Literary Master 1983

Chapter 308 Father Francis

Yu Qie came to the slums to gather material for his post-apocalyptic novel.

In the world of the Metro series, resources are extremely scarce, much like the conditions in slums, yet in reality, a small minority still live in extreme luxury.

If Japan and Hong Kong are the inspiration for cyberpunk because of their advanced productivity, then places like Columbia are like ruins, with very underdeveloped productivity, but what remains unchanged is that a small number of people still live well.

Class, class, the eternal constant in human society!
A thousand years from now, it will also give rise to many stories. When writer Wang Shuo first started writing novels, he felt that "all the good articles in the world have been written by those old guys, and I have no idea where to start writing." However, decades later, he was surprised to find that he wrote more and more novels and could write about anything.

There are only restrictions on what can't be written; there's nothing that can't be written.

Now, Yu Qie's inclusion of Colombian customs in his novel echoes Colombian President Betancur's "major infrastructure plan," which, during his term, led to an economic recession, and his efforts to boost the economy relied entirely on infrastructure development.

Colombia's economy is in a terrible state, experiencing hyperinflation and a wave of unemployment, with slums growing larger and larger, making it desperately in need of the government to undertake large-scale infrastructure projects.

If the next president decides to abandon infrastructure projects, people can pull out the book "Metro" and say, "You've made our people worse off than the world depicted in the book after a nuclear bomb. You've been a piece of shit government."

When saying goodbye, Carlos asked Yu Qie for an autograph, which he signed on Carlos's football T-shirt.

Carlos said, "Mr. Yu, it is my honor to serve you. I will cherish this dress you gave me forever."

Yu Qie gave the young man a hug. The hug made Carlos tremble with excitement.

After that, Yu Qie stayed at Márquez's house writing novels.

President Betancourt visited Yuche and said, "I am initiating a process to overturn the verdict on the 1928 massacre. Your exoneration of Mr. Neruda has inspired us. There is now a trend in Latin America to overturn the verdict on the past, and we have formed a kind of movement!"

"In the streets and alleys of Colombia, people are discussing the truth about Neruda's death, as well as the truth about other sufferings in our nation."

This was precisely why Bettancourt invited Yuche and Márquez.

Betancourt was responsible for getting the bill passed by Congress, while Márquez and Yuche were responsible for writing articles to rouse the nation.

This draft bill, titled "National Balanced Development Plan – Excavation and Investigation of Historical Massacres," has been simply dubbed the "Yuch-Marquez Act" or the "Neruda Act." This is because, in the public eye, the pursuit of historical truth originates from the relentless pursuit of these two eccentric individuals.

Betancourt is preparing to leave his post in September, which will be the last thing he does during his tenure.

"After that, I will completely leave politics and become a diplomat and international detective, and occasionally a journalist. This is my lifelong dream," Betankul told Yuche and others, envisioning his life after leaving office.

Yu Qie only offered his blessings to Beitankuer.

As far as he knew, Betancur was indeed very ambitious about investigating the genocide. Historically, he was the chairman of the "El Salvador Truth Commission," which was another tragedy perpetrated by warlords and was eventually uncovered by the retired Betancur and others.

He was also the editor of the magazine "The Week" and a director of "The Century," and Bertancourt longed to be close to literature throughout his life.

“Yu, you have no idea how envious I am of you and Gabo. I would rather be a famous novelist than the president,” Betancourt said.

The banana massacre in Colombia, the death of Neruda, and the plight of his good friend Gong Xue triggered Yu Qie's creative urge, and he was able to write a lot of text almost every day.

Yu Qie began writing while standing, his Columbia rifle placed on the upper left corner of the table. Fully loaded, it allowed him to hide under the table and fire from cover at the slightest disturbance.

When Márquez returned home and saw what Yu Qie had written, he was impressed by its quantity and quality, exclaiming, "You are a literary army all by yourself."

Then he saw the gun.

Marquez tensed up.

"Why are you putting the gun on the table? You should learn from Hemingway, but he kept the gun in his drawer," Márquez said.

Yu Qie shook his head: "Hemingway committed suicide with that gun, but I used a gun to shoot the enemy. Therefore, the gun must be kept where I can reach it at any time."

Márquez sensed that something was wrong with Yu Che and advised him, "You've made me afraid to come back to live here, Yu. Are you under too much pressure? This is the safest place in all of Colombia. If there's a safer place than this, it can only be the presidential palace."

Yu said, "Your parliament building was stormed by drug lords last year, and members of parliament were captured alive! There is no truly safe place in the world."

Well, Marquez couldn't persuade Yuche, so he had to live on the second floor of the building, but he was terrified and even went to stay at a friend's house a few days later.

Marquez dared not go back to his own home.

Marquez's wife said, "Gabo, even if bad guys break into the room, they'll only target Yu. What does it have to do with you? You haven't messed with Chile for years; they've already let you go. You just need to explain yourself."

Márquez said, "Because I suspected that Yuche would not surrender, but would immediately draw his gun and shoot back, so that I would not have time to explain, and they would kill me as well."

Marquez's wife was surprised: "In my impression, Chinese people have always been quiet and taciturn. Why is Yu like gunpowder?"

“Yes, you’re absolutely right,” Márquez said. “It’s said that the Chinese are always well protected by a minority. Perhaps Yu isn’t the majority; he’s one of the minority. That’s why he’s always so restless and always looking for trouble. He was born that way.”

During this period, Yu Che repeatedly published articles questioning the Chilean government about the truth behind Neruda's death.

Although Chile did not respond to him, these manuscripts inevitably circulated into Chile via Argentina and other places. Some Chilean writers living outside Chile and holding dual citizenship raised questions:
How exactly did Neruda die?

If Neruda died of heartbreak, could you write an article, like Yuche did, to prove that Neruda was a melancholic and depressed patient in his later years? If he died of pancreatic cancer, then provide his medical records.

Those love poems were just Neruda's complaints from his youth. By middle age, Neruda had become a mature politician! This is something Yu Qie proved in his series of manuscripts, "The Death of Neruda"!
Several South American newspapers sent investigative reporters to infiltrate the hospital where Neruda was staying. A shocking secret was discovered: the private clinic where Neruda had received treatment before his death had lost all his medical records.

Chilean officials initially remained silent on the matter, but as the situation escalated and everyone in neighboring countries began discussing it, Chilean officials had no choice but to subtly announce on their television station that the incident was a coincidence.

Furthermore, they played the emotional card: Neruda did not want people to desecrate his body; please respect this writer. Yu Qie, upon seeing this, countered sharply with "The Disappearance of Medical Records Is Not a Coincidence": If something sounds like a duck, looks like a duck, and swims like a duck, then it is a duck!
"The former president died at the same medical clinic, which lost its medical records; Neruda also died at the same clinic, and its medical records continue to be lost... Are you willing to believe it was the carelessness of the clinic's doctors, or was it intentional?"

“I must emphasize again that Neruda was a mature politician and diplomat. He would not commit suicide, nor would he die of grief. He might die of illness, but that requires evidence. The government only needs to provide it; they have that obligation.”

"A hundred years from now, when people remember Chile, they will not only think of the copper mines—a gift from God—but also of the love poems—created by the Chileans themselves."

"Could it be that an inexplicable murder will replace love poems? The symbols of Chile are copper mines and murder?! Chileans, rise up! Open your eyes!"

This is inexplicable. They simply couldn't explain it.

Warlords are very crude in their actions because they think they are the winners. Not to mention them, even when the United States uses underhanded tactics, it does so directly and uses its power to intimidate others.

As for what happens after death, who cares about the deluge, as long as we keep winning.

However, their power to suppress dissent is now waning, public anger has been ignited by writers, and seeds of doubt have been sown.

In an Argentine favela, a middle-aged Argentine man named Francis is doing the same thing as Yu Che: investigating the favela.

Francis is reading Yu Qie's novel.

He had never known Yu Che before, but after the publication of "2666," Francis was awestruck; the vibrant life and flourishing of all things were still vivid in his mind. He gradually and painstakingly read all of Yu Che's novels translated into Spanish and English.

Francis returned from studying in Germany a few years ago with a doctorate in theology. He is currently a professional priest with a high status and excellent working conditions in Argentina. He is the regional head of the country.

In principle, all believers in Argentina should listen to his interpretation of scripture.

Francis was a theological talent. In his early years, he was assigned to the most prominent regional church in Argentina, which was fully equipped. The priests only needed to pray there, spread the gospel of God, and then do whatever they wanted after get off work.

Francis, however, was an oddball. Not to mention that he allegedly studied communism while in Germany and uttered the heretical nonsense that the "liberation theology," "communist theology," and "combat theology" popular in Latin America were also theology, and that the Marxist Bible was also the Bible... His own behavior of staying away from the church and going deep into the slums during working hours also made him a target of public criticism.

Francis celebrated Mass during the day and spent his evenings converting drug addicts on the margins of society, frequently visiting churches in the slums.

Because Francis had long dealt with these marginalized people, many people ridiculed him as the "garbage can priest." He required Argentine monks to live in slums and closed most of the monasteries located in wealthy areas, investing a large portion of the church's funds in projects to help the poor.

That day, he was also giving a speech to the poor in the slums, and he opened a copy of the Gospel of Matthew:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven!"

The poor people stared at him blankly.

Francis smiled and said, “What do you mean? Actions are more important than words. It’s not enough to just pray. You have to actually take action. Only those who do the Father’s will can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

The poor people seemed to be thinking, but they still didn't quite understand.

Francis added, "I've recently been reading a novel written by a Chinese author, and he predicted that Márquez would personally uncover the truth about the 1928 banana massacre, but that's not all!"

“We see that he also keeps gathering evidence to overturn the verdicts on other historical figures. He acts according to his own words; he not only says it, but is also ready to act at any time.”

Among the poor, some had heard of Yu Qie's name, and some had even read excerpts from his novels, but they did not know that it was written by "Yu".

Now, listening to Francis's account, everyone gradually understands everything that happened after Yuche came to Colombia, and the ultimate purpose of his actions.

He wanted the truth to come out. He was an honest man.

Then a poor man asked Francis, "Father, that writer you mentioned, he certainly couldn't have faith, but he was indeed a great man, so can he enter the Kingdom of Heaven?"

This involves a bug!

The traditional interpretation holds that even if you are perfect, you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven if you do not believe. This is because disbelief is disrespectful and the greatest sin.

However, this is domineering and makes God seem stingy.

But Francis has a doctorate from Germany! How could he be stumped?
Francis said, "If he has always been a great man, then of course he will go to heaven."

“But he doesn’t believe it at all. He has no faith at all!” someone said.

Well come!
This is what we've been waiting for.

As the GOAT of Argentine theological circles, the priest was surrounded by media awaiting his explanation. Reporters had already raised their cameras and taken out their recording devices.

Francis seemed possessed, speaking slowly and mysteriously: "Everything has already been arranged. Whether he believes it or not, he actually believes it, because what he does is itself part of the will."

This is precisely the explanation that Francis painstakingly researched: all the good things you see are preordained, and if things go wrong, it's a test. Whether the person doing the thing believes it or not is unimportant. He may have believed it before, or he may believe it in the future. Even if he doesn't say a word or tries to distance himself from it, the very act of doing it is because he believes it.

Although he denied it, he was unaware that God had already made arrangements for him.

Is it a completely closed loop?

This is the goat.

Once this news spread, Yuqie suddenly became a man burdened with a great destiny, doing something in accordance with his destiny; he was acting as a proxy, though he himself was unaware of it. This seems to carry a certain metaphor, a reflection of Francis's own judgment of the truth:

Neruda was certainly murdered, because what God says always comes true.

(End of this chapter)