Chapter 26

After closing the door, Lin Han couldn't help but sigh. He had to immediately get his new book plan underway; there was only a week left until the first of the month, and he needed to earn royalties within this week to resolve his financial crisis.

Although the post-tax royalties from "Rural Teacher" amounted to over 8,000 yuan, it wasn't even enough to cover the rent, let alone his daily expenses. Earning money was urgent.

Three months' rent was 9,000 yuan, and utilities would cost another 1,200 yuan for gas. Lin Han sighed, counting on his fingers. Indeed, a penny can bring a hero to his knees.

Half an hour ago, he was still dreaming about what kind of article could win the favor of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Now, he had to face reality and deal with the most pressing issue first.

Earning money isn't a difficult task for a writer, especially for Lin Han. His mind was filled with a vast array of science fiction stories, and he could easily write new works.

Publishing short stories wouldn't help build a fan base, and it would be difficult to get them published. How could a 20,000-word novel be published? Unless he compiled a collection of short stories later, "Rural Teacher" couldn't be printed and sold on its own.

Serializing a long novel in "Science Fiction World" and simultaneously publishing the full text would be the best choice. This would ensure exposure and allow him to publish his first book.

Fortunately, he had already shed the label of a new science fiction writer. With "Rural Teacher" as a precedent, the long novel he planned to write should earn a decent royalty, at least more than 500 yuan per thousand words.

In fact, there are only a few science fiction writers in China who can support themselves through their writing. The lack of influential works and writers is a significant issue.

This doesn't mean that Chinese science fiction writers are poor; rather, their income generally doesn't come from science fiction. The group of science fiction writers in China is the most educated among all writers, with many holding doctoral or master's degrees and having good jobs and salaries, or even running their own businesses.

To support themselves through novel royalties, science fiction writers need to work harder. There are thousands of members in the Writers' Association, but only about 30 science fiction writers, compared to over a thousand in the United States.

The situation is improving, and besides royalties, writers can now take on additional jobs, such as writing film and television scripts or game scenarios.

With Chen Jiaxuan as his agent, Lin Han no longer had to submit manuscripts to magazines himself and could have professionals negotiate for his best interests.

Since this was his debut novel, a mediocre story wouldn't satisfy Lin Han. He wanted to make a splash. Although "Rural Teacher" was popular among science fiction fans, it still couldn't compete with romance or palace intrigue novels in the broader market.

What kind of novel could leave a mark in literary history?

It had to be a groundbreaking work that future generations would remember, no matter how far science fiction progressed.

In the realm of science fiction, laws, principles, and scientific technologies are the easiest to become outdated. Why would readers follow another principle after experiencing complex matrix worlds and overlooking a galaxy spanning ten thousand light-years?

Lin Han thought seriously and his eyes lit up. He had a goal!

In the novels he had read, there were many descriptions of robots and artificial intelligence, but they lacked a systematic approach. Each author had their own views and ideas, with no unified standard.

On Earth, there was a novel called "I, Robot" that systematically summarized the Three Laws of Robotics, which have been a cornerstone of science fiction since their introduction in 1942. Countless science fiction authors and films adhere to these laws.

After the Three Laws were introduced, science fiction writers who wrote robots that didn't follow these laws were considered unorthodox and heretical, and readers wouldn't like them, deeming them failures.

In fact, "I, Robot" is a collection of short stories, centered around the Three Laws. The surface story is about a robot psychologist, Susan Calvin, being interviewed by a journalist, where she recounts nine stories about robots.

These nine stories are the most important part of "I, Robot." Although they appear to be independent, they are interconnected, following the development of robots and can be compiled into a brief history of robotics.

The author of "I, Robot," Isaac Asimov, is one of the most talented science fiction writers. He is a representative of the golden age of American science fiction and is considered one of the three giants of science fiction, alongside Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. He is also grouped with Robert and Arthur C. Clarke as one of the three giants of science fiction.

He wrote over 500 novels, covering almost all scientific fields, and his science fiction works are grand and meticulously crafted.

Asimov's most famous works are the Robot series and the Foundation series, with the Galactic Empire trilogy also being well-known.

Generally, "I, Robot" is not categorized as part of the Robot series. The Three Laws of Robotics, introduced at the beginning, are considered the foundation of modern robotics.

If Lin Han wrote such a novel, science fiction history would never forget his contribution!

Thinking about this, his blood boiled, and he couldn't wait to start writing. The Three Laws had become a benchmark for robots, and the debates around them could form another storyline.

The novel wouldn't be a direct copy; Lin Han wanted to infuse it with his own ideas. Some historical contexts and language needed to be adjusted. He had read both the English original and the Chinese translation of "I, Robot" and felt that the translation lacked something.

Now, he could improve this masterpiece himself. He needed to calm down and approach the novel with the utmost sincerity, hoping to make it even more impactful.

Closing his eyes, he recalled the novel. The story of the brief history of robotics was surprisingly light and easy to read, without the usual heaviness of science fiction. It could be considered the most accessible science fiction mystery novel.

The brilliance of the story lies in not only introducing the Three Laws of Robotics but also in using the robots' abnormal behavior to challenge these laws.

On one side, there is the challenge, and on the other, the gradual resolution. The core conflict in each of the nine short stories comes from resolving the loopholes in the "Three Laws of Robotics." This process is a tense and humorous science fiction mystery that readers and the main characters experience together.

The reading experience combines the best of science fiction and mystery, with each story being short enough for fragmented reading but not losing the main theme.