Apocalyptic hard science fiction,
The turning wheel of time, past lives and present.
A future mirror reflecting all the ages,
An ideal love, eternal even at the brink of ruin.
This is the second novel in the Nikola Tesla's Rope series, a science fiction story closely tied to the latest developments and hot topics in real-world technology.
The e-book edition of the first novel, Dark Frequency, was released on Qidian Reader in January 2024 and is now complete. A print edition was published at the same time by China Radio and Television Publishing House (ISBN 978-7-5043-9178-0).
The novel in a nutshell:
Under the guise of Nikola Tesla's theories, Michael (his real-world inspiration is easy to guess) develops Mars—and tells the story of how Tesla transformed Earth 65 million years ago.
The novel uses a mirrored narrative, following two parallel, symmetrical storylines. Its two couples live in the same Solar System, 65 million years apart.
Odd-numbered chapters tell of a "past life," while even-numbered chapters tell of the "present life." The two alternate, revisiting the same settings and forming a mirror image.
Though they appear to be two separate stories, they take turns exploring the same situations, the flights of technological imagination they inspire, and the resulting clashes of values.
The characters are people in a mirror. They cannot see the full picture, but readers can look both into and out of the mirror, taking in the past and present from every angle.
The characters know too little to be afraid, while readers, who understand the stakes, find themselves even more conflicted.
The author takes no side, simply presenting readers with the bright promise of technology and the imbalance and dislocation of ethics as objectively as possible.
How far should the boundaries of science and technology extend?
How much flexibility should we allow in our moral and ethical standards?
Can loving someone unconditionally really have no boundaries or limits?
Though it is science fiction, the author takes a realist's perspective to depict and envision three major fields of technology today: space exploration, artificial intelligence, and life sciences.
The novel imagines the technical feasibility of space industries that still lie far ahead, such as human survival on Mars and terraforming Venus. It looks toward the not-so-distant future of computer science, including compound-radix chips, Brain-Computer Fusion, living robots, and subconscious learning. It also explores life sciences that are both wondrous and terrifying, including gene therapy and cloning.
In Chapter 28 of the previous novel, Dark Frequency, titled "The 28th Moon of Uranus," the author used a character to make a scientific prediction:
Beyond the 27 moons of Uranus already discovered, there was another moon over 10 kilometers in diameter. The author named it "The 28th Moon of Uranus."
Back in July 2019, the author, an amateur astronomer, first predicted the 28th moon of Uranus at an academic seminar with astronomers from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
On December 26, 2019, Xinglong Observatory of the National Astronomical Observatories used its 2.16-meter telescope to observe Uranus's moons. Unfortunately, the predicted 28th moon of Uranus was too small and dim, and the observation failed to find it.
In January 2024, the novel's author, as lead author, published an academic paper in a professional astronomy journal. The paper studied the symmetry in the distribution patterns of the 285 known moons in the Solar System (as of July 2023). Since the study did not focus on individual moons, the paper did not include the prediction of the 28th moon of Uranus.
The fun part was that some of the paper's new findings about the distribution patterns of moons in the Solar System, along with the scientific basis for the author's prediction of the 28th moon of Uranus, were also written into the novel around the same time. See Chapters 26, "A Triad," and 28, "The 28th Moon of Uranus," of Dark Frequency.
Here's the big news: after Dark Frequency was completed, foreign astronomers used the 6.5-meter Magellan Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile, to successfully discover a new moon of Uranus.
In February 2024, the Minor Planet Center of the authoritative International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially confirmed the discovery and designated the moon, which was about 8 to 12 kilometers in diameter, as S/2023 U1. Its official designation would be U XXVIII (the 28th moon of Uranus).
Interestingly, Uranus's moons are traditionally named after fairies and spirits in Shakespeare's plays. For example, the two largest moons, Titania and Oberon, take their names from the fairy queen and fairy king in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
The main characters' names had already been taken by larger moons. Among the little sprites' names still available were Peaseblossom, Cobweb, and Moth.
If Chinese astronomers had discovered the 28th moon of Uranus based on the author's prediction, the author, who would have had the right to suggest a name, would have proposed Cobweb, because a spider may be small, but its web can ensnare the heavens.
Now there was no chance. The right to suggest a name belonged to the discoverers, and the International Astronomical Union had stated that it would follow convention and select a name from among the spirits in Shakespeare's plays.
What would the 28th moon of Uranus ultimately be called? The answer would soon be revealed. The author wondered whether it would match the name they had in mind.
The author and the Chinese astronomers who took part in the search felt some regret, but remained quite philosophical about the whole affair. After all, compared with the vast universe, humanity's vision was so limited. There were still countless astronomical events yet to be discovered and predicted!
Still, there was a silver lining! Qidian provided the platform, and readers bore witness: a science fiction novel predicted a moon that had yet to be discovered, and later, it really was found. What a cool story! As the poem goes:
Like shapes and forms, the unseen strains the eye and ear,
In following and meeting, the vague reveals no path.
Shakespeare sowed a dream and left behind a spider's web;
A great mirror nets the sky and catches a moon.
In this novel, the author again used a character to propose, for the first time, the Mars Burst Hypothesis, an attempt to explain the mystery of how the asteroid belt formed, for astronomers to investigate and verify.
The novel also offers two technically feasible, falsifiable scientific experiment proposals: the lunar mass tumor experiment to solve the mystery of gravity, and the Saturn Ring marker experiment to solve the mystery of dark matter.
Like Dark Frequency, this novel is also a journey in search of truth.
Many characters are based on real people or figures from mythology. Historical events, arithmetic systems and calendars, and archaeological discoveries all have identifiable sources. Even the outlandish fantasies involving space exploration, computer science, and life sciences draw on the latest advances in technology.
In Dark Frequency, the author blended astronomy, physics, and other sciences with art forms such as poetry and music to create the story's foundation, then wove in historical threads spanning centuries and regional cultures from around the globe.
In this novel, the author expands the stage to encompass the entire Solar System. The five major planets, moons, asteroids, and comets provide the backdrop for one earth-shattering upheaval after another, each finding its pivot point. The timeline stretches further, spanning the entire Cenozoic Era as defined by geology, from the end of the Cretaceous Period to today and tomorrow, 65 million years later. Amid the transformations of the world, a Genesis unfolds!
The novel then combines hard science—astronomy, physics, computer science, and genetic engineering—with geological and paleontological evolutionary history and the symbols of human civilization represented by Egypt, India, and the Maya (the third book will focus on Chinese culture). Poetry, music, architecture, film, and other art forms are woven throughout, creating a multifaceted structure that's balanced between hard and soft science, and full of delightful surprises.
The author takes pearls scattered across the Solar System and the distant reaches of time and strings them together with Nikola Tesla's "rope," soaking the hard core of technology in the romantic atmosphere of art and literature.
Rather than dwell on scene-setting, the novel uses a brisk, sketchlike style to propel the plot at triple speed, like scrolling through videos.
Rather than predetermine right and wrong, it uses recurring cycles and settings with depth, like a game in which you get two lives: mirrored past and present.
In a letter to readers of Dark Frequency, the author once wrote: "The boundary between science fiction and fantasy lies in the words 'out of thin air.'"
While writing this novel, the author upheld a style that combines the wonder of science fiction with a sense of connection, hoping to offer readers an example of a genre that blends fantasy and reality.
Readers can close their eyes and wander through a world as wondrous as a dream, then open them and feel the future technologies that could become reality rushing toward them.
Leaving fantasy aside, when it comes to science fiction, the difference between imagining and envisioning lies in whether something is "possible."
This is a realist science fiction novel, much like the famous line from the movie Walter Defends Sarajevo that the author and readers once discussed: "He who is alive can see!"
This is more than just a novel. Beneath the mirror image of two lives separated by 65 million years, it is more like a game—or thought experiment—that can be replayed with the same settings.
If humanity truly had "two lives," would people make the same choices again amid the temptations of the mortal world and the grand cycles of the cosmic order?
The author hopes to explore and reflect with readers: faced with the vast changes and uncertainties of a universe as boundless as the ocean and as ever-changing as the world, what is the secret that has allowed fragile, insignificant human civilization to endure until now—and to keep going?
In Dark Frequency, the characters showed loyalty, wisdom, and courage. When those weren't enough to achieve their goals, they chose resilience instead. Resilience is one of humanity's most precious qualities.
If you can't do it in a single moment, then stay resilient for a lifetime.
Is that enough?
What if even a lifetime of resilience isn't enough?
Explosive Wavelength presents another of humanity's magic weapons: wielding science and technology, carrying compassion in our hearts, and bearing an ineffable glow of good fortune above our heads, we endure for millions of years and pass it down from generation to generation.
That is...
Oh, I forgot to mention: there's a romance, with two female leads. I'm afraid giving away the sweetness might spoil the surprise, so come on in and see for yourself!
You're welcome to follow this hard yet tender science fiction novel: the second book in Nikola Tesla's Rope, Explosive Wavelength.
Borrowing lines from ancient poets, I've assembled an acrostic poem in seven-character regulated verse. I humbly ask you all:
Fire-washed and reborn anew — Chu Zai, Tang Dynasty
Explosive sounds remotely connect to the capital's dust — Cao Yunwen, Qing Dynasty
Written words, weighty ears, know your intentions — Liu Kezhuang, Song Dynasty
Friendly love, pure heart, true nature emerges — Cheng Ruxin, Ming Dynasty
Recalling old tracks, gazing in vain — Murong Yanfeng, Song Dynasty
Reading past events, also bittersweet — Luo Yin, Tang Dynasty
Waves enter the brush, a thousand-foot tide — Wang Yang, Song Dynasty
Long recommend fragrant offerings to all gods — Ding Wei, Song Dynasty
Fire and explosive-loving readers, follow the wavelength!
Before you continue