C-047

"What are you doing here in Hong Kong?" he asks, as you both wait for your food.

"I don't know where to begin," You reply. I came here as an exchange student in a program. Suddenly, I hear on the news that there is nearly a nuclear confrontation between China and the US, but the US backs off and surrenders. The next thing I know, the school is taken over and I'm not allowed to leave."

Li says nothing for a moment. "You know, I've seen this coming for a long time. So did my parents. At the beginning of the 21st century, the US begin to deteriorate, while China begin to advance. The Chinese government has been preparing for this for quite some time."

"What do you mean?" You ask.

"Well, it really got started back in the late 1990s when Chinese spies were able to infiltrate the US and steal your nuclear weapon secrets from Los Alamos," Li explained.

"While your government did apprehend some of the spies, many got back to Beijing, and the secrets were given to our government. I believe this set the stage for the fall of the United States."

"I agree with you," you reply. What do you think of the Chinese government now?"

Li looks around cautiously before speaking. "I'm totally against it," he says in a low voice. "The Chinese government are nuts. All of their policies hurt the people, not harm them."

He becomes quite as the waitress brings their food to the table. You look at her for a moment. She is is beautiful, yet unnatural looking. She smiles at you as she places your plate on the table.

"She is a cyborg," Li says, as if reading you mind. The advent of nanotechnology combined with artificial intelligence and genetic engineering has brought about many changes to our society."

"How do you know all this?" you ask.

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