British writer

the next day.

Lu Shi and Bernard Shaw were invited to the Paris Opera House.

The Opera House was designed by Charles Garnier in 1861 and is a masterpiece of eclecticism.

Its architecture perfectly combines several architectural forms such as ancient Greek-Roman colonnades and Baroque. It is grand in scale, exquisite in detail and resplendent in gold and jade.

Verne led the crowd into the field,

He introduced: "Before the play begins, there will be a simple interlude performance."

Bernard Shaw chuckled lightly,

"It's like a theater in England."

Verne laughed.

They were arranged in the first row with the best view,

Several people sat down one by one.

Not long after, the performance began.

A man in a tuxedo came onto the stage and asked his assistant to move a table with a potted orange tree on it,

These things are obviously props for performances.

Lu Shi was surprised,

"It turned out to be magic?"

Hearing what he said, Roland couldn't help being curious, and asked, "Has Professor Lu seen this?"

Lu Shi smiled and shook his head,

"No, I haven't seen it, but I've heard of it. There is a collection of strange stories in China called Strange Tales from a Liaozhai Studio, which contains various stories."

Just chatting, the magician on the stage has already started to perform,

People watched small oranges grow on the orange trees.

There were exclamations.

Verne muttered: "Even though I have seen it many times, I still can't see through the mystery."

He turned his head and asked Lu Shi: "Professor Lu, can you tell me about Chinese magic? Maybe I can see some secrets from it...ah...sorry, I'm getting carried away."

Poincaré on the side said: "Jules is like this, he likes to get to the bottom of everything."

Lu Shi waved his hand and said something casually,

"There is a story in "Strange Tales from a Liaozhai Studio". It is said that in a busy city, a man threw a rope into the air and then climbed up the rope. He didn't come back for a long time. His child couldn't wait. Climb up and look for it, and then some stumps and broken arms will be thrown down from above."

"Hiss..."×4

Bernard Shaw, Roland, Poincaré, and Verne gasped at the same time,

How did the promised magic suddenly turn into a horror story?

Lu Shi chuckled,

"After the tricksters come down, they will tell people that only they are qualified to go to the heavenly court. The child went up to find his father and violated the heavenly rules, and was sacked. The people who watched the show felt sorry for the performers, so they would pay for it."

Poincaré nodded and said, "So that's how it is. The ending should be happy for everyone, right? That kid will appear alive and kicking in the crowd soon."

Lu Shi said, "That's right."

Roland asked curiously, "What's the principle?"

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"This kind of thing is someone's ability to eat, how can it be made public?"

The rest should be one after another.

Poincaré circled his beard with the fingers of his right hand and said with a smile: "However, I think such events can be explained in a rigorous way, just like Jules's science fiction works."

As he spoke, he nodded towards the stage,

At this time, the magician is distributing the "picked" oranges to the audience in the first row.

Verne shrugged,

"Don't put a high hat on me."

Poincaré looked over,

"how?"

Verne said: "The novels I write are not all science fiction themes. For example, "Around the World in Eighty Days" to be read next, this book has no innovations, and it may be more appropriate to call it a travelogue. "

Lu Shi on the side smiled and said, "In terms of rigor, this book is not bad at all~"

I didn't expect Lu Shi to interrupt suddenly,

Poincaré smiled,

"Look, that's what Professor Lu said."

Verne also became interested, leaned forward towards Lu Shi, and asked, "Why would Professor Lu say that?"

Lu Shi did not answer, but raised a question:

"Mr. Verne, you are a Frenchman, why did you write "Around the World in Eighty Days" with an English gentleman as the protagonist?"

Verne couldn't help but froze,

When he was writing this book, he vaguely remembered that he had really considered this issue,

But the answer to the question, he couldn't tell.

Verne pondered,

"It should be some kind of inspiration."

George Bernard Shaw jokingly said: "Maybe it's really some kind of inspiration, because when the writer is creating, not every setting or every sentence can explain why."

Nabokov also made an argument in his lectures:

In many cases, a certain detail of the author's writing may be only subconscious, but readers can extract the author's intentions that he did not realize at the time.

Verne also said: "People's thoughts are inevitably impermanent and fleeting~ Many techniques or ideas may be unconscious, but they may also be a reflection of the author's heart. It's just that the author himself may not know it."

Roland clapped his hands and said, "Then I can explain Professor Lu's question just now."

Verne asked, "How?"

Roland said: "Beting is a vice of the British. Mr. Verne said that we French will not."

There was an eerie silence,

"..."

"..."

"..."

Immediately, several people laughed.

The audience in the opera house couldn't help but look sideways.

Poincaré patted Roland on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "You, you...I can assure you that Professor Lu definitely doesn't think so."

Lu Shi nodded and pointed to the stage,

"It's about to start, let's talk in a while."

The theatrical performance has begun.

In fact, the story of "Around the World in Eighty Days" is very simple.

Mr. Fogg, an English gentleman, bet 20,000 pounds with the members of the club that "he can travel around the world in eighty days". , began a thrilling journey around the world,

He made a detailed plan:

From London to Suez. Railroads and mail ships. 7 days;

From Suez to Mumbai. cruise ship. 13 days;

...

From New York to London. Ships and railways. 9 days.

The final total is 80 days.

At this point in the performance, Lu Shi asked: "Have you noticed the characteristics of Mr. Fogg's route?"

Bernard Shaw put his hand into his pocket, squeezed the tobacco packet, then put his finger under his nose to sniff the aroma of tobacco to refresh himself,

After a long time, he said, "A colony of Great Britain."

A word to wake up the dreamer.

Verne said: "Yes, I should have thought so at the time."

According to the background time of the novel in 1872, the British can almost circle the world along the colony,

If the protagonist, Mr. Fogg, wants to travel quickly from place to place, his identity from the suzerain country can help him a lot.

Lu Shi explained: "Look at the route and you can figure it out. The Suez Canal is controlled by Britain, India and Singapore are British colonies, Japan is an ally (smaller) country (brother) of Britain, and the only trouble is the United States..."

Verne shook his head,

"Although the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is not harmonious, at least they have a common language, which can ensure barrier-free communication."

Roland was curious,

"And if it's French?"

Lu Shi said: "That will be troublesome. From Algeria to the south, you can cross half of Africa to the Congo, but this road is north-south, which is not helpful for circumnavigating the earth; you can go to Yemen through Madagascar by sea, but you have to go around the world." A lap around the Cape of Good Hope wasted a lot of time..."

As Lu Shi said, he gestured invisibly with his hands in the air,

It was as if he had a world map in front of him.

Except for Bernard Shaw, everyone else stared blankly.

Bernard Shaw said in a low voice: "I told you that Professor Lu is an all-rounder across disciplines, but you still don't believe me."

It's not that I don't believe it.

It's really beyond recognition.

Are ordinary people so familiar with world geography?

But thinking of Lu Shi's book "Guns, Germs and Steel", it seems very reasonable.

Poincare secretly rejoiced, thanks to letting Lu Shi leave the calligraphy yesterday,

Seeing that Lu Shi is so knowledgeable, it is not difficult to judge that he will become a shining star in the history of many human subjects in the future. The French Academy is honored to have a copy of his calligraphy.

At this time, Roland next to him asked, "Why do you have to go to the colony?"

Bernard Shaw laughed and said, "It would be very troublesome not to go to the colony. Passing through areas controlled by other countries, the entry and exit procedures for approval are very cumbersome, and there is a possibility of being arrested as a spy."

In the 19th and 20th centuries, many colonies were under military control,

I went in, and I couldn't explain why.

Roland asked again: "But the trouble still came to Mr. Fogg. The identity of the suzerain country made him hunted down by British police detectives all over the world."

The corner of Verne's mouth curled up,

"This is where the novel is dramatic."

Roland scratched his head,

Because the discussion was too in-depth, he took this issue as a real issue, but forgot that it was actually based on the plot of the novel.

Lu Shi said humorously: "Switch to the French, "Around the World in Two Hundred Days" is not science fiction at all. That's why Mr. Verne wants to use the British to make the fantasy rigorous."

Everyone couldn't help but want to laugh when they heard this.

But the performance had already begun, and they tried their best to hold back.

Verne pursed his lips and jokingly said, "I didn't expect, I didn't expect, Professor Lu, you think "Around the World in Two Hundred Days" is a science fiction work."

Lu Shi hurriedly waved his hands,

"Don't make fun of me. "Two Hundred Days" means "Around the World in Eighty Days."

The corner of Verne's mouth raised an arc,

"Why do you think this novel is science fiction?"

Lu Shi said: "At the end of the novel, Mr. Fogg said that he spent almost 19,000 pounds on the journey. Isn't that enough science fiction?"

"Pfft!" ×4

The rest couldn't help but laughed anyway.

George Bernard Shaw said "Yes" and said: "Mr. Fogg spent nearly 20,000 pounds on this trip, which is equivalent to 500,000 francs. In "La Traviata", Margaret lived in extravagance for a year and spent only 100,000 francs. , So, "Around the World in Eighty Days" is indeed quite sci-fi."

Using Dumas fils' works to make fun of the French made Verne even more unable to help laughing.

He coughed several times before trying to calm down.

"Hmph! There will be no need for an Englishman to be the leading role in the future."

Shaw spread his hands,

"If you don't need it, don't use it. Mr. Fogg hugged the beautiful girl on the way, which is obviously something you French people are good at."

Verne said slightly proudly: "You Brits don't need to belittle yourselves."

The two writers actually joked with each other like children.

After chatting for a few more words, the topic went back,

Verne continued to ask: "Professor Lu, you haven't answered my question just now, why do you think "Around the World in Eighty Days" is a science fiction work?"

Literary critics believe that the novel is rich in themes,

Roaming theme, detective theme, love theme...

A variety of themes intersect and integrate with each other, so that readers can always find their favorite parts in it.

Some people even read humanism in it,

For example, in the section on India, Verne expresses his indignation against the barbaric burial system in India through the mouths of the characters in his pen; there is also the scene of Fogg being beaten at the San Francisco convention, which satirizes the chaos of the American democratic election.

However, among so many themes, critics feel that science fiction is the only one.

Lu Shi said, "Science fiction... Gentlemen, what do you think science fiction is?"

This remark caused everyone to ponder.

After a while, Roland spoke first: "Sci-fi works should have many magical technologies like "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea"."

There is no need to refute this when you land,

Poincaré on the side shook his head,

"Roman, what is the originator of science fiction?"

Although he is a mathematician, he has a strong literary foundation, so it doesn't seem weird to ask this kind of question.

Roland replied, "It should be Frankenstein."

George Bernard Shaw said proudly: "This is the work of our British people."

"Frankenstein" is the work of Mary Shelley, this book has made her known as the "Mother of Science Fiction".

It is worth mentioning that her husband is Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the most talented lyric poets in the history of English literature. Everyone knows the phrase "Winter comes, can spring be far behind?" , No one knows.

"Are there many futuristic technologies in Frankenstein?" Poincaré said.

Roman frowned slightly,

"this……"

Poincaré said: "Although I don't know how to classify science fiction, I can definitely say that "Frankenstein" has a very deep intention."

Lu Shi took over the conversation,

"That's right, the classic of that book is that it explores the ethical issues of humans and humanoids."

Poincaré was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands, and said excitedly: "Good! What a 'human and humanoid'! As expected of Professor Lu, he summed it up very well. Science fiction is not just fantasy, it can also be developed in depth. "

As he spoke, Poincaré cast admiring gazes at Lu Shi.

Lu Shi was inevitably a little embarrassed,

He changed the subject and said, "Actually, there are many branches of science fiction. The ones I can think of include world exploration, inter-civilization, parallel worlds, time travel, disasters and rebirth, humans and humanoids..."

Talk more and more.

When everyone looked at Lu with strange eyes,

stare--

Lu Shi quickly shut up.

"What's the problem?" he asked.

George Bernard Shaw said: "Some I can understand, such as world exploration, Mr. Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and the Ocean Trilogy should be included; human beings and humanoids, just now I mentioned "Frankenstein" example. How to explain the others?"

Lu Shi said: "Civilizations are the contacts and exchanges between two intelligent civilizations."

Everyone was silent.

After a while, someone asked: "Is there any precedent for this kind of work?"

Lu Shi has read so many works, of course he can give examples,

But he could only think of Clarke's "The End of Childhood" for a while, and that book was published in 1953, so he certainly couldn't use it as an example.

"That's what I said," he said.

Shen Temiao's "say so".

Verne felt as if his heart was being scratched by a cat, and asked again: "What about other types? Can Professor Lu give you an example?"

Lu Shi thought for a while and said, "I told Natsume before...well... Natsume is my roommate. I told him a story called "The Last Man", and there was only one sentence, 'the last person on earth. I was sitting alone in the room, when suddenly there was a knock on the door...'."

As soon as these words came out, the eyes of the three Frenchmen changed when they looked at Lu.

Especially Verne, it was as if a young man who had just grown up saw a naked beauty, as if he wanted to swallow him alive.

Bernard Shaw patted Lu Shi's shoulder,

"You, it's really suitable to come out and communicate."