"Yes, there have been 69 science fiction conventions. The United States has hosted almost 50 conventions, and China has not had one... The one we held in 1991 was just an annual convention, and it was still far from a science fiction convention!"
Yang Xiao sighed.
The so-called science fiction convention originated in 1939 and is hosted by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS).
Except for the interruption due to World War II from 1942 to 1945, it is held once a year. It is the most high-profile and influential science fiction theme event today, during which the Hugo Awards will be awarded.
Cities from various countries compete for the right to host the event.
China only applied for the first time in 2014 and failed. Later, it successfully applied for the right to host the event in 2023, which opened in Chengdu in October this year.
The two chatted and soon arrived at a hotel in Haidian.
A group of traditional science fiction writers such as Wang Jinkang, Han Song, and He Xi also arrived one after another.
Those who don’t pay attention to science fiction literature may not know anyone, but those who pay attention know that it is these people and "Science Fiction World" that have preserved almost the last piece of science fiction soil in China.
It's a great pleasure to meet old friends and chat all the time.
Naturally, we talked about this [Science Fiction Carnival]. The activities are quite simple. We hold some movie watching, reading, and exchange meetings in movie theaters and university campuses.
The key is that at the last New Year's Eve party, these people were also invited and opened a separate unit.
99 Group has three major businesses: social networking/games, e-commerce, and entertainment.
And science fiction has actually achieved a status that none of them thought of: on December 31st, it will be presented on stage on behalf of 99 Entertainment!
…
night.
Liu Cixin had dinner and went out for a walk when she had nothing to do. She walked around outside and returned to the hotel.
Entering from the hotel door, facing the lobby, there is a short corridor on the right. There is a door on the other side. It is clear to go in. He was bored when he went back, so he paused for a second and walked over.
"Oh, sorry!"
"fine!"
When I was about to go in, I almost bumped into someone, but when I saw the face, it was George Han.
"..."
Liu Cixin recognized Han Han, but Han Han might not recognize him, but he just passed by him. He continued to walk inside. The environment inside was very quiet, with light music playing, and there were many guests in twos and threes.
There wasn't much space, so he could only sit at the corner of the long bar and looked around. Not far from him was a single woman with blond hair and a big bohemian-style skirt.
"..."
Mu Zimei noticed that someone was looking at her, and took a casual glance, Humph! A dead engineer man wearing glasses, short and boring!
She took a sip of wine and staggered to the other side, where there was a handsome man with long hair and a mustache on his chin, and a wretched bald man.
meaning!
Da Liu trembled at the sight of Teacher Mu Zimei. He did not want to offend this woman, either mentally or physically.
He drank a glass of beer and continued to observe. The hotel had been booked by 99, and they were all guests. Naturally, the bar was also the same. Some of them knew each other, and some did not. It was just a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger.
At this moment, there was a sudden noise in the lobby outside, as if there were new guests checking in.
Listening again, the squeaky sound is in English.
"Foreigner?"
Da Liu was stunned and was hesitating whether to go out to watch the excitement. A man just walked in and sat in Mu Zimei's seat. Looking at his expression, he explained in a friendly manner: "I heard that they are two e-sports teams coming to play an exhibition match."
.”
"Gaming?"
"It seems like "League of Legends", I don't know much about it either."
"Oh, thank you!"
"You're welcome!"
The man simply took out a business card and said with a smile: "Let's meet Li Shimo."
"Liu Cixin!"
Da Liu quickly exchanged business cards and looked down, Shanghai Observer Information Technology Co., Ltd.
Li Shimo also took a look and said, oh, electrician.
"Your company is..."
"We are cooperating with the Spring and Autumn Comprehensive Research Institute to do some in-depth news. We have just established it and the website has not even been launched yet."
Da Liu rolled his eyes. He had never heard of the Spring and Autumn Comprehensive Research Institute, but based on his own experience, this should be a think tank.
The location is in Shanghai, so it should have something to do with Fudan University.
He guessed pretty well.
Li Shimo is the founder of Observer.com. He went to study in the United States in the 1980s and received a doctorate from Fudan University when he came back. He also makes investments and is the major shareholder of Youku.com.
Based on his good relationship with Fudan University, he invited many relevant experts to be special observers, the more famous ones include Zhang Weiwei, Chen Ping...
As for Ma Dugong, he was first responsible for the official account of Observer.com, and later made his own [Bedtime Message]. He probably has not joined Observer.com at this stage.
They were both guests invited by 99, and they were curious about each other. They wanted to chat, but suddenly they heard Teacher Mu Zimei say: "Fuck! Men nowadays are so boring..."
Um?
The whole audience turned their attention and saw Mu Zimei flipping up her hair and walking away in slippers. The moment she left the bar, it seemed that everyone breathed a sigh of relief, regardless of gender.
It’s stressful!
Here are all the best in various industries, but compared to teachers like Mu Zimei, who are detached from ethical standards, all of them are little sheep.
"Damn, you scared me to death!"
"She just seemed to want to swallow me up and then chew me up bit by bit!"
"He is indeed a legend, he is incredible!"
As soon as she left, the man with the moustache and the bald head looked like he had escaped from death. He also realized that his voice was a bit loud and rushed around to hug his fists.
The two of them were both young and outgoing. They simply stood up and handed out business cards at the table with an apologetic smile on their faces: "I'm sorry! It's fate that we get together. Maybe we can become friends in the future!"
"Hey, hello, hello!"
"Nice to meet you!"
It's a joke, no matter what they think in their hearts, everyone is polite on the surface.
Liu also got two business cards, which read "Wanhe Tianyi Film and Television Media Company, Yi Zhenxing/Liu Xunzimo!"
"Ah, your name is Beast Yi Xiaoxing?"
"It's me! I'm a small business and just opened. Thanks to everyone, I've gained popularity. Thank you very much!"
The two clasped their fists again, and with a sense of propriety, they left Qingba without making any more beeps.
"..."
Liu Cixin clutched two completely different business cards and was stunned for a moment. She couldn't help but smile. She felt like "the world is unified into 99".
…
Very late, Liu Cixin returned to the room and was about to take a rest when Yu Jiajia suddenly called.
“Participating in an event is like rushing to a party!”
He complained secretly and answered: "Hello? Mr. Yu?"
"Da Liu, I have something to tell you!"
Yu Jiajia spoke very fast, and Balabala said: "The science fiction unit of the party on the 31st will introduce the arduous journey of Chinese science fiction, with teacher Yang Xiao as the focus.
But she doesn’t know this process exists, so we’ll let you tell her story as a gift to her. The manuscript will be sent to you tomorrow, so you can get familiar with it first.”
"Oh, good! Teacher Yang Xiao's story should have been known to the public."
"Okay, see you then!"
Liu Cixin hung up the phone and felt very complicated.
When, when? Chinese science fiction was so taken seriously!
(Yes...ah! I can't go on like this anymore, I will update more chapters tomorrow...)