Museum of Science, San Francisco.

The Nebula Awards ceremony was held in the planetarium, and at this time, groups of audiences came into the theater one after another.

Above the dome, the vast starry sky formed by laser projection is displayed, including the solar system, the Centaurus galaxy, etc.

Lin Qingxia and Fang Yan looked up and felt as if they were surrounded by stars and the Milky Way, seeming unusually small.

Fangyan looked around, trying to find Asimov and Heinlein in the crowd, but he noticed Mike and others first.

Mike was with the people from Random House, and as soon as the two groups met, they began to exchange warm greetings with each other.

“Fang, the Fox reporter has arrived at the scene. Do you want to go over and say hello first?”

Jason Epstein half-joked, “And then a short interview?”

“Let’s wait until the award ceremony is over before we talk about it. I don’t want to set a flag for myself.”

Fangyan waved his hand.

“flag?”

Jason Epstein was stunned.

“He just made a lot of big promises in advance, but ended up hitting himself in the face.” Fangyan smacked his lips. If the Champions League final between Milan and Liverpool had not taken place in 05, he could have directly used the “opening champagne at halftime” joke. How easy to understand and profound!

“So that’s what it meant.”

Jason Epstein quipped, “You are really funny.”

“Now I can joke with you humorously, but if the ‘flag fell’ incident I just mentioned really happened, I’m afraid the people who should be happiest are the Forbes reporters, because they received an exclusive and explosive news, and I became the ‘joke’ in the news.”

Fangyan shrugged.

“What you said makes sense.”

Jason Epstein nodded. “But don’t worry too much. Judging from the list of nominees for this year’s Nebula Awards, whether it’s global sales, popularity, or the evaluation and influence in the field of science fiction literature, your Three-Body Problem is undoubtedly the first.”

“Lend your auspicious words.”

Fangyan opened his briefcase and took out a stack of bound manuscript papers.

“Is this your version of The Matrix?”

Jason Epstein’s eyes lit up.

“This is a full Chinese version and needs to be professionally translated.”

Fangyan took out a few thin pages of paper and translated the first few chapters into English to make it easier for the people at Random House to review them.

“No problem! This is what we at Random House should do!”

Jason Epstein handed the Chinese version to his assistant, and then couldn’t wait to pass it around with his subordinates to read “The Matrix”.

Fangyan temporarily entrusted his younger sister to Mike’s care, and took Lin Qingxia to meet the science fiction fans and writers who came to see him.

This was not the first time that Lin Qingxia participated in the Nebula Awards. She was familiar with and tacitly coordinated with the dialect, handling various situations.

It was not until they met Asimov and Heinlein face to face that the two men put aside their superficial politeness and had a sincere communication.

“I heard that a special guest has been invited to present the awards tonight?”

Heinlein gave a mysterious smile.

“Are you the special award presenters?”

Fangyan was very surprised.

“Of course not. Alas, we are old people from the old times.”

Asimov couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

“Don’t say that.”

Fangyan smiled. Since the Nebula Awards didn’t invite them, he immediately invited the two to be the presenters of the Hugo Awards. Asimov didn’t agree immediately, but asked, “How are you preparing for the World Science Fiction Convention?”

“Everything is ready. We are just waiting for you and all the friends who love science fiction from all over the world to come.”

Fang Yan said: “By then, everyone will be able to appreciate the elegance of Chinese science fiction literature and the passion of the science fiction literature community!”

Heinlein smiled and said, “Hearing what you said, I am looking forward to this World Science Fiction Convention even more!”

“Then I will be in Rongcheng, China, waiting for your arrival.”

When Fangyan said this, Heinlein and Asimov looked at each other and smiled.

Everyone then chatted for a while, and the topic returned to the special award presenter of this year’s Nebula Awards.

“We don’t know exactly who it is.”

Heinlein spread his hands and said, “But it doesn’t matter. The mystery will be revealed when the awards are presented.”

“But if I were a winning author, I would prefer to receive the trophy from you rather than being the special guest.”

Dialect looks left and right.

“Hahaha!”

Heinlein and Asimov laughed out loud and finally agreed to be the presenters of the Hugo Awards held in Chengdu.

…………

About 15 minutes later, the Nebula Awards ceremony officially began.

Amidst applause, the chairman of the organizing committee came on stage and gave a speech at the opening ceremony, talking a lot.

The content is very simple, with no intention of stealing the show, leaving all the time and spotlight to the next winning writer.

The first award at the opening is the “Master Award”, which is similar to the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award was given to “Ray Bradbury”, whom Fangyan had never heard of, but from the thunderous applause from the audience, one could tell that he deserved the title.

“His major representative works include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and The Golden Apples of the Sun.”

As an avid science fiction fan, Mike applauded and introduced the film, “Especially The Martian Chronicles. Both the American science fiction community and Hollywood are very keen on this kind of Mars theme. For example, The Martian Chronicles was adapted into a movie a few years ago.”

“If you are interested, you can consider this subject matter for your future works.”

Jason Epstein advises.

Fangyan raised his hand and said that after finishing “The Matrix”, he might not write science fiction novels for a long time.

“That’s really a shame.”

Jason Epstein sighed and returned his focus to the stage.

Gradually, the Nebula Awards for Best Short Story, Best Short Novella, and Best Novella were presented at the awards ceremony.

Neither slow nor fast, it is finally the turn of the much anticipated and most important Nebula Award for Best Feature Film.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa.”

Accompanied by bursts of applause, the special guest who had been guessed by countless people walked from the backstage to the front stage and revealed his true identity.

When the faces of Bill Gates and Buffett appeared in everyone’s sight, there was an uproar and screams one after another.

“Why are they here?”

Fangyan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Mike was also very shocked. He never expected that the special guests of this year’s Nebula Awards would be the two of them!
Fangyan quickly heard some clues from the discussions of the people around him.

Buffett was invited to attend this year’s organizing committee as a charitable donor to the American Science Fiction Association!

Bill Gates was brought here by Buffett. However, as a Silicon Valley tycoon and Microsoft’s boss, he is more than qualified to be an award presenter. But the key question is why they suddenly appeared on the Nebula Awards stage? (End of this chapter)