As soon as the award ceremony ended, Fox reporters interviewed Fang Yan before other media outlets.

“Congratulations, Fang.”

“Thank you.”

“Many people in the science fiction community compare you to China’s ‘Arthur Clarke’.”

“That’s really a huge compliment. It’s an honor for me to be compared to Clark.”

Fangyan stood backstage holding the trophy.

After a brief Q&A session, the Fox reporter saw that the atmosphere was set, so he asked the real question:
“After reading your Three-Body series, I feel that your view of the universe is rather pessimistic, such as the ‘Dark Forest Principle’.”

“That’s an illusion. I’m not pessimistic. The Three-Body Problem has an optimistic ending.”

Fangyan waved his hand. “Science is inherently inhumane, because science reflects the laws of nature in an absolutely rational manner. Science fiction is a literary genre that describes people, but it is different from traditional realistic literature. It puts people from the real environment into the extraordinary environment of scientific fantasy. This is a thought experiment, which is to observe what human nature will be like if it faces an extraordinary environment.”

“Some critics believe that the biggest difference between your science fiction and Western fiction is that it has a unity of history and logic, which provides more room for imagination. Do you agree?”

The Fox reporter asked, “Also, what are the main differences between Chinese science fiction and Western science fiction?”

“Western science fiction is not a monolithic concept. There are different styles in the United States and Europe. You can’t summarize all of Western science fiction in one sentence. Some Western science fiction is different from Chinese science fiction, and some is similar to ours. It all depends on who you compare it with.”

Dialects take it in stride.

“If it were American science fiction, what would be the difference?”

The reporter was surprised.

Fangyan pondered for a moment and said seriously, “First of all, it lies in the cultural roots. Chinese science fiction is rooted in the cosmic view of ‘harmony between man and nature’, and often interweaves scientific and technological narratives with traditional Chinese philosophical thoughts, such as the ‘dark forest’ law in The Three-Body Problem, which echoes the ‘Heaven and Earth are not benevolent’ in the Tao Te Ching, while American science fiction emphasizes ‘cowboy culture’ and ‘religious mythology’…”

“The second is collective and individual bias.”

“Chinese science fiction emphasizes ‘collective community of shared destiny’ and embeds individual destiny into the grand framework of civilizational survival, while Western science fiction tends to be more individualistic, often using lone heroes to deconstruct resistance and oppression, reflecting the liberal tradition.”

“Third, it is the difference in historical narratives…”

After answering various questions one by one, the Fox reporter also tactfully cue the “World Science Fiction Convention”.

“This year’s World Science Fiction Convention and the Hugo Awards will be held in Chengdu, China.”

Fang Yan said: “This is a passionate city. We welcome science fiction fans from all over the world to come and experience it for themselves!”

………………

After dealing with interviews from various media outlets, Fangyan walked out of the planetarium.

I saw Lin Qingxia, Mike, Jason Epstein and others standing in the lobby of the Science Museum with Bill Gates and Buffett.

Mike suggested: “Today is a day worth celebrating, why not have a small party?”

“That’s exactly what I meant.” Fang Yan agreed readily.

When everyone was discussing the venue for the party, Bill Gates suddenly mentioned the name of a San Francisco club.

It is a high-end club that basically hosts Silicon Valley’s technology tycoons and elites, so it is also called the “Technology Management Club.”

In addition to dining in luxurious restaurants, people in Silicon Valley also organize various company parties or special team-building activities.

“This is really a great place to go.”

Fangyan gladly accepted Bill Gates’ recommendation. At the same time, it was precisely because of the presence of Bill Gates, a top member, that the Technology Management Club opened the top-level box for them.

The wine cabinet displays a wide variety of wines, from mellow whiskey to refreshing white wine, with a wide variety of items available.

“boom!”

As the corks popped, champagne bubbles gushed out, and everyone cheered and clinked their glasses.

“cheers.”

Fangyan and Bill Gates clinked their glasses and smiled at each other.

Buffett looked left and right and said, “Bill is a big fan of yours. He told me that he likes your science fiction novels very much.”

Bill Gates nodded and said that he particularly liked the content about the Internet and computers in novels such as “The Ring” and “The Three-Body Problem”.

Buffett winked and said, “So at the banquet before, Bill kept strongly suggesting that I buy a computer to keep up with the times.”

“Fang, I wonder what you think about computers and the Internet?” Bill Gates asked curiously.

“I think that the development of the Internet around the world, including in the United States, is still at a relatively early stage.”

Fang Yan said: “This is the so-called ‘private network’ period. If we want explosive growth in the future, we must vigorously develop the information superhighway.”

“Information Superhighway?!”

Buffett and Bill Gates looked at each other in shock.

“Yes, you can also understand ‘information superhighway’ as ‘national information infrastructure’.”

What Fangyan said was exactly the “information superhighway” strategy announced by the United States in 1992.

In my previous life, I also read a book called “The Road to the Future” which specifically talks about the future planning of the information superhighway.

And the author is Bill Gates, who looks stunned.

“This statement is really bold and trendy.”

Buffett was amazed. At that time, people thought that infrastructure was undoubtedly the power grid, road network, water network, gas network and other infrastructure that were closely related to people’s daily lives. How could the information network be called infrastructure?
“Fang, can you elaborate on this?”

Bill Gates said with great interest.

Fangyan took a sip of champagne. “What I want to do is to build a broadband, high-speed information communication network covering the whole country, based on the Internet. That is, the highway of the information age. Computers and the Internet will promote information exchange, interconnection, integration and sharing among enterprises, research institutions, universities and even individuals, so as to achieve the optimization of the development, utilization and transmission of information resources.”

“It can be applied to business activities, making friends, learning and education, consumer shopping, logistics and transportation, leisure and entertainment, smart home management and other aspects to change the way people deal with different scenarios such as life, work, social interaction, shopping and medical treatment…”

“Wow, that’s really cool!”

When Bill Gates thought of that scene, he couldn’t help but exclaim.

“You think so, don’t you?”

Fangyan smiled.

“More than that, Fang, what you just said simply points out the direction for the development of computers and information technology!”

Bill Gates’ eyes sparkled, looking at him as if he were a prophet. (End of this chapter)