Little travels in the future

Author: Ye Yonglie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: In today's society, the pace of scientific and technological development has become increasingly fast, and its impact on people has grown deeper. However, it has become even harder to accurately predict what the future holds for humanity. As a Chinese science fiction writer, Ye Yonglie's Xiaoting's Journey to the Future was once wildly popular over 20 years ago, inspiring many children's imagination of the future. After "hanging up his shoes" for years, his imagination remains as light as ever, leading him to write Xiaoting's Second Journey to the Future and Xiaoting's Third Journey to the Future, both of which received strong responses. This book is composed of Xiaoting's "First Journey," "Second Journey," and "Third Journey," as he shows children a bright future while inspiring them to spread their wings of imagination and strive to create a glorious tomorrow! This is a science fiction novel. In this work spanning over four decades, the author has created the lovable character of Xiaoting, the sharp-eyed and clever news reporter. Through Xiaoting's three journeys into the future, the book vividly and from multiple angles presents the beautiful scenes of the future. Excerpt: "If Memory Could Be Transplanted" I laughed so hard at Dr. Hong that I was almost stunned. Amidst the laughter, I had to smile foolishly like Tie Dan. Actually, like Tie Dan, I didn’t understand why Dr. Hong was laughing. After the laughter subsided, Dr. Hong returned to the topic and said to me, "Xiaoting, this time Xiaozhuzi should be your interview subject." Xiaozhuzi shook his head repeatedly, "Xiaoting, Dr. Hong is the one you should interview. I seized the opportunity and asked Dr. Hong, 'Dr. Hong, what exactly is going on?' Dr. Hong turned the question back to me, 'Xiaoting, have you read Romance of the Three Kingdoms?' I replied, 'Of course, I have!' Dr. Hong asked, 'Do you know Zhang Song?' Tie Dan suddenly chimed in, 'I only know meat and fish .' Tie Dan’s witty remarks made everyone laugh. After the laughter died down, I said, 'Zhang Song was a strategist under Liu Zhang, the ruler of Western Shu.' Dr. Hong asked, 'Correct. Now, tell me about the story of Zhang Song making Cao Cao tear up Mengxin’s New Book.' Just as I was about to explain, Xiaozhuzi eagerly took over, 'Liu Zhang sent Zhang Song to meet Cao Cao. Cao Cao’s chief of staff, Yang Xiu, presented Cao Cao’s new book, Mengxin’s New Book. Zhang Song read it at a glance and said that Cao Cao’s book was a copy of the anonymous Thirteen Chapters of Sun Tzu from the Warring States period. Yang Xiu didn’t believe it. Zhang Song said that even 'children from Shu' could recite this book. Zhang Song then recited it. Yang Xiu held Mengxin’s New Book and compared it, and Zhang Song recited it perfectly from beginning to end, word for word. The story reached Cao Cao’s ears. Cao Cao said, 'I just finished writing Mengxin’s New Book, and it hasn’t been published yet. How could Zhang Song recite it perfectly by heart? Perhaps Mengxin’s New Book truly aligns with the Thirteen Chapters of Sun Tzu. So, Cao Cao tore Mengxin’s New Book to shreds.' Dr. Hong asked, 'Did Cao Cao really copy the Thirteen Chapters of Sun Tzu?' I replied, 'Actually, there was no such book as the Thirteen Chapters of Sun Tzu. It was because Zhang Song had an extraordinary memory. Even though he read it at a glance, he could remember it perfectly, which is why he could recite it word for word.' Dr. Hong said, 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a novel, and the Zhang Song in Luo Guanzhong’s writing is an exaggerated artistic creation. In reality, no one can truly read at a glance and remember everything. However, Xiaozhuzi is an exception—he is even more extraordinary than Zhang Song, able to recite the entire English-Chinese Dictionary, the entire Cihai, and even the entire Great Encyclopedia of China!' If I hadn’t witnessed Dr. Hong’s test of Xiaozhuzi firsthand, I would never have believed that Xiaozhuzi had become a 'contemporary Zhang Song'! However, how could Xiaozhuzi have such incredible abilities? I remained puzzled. Until then, Dr. Hong finally revealed the secret: 'Xiaoting, the message from the time tunnel said that in the 1999 college entrance exam, the essay topic was "If Memory Could Be Transplanted." Suddenly, I understood: 'The topic was If Memory Could Be Transplanted. Did you transfer 'memory' to Xiaozhuzi?!' Dr. Hong laughed, 'Xiaoting is truly Xiaoting—perceptive as always. You get it right away. The 'if' from the time tunnel has become a reality in our future city—I transferred memory to Xiaozhuzi.' Dr. Hong, relying on his journalistic instincts, naturally wouldn’t miss this great interview opportunity. I immediately followed up, 'How exactly was the 'memory' transferred into Xiaozhuzi’s brain?' Dr. Hong took out a small, exquisite box from his pocket, like a jewelry box. When he opened it, it sparkled with brilliance—thin metal sheets, each smaller than sesame seeds and thinner than fish scales, shining like silver. A single breath might blow them away. For this reason, Dr. Hong wore a mask and carefully pointed to one of the sheets, saying, 'This is the new edition of the English-Chinese Dictionary.' What? A book as thick as a brick, condensed into such a tiny piece? 'This is the new edition of the Cihai, the Complete Collection of Tang and Song Poetry, and the Great Encyclopedia of China. This is the 'future edition' of The Ten Thousand Whys. This is the Dictionary of Scenery Descriptions. This is the Complete History and the Complete Geography.' Dr. Hong introduced them one by one. 'Is this made of gold or silver?' Even Tie Dan was mesmerized. 'This is made of silicon chips, called 'memory chips.'' Dr. Hong said, showing enlarged photos of these 'memory chips' on the computer screen. Wow, they were densely packed with fine circuits, looking like the map of a complex, large city. 'Transplanting a 'memory chip' into a person’s brain allows them to remember all the content on the chip. Xiaozhuzi recently stayed in the hospital to 'install' these 'memory chips.' Just now, I was giving Xiaozhuzi a post-installation test.' Dr. Hong finally explained the purpose of the test. Xiaozhuzi, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up, 'This is what they call 'going to the hospital without being sick'—I couldn’t explain it clearly over the phone.' Hearing this, I laughed and said, 'With this, school will become so much easier—no need to memorize English words, no need to remember historical dates, no need to recall geographical data—nothing like the area of Europe, the population of the United States, the steel output of Russia, or the total length of China’s coastline needs to be memorized anymore!' Dr. Hong said, 'Exactly. With this, schools will focus mainly on cultivating students’ understanding and problem-solving skills. All memory-based courses will be removed.' I happily said, 'Here, we hear every day about 'overly heavy school backpacks' for primary and secondary students, we call out 'too heavy academic burdens' every day, but nothing seems to change. Dr. Hong, if every primary and secondary student had a 'memory chip' like Xiaozhuzi, at least half of their homework could be reduced.' Dr. Hong said, 'Xiaozhuzi is still an 'experimental subject.' I posted an announcement on the computer network, saying I was looking for a teenage volunteer for memory transfer experiments. one who bravely sent me an 'email' was Xiaozhuzi!' At this point, Xiaozhuzi asked, 'Dr. Hong, my test passed. Can I go home now?' Dr. Hong nodded and said, 'Yes.' Hearing this, Xiaozhuzi, me, Xiaoyan, and Tie Dan all cheered together.