“The Computational Universe Book 1: Xinglong Awakening” is the first book in the eight-part “The Computational Universe” series. This rewrite introduces a second female protagonist, Reva Stern, from the Astra Federation. I am extremely satisfied with the rewrite results – the overall story is rich and full, perhaps even overly abundant, but it truly serves as an excellent beginning for the eight-part series. The first draft is complete, but I still need a few days to address the detailed issues arising from the new storyline.
Before the rewrite, I always felt the story wasn’t strong enough. As the first installment of the series, it was missing something. There were also some segments where the protagonists Liang Feng and her friend Jiang Zhiyuan acted foolishly, which I had always wanted to remove. I could never figure out exactly what it was lacking until early this year when a friend asked me what the main theme of this book was.
I said it was the clash of civilizations.
That’s where the problem lay. The original “The Computational Universe Book 1: Xinglong Awakening” only depicted superhero monster-fighting. The theme of civilizational clash was almost forgotten. My desire to write about civilizational clash wasn’t entirely inspired by Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilizations,” but rather by my experiences in America.
When I was studying in the United States, I deeply felt the impact of cultural and technological differences. There were positive aspects, but more negative feelings prevailed. At that time, I wanted to write a book about the clash between Chinese and American civilizations, covering current changes in international affairs and the confrontations they bring. I never had the opportunity to realize this until I returned to China and finally began writing science fiction.
“The Computational Universe Book 1: Xinglong Awakening” initially depicted only the protagonist, Liang Feng, fighting against the Keyboarder’s Ruthless Toxin conspiracy. The Ruthless Toxin could strip people of all emotional capacity, with no antidote. This sounds like the fear toxin from Batman, but with far more profound effects. I wrote a story about a superhero-like protagonist saving a city.
Although it was the beginning of an eight-part series, this novel did explore the laws and mysteries of the computational universe, and wrote about how Xinglong became a myth of technological civilization. Xinglong is an ancient civilization that has never been able to stably accumulate technology. The protagonist pondered for a long time why it failed in the past, and how to face this rapidly changing era now.
At least the original story was coherent, having been written in one continuous flow. But was its core really just superhero monster-fighting? What I originally wanted to write seemed different. Therefore, I decided on a major revision. Over the past two months, my writing work has mainly focused on rewriting it.
The biggest rewrite involved adding the Astra Federation’s second female protagonist, Reva Stern. Reva is the heiress of an old-money family. Her father passed away early, and she runs Stern Dynamics alongside her mother, Katelyn. Her pride and confidence in the Astra Federation give her a unique charm.
The origin of the Ruthless Toxin also stems from Stern Dynamics’ attempt to treat Reva’s genetic disease – originally well-intentioned, it ultimately became a devastating disaster. Xinglong civilization faces its own challenges, and the Astra Federation civilization has its own demons. The Star Federation has always feared that after reaching the peak, it would rapidly fall from the summit.
The Astra Federation supports elitism, whereas Xinglong advocates for a more egalitarian society. However, the Astra Federation appears democratic on the surface, while Xinglong appears authoritarian. Xinglong civilization’s contradiction: having just experienced a dark age past, it has an enormous desire to become a technological civilization. The Astra Federation civilization’s contradiction: despite seeing signs of decline, it fears the consequences of its own decline. Xinglong civilization’s demon is that once it reaches the boundaries of civilizational development, it begins to turn inward, repeating cycles of order and chaos. The Astra Federation’s downfall is that after reaching its peak, it will rapidly self-destruct, falling into a long, dark age.
Reva Stern is an absolute elitist: the world should be controlled by the smartest, most capable people. She is also a tech aristocrat of Neo Nox City, ruling the top elite of global tech capital. Through technology, capital, tactics, and strategic planning, she precisely controls society’s direction. Her enemies are mediocrists – she believes ordinary people lack sufficient wisdom to manage the world. So she manipulates and weaves order in the shadows.
The original female protagonist Liang Feng remains the female lead of the Xinglong storyline. Liang Feng believes everyone should have equal opportunities and the world should be decentralized. She is middle-class, representing the struggles of ordinary people, community values, and self-actualization. So she seeks dreams of changing the world in reality.
The two female protagonists are like sisters because they both studied combat techniques under the same fighting instructor, Basheer Abdou, in Khatba. They have faced death together and fought side by side. But the divergence between Xinglong and the Astra Federation has driven them apart, and perhaps in future stories, they may even become enemies.
The dynamic structure between these two characters has instantly energized “The Computational Universe Book 1: Xinglong Awakening.” It also aligns with the idea that even when civilizations differ, their respective heroes face their own difficulties, somewhat akin to the feeling of “Overwatch.” I am very satisfied with the final result.
“The Computational Universe Book 1: Xinglong Awakening” will wait for the second and third books to be completed, then all three will be translated into English together and launched on Amazon KDP next year, directly facing English-speaking readers. At least this is my preliminary plan. The Chinese version will have to wait for the right opportunity to meet everyone. After all, this story was designed from the beginning to be written for Chinese post-90s readers, and I hope it can return to China someday.
