Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 658 Liu Cixin (24)

"Space-themed movies often don't need elaborate plots or profound themes, because space itself is the perfect backdrop for both grandeur and danger... Imagine a human being stranded on Mars, waiting for rescue from all of humanity on Earth... This premise alone is enough to be awe-inspiring!"

"The entire plot of the film strictly follows the approach of 'difficulty arises – scientific solution'."

"Initially, we envisioned a Martian storm triggering all the subsequent events... The captain decided to abandon the large flight, and the group returned early, sparking the entire story. Then, after discussing it with the Academy of Sciences, we learned that Martian storms can reach speeds of 180 meters per second, while a super typhoon on Earth only exceeds 51 meters per second. Logically, a Martian storm has wind speeds more than three times that of a super typhoon on Earth..."

However, the Martian atmosphere is only 1% as dense as Earth's... so a Martian storm with a wind speed of 180 meters per second has an atmospheric pressure equivalent to a Force 2 wind on Earth... posing no threat whatsoever!

"How do we set that up?"

Shen Yan explained, "Initially, we wanted to change it to a meteorite impact... but the impact force of a meteorite is too great, and scientists can't possibly set up a Mars base in a meteorite-active area!"

"Later it was changed to dust, static electricity, and low-temperature condensation..."

We chatted about "The Martian" for a while, and then Liu Cixin came on stage...

……

There's a plot point in Liu Cixin's novel *The Wandering Earth*: half of Earth's population is abandoned...

Literature always contains metaphors, but his novels are not metaphorical; they possess a strong sense of realism. This stems from his workplace, the Niangziguan Thermal Power Plant, where his department was to lay off half of its employees…

At the time, Liu was a mid-level manager, and he was in charge of layoffs!
He was definitely anxious, and this anxiety escalated to the point that in the final scene of "The Wandering Earth," a helium flash occurred when the surface rebels were hanging the expert (the one in charge of the layoffs)...

Liu Cixin didn't know if what he did was right or wrong, but he hoped he was right and that the people who were laid off would admit that he was right. So, the helium flash happened!
Prolonged depression took a toll on Liu Cixin's health. During the writing of "The Rural Teacher," he experienced adverse physical symptoms. To make matters worse, he encountered an incompetent doctor who diagnosed him with liver cancer, and he was told he only had a few days left to live.
Death is the ultimate anxiety for mankind. Under the pressure of death, Liu Cixin completely unleashed his creative passion, and thus his "Ball Lightning" was born!
Ball Lightning is Liu Cixin's representative work, with very well-developed characters, even surpassing those in The Three-Body Problem!
In this novel, he even arranged for himself to have a subtle, ambiguous relationship with a female military officer—Chinese intellectuals generally have fantasies about two types of women: first, female students; second, female military officers…

We don't know why we have this mentality!
Why write "The Three-Body Problem"?
Because the Niangziguan Power Plant was shut down!

—With economic development, China has the resources to carry out environmental protection, and the government has decided to rectify thermal power plants!
During this period, Da Liu deeply resented environmentalists!
In his writing, environmentalists are portrayed as psychopaths who enjoy eating garbage…

The novel *The Three-Body Problem* directly describes Pan Han: "...Unlike those utopian societies in the West that aim to return to nature, his 'Chinese Pastoral' is not located in the wilderness, but rather in the heart of the largest city. The society possesses no property; all its necessities, including food, come from urban waste. Contrary to initial expectations, 'Chinese Pastoral' not only survived but also rapidly expanded, boasting over three thousand permanent members, with countless others visiting periodically to experience life there."

Pan Han is an environmentalist, and "Chinese Pastoral" is a sarcastic and ridiculous way of mocking environmentalists as if they were Chinese rural dogs!
It was no use. At the 09 Copenhagen Climate Conference, China pledged to assume international responsibility for shutting down thermal power plants...

Da Liu completely lost his temper!
This indescribable anger ultimately poured into *The Three-Body Problem*. The first book was filled with anxiety, but the second and third books were downright despair and rage. Thus, while the first book still offered a glimmer of hope, the second and third books became dark science fiction!
Why is despair portrayed so realistically?

Because he experienced genuine despair…

Also, let me mention something else. At that time, his new workplace was going to reassign him, and they were even planning to make him a manual laborer…

They've become second-class citizens!

It's said that his former boss approached his new boss, saying that Liu Cixin was a talented individual who should be given more responsibility, which offended the new boss. A talented individual?

Don't you know the saying "A new emperor, a new court"?

I'm a talent!

All talented people have to stay under my wing!

What I'm best at is tormenting talented people!
These are all direct quotes!
So they sent Liu Cixin to carry the conveyor belt and repair the coal conveyor machine…

However, at this time, the gears of fate turned, and in 2013, his novel "The Three-Body Problem" became a hit!

It brought him 3.5 million yuan in royalties!
The ending of *The Three-Body Problem*: "We are insects, but we cannot be exterminated." This corresponds to the sentiment expressed in 05-06: "Although there were rumors of shutdowns, we were confident that the government would not abandon us."

The ending of The Three-Body Problem II: Victory was achieved through deterrence, and the sun still rises. This corresponds to the shift in the wind direction in 07-08, likely due to the role of thermal power as a ballast in the power grid, giving the impression that although there were cuts, they wouldn't affect me.

The ending of *The Three-Body Problem III*: What a terrible teammate! How can we save them? They're exhausted, let's just destroy them already. This corresponds to 09-11, Copenhagen and the complete shift in the national landscape, a mindset of carrying a belt while cursing...

So the name Cheng Xin means intentional!

……

Liu Cixin is quite reserved; he basically answers only when asked a question…

Shen Yan chimed in, "I've read all of Liu Cixin's works. My favorites are 'Earthfire,' 'The Wandering Earth,' and 'Full-Spectrum Jamming'... I've acquired the rights to all of these!"

Are you ready to film?

"...Yes, it's already been approved. 'Earth Fire' will be directed by Rao Xiaozhi, the 'Wandering Earth' series will be directed by Guo Fan, and 'Full-Spectrum Jamming' will be directed by myself..."

What does Liu Cixin think is the most important thing in science fiction films?

Liu Cixin thought for a moment and replied, "I write science fiction, which is very different from film... Science fiction imagination is based on science and technology. It is rational and logically consistent, unlike myths and fairy tales. Just like rockets flying into space, the rocket launches seen in Jiuquan, China and Florida, USA are essentially the same. The reaction caused by nuclear fusion is the same. This is the essence of science fiction."

"What does Director Shen think?"

"I think it's about comprehensive national strength... Science fiction films are actually a genre with special characteristics. Only when a country is strong enough can it produce truly meaningful science fiction films. Look, currently only China, the US, and Russia have the capability to send people into space. Therefore, we Chinese have the realistic basis to make science fiction films, and we don't need to convince the audience through movies... If South Korea or Africa were to make science fiction films, you would find it very strange!"

(End of this chapter)