CDJMM – Volume 4 -Chapter 53 Filming in the Interstellar Era (53)

In October of Interstellar Year 6018, the name of The Dawns Here Are Quiet was destined to be remembered.

This Russian film made by Chinese filmmakers swept across the world at astonishing speed, becoming the hottest topic of the year.

With a 400 million opening day box office and a 2.5 billion first-week box office, such dazzling numbers made it the biggest dark horse of the National Day release period.

After a full month in theaters, The Dawns Here Are Quiet had already accumulated a shocking 10 billion in ticket sales. Because its popularity remained high, the film received multiple extensions, continuing its run until the end of December before finally being pulled from most theaters.

On October 15th, The Dawns Here Are Quiet premiered in the European Federation. In November, it was released in the American Federation. In December, it arrived in the African Federation…

By early 6019, The Dawns Here Are Quiet had already been released across six planets in the Earth Alliance, in dozens of countries and regions. Its cumulative box office reached 26 billion, ranking sixth in film history, just 3 billion short of the top spot.

Given the extended theater schedules, surpassing that remaining 3 billion didn’t seem like an impossible goal.

Many film critics boldly predicted that The Dawns Here Are Quiet would set a new all-time box office record.

While its box office soared, the film also seemed to ignite the fuse of political and social conflict across many countries and regions.

European Federation

“Hello everyone, I’m Marilyn. Welcome to Today in Europe.

The anti-Zerg protest movement triggered by the Chinese film The Dawns Here Are Quiet continues to intensify. Protesters are demanding that the government enact laws to reduce trade with the Zergs, block the Zergs’ infiltration into the cultural sphere, and they are calling on citizens to unite in boycotting all Zerg products.

Meanwhile, supporters of the Zergs have also taken to the streets, expressing solidarity. Violent clashes have erupted between them and the anti-Zerg demonstrators. Here is Lucy Quentin reporting from Britain.”

“I’m Lucy. I’m now on St. Louis Street in Bruce City. Today, the streets and alleys are filled with the smell of tear gas, but the police’s efforts are destined to fail.

Supporters and opponents are fighting fiercely, swinging whatever weapons they can get their hands on: high-pressure water guns, fire hydrants, trash bins, tables and chairs… This is a war!”

The camera cuts to live footage:

Many of the protesters were shouting “Ura!”, and many others were singing Farewell of Slavianka, raising their fists at their opponents. The atmosphere was becoming more and more heated.

“Most of the supporters and opponents were organized through social media. This is not a nationally organized event, nor a political organization. The protest was sparked by the film The Dawns Here Are Quiet, but in essence, it is the accumulated conflict between domestic conservatives and radicals, the irreconcilable contradiction between the pro-Zerg faction and the anti-Zerg faction…”

American Federation

“Hello everyone, I’m Lucy. Welcome to Dialogue America. Today, we’ve invited Professor Austin from the University of America’s Department of Political Science. Professor Austin, hello.”

“Hello, host.”

“Why have these anti-Zerg protests around the world become increasingly intense? What impact will this have on the global situation? And what is the likelihood of war breaking out?”

“The global anti-Zerg protest movement is a completely irrational, narrow-minded nationalist movement driven by extreme emotions…”

Allen shut off the light-brain and spat heavily.

It was precisely because these kinds of ‘professors’ and ‘public intellectuals’ flourished in their Federation—spouting nonsense—that their country had become the hardest-hit area of Zerg ideological brainwashing!

Having personally experienced the public sentiment in China, Allen finally understood one thing clearly—absolute democracy and freedom actually breed rampant populism. This erodes the government’s credibility in the public opinion arena, weakens the country’s cultural soft power, and leaves it at the mercy of others.

A country, a government—only needs one voice!

Just like the Soviet Union.

When the Soviet government had only one voice, it was the most powerful nation in the world, with the most united people. They were invincible and could overcome any hardship.

But when the government began to have many, many voices, when more and more people began to pursue so-called democracy and freedom, the great Soviet Union was dismembered and became a victim of “democratic freedom” politics.

China is now the strongest nation on Earth precisely because it has only one voice. They remain highly vigilant toward Zerg cultural infiltration and possess both the strength and cohesion to act decisively.

And his country?

Politicians and public intellectuals are the mouthpieces of capital. For the sake of political donations, they could call the sun square and claim something foul smells fragrant.

Who knows whether the forces backing them include capital from the Zerg Planet?

In the end, politicians and public intellectuals cannot be relied upon. To save this country, ultimately, it must depend on the power of the people.

That was why Allen chose to suspend his studies and return home.

He absolutely did not want the American Federation to become the next Soviet Union.

For this, he and his companions had to take action.

“Please join our Anti-Zerg Defense Association! Stand with us against the cultural invasion of the Zergs!” At the university gate, young students waved flyers, enthusiastically promoting their cause.

“History is the history of humankind! Human history must not be tainted by Zergs!”

“Zergs are conducting human experiments! Brain Bugs are the offspring of human–insect hybrids! The Zergs have never given up on destroying humanity!”

“This is the most crucial moment! If our generation cannot eliminate the influence of Zerg culture, the next generation will become their puppets!”

“Don’t believe the lies of politicians! For the future of humankind, for the continuation of civilization, we must resist the Zerg cultural invasion!”

The passionate students drew much attention. Many people stopped to watch, and many others took flyers to read them.

The spark was burning ever brighter.

January 6019, Huaguo.

Le Jing was now under strict military protection.

In the past three months, he had survived more than a dozen assassination attempts.

Sometimes it was a spaceship suddenly going out of control, sometimes a few inconspicuous bugs delivering poisonous bites, and sometimes even a chance encounter with a “human bomb.” A dazzling variety of assassination attempts made it impossible to guard against them all.

He seemed to have become a thorn in the Zergs’ side.

The security team around Le Jing had grown from three people to fifty.

Now, his movements were restricted, and all film-related promotional activities had been suspended.

To be honest, Le Jing had never expected Here the Dawn is Quiet to cause such a massive global reaction.

Over these three months, anti-Zerg protests and demonstrations had erupted across the world. Beneath the surface of peace surged countless undercurrents, and many military commentators had even predicted a full-scale Human–Zerg War.

Fortunately, Huaguo’s government maintained strong control, so internal stability remained intact and no large-scale protests occurred.

Even the Huaguo government had not foreseen the consequences triggered by this film.

After extensive analysis, the government think tank concluded: first, in recent years, the global economy had remained sluggish, and the masses needed an outlet for their frustration; second, public dissatisfaction with the Zergs had been building for a long time—the world had suffered enough under Zergs! Le Jing’s film appeared at exactly this moment, acting as the fuse that ignited widespread public anger. Combined with foreign extremist political groups fanning the flames behind the scenes, the result was a chain reaction across nations.

The fundamental cause of the anti-Zerg protests abroad was the contradiction between current policies and the will of the people.

Le Jing had never imagined that he would become the unwitting instigator of a historical event.

A pile of coincidences had accumulated, eventually triggering a chain of events that affected the entire world.

Was this the so-called domino effect?

In history, countless major events began with small, unremarkable causes.

Just like the fall of the Ming Dynasty—an outcome driven by coincidence after coincidence, incident after incident.

For example, Li Zicheng’s uprising originated simply because Emperor Chongzhen ordered the downsizing of postal stations, which cost Li Zicheng his job. Unable to find reemployment, he simply chose rebellion.

Another example: the Wuqiao Mutiny at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The elite artillery corps, built at enormous expense, defected entirely to the Later Jin, helping Hong Taiji achieve the impossible—capturing the Ming with troops armed mostly with cold weapons despite the Ming possessing firearms.

And the cause of the Wuqiao Mutiny? A chicken. Supplies were insufficient, and soldiers stole a chicken to eat.

But this chicken belonged to high-ranking official Wang Xiangchun. His arrogant son refused to let the matter go, enraging the soldiers. “Is a chicken more important than defeating Hong Taiji?” they protested. And so the entire unit defected.

The fall of the Ming really was a matter of fate.

Would a war really break out? Would his film become the spark of an interplanetary Human–Zerg War?

Huaguo’s think tank answered: “No.”

“The timing for war is not ripe. Peaceful development is still the main theme for all nations. Even the warlike Zerg Planet must consider pressure from the Interstellar United Nations. They will not initiate an attack rashly.”

Le Jing sighed in relief.

Although peace must sometimes be won through force, he himself was a staunch anti-war advocate.

War is a meat grinder—it destroys every beautiful soul.

Unless there is absolutely no alternative, he opposed using war to solve problems.

January passed amidst turmoil.

Then came February—the new year’s Ark Awards were approaching.

Given the recent unrest, many people debated whether the Ark Awards should be postponed. But in the end, the organizing committee decided to proceed as scheduled, hoping that outstanding art might dilute the shadow of war.

Naturally, Le Jing’s Here the Dawn is Quiet received an invitation.

However, domestic security agencies strongly opposed his attending the ceremony.

Assassination attempts targeting Le Jing had not stopped; besides the Zergs, there were hints of foreign forces behind the plots.

With multiple factions involved, the waters had become utterly murky. Who was human? Who was ghost? No one could tell.

In such a chaotic time, Le Jing absolutely should not go to Europe for the awards ceremony—it would only create opportunities for assassination!

To be honest, Le Jing didn’t care much about winning.

To achieve his goals, he valued his own life highly. So this time, he truly planned to bid the Ark Awards farewell.

Yes, that was his plan.

The chief looked at him with a complicated expression. “The President of the European Federation has invited you to visit Europe. He wants to exchange views with you about the film.”

Le Jing: “???”

I’m just a director—why am I suddenly doing a diplomat’s job?