British writer

It's the end of September.

early morning.

Paris France.

In the mist, the early-rising newsboys have already begun to walk through the streets, singing today's selling point in their clear voices:

"The 39th issue of "Weird Night"! Another new work! Another new work by Lu!"

The sound of hawking went through the neighborhood.

A carriage suddenly stopped,

"Kid, give me a copy of Weird Night."

The speaker was Jules Verne.

The newsboy looked up from the car window and saw that there was more than one person sitting inside, so he promoted: "There are so many gentlemen, I'm afraid it won't be enough to buy just one, right?"

Verne laughed,

"Okay, okay, three servings."

The newsboy smiled proudly, handed over the magazine, took the money and said: "It's sold out, it's time to go to school~"

After saying that, he ran away in a hurry.

Paris has made great efforts to popularize compulsory education, resulting in newsboys having to work part-time jobs in the morning and evening.

This is certainly a good thing.

Verne said to the coachman: "Let's go."

The carriage moved on.

On the other side, France and Poincaré each took their own copies of "Monster Night" and read them with great interest.

Poincaré lamented: "I have to admit that Marcel's writing style is closest to Lu. Moreover, there is a vague feeling that one is better than the other."

Verne smiled "hehe\

,""Obviously you are the most suitable."

France agreed: "That's right. In the last issue of the magazine, we all 'impersonated' Lu. As a result, the readers recognized it and even sent letters to the magazine to make fun of it. Only your article "Tronte" "The Haze of Mutter", no one discovered the true identity of the author."

Poincaré spread his hands,

“That’s because I’m not famous as a writer.”

In the last issue of "Weird Night", many authors published Cthulhu mythology novels under the name Lu.

Although they are deliberately imitated, the deep-rooted writing style cannot be changed after all, and it is inevitable that they will be recognized by book fans.

Only Poincaré, who wrote prose, survived.

Poincaré sighed,

"I'm not happy because I'm not recognized."

The other two laughed.

After a moment, Verne said: "Don't worry~ Don't worry~ The problem will be solved with the release of this issue of "Weird Night"."

The last time they used the pen name "Lu" was to pay tribute to Lu Shi.

Because Lu Shi was so generous and released the setting collection,

Although there is almost no filler content, it provides a system of outer gods, old gods, and old rulers, laying a solid foundation for the authors' secondary creations.

Expressing gratitude to Lu Shi is what writers should do.

But doing this kind of performance art once is enough.

otherwise……

"We are not trying to take advantage of Professor Lu's reputation."

When he said this, Verne was upright and upright.

Poincaré curled his lips.

"I don't know who wrote Count Sanddorf."

"Count Sandolph" is a "tribute" work to "The Count of Monte Cristo".

The author is Verne.

Verne was very thick-skinned and shrugged.

"In "Count Sanddorf", there is both friction and tribute. It is a relationship where you are in me and I am in you. You know."

Poincaré rolled his eyes at the other party.

(ˉ▽￣~)Cut~~

The three of them chatted for a while.

Gradually, the carriage stopped.

Their destination was the Musée d'Orsay,

It is home to an old train station built for the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, making it an excellent venue for exhibitions.

The museum exhibits Western art from 1848 to the early 20th century.

Although it is far less famous than the Louvre, it is also a must-stop for artists visiting Paris.

This place is temporarily the stronghold of French Cthulhu writers,

They also gave this temporary organization a nickname——

Orsay Society.

Poincaré looked at his pocket watch;

"We made an appointment with Master Monet at eight o'clock?"

Verne nodded,

"That's right. Plenty of time."

The three of them walked towards the building next to the museum.

In fact, they wanted to ask Picasso to draw illustrations for the Cthulhu mythology.

After the exhibition of the paintings "Great Writer - Lu, New Book Release", the art world recognized a new form of painting -

Cubism.

It is an image language with conflict and distortion as its core, which is most suitable for depicting the indescribable in the Cthulhu mythology.

But French writers call themselves the "Orsay Society", so how could they let the Spaniards step in?

They wanted to ensure that the French blood of the Society was pure.

Three people entered the room.

At this time, Roland was already there,

Opposite him sat an uninvited guest who was not a member of the Society.

The two seemed to be arguing, and their faces were red.

Roland said: "Mr. Bergson, that article "The Brain in a Vat" is the work of Professor Lu! It's absolutely true!"

Bergson was suspicious,

"Really? You're not trying to blame others, are you?"

Roland sighed helplessly,

"There is no reason for me to lie to my classmates!"

Bergson said: "Haha! You are talking nonsense. We at the Paris Normal University have a famous saying, 'It is often your own people who are best deceived.'"

grass!

Ten thousand grass-mud horses ran wildly through Roland's heart.

But that famous saying cannot be miscalculated,

Cauchy, Fourier, Hermit...

These well-known graduates of the Ecole Normale de Paris have either stabbed their own alumni in the back academically, or caused obstacles for their alumni in the administrative aspects of the college.

It is dangerous to be an enemy of the Paris Division;

Being an alumnus of Paris Normal University is fatal.

All the grievances and hatreds here are enough to write a novel.

Poincaré stepped forward and recognized the visitor at a glance.

"Little Henry, why are you here?"

Henri Bergson, French philosopher and writer.

During his college years, Bergson began to accept materialism, took a critical attitude towards Kantianism advocated by society, and wrote "On the Immediacy of Consciousness".

Interestingly, he was also the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1927, relying on his work "The Theory of Creation and Evolution".

And that's a philosophical work,

The chaos surrounding the Nobel Prize at that time is evident.

Bergson said: "Old Henry, is that "The Brain in a Vat" a work by you?"

(PS: Both of them are named Henri, Henri Bergson and Henri Poincaré)

Poincaré shook his head repeatedly.

"No, no, how is that possible?"

Bergson was surprised.

"Is it really Lu's work? So, he is also a scholar of philosophy?"

Poincaré laughed,

"You know, what I'm good at is mathematical philosophy. When you talk to me about that, I can only mention some relatively superficial concepts."

Bergson pondered: "You must have seen "The Brain in a Vat", right?"

Poincaré nodded repeatedly.

"certainly."

"Brain in a Vat" is short and the plot is not complicated.

The novel is told from the perspective of Professor Albert N. Wilmarth,

At the beginning of the story, Arkham reports on an incident of unidentified objects appearing in the river after a flood. Later, Wilmarth receives a letter from Akeley, who says that he has proof of the existence of these monsters.

Wilmarth visited Akeley at his farm and found Akeley sitting in a chair unable to move.

In Akeley's description, the monster could take out people's brains, put them in a vat, and carry them on interstellar travel.

…

The original name of the novel is "Whispering in the Dark Night", which is the work of H.P. Lovecraft.

Lu Shi made appropriate modifications and changed the name.

Bergson pondered,

"If that kind of monster really exists, the human brain can be taken out of the body and put into a container, and information can still be sent to the brain, allowing it to maintain normal perception and function..."

Roland interrupted: "Wait! What is 'normal perception and function'?"

Bergson stepped forward and pinched Roland.

Roland said "Ah!"

"what?"

Bergson said: "The so-called 'normal' is like this. If I pinch you, you will feel pain and scream."

Roland: "..."

Still don't understand.

Bergson continued: "For the brain that was taken out, it seems that people, objects, and the sky still exist, and its own movements and body sensations can be input by the monster."

Roland was curious,

"So what?"

Bergson showed an "unteachable" expression and said: "What do you think? Assuming that kind of monster exists, I ask you, are you really alive now, or are you an hallucination caused by a brain placed in a container? "

A question confused everyone.

"..."

"..."

"..."

There was an eerie silence.

If you think about it carefully, "Brain in a Vat" seems to be a very profound philosophical question.

Bergson explained: "So, Lu's novel reveals a very advanced thought experiment. Of course, I support materialism and differ from his point of view. However, I cannot refute Brain in a Vat."

He stroked his hair,

"Look."

Poincaré was puzzled: "What are you looking at? I only saw the scalp."

"This is what the problem is about!"

Bergson said: "Because of "Brain in a Vat", I haven't slept well for more than a month, and my hair is falling out in bunches."

Roland coughed lightly,

"As you age, hair loss is normal and has nothing to do with other factors. You see, British people start to go bald in their thirties, don't they all accept it calmly?"

Bergson: "..."

I want to really take out the other person's brain.

Poincaré said: "Actually, I think Professor Lu didn't think too much when he wrote "The Brain in the Vat". He is a science fiction writer, and it is inevitable that he has many fantastic ideas. It is not difficult to find that "The Brain in the Vat" "It is based on some existing scientific theories."

Bergson looked at him and said,

"I think you fainted from studying mathematics."

Poincaré raised his eyebrows.

"What did you say?"

Bergson replied: "It's a simple truth. No matter how advanced science is, the skeptical nature of this question can be elucidated through other thought experiments. Therefore, it is a philosophical proposition."

Poincaré gently twirled his beard with his fingers.

After thinking for a long time, he found that he could not refute the other party.

so,

"Philosophy indeed."

He had to admit.

Bergson sincerely praised: "Professor Lu is indeed a literary giant in the world, and he even has such a profound foundation in philosophy."

The people from the Orsay Society looked at each other,

Could it be that,

Is Lu really a philosopher?

Bergson wondered,

"Roman told me just now that Lu left you a set collection? Can I take a look?"

"certainly."

Verne handed over the notebook,

"Look. The setting collection is public. If you are willing to use it as a basis for literary creation, Professor Lu will be happy."

However, Bergson did not listen at all.

I saw him opening the notebook, his face full of piety, longing and expectation, just like the swamp shamans described in "Call of Cthulhu".

I don’t know, I really thought he believed in Cthulhu~

France asked in a low voice: "Henry, is the question he just mentioned really philosophical?"

Poincaré asked: "Is mathematics a discovery or an invention?"

France:? ? ?

"what are you saying?"

Poincaré said: "You see, philosophy is like this, it can't be understood by laymen."

France couldn't help but give the other party a slap.

"Just pretend!"

Poincaré chuckled,

"I'm really pretending. Because I don't understand those questions. We might as well talk about literature."

He successfully changed the subject.

While several people were chatting, several more members arrived one after another.

At eight o'clock, there was a mechanical "clang, clang, clang, clang" sound outside.

Roland asked: "What's going on?"

Poincaré said: "Didn't Master Monet buy a car when he traveled to Spain? It sounds like that thing."

His guess was good;

Soon, the door was pushed open and Monet walked in slowly.

Although he was old, he was energetic and said excitedly: "Everyone, I rushed back immediately after receiving your telegram. I drove during the day and painted at night. I have already painted several images. Take a look."

The first one to come up with was the illustration for "Call of Cthulhu".

Everyone came together,

It was a strange creature. Its skin seemed to be intertwined with countless tiny tentacles. Each tentacle was lifelike and seemed to be squirming, exuding an indescribable strange aura.

Its eyes were two huge black spheres, deep and hollow.

"hiss……"

Roland shuddered,

"This doesn't look like it."

Monet asked: "Have you met Cthulhu?"

Roland waved his hand,

"Master Monet, don't curse me! I've never seen him before!"

Monet said: "Then you think it's not possible?"

Roland defended: "I say it doesn't look like it because your illustrations are inconsistent with the description in Professor Lu's novel."

In the original text of the novel, the image of Cthulhu combines the characteristics of some animals,

octopus head,

human upper body,

bat wings,

…

Its body is fat and covered in scales, its forelimbs resemble claws, and its hind limbs are reduced to seemingly shapeless wings.

Roland tapped his fingers on the drawing,

"Look at this."

As he spoke, he withdrew his hand like lightning as if he didn't want to touch the dirt.

"It should be scales, not tentacles."

Monet whispered: "In the novel, Cthulhu is an indescribable existence, right?"

Roland said "Yeah\

,""That's right."

Monet added: "The features you mentioned, the octopus head, human body, and bat wings, are the statue that the protagonist of "Call of Cthulhu" discovered when he was sorting out his uncle's belongings. That statue cannot be guaranteed to be authentic."

God "guarantees truth"...

Roland was quite helpless.

"Master Monet, are you prepared to take the Cthulhu Mythos seriously?"

Monet smiled and said: "I always like to be involved in the painting when I create. In order to paint the "Water Lilies" series, I even built a garden in Giverny. You all know this. Even the "Galaxy·Water Lilies" ", I also take it as a real existence."

Roland had nothing to say.

Monet said: "Look at other paintings. Although they do not restore the image in the original text, I can guarantee that the atmosphere is very strong."

The others began to look at the paintings,

"This is a great painting, more majestic than I imagined the King in Yellow!"

"I think we need to add reference objects here, otherwise we won't be able to see the huge size of the Outer God."

"As expected of a master!"

…

The writers marveled.

Monet said: "I heard that Professor Lu gave you a setting book? I want to take a look."

Poincaré looked at Bergson next to him.

"Little Henry."

Bergson: "..."

Didn't seem to hear it.

Poincaré had to raise his voice and shout again: "Hey! Bergson!"

As soon as he finished speaking,

boom--

Bergson stood up suddenly, knocking over his stool.

He murmured: "Sure enough...Sure enough! Professor Lu is definitely a master of philosophy! These images involve a lot...skepticism, solipsism, subjective idealism...each one is so subtle that it's hard to pick. Something went wrong."

Bergson was beyond excited.

"Gu..."

Poincaré swallowed, worried that Bergson was crazy.

After all, there are many philosophers who have become mad.

He said cautiously: "Little Henry, how about you return the setting set to me first? Calculating the time, Professor Lu will probably return to England in the next two days. You can go to the London dock to block him~"

Bergson's eyes lit up.

"Professor Dulu?"

Poincaré said: "Yes, only on-site discussions and no face-to-face communication can truly spark the collision of ideas. Maybe, with his solution, those problems can be easily solved."

On the surface, that's true.

But I was thinking in my heart,

If Bergson really wants to go crazy, he should go find Lu Shi.

With the mentality of "a dead Taoist friend will never die a poor Taoist", Poincaré directly sold Lu Shi.