Exciting 1979!

Chapter 499 The Zero Law of Robotics

While the Hugo and Nebula Awards are the highest honors for science fiction authors and fans, science fiction literature is actually more niche than serious and popular literature. After all, the reading threshold is generally higher, and it usually involves many scientific principles. In particular, hard science fiction can be as obscure as "One Hundred Years of Solitude".

Moreover, Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters haven't even started to become popular yet, and their global influence is nowhere near what it will be in later generations.

Therefore, there was no live television broadcast, nor was there extensive coverage from major global media outlets; only a few American media outlets were present at the scene.

After the chairman of the World Science Fiction Convention and the chairman of the Hugo Awards jury delivered speeches on the current state of science fiction literature and recent developments in science, the awards ceremony officially began.

There were four awards in total. The winner of the short story award was Spied Robinson, whom Wei Ming did not know. His work was "The Melancholy Elephant," which Wei Ming had not read.

However, during the award ceremony, it was mentioned that the discussion explored the interaction between copyright and longevity, as well as the potential impact of extending copyright to permanence, which sounded quite interesting.

Currently, the copyright protection periods for works in most countries follow the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention, which protect literary and artistic works, protecting the author for life and 50 years after death, such as in the United States.

Take J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings series, as an example. He died in 1973, which means that his works would not become public domain until 2023, and everyone could use them for free. However, due to the 1998 Act, this was extended to 70 years after his death, so it will not happen until 2043.

At that time, China had not yet joined these two conventions. It joined in the 90s, and with the efforts of some authors, Chinese writers also obtained copyright protection for their lifetime plus 50 years after their death.

The longest protection period is currently in Spain, which grants the author life plus 80 years after death, while the shortest is in countries like the Soviet Union, which grant the author life plus 25 years after death.

Next up was Wei Ming, whose novella, District 9, won the Best Short Story award and was the most familiar novel to the audience, having long been a top bestseller in New York.

However, the association never considers sales figures when awarding prizes; otherwise, Jurassic Park would have won an award long ago.

Gong Xue clapped until her hands were red, then, remembering something, she quickly took out her camera and captured the moment Wei Ming picked up the Hugo Award Rocket Trophy.

Next, she listened attentively to Wei Ming's acceptance speech, treating it as a way to practice her English listening skills.

"Respected World Science Fiction Convention, Hugo Award judges, readers, and all life forms trapped on this beautiful yet chaotic planet, good afternoon." Wei Ming began his impromptu remarks.

Applause erupted.

"Tonight, I stand here, holding this rocket trophy, which symbolizes the highest honor in science fiction, and my feelings are incredibly complicated. This rocket represents the dream of flying to the stars, but in District 9, it becomes a prison suspended over Johannesburg, unable to return home."

The greatest power of science fiction has never been a crystal ball predicting the future, but a mirror for examining the present. I simply packaged old news from Earth, such as apartheid, the refugee crisis, and class conflict, into an alien shell.

At the same time, I would like to ask the question of human nature: when we face an "other" who is ugly, culturally unfamiliar, and lacks resources, will we choose to raise a weapon or extend a helping hand?
At the heart of this novel is a story about 'metamorphosis'—a human forced to become an alien, thereby truly understanding what suffering and dignity are. This is precisely the core of all great science fiction: using unknown settings to explore eternal humanity.

I want to dedicate this award to all those who feel like "outsiders"; to all those hearts on both sides of the wall of separation who still yearn for communication and understanding; and also to the "shrimp" who, at the end of the story, silently made metal flowers in the garbage dump—he told us that no matter how desperate the situation, the hope of "home" and the glimmer of humanity will never be extinguished.

Thank you all. May we all find our way home.

The applause was much louder than for the previous winner, especially among the few Black writers and audience members present, some of whom were even moved to tears. Mr. Why is truly a great anti-racist!
Some people were amazed by Wei Ming's standard and fluent English pronunciation, wondering how many British and American girlfriends he must have had to practice to reach that level.

Another point is the general manager of DreamWorks Publishing's North American branch. After listening to the speech, he felt that when District 9 was reprinted, this award speech could be used as a short preface at the beginning.

Next up to receive the award is Joanna Ruth, the winner of the novella prize. I don't recognize her; her winning work is "The Elves," which I've never heard of.

This is a fantasy work, so it's not surprising that it appeared at the Hugo Awards. The award itself does not exclude fantasy, and later works such as "A Song of Ice and Fire" and "Harry Potter" also won the Hugo Awards.

Finally, the Hugo Award for Best Novel will be announced soon.

The novel is the brightest jewel in the crown of literature, and even science fiction awards are the most valued by authors and readers.

When the names of the winning authors and their works were announced, the entire audience stood up, including Wei Ming, and Gong Xue, who was behind him, also stood up and applauded.

The winning book is called "Base Edge," and the winning author is Isaac Asimov, a man hailed as a "god-like figure" by readers worldwide!
This award-winning work, Foundation Edge, can also be called Foundation VI.

Asimov's Foundation series is a vast fictional world-building system, and Foundation's Edge is one of the books in the Foundation series.

In addition, the famous "Three Laws of Robotics" were also proposed by Asimov.

which is:
The First Law states that a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, witness a human being coming to harm.
The Second Law states that robots must obey human orders, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

The Third Law emphasizes that robots must protect their own survival without violating the first two laws.

Asimov's Galactic Empire series of novels profoundly influenced later works such as Star Wars and Avatar. If there were a contest for the greatest science fiction writer in history, Asimov would undoubtedly be among the top three.

Moreover, this old man was a prolific writer throughout his life, a polymath like Wei Ming, whose works covered natural sciences, social sciences, literature and art. He published more than 400 books in his lifetime, including posthumous works, including collections of jokes and erotic fiction.

Therefore, it is entirely understandable that the audience and fellow writers present stood up and applauded.

His award will also raise public awareness of this year's Hugo Awards.

Isaac Asimov was a Russian-American Jew, and his thick sideburns gave him a very old-fashioned Russian look.

Having won the Hugo Award more than once and already being a king in the field, he remained calm.

Gong Xue, sitting in the back row, tried hard to listen to his speech. Although she understood it, she felt that Xiao Wei's pronunciation was more standard.

After the awards ceremony, there was a dinner for science fiction writers. Since there were no reporters, Wei Ming simply brought Gong Xue along.

As authors in the English science fiction community, these people know each other well and can basically exchange a few words with each other.

But Wei Ming wasn't familiar with them. He probably wouldn't recognize most of them by name, and he'd have to hear the titles of their works. Sometimes he wouldn't even recognize the titles of their works, and he'd only hear "Oh" if he heard the title of the movie adapted from the work.

Although the appearance of Wei Ming and Gong Xue, two Asian faces, seemed somewhat abrupt, and no one greeted them at first, Wei Ming became the center of attention at the dinner party after Asimov came over and chatted with him for a few words.

Asimov's greatest pride was his erudition and prolific output. At 64 years old, he had already published more than 200 books. The Foundation series, with its grand narrative, also showcased his formidable knowledge in disciplines such as history, sociology, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, statistics, philosophy, economics, psychology, computer science, and artificial intelligence.

He knew that Wei Ming was also quite remarkable in terms of erudition and prolific output.

Apart from his long novel "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes," which is still being translated, most of Wei Ming's works have already been published in English. In particular, he is currently publishing the "Goosebumps" series at a rate of one book per month, and each book has topped the New York Times bestseller list.

Asimov's Nobel Prize-winning novel, "Base Edge," was his first work to appear on the New York Times bestseller list, and he was far less adept at pleasing readers and publishing companies than Wei Ming.

“Your acceptance speech was really good,” he said, then asked, “How many books do you plan to write for your Goosebumps series for teenagers?”

Wei Ming honestly replied, "I currently have more than a dozen story ideas in reserve, and I think writing twenty or thirty books shouldn't be a problem."

In reality, it might double.

Asimov stared in surprise, his mouth slightly agape.

"So, are you still planning to write science fiction novels?"

“Of course,” Wei Ming said, “but science fiction requires a good understanding of scientific knowledge, but I am more inclined towards the humanities, so I plan to study in the United States to learn about the development of some cutting-edge technologies.”

"Oh, which university?" Asimov's interest grew even stronger when he heard that Wei Ming was coming to the United States to study.

Wei Mingdao: "University of California, Berkeley, is relatively close to Silicon Valley, and I am very interested in artificial intelligence."

This hit Asimov right. He is one of the most accurate science fiction writers in predicting artificial intelligence and the future. His "Three Laws of Robotics" are also quite instructive for the development of artificial intelligence by mankind. This is an area he is good at and interested in.

The two then had a pleasant conversation about the future development of artificial intelligence. Asimov's predictions about the future were based on reality, while Wei Ming was from the future. He talked about some of the developments of artificial intelligence in 2025, providing more details, which greatly inspired Asimov.

"Have you read my robot series of novels?" Asimov asked.

"Yes, the Three Laws of Robotics are practically classic laws in science fiction literature, so rigorous they're practically flawless..."

Just as Asimov was about to laugh, Wei Ming said, "However..."

But when he did, Asimov's expression faltered, and Gong Xue tugged at him, worried that he might offend an industry bigwig.

Wei Ming, however, continued, "But I think the Laws of Robotics need to be supplemented with a Law Zero."

Asimov smiled again: "Since I proposed the Three Laws of Robotics more than 30 years ago, many science fiction writers and scientists have added the so-called Fourth Law, Fifth Law, etc., but none of them have gained widespread recognition from readers. So what are your insights?"

Asimov was very proud of this law, and he once said with great pride: "The Three Laws are the only way for rational humans to treat robots."

Wei Mingdao said: "The reason why I call the Law Zero is Law Zero is because it takes precedence over the Three Laws. The Three Laws are the laws governing robots and individuals, but I believe that robots also need to have a contract with humanity as a whole, namely: a robot may not injure humanity as a whole or allow humanity to come to harm."

When Wei Ming finished reciting the so-called Zeroth Law of Robotics, Asimov suddenly fell silent, and several science fiction writers who had secretly overheard the conversation also showed interesting expressions on their faces.

That...that actually makes some sense!

Even Asimov was somewhat unable to refute this at the moment: only when the "zeroth law" is engraved in the robot's system can humanity truly be safe.

Flawless and irrefutable!
He certainly couldn't refute it, because it was something he wrote himself in his new book a few years later, and it was an ironclad rule that he absolutely approved of.

“Mr. Why,” Asimov shook hands with Wei Ming for the first time, very formally and sincerely, “I have an idea. I want to use the zeroth law you proposed in my new book.”

Hey!
Centered around the two, all the science fiction writers around them stopped talking and fell silent. What had we just heard?!
Wei Ming: "Of course, no problem. This was inspired by the Three Laws of Robotics, and it's my honor."

Asimov laughed heartily: "No wonder Clark speaks so highly of you. It's a pleasure to meet you. I will thank you in the preface to my new book."

Another science fiction literary giant, Arthur C. Clarke, once published an article praising District 9. However, Wei Ming and Clarke never met; this was all due to Melinda and Macmillan Publishing.

Afterwards, Asimov, who was still writing diligently, left the banquet hall. He was going to stay up all night writing again that night. But this might be his fate. He was addicted to writing and was closer to the typewriter than to his wife.

After Asimov left, more and more writers came to talk to Wei Ming. Wei Ming's knowledge, his eloquence, and his humble yet confident attitude left a deep impression on the writers present. Moreover, the lady next to him was also very beautiful, showing the beauty of the East.

The next day, not only were the Hugo Award winners announced, but news also spread that Wei Ming had talked with Asimov at the dinner party that evening and proposed the zeroth law of robotics.

Whether it was the Hugo Awards themselves creating hype or not, it generated a lot of buzz, with many media outlets reprinting it, and even Chen Chong, who lives in Los Angeles, saw the news.

Jackie Chan had previously introduced her to a small role with lines, but that movie has yet to be released. Now she can only continue to submit her resume. Recently, she finally landed a small role in a low-budget film produced by a small company called New Line Cinema, where she is killed off. The film is called "A Nightmare on Elm Street".

When Chen Chong saw that Wei Ming had won this award that Americans seemed to value highly, he couldn't help but wonder: Would it be easy for him to get a green card now?
"Ah Long, you have to work hard, otherwise when will we be able to settle down in the United States?" Chen Chong said, while working hard herself, she also placed her hopes on Cheng Long in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Jackie Chan is currently in Europe having a passionate affair with the female lead of his new film, and she's a foreigner no less!

Now that they had finally made it to New York, Wei Ming didn't plan to leave so soon. After receiving the award, he took Sister Xue to explore New York again, and in addition to shopping, they also went to Broadway.

We have people on Broadway too!
(Today's guaranteed minimum)
(End of this chapter)