Specs had remained silent throughout all of this, but now he stood up and went over to the space on the map formerly occupied by China. Now the two young thinkers stared at each other across the Pacific Ocean.
Vaughn said impassively, “The only heroes in the world are you and me. A tremendous peal of thunder.”[7]
“You’re very familiar with Chinese culture,” Specs replied, similarly impassively.
“More familiar than you know,” Vaughn said, to the astonishment of the children. Not the words themselves, but the fact that they came not through the translator device but from Vaughn himself, speaking Mandarin Chinese.
Vaughn was unfazed by their shock. “I always wanted to learn an Eastern language, but dithered for a long time among Japanese, Sanskrit, and Mandarin before deciding.”
Specs said, “We need to be candid.”
Vaughn nodded. “Frankness is essential for proving our intentions.”
“Then proceed with your proof.”
Vaughn paused for a few seconds, and then said, “First, the new world is an abandoned child. It will never grow up; or perhaps more accurately, it’s already grown, and this is its shape.”
Specs nodded.
“Second, you have your strength, and we have ours. Each of us needs to awaken our strength.” Then he paused to give Specs time to reflect on his words.
Specs nodded again.
“The next point is critical, and one that only a superior thinker can understand. The difference in our two strengths is…” Vaughn cast a look of challenge at Specs.
“Our strength draws from our ancient native land; yours from new frontiers,” Specs said.
The two children stared long and hard at each other from their respective continents.
Vaughn asked, “Do you need further proof?”
Specs shook his head gently. Then he walked off the map and said to his companions, “They’re for real.”
“Talking with you has truly been a refreshing experience,” Vaughn said to Specs, bowing slightly from his cut-out spot on the map.
Specs returned the bow. “I have the deepest respect for your idea. Such a profound and audacious idea deserves to be called great.”
“We believe that once the game is made public, a process will be set in motion that will be difficult to redirect. If anyone here disagrees with the exchange, you may find it impossible to withstand the pressure of a country of children.”
Huahua was silent for a moment. Then he said, “Perhaps that is the case. But what about your side? I have my doubts about whether you can realize your plan. Can you convince the American children?”
With confidence, Vaughn said, “We’ve got a solution. A new world has the same attraction for American kids as it does for Chinese kids. After all, their veins flow with the blood of the pioneers. They are the most curious children in the world, and the most possessive. A reshuffling of society and the nation will be a most welcome development for them.”
Xiaomeng asked, “How long do you expect this game to last?”
Vaughn smiled, more noticeably this time. “According to my predictions, in the space of three to five years, we will be facing an undefended country and will easily be able to retake everything that we bartered away.”
THE DECISION
The meeting to discuss the territorial-exchange game was held that night, three hours after the first Sino-US talks. On the top floor of the NIT, under the light of the Rose Nebula, the Chinese children faced a choice far beyond anything they had dreamed.
Xiaomeng said, “Look at the state of the world. We do need strong industry and defense to protect ourselves.”
“But can we get all of that simply by going to America?” Specs asked.
Pacing back and forth, Huahua said, “Why should we let Vaughn scare us? Why not think of another possibility? Once we’ve crossed the Pacific, can’t we maintain our current organization and discipline? Can’t we devote our efforts to work and study? Can’t Chinese children get those huge factories operating to produce steel and cars and aircraft carriers and spaceships? Can’t we put those huge farms to work growing wheat and corn? We can make those cities boom even more than they did in the Common Era. So long as we work hard, we’ll become the most powerful country in the world in no time! Why do we look down on ourselves? We showed such bravery and resolve in the war we just fought. Now we’re facing a new battle. So long as we put all our energy into it, there’s no obstacle we can’t overcome!”
His statement drew general praise from the children.
Xiaomeng said, “But the souls of our mothers and fathers will ask us, ‘How could you lose the land of generations of your ancestors?’ What will we tell them?”
Huahua gave her a look of disbelief. “What do you mean, ‘lose’? If an enemy invaded and we surrendered without a fight and lost the country, well then damn us to hell! But we’re making an exchange with another party, and it’s a fair exchange. Whatever they can do, we can do too. If the adults were here, we could stand before them righteous and confident!”
“But it’s not only about the trade. We’re swapping not just our territory, but something else even more important,” Specs said.
“Is our strength really tied to our ancestral land?”
Specs nodded silently.
“Do you think there will be serious consequences?”
Again he nodded.
Xiaomeng asked, “What’s going to happen?”
Specs shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t think Vaughn knows either, and he’s thought about the question on a much deeper level. America has many times our reserves of goods and resources, so children will be able to lead rich lives for an incredibly long time without needing to work. It’s a sweet-smelling, rainbow-hued quagmire. Just like in Candytown, we may see history moving in a particular direction but be powerless to stop it.”
The mention of Candytown sobered everyone up for a moment, and they looked in silence out the window at the night lights.
Huahua said, “We have no other choice. The American children are sure to disclose the nature of the games, and when that happens our own kids will want to play. We won’t be able to stop them.”
Xiaomeng said, “It’s a diabolical move.”
Specs nodded. “We really don’t have any choice. I’ve got to admit that Vaughn is an exceptional thinker and strategist.”
The next day, the American children were informed that they could return home and await word of the Chinese children’s decision. This outcome was not unexpected; such a weighty matter could not be decided overnight by a handful of people.
The first thing they did when they got back to America was to reveal the plan for the territorial-exchange game. This raised huge waves as rumors of the trade reached the Chinese children, their initial disbelief turning to elation and banishing from their minds the depression of Candytown and the dejection of the Antarctic Games. The marvelous world of their dreams beckoned. The vast majority of them were enthusiastic supporters of the exchange, and they passionately made their opinion known on Digital Domain. Just as Vaughn had predicted, the process would be difficult to redirect.
One month later, just as the American children were unable to wait any longer, Benes received a call from Huahua.
A pair of dark eyes from across the globe stared out of the screen into a pair of blue eyes for so excruciatingly long the air crystallized. At last, Huahua said, “We’ll do the exchange.”
An American delegation flew to China the following day. The main purpose of its visit was to discuss the details of the territory exchange, and to formally sign an exchange agreement. Talks took place once again in that ancient hall, and many young experts from both sides were in attendance.
7
A paraphrase of Cao Cao’s shocking statement to Liu Bei in