Inside the Great Hall.

Huo Yaowen and Lin Yanni walked in.

Paul Ingres, the husband who happened to see Nie Hualing, was communicating with a few foreigners at the door.

And Nie Hualing was smiling and saying something next to her, and suddenly she noticed Huo Yaowen and Lin Yanni, so she said a few words to these people, and turned around and walked towards them.

"Evan, Eunice, you two are just in time. ”

Nie Hualing approached the two and said with a smile: "I have communicated with Paul and the people from Bantan Book Publishing House, and they will receive the manuscripts of the writers who participated in the writing project this time here in the auditorium, whether it is prose, poetry, or novels." ”

Lin Yanni asked in surprise: "They also accept prose?"

"Yes. ”

Nie Hualing smiled and nodded, "Bantan Book Publishing Company is going to publish a collection of prose and poetry together with all the writers who participated in this year's International Writing Program, and they will do so every time in the future. ”

Hearing this, Lin Yanni's face was full of joy, she has written a little prose after coming to the United States in the past few days, most of which are feelings about this international writing project and essays describing the cultural scenery of Hong Kong, but I don't know if I can successfully submit it.

Instead, Huo Yaowen pondered for a moment, glanced at Paul Ingres, and said, "Ms. Nie, I have written a science fiction novel in the past few days, and I don't know if anyone from Bantan Book Publishing House is interested. ”

"Science fiction?!"

Nie Hualing was stunned, she was the same as Lin Yanni before, she never expected Huo Yaowen to write science fiction novels, and frowned slightly: "Bantan Book Publishing Company publishes all kinds of books, but Huo Sheng science fiction novels, are you sure you can write them well?"

No wonder Nie Hualing wondered about this, she grew up in Hubei, studied at the National Central University in Chongqing when she was older, and later came to Taiwan to work in the writing industry, and published a number of books in Hong Kong, knowing that the Chinese literary scene is very weak in science fiction today.

Even the well-known Hong Kong science fiction writer Ni Box, in Nie Hualing's view, the Wesleyan series he wrote is more adventure and reasoning than science fiction elements, especially after coming to the United States, seeing all kinds of whimsical science fiction novels, it is clear that science fiction novels in Hong Kong and Taiwan are like child's play.

"So I want Ms. Nie to take a look at it for me. ”

Huo Yaowen chuckled, not caring about the other party's doubts, after all, he had written romance novels in Nie Hualing's heart before, and it was right to raise doubts.

"I don't know much about science fiction, but I can let Paul show you that, who has been teaching writing at the University of Iowa for more than 20 years and is well versed in fiction and prose on a variety of subjects. ”

Huo Yaowen said: "Then trouble Ms. Nie." ”

Nie Hualing said with a smile: "You are invited by me from Hong Kong, and I naturally hope that you can gain something from this writing meeting." ”

...

Soon, writers from other countries who received the notice also came to the auditorium, and under the guidance and narration of several editors sent by Bantan Book Publishing Company, many people were overjoyed to hear that their essays and novels could be published in the United States.

In particular, RB's Komatsu Sakyo, who has been writing a book about the RB earthquake for many years, but the plot conceived is a bit exaggerated, and he is afraid of causing an uproar in RB countries, so he has not published it for a long time.

By the time the people at Bantan Books had finished talking about the publishing partnership, most of the writers were gathered around the three editors, pitching their own articles.

Huo Yaowen and Lin Yanni followed behind Nie Hualing and found Paul Angel, who was busy.

"Paul, you help Evan read this science fiction novel. Nie Hualing took out a stack of manuscripts and handed them to Paul Ingres.

Paul Ingres was stunned for a moment, he looked up at Huo Yaowen, and said, "Evan, this is what you wrote after you came to the United States?"

Huo Yaowen said: "Well, on the first day I came, after seeing the Global Times report on the US manned moon landing program, I had an idea in my heart, and I have been writing and creating in the house for the past few days. ”

Hearing this, Paul Ingres nodded, lowered his head and looked at the English science fiction novel written by Huo Yaowen.

Since 1961, when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin took off aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft, he became the first person to go into space, which not only greatly stimulated the U.S. government, but also deepened the fear of the American people about falling behind in the space race.

President Kennedy also changed the goals of the Apollo program that same year, vowing to send American astronauts to the moon by the end of the 1960s.

This move has prompted the development of the American science fiction community, and every year major publishing companies publish hundreds of books on science fiction themes, ranging from alien invasions to manned moon landings.

Anyway, as long as there is a little mention of science fiction themes, almost all of them have sold well in the United States in recent years, and science fiction novels that are a little new or interesting are almost all big sellers.

It is also in this decade of the golden age of science fiction that the largest region in the global science fiction market in the future is in the United States.

...

1999 - Our Journey is the Sea of Stars

Huo Yaowen's book has only written more than 60,000 words, and the first part has not yet been written, but this does not hinder the early integrity of this story.

Paul Ingres was a little surprised when he saw that the tens of thousands of words in the previous article were all about the development of the future world.

Although the concept of mobile phones has been proposed for a long time, mobile phones can take pictures, record videos like cameras, and can also be connected to the so-called Internet, watch movies, read novels, listen to music, these novel future imaginations are still more interesting.

Especially when he saw the Internet penetrating the world, Paul Ingres was even more eye-catching.

And then look down,

Paul thought that this science fiction imagination of the future world was a fantasy of the future world, but when he saw the article mentioning that in 1969, NASA launched an explorer to explore outer space, Voyager 1, he smiled.

Recently, the Apollo moon landing has been reported in the United States, and many science fiction writers are writing science fiction novels related to manned lunar exploration.

I think that's what Evan means.

“…… The Voyager 1 was loaded with a copper disc with a gold-plated surface and a diamond phonograph needle inside. This means that even a billion years later, the record will sound as good as new. Its contents include greetings recorded in 55 human languages and music from various countries, including pictures of the planets of the solar system, official images and descriptions of human beings, etc., which are intended to express human greetings to "aliens......"

When Paul saw this, he thought a little.

When he continued to read, it suddenly dawned on him that this was a science fiction novel about aliens invading the earth.

“…… The universe is a dark forest, and every civilization is a hunter with a gun, sneaking through the forest like a ghost, gently brushing away the branches that stand in the way, trying not to make a sound from his footsteps, and even breathing must be careful: he must be careful, because the forest is full of hunters who are just like him, and if he finds other life, there is only one thing he can do, shoot and destroy it. In this forest, others are hell, eternal threats, and any life that exposes its existence will be quickly wiped out, this is the picture of cosmic civilization, and this is an explanation of Fermi's paradox......"

When he wrote this, the manuscript was cut off, and Paul hurriedly said to Huo Yaowen: "Evan, what's going on here? Did the people from Alpha intercept the Voyager 1 sent by the United States? Is it going to invade the earth?"

Huo Yaowen looked at Paul's impatient appearance and said with a smile: "Yes, I haven't had time to write these yet." ”

"That's a shame, I really want to see what the next plot is. Paul said with a little disappointment.

He has read a lot of science fiction novels, some about the future world, some about interstellar wars, and some about alien invasions of Earth.

But no one has ever given such a set of laws of the dark forest of the universe, and at the same time, it can be regarded as an answer to the question raised by Fermi back then, "Where are the aliens?"

Paul looked at the manuscript in his hand, and then at Huo Yaowen, it was hard to imagine that this creative and full of extraterrestrial research was written by a Chinese.

Although the book does not quote too many scientific arguments to forcibly explain the future technology and alien civilizations depicted in the book, it is precisely because of this that the reader can be given a kind of imagination of the future, rather than dwelling on whether the scientific arguments mentioned in the book are reasonable.

Paul complimented, "Evan, your book is very well written, and I think Bantan Books would be happy to receive such a manuscript from you." ”

Nie Hualing next to her smiled and said, "Paul, do you mean that Evan has the opportunity to sign a contract with someone from Bantan Book Publishing House?"

"Of course, it's a great book, and I'm sure it's going to sell well in the United States. ”

Paul has been teaching writing for more than 20 years, so he naturally distinguishes between good and bad, and although there are some grammatical errors in this text, this does not hinder reading, as long as it is corrected later.

After hearing this, Huo Yaowen was overjoyed.

Although Lin Yanni next to her was envious, she was still very happy for Huo Yaowen, after all, she was from Hong Kong, and she hoped that the other party could successfully publish books in the United States.

Paul confidently said to Huo Yaowen: "Evan, this manuscript will be left with me first, and I will show it to the people of Bantan Book Publishing Company later, if it goes well, I think you can negotiate the signing of the publication tomorrow." ”

"Okay, excuse me, Mr. Paul. Huo Yaowen thanked.

Paul laughed and said, "You wrote it yourself very well, otherwise I don't think even if I wanted to, the people at Bantan Books would not want to." ”

...

In the afternoon, three editors from the Bantan Book Publishing Company, after dealing with the writers who had come to read, watched in the room to read the articles.

Because before coming to participate in the "International Writing Project", those writers knew in advance that the writing club would be working with American publishing companies, so when they came, most of them also brought their own articles written before.

Regardless of whether these novels and essays were published in their home countries, they were brought to the United States, after all, they did not sell the publishing rights in the United States.

Paul approached the main person in charge of the Bantan Book Publishing House and said, "Mark, stop for a moment and look at this science fiction novel in my hand." ”

"Science fiction, did you write it?" Mark asked, putting down the manuscript in his hand, glancing at Paul, and smiling.

"No, it's a friend of mine. Paul said.

"You think it's okay?" asked Mark.

Paul was disappointed: "Of course, I liked this book very much, but unfortunately I was only halfway through it and I was not finished. ”

Mark took the manuscript from Paul's hand, glanced at it hurriedly, and said, "This is not written by an American." ”

"Hmm. Paul nodded, although Huo Yaowen was writing in English, there was a lot of grammar in English, and they didn't have much trouble reading it, but most American readers couldn't.

Mark read the manuscript quickly, and it only took ten minutes to read the 60,000 words, and he didn't show any expression, but said indifferently: "This book is okay, who is the author?

Paul knew what Mark was thinking, and said with a smile: "No, you don't know, it's a writer that my wife invited from Hong Kong. ”

"Chinese?" said Mark, who was stunned for a few seconds.

In the thirties, Lin Yutang wrote an English novel "Chinatown", which tells the story of the old Tom family from China who worked together in New York's Chinatown and worked hard to start a business.

However, the best seller should be "The Joy Luck Club" written by Tan Enmei more than ten years later, which sold more than 4 million copies in the United States that year.

"Yes, but that doesn't affect this great book, does it?" Paul smiled.

Since the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the black leader who wrote "I Have a Dream" in April this year, it has set off a national discussion of racial discrimination in the United States, and even Asians with lower status in the United States have been mentioned slightly.

As Paul said, this book is very well written, Mark has read a lot of science fiction novels, but this book is really fascinating, especially the "law of the dark forest" mentioned in the book, which is even more eye-catching.

But when he thought about it, Mark pondered for a few seconds and said, "Paul, you've got a problem for me. ”

"No, no, we just need to pay attention to whether the book is good or not. Paul shook his head.

Mark's fingers tapped lightly on the table a few times, and then he looked up and smiled: "I think I need to talk to this author, I'm not sure if his later story is as wonderful as the previous one." ”

"Of course, I think he already has a full and wonderful follow-up story. Paul smiled.

...

The next day.

Led by Paul Ingres, Huo Yaowen met with Mark, the head of Bantan Book Publishing.

This science fiction novel is really well written, and even Mark himself likes it very much after reading it again, but Huo Yaowen's Chinese identity makes him a little worried about whether it can be sold well.

However, after Mark discussed the follow-up story of the book with Huo Yaowen, it was almost easy to negotiate the publication.

It's just that there are some disagreements on the cooperation of buyouts and shares.

According to Huo Yaowen's meaning, it is best to share, but in Mark's view, the buyout can bring the greatest benefits to the company.

However, Huo Yaowen insisted on sharing, and Mark naturally would not forcibly propose a buyout, but he still said: "Mr. Evan, in fact, the buyout is the most beneficial for you, you have no readership base in the United States, and it is difficult to get the buyout price if you choose to share." ”

"I believe in my book. Huo Yaowen said.

For Huo Yaowen's self-confidence, Mark shrugged his shoulders and didn't care much, but still agreed to the sharing agreement.