British writer

Chapter 337 Book Lovers

Dirty dirty——

The whistle sounded and the cruise ship gradually sailed towards the pier.

Lu Shi stood on the deck,

The sea breeze was slightly cool, gently brushing his face, causing him to tighten his collar unconsciously.

He looked into the distance,

At this time of year, the temperature in London has dropped, but the excitement at the docks remains unabated.

The figures of workers loading and unloading goods were particularly busy in the morning light.

Not long after, the sailors' trumpets sounded,

The cruise ship has docked.

Because of his special status, Lu Shi could take the express lane. He quickly got off the gangway and went directly out of the port area after passing customs.

A magnificent carriage is waiting,

Margarita stuck her head out,

"teacher!"

Lu Shi walked quickly, got into the carriage, and asked, "Rita, why are you here?"

Margarita laughs,

"I received your telegram. Can I come to pick you up?"

As she said that, she looked Lu Shi up and down and joked: "It seems that the food in the United States is indeed better than that in the UK. You have been away for more than three months and you haven't lost any weight at all."

This is true,

The UK is truly a food desert.

After Her Royal Highness the Princess finished joking, she asked the coachman to set off.

The wheels rolled slowly on the street, making a rhythmic sound.

Lu Shi opened the car curtain,

Vendors, pedestrians, newsboys...

The familiar street corners of London come into view again.

Margarita whispered: "Teacher, have you seen "Weird Night"?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Of course. However, not all of those works are mine."

He was about to explain the French "prank\

,"As a result, Her Royal Highness the Princess took the lead and said: "Many readers have already guessed it. Moreover, in the new issue of "Weird Night", the French literary masters have begun to sign their names normally."

She took out the magazine.

Lu Shi took it and flipped through it briefly.

Margarita asked curiously: "Teacher, do you mind if they create based on your works?"

Lu Shi was stunned for a long time before he understood what the other party was asking.

He smiled and said: "Rita, when the "Mirror" serialized the comics of "Jane Eyre", what was our attitude towards secondary creation at that time? There is a saying in China, 'Only state officials are allowed to set fires, but the common people are not allowed to light lamps' , we can’t do this.”

Moreover, the development of the Cthulhu Mythos in this way is also consistent with history.

It is based on the novel setting of H.P. Lovecraft, compiled and improved by August William Derleth, and co-created by many authors.

With only the master of love craftsmanship himself, it would be difficult for Cthulhu to develop to its later scale.

And this kind of co-creation phenomenon is not uncommon.

for example,

Dongfang PJ, "Love to Death", Xingyue,

These were successful.

Lu Shi said: "Moreover, the setting collection is public and I am not its rights holder."

Margarita was curious,

"What is a setting set?"

Lu Shisui explained, and then said: "I think Verne and others will make it public soon, allowing more writers around the world to join in the creation and improvement of the Cthulhu Mythos."

Margarita said: "Wouldn't it be confusing?"

After asking, she denied it herself.

"No. Because French writers established the Orsay Society, they can decide which ones should be included in the 'original manuscript' of the Cthulhu Mythos."

Lu Shi wanted to laugh when he heard this.

"They even set up a society?"

Margarita said "hmm\

,""I feel that the setting collection method can develop many derivatives, not only novels, but also tabletop games, dramas...especially tabletop games. Frankly speaking, I have never thought of this kind of creation before."

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"I didn't expect the French to be so powerful."

Margarita said: "But I still prefer Harry Potter."

Then we talked about the plot of "The Chamber of Secrets".

Not long after, the carriage stopped in front of Lu Shi's official residence on Palace Street.

The two got out of the car.

The maid opened the door for them,

As a result, as soon as Lu Shi entered the house, he found that the entire house was almost filled with letters.

The source is the study room on the second floor.

The door there was open, and bundles of letters stretched out from inside, filling the entire corridor on the second floor and spreading all the way to the stairs.

On each step was a stack of letters.

Margarita said: "Letters from readers."

Lu Shi asked: "Didn't I ask that it be placed in our newspaper's warehouse?"

Margarita said helplessly: "The fans of Harry Potter are very enthusiastic and the warehouse is already full."

Lu Shi: "..."

I had expected that "Harry Potter" would develop into one of the most popular IPs in the world.

But who would have thought that the craze would reach this point at the beginning of the 20th century?

You know, "The Lord of the Rings" is also a series, with the same protagonists and super popular characters like Gandalf, but there are only a hundred letters from readers a day.

Lu Shi picked out a letter and read it.

Margarita also came over and whispered:

'Lu, please update quickly...'

‘If we don’t update it, my son will tear down the beams in our house! ’

‘No, you’d better stop updating. ’

'My house has been demolished and Tommy is converting it into a burrow. ’

…

The Burrow is the residence of the Weasley family in the novel. It is built crookedly and contains many magical creatures and magical items.

Her Royal Highness the Princess burst out laughing on the spot.

"For children, although they can't make magic items, they can still make the house into a dilapidated house."

She looked at Lu Shi,

"Teacher, you have made many families in London suffer~"

"Ah this..."

Lu Shi was embarrassed,

"Have it?"

Her Royal Highness the Princess looked at the sky outside and saw that the morning fog had dispersed, so she opened the window.

She pointed to the opposite side and said, "Look there."

Opposite the official residence is the royal stables.

There are two cold stream guards in red guarding the grand gate.

Lu Shi asked in confusion: "What did you want me to see?"

Margarita just nodded in the direction of the guard soldiers and did not answer with words.

After a while, two little boys going to school ran by.

They passed the guard,

Suddenly, the one in front took out a 30cm wooden stick and shouted to the guard: "Petrificus Totalus!"

The muscles on the guard's face trembled,

Fortunately, the Coldstream Guards had excellent professionalism. He tried his best to hold on tight, but he didn't move at all.

The boy who cast the spell laughed,

"Look~look~my magic is very powerful!"

The boy in the back said: "I can do it too!"

He turned to look at the guard, and took out his "magic wand", ready to say "Petrificus Totalus!"

At this time, he suddenly noticed that the raised veins on the guard's forehead and clenched hands seemed like a volcano about to erupt, so he immediately changed his mind and shouted instead:

"Finite Incantatem!"

The guards finally arrived in Bengbu,

"Shiit! You two little brats! @* # ￥%..."

The two boys ran away fighting,

The wind also carried the sound of their bickering,

"Look! The curse I just broke was successful! He can move!"

"That doesn't matter, I still have deeper skills."

"Stop it!"

"What? Do you want to have a wizard duel with me?"

…

Margarita closed the window.

The two looked at each other speechlessly,

"..."

The atmosphere in the house was weird.

After a moment, Her Royal Highness the Princess spoke: "Only now do I know the power of children's literature. I dare to say that "Harry Potter" can influence countless British people, and it will become the national literature of the United Kingdom."

According to real history, the first part of the series, "The Philosopher's Stone", was published in 1997.

Lu Shi advanced it by nearly a hundred years.

The result is just as Margarita said——

National literature.

The reason is simple,

At the beginning of the 20th century, entertainment methods were extremely lacking. Children could not watch movies, TV shows, or games. Even comics were very few.

This resulted in almost all children reading Harry Potter.

Moreover, compared to "The Wizard of Oz" and "Peter Pan", both of which are children's literature, although "Harry Potter" is also an old routine that praises friendship, courage, and love, its language and plot are more mature and cover an age range of The wider it is, the more readers it will naturally have.

Lu Shi said: "I didn't expect this."

Margarita gave him a look,

"Didn't expect that? I don't believe it~ Professor Lu is the best-selling writer in the world~"

Lu Shi laughed loudly,

"Don't hurt me."

After what had just happened, he found that reading letters from readers was quite interesting, so he went back and continued to open them.

Among them, more than 99% are fans of Harry Potter.

Everything is included,

To urge updates,

Parents write on behalf of their children, asking where the address of Hogwarts is,

The female fan proposed to Lu Shi,

…

All sorts of strange things.

With a dark face, Margarita took out all the pink envelopes and checked them one by one.

Collect all letters from female fans.

After a while,

There was a knock on the door outside.

The maid went out to inquire, and then came back with a message: "Sir, there is Mr. Henri Bergson from France looking for you. This is his business card."

Of course Lu Shi knew Bergson,

After all, he is a Nobel Prize winner, and his works have been read by Lu Shi.

The maid continued: "Mr. Bergson is still carrying his suitcase. It seems that he has just arrived in London."

Lu Shi was surprised,

"The cruise ship I took stopped at the Port of Calais. So, we were on the same ship. Why didn't we meet?"

Margarita complained: "Sir, Sir Lu, you live in first class, take a separate gangway when disembarking, and go through customs because of your status. Isn't it normal that you two can't meet each other?"

"Ah this..."

Lu Shi was embarrassed and turned to the maid,

"Mr. Bergson, please come in."

The maid took the order and left.

Not long after, Bergson was brought in,

He was instantly shocked by the ocean of letters in the room.

Lu Shi smiled and said,

"They are all letters from readers."

Bergson was even more shocked.

It’s not like he’s never seen a best-selling author,

Dumas, Dumas and Verne are all French nationals.

But even for them, the total number of letters they received in their lifetime was not as many as the ones in Sir Lu's mansion at this time.

What the hell...

Are you still human? ?

"Gu..."

Bergson swallowed and asked, "Sir Lu, do you want to read all of these?"

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"No, I don't have that much time. I will choose some representative questions and answer them in an open letter in the Mirror; or, in other words, accept an interview. These two methods are relatively more practical."

Bergson praised: "Sir Lu's attitude towards book fans is really good."

He stretched out his hand,

"I am Henri Bergson, and I am visiting here as a book lover."

The posture is very low.

Lu Shi would naturally not let the other party down,

The two exchanged pleasantries and then sat down on the sofa in the living room.

Lu Shidao: "I wanted to invite you to the study, but there are more letters from readers there. I'm really sorry."

"Is there still a study room?"

Bergson glanced at the second floor and felt numb when he saw the mountains of letters.

both writers,

The gap between people is really wider than that between people and dogs.

Lu Shi asked the maid to pour tea for him, and then said: "Mr. Bergson, you said you were here as a book friend, presumably to discuss issues, right?"

Bergson nodded,

"Sir Lu, I'm curious how you came up with a theme like "Brain in a Vat"."

The subject matter was certainly not what Lu Shi had in mind.

But H.P. Lovecraft proposed in "Whispers in the Night\

,"That article is also one of Lu Shi's favorite Cthulhu works.

The master of love craftsmanship created the separation of human and brain with great imagination, and separated the body and consciousness.

The thought experiment of the brain in a vat was not proposed until 1981 by the famous logician and philosopher of science Hilary Putnam in his work.

It can be said that "Whispers in the Dark" transcended its time.

Lu Shi improved it and renamed it "Brain in a Vat".

Of course, this cannot be said truthfully.

He mused: "Why is Mr. Bergson so curious about that short story? I must say that I prefer "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Color of the Stars" because the fear they depict is extremely huge and indescribable."

Bergson smiled and said: "Sir Lu, I don't know. I am actually...well...have you ever heard of a book called "Matter and Memory"?"

That is his work,

There are many advanced viewpoints in the book,

Such as,

The brain, as an organ of the body, is material in nature;

Memory requires a material basis;

Emotion and memory are both ontological categories;

…

With the development of biology, especially brain science, these views seem very classical to modern people.

But it is completely subversive to the empirical philosophy of the early 20th century.

Lu Shi said: "I have read "Matter and Memory", which is a philosophical work. Unfortunately, I know nothing about philosophy, so I cannot give an objective evaluation."

Hearing what he said about "knowing nothing", Margarita couldn't help complaining in her heart,

The teacher is always so humble.

Bergson apparently thought so too,

He smiled and said: "Sir Lu, if you can write "Brain in a Vat", it means you are a top philosophical scholar."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"No no no, I didn't even..."

Seeing that he was trying to be modest again, Bergson interrupted: "Maybe you don't study philosophy, but your philosophical thinking must be top-notch."

Lu Shi was helpless,

"I really don't understand."

Bergson smiled and said: "I have long heard Academician Poincaré talk about the modesty of the Chinese people. Your calligraphy is obviously excellent. You wrote the inscription for the Mingfa Building of the University of Paris and was praised by thousands of French students, but you just want to Say you’re not good at it.”

Lu Shi: "..."

It seems that my reputation as a calligrapher is about to be fulfilled.

He stroked his chin with his fingers,

"Mr. Bergson, I really don't understand philosophy. But when you talk about philosophical thinking... there was a great philosopher in ancient China named Zhuangzi. Have you ever heard of him?"

Bergson's eyes widened for a moment.

"Sure enough! I knew it!"

His volume is loud.

Lu Shi was startled,

"What's wrong?"

Bergson said: "I knew that Sir Lu's philosophical foundation must come from the ancient and mysterious Chinese culture!"

When he looked at the landing with bright eyes,

"Zhuangzi? Is that the name of that master of philosophy?"

Lu Shi coughed slightly,

"Well... Zhuangzi is not his original name. In China, we generally use the word 'Zi' as an honorific title to express people's admiration and respect for certain figures."

Bergson nodded repeatedly.

"Then this Zhuangzi must be a very powerful person."

Lu Shi said: "There is a story about Zhuangzi - Zhuang Sheng Xiaomeng. One day, Zhuangzi dreamed that he had turned into a butterfly. After waking up from the dream, he found that he was still a human being. So, he began to think about whether he had dreamed about Zhuangzi. Butterfly is still Zhuangzi who dreams of butterflies.”

Bergson could not help but praise:

"Good! Good, good! What a philosopher!"

He discovered that Zhuang Sheng's Xiaomeng and "Brain in a Vat" are similar in nature.

Its core is nothing more than two issues:

How do people know reality?

If dreams are real enough, do people have the ability to know that they are dreaming?

Bergson wondered,

"Which era is this Zhuangzi from?"

Lu Shi said: "The Warring States Period. It was about two thousand years ago~"

"Pfft! Cough cough cough..."

Bergson just took a sip of tea and squirted,

"More than two thousand years?"