Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 171: The whole of Western Europe isn't enough to fight (5k)

The people present looked at each other in bewilderment.

Fred? Where did this nobody come from?

Many people have this name, but combined with the surname, no one except Shemičasny has ever heard of it.

Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, Shemichasne didn't dare to keep them in suspense and quickly explained:
“We have been keeping track of American politicians, and this one named Fred T is a politician who suddenly emerged last year. After successfully becoming a New York City councilman in the election last fall, he announced his candidacy for the Elephant Party primary in this year’s general election.”

Although people may not know who Fred is, they are quite clear about America's election process.

Semicharsne continued, "Shortly after he announced his candidacy, Robert Finch announced that he had joined his campaign team as his campaign manager. Robert Finch was a key aide to Nixon and had previously served as Nixon's campaign manager."

We believe Fred received strong support from Nixon.

Nixon was an old acquaintance; he represented Eisenhower in the kitchen debate with Nikita years ago.

Hearing this, everyone present became somewhat interested.

"Therefore, we intensified our efforts to gather information about him."

We discovered something more interesting. First, this New York City senator named Fred was previously a real estate businessman in New York City.

In collaboration with Randolph Lin, the professor, he built several Randolph Houses in a predominantly Chinese area of ​​New York City, providing housing for the local Chinese community.

Nikita said thoughtfully, "This shows that he has a close relationship with the professor."

Shemichasne nodded, then continued, "Yes, the information we've gathered shows that the professor spent one Christmas at Fred's house."

Even more interestingly, after that, Fred began repairing Randolph House in New York. His brother, a senior professor in the physics department at MIT, had repeatedly provided cutting-edge academic journals and technology-related magazines to a local Chinese restaurant.

After exchanging glances, Gromyko said, "The ultimate destination of these academic journals is China? The professor is providing academic journals to China through Fred's family connections?"

There are many things they want to investigate, and you definitely can't hide them from them.

It's simply a matter of whether you want to check or not.

Within the KGB's internal priority system, although Lin Ran was not a senior politician, his priority was ranked in the top ten or even higher.

There are many reasons why Qu Runpu dared to help Lin Ran. One reason is his sympathy for China and the Chinese people. Another reason is that the information he provides is within his control and only stays at the level of academic journals, so there is not much risk involved.

“This is just my speculation. According to the information we have investigated, the professor authorized Fred’s real estate group to use his own advertising to attract Chinese customers, and in return, Fred’s brother provided cutting-edge academic journals to the Chinese side,” said Semicias.

"Including the relationship between Fred and Nixon, we also suspect that it was the professor who recommended Fred to Nixon."

This is mainly because our people discovered that Nixon once made a special trip to Huntsville, where NASA's Redstone base is located. It's worth noting that Nixon never went to Huntsville, even during his time as Vice President.

Even when NASA's spaceflight center opened in Huntsville in 1960, and Eisenhower personally attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Nixon did not go.

We suspect that he went there to see the professor, and we are certain that Nixon met the professor at a high-end hotel in Washington, D.C.

Fred gained financial and political benefits from the professor, so we increased our attention to him.

Although the chances are slim, Fred may still win the party primary.

Furthermore, our internal analysis suggests that Fred, being a businessman by birth, naturally possesses characteristics that make him easy to control.

Fred's status at the time was relatively low; he was merely a New York City councilman. Using him as our first surveillance target would make it easier for Hoover to accept.

After listening to this, no one in the room said anything; the professor's presence was still a bit too strong.

Finally, Nikita concluded: "Well, I think Comrade Semichasny's suggestion is excellent."

It would be difficult to get Hoover to control senators like Humphrey, McKinley, and Hayden on the first try, but Fred would be a good candidate.

Gromyko, find a reason to go to the United Nations yourself, and tell Dobrynin our ideas in person in New York, including what kind of effect we want to achieve, what our bottom line is in the negotiations, and how to gradually control Hoover.

Based on the results of our discussion today, you will be responsible for developing a specific plan, and Comrade Semichasny will be responsible for reviewing it from a professional perspective. After it is finalized, give it a second review to me.” Nikita said to Gromyko.

Then he turned to Semiczasny: "Comrade Semiczasny, starting tomorrow, we will conduct a secret investigation into any homosexuals or homosexuals within our ranks. All of these comrades will be transferred from key positions."

The main exhibition hall was bustling with activity at the Leipzig Spring Trade Fair in March 1964.

The air was filled with the smell of ink from new machines, the cold luster of shimmering metal, and the aroma of Eastern European coffee.

Chus stood in front of the Zuse KG booth, wearing a dark gray suit, his tie slightly loose, and fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

Last year, after accepting Manager Feng's invitation to visit Hong Kong for a few days, he gained nothing except selling a few Z23 computers to Hong Kong Shipping.

Because that so-called computer expert is in mainland China, not Hong Kong.

After a brief conversation on the phone, it was confirmed that the computer expert named Xie Xide did indeed possess extraordinary abilities, but these abilities were not enough to attract him to work in mainland China.

After all, he chose West Germany over East Germany back then.

How could they possibly go to China for so-called computer research and development?

Therefore, he did not accept the invitation from China at all.

However, the Chinese side also obtained the information they wanted, which was to confirm that Chu Si was unaware of the existence of the Raspberry Pi.

Tzus is having a very tough time right now, otherwise he wouldn't have come to the Leipzig Trade Fair to try and find customers in Eastern Europe.

Because his company, Zuse KG, was in very bad financial condition.

In the past, their computers mainly relied on business with universities. In the enterprise market, Zuse KG was simply unable to compete with companies like IBM and Univac.

Unfortunately, their computers were returned by ETH Zurich due to performance issues.

To make matters worse, the German Patent Court also rejected ZUS's patent application for the Z3 computer.

This patent dispute, which began in 1941, lasted 26 years and ultimately ended in defeat, further weakening the finances and reputation of Thus and his company.

If he hadn't brought back some goods during his trip to Hong Kong, his company would already be under Siemens control by now.

His hands gripped a Z23 computer brochure tightly, the edges of which were soaked with sweat, and his fingertips unconsciously rubbed the paper.

His gaze swept across the bustling crowd, filled with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.

The Z23's transistor-based chassis gleamed coldly under the spotlight, while its control panel, densely packed with buttons and indicator lights, failed to attract the attention of any merchants from Eastern and Western Europe.

IBM has started playing with artificial intelligence, and they've even made machine wiring look like an art form.

That's right, IBM is also exhibiting.

And it's in the very center.

IBM's Deep Blue and Babel Tower were exhibiting in Leipzig, almost drawing away all the visitors to the exhibition hall.

Who wants to see your outdated Z23?

Not to mention Zuse KG, all the computer manufacturers on the market were overwhelmed by IBM. Whether they had heard of it or not, one after another they fell into financial difficulties.

People can't afford not to follow suit; artificial intelligence is too tempting.

The only companies that are still barely surviving are those that focus on minicomputers, like General Electric.

For Zuse KG, IBM was undoubtedly the Blue Giant.

This expo is Chu Ze's last lifeline. If he can secure orders or find investors, he might be able to save the company.

“That’s terrible.” Theodore Frome, also dressed in a suit, walked back from IBM’s booth. “IBM is terrifying. Judging from their reaction speed, their Deep Blue capabilities must have improved again.”

Theodore is one of Zuse KG's core engineers, primarily responsible for the development of vacuum tube and magnetic drum storage technologies.

He forced a smile and said, "We'll have our day too."

Theodore shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Chus, I know you can't accept this, but after seeing it, I know we can't beat IBM. Our financial situation is no longer sufficient to support our continued investment in research and development."

Even if our computers catch up with IBM in terms of performance, with Deep Blue and Ark as examples, customers will still choose IBM over us.

Chu Si, it's not that I want to discourage you, but after seeing Deep Blue and Babel, I know that there is no room for small and medium-sized enterprises like ours to survive in the future computer market.

Siemens is right; we need to merge. Only through merger can we survive.

Siemens is their major shareholder. In terms of shareholding, Siemens already has a relative controlling stake and acquired Zuse KG in its entirety three years later.

At this time, Siemens had already launched the 2002 series of computers, and the Zuse GK was undergoing a transfer of control.

If Zuse KG's financial situation doesn't improve, his more than ten years of hard work will be in vain.

Chu Si's cold face was filled with rejection. "No, we still have a chance!"

After saying that, Chu Si did not reply. Instead, he personally went to the showroom to attract customers. This was originally the job of the sales staff, but due to the deteriorating financial situation, they only had three sales staff left.

He was the only one who understood Russian.

Tzus enthusiastically introduced the Z23 to an engineer who had stopped by: "This Z23 is fast, suitable for scientific computing, and more economical than American machines!" He spoke fluent German.

After realizing that the other party couldn't understand him, Chus began to interject a few broken Russian phrases.

The other person frowned as they stared at the parameter table, their eyes filled with suspicion. Chu Si's heart raced. He forced a smile to hide his exhaustion, but secretly prayed that the other person wouldn't press him about the minor glitches in the test.

"What's your name?" the other person asked in fluent German.

After Chus gave a brief introduction, the other party asked, "Mr. Chus, I am a senior executive at Robotron. Would you be interested in working for Robotron?"

We are interested in your technology, and we can discuss it anytime if you are interested.

Chu Si looked puzzled. He had heard of this company before. It was an East German computer company that had developed the R-series computers, which focused on cost-effectiveness, but whose performance was not as good as Zuse's Z-series computers.

“I’m sorry, I have no interest,” Chu Si said, shaking his head.

He didn't even want to go to Siemens, so how could he possibly be willing to work for Robotron in East Germany?

The other person didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

Just then, a young East German journalist raised his camera and approached, the flash pointing at Züss and Z23.

He forced a smile, but his heart ached: this photo might be Zuse KG's swan song. He rallied his spirits and introduced the innovations of the Z23 to the reporter, trying to leave a positive impression.

When asked about his future plans, he hesitated for a moment before firmly stating, "We will explore new markets and contribute to European technology."

Even so, he was filled with uncertainty.

As night fell and the exhibition hall lights dimmed, Chu Si sat wearily beside the booth, reflecting on the glory of the Z3 and its current predicament, and whispered, "I can't let it all go to waste."

He glanced down at the Z23's specifications and thought to himself, "If I could secure one order, even a small one from East Germany..."

The expo still had a considerable number of visitors in the evening.

Suddenly, two men in dark coats walked over. The one in front was a tall man, Sergei Ivanovich, the coordinator of the OGAS project, with sharp eyes like an eagle.

To his left was Carl Schmidt, the East German Robotron executive whom Chus had met during the day; his thin face exuded caution.

Their arrival made Chu Si's heart race. He forced a professional smile, thinking: They can't just take me away by force, can they?

Sergei spoke first, his voice deep and heavily accented with Russian: "Dr. Tsus, I have long admired your work. Your Z3 is a legend in computer history, and your Z23 is also impressive."

He nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the Z23's control panel as if assessing its value.

Chus quickly responded, trying to keep his tone calm: "Thank you for your recognition. The Z23 is optimized for scientific computing and engineering design, with a modular design that makes it easy to maintain."

Pointing to the Graphomat Z64, he added, "Our plotters also have applications in the fields of optics and aerospace."

Carl Schmidt adjusted his glasses and interjected, "Mr. Chus, I checked your information when I got back. You are a talent in the field of computer science. We are integrating computing resources in Eastern Europe, and your skills can be put to use. We don't want to miss out on talent like you, so Mr. Sergei came in person."

His tone was tentative, but his eyes revealed wariness; deep down, he didn't want West German technology to steal the spotlight from East Germany.

However, driven by his vision for the OGAS project, Carl Schmidt did not conceal the existence of Chus.

Even Dean Qian, who was far away in China, had heard of Chus; it goes without saying that the technical bureaucrats of East Germany had heard of him as well.

They even investigated Chus's current situation thoroughly.

For these Germans, OGAS was clearly very attractive.

This time, Carl Schmidt was more direct, asking directly, "Dr. Chuss, how fast is the floating-point operation of the Z23?"

Chus seized the opportunity to launch into a long and detailed explanation of the Z23's transistor architecture and its ability to perform hundreds of floating-point operations per second, attempting to mask his inner nervousness.

After listening, Carl Schmidt first glanced at Sergei, who nodded, before saying, "Mr. Chus, the computer businesses of Robotron, Odra, and Tesla have been merged into Robotron."

Did you see IBM's Deep Blue there? Zuse KG alone will probably never be able to catch up with IBM.

Even Siemens of West Germany and ICL of England probably couldn't catch up.

Even if they are no less than IBM in terms of resources and talent, as long as they show the potential to surpass IBM, they will face suppression from America.

We are the only ones in the world who have the potential to surpass IBM.

The newly established Roboron will receive full technical support from the Soviet Union.

Chu Si's face immediately darkened.

Because he knew very well that what the other party said was indeed correct.

He even knew that similar things were happening in Western Europe.

As mentioned earlier, Siemens is seeking to acquire Zuse KG.

The French company Bull (compagnie des Machines Bull) had previously been a pioneer in the European computer industry, with its Gamma series computers leading IBM and Univac machines in multitasking and real-time computing.

Especially the Gamma 60, which was launched in 1958.

Bull's technology is widely used in European banking, rail, and air dispatching systems, and its innovations have attracted America's attention.

Not long ago, Ull also developed early distributed computing technology, leading America's commercial application in this field.

Benefiting from the rapid global adoption of maritime standards and the growing attention given to artificial intelligence technology, General Electric, owned by the Morgan family, is seeking to acquire Bull.

General Electric's acquisition of Bull had elements of Americana's administrative intervention.

Alstom was just the beginning; General Electric had been using this tactic against French companies since the 1960s.

These are not the only similar cases; America's situation with England is another example.

In 1949, the British company de Havilland launched the Comet, the world's first commercial jet airliner, nearly a decade ahead of Boeing's 707.

As a result, the FAA imposed strict airworthiness certification requirements on the comet, citing safety concerns, and restricted its entry into the America market.

That wasn't all; Boeing subsequently obtained the comet's design data, especially the technology of the hyperbaric chamber and jet engines, through accident investigations and public channels.

As an engineer, Chus realized almost immediately that what the other party said was true.

Why was Bull willing to sell to General Electric? One reason was financial pressure, and another was market access. If you didn't sell to GE, Bull Computers couldn't be sold in the American market.

"Mr. Chus, only the entire socialist market can support a computer company that can surpass IBM."

"West Germany couldn't do this, and neither could the rest of Europe." Sergei's cold voice rang in his ears.

(End of this chapter)