Chapter 500

Although the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award are the highest honors for science fiction authors and fans, science fiction literature remains relatively niche compared to serious and popular literature, as its reading barrier is generally higher and often involves many scientific principles—especially hard sci-fi, whose obscurity rivals that of One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Moreover, Hollywood science fiction blockbusters had not yet begun to dominate, and their global influence was nowhere near comparable to that of the future.

Thus, there was no live television broadcast, nor did major media outlets around the world compete to report on it; only a few American media outlets were present.

After the president of the World Science Fiction Convention and the chair of the Hugo Award Committee delivered speeches on the current state of science fiction literature and recent developments in science, the award ceremony officially began.

There were four awards total; the winner of the Best Short Story was Speed Robinson, whom Wei Ming did not know, and the work, The Melancholy Elephant, he had never read.

But during the presentation, a brief summary was given—it seemed to explore the interaction between copyright and longevity, and the potential implications of extending copyright indefinitely; it sounded quite interesting.

Currently, copyright protection terms in most countries follow the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the Universal Copyright Convention, granting protection for the author’s lifetime plus fifty years after death, as in the United States.

Take J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, who died in 1973—meaning his works would enter the public domain in 2023, free for all to use, but due to the 1998 Act, the term was extended to seventy years after death, so it would not be until 2043.

At this time, China had not yet joined either convention; it joined in the 1990s, and thanks to the efforts of certain authors, Chinese writers also gained copyright protection for the author’s lifetime plus fifty years after death.

The longest protection term now is Spain’s lifetime plus eighty years; the shortest is in the Soviet Union and other countries, lifetime plus twenty-five years.

Next came Wei Ming’s turn: Nine District won the Best Novelette Award, and it was also the novel most familiar to the audience, having long ranked among the top sellers on the New York bestseller list.

But the association never judged awards by sales figures; otherwise, Jurassic Park would have won long ago.

Gong Ying clapped until her palms turned red, then remembered something and quickly pulled out her camera, capturing the moment Wei Ming picked up the Hugo Award rocket trophy.

She then listened carefully to Wei Ming’s acceptance speech, treating it as practice for her English listening skills.

“Respected World Science Fiction Convention, Hugo Award Committee, fellow readers, and all life forms trapped on this beautiful yet chaotic planet—good afternoon,” Wei Ming began his impromptu speech.

Applause broke out.

“Tonight, I stand here, holding this rocket trophy, symbol of the highest honor in science fiction, with an incredibly complex heart. This rocket represents the dream of flying toward the stars, yet in Nine District, it became a cage suspended above Johannesburg, unable to return home.

The greatest power of science fiction has never been a crystal ball predicting the future, but a mirror reflecting the present. I merely wrapped old Earth issues—racial segregation, refugee crises, class conflict—in an alien shell.

At the same time, I wish to question the human heart: when we face an ‘other’ who is ugly in appearance, culturally alien, and resource-poor, will we raise our weapons—or extend our hands?

The core of this novel is a story of ‘transformation’—a human forced to become an alien, thereby truly understanding what pain and dignity mean. This is the very essence of all great science fiction: using unknown settings to explore eternal humanity.

I dedicate this award to everyone who feels like an outsider; to every soul on both sides of the isolation wall still yearning for communication and understanding; and to that ‘Shrimp’ who, at the story’s end, quietly crafted a metal flower from garbage—he told us that no matter how desperate the circumstances, the hope of ‘home’ and the flicker of humanity never die.

Thank you. May we all find our way home.”

Applause erupted, noticeably stronger than for the previous winner, especially among the few Black writers and audience members present, some even tearing up with emotion—truly a great anti-racist!

Others marveled at Wei Ming’s fluent, standard English pronunciation—how many American girlfriends must he have dated to achieve such mastery?

Then there was the general manager of DreamWorks Publishing’s North American division, who, after hearing the speech, decided that when Nine District was reprinted, this acceptance speech could serve as a short preface at the beginning.

Next up was the Best Novella winner, Joanna Ruth, whom he did not know, and the winning work, The Elves, which he had never heard of.

It was a fantasy work, and its appearance at the Hugo Awards was not surprising—the award itself never excluded fantasy; later works like A Song of Ice and Fire and Harry Potter had also won Hugo Awards.

Finally, the Hugo Award for Best Novel was about to be announced.

The Best Novel is the brightest jewel on the crown of literature; even among science fiction awards, authors and readers alike place the greatest importance on this category.

When the winner’s name and title were called, the entire audience rose to their feet, including Wei Ming, and behind him, Gong Ying stood and clapped along with everyone else.

Because the winning work was Foundation’s Edge, and the author was Isaac Asimov—a man hailed by readers worldwide as a god!

This winning work, Foundation’s Edge, could also be called Galactic Empire 6.

Asimov’s Galactic Empire series is a vast fictional universe; Foundation’s Edge is one novel within the Foundation sub-series.

The famous Three Laws of Robotics were also proposed by Asimov.

They are:

First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Asimov’s Galactic Empire series profoundly influenced later works such as Star Wars and Avatar; if one were to rank the greatest science fiction writers of all time, Asimov would surely rank among the top three.

Moreover, this elderly man authored an immense body of work, like Wei Ming, a true polymath, covering natural sciences, social sciences, and literary arts—he published over four hundred books during his lifetime and posthumously, including joke collections and pornographic fiction.

Thus, the standing ovation from the audience and fellow writers was entirely understandable.

His win would also elevate the public attention on this year’s Hugo Awards.

Isaac Asimov was a Russian-American Jew, with thick, old-fashioned Russian-style sideburns.

Having won the Hugo Award multiple times before and long established as the king of the field, he remained calm.

In the back, Gong Ying strained to listen to his speech; although she understood it, she still felt Xiao Wei’s delivery was more standard.

After the ceremony, there was a dinner invitation for science fiction authors; since no journalists were present, Wei Ming simply brought Gong Ying along.

As authors in the English-language science fiction circle, they all knew each other well and could easily exchange a few words.

But Wei Ming was not familiar with them; for most of them, he might not even know their names and would have to refer to their works.