Chapter 234: Time Travel and Reincarnation of Cause and Effect

The vast universe and the silent and fleeting time always stimulated human interest and inspiration. Many people grew up as enthusiasts of astronomy or the unknown. When I was young, I liked to read those popular science books to get to know the relevant knowledge, and when I grew up with a broader vision of the imagination is also unlimited, so in the reading of many science fiction novels and related theories of the books, it is natural to be doubly interested in the subject of the movie.

The audience has such a complex, naturally the director will also have the same interest and hobby, they are more skillful to this theme through love, affection, and all kinds of events on the earth, war, as well as the enthusiasm for the exploration of the unknown world into the movie this big art.

But science fiction must follow certain scientific principles, while the fantasy nature of the film is not at all such a necessity. 1895, science fiction writer Wells published the famous science fiction novel "The Time Machine", which is known as the use of science for time travel theme of science fiction pioneer. At the time and before, it was regarded by others as an "unrealistic fantasy". But 10 years later, the publication of Einstein's theory of special relativity scientifically transformed these fantasies into a possible reality.

In his theory of relativity, Einstein proposed that time is relative. And he deduced that if a man traveled at nearly the speed of light, then time would stand still for him. Einstein's theory of special relativity provided people with a scientific basis for traveling into the future. However, in the age of special relativity, such a journey to the future is irreversible, which means that one can go to the future but never return to the present.

Another 10 years later, Einstein proposed the theory of general relativity, which for the first time merged time and space. The possibility of traveling to the past and the future was made possible, and then he proposed the concept of "wormholes" to provide a way to travel. It can be said that Einstein built the entire fantasy platform for science fiction movies.

Once time travel was proven to be feasible, problems ensued. For example, if we go back in time and kill our own mother or grandmother, where did I come from? This confusing logic is known in the scientific community as the "Grandmother Paradox", and in order to solve this problem, the so-called "Grandfather Paradox Theory" was proposed. This theory says that if you go back in time to murder your grandfather, a problem will arise, that is, if you succeed, a new world will appear, because you do not exist, so in real life you can not go back in time to murder your grandfather. That is, using an external law of physics which allows people to go back in time to the past, but prohibits all behaviors that could lead to the creation of paradoxes in the future.

Any sci-fi movie about time travel is basically based on the "grandfather paradox theory" as the principle theory, and the creation of this type of movie is also divided into two different schools of thought: one is represented by the "Back to the Future" series, which strictly follows the "grandfather paradox theory" of time travel. One is the "Back to the Future" series, which strictly follows the "Grandfather Contradiction Theory" of time-traveling.

In the first episode of the series, Martin, the protagonist, travels back 30 years to meet and be courted by his teenage mother as he replaces his father who was hit by his grandfather's car. To prevent himself from disappearing, Martin also has to get his father and mother to meet and fall in love. The plot is not designed to add to the drama of the movie, but rather to fulfill the "rules" of what Martin must do under the constraints of the "Grandfather Paradox Theory".

Another genre is the opposite, where all plots are built on the basis of subverting the "Grandfather Contradiction Theory", where the future can be altered at will, and even one can kill oneself, as in the movie "The Butterfly Effect".

Of course, there are also movies in which the protagonist does not directly travel through time and space, but is connected to the past or the future through some kind of medium. The script in Lin Mingyang's hands, titled "Connecting to the Future," tells such a story, but such an idea is not original to the writer of the rewritten script. A similar plot had already appeared in the sci-fi movie "Black Hole Frequency" released back in 2000.

That movie was about how on a stormy night the day before the anniversary of his father's death, the protagonist, John, finds an old radio he used to use in the room left behind by his father, and he starts to fiddle with it, only to be surprised to receive a talk from the radio from a firefighter claiming to be a firefighter named Frank from 1969.

John talks to the man all night and when he is finally convinced that the man is none other than his young father, he realizes that he can now change everything. John grabs Frank and reminds him of how he got out of that horrible fire on the 12th, and that he is going to save his father from death. The next day when John wakes up he finds a picture of his father on the wall with silver hair, John is ecstatic to know that he has changed the past and has a new present in front of him. However immediately afterward something horrible happens, a series of brutal murders change his life again and his mother becomes a victim of them. Frank, the father, must go back in time again through the radio frequency to stop a murder that would later change the fate of their family. And each time Frank changes one thing in his time and space, John wakes up to a different present...

John, the protagonist in this movie, doesn't really go back in time, he just communicates with another time dimension through a strange radio, but past and present time and space are entwined, so when John changes one of them, there are looping effects and an instantaneous change in his present.

In Connecting to the Future, the writers simply upgraded the tool for connecting the present to the future from a tape recorder to a cell phone, and in fact such a change can hardly be called an innovation. What really interested Lin Mingyang was the plot setting in the story where his future self calls his present self and guides his present self to make changes that in turn affect the future.

When Peter in the future realizes that every time he talks to his present self on the phone, he changes his way of talking to his "self", he starts to remember the past together with his present self, and Peter in the present finds that he has no secrets in front of the other. Peter, in the present, realized that he had no secrets in front of the other side, and that the other side knew everything he had done and every thought in his heart.

At this time, Peter finally began to believe that what he was holding in his hand was indeed a cell phone that could connect to the future. In order to let Peter completely believe this fact, the future he let the present Peter in the diary to write down a string of numbers, in the case of Peter did not disclose any information, the future he accurately reported that group of numbers, which let Peter completely believe the future "himself".

Under the guidance of his future "self", Peter's life changed dramatically: he summoned up the courage to confess to the prettiest girl in the school, and finally formed a beautiful family with her; he seized all possible opportunities, and his career developed smoothly. Peter realizes that he doesn't need to think at all, and that his future "self" will always have more than 50 years of experience, and will be able to take care of everything with just one phone call a day.

This wonderful state of affairs was eventually terminated because of the sudden and unexpected death of his future "self". Without the help of his future "self", Peter's life began to become a mess, and his habitual dependence made him lose the ability to deal with problems independently, which eventually led to the bankruptcy of his company and the death of his wife due to an extramarital affair. In the end, his company goes bankrupt and his wife chooses to leave him because of an extramarital affair.

The poor and desperate Peter ended up on the streets, and all that was left in his hands was the cell phone that he could no longer connect to the future. Just when he felt hopeless and was ready to commit suicide, human scientists made a major breakthrough in the research of time travel technology. This news gave Peter hope in his despair, and a life-changing plan began to be born in his mind.

Ten years later, Peter successfully imitated another time phone, and in the same year, the Human Time Administration was established. Peter used the time-stealing technology to send the cell phone to himself 50 years ago, and he wanted to use this cell phone to change his present life.

Everything goes back to the same place again, and then the story starts all over again, which, in Lin Mingyang's opinion, is one of the most subtle ideas in the script of "Connecting to the Future". And the most subtle conceit of this idea is that it gives people the opportunity to backtrack again and again.

No one is ever completely satisfied with their life. So the most basic setup in the plot, the hypothetical about starting over once or even many times will give people a lot of false illusions and endless longings.

"If it is possible, I don't make that mistake, maybe, will my life become a little better?" Just under such an assumption, people can face an optional life like Peter, the hero, and how will everything become if it is really possible? This kind of fictional delusion can only stay in fantasy, but the writer wants this movie to tell people that even if there is really such a chance, everything may not be as good as people think.

Peter uses the same method to gain the trust of his 50-year-old self. Having learned his lesson, Peter does not encourage his past self to pursue the schoolgirl this time, because he knows that the woman will eventually betray him. Instead, he guides his past "self" to recognize love and himself correctly, and tells him who is the woman worth cherishing.

At the end of each call, Peter's current situation changes. After experiencing the ups and downs of life, this time Peter does not give too much interference in the life of his past "self", so in the end he is just an ordinary ordinary man, with an ordinary-looking but loving wife, living a quiet life.

Peter is very satisfied with this life, he finally destroyed the cell phone in his hand, completely cut off contact with his "past" self.

Faced with a life of infinite possibilities, how to choose? The life after that and the life before that has become history. A life where you have the desire to make things better for yourself and all the people around you. All our faults will be corrected, but will the result be better or not so good?

The writers of "Wired for the Future" give their answer at the end of the script, where the Peter of the future dies because of his greed to rewrite his life, while the Peter of the present is able to enjoy his old age in peace because of his contentment.

As he closed the script, Lin Mingyang suddenly had the idea of meeting that screenwriter.

----

What Lin Mingyang hadn't expected was that the screenwriter of Connecting to the Future was actually a young Chinese American. During the initial meeting, he directly wrote this expression of surprise on his face.

If Lin Mingyang's reaction was a kind of American frankness, then in the case of this screenwriter named Chen Zixuan, Chinese modesty and introspection became an obvious characteristic.

Because of this, Lin Mingyang's first impression of Chen Zixuan was excellent, and the other party's Chinese descent status added an extra layer of intimate connection between the two, and even when ordering coffee in the beginning, Lin Mingyang made it a point to ask, "Does Mr. Chen drink coffee or tea?"

Chen Zixuan laughed, "I'd better follow the customs!"

Lin Mingyang nodded and then ordered two cups of coffee, but without waiting for the coffee to be served, the two chatted first.

"I've already read Mr. Chen's script, with all due respect, the story you wrote can basically be seen as a combination of 'Black Hole Frequency' and 'Butterfly Effect', if it wasn't for the fact that the theme of the film shows a deep self-reflection, there probably wouldn't have been this meeting that we have today...I'm curious to know why Mr. Chen would think of write such a story?"

"I have always maintained that life moves forward under a rule that cannot be changed."

Chen Zixuan's answer carried a touch of fatalism, while Lin Mingyang preferred to interpret the issue from a scientific perspective: "Has Mr. Chen ever heard of the 'Grandmother's Paradox'? Stephen Hawking's explanation for this paradox is that there is a physical principle in the world, and that humans cannot intervene in history even if they are able to go back in time. I think your point of view is very similar to his."

"I know Mr. Felix is very familiar with Chinese culture, but I wonder if you also have knowledge of Buddhism? In fact, what you see in the script is like what the Buddhists call karma, only that the karma that the Buddhists must go through reincarnation for several lifetimes is all happening in this life of the protagonist, Peter."

In order to explain the concept of karma reincarnation, Chen Zixuan continued, "Assuming that the process of a person's life development is a coherent straight line, if this cause is followed by another cause, the conclusion obtained is the present life. However, if we go to change what has already happened at a certain point before, then the life that has been changed because of this point will be changed because of the chain reaction to change the many points behind it, and more points that have been changed, point by point will be rewritten will be a whole section of the life. And as a result, the whole life will become radically different."

"Perhaps it can be said that we should be grateful for all that we have now. Every important decision made in life affects us for the rest of our lives. And all that has been decided before forges the life we have now. Being content is not about changing what has already happened but about how to change our lives in the future. Perhaps, God in the choice for us, has given us a best path, and we have to do is to cherish all the present. No one's life is completely beautiful and without flaws. So, perhaps, it is only after we identify with the existing lacks that the world will become a better place without constantly praying for something even better and more illusory!"

Lin Mingyang was so mesmerized by what he was hearing that he didn't even bother to take a sip of the coffee in front of him. He did not expect that a science fiction movie could actually be interpreted from such a perspective, although at first it was somewhat incomprehensible, but on second thought, more often than not, people do not have the means to ask for a science fiction movie to completely follow all the existing scientific basis. Otherwise, sci-fi movies might all become untenable. If you put aside the special and general relativity and the "grandmother paradox" to look at this script, even Lin Mingyang had to marvel at the script of Chen Zixuan's extremely beautiful vision.

Chen Zixuan had watched Lin Mingyang's entire expression change in his eyes, and in fact, he was a little apprehensive in his own heart after putting his own ideas on the table. Looking at Lin Mingyang's expression several times, Chen Zixuan was afraid that he would get the wrong idea, and hurriedly explained, "Actually, the intention of this script is still on science fiction, but in the expression of the theme I tried to introduce some religious thinking."

Lin Mingyang shook his head, "Mr. Chen is actually overthinking it, many philosophical concepts in religious thoughts are actually not in conflict with sci-fi movies, not allowing the Matrix to be held up as a sci-fi classic by people. Mr. Chen's words just now have benefited me a lot, and what really puzzles me is why you are so interested in sci-fi movies, and you chose to travel through time and space, a subject that is very esoteric in sci-fi movies?"

Lin Mingyang asked in a very subtle manner, but Chen Zixuan still understood what he meant, as this question involved the differences between Eastern and Western cultures, and Chen Zixuan gave his answer only after careful consideration.

"Whether it's Chinese movie and television works or literary novels, the fantasy genre is far too much of a science fiction genre. On the subject of time travel, there are actually many Chinese movie and television works on related subjects, but unfortunately most of the stories are based on fantasy. This phenomenon is of course closely related to China's long history of culture, but the people of China are overly indulged in history, often lack of sufficient innovative consciousness of the future, in the long run for the whole nation's cultural creativity is not necessarily a good thing!"

"Mr. Chen doesn't need to be overly pessimistic, I think the emergence of such a situation has a lot to do with the Chinese cultural environment as well." Lin Mingyang at this time in turn comforted Chen Zixuan, western society revered natural science, the strong atmosphere of science popularization naturally became a hotbed for the development and growth of science fiction movies. And many science fiction movies need advanced film and television production technology as support, the prosperity of science fiction movies in Hollywood is not by chance.

"That's why I came to the United States to try to change this situation, or at least I want to prove that the Chinese are not inherently lacking in creativity when it comes to sci-fi works!"