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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Ken Liu
Read between
July 5 - July 22, 2020
I really think about it, the stars did not arrange such a fate. But the stars are broken, and so the definitive proof is gone. This moment is a vertex where time caves in: to the left is the past, to the right— To the right should have been the future. But the stars are broken.
Good
The North Korean scientists did not rely on their primitive nuclear weapons; instead, they used the newly invented Quantum Reambiguator, which changed the topology of space-time and allowed anything to happen.
Good
Sometimes, as I studied the latest directives from the paramount leader, I would think, What happened to all the eras I have lived through? When I was a young man, the streets were packed with bellbottoms and “profiteers”; when I was a teenager, TV dramas from Hong Kong and Taiwan filled the airwaves; when I was a child, it was possible to play games on the web, to go and see the latest movies from Hollywood, and there were the Olympics and 3D films … Did those times really exist? Where did they come from, and where have they gone? Or was all this just a dream?
Good
Maybe everything was simply a game played by time. What was time? What was there besides nothingness? Before us had been nothingness, and after us will be nothingness.
Good
Sartre continued, “Progress is not a constant. It is merely a temporary phase of this universe. I’m no scientist, but the physicists tell us that the universe expands and then collapses and then expands again, not unlike the cosmic cycles envisioned by your Daoist philosophers. Time could easily flow in another direction … or in one of countless directions. Perhaps events can be arranged in any of a number of different sequences, because time may choose from an infinite set of options. Remember the aphorism of Heraclitus: ‘Time is a child playing dice; the kingly power is a child’s.’
Good
“Hope has always existed and always will,” he said solemnly. “But hope is not the future because time does not have an inevitable direction. Hope is now: in existence itself, in nothingness. The truth of nothingness is freedom.
Good
“It’s called Civilization.” Li Si handed over the DVD—the demo was made in such a hurry that the title of the game had to be written on the back with a permanent marker (albeit in the chancellor’s beautiful seal script). A servant took the disc and slid it into a computer whose case was decorated with golden dragons, and gently pressed the “close” button. As the computer hummed, another servant took the opportunity to place an incense brazier next to the cooling fan, and sweet fragrance soon filled the whole great hall. A third servant carefully wielded the mouse to begin the installation
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Great
The emperor adjusted the entertainment expenditure slider all the way to zero, and then sacrificed a citizen to rush a catapult.
good
The next presentation came from Kong Fu, the ninth-generation descendant of Confucius himself and the leader of the Confucians. The game he demoed was called The Sims.
Good
“How do I play this?” asked the emperor. He had no interest in history, but he was rather curious about the game. “Your Imperial Majesty, first, you must create a character, and then guide him through a simulated world. There, he must follow the rituals and enact the rites of Confucianism to give his life meaning. For example, you must visit your neighbors often to increase their friendliness toward you. As the Great Sage himself said, ‘Broaden the respect you have for your own aged parents to the parents of others; expand the love you have for your own children to the children of others.’ The
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Good
The emperor wanted to dig a swimming pool, but the game informed him that he didn’t have the necessary funds. “What a joke,” the emperor muttered. “I possess the whole empire. Are you telling me I can’t afford to dig a hole in the ground?”
Good
The computer screen showed a group of zombies on one side and some plants on the other. “What are these zombies doing here?” asked the emperor. “They’re the enemies of the empire.” “What about these weeds and flowers?” “They’re the empire’s most loyal guardians.” Surprisingly, the emperor had a lot of fun—he loved the sight of the corpses of his enemies strewn across the lawn. He did find it rather annoying that he had to wait passively for waves of zombies to approach, instead of actively dispatching
As a native of Han State before the unification, he claimed that he was thus by association a person from Hanguk, or Korean. And as all gamers knew, Korean players dominated StarCraft, a feat impossible without lots of dedicated practice. Thus, he couldn’t possibly have spared any time to waste on Angry Birds. The logic was really unassailable, when you thought about it.
Good
