Chapter Summaries

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Zhao refuses to accept donations, leading to a global surge in purchases of his companies' products.
• Cities worldwide compete to host Machine Slaves and Sea of Consciousness machines.
• The first Sea of Consciousness is activated in Lop Nur, leading to emotional reunions and suicides by loved ones.
• Chen Zhao proposes and enacts a law prohibiting suicides to enter the Sea of Consciousness.
• Power consumption and space requirements for Magic Aloe become pressing issues.
• Chen Zhao suggests using the Moon as a centralized storage site for Magic Aloe.

Character Developments

• Chen Zhao demonstrates his resolve to help humanity, but also his determination to protect his family.
• Deng Stinky Treasure shows signs of intelligence and emotional outbursts typical of his age.

Significant Themes

• The impact of technology on society and human emotions.
• The challenges and responsibilities that come with great power and innovation.
• The importance of family and proper parenting.

Character Interactions

• Chen Zhao disciplines his son for throwing chess pieces at his mother, demonstrating his love and protectiveness towards both.
• Chen Zhao interacts with academics and government officials via video conference, discussing interstellar development and the Sea of Consciousness.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Deng Stinky Treasure, a three-year-old, is sent to an elite kindergarten.
• He excels in Gomoku and math, defeating the teacher and solving quadratic equations.
• In Chinese class, he recites a chain of idioms flawlessly, impressing the teacher and requesting a separate class.
• The kindergarten asks Deng Stinky Treasure to leave due to his exceptional intelligence, as he's too advanced for their curriculum.

Character Developments

• Deng Stinky Treasure: Proven to be a prodigious child with exceptional intelligence, excelling in various subjects and requesting a separate class due to boredom.
• Deng Zixin (Mother): Shows concern and understanding towards her son's exceptional abilities, though she's initially surprised by the kindergarten's decision.

Significant Themes

• Exceptional intelligence and its impact on social interactions and education.
• The struggle to accommodate gifted children in mainstream educational settings.

Character Interactions

• Deng Stinky Treasure interacts with teachers and fellow students, displaying his intelligence and impatience with those he perceives as less intelligent.
• Deng Zixin interacts with the kindergarten staff, expressing concern for her son's education after they ask him to leave due to his exceptional abilities.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Deng Zixin and Deng Stinky Treasure return home from Onion Province.
• Chen Zhao, Deng Zixin, and Deng Stinky Treasure have a family meal.
• Chen Zhao decides to send Deng Stinky Treasure to elementary school.
• Chen Zhao leaves for a work meeting at Earth-Moon Transit City.

Character Developments

• Deng Stinky Treasure shows pride in getting expelled from kindergarten due to his intellect.
• Deng Zixin realizes she's getting older and is comforted by Chen Zhao.
• Chen Zhao shows affection and care towards his wife and son.

Significant Themes

• Family and marital dynamics.
• Aging and mortality.
• Chen Zhao's dedication to his work and responsibilities.

Character Interactions

• Deng Zixin and Chen Zhao display a loving and playful relationship.
• Deng Zixin feeds Deng Stinky Treasure, showing maternal affection.
• Chen Zhao interacts with Deng Zixin and Deng Stinky Treasure warmly and attentively.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Zhao, the Secretary-General, travels to Earth-Moon Transit City via a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) shuttlecraft.
• He deals with various pending tasks, including overdue membership fees, power outages on Lunar Nixi and Lunar Banda, and a terrorist attack in Kaidun.

Character Developments

• Chen Zhao is portrayed as a busy and somewhat irritated official, dealing with numerous trivial matters.
• He shows decisiveness in handling issues, such as immediately ordering an investigation and dismissals for the power outages.

Significant Themes

• The vastness and complexity of the Blue Star's administration are emphasized, with Chen Zhao overwhelmed by the sheer number of pending tasks.
• The theme of progress and development is evident in the ongoing construction of Earth-Moon Transit City and the use of advanced technology like VTOL shuttlecraft.

Character Interactions

• Chen Zhao interacts with a mechanical voice prompt that assists him in processing work matters.
• He briefly exchanges words with the pilot, showing a casual and familiar demeanor.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Zhao, the Secretary-General, arrives at a meeting to discuss the division of the Moon and Mars among countries.
• A messenger interrupts the meeting with news of a meteor shower that hit several shuttlecraft, including one carrying Chen Zhao's wife, Deng Zixin.
• Chen Zhao collapses and is hospitalized after learning about his wife's death.

Character Developments

• Chen Zhao: Initially calm and composed, he breaks down upon learning of his wife's death, leading to a mental breakdown. After recovery, he appears distant and lonely, with signs of aging (white hair dyed black).
• Deng Zixin: A loving wife and mother, she dies in a shuttlecraft accident while on her way to surprise her husband.

Significant Themes

• Loss and Grief: The sudden loss of a loved one leads to profound grief and mental breakdown.
• Futility of Power: Despite his high position, Chen Zhao is powerless to prevent his wife's death or ease his own grief.
• Aging and Mortality: The incident highlights the fragility of life and the inevitability of aging and death.

Character Interactions

• Chen Zhao interacts minimally with other characters, showing his emotional detachment after his wife's death.
• The messenger delivers the devastating news to Chen Zhao, marking a turning point in the story.
• Representatives from various countries argue and bicker during the meeting, contrasting with Chen Zhao's growing emotional turmoil.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Yandai, a four-year-old child, starts attending elementary school, skipping grades due to his exceptional intelligence.
• He excels in academics, solving complex math problems and preparing for college entrance exams at a young age.
• Chen Yandai gets into a fight with a high school senior, leading to his arrest and a conversation between his father and the university president about his mother.

Character Developments

• Chen Yandai: Initially introverted and quiet, he becomes more assertive after the fight, showing a fierce side. He misses his mother deeply and seeks information about her from his father's old acquaintance.
• Chen Zhao: Chen Yandai's father, a brilliant physicist, has been deeply affected by his wife's death. He is protective of Chen Yandai but struggles with his own grief.

Significant Themes

• Genius and Child Prodigies: Chen Yandai's exceptional intelligence allows him to skip grades and excel in academics, but it also isolates him from his peers.
• Grief and Loss: Both Chen Yandai and his father grapple with the loss of Chen Yandai's mother, affecting their behavior and relationships.
• Old Acquaintances: The encounter with the university president, Shen Meiyu, highlights the impact of the past on the present, as she knew Chen Yandai's parents when they were young.

Character Interactions

• Chen Yandai and His Father: Their relationship is strained due to Chen Zhao's grief and Chen Yandai's young age. They struggle to connect, with Chen Yandai seeking information about his mother from others.
• Chen Yandai and Shen Meiyu: Their brief interaction reveals that Shen Meiyu knew Chen Yandai's parents well and provides Chen Yandai with information about his mother.
• Chen Yandai and the High School Senior: The fight between them highlights Chen Yandai's fierce protectiveness of his mother's memory and his willingness to stand up for himself.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Yandai reveals his father rarely shows himself and has a secret laboratory filled with white paper, where he engages in intense thinking.
• Chen Yandai fails his first PhD entrance exam but remains determined to pass the next year.
• A news broadcast announces the discovery of unidentified spacecraft in the asteroid belt, suspected to belong to an extraterrestrial civilization.
• Chen Yandai's father, Chen Zhao, contacts him, revealing he will communicate with the aliens remotely via a Machine Slave.

Character Developments

• Chen Yandai: Shows resilience and determination in the face of academic challenges. He is concerned about the alien spacecraft news and seeks information from his father.
• Chen Zhao: Remains emotionless and focused on his work. He reveals his high clearance level and plans to communicate with the aliens remotely.

Significant Themes

• Time: The passage of time is emphasized, with Little Bamboo Shoot feeling the cruelty of time and Chen Yandai growing from a child to a 15-year-old.
• Communication and Connection: The difficulty in communication between Chen Yandai and his father is highlighted, as is the upcoming communication with the alien spacecraft.

Character Interactions

• Chen Yandai and Little Bamboo Shoot: They discuss Chen Yandai's academic struggles and his father's whereabouts.
• Chen Yandai and Chen Zhao: Father and son have a brief, emotionless conversation about the alien spacecraft and Chen Yandai's well-being.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Zhao makes contact with the alien spacecraft by asking it to open the door, which it does.
• The alien spacecraft's interior is explored via a Machine Slave, revealing a smooth, white, curved room with no sharp angles.
• The aliens communicate using a language resembling Tibetan script, which Chen Zhao cannot understand. He uses a storage device containing language-learning data to facilitate communication.
• The aliens reveal they are refugees from a war that destroyed their home planet, and they have mastered faster-than-light travel.
• The aliens mention the existence of the Galactic Alliance, a coalition of civilizations, and hint at the possibility of time travel.
• Chen Zhao asks for advice to benefit humanity, and the aliens advise against waging war against one another.
• The aliens depart, and the United Nations issues a brief notice about the contact.
• Chen Zhao posts on social media, quoting an ancient Chinese philosopher and advising against interhuman conflict.
• Chen Yandai receives a call from Chen Zhao, who reveals he has built a time machine and plans to use it to go back in time to reunite with Deng Zixin.

Character Developments

• Chen Zhao: Becomes the first human to make contact with an alien civilization, learns about the Galactic Alliance and the possibility of time travel, and decides to use his time machine to go back in time to save Deng Zixin.
• Chen Yandai: Struggles with the idea of his father leaving him to go back in time, expressing his fear of being left alone.

Significant Themes

• First contact with an alien civilization and the implications for humanity.
• The possibility of time travel and its consequences.
• The importance of peace and unity among humans in the face of extraterrestrial contact.
• The struggle between personal desires (Chen Zhao's desire to save Deng Zixin) and responsibility towards others (Chen Yandai's fear of being left alone).

Character Interactions

• Chen Zhao interacts with the alien spacecraft via the Machine Slave, learning about their civilization and technology.
• Chen Zhao and Chen Yandai have a heartfelt conversation about Chen Zhao's plan to use the time machine, with Chen Yandai expressing his fears and Chen Zhao expressing his guilt for not being a more present father.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Zhao, Chen Yandai's father, reveals he has built a time machine to travel back to see Chen Yandai's mother, who passed away.
• Chen Yandai learns about his father's plan and tries to stop him, but Chen Zhao refuses to listen.
• Chen Yandai seeks help from Shen Meiyu, the principal of his school, to find his father's secret laboratory in Lop Nur.
• They race against time, navigating through the desert, red hills, and a stone forest (though it's not where Chen Yandai remembered) to reach the laboratory.
• A massive shockwave erupts from the east, indicating the activation of the time machine.
• Chen Yandai and Shen Meiyu have eight minutes left to reach the laboratory.

Character Developments

• Chen Yandai: Shows maturity and determination, willing to risk his life to stop his father. He also demonstrates an unexpected physical prowess, running through the rain and enduring a fall from the SUV's roof.
• Chen Zhao: Reveals his obsession with finding his wife, even at the risk of humanity's extinction. He shows love for his son but is willing to sacrifice their relationship for his own desires.
• Shen Meiyu: Displays unexpected driving skills and authority, using her influence to clear traffic lights and rushing to help Chen Yandai. She shows bravery and determination in facing the unknown.

Significant Themes

• Love and sacrifice: Chen Zhao's love for his wife leads him to prioritize his own happiness over his son's and potentially humanity's survival.
• Time and consequences: The activation of the time machine could have catastrophic consequences, highlighting the importance of understanding and responsible use of time travel technology.
• The power of influence: Shen Meiyu's position as a university president grants her significant influence, allowing her to clear traffic lights and enlist the help of the Lop Nur Public Security Bureau.

Character Interactions

• Chen Yandai and Chen Zhao: The strained relationship between father and son is emphasized, with Chen Yandai trying to stop his father while Chen Zhao remains determined to activate the time machine.
• Chen Yandai and Shen Meiyu: They form an unlikely alliance, with Shen Meiyu using her skills and influence to help Chen Yandai reach his father's laboratory. Their interaction shows trust and mutual respect, with Shen Meiyu risking her life to help a student.

Summary of "The Curtain Falls" (Part 1)

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Yandai and Shen Meiyu race to Chen Zhao's laboratory in a storm, where they encounter a missile transporter and are forced to board it.
• They reach the Stone Forest and find the entrance to Chen Zhao's underground laboratory.
• Inside the lab, they find Chen Zhao about to activate the time machine. Chen Yandai reaches him just as he pulls the lever, causing a massive power outage across multiple cities.

Character Developments

• Chen Yandai: Shows bravery and determination in his quest to stop his father. He recalls his childhood memories to navigate the Stone Forest and enters the correct password to open the lab.
• Shen Meiyu: Displayed urgency and desperation in her mission to stop Chen Zhao. She is injured during the car crash but continues to push forward.
• Chen Zhao: Remains focused on activating the time machine, seemingly unaware of or unconcerned about the consequences.

Significant Themes

• Time travel and its potential consequences: The activation of the time machine causes a brief power outage, raising concerns about the possible destruction of the world.
• The power of memory: Chen Yandai's childhood memories help him navigate the Stone Forest and gain access to the lab.
• The cost of obsession: Chen Zhao's single-minded pursuit of time travel has led him to disregard the potential dangers and consequences.

Character Interactions

• Chen Yandai and Shen Meiyu work together to reach the lab and stop Chen Zhao, demonstrating a sense of urgency and shared purpose.
• Chen Yandai's interaction with the soldiers is tense, as they initially point guns at him and question him, but they later help him reach the lab.
• Chen Yandai's final encounter with Chen Zhao is futile, as he is unable to stop his father from activating the time machine.

• Chen Zhao successfully travels back in time to his high school years, using a disguise to avoid altering the timeline.
• He observes Deng Zixin from a distance, unable to reveal himself due to the isolation effect between people from different spacetime periods.
• Deng Zixin, saved by their son from the future, also travels back in time and finds Chen Zhao. They reunite and catch up on their lost years.
• Chen Zhao learns about their son's life and future, including his marriages and the birth of his children.
• The couple plans to meet their son, who will visit them in a few days after building a time machine. He will stay for a year before returning to his own timeline.
• Chen Zhao reflects on the peculiar timeline they now inhabit, where he and Deng Zixin are now an older couple with a much older son.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The author begins writing the final post on July 1, 2021, and revisits the novel a year later on October 13, 2022, making revisions.
• The novel has been scored exactly nine by Tomato readers, but the author feels it deserves only a six due to its immaturity and rushed parts.

Character Developments

• The author reflects on their own growth and change over the two years since writing the novel, feeling like a stranger to their past self.
• The author expresses regret for not having enough experience or ability at the time of writing and guilt for the novel's shortcomings.

Significant Themes

• The passage of time and personal growth
• The struggle between ambition and reality in creative pursuits
• The inevitability of regret and imperfection in artistic endeavors

Character Interactions

• The author imagines a hypothetical argument between their past and present selves, highlighting the stark contrast in their attitudes and experiences.
• The author expresses gratitude towards readers and their past self for their support and perseverance.