actually another form of ‘algorithm’ recommendation? It’s just that we don’t use computer programs, but the knowledge and experience we have accumulated over the years.

In essence, all of us here are ‘Luo Zhi’. But we firmly believe that our recommendations are choices made with ‘free will’. ”

As soon as Ma Boyong finished speaking, the entire editorial office fell into silence.

After a long moment, Xu Feng smiled and said, "Literature is not black and white. Let 'Luo Zhi' take on the task. Maybe Zhang Chao will write that he gradually collapsed during the development process - for example, he discovered that the company used the 'all-seeing eye' to monitor employees, or the algorithm digitized his affection for Huang Tiantian.

This way, the critical nature is preserved without making the readers despair. ”

This sentence was immediately questioned: "How do you know that Zhang Chao will continue writing in this way?"

Xu Feng shrugged and said, "Then how do you know that Zhang Chao can't write 'Luo Zhi'? After he refused the mission, he gradually stepped out of the 'information comfort zone', but his life gradually collapsed.

In the end, he lost Zhou Yingying, didn’t get Liu Ying, and even lost his job - maybe this is the future Zhang Chao envisioned. Stepping out of the ‘information comfort zone’ means you are out of touch with modern society. ”

Xu Feng's words once again pressed the "pause button" for the scene. His idea, combined with Ma Boyong's opinion, instantly opened up a new dimension for interpreting the novel "The Man in the Case".

In Chekhov's original work, the image of Belikov itself is not complicated, and he has never escaped from the cocoon, so judging his fate is much simpler than judging the fate of "Luo Zhi".

Shuang Xuetao sighed and said, "Do you remember Borges's "The Garden of Forking Paths"? Every choice leads to a parallel universe. Perhaps Zhang Chao is using this method to let us experience the vanity of "free will" firsthand..."

At this time, there was a noise coming from the gate of the courtyard. Someone was knocking on the door, which interrupted everyone's discussion and thinking for a moment.

Intern Xiao Wu volunteered to open the door, and was led directly in by a middle-aged man with a big head and round face, wearing a white chef's hat. He smiled and said to the people in the editorial office, "I'm from Lao Ma Shabu-Shabu. A Mr. Zhang ordered a pot and meat from our store and asked us to deliver it.

Where do you think it would be a good place to eat?"

……

In the private room of "Laoma Shabu-shabu" restaurant, Zhang Chao took a big bite of the shabu-shabu, took a sip of the drink, and let out a long sigh of relief.

He looked up at the middle-aged man sitting opposite him, who only had 40 billion cold dollars left in his card, and asked with concern: "Boss Lei, are you ok? Why don't you eat?"

The middle-aged man forced a smile and said, "I'm trying to lose weight recently..."

(End of this chapter)