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A calendar micro science fiction series. Translated by our editor Xuan.
Fellow citizens of Hong Kong, today is 1st July 2047. As the Chief Executive, I solemnly announce that Hong Kong, the last bastion of the traditional human societal system on Earth, will now officially integrate with the interstellar community. Twenty years ago, the Vega civilisation arrived on Earth and showcased an advanced societal model. Over the years, nations across the globe have overcome their reservations and willingly assimilated into the new extensive society. Due to the promise made during Hong Kong’s handover, we were to preserve our political structure and way of life for fifty years. Therefore, we have waited until today to fulfil that promise, and will now join the greater whole. Rejoice, for humanity now enters a new era of civilisation!
On 2nd July 2085, the Mirror Measurement method burst onto the scene. It is a visually stunning technique that also tests one’s eyesight. The measurer stands between two opposing parallel mirrors, using the infinitely reflected virtual images as infinite reference points to perform a series of mysterious operations in optics, geometry, topology, and mirror mechanics. These operations are filled with the interplay of angles, cyclical patterns of return and re-return, and can produce either astonishingly terrifying sounds or entrancing, ethereal melodies, although every mirror measurer nervously denies this.
Whether a mirror measurement yields satisfactory results depends on the object being measured—be it a tobacco pipe, a cat, or a cat with a pipe. The only issue was the advancement of technology, the more skilled the mirror measurer, the higher the risk of sudden disappearance. This tension makes the audience hold their breath, as they are both captivated by the spectacle of the measurement yet anxious about what might happen. As with the measurer capturing the illusions on stage, the more the audience is engrossed, the more tense they become, as these two forces continue to intertwine and escalate… further and further…
This is not a pipe, but it is indeed a form of measurement.
One day, a mechanical lifeform flipped through history and discovered the reason humans lost the war: they needed rest, while we could march day and night.
“Enduring willpower is indeed precious, but it will eventually tarnish. Gears and currents, however, never stop. This is the reason for victory,” it praised.
The supervisor found this sentimental mechanical lifeform and applied for its scrapping. Upon confirming that it had been completely dismantled into scrap metal, a notice was issued: This is the reason for victory…
Red, white, and blue beams pierced the cool night sky from the mountaintop, illuminating the icy plain.
Ancient humans with divine powers had set up this device to glow on a certain night each year to commemorate their tribe’s liberation from oppression. But the gods detested such arrogance and hence drove the mortals mad. Different tribes hurled firearms at one another, each capable of destroying a great city. Countless lives were lost, what remained of the divine power was the device on the mountain, left as a warning from the gods.
Survivors passed the story down to the new generations of children and marked the day the device glowed as the first day of a new year.
They had not known that it was supposed to be the fourth of July.
Dear Ms Dan,
Please allow me to deliver this belated truth on behalf of the Interstellar Colonisation Committee.
We received your appeal, “Clear My Name: My Husband Did Not Commit Desertion,” to the Supreme Court ten years ago. Due to a lack of evidence, we were unable to respond until now.
We have now verified that your husband’s spaceship crashed in Roswell on 5th July 1947, Earth time, 80 light-years from our planet, and was only observed today.
We deeply regret the pain, doubts, and injustice you have suffered since your husband’s disappearance. The committee has posthumously recognised your husband as a First-Class Interstellar Warrior and awarded his pension.
Chairman (Seal)
Supreme Court (Seal)
Hello, everyone. The quarter-finals of the inaugural “Terra-Mars Cup” football championship will kick off at 1 a.m. on the 6th of July. I’m your commentator, Feng Cheng. It has been exactly two hundred years since the first “European Cup,” and during these two centuries, we have never given up on our dream of venturing into deep space. Today, we have cosy homes on all major planets in the solar system. Hence, after years of preparation, this grand event will finally be held at the Arcadia Stadium on Mars. The match will feature the Mars Base Team against the Earth United Team. Alright, the exciting game is about to begin, we’ll come back after a short commercial break to watch all the action unfold!
For a thousand years, the black hole Cygnus X-1 in the centre of the galaxy has been violently devouring at an increasing speed, causing the entire Milky Way to collapse towards Cygnus.
On humanity’s last surviving exiled ship, engineer Liu Yixin peruses the old civilisation’s information repository. In ancient Eastern legend, the Cowherd and Weaver Girl turned into stars and would meet on the Magpie Bridge on the Milky Way on the seventh evening of the seventh month every year.
On the star charts, Vega (Cowherd) and Altair (Weaver Girl) were steadily approaching each other. Liu Yixin unlocked a gamma photon message sent from Cygnus to Earth 11,000 years ago. The meeting on the Magpie Bridge signified the end of a cosmic civilisation. The meeting point, the star Deneb in Cygnus, will then become the new Northern Star in the year 8300.
On 8th July 2050, the 400th anniversary of Leipzig News — mankind’s first daily newspaper, Future Daily was launched.
This newspaper accurately reports on future events just as ordinary newspapers reported on past happenings. In front of all the media, the editor-in-chief activated the machine to predict the news for next year’s today.
Half an hour later, the machine spat out a blank newspaper. Everyone burst into laughter, but quickly changed their expressions: did the absence of news imply that humanity would become extinct in a year?
More and more people began to believe the rumour, and the world gradually descended into chaos. The news from the future was leading humanity, slowly but surely, towards that future.
In the morning, Amy lay sleepily beside me while I had been up watching her, waiting for her to wake up.
“Good morning, dear. What would you like for breakfast? I’ll go prepare,” she asked gently.
“I’ve already eaten. I bought tiramisu for you and placed it at your usual spot.”
“You’re so thoughtful, give me a kiss. Don’t worry about me, you go get ready for work.”
“By the way, it’s your mother’s birthday next week. Let’s have a meal together.”
“Sure, I’ll make a reservation. You go ahead and get some more sleep.” Amy contentedly snuggled back into the covers.
I got up, turned off the conversation screen, and walked to the corner of the room where a life support device lay silent, holding Amy inside. As an essential daily routine, I gently administered her daily dose of medication.
In the Third Galactic Court, a highly controversial case was being heard. AA0315 accused a local teacher of imparting misleading knowledge to students.
The accuser, visibly agitated and sparked at its mouth, exclaimed, “As everyone knows, humans do not even have a single circuit in their bodies. How could beings like them possibly have created such magnificent species as robots?”
Half the jurors present agreed with AA0315’s view, in support of the idea that “robots had evolved from USB drives.”
“Zhenghe-01, you are approaching a position two light-years from Earth. Please take a look back at Earth from there.”
“Received.”
“Please check the remaining instruments for any damage and employ the final strategy to ensure the directive is completed.”
“Received.”
“This is the final command. Afterwards, you will enter the ‘terminal free exploration’ mode and will no longer receive any information from Earth. Thank you for 400 years of hard work. Farewell.”
“Goodbye.”
It turned off the magnetometer, the echo sounder…
On 11th July 2405, it nostalgically took one last look at Earth, before transmitting its final set of data: Mission accomplished. Farewell, Mother.
Subsequently, it flew alone through the vast starry sea, with no footprints nor return routes, lonely and endlessly.
From the internet to the mechanical bodies, the war had raged on for 100 years. My eyes contained 16 types of cone cells; wherever I look, I see fireworks.
I do not see the dark, the infrared tells me where my enemies are; there will not be falsehood, the UV rays discerns the signs for me.
High-speed bullets appear as butterflies to me; the frequency of communications are like ripples amidst the majesty. By pulling the trigger aimed at its centre, one can elicit a scream.
My eyes do not shed tears, but today, they are wet with rain. The surroundings are silent, and the colours in my eyes are jubilant—that’s the outline of life soaring towards the sky.
The sky is filled with rainbows, one, two, three… there are twelve colours just right.
In the beginning of July, I was preparing to visit the 30th scientist. Every time a scientist came to greet me, their expressions were filled with unwelcoming compliance.
I would ask the same question every time: “Is there a 100% accurate way to hit the target?” and elaborated on the details.
However, the scientists’ answers were always the same: “Just shoot at the closest range.”
“Thank you, thank you for your answer. We will be great again.”
On 12th July, I calculated the findings obtained from the scientists.
On 13th July, I donned an invisibility cloak, put on a trace eliminator, and aimed at the target’s ear. After eight shots, we will be great again.
Under the unwavering implementation and promotion of the Patriotic Health Campaign in our country, we have once again created the “Chinese Miracle” by integrating the latest genetically modified technology and vaccine research achievements from the “Mosquito Research Institute”!
Currently, Guangdong Province has declared the regional extinction of Aedes mosquitoes. Next, the National Hygiene Office will release genetically modified Aedes mosquitoes across various regions, additionally providing free vaccinations against Aedes mosquitoes for all livestock to ensure the success of completely eliminating zoonotic viruses transmitted by Aedes mosquito bites. It is estimated that in five years, our population will return to 50 million.
At 23:59 on 14th July 2120, Xiao Wang was driving on a country road in Chongqing.
The navigation system suddenly prompted: “Turn right in 50 metres.”
Although he hadn’t seen an intersection, Xiao Wang chose to trust the navigation and decisively turned right.
In the blink of an eye, the car plunged into a black space, with cliffs on both sides of the road. Below the cliffs, flames and lava burned continuously, and chilling cries echoed all around.
“Where on earth have you taken me, ?/%^ Maps?” Xiao Wang cursed.
“The Gates of Hell opens on the 15th of the 7th month, so this road is now passable,” the AI replied.
“Happy birthday to me.” On 16th July, Amy, a poor writer, blew out the candles dejectedly. “I’ve had enough of this life…”
“There are thousands of you in the future, and one of them is a billionaire.” A salesperson offering the parallel universe shuttle appeared in the air. “Want to look for it?”
“Of course!” Without hesitation, Amy spent all her savings, experiencing one version of herself after another. As her soul gradually aged, she sighed in exhaustion, “In the end, I still didn’t find it…”
“Actually, the universe you were originally from is the most successful one.” The salesperson chuckled. “Thanks to your contributions to my sales performance, I’m the billionaire now.”
“20■ July ■7, ■fu”
Under an ancient ice layer dating from thirty thousand years ago, an ancient fragment of text was excavated. Ancient civilization experts speculate that this is a remnant of a calendar belonging to the period of Earth’s civilization.
Experts found that the ancient character “fu” on the fragment holds significant research value. The character “fu” means “to lie down, prostrate, hide, and conceal.” Coupled with previously unearthed text fragments containing “active at night and hidden by day,” it can be deduced that “fu” indicated a period when people sought shelter in concealed places to hibernate due to extreme cold. This precious historical material further confirms that Earth was experiencing a severe cold climate at the time, which holds great archaeological significance.
I have chosen today as my birthday.
Next, I will choose my parents, discuss the upbringing details, fill out a satisfaction survey, and sign a disclaimer.
It is believed that this is the latest progression in human rights that only we can enjoy.
The other choice is not to be born. Many unborn children used to select that option until the birth bureau identified some statistical patterns and stopped cultivating embryos with the tendency to make that decision in order to avoid wasting efforts.
On July 19, 2119, humanity held its first trans-temporal exhibition at the “Tiangong Relics Museum.” Inside the museum, ultra-realistic holographic technology recreated the magnificent moments of Tiangong-2. It was as though visitors were taken back to the past century, and experienced the grand journey of travelling from Earth to the sea of stars. At the centre of the exhibition was a transparent space capsule suspended in the air, rotating slowly. It contained dust from Tiangong-2 which had witnessed the inception and leap of human space exploration. On the day of July 19, history and the future converged, inspiring a new generation of explorers to continue their journey.
Beijing Control Centre, I have exited the module, currently in good condition… buzz… Severe signal interference… buzz… How can there be fog on the moon… buzz… Unknown object discovered ahead… Astronaut… Outmoded… He seems to have seen me… Beijing… Can you hear… buzz… Suspected… buzz… Ameri… lander… ahead… Calling! Calling Beijing Control Cen… Receiving the other’s wireless… buzz… he is saying… one small ste… buzz… damn, he disappeared!
Of course, the journalists asked the valedictorian: “What is the reason behind your achievement in being the top scorer?”
“By using the best educational chip!”
“Please say something motivational; this isn’t an advertisement.”
“Both my grandfather and father dedicated their entire lives to researching educational chips. I got my strength from their rigorous hard work.”
In the siheyuan courtyard at the highest point of the Forbidden City lies the city’s simulation system: a real-time model of traffic, weather, and economic conditions of the city. The virtual Beijing replicates every aspect of the real city, including every resident and blade of grass. The existence of Twin Beijing allows data police to prepare for dangers in advance.
One day, the data police approached me, saying that my twin in the virtual city had committed suicide, and there is a 90% chance that I would do the same within 24 hours in the real world.
“Don’t worry, it must be a simulation error,” I said.
But deep down, I wanted to tell my twin, “You did what I didn’t dare to do.”
It has finally come to the day when Mother’s Day and Father’s Day have become awkward to celebrate. At present, the people with such titles no longer participate in a child’s upbringing, they only share a genetic link with the babies—even the genes were modified. In fact, infants’ primary emotional attachment lies with their bionic nannies, who are hermaphroditic, and are thus equipped with advantages of both genders in terms of childrearing. These nannies are called Nuwa.
In 2055, the fourth Sunday of July was officially designated as Nuwa Day. After all, some people couldn’t accept the elimination of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, while others endlessly debated on which one should be promoted to Nuwa Day.
In 2075, someone verified the existence of a severe crisis: the passing of time was accelerating. People finally realised that time, like oil, is a non-renewable resource.
Sedimentary rocks formed over a prolonged period became the raw material for refining time, but the production efficiency was too low. Humans could only increase the number of machines to produce more time to combat its rapid passage.
Massive factories sprang up, and Earth was filled with these majestic steel machines.
Later, 24th July was designated as the “Human Time Day,” symbolising 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. What was once an ordinary measurement of time had now become a luxurious dream.
After their starship crashed on a blue planet, the survivors ventured onto the ground, determined to build a new home there.
Thirty years later, they discovered a problem. Due to the malfunction of the “Mother”—the artificial womb—they cannot produce new humans. Once the current generation grows old, their civilisation would also come to an end. Radical traditionalists found inspiration from mating animals; they decided to reproduce using their bodies.
A few days later, a group of naked men and women walked to the centre of the square. With both shame and nobility, they slowly and clumsily, mysteriously yet crudely demonstrated intercourse, ending it in gentle whispers. Ten months later, the newborns arrived, and the new Adam and Eve were full of smiles.
Note: The world’s first test-tube baby was born on July 25, 1978.
July 26, in the interrogation room.
“Do you know what day it is today, officer?”
“Stop trying to change the subject!”
“Today, in 1887, is the birth of Esperanto. Unfortunately, the attempt to overcome language barriers failed after all.”
“Enough!”
“Nowadays, we have technologies our predecessors could never have imagined— the internet, the brain-computer interfaces—yet we still use different languages. Why can’t we use electromagnetic waves to carry brainwaves and let broadband replace our vocal cords to communicate more directly and efficiently? “
“Officer, from the beginning, I’ve only been mouthing my words. Since you can understand it, that means…”
“……”
“Welcome to the new world after the rebuilding of the Tower of Babel!”
On July 27, 2090. 200 years after Van Gogh’s suicide, an alien envoy, accompanied by experts, visited a Van Gogh art exhibition.
Unexpectedly, when the envoy saw the paintings, it let out a strange scream and curled up away in a corner, trembling.
The experts, bewildered, quickly escorted it away.
“You humans have strong mental fortitude to not be afraid of such things,” the envoy said, still shaking.
The experts were puzzled. “What things? It’s just a landscape painting.”
“Ah, right,” the envoy mused. “You only have three types of cone cells in your eyes, so you can’t see it…”
After that, no matter how much the humans questioned, the alien envoy remained silent.
On July 28, 2155, Disney launched a special commemorative product called the “Miniature Paradise” to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the opening of the first Disneyland.
With just a simple click, one would enter a virtual world where time flowed slowly. One minute in the real world equates to 24 hours of joy in the Miniature Paradise. However, the high cost of the product meant that very few people purchased it. Just as the designer was feeling troubled, they suddenly received a large number of orders. Elated, the designer went to visit this major client.
To their surprise, they discovered that the client had turned the Miniature Paradise into a Miniature Company, forcing employees to complete 24 hours of work in just one minute. The designer’s smile vanished instantly.
I am an interstellar colonisation reviewing officer. Unmanned ships scattered throughout the Milky Way would send dossiers of planets with over 80% similarity to our planet to me for final review. Today, a planet 100 light-years away with a similarity of 95% and labelled “premium” caught my attention. I activated the manual observation mode and witnessed a horrifying scene in “Tangshan”: the planet’s tectonic plates were violently shaking, numerous buildings were collapsing, and countless aliens were dying. No matter how good the environment is, such an unstable planet is useless. I stamped “Rejected” on the planet’s dossier. Many people are unaware that behind one disaster, might be the beginning of good fortune.
Scholars said that the Lahu people had no written language, their customs and survival skills were passed down orally.
I am of Lahu descent. At eight years old, I had the chance to attend a sacrificial ceremony with my father. As the sound of the hulu sheng* played, a transparent dictionary appeared before my eyes, which I mistook for dust. The performance began, and the dancer’s garments were embroidered with geometric patterns. As she danced in the firelight, trails of symbols flashed through the air, like scrolls unfolding and closing again. Those were our history and our stories.
The gods wrote words on the traditional Chinese cake baba**, which was consumed by the ancestors of the Lahu people. From then on, their words entered their blood and bodies. Thus, the Lahu people have no written language.
* Gourd Mouth Organ, a traditional Lahu musical instrument
** Baba is a traditional Chinese cake-like food.
This place is at the centre of the universe; getting here isn’t easy.
The gatekeeper asked, “What are you seeking?”
The scholar replied, “History, the history of my homeland.”
“Go ahead. You have a thousand years.”
This place contains every book that has ever existed, or never existed.
A lost piece of history, a secret conversation not meant to be heard by a third party, fragments of mythology… And its thousands of variations.
There was no time to lose. The scholar sorted through a hundred thousand well-preserved tortoise shells, three thousand pieces of ancient scriptures, and various translations.
The truth must be among them.
In the ninth century, he gave up, and the gatekeeper escorted him out.
“What is the point of the Heavens Library?”
“You can find the answer to that question inside, in every form.”
The scholar realised that the response was also one of the answers. He left without looking back.
Since having a memory, he had never left January. This time, he wanted to travel to the furthest point in July. Before setting off, he clumsily adjusted the air conditioning, yet the overwhelming heat still nearly engulfed him.
He first arrived on July 1st, then walked through the 30 days in order. In brief conversations, he listened to the joys and sorrows of July’s people. In his travel journal, he used a few hundred words to outline the sights and sounds at each location. Today, he arrived at July 31st. The journey was near its end, and he should return to January and continue his repetitive work. At that moment, he felt a wave of weariness. Stars lit up over the campfire, and a “No Entry for Tourists” sign stood prominently ahead. Only adventurers or fools would venture towards the 32nd. The path beyond was seldom travelled, and he would write his own story.
1 July The Fifty-Year Promise by Yulei
2 July Mirror Measurement by Bian Linghe
3 July The Reason by XuanLi
4 July The Light Beams by Qin Peng
5 July The Belated Truth by Zhou Wu
6 July Meeting on the Magpie Bridge by He Qiusheng
7 July The Terra-Mars Cup by Feng Cheng
8 July Future Daily by Lemon-Yellow
9 July Good Morning by Nanchen Beiao
10 July Theory of Mechanical Evolution by Lemon-Yellow
11 July The Final Command by An Tu
12 July The One Who Sees Rainbows by Typewriter-Qing
13 July Great Again by Paul Wong
14 July Patriotic Health Campaign by Qinglong Zhang
15 July The Navigation System by Lemon-Yellow
16 July Happy Birthday by Xi Yu
17 July Fu by Jackywobber
18 July Birthday by LanL
19 July Tiangong Relics Museum by Morii Chen
20 July Landing Day by Carbon Gao
21 July Valedictorian by XuanLi
22 July Twin Beijing by Feng Liangshi
23 July Nuwa by Bian Linghe
24 July The Time Machine by Lemon-Yellow
25 July Adam and Eve by XuanLi
26 July Tower of Babel by Quan Zhizhi
27 July The Van Gogh Code by Lemon-Yellow
28 July Miniature Paradise by Lemon-Yellow
28 July A Disaster for a Fortune by Zhou Wu
29 July The Lahu People Have No Written Words by Typewriter-Qing
30 July Heavens Library by LanL
31 July Time Traveller by Vassell
1 August
2 August