Three days later.

Eastern France, Franche-Comté district, Du department, Besançon.

The River Du surrounds the city, and the sun shines on the river like the light reflected by diamonds.

Citizens walking by the river,

From afar, they could see the vicissitudes of Warpunburg, with its tall stone walls and pointed towers, mottled and ancient.

Warppenburg overlooks a campus—

Normal School of Besançon.

The history of this school dates back to the beginning of the 19th century,

Since then, it has been an important pillar of French education, rock-solid.

Even in November, the cold wind is blowing, but the students are still busy.

They wrapped their coats tightly and rushed to the library,

"Shhh...... It's so cold......"

"Call you stinky and beautiful, there is a thin woolen sweater inside, who is cold if you are not cold?"

"Hehe~That's what Amélie customized for me~"

"! Show affection again and kill it directly! ”

……

The vitality of the students adds a touch of vitality to the winter day.

A few people pushed open the door of the library, and then they noticed the big writer sitting in the corner on the right-

Louis Pergau.

At the age of 19, he is handsome and chic, with clear and resolute facial lines, and a temperament that is unambiguous.

At this time, he was holding a stack of small pieces of paper,

The lead printing on the paper is dense, like tadpoles.

A few people walked over,

"Great writer!"

The corners of Pergaard's mouth curled into a subtle arc, and he turned back and said, "Please add the word 'future' in front of it." 'The great writer of the future'. ”

Everyone looked at each other speechlessly,

The heart says,

This kid is not modest at all.

"Yes, yes, the great writer of the future, Mr. Pergau."

They sat down at the table,

Someone asked, "Do you think there is hope?" ”

Pergaard absent-minded,

"What do you say? What is promising? ”

"Tsk......"

The man was speechless and complained: "You can pretend, I don't believe you are not worried about the final result of the Jules Verne Prize." Do you know who are the three core members of the jury? ”

Pergaard let out a "hmm",

"Of course I do."

Everyone was a little confused,

"And you're acting so calmly? Aren't you really worried? ”

Pergaard spreads his hands,

"I'm not worried...... Alas...... Look at this. ”

He spread the small pieces of paper on the table in chapter order.

The rest of the people came up,

Someone muttered, "How can it be in English?" ”

He cleared his throat and recited in a tone of eloquence:

“

I'm French,

How can I learn English?

Submit a blank volume,

Table my French heart.

”

As soon as he finished reciting the poem, the library exploded,

"Good!"

"Garbage English, dogs don't learn!"

"Well said!"

"This little poem has the backbone of Mr. Dude's "The Last Lesson"!"

……

Many French students responded enthusiastically.

Pergaard complained: "It's outrageous! Even "The Last Lesson" has been reorganized......"

"The Last Lesson" is a short story written by the French writer Alphonse Dude, about the French lost the Franco-Prussian War, part of the territory was ceded, and the primary schools in the ceded areas were forced to abandon the French language.

Through the child's point of view, he describes the last lesson of saying goodbye to his native language.

Pergaard said: "We learn English for cultural exchange. ”

The person who recited the poem just now smiled and said, "Can I not know about cultural exchange?" I just didn't want to take exams. ”

Pergaard couldn't help but roll his eyes,

"Forget it, don't talk about this."

He pointed to the pieces of paper,

"This is Professor Lu's new work, sent by telegram."

Telegraph......

The cost is too high.

Someone whispered: "It's good to have a father who is the head of the republican school." ”

Pergaard punched the opponent's shoulder,

"Don't mention it!"

He was born in Belmont, the son of a principal,

But instead of relying on his father's shadow, he relied on his studies to win scholarships for himself, and he planned to follow in his father's footsteps and pursue a career in education.

The topic of nepotism is his counter-scale.

The joking classmate also knew that he had said the wrong thing, so he quickly changed the topic: "I remember that Professor Lu's "Rural Teacher" is in French......"

Pell shrugged his shoulders,

"People write more in English. Moreover, it is said that this work is a tribute to the first Nobel Prize. ”

Everyone was stunned.

No wonder,

After all, English is the most widely spoken language in the world, and it is more suitable for this kind of writing purpose.

A few students are out of line,

Even if it's true, "I'm French, how can I learn English?" I can only bite hard.

They sink their hearts into reading,

Unexpectedly, this "Chaowen Dao" is extremely exciting, and it has made everyone watch it.

In particular, the core idea -

It is shocking that scientists have died generously in search of knowledge.

I don't know how long it took,

"Whew~"

Someone was the first to breathe a sigh of relief.

It's as if he's holding his breath and reading it to the end.

The rest also awoke from their indulgence,

"It's wonderful......"

They all sighed, and a faint and lost emotion rose in their hearts.

This is a profound experience that can only be experienced after reading a good book.

Someone whispered, "What time is it?" ”

Pergaard looked at his watch,

"Half past five."

When a few classmates heard this, they couldn't help but smile bitterly,

Ben came to the library to study, and now it's better to read science fiction for an afternoon.

Someone proposed: "Let's go for dinner~"

The rest responded immediately,

"Good!"

I was too focused when I was reading, and I was hungry.

They looked at Pergau.

Pergaard shook his head,

"I'm not in a hurry, I want to study this work again."

The classmates did not dissuade him, said goodbye to him, whispered the content, and walked out of the library door.

As a result, they had only been out for half a minute, and then rushed back again,

"Luis, there is a letter! From the Institut de France! ”

Pergau: !!

He stood up, took the letter, and tore open the envelope with trembling hands.

The rest of the people came together,

"How? What do you think? ”

Pergau silently reads,

——

Dear Sir,

I regret to inform you that you failed to pass the preliminary selection for the Jules Verne Prize.

Literature is a creative art, and everyone has their own unique style, and failure does not mean that the work has no value, but that it may not match the theme, style, or criteria of the award.

So, I hope you are still confident in your creation,

We believe that in the days to come, you will create more works that will resonate with your readers.

We hereby pledge that the Jules Verne Prize Organizing Committee will continue to follow the development of science fiction literature and contribute to its prosperity.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

——

This is a letter of rejection.

The crowd is silent,

“……”

“……”

“……”

An indescribable atmosphere permeated the surroundings.

Several people looked at Pergaard with cautious expressions on their faces.

"Goo......

I don't know who it was, and even swallowed spit.

I only heard Pergaard mutter: "Could it be that the Jules Verne Award has a high level of science fiction?" "New France" can't even pass the primary? ”

Saying, shaking his head,

"It shouldn't be...... There shouldn't be many people involved in this new theme......"

He seemed to be in a daze, and the whole person looked stunned.

Several classmates hurriedly comforted,

"Luis, science fiction is like that, if you don't rate it, you don't rate it."

"It's also good to be denied. Louis, on the other hand, was the first writer to prepare for the Jules Verne Prize in 1902......"

"Shut up! If you can't comfort people, don't talk! ”

"Luis, why don't we write more prose? Poetry is also fine! ”

"I love the poetry you write too!"

……

twittering

It made Pergaard look irritated.

He said: "There are not enough poets in France? ”

One sentence silenced a few classmates.

Pergaard looked at them,

"Do you think that I wrote science fiction in the first place?"

Someone chuckled,

"Haha, you're telling ...... joke Forehead ......"

He noticed Pergaard's expression and immediately changed his tone and said, "It's not funny at all." ”

Pergaard said: "You all called me 'Great Writer' just now, and now that you think about it, it's really a bit harsh. I always felt an indescribable irony. ”

The students looked at each other,

Pergaard has a hard background, good learning, and has not suffered any major setbacks since childhood.

As a result, now there is a little bit of trouble, and the horns of the bull are on the tip of the horns.

Someone said, "Luis, you better not think about it yet." Let's go, let's go to dinner together. ”

He sent out an invitation,

But Pergaard didn't move, still thinking hard,

"With the excellence of "New France", you will not fail in the primary selection, unless it is ...... judge"

Suddenly, his eyes lit up,

"It's the judges!"

Hearing this, the students were stunned.

Three core judges,

Verne, an old comrade in his seventies, still French, could not have done anything;

Lu Shi, the creation covers a wide range, there is no need to block the road of others;

Wells, author of "When the Sleeper Wakes Up", "The New France" is modeled on, and there is no reason to get Pergaard off.

It doesn't look like there's a shady curtain no matter how you look at it.

But Pergaard doesn't think,

He delicately analyzed: "It should be Wells, who is disgusted by my homage to When the Sleeper Wakes Up. ”

This is outrageous.

Someone said, "According to what you say, it could be Professor Lu." You are younger than Professor Lu, and when he saw your talent, he was jealous and decided to strangle you in the cradle. ”

This is obviously a yin and yang weird reverse,

Pergault showed an expression of sudden realization,

"That's right! That's right! That's right! And that makes sense! Of course, it could also be Verne, who wanted to dominate the French literary scene forever. But whoever it is, this Jules Verne Prize, there must be an insider. ”

The rest of the people make eye contact,

“……”

They knew that what they said now, Pergault would not listen.

Someone asked, "So what are you going to do?" ”

Pergaard said slowly: "Since someone is engaged in shady, then don't blame me for being rude." I'll let them know what cruelty is! ”

He walked to the door,

"I'm going to send a telegram to my father!"

……

Paris

Institut Française,

Small meeting room in the main building.

"Heh~"

Wells gave a big yawn,

Several days of eating and dressing and staying up all night made him a little mentally weak.

When he looked at Lu,

"Professor Lu, isn't it too strict for us to screen out so many works in the primary selection? It's easy to criticize people for doing this, and maybe some people will think that we are insider, and the final winner is determined. ”

Lu Shi didn't care and said: "Hurry up and solve it quickly~"

Verne on the side agreed,

"After all, science fiction is a newly emerging category, not good and bad, but 'good and bad', and it should be sifted out of a large number of works. Our evaluation is objective. ”

Wells can't deny this.

He added: "Then our defeat letter is too perfunctory, right?" ”

It is indeed perfunctory,

Because the rejection letters were sent directly according to the template, and the name of the contributor was not even mentioned, everyone had the same content.

Lu Shi said again: "Hurry up and solve it quickly~"

Wells: "......"

Verne: "......"

The two of them burst out laughing,

Verne complained: "Lu, you really never work overtime." You don't have any other words than 'quick fixes', do you? ”

Lu Shi spreads his hands,

"The soldiers are fast."

"Poof!" ×2

The other two burst out laughing.

Verne said: "Okay, I know you're busy, and I'm in a hurry to get back to London." In that case, let's move on to the work. Which of the last three are you most optimistic about? ”

Lu Shi said: "If you ask a question, let's express your position first." ”

Verne was also unequivocal, and said: "Then I'll be straight to the point." My favorite of them all is Warden. ”

Lu Shi smiled,

He knew Verne would say that.

After reading Proust's writings, the vast majority of writers will be impressed by his excellent and psychedelic way of writing.

But unexpectedly, the reasons given by Verne were not written.

He said: "Lu, in your "Rural Teacher", what do you think prompts teachers to forcibly instill knowledge in students, even if students don't understand it, to make them memorize the three laws of classical mechanics by rote? ”

Lu Shi groaned,

"It's mainly because of the idea of teaching and educating people."

The corners of Verne's mouth are hooked,

"'Primary'? In other words, you're creating with an implicit 'secondary', right? ”

Lu Shi nodded,

"The secondary reason is a certain obsession with 'knowledge changes destiny'. Of course, teaching and educating people is positive, while obsession is negative. ”

Wells and Verne nodded,

Man is a complex animal,

Even if you are a teacher, the motivation is not always positive.

Lu Shi said: "Then I probably know why Mr. Verne admires "Warden". ”

Verne encouraged: "You continue. ”

Lu Shi touched his chin,

"Then I said it while I thought about it. In it, the warden is undoubtedly a perverted being, forcing the prisoner to study in order to satisfy his own dark desire for sadism. But at the same time, there's a hint of something positive in it. ”

Wells also understood,

"I see! The warden's job is to guide the prisoners to change their minds, right? Otherwise, there would be no need to set up labor reforms. Therefore, his purpose is related to his duties, and he may not be aware of it. ”

Verne said: "Yes, that's why I'm bullish on 'The Warden.' The reason for the abuse should be as many as there ......"

Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden knock on the door outside,

"Monsieur Verne!"

Sounds like a clerk.

Verne walked over and opened the door,

"Urgent?"

The clerk hurriedly handed over a note, and then whispered in Verne's ear.

Verne's brow furrowed more and more,

In the end, it turned out to be a "Sichuan" word.

After a while,

"I see. You first...... You're out on standby. ”

He waved his hand and told the clerk to go out and wait, then "Bang! He slammed the door shut, walked back to the conference table, and said, "Mr. Wells's prophecy has been fulfilled, and there are indeed people who are not convinced." ”

As he spoke, he handed over the note,

——

Luis Pergau, a contributor to the Jules Verne Prize, was not convinced by the results of the primaries.

Tomorrow's seventh edition of Le Figaro will have only one sentence: "I don't know which jury brushed off my work for the Jules Verne Prize, but whoever it is, it's destined to regret it." ”

After that, he would publish his entry "New France" in the newspaper.

——

The signing of the note -

Gaston Camerat,

Lu Shi had the impression that this person was supposed to be the editor of Le Figaro, who had been assassinated during World War I for his impartial reporting.

As for Luis Pergau,

"Hiss......"

Lu Shi held his cheeks and recalled, feeling that this name was a little familiar.

Wells next to him was mistaken, thinking that Lu Shi's meditation was annoying, so he smiled and said: "Professor Lu, I said a long time ago, there may be a problem~"

Lu Shi is still reminiscing,

Pergaard ...... Pergau ...... Hmmm......"

He remembered!

This turned out to be the winner of the Prix Goncourt in 1910.

During World War I, Pergau resolutely went to the battlefield, was wounded and captured by the Germans, and transferred to a field hospital.

And then, the outrageous thing came,

The French used artillery fire to cover and blew up this promising young man.

Bombing one's own people is a classic of the classics.

Lu Shi sighed,

"No wonder he came out against it."

Wells echoed: "Yes, yes~ I said it before." ”

Lu Shi was choked,

He said "no wonder" because he knew the life of Pergaard,

As a rich kid and a well-paid writer, Pergaard is upright, brave, does not evade military service at all, and is a master who is not afraid of things.

What's more, in 1901, when I was a college student, I was even more iron-headed baby.

For this kind of person who sacrificed his life for the country, Lu Shi admired it very much,

But stunned green is stunned after all, and it needs to be dealt with.

"How do you eliminate the impact?"

Several people pondered.

After a few moments, Wells said, "Justice is in the hearts of the people." All we need to do is send the winning entries to Le Figaro, and everyone will be able to see which is better and which is worse. ”

Verne shook his head,

"I'm afraid not."

Wells sighed and said, "Jules, people have already ridden on our heads to make a fortune, aren't we going to fight head-on?" ”

Verne said: "It is of course necessary to fight head-on. But ......"

He swept his gaze,

"Hypothesis, you listen, it's hypothesis. Suppose "The Warden" wins the award and appears in "Le Figaro", will it be able to stabilize the head of "New France"? ”

Wells was asked.

After a long time, he said, "It should work." ”

Verne smiled bitterly,

"This is Paris."

Wells scratched his head and said, "Paris? What happened to Paris? ”

Verne said: "The citizens of Paris love nothing more than the drama of challenging authority." This leads to a bonus in "New France" and a weakening in "Warden", and the result is unpredictable. And you can't expect ordinary people to have the same tastes as us......"

"Whew~"

Verne exhaled,

"I'll make it clear. The book "New France" has elements of nationalism and is also a favorite of ordinary people. ”

Wells was silent,

He couldn't argue with it.

Verne said: "It's okay to have the idea of facing the battle head-on, but the work that comes out must have an overwhelming advantage. ”

Wells spreads his hands,

"Overwhelming advantage? How easy is it to say? We can't ...... the judges."

“……”

“……”

“……”

Sudden silence descended.

Suddenly, Verne and Wells looked at Lu Shi,

"It doesn't seem impossible for the judges to get off the stage." ×2

They spoke in unison.

Land Hours: ???

"You're going to sell me?"

Verne smiled "hehe" and said: "I want to be sold~ It's a pity that my writing has always been very slow, too late." ”

Lu Shi complained: "Are you still slow?" ”

Verne laughed,

"It depends on who you compare yourself to. Compared to you, I'm a turtle. ”

After speaking, he leaned over and patted Lu Shi on the shoulder,

"Judge, will you get out of the show?"

Lu Shi was speechless,

"This ...... It's not appropriate. When I wrote it, if there was really a huge advantage, then people would be strange, compared with my works, "The Warden" and "The New France" are also pediatrics, why should one be promoted and the other be brushed off? ”

Verne said: "It's easy. You wrote a work of the same theme in "New France"~ Zhuyu is in front, so naturally there is a reason for high standards and strict requirements~"

My brother has even thought about this.

Lu Shi is helpless,

"Okay."

Unexpectedly, the second time I came to France was a proposition composition.

Moreover, this time the scope of the proposition is smaller,

Last time it was sci-fi,

This time it's a branch of science fiction -

Dystopia.

(End of chapter)