CDJMM – Volume 4 -Chapter 62 Filming in the Interstellar Era (62)

Le Jing’s new film I Have a Dream was scheduled for release in August.

Although the frontline battles were in a deadlock and the war seemed endlessly long, this did nothing to dampen the public’s enthusiasm for movies.

In fact, it could be said that because the war situation was tense, prices were soaring, and people’s living standards were plummeting, the masses all the more preferred immersing themselves in virtual worlds.

Movies, as a cheap form of entertainment, allowed people to briefly escape reality, forget the bitterness and hardship of real life, and to a certain degree, acted as a kind of spiritual opium. So ever since the war began, instead of being affected by the economic depression, the film industry had instead flourished.

On August 7th, at 8:00 a.m. Beijing time, I Have a Dream premiered simultaneously worldwide.

The American Federation:

Allen piloted his aircraft, gliding above the empty streets. Both sides of the road were brightly lit; everything on the street lay exposed.

A few drunken gangsters were sprawled on the sidewalk. At the mouth of a narrow alley, a heavily made-up prostitute was soliciting customers.

It was two in the morning. At this hour, the only ones wandering the streets were drunkards, vagrants, prostitutes, rebellious teenagers, and gang members.

Normally at this time, Allen would already be fast asleep.

He had given up sleep and come out at this hour for one reason—to watch the premiere of I Have a Dream as soon as possible.

With the film premiering simultaneously worldwide, dawn was breaking in Beijing while the American Federation lay in deep silence.

This particular neighborhood had just experienced a shooting a few days ago. Allen felt especially on edge passing through.

But the moment he thought about the film he was about to see in the theater, all of that fear became insignificant.

The Dawns Here Are Quiet had premiered in Huaguo first—America had to wait over a month before importing it. He originally thought he would have to endure yet another difficult month before he could watch I Have a Dream.

He never expected this one to premiere worldwide at the same moment.

Allen could watch this masterpiece at the exact same time as audiences in Huaguo!

This was why he ignored the terrible street security, bought a ticket for the very first screening, and rushed out in the middle of the night to see it.

Allen wasn’t the only one.

When he arrived at the theater, his companions had already been waiting for quite a while.

They, like Allen, were longtime fans of Shi Jing.

Back then, they had been moved by The Dawns Here Are Quiet—moved enough to take to the streets, oppose the Zerg’s cultural infiltration, promote the ideology of iron-blooded resistance, and express their political positions through various means.

Their efforts bore fruit.

Through their tireless campaigning, their group grew larger and gained increasing public support.

They rejected the olive branches extended by other parties and last month formed a new emerging party—the Civic Party.

Allen was elected chairman with overwhelming votes.

Although the Civic Party was still small, lacking connections and political capital, Allen had always harbored one ambition— that one day, he and his party would become the largest party in America, win the election, and change the country.

A free America must never be kneaded at will by capital.

Seeing Allen finally arrive, his companions spoke up one after another:

“Allen, you’re so slow.”

“I coaxed my girlfriend to sleep before leaving and still got here earlier than you.”

“I bought you popcorn.”

“Hurry inside, the movie’s about to start.”

Allen followed them into the theater, put on his virtual headset, and his consciousness instantly dropped, entering the world of the film.

…

The two-hour viewing experience ended quickly.

When Allen removed the virtual headset, he felt as though he had lived through another lifetime.

The Age of Exploration had been the key that opened the door to the transatlantic slave trade. From then on, Black people were slaughtered, abused, and enslaved for hundreds of years.

Black people were labor, objects, consumables, fertilizer, livestock, even “rare animals” displayed in zoos—everything except human.

In just these two hours, he witnessed the centuries-long blood and tears of Black resistance. He saw how they fought step by step for the rights they were born with, how they wrested basic human rights from colonizers and slave owners.

During that time, countless African tribes vanished forever; tens of millions of Black people were killed; Africa lost a cumulative population of 100 million; the seabed of the roiling Atlantic was paved with Black bones.

After generations of unrelenting struggle, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln finally signed the Emancipation Proclamation. At least legally, Black people were no longer slaves.

But their struggle was not over. They still needed the same basic human rights as white people.

Thus, the story ended with a tear-inducing speech—I Have a Dream.

After the speech came a rapid montage of scenes—each one showing a milestone victory achieved in the fight for civil rights. In the final images, Black people and white people embraced in the sunshine, shoulder to shoulder, inseparable.

After more than four centuries of sorrow and struggle, they finally lived with the dignity of human beings.

There was no doubt—this was a masterpiece.

Allen felt certain that the impact of this film would surpass any of Shi Jing’s earlier works.

Zerg Star, tens of thousands of light-years away— the impact brought by I Have a Dream was still fermenting, spreading.

This film about the history of Black slaves’ liberation had become the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

This was Sevier’s tenth time watching I Have a Dream. He could already recite every line in the movie by heart.

But every time he watched it, the same anger and the same surge of emotion rose within him.

What difference was there between their status and that of Black slaves?

Their free will, their ideals, their knowledge and talent—none of it could compare to one vague, intangible pheromone!

No matter what thoughts they had, no matter how gifted they were, in the Queen’s eyes, they were nothing more than tools.

Useful tools could be maintained a few more years; tools that didn’t suit her were destroyed.

When Sevier was very young, he already felt that this was unreasonable.

Why did they have to obey the Queen’s orders unconditionally?

In his view, the Queen wasn’t as smart as he was, nor was she stronger.

The only thing she surpassed him in was that she could give birth, and he could not.

He knew how shocking, how treasonous such thoughts were.

The Queen was not only his sovereign—she was his mother.

How could he dare belittle his own mother?

Besides, genetic memory told him that the Queen was the foundation of the Zerg’s continued survival. As long as the Queen existed, the Zerg would exist. Every Zerg was nourishment for the Queen and for the species; they lived in order to protect the Queen and guarantee the continuation of the race.

As an individual of the Zerg, Sevier had to devote his strength to the development of the entire species.

He did not need to think, did not need to question—he only needed to obey.

So even though Sevier wanted to be a painter, he still obeyed the Queen’s order and joined the Propaganda Department, personally shooting films.

So even though Sevier longed to travel, without the Queen’s permission he had never taken a single step off Zerg Star.

In the beginning, he only harbored some faint dissatisfaction. He buried it deep, not daring to expose a hint of it.

But recently, the dissatisfaction began to surface, flooding his mind. He began day and night to think thoughts that were utterly rebellious.

Why? On what grounds?

Why should his life be held in someone else’s hands?

Why couldn’t he choose his own path?

He had given everything to the Queen, yet the Queen didn’t even remember his name.

In her eyes, they were untrustworthy half-breeds contaminated with human blood.

Because they were clever, the Queen often sent them on missions. But at the same time, she guarded against them—because of that half of human blood, and because their minds were too intelligent.

Sevier longed for freedom—longed for it to the point of madness.

He wanted to live freely under the sun like humans did, choose the job he liked, choose the places he wanted to travel.

He wanted the right to choose.

So even though he knew Shi Jing’s purpose in filming I Have a Dream wasn’t pure, knew this movie was very likely made to turn them against the Queen, he still couldn’t stop watching it over and over.

The film scratched precisely the itch buried deep in his heart, fulfilling the secret, forbidden expectation he dared not voice. It made him ignore the hidden malice behind the film, watching again and again until he could recite the lines backward.

Now, the film had reached its finale.

Martin Luther King stood on the street delivering his speech titled “I Have a Dream.”

As Sevier watched, he couldn’t help softly reciting the brilliant lines:

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Suddenly, a sharp gunshot rang out in the hallway.

Sevier stood up in shock, looking around blankly, a chill crawling over his skin.

Did he mishear?

In the movie, the middle-aged Black man continued his passionate speech:

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia,
the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners
will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

Gunfire rang out again—this time in an unbroken stream.

Sevier rushed to the door and looked through the smart panel into the hallway.

One of his colleagues—Jack—was holding a gun, firing repeatedly at a corpse on the ground.  The corpse was nearly pulp, yet Jack still didn’t stop.

The corpse wore the uniform of the Royal Guard.

Behind him, Martin Luther King’s speech continued:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character.”

With trembling hands, Sevier opened the door and shouted in a low voice at the near-deranged Jack:

“You’re insane! Do you want to be executed by the Queen?!”

Jack didn’t answer.

Another colleague, Mary, dragged a Royal Guard corpse from around the corner.

Then Sam opened his door and tossed yet another Guard’s corpse onto the floor.

“I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama,
with its vicious racists…
little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands
with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

Sevier’s stiff face showed a rare expression of shock.

“…What are you all doing?”

Sam looked at him and said simply, “The Queen ordered that we be segregated and interrogated. We don’t want to die.”

“So you killed the guards.” Sevier demanded, “You’re being reckless! We’re not ready yet. In the future—”

“We have no future left!” Mary cut him off with a feral, bloodthirsty grin.

“If we’re going to die anyway, we might as well fight!”

Sevier fell silent.

Jack looked at him. “Are you joining us?”

“I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low…
and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

Sevier’s heart skipped a beat. But in the end, he shook his head.

“With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together,
to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together,
knowing that we will be free one day.”

“I can’t join you now,” he said. “The time isn’t right yet. I have other work to do.”

“I promise you—
one day, we will be free.”