game trailblazer

Chapter 296 The Bell of the New Century
The sound of loud horns resounded through the night sky. The China Millennium Monument located on the south side of Yuyuantan in BJ has already turned into a sea of ​​joy. In fact, tens of thousands of people have flocked here to sing and dance since the beginning of the night, waiting for the new and the old. The moment of alternation arrives.At this moment, on the China Millennium Altar, which is illuminated like daylight by the lights around the square, next to the bronze corridor engraved with a history of 5000 years of civilization, with the loud gongs and drums, lions are dancing and giant dragons are dancing. Soar up and down.Among the crowd, there were cheerful smiling faces and enthusiastic carols, accompanied by waving red flags and fluttering red fans, as if sailing into the new millennium on a piece of sail.Passion floats everywhere in the square. Among the cheerful singing and dancing, people's eyes are all focused on the countdown board hanging on the China Millennium Monument. Their hearts are full of nostalgia for yesterday, cheers for today, and blessings for tomorrow. bless.

Zhang Lexing sat on the guest seat, looked at the joyful crowd, and looked at Chen Zishan who was a little excited beside him, and he felt a lot of emotions for a while.The reason why he and Chen Zishan appeared here was because the China Millennium Monument had donated millions of dollars to support it when it started to be built. In addition, these years have contributed a lot to the country's construction, so it was accepted. I was invited to participate in the ceremony held at the China Millennium Monument, on the one hand to unveil the "China Millennium Monument" monument, and on the other hand to celebrate the arrival of the new century.

It is not the first time that Zhang Lexing has come to the China Millennium Monument, but the last time he came here was about five or six years after the completion of the China Millennium Monument. He bought the ticket for about 30 yuan. He came here as a tourist and saw it at that time I was in a hurry, basically just took a quick look at it, and then took a few pictures of the scenery casually.It’s like going to many scenic spots. Before I went there, I thought it would be wonderful, but when I got there, I walked around crowded with people, basically I didn’t feel anything, and I just wanted to leave as soon as possible. thought.

But sitting here today, Zhang Lexing still feels very different in his heart. Maybe it's because the new millennium is coming, maybe it's because the person he likes is sitting next to him, or the atmosphere at the scene is very powerful. In short, after going through so many winds After the ups and downs, he became a little excited even though he was usually calm.

1999 was a very magical year, because many so-called prophecies revealed what the end of the world would be in this year. For example, the famous French astrologer Nostradamus left relevant information in his "Centuries". A passage in 1999, the original text is roughly like this: "In order to revive King Moya of Angola, the king of terror will fall from the sky, and Mars will rule the world around then, saying that it is to let people live a happy life", strictly It didn’t mention the end of the world, but after some thoughtful people worked it out, it turned into a statement about the extinction of mankind in 1999, just like a trendy headline in the future.

Among them, the "1999 Catastrophe" fabricated by RB's Tsutomu Goto has a relatively large impact, at least in China.In the book, Tsutomu Goto used the interpretation of Nostradamus's terrible prophecy to declare that on August 1999, 8, the planet was at the position of the Grand Cross, and the world would encounter catastrophe at this time.Many people who have watched "The Catastrophe of 18" are convinced of this, and there are even a few who are too excited, and really prepare, buy a lot of instant noodles, mineral water and so on at home, but as With the arrival of August 1999, this prophecy has become another joke in the new century.

The rumors that the so-called 1999 is the end of the world have finally been confirmed to be just rumors, but another doomsday has really come, but this time it is not a horror legend that will destroy the world, but it is said to have originated from a certain programmer This is the legendary "millennium bug".

The "Millennium Bug" is actually not a real bug, but a bug in the computer system. Simply put, there are two problems, one is the recognition of leap years, and the calculation and calculation of leap years in some computer systems There is a problem with the recognition, and the year 2000 cannot be recognized as a leap year, that is, there is no February 2000, 2 in the computer calendar. When February 29, 2000 has passed, the calendar will automatically jump to March 2, 28 .Another problem is the "Y2000K" problem that is often brought up, mainly in some older computer systems, because the number string 3 (or 1/2 or the like) is used in the program to indicate the end of the file, permanent Some special automatic operations such as sexual expiration and deletion, so that when September 99, 99 (or April 99, 1999, the 9th day of 9) comes, the computer system will encounter 1999 or 4 /9, so that the file is mistaken for expired or wrong operations such as deleting the file, which will cause system confusion or even crashes and other failures.

It is said that the root cause of the "Millennium Bug" problem lies in the 60s. At that time, the production cost of computers was very high, and the same was true for the memory supporting the computer. Not only the capacity was small, but the price was also very expensive. If the price starts from byte, it seems that it starts from M byte and G byte now.In order to fit more content in the limited storage space, the programmers at that time thought of a workaround, using two digits to represent the year, that is, "61" to represent "1961", although one place looks It doesn't have much impact, but the year is the most commonly used thing in the computer system, and it can still save a lot of space after adding up.As for the confusion that may be caused by using two digits to represent the year, the programmers at the time thought that it would be more than 30 years later anyway, and someone would naturally solve this problem before that, so this practice was followed. This caused the current "Year [-] Bug" problem.

The "Year [-] Bug" problem has been spread fiercely and horribly, from computer systems including PC BIOS and microcode to operating systems, database software, commercial software and application systems, as well as telephones related to computers and automatic control. Program-controlled switches, bank ATMs, security systems, factory automation systems, etc., as well as a large number of electronic appliances, mechanical equipment, and control systems that use embedded chip technology, cannot escape the attack of the "Millennium Bug".There are even rumors that the "Year [-] Bug" problem will not only cause large-scale power outages, but will even cause a series of disasters such as nuclear explosions and nuclear radiation.

Of course, theoretically speaking, if left alone, these problems are not impossible, but the governments of all countries are not fools, and there is no reason to sit on the crater and ignore it. In fact, the "millennium bug" problem was just shaken out a few years ago Those developed countries had already started to deal with this problem by the time.Of course, the "Y[-]K" problem is not an unsolvable problem. For example, VisualSystem Group, because of Zhang Lexing, has developed good habits from the beginning, so it has become the least affected by this "Y[-]K" crisis. In fact, as long as those countries and companies that need to face the "Year [-] bug" problem are willing to spend some money and manpower to update the system or fix those problematic codes, it is not a luxury to transition to the new millennium safely.

"Lexing, look over there, there are so many people!" Chen Zishan hadn't seen such a large-scale event for a long time, and in addition, it was approaching the new millennium, so she seemed very excited.

Zhang Lexing looked in the direction of her finger, and there were many people standing densely on the front lawn of the China Millennium Monument, still cheering or waving the red flag in their hands.The middle of the venue was separated for passage and performance. At this time, there happened to be a group of dancers dancing cheerfully.

After a while, the welcome song suddenly sounded in the venue, and the leader stood on the rostrum and announced: "...the celebration begins now!"

The national flag guards walked to the flagpole in a neat step, and then hung the national flag.When the majestic national anthem sounded, all the people in the audience stood up and focused their eyes on the flag in the hands of the national flag guards.The national flag guards flicked the flag in their hands, and the national flag was slowly raised along with the passionate national anthem.

Zhang Lexing held Chen Zishan's hand and followed the rising national flag with his eyes.Maybe normally, he has a lot of thoughts in his heart, but at this moment, there is only this banner that many people have fought for all their lives in his heart, not for any person, not for any organization, but for this piece of land.

When the national flag was raised to its peak, the majestic national anthem was played to the last note, and the flag-raising ceremony came to an end.At this moment, a young man holding a torch ran into the venue from the front of the Millennium Monument through the bronze corridor, surrounded by eight girls holding garlands.Before coming here, Zhang Lexing had heard that the young man holding the torch was Dabuna, a student of BJ University. He was 22 years old this year and was of Mongolian nationality. It seems to be collected by drilling wood to make fire.

Surrounded by the girls, Da Bena came down to the Chinese Holy Fire Platform, and carefully extended the torch in his hand to the ignition platform beside him. With a sound of "Hoo", the tinder pot was lit.Subsequently, at the southernmost entrance of the Millennium Monument, the red curtain covering a 9-meter-long, 1.05-meter-high inscription tablet and weighing about 35 tons was lifted, revealing five large characters - "China Millennium Monument".

倒计时牌上的时间慢慢走到1999年12月31日23时59分50秒，距离新的一年只剩下最后的十秒钟了，现场数万名群众随着数字的变化齐声高呼着倒计数。张乐行握着陈子珊的手，两人也跟着一起倒数着：“10……9……8……7……6……5……4……3……2……1……”

Along with the last count, the countdown on the countdown card became zero, and the time became 2000:1 on January 1, 0, and cheers erupted in the venue.At the same time, a raging fire ignited on the Chinese Holy Fire Platform, and even the night sky seemed to light up.

At the same time, 21 representatives from all walks of life rang the century bell, "Boom...boom...", a total of [-] powerful and long bells rang through the night sky, as if conveying their sincere wishes for world peace and development.Colorful fireworks soared into the sky like thousands of flowers blooming. Thousands of balloons floated into the night sky like thousands of sails. jubilant ocean.

While the bell was ringing, Chen Zishan clasped her hands and closed her eyes, blessing silently.Although Zhang Lexing couldn't hear what she was talking about, it should be nothing more than family health and happiness in life.

After a while, Chen Zishan opened her eyes, opened her hands towards Zhang Lexing, and said softly, "Lexing, I love you!"

Zhang Lexing stretched out his hand to embrace her, and whispered in her ear: "Shanshan, I love you too!"

"Forever?"

"Forever!"

Under the bright fireworks in the sky, the two embrace each other tightly, feeling each other's familiar breath, feeling the happiness of this moment, feeling the hearts clinging to each other...

On the 1.5-kilometer road from the China Millennium Monument to BJ West Station, tens of thousands of people celebrated the arrival of the new millennium with the singing of "Hello, 2000".Among the celebrating crowd, several children from BJ, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are leading the familiar "Same Song". The longing for unity and the beautiful vision for the future of the nation.At this moment, the whole BJ city seemed to be plunged into a vortex of joy and became lively.

The final climax of the celebration came in the group dance of "Ode to the Motherland". Countless people, whether they can dance or not, gathered together involuntarily, using skilled or unfamiliar movements to express the same Excited, even Zhang Lexing and Chen Zishan couldn't help but joined the happy crowd and danced together.

With the arrival of the end of the group dance, the celebration has come to an end, but the passionate people are still immersed in the joy and celebration, unwilling to leave for a long time.Just like the Chinese sacred fire on the Millennium Altar, it will burn forever.

The new year is here, the year 2000 is here...

(End of this chapter)