In Poincaré's dormitory, a strong smell of smoke lingered for a long time.
Verne slowly opened his eyes,
His coat had been taken off and draped around him in the form of a quilt.
There was a plank bed under him, which was very hard, but he didn't sleep as hard as he expected because the bed was filled with several layers of clothing.
There is a smell of camphor in the clothes.
The clothes were obviously freshly taken out of the cupboard.
Verne muttered: "Where are the others?"
He pushed himself up.
I saw two armchairs placed opposite each other at the table not far away.
Poincaré was lying inside, with his arms folded, his legs stretched up and down, leaning on the back of the armchair, muttering from time to time: "Bomb! I want a bomb!"
Verne couldn't help but want to laugh,
My friend was still thinking about Landlords in his sleep.
Unexpectedly, this game can be so addictive. They played countless games until two o'clock in the morning before they each found a place to sleep.
Verne continued to look for Roland.
Roland was young, so he didn't have a bed, so he just lay on the table, holding piles of cards scattered in his arms.
"Huh~"
Verne took a deep breath, walked to the window, and opened the curtains.
This sleep didn't last long, it was just getting dark outside.
The morning breeze blew through the window panes, causing the wooden bars to sway.
There seemed to be staff members of the French Academy passing by outside. Their feet stepped on the cobblestone ground, and their heels made a soft "click-click" sound when they came into contact with the stones.
Verne tiptoed to the table and poured himself a glass of water.
at this time,
"Dong dong dong——"
Suddenly there was a very urgent knock on the door.
Poincaré suddenly jumped up from his sleep,
As a result, he kicked the armchair under him and his center of gravity was unstable. If Verne hadn't helped him, he would have fallen onto the street.
Poincaré rubbed his eyes and asked, "Who is it?"
Bernard Shaw's voice came from outside,
"It's me! And Lu!"
Poincaré mumbled something, his voice garbled because he was holding his throat.
Verne handed him his water,
"Drink some water and wake up."
Poincaré nodded, glanced at Roland, who was sleeping soundly, and said enviously: "It's great to be young. Unlike us old people, who sleep very lightly and wake up inexplicably if there is any disturbance."
Verne walked over and opened the door.
I saw Bernard Shaw and Lu Shi standing outside the door.
The two are in sharp contrast,
Bernard Shaw was in high spirits, as if he had been given a shot of chicken blood;
Lu Shi, on the other hand, looked like he was seriously sleep deprived. His eyelids were clenched and his chin was moving slightly from time to time, as if he could fall asleep at any moment.
Verne was curious,
"What's wrong with Professor Lu? Are you insomniac?"
Bernard Shaw entered the room when he landed, put Lu Shi on the bed, and said at the same time: "No, he didn't have insomnia. He just wrote all night yesterday and completed the manuscript you requested."
Verne said "Yeah",
"So...wait a minute! What did you just say?! What's finished?!"
Bernard Shaw chuckled,
"Request a manuscript."
As he spoke, he handed out the stack of manuscript papers.
Verne was completely confused.
He patted his cheek to make sure it was not a dream, then moved his eyes to the manuscript and asked: "You mean, Professor Lu wrote innovative science fiction in one night?"
Bernard Shaw sighed with emotion,
"More than 'innovative'..."
Verne frowned slightly,
For the vast majority of best-selling authors, it is not necessarily necessary to "work slowly and carefully";
Taking himself as an example, he wrote more than 60 novels in his life, participated in drama adaptations, and wrote poems, essays, and short stories.
Therefore, a writer's creation depends very much on his status.
But being able to write it all night long is indeed beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
Poincaré on the side also felt the same way and asked, "Aren't you kidding?"
Bernard Shaw nodded solemnly,
"Of course. I know you will have doubts, but if you have come into contact with Lu before, you should be able to understand that he is a fast shooter. Lock him in a small dark room, and equip him with a computer that will never jam or fail. With a word-eating typewriter, he could write 700,000 words a week.”
This is no longer writing,
This special thing is cultivating immortality!
Poincaré glanced at Lu Shi, who was still confused there, and quickly ran to the cupboard, took out the tea leaves from his collection, and imitated Lu Shi's method of making tea.
Not long after, a faint scent of tea wafted into the room.
Lu Shi drank tea and became more awake.
He sniffed,
"What's going on? Why is there such a strong smell of smoke?"
Poincaré and Verne were both a little embarrassed;
Both of them were long-established scholars, and they were embarrassed to say that they couldn't resist the temptation and played Landlords all night.
Verne changed the subject,
"Professor Lu, have you finished writing?"
Lu Shi said: "Well, this is the manuscript I prepared. At first, I wanted to set the story in Nantes, France, but halfway through, I still felt that it should be set in a hometown I am familiar with. It may be a bit unrealistic, but Please allow me to be selfish."
At the beginning of the 20th century, it would have made more sense to place the story in Nantes.
At this time, basic education was gradually becoming popular in Western Europe, but it was still very poor and weak. On the contrary, it was very similar to the Northwest in "Country Teacher".
Verne said: "I haven't read it yet. Even if you tell me these details... I just want to ask, what type is this? Didn't you say before that science fiction includes world exploration, civilizations, parallel worlds, Time travel, disaster and rebirth, humans and humanoids, what kind of thing is this?”
Lu Shi couldn't help but scratch his head.
In fact, I can’t tell which category “Country Teacher” is.
He said: "Mr. Verne, please read it."
Verne counted the pages of his manuscript,
"This must be 20,000 words, right?"
Lu Shi said: "It must be more than that."
In concise Chinese, "Country Teacher" has nearly 20,000 words, and English must far exceed this number.
Verne was secretly shocked,
Professor Lu writes books so fast!
He took a sip of tea, letting the mild and slightly bitter aroma of tea fill his mouth, washing away the corruption of playing cards all night, and then began to read the manuscript.
The first thing that catches the eye is the title——
"Rural Teacher".
Verne showed a puzzled expression,
This title…
Is it science fiction? !
He raised his head in confusion, looked at Lu Shi, then at Bernard Shaw, and asked, "Is this really science fiction?"
"Yes."×2
Lu Shi and Bernard Shaw said in unison.
Verne felt that these two people were playing a trick on him.
However, looking at their serious expressions, which seemed to be serious, Verne put away the weird feeling in his heart and read the main text.
beginning:
"
He knew that this last lesson had to be taught in advance.
Another sharp pain shot through his lungs, almost causing him to faint.
"
Great writing!
Although Verne's first language was French, he could still read and write English fluently.
He chuckled and said: "As expected of the best-selling popular writer, this beginning is much softer than the beginning of ordinary science fiction. Generally speaking, science fiction writers like to go straight to the theme, which is inevitably too blunt."
Even Verne himself was like this,
However, as he wrote more and more, he broke this habit.
Lu Shi said: "Science fiction, writing is not the main thing."
Verne agreed,
"That's right."
He continued reading.
Unexpectedly, the rhythm was very slow.
The early plot is very simple. It tells the story of a private school teacher named "Mr. Li" who returns from studying in London and teaches in a private school.
He wanted to teach modern science, but because of the stubbornness of the villagers, he could only teach the Four Books and Five Classics.
Verne muttered: "How stupid..."
Lu Shi chuckled,
"It's not stupid. After all, the imperial examination does not test mathematics, physics, and chemistry."
Verne nodded, then shook his head and complained: "Professor Lu, I must point out that there is a problem at the beginning of your article. How can it be possible for overseas students who returned from the Qing court to teach in private schools? Not all foreigners Jinshi?"
After all, he wrote "A Chinese's Experience in China",
Although it is full of stereotypes, you still know some basic knowledge.
Lu Shi said: "You are right. International students can generally serve in the Qing court after returning to China. What I wrote is indeed unrealistic. That's why I said that I have selfish motives."
Verne replied: "I understand."
After that, continue reading.
Here, Mr. Li contracted tuberculosis and was about to die, so he decided to be willful and teach the three laws of classical mechanics to the children.
Even if you memorize it by rote, you must remember it.
Verne was so embarrassed that he muttered,
Just now he just felt that the rhythm was slow, but now he feels that the rhythm is like a turtle crawling on the ground——
Ridiculously slow.
Up to now, "Country Teacher" is more like a rural documentary literature:
When children become apprentices, they must perform six rituals;
When an old man of a certain family died, a banquet was held for two days;
…
It's all this kind of content.
No matter how good Lu Shi's writing is, judging from this, Verne's temper has been worn away.
I came here for science fiction!
He asked again: "Is this really science fiction?"
Lu Shi said nothing.
But Bernard Shaw spoke up and said: "Mr. Verne, keep reading. To judge a work, you must first read it, right?"
Verne continued reading,
Finally, we come to the science fiction part:
"
Fifty thousand light-years away from the Earth, in the center of the Milky Way, an interstellar war that has lasted for 20,000 years is coming to an end.
"
Verne's hanging heart was relieved.
There are eleven chapters in total, and the science fiction theme is only entered in the fifth chapter, which is definitely unqualified.
But it’s not like I can’t read it reluctantly.
Verne patiently looked back, but he didn't expect that he would be firmly attracted by the story behind.
First is the description of war,
Lu Shi's style was like a completely different person.
The first four chapters are as gentle as swallowing water, and they are eloquently told;
During the war, he became a straight man majoring in science and engineering. He portrayed the story from an almost cold, God-like perspective.
Thousands of exploding stars,
chaotic spatial structure,
…
Combining countless astrophysics knowledge that Verne could not even imagine,
It just so happens that this knowledge complements each other.
Poincaré was also watching, showing a shocked expression from time to time, and said: "Professor Lu, you are indeed a scholar of all sciences. It is beyond human imagination that many cutting-edge knowledge of physics can be used so skillfully."
Lu Shi waved his hand,
"Just hearsay."
Poincaré shook his head,
"Even if it's hearsay, it's not easy to use it so skillfully."
Verne on the side also became more and more excited,
This is science fiction!
When his imagination was still limited to the earth, Lu Shi's thinking had already taken wings and flew to the galaxy!
He continued reading.
In the plot, the allied forces of carbon-based civilization have won and will establish an isolation zone in the first spiral arm of the Milky Way, destroying most of the stars in the isolation zone to prevent silicon-based civilization from entering the central area of the galaxy.
They will screen and test the degree of civilization evolution here to avoid destroying carbon-based life with advanced intelligence.
Unfortunately, the Earth is within the isolation zone.
So, the test came.
By this time, Verne could already guess how the story would develop.
Even so, he was still affected by Lu Shi's words until the classic question appeared:
"3C Civilization Test Question No. 14: Please describe the relationship between the forces between two interacting objects."
Naturally, the children gave the correct answer: “When one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object also exerts a force on the first object. The two forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction! "
Verne couldn't help but applaud,
"Good! Enjoyable!"
He never thought that a movie could make his blood boil.
But what really shocked him was the last chapter,
In Chapter 11 of "Country Teacher", the fleet commander of the Carbon-based Federation became curious about the life forms of the earth.
The fleet commander asked about the characteristics of life forms on Earth.
As a result, he got an unexpected answer,
Human beings on earth do not have inherited memories, and all memories are acquired;
Moreover, the way of human information exchange is very primitive and rare. In the words of the original text of "Country Teacher":
"
There is a very thin organ in their bodies. This organ can generate sound waves when vibrating in the planet's atmosphere, which is mainly oxygen and nitrogen. At the same time, it modulates the information to be transmitted into the sound waves. The receiver also uses a thin film organ. Receive information from sound waves.
"
This paragraph describes the process by which the vocal cords vibrate to the eardrum.
But after Lu Shi's processing, the entire description seemed very high-end, and the sci-fi style was instantly there.
The fleet commander of the Carbon-based Federation cannot understand how a species that has no memory inheritance and uses sound waves to communicate with each other can create civilization.
His subordinate replied:
"
They have a certain type of individual, a certain number, distributed in every corner of this population. This type of individual acts as a medium for the transfer of knowledge between two generations of life forms.
"
This passage, of course, describes teachers.
Lu Shi's use of the setting up of the carbon-based federation is equivalent to giving readers a God's perspective, allowing readers to understand that the profession of teacher is a great possibility.
Verne couldn't help but exclaimed: "Is this really science fiction!?"
Lu Shi chuckled,
"I think this is the third time I've heard this question today."
Verne's face turned red.
The first two times he said this sentence were full of doubts, he felt that the science fiction written by Lu Shi was not strong.
The last time was completely different, it was impressed and sighed.
Verne was convinced,
Completely convinced.
(End of chapter)
