Zero and Other Fictions by Huang Fan Page B

What is it that you have wanted more than anything else in life?”
    Xi Jin sat up straight and looked at his wife next to him as she tried to control her excitement. They had lived together for twenty years, but she had never been able to open that secret compartment deep in his heart. At that moment, a silver flying saucer filled his mind; there it was, free from all constraints, performing all sorts of maneuvers—rising, diving, looping, rolling.…
    â€œWhat have I wanted more than anything else?”
    â€œA child,” shouted his wife, unable to control herself any longer. “Xi Jin, we’re going to have a child of our own, a precious, cute, lively, bouncing baby.”
    â€œGood lord, what are you saying?”
    â€œThis afternoon I received notification from the Ministry of Domestic Affairs,” she said, out of breath. “They told me that the application for a child we’ve made for the last twenty years had finally been granted. Think about it—we’ve waited twenty years for a child of our own.”
    2
    A year later, Xi Jin’s baby was finally born. It was on the very day of the Global United Memorial Day, and every city in the world was holding various activities to celebrate, including garden parties, parades with floats, and robot exhibitions. At night, the streets were filled with people setting off fireworks. The flying saucers changed colors and performed all sorts of maneuvers in formation.
    United Memorial Day was held to commemorate a great individual of the last century—Max Kristen. At the time, under his leadership, a laboratory code-named Giant Star miraculously developed a mysterious element known as Nanning that was capable of neutralizing all forms of nuclear weapons. The element had unlimited power and could consume all other forms of energy. On account of this, it wasn’t long before the entire world united under the name of Nanning, and Max Kristen along with a number of other national leaders organized a transnational committee. The committee was successful in channeling everything related to politics, the economy, the military, manpower, and the distribution and scientific development of resources from all parts of the world into the Nanning administrative system. Universally praised, Max Kristen was honored by being appointed the first chairman of the committee. It was said that because his ancestors were from Switzerland, peace was in his blood. Under Max Kristen’s leadership and that of succeeding committee chairmen, a series of reforms were completed. Owing to the beneficent power of Nanning, traditional weapons were scrapped; oil fields were shut down (Nanning is vastly superior to oil); polluted rivers, lakes, and forests were reinvigorated; billions of inferior people from Africa, the Americas, and Asia mysteriously vanished; and the acquisition and allocation of resources was strictly controlled. Once the objectives for the material environment were achieved, the committee put its hand to an unprecedented plan, and on United Memorial Day, the second committee chairman solemnly announced via the global communications network that humanity was on the verge of a new age, an age of peace without conflicting views or disputes.
    3
    When the doctor entered the waiting room, it was already dark outside. Xi Jin stood at the window, staring out, lost in thought. Crowds thronged the boulevard as the rich and colorful celebrations took place.
    â€œXi Jin,” said the doctor from behind, “congratulations.”
    â€œHuh? What?” Xi Jin turned as if on a spring.
    â€œCongratulations. Mother and child are doing fine—and it’s a boy,” said the doctor. “However, some minor surgery will be required, just standard procedure. You’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see him.”
    Shortly thereafter, Xi Jin sat down beside his wife’s hospital bed and, holding her hand, gently said, “Thank you.