MC Bookstore Chapter 116 New Science Fiction Work
Chapter 116 New Science Fiction Work
Chapter 115 New Science Fiction Work
The atmosphere at the editorial office of Science Fiction World magazine has been quite good lately.
The magazine's sales have continued to grow for several months, and readers' letters have filled half a warehouse. Even Qin Li, the editor-in-chief who is usually stern-faced, has been walking with a brisk pace lately.
The source of all this, of course, is Zhang Jun's "The Martian".
That afternoon, editor Jia Si was proofreading the manuscripts for the next issue when a new email popped up on her computer. The sender was Zhang Jun's assistant.
Jia Si perked up and quickly clicked on it.
The email contained two attachments, titled "Gravity" and "Interstellar Travel." Jia thought of Zhang Jun's previous statement about writing two short stories, and was surprised that they were completed so quickly.
He first opened "Gravity".
This novel is not long. It opens with a space disaster where the spaceship is destroyed by satellite debris, leaving the female protagonist alone adrift in space.
Jia Si read it all in one go.
Unlike the hardcore technology of "The Martian," "Gravity" is more like a space version of "Robinson Crusoe."
The storyline is simple: it's about a woman escaping from space.
But Zhang Jun's descriptions are very delicate. The loneliness in the endless darkness, the suffocation when the oxygen is about to run out, and the despair of seeing the earth but not being able to go back are all vividly portrayed.
"Interesting," Jia Si muttered, then opened the second file.
"Interstellar".
This time, Jia Si read even more slowly.
The story begins in the near future, where Earth's environment has deteriorated, crops are dying in large numbers, and humanity faces a survival crisis.
The protagonist, Chen Bo, is a retired astronaut who now makes a living by farming.
He lives with his son, daughter, and father-in-law. Chen Bo and his daughter Chen Mofei have a very good relationship.
The turning point came on a dusty afternoon.
Books inexplicably fell off the bookshelf in Chen Mofei's room, leaving behind a coordinate system composed of binary codes.
Chen Bo followed the coordinates and discovered a secret base where the last space agency was hidden.
By this point, Jia Si was completely captivated.
What followed was even more captivating: the space agency discovered a mysterious wormhole near Saturn, seemingly placed there by some advanced civilization.
They plan to send a small team through the wormhole to find a new home suitable for human colonization.
Chen Bo accepted the mission and bid farewell to his tearful daughter, Chen Mofei.
"When I come back, we'll probably be the same age," Chen Bo said to his daughter.
This statement startled Jia Si for a moment, then she understood what it meant: it was relativity.
Jia Si read the rest of the story almost holding her breath.
They traveled through a wormhole and arrived at another galaxy.
The first planet is close to a black hole, where time dilation is extremely severe. One hour on that planet would equal seven years on Earth.
When they returned from that planet in a sorry state, twenty-three years had passed.
Chen Bo watched the video his son sent him on the screen, witnessing his son grow from a teenager to a middle-aged man, get married, have children, and finally see his father pass away.
All of this took Chen Bo only a few hours.
The appearance of Chen Mofei moved Jia Si even more. "Damn it!" Jia Si couldn't help but swear.
He continued reading.
The exploration of the second planet went awry. His teammates betrayed him, and they ran out of fuel. In order to help his teammate Brand escape, Chen Bo fell into a black hole himself.
Inside the black hole, Chen Bo found himself in a five-dimensional space.
He can see the Earth of the past, and he can see his daughter Chen Mofei's room, but he cannot communicate with her directly.
All he could do was use gravity to make the book fall, allowing the dust to form patterns and leave a message for his daughter from the past.
Finally, Chen Bo transmitted the data on the gravitational singularity inside the black hole to his daughter using Morse code.
As an adult, Chen Mofei deciphered this information, solved the gravity equation, and ultimately led humanity away from Earth.
After reading the last word, Jia Si leaned back in her chair and remained silent for a long time.
"Old Jia, what are you daydreaming about?"
An editor nearby leaned over: "Director Zhang Jun's new script? How's it going?"
Jia Si snapped out of her daze: "See for yourself."
Several editors immediately gathered around, each with a computer, and began circulating the two novels.
The office was quiet for half an hour.
"Holy crap."
The first editor to finish reading looked up and exclaimed, "This 'Interstellar'—it's amazing!"
"I like Gravity."
Another editor said, "Although the story is simple, the sense of loneliness of being alone in space is captured so well."
While watching it, I kept thinking, "What would I do if it were me?"
"Interstellar is even more impressive."
The third editor countered, "Look at the design of time dilation, the description of black holes, and the final setting of five-dimensional space—the imagination is incredible."
Don't you think both novels are very vivid in their imagery?
Jia Si suddenly interjected, "When I was reading it, it was like watching a movie in my head."
Especially the scene in *Interstellar* where they travel through the black hole, I feel like I can see it.
As they were talking, editor-in-chief Qin Li came out of her office.
"What are you all looking at? It's so lively."
"Editor-in-chief, Zhang Jun has published two more short stories."
Jia Si quickly stood up: "May I take a look?"
Qin Li took the printed manuscript, sat down in the empty seat next to her, and began to read it.
She first read "Gravity," and after finishing it, she nodded: "Not bad, detailed, compact, and full of tension."
While not as hardcore as "The Martian," it resonates more with the average reader emotionally.
Then she opened Interstellar.
This time, Qin Li stared at it for a very long time.
No one spoke in the office; everyone was waiting for her evaluation.
Qin Li finally raised her head, took off her glasses, and rubbed her temples.
"This novel—"
She paused for a moment: "How did Zhang Jun come up with that?"
"What does the editor-in-chief think?" Jia Si asked.
"Gravity and Interstellar must be released."
Qin Li said, "Moreover, Interstellar is to be the main work to be promoted. This novel has a larger scope than The Martian."
While there may be some technical aspects that are debatable, its imaginative scope surpasses that of most science fiction works.
One editor chuckled, "While reading it, I was thinking, since Zhang Jun is a director himself, did he just write down the images that were already in his mind?"
Qin Li nodded: "That's possible. Directors think differently from writers; they pay more attention to visual presentation."
Zhang Jun's writing naturally has a cinematic quality. If reading it feels like watching a movie, then you're on the right track.
She flipped through the manuscript again: "Make arrangements, let's publish 'Gravity' first, next month or the month after that is fine."
"Let's put 'Interstellar' on hold for now. Such a great work deserves enough space, along with proper commentary and a guide."
Jia Si nodded, then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, editor-in-chief, about the Galaxy Awards—"
"The Galaxy Award?" Qin Li looked at him.
"It's this year's Galaxy Awards."
Jia Si said, "Should we submit Zhang Jun's 'The Martian' for approval? Logically speaking, it wouldn't be right not to submit a work of this influence."
Qin Li replied without hesitation: "Of course we should report it, and not only report it, we should push it forward with all our might."
If works like this don't win awards, what will become of the credibility of the Galaxy Awards?
She thought for a moment and then said, "But the Galaxy Awards are in September, it's still a long way off."
Please remind me when the time comes; we need to prepare the materials in advance.
"Okay, editor-in-chief."
Qin Li got up and went back to her office, where several editors were still discussing the two novels.
"What do you think it would be like if Interstellar were made into a movie?" someone asked.
"It's definitely harder to film than 'The Martian'."
Jia Si said, "Black holes, five-dimensional space, time dilation—I can't even imagine how to represent these things on camera."
"Can Zhang Jun film it himself?"
"He definitely wants to film it."
Another editor said, "You've heard him say in previous interviews that science fiction movies are his biggest goal."
But how much did a film of this caliber cost to produce? One hundred million? Two hundred million?
"US dollars, please."
Jass said, "This kind of movie has to be paid in US dollars."
Everyone remained silent for a while.
"Forget it, that's not our concern."
Jia Si waved her hand: "Let's release the novel first. As for the movie, that's Zhang Jun's own business."
Zhang Jun hasn't had time to think about science fiction movies lately.
The promotion and distribution of "Bad Genius" is at a crucial stage, with a full schedule of various activities.
But just then, the 26th Hong Kong Film Awards arrived.
"Reign of Assassins" received seven nominations: Best Actor (Andy Lau), Best Actress (Zhang Ziyi), Best Supporting Actor (Wang Xueqi), Best Screenplay (Zhang Jun), Best Art Direction, Best Action Choreography, and Best New Director (Zhang Jun).
When the nomination list was released, many people in the industry were discussing it.
For a mainland director to receive seven nominations for a martial arts film at the Hong Kong Film Awards is itself a form of recognition.
Although the Hong Kong Film Awards have been criticized for favoring Hong Kong films over the years, the quality of "Reign of Assassins" speaks for itself, and no one can really say anything about it.
Zhang Jun flew to Hong Kong Island two days in advance.
Andy Lau personally drove to pick them up from the airport. The two have kept in touch since their collaboration on "Reign of Assassins," exchanging greetings during holidays and becoming friends.
"Director Zhang, you've lost weight," Andy Lau said with a smile.
"They're really aggressive with their marketing and promotion efforts."
Zhang Jun rubbed his face: "Appearing on all sorts of shows and attending meetings, how could I not lose weight?"
"Being young is great."
Andy Lau sighed, "When I was your age, I ran through the same thing."
The car drove out of the airport and headed towards Andy Lau's house.
"Come to my place first, have a seat and get something to eat."
Andy Lau said, "My wife heard you were coming and went to buy groceries early this morning. She really likes your movies, especially 'About Time'."
"Then I must thank my sister-in-law properly," Zhang Jun said with a smile.
Andy Lau's wife, Carol Chu, was indeed very hospitable. She prepared a table full of dishes and kept serving food to Zhang Jun.
Zhang Jun didn't stand on ceremony, eating and drinking as he pleased, praising Zhu Liqian's cooking skills as he ate, which made her very happy.
After dinner, the two sat in the living room drinking tea.
"Several media outlets from Hong Kong Island will be present for tomorrow's interview."
Andy Lau asked, "They might ask you for your opinion on Hong Kong films, how will you prepare?"
"To tell the truth."
Zhang Jun said, "I did grow up watching Hong Kong movies. When I was a kid, I rented videotapes and watched movies like 'A Better Tomorrow,' 'Police Story,' and 'Once Upon a Time in China' over and over again."
There's nothing to avoid about this.
Andy Lau nodded: "That's fine then. Some directors from the mainland act all high and mighty as soon as they arrive in Hong Kong, talking about learning and exchanging ideas," which just sounds fake.
Just say what you think; being honest is actually better.
The interview took place at Andy Lau's company the following afternoon.
Many media outlets attended, including the entertainment sections of Ming Pao Weekly and Oriental Daily News, as well as reporters from several television stations.
Zhang Jun and Andy Lau sat together, and Zhang Ziyi also came over. The three of them sat side by side for the interview.
The initial questions were fairly standard, mostly about the filming process of "Reign of Assassins" and the experience of working with Andy Lau and Zhang Ziyi.
Zhang Jun answered each question, occasionally cracking a joke, and the atmosphere remained relatively relaxed.
Then a reporter asked, "Director Zhang, what are your thoughts on Hong Kong films today?"
This is a somewhat sensitive issue.
Andy Lau glanced at Zhang Jun, but Zhang Jun's expression remained unchanged.
"I grew up watching Hong Kong movies."
Zhang Jun said, "A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Days of Being Wild are all works that inspired me."
"I can say that without Hong Kong films, I probably wouldn't have gone down this path."
The reporter followed up with, "So, how do you think Hong Kong films are now compared to before?"
Zhang Jun thought for a moment: "Every industry has cycles; there are peaks and then adjustments."
At its peak, Hong Kong cinema produced hundreds of films a year, and the entire Southeast Asia region was its market.
That era has passed, but that doesn't mean Hong Kong cinema has declined.
"Are you saying there's still hope for Hong Kong films?"
"I've always felt that the concept of 'Hong Kong Island cinema' is rather inaccurate."
Zhang Jun said, "The current film market is integrated."
Mainland directors come to Hong Kong Island to film movies, and Hong Kong directors go north to film co-productions. Not to mention the actors, they are constantly traveling around.
"Do you consider Andy Lau's film 'Reign of Assassins' a Hong Kong film or a mainland Chinese film?"
The reporters laughed.
Zhang Jun continued, "I don't think it's necessary to make such a clear distinction. As long as it's a Chinese-language film, it's a good thing if it's well-made."
The professionalism and dedication of Hong Kong filmmakers have always been a valuable asset to Chinese-language cinema.
The future of Chinese-language films should be a collaborative effort, not a solo endeavor by any single region.
The Heavenly King clapped beside him, saying, "Well said."
Ji Zhang nodded with a smile.
After the interview, a reporter from Ming Pao Weekly approached Zhang Jun privately: "Director Zhang, your answer was very sincere."
We've interviewed some mainland directors before, and they all spoke in a very official tone. Yours is different.
Zhang Jun laughed and said, "I'm just telling the truth."
The Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was held at the Cultural Centre Grand Theatre.
The red carpet event was as lively as ever, with most of the Hong Kong entertainment industry in attendance.
Zhang Jun and Ji Zhang walked the red carpet together, while the Heavenly King entered through a separate entrance because he was preparing for the awards presentation segment.
The media area was ablaze with flashes, mostly aimed at Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun, however, was relaxed; after walking the red carpet, she went inside.