The Supernova Era

by Cixin Liu

  “So what? We didn’t break the rules.”

  “True. But when the game restarts we won’t have even teams. How do we know who wins?”

  “That’s easy. Mike, you stay on this side. This time you’re with the Red Devils. Of course you’ve got to play for them as hard as you would for the Blue Devils. But you can’t tell them our battle plans.”

  Mike said, “Don’t worry. I want it to be interesting, too.”

  “Great. Red Devils, we’re giving you the Blue Devils’ best shot. Yesterday on Wall Street he took out three of the Bears. Now that’s fair, right?”

  Mitchell was about to get back into the car when one of the children called, “Mr. Vice President, we’ve got something to say to you.” Then he was surrounded by a group of children, their faces smeared with black camouflage so that only their teeth and eyes flashed in the firelight. The children began pelting him with questions.

  “What the hell are you doing? The adults spent trillions on tons of fun stuff, but kids are only allowed to play with this crap!” said one, smacking the M16 he was holding.

  “That’s right! Why can’t you give us all those aircraft carriers to play on?”

  “And fighters and bombers. And cruise missiles. Those would be fun.”

  “And ICBMs too!”

  “Right. Bringing out the big guns would really make it interesting. But all those toys are going unused right now. It’s a waste of American wealth. The government should be ashamed!”

  “If American kids aren’t having fun, you’re going to be responsible.”

  Mitchell spread out his hands. “My apologies to you all. I can’t speak for the government here. The president spoke on TV last night about these questions—”

  “What’re you afraid of? There aren’t any reporters here.”

  “I heard that Congress is going to impeach him. If that happens, that’s the end for you Democrats.”

  “The Republican leader promised on TV last night that if they come to power, they’ll let kids play with all of the army, air force, and navy’s big boys.”

  “Ooh. He’s awesome. I’m going to vote Republican!”

  “I also heard that the army is going to use them for itself.”

  “That’s right. Don’t listen to the government. Playing on their own? What’s the point of them staging exercises all the time? Bring them out and play for real!”

  Dowell barged into the group and found the kid who had said the army would play by itself and seized him by the collar. “You little bastard. If you spread rumors about the US Army again I’ll have you arrested!”

  The kid struggled to speak. “Then go arrest the commander of the Atlantic Fleet and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They’re the ones that said they’ll play on their own!”

  Another kid pointed in the direction of the ocean, where lights flashed periodically, like a storm on the horizon. “See! The Atlantic Fleet has been firing offshore for the past two days. Who knows, maybe they’ve already begun to play!”

  Mitchell looked around him, and then said in a low voice, “We never said we won’t let you play. The president and the government have never said that. But if we play, the whole world has to play. It’s suicidal if it’s just ourselves, right?”

  The other children nodded.

  One kid tugged at him and said, “So these leaders are coming to the UN to discuss the games?”

  Mitchell nodded. “That’s right.”

  Another kid, holding an antitank rocket launcher, said through smiles, “Awesome! Make it a good talk. You all are responsible for making the world a fun place!”

  *

  The motorcade proceeded onward. Huahua asked Mitchell, “If the roads are so dangerous, why not use helicopters?”

  Mitchell shook his head. “That would be a simpler solution, of course, but a destroyer in port last week lost ten Stinger missiles, and one of them took down an NYPD helicopter the day before yesterday. The FBI believes the remaining nine are still somewhere nearby, so it’s safer if we stay on the ground.”

  Huahua looked out at the vast ocean, and the colossal illuminated figure rising out of it.

  “Is that the Statue of Liberty?” Huahua asked, and when Mitchell nodded, he looked carefully at the symbol of America. But he found something wasn’t quite right. “Where’s her torch?”

  Mitchell said, “Knocked off by some asshole with a recoilless rifle last week. Her left arm had a hole blown in it by a rocket.”

  Huahua asked, “What are American kids up to?”

  Beneath the car’s dim red overhead light, Mitchell appeared extremely irked. “What’re they up to? I’ve received dozens of national leaders and that’s what you all ask. They’re kids. What’re they up to? Playing!”

  Huahua said, “Our kids don’t play like this.”

  “Even if they wanted to, they don’t have the guns.”

  Du Bin leaned over to whisper in Huahua’s ear. “This is Candytown in America. The entire country is playing violent games.”

  *

  At last the motorcade reached the UN. When Huahua got out of the car to look at the building that at least nominally was the world’s office building, he stared in shock. The Secretariat was pitch-black, in stark contrast to the blazing lights in the surrounding buildings; a whole chunk was missing out of the upper left corner of the monument-like building; half of its exterior windows were gone; and there were several other large holes, one still smoking.

  As they crossed the glass and cement fragments on their way to the building, a nearby little boy caught Huahua’s attention. The kid looked to be only three or four years old, and was holding a gun almost as big as himself. He struggled to hold it level, and aimed it at a compact car a few meters away. The kickback knocked him onto his ass, and he sat there staring straight at the car, but when he realized that nothing had happened, he pulled himself up using the gunstock—his bare bottom, peeking through his open-crotch trousers, had two circular smudges of dirt—and then slammed the muzzle on the ground and loaded another cartridge, and again tried to hold the swaying barrel steady enough to take another shot at the car. Again he fell back to the ground, and again the car made no reaction. The kid stood up again to take another shot. Every time he fired he fell backward, but on the fifth shot there was a boom and the car burst into flames and black smoke. The kid crowed “Woohoo!” and bounded away carrying the huge gun with him.

  Will Yagüe, the Argentine boy who was the first secretary general of the UN of the Supernova Era, was waiting for them at the entrance to the building. Half a year earlier, Huahua had watched the televised handover between him and the last secretary general of the Common Era, but the boy in front of him retained nothing of his former dignity. Now he was covered in dust, and he had taken off his tie to stanch the blood on his head. He looked thoroughly beaten down. When Mitchell asked about the situation, he answered irritably, “Another bomb hit the tower just five minutes ago. Loo—kright there!” He pointed at the smoking crater in the center of the building. “I had just come outside, and a storm of shattered glass rained down. . . . ​I repeat my demand that you provide adequate protection for the United Nations headquarters!”

  Mitchell said, “We’ve done all we can.”

  “All you can?” Yagüe snarled, jabbing a finger at the crumbling building. “I asked you long ago to clear out heavy weapons from the vicinity.”

  Dowell said, “Please let me explain. That one,” he pointed at the building’s missing corner, “is at least a one-oh-five-millimeter, and has a range of roughly twenty kilometers.”

  “Then clear out all heavy weapons in a twenty-kilometer radius!”

  Mitchell shrugged. “That’s not realistic. Carrying out a search and then imposing military controls over such a large area will be tricky. It’ll give those Republican bastards an opening. Sir, we’re a democratic country.”

  “A democratic country? I feel like I’m in some twisted pirates’ den!”

  “
Your country isn’t much better off, sir. A soccer game has broken out in Buenos Aires with more than a hundred thousand players on a playing field that covers the entire city, with two enormous goals bigger than the Arc de Triomphe set up at either end. A hundred thousand players with a single ball, surging after it wherever it goes. Thousands of people have been trampled to death in the fortnight the supergame has been in progress, and there’s no sign of it stopping anytime soon. Your capital has been thrashed to pieces. Play is in children’s nature. Sometimes it’s even more important than eating or sleeping. You think you can stop them?” Mitchell pointed at the building, “True, this place isn’t really suitable for a UN meeting. I also know that the General Assembly building had its roof caved in by a bomb. And that’s why we’ve proposed to hold the session in Washington, D.C.”

  “Bullshit! This time it’s D.C., next time it’ll be on an aircraft carrier! This is the United Nations, not the US Congress, and we’ll hold it on UN territory.”

  “But all the heads of state are in Washington already. That’s the only place in the country where the games are banned, so it’s the only place where security can be guaranteed.”

  “Bring them back! They have to take that risk, for the good of the children’s world!”

  “They and their countries won’t agree to holding it here. Besides, even if they did return, where are your staff? How many kids are you down to in that building?”

  “Those cowards! They’ve all run off. None of them is worthy of working for the UN.”

  “Who’d want to stay in this hellhole? We’re here for two reasons. First, to give the Chinese children a look, so they can understand why we’re not holding the session here. It’s their choice whether or not they go to Washington. Second, to invite you to come with us. We’ve arranged a dedicated workspace for the UN on Capitol Hill, and have outfitted a brand-new team for you—”

  “Shut up!” Yagüe shouted. “I’ve always known you want to replace the UN!” Then, to Huahua, he pointed out places in the distance. “See, those buildings are all untouched. Only the UN has been hit so many times. I wonder who the hell fired all those rockets?”

  Mitchell raised a finger and said, “Mr. Yagüe, you are maliciously slandering the United States government. If you did not have diplomatic immunity, we would sue you on the spot.”

  Yagüe ignored him and tugged at Huahua. “As a permanent member state, you have a responsibility to the UN. Let’s stay here together!”

  Huahua thought for a moment, and then said, “Mr. Secretary General, the purpose of our visit is to make contact with the other world leaders, to hear their views on the new world and to exchange opinions. If all the heads of state are in Washington, then we have to go there too. We can’t do anything by staying here.”

  Yagüe waved a dismissive hand. “Fine. You all go then. It’s clear to me now that the children’s era is the most abominable in all of human history!”

  Huahua said, “Mr. Secretary General, the world has indeed changed. You can’t solve any problems by applying the mentality of the adults’ era. We need to adjust to this new world.”

  Smiling, Mitchell said to him, “You don’t appreciate the secretary general’s ambition. He once had the notion that the children’s world would eliminate all national governments and be unified under the direct leadership of the UN, in which case the secretary general would naturally become the head of Earth—”

  “Shut up!” Yagüe said, thrusting a finger at Mitchell. “Wanton slander!” But Huahua recalled that he had indeed voiced such an idea not long after the start of the Supernova Era.

  “You go adjust to the new world,” Yagüe said. “I’ll remain here and see the United Nations through to the end.” Then, cradling his head, he turned and walked back into the dark, smoking building.

  *

  The motorcade moved on to the outskirts of the city where helicopters were waiting for them, and they took off toward Washington with New York’s sea of lights blazing below them in the night.

  Huahua asked Du Bin, “Are you aware of our domestic situation?,” and seeing Du Bin nod, he asked, “Do you see any similarities between their Candytown period and ours?”

  Du Bin shook his head. “I only see how they’re different.”

  “Look down there. New York remains brilliant even through the storm of bullets. Look at the roads, and all those cars and buses driving along like normal.”

  “True, that’s a point of similarity. Even in these conditions, the systems of their society are still functioning normally.”

  Huahua nodded. “It’s a phenomenon unique to the children’s world, unimaginable in the adults’ time. Back then, if social conditions deteriorated half as much, the country would have collapsed.”

  “But I wonder how long things will remain normal. The American military apparatus is in a precarious state. American children have in their hands the greatest weapons systems in the world, and it burns them up that they can’t play with them. On the other hand, the biggest political transformation in America since the start of the Supernova Era is the ascent of the military to the political stage, and its expanding control over the country. To placate the military, the US government has staged exercise over pointless exercise. But drills will never satisfy the American child.”

  “The key question now is how are the American children going to play?”

  “They probably won’t just play among themselves. It’s different with light weapons, but when they bring out the big guns there’s no way to do it alone. . . . ​I’m not sure I should go on.”

  Night now completely covered the North American continent. The only illumination was from the navigation lights on the other aircraft. They seemed to be hanging stationary in the night sky.

  “The situation is grim . . .” Huahua murmured, clearly aware of what Du Bin was thinking.

  “Exactly. We should prepare for the worst,” replied Du Bin in a shaky voice.

  WORLD GAMES

  The world leaders continued their meeting in the East Room. The American president started into his opening remarks.

  “Boys and girls in charge of the countries of the world, welcome to America!

  “First of all, I’d like to express my apologies for having had to receive you in Washington, D.C., I would have preferred to hold this banquet on the top floor of the New World Trade Center in New York. I dislike Washington. This city in no way represents the United States. On a new continent covered in skyscrapers, the city we’re in seems like a retreat to medieval Europe. This White House—I mean, it’s just a country manor. I wouldn’t blame any of you for wondering whether there are stables out back.” Laughter from the crowd. “The adults located the beating heart of America here for continuity with the past, not just to L’Enfant’s past, but even farther back, for continuity to your homelands,” and he gestured to the cluster of European leaders.

  “This neatly describes the awkward situation in which we now find ourselves. We’re a world of children, but we’re still living the lives of adults. Think back to the final days of the Common Era, to our vision of what the coming new world would bring. That vision to an extent mitigated our sorrow at the adults’ misfortune, because we were convinced that at the cost of their leaving we had obtained a wonderful new world. But to look at it now, the world remains as dull and boring as ever. Is this the new world we wanted? No, absolutely not! We are seeing disappointment at the new world envelop the globe. This cannot be allowed to continue.”

  After a round of applause, Davey went on, “We are gathered here today to establish a new order for the children’s world. What is the foundation of the new order, you might ask? Not the ideology of the Yalta System, nor the economic development of the post-Cold War period. There can be only one foundation: games! Games are to our era what religion was to the Middle Ages, what exploration was to the Age of Discovery, what ideology was to the Cold War, and economics to the late Common Era. These things served as a basis for existence, a
starting point and a destination for the world. Now, in this new world, the dreams of our time ought to become reality!

  “Luckily the world’s children have more or less realized this and have already begun to play. The purpose of this meeting is to begin games on a global scale, and to turn our entire world into a world of fun!

  “Naturally there are an infinite number of possible ways to play, but the games we’re going to start here must satisfy two conditions: They must be played between countries, and they must be thrilling. And there’s only one kind of game that can satisfy both conditions: a war game!”

  Davey held his hands out palms down to calm the applause, and remained in that pose for quite some time, as if the whole world were cheering him on. But in fact there was no applause, just a spell of silence as the world leaders stared blankly at him.

  “The war games that American children are playing right now?” asked one kid.

  “The very same. But we’re going to do it on a national scale to let the whole world play.”

  “I object!” Huahua shouted, and then leapt up to the dais and said to the children below, “This game is just a disguised world war.”

  The children flipped their translators to Chinese, and when they finished listening to his words, Russian president Ilyukhin jumped up on the dais and said, “Well said! It’ll turn the children’s world into hell!”

  The other children echoed these sentiments:

  “Right. We don’t want a world war.”

  “We’re not going to fight! We won’t play this game!”

  “That’s right. Let the American kids play by themselves.”

  Davey remained composed and smiling, as if he expected this development. Standing between Huahua and Ilyukhin, he clapped his arms good-naturedly about their shoulders, and then leaned toward Huahua and said, “Don’t get carried away. It’s just a big game. We’ll adopt the format of the Olympics. It’ll be the first Olympic Games of the Supernova Era. The war games will be played entirely according to the rules of sports competitions. Every country will compete fairly at a prearranged location, with heats and finals, and gold, silver, and bronze medals. In what way is that a war?” Then he turned to Ilyukhin. “How’s a world of fun going to go to hell?”