Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 182 Unexpected World News (6.6k)

In 1964, the White House press briefings had not yet become a weekly event.

It's usually only opened when there's a specific reason; otherwise, it's not opened.

However, given America's status and strength as a world superpower, it would hold a press conference at most once every two weeks.

To most journalists, today's press conference is no different from any other.

With the Cold War easing, there was little noteworthy world news.

The truth about Kennedy's death still makes the headlines in obscure tabloids every now and then, relying on conspiracy theories to attract public attention. Journalists who can get into the White House to attend routine press conferences would never stoop to doing such a thing.

The biggest news lately is that Fred, whom they hate, is getting out of here and should stay in New York and not come near Washington.

To the reporters' disappointment, Fred was a New Yorker, not a Southerner. If he were from the South, they could have jokingly called him a country bumpkin.

It was an ordinary yet beautiful day, just like any other.

"Thank goodness that damn Fred didn't get elected president. If he had, I don't think I would have continued working for the White House press corps. I would have needed to go somewhere where I couldn't see his face."

Helen Thomas and Jenny complained as they waited for the White House press secretary to take the stage.

She is one of the few female reporters on the White House corps. She joined United Press International in 60 as a White House correspondent and continued to work as a reporter at the White House into the 21st century.

Jenny and Lin Ran had talked about the White House press corps' dislike for Fred, which made Lin Ran sigh, is this what inheritance is? The inheritance of Fred's lineage is so severe, even in the 60s, the journalists' dislike for him was so obvious and undisguised.

Perhaps it was a dislike of the Fred family's values.

Jenny nodded and said, "That's what I think too. If Fred is elected, I'm afraid I'll have to go back to New York to inherit part of the family business."

Helens turned to look at the other person: "Isn't it supposed to be marrying the professor, having children, and becoming a housewife?"

Jenny shook her head: "I don't want to be a housewife."

Helens laughed and said, "That depends on the professor's wishes. It seems that Chinese people are more conservative in this regard."

Jenny said, "No, no, no, the professor is not Chinese in the traditional sense."

Helens said, "But he identifies very much with Chinese culture, doesn't he? So maybe he's conservative in that respect."

Jenny answered confidently, "No, the professor never restricts what I can or cannot do. This morning before I left home, I even talked with the professor about how women can further fight for their rights after the Civil Rights Act was passed."

Helens realized something was wrong: "By phone or in person?"

Jenny said, "We met. The professor came back this morning."

Helens's tone carried a hint of excitement: "It seems today's press conference is not an ordinary one."

As soon as Helens finished speaking, Jenny immediately realized what she meant: "You mean, the professor's sudden return to Washington at this time means something big has happened?"

Before Helens could answer, George Reidy, who had only succeeded Pierre Salinger as White House Press Secretary in March of this year, hurriedly entered the White House press briefing room and said apologetically:
"Ladies and gentlemen, due to some unexpected circumstances, we will be moving today's press conference to the East Hall. Please follow me. I assure you that today's news will satisfy you all."

President Lyndon Johnson will personally host today's press conference, and the professor will also be in attendance.

At this time, White House press conferences were usually held in the White House Press Briefing Room, which was not yet officially named the Brady Press Briefing Room, and small press conferences were held there.

The East Room of the White House is a relatively formal setting, used only when the president is in attendance.

Occasionally, when the weather is nice or when special arrangements are needed, they are moved to other places, such as the White House Rose Garden.

A murmur arose from the crowd as reporters speculated about what had happened.

“Jenny, do you know what happened?” Helens asked.

In her opinion, the only people present who could know the answer, besides White House bureaucrats, were Jenny.

Jenny thought for a moment: "I don't know. I only know that the professor came back suddenly this morning. He just had breakfast and then came to the White House with me."

I thought he was rushing back from Huntsville and, before heading to the White House to report to President Johnson, was tidying himself up and changing into a suit.

As you know, his position often requires him to meet with the president to discuss specific progress.

Now it seems it's not that simple.

The entire meeting venue was decorated differently than usual.

Lyndon Johnson, Lin Ran, and Soviet ambassador Dobrynin sat at the table.

Lyndon Johnson sat in the middle, with both the Stars and Stripes and the hammer and sickle flag on the table.

Johnson was dressed in a dark suit, his eyes revealing determination.

Apart from Lin Ran, the other two both showed signs of fatigue that makeup could not conceal.

Since the televised debate between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960, no Washington politician, especially those vying for the presidency, has dared to neglect their personal image.

He patted the microphone that was already prepared in front of him, ready to begin the press conference:

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the White House."

Today, we stand before a new chapter in history.

America and the Soviet Union, as the two most powerful countries in the world, decided to join hands to realize the dream of mankind landing on the moon.

This is not only a technological leap, but also a symbol of international cooperation.

Lyndon Johnson didn't dare to talk about peace.

The main problem is that they plan to launch a large-scale landing in Baiyue in the first half of next year to reignite the war. Talking about peace now would be a huge slap in the face.

The reporters in the audience went crazy.

In the past, cooperation between America and the Soviet Union always started with initial announcements, followed by gradual discussions.

The outside world had already received the news, and throughout the negotiation process, rumors and gossip abounded.

Each journalist in the White House has their own network of contacts and unique sources of information.

This collaboration is far larger and more important than any previous one, and its significance for humanity is far more profound.

As a result, not a word of it leaked out beforehand.

If they had known that today's press conference was about such an important matter, there would have been far more reporters present than just this few.

Reporters from all over the world would have packed the East Room of the White House, so the press conference would have to be moved to the Eisenhower Building.

Flashbulbs went off constantly as reporters bombarded the camera with questions.

"Mr. President, what exactly do you mean by cooperating with Soviet Russia?"

"Mr. President, when is the cooperation between America and the Soviet Union on the lunar landing expected to begin?"

"Mr. President, could you explain in detail why we suddenly decided to cooperate with Soviet Russia?"

"Mr. President, did the cooperation with the Soviet Union and Russia on the lunar mission receive congressional approval? If not, does this violate the National Aeronautics and Space Act? Don't you need congressional approval?"

The scene was like a pot boiling over, with no order whatsoever.

Nobody cared about waiting for Press Secretary George Reid's instructions; everyone was asking what they considered the most important questions.

Lyndon Johnson gently tapped the table, his voice carrying throughout the East Hall via the microphone: "Ladies and gentlemen, you will have ample opportunity and time to ask questions later, so please be patient."

Johnson turned to Dobrynin, who was standing to the side, and gestured for him to speak.

Dobrynin, dressed in a formal black suit, his face equally serious, slowly stood up and said in slightly accented English:
"The Soviet government welcomes this cooperation initiative. We believe that through the joint efforts of both sides, unprecedented achievements can be made in the field of space exploration."

"Next up is Director Lin, who will introduce our cooperation to everyone," said Lyndon Johnson.

Lin Ran nodded. "We will cooperate with the Soviet Union and Russia on the lunar landing."

The moon landing will take place in mid-December, a month from now, and the entire process will be broadcast live to the American public.

In this mission, the Soviet Union will be responsible for sending astronauts to the moon, while America will be responsible for delivering the launch fuel tank to the vicinity of the lunar surface.

The astronauts who land on the moon will manually refuel to ensure a safe return to Earth.

This will be an unprecedented technological collaboration, significant from every perspective.

After Lin Ran finished speaking, the scene went even crazier.

The reporters were so excited they could hardly contain themselves; they were practically bursting to get in front of the three attendees to ask them questions.

Everyone originally thought that with the collaboration announced today, it would probably be at least three years from now.

And now you're telling me, three years? Thirty days!
George Reiddy knew it was time to step in and maintain order: "Okay, everyone, now it's time for the Q&A session. As President Lyndon Johnson said, we have plenty of time for today's press conference."

However, because the entire plan is very time-sensitive, we need to allocate time for Director Lin. After attending the press conference, Director Lin will return to the Hongshi Base. The launch is next month, and he has a lot of work to do.

In formal settings, one should be addressed by their job title.

However, the reporters clearly did not understand this principle.

“Professor, I would like to ask why this happened so suddenly?” George Reedy gave Jenny the first opportunity to ask a question.

Lin Ran patted the microphone and said, "Because the Soviet Union plans to launch its manned lunar landing program during the lunar landing window this December."

However, because lunar landing is very complex, the Soviet Union and Russia were not confident that they could safely bring the astronauts back to Earth. So we discussed it and decided that the two sides could complete this lunar landing through cooperation.

Isn't that romantic?
The Cold War continues, and we are in a competitive relationship, but this does not prevent us from cooperating on common human endeavors.

From the tiny Earth to the vast universe, this is the aspiration of all humankind.

Lin Ran didn't say that the Soviet Union sent people up there, but that America brought them back.

To be precise, Lin Ran wanted to say that, but Lyndon Johnson repeatedly told him not to say it before the press conference began.

Science advisor Honig had fully explained the risks to Lyndon Johnson, and he was well aware that landing on the moon was much easier than returning.

Even though Lin Ran said he had never failed, Lyndon Johnson didn't want to gamble.

What if the moon landing is successful, but the return trip fails? You say at the press conference that America will bring people back, but America fails to bring them back.

This impact is far too severe.

"Professor, what are the chances of success?" a reporter from The Washington Post asked.

"One hundred percent, I never thought we would fail." Lin Ran was very confident. "I am absolutely certain that we will do everything in our power to ensure that the astronauts can return to Earth safely."

After Lin Ran finished speaking, he glanced at the Patek Philippe Mathematician watch that Jenny had customized for him: "One last question."

"Professor, I have nothing to ask you. Good luck!"

Lin Ran nodded, then stood up and leaned back in front of the microphone: "Everyone, trust us, we will definitely send the person up and bring them back safely."

Lin Ran rose and left, and the reporters below applauded. As they watched his retreating figure walk towards the East Room door of the White House, everyone stood and applauded, as if bidding him farewell to this unprecedented challenge. "Professor, we believe in you!"

One of the reporters shouted.

Lin Ran didn't turn around, but simply raised his fist towards the ceiling.

While clapping, Helens turned to Jenny beside her and said, "I feel like the professor would be very charismatic if he ran for office."

Jenny laughed and said, "Because the professor is just that omnipotent."

After Lin Ran left, the reporters' emotions calmed down to some extent.

"Mr. President, has the cooperation with the Soviet Union been approved by Congress?" a senior White House reporter asked.

“No,” Lyndon Johnson said. “Because the whole collaboration was so urgent, we didn’t consider congressional authorization, and in fact, we didn’t need it.”

Because we called it a cooperation, what we were actually doing was launching two spacecraft to the moon. The Soviet Union was responsible for launching theirs, and we were responsible for launching ours.

We just landed in a similar spot to them. The Soviet cosmonauts found our spacecraft and retrieved fuel from it.

We did not sign any cooperation agreement, nor did it involve any major changes to NASA's original plans.

We were originally scheduled to complete a soft landing on the moon this year.

This can actually be seen as an accidental act; it does not require congressional authorization.

Lyndon Johnson is clearly taking advantage of a loophole.

American bureaucrats also know how to exploit loopholes.

Lyndon Johnson was like that, and so were Nixon, Clinton, and others—each one a master of exploiting loopholes. Even the White House stock market guru was incredibly arrogant, manipulating trillions of dollars in the financial market with ease, completely disregarding the Securities Exchange Act.

Another reporter asked, "Mr. President, how do you view the impact of this cooperation on US-Soviet relations?"

Johnson said, "I believe this cooperation will open a new door to improving bilateral relations. Our cooperation in space foreshadows greater cooperation and understanding on Earth."

The reporter also posed the question to Dobrynin: "Ambassador Dobrynin, what are your expectations for this cooperation?"

Dobrynin paused slightly, thought for a moment, and then replied, "We expect this cooperation to promote exchanges between the two countries in the field of science and technology and enhance mutual understanding."

However, we also recognize the potential challenges in this cooperation, and we will work together to overcome these difficulties.

Lyndon Johnson added, "On the technical level, we believe that Director Lin can overcome the technical challenges and ensure the successful completion of this collaboration."

"Mr. President, who are the astronauts in charge of the moon landing this time?" a reporter asked.

Lyndon Johnson said, "Yuri Gagarin."

The reporter then asked, "Why weren't the Americans on the moon?"

Lyndon Johnson explained, "Because of our collaboration, the lunar module was built by the Soviets, while our lunar module is still under construction."

Our expertise differs from that of the Soviet Union and Russia. The Soviet Union and Russia completed the lunar lander, while we are capable of achieving precise landings hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

These are all very difficult, so a lunar landing requires the joint efforts of both sides.

Every president in America is a master at dealing with the media and public opinion.

This statement doesn't imply that America or NASA is incompetent at all.

Even the precise landing point hundreds of thousands of kilometers away subtly suggests that we are far more capable than the Soviet lunar lander.

"Mr. President, if this collaboration is successfully completed, what will be NASA's subsequent responsibilities? Will we still push for an American astronaut to land on the moon?"

Lyndon Johnson nodded and said, "Of course, we will try to land on the moon independently in the future. We will continue to explore and promote the normalization of lunar landings, and even the construction of a lunar base."

The reporter then asked, "Mr. President, is the professor or Korolev the leading party in this collaboration?"

Lyndon Johnson shook his head and said, "As I mentioned before, you can think of it as two spaceships, each of us responsible for our own part."

There is very little cooperation involved, and the concept of dominance is not involved.

As the press conference drew to a close and the Q&A session ended, Johnson stood up again and summarized:
"This cooperation is not only a victory for our two countries, but also a victory for all mankind. Together we will venture into space, explore the unknown, and pave a new path for the future of humanity."

The reporters applauded, and the press conference concluded successfully.

Johnson and Dobrynin posed for a photo in front of the stage, symbolizing the start of this historic moment.

"What a pity," Helens said softly.

Jenny nodded: "Yes, it's a pity the professor isn't here. But I completely understand. There's only a month between now and launch, and I feel like their time must be measured in hours."

At the same time during the day, the Kremlin also held a press conference to announce the matter.

The collaboration between the two sides to land on the moon quickly became the hottest news in the world. Tabloids stopped reporting conspiracy theories about Kennedy's death because nobody was interested; everyone was focused on the moon landing a month later.

Whether they can make it to the summit, whether Gagarin can successfully return, why the sudden collaboration, and who facilitated this collaboration.

This collaboration came so suddenly that, from Washington to Moscow, from London to Paris, media outlets around the world never felt there was so much news to report.

“Sir Haley, I’ve called the professor, but no one answers. I reckon he’ll be sleeping in the Redstone Base control center for the time being, so don’t even think about getting in touch with him.”

"London," said BBC presenter Major Freeman and Sir Haley, the Times' international affairs editor.

All the news in the world revolved around the moon landing a month later.

England is no exception.

Sir Haley hoped that Major Freeman could help him contact the professor so that he could have a brief telephone interview.

The result was that they couldn't find anyone at all.

Just as the outside world had guessed, Lin Ran was indeed unable to reach Major Freeman, let alone 10 Downing Street, or even Jenny, by phone.

Time has never felt more urgent than it does now.

It's incredibly difficult, practically hellish.

Lin Ran knew that he had changed history, and the timeline surrounding the moon landing had become something he had no idea about.

But at the same time, he was also certain that, whether in the present or the future, no one but himself could do this.

Lin Ran stood next to the projector, holding a metal baton, pointing to the fuel tank design diagram on the screen.

He was wearing pajamas over a cotton coat, and his hair was slightly messy.

Lin Ran said in a calm voice:

"Gentlemen, our fuel tanks must dock seamlessly with the Soviet lunar lander."

This involves the standardization of interface design, communication protocols, and fuel types.

"Immediately call the Russian Space Agency; why haven't they sent over their communication protocol standards or the fuel type specifications yet?"

"Korolev, we are really not interested in your fuel ratios, nor will we infringe on your technical secrets!"
The most important thing for us right now is time, do you understand?

There's no time to come up with a complete plan for you. You bring a portion, give us a ratio, and then mix the different ratios together to form your fuel.

This approach has problems; even a slight error in the proportions could affect the final result.

"What time is it? We can't afford to keep this a secret anymore. Believe me, I'm absolutely not interested in your technology!"

Both engines use roughly the same fuel: kerosene, liquid oxygen, and liquid hydrogen.

However, the proportions are different.

They might even be able to glean insights into your technical details from your proportions.

This was what the Soviet Union was worried about.

After the Soviet Union relayed the fuel ratio.

The other American engineers in the conference room felt something was off.

The NASA director himself spoke with Korolev of the Moscow Russian Space Agency in Russian, and the conversation went on and on, just like at NASA, displaying a tyrannical demeanor.

The professor is now both the director of NASA and the director of the Russian Space Agency; that's the only impression everyone has.

Of course, some engineers might think that the professor was a Trojan horse carefully sent by the Soviet Union to massacre the city.

Lin Ran was also directing NASA engineers at the same time:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the key to our fuel tank lies in the airtightness and safety of the fuel transfer system, especially in the vacuum environment of the moon."

I know you all understand this, but don't try anything fancy, let's use the most mature technology.

The valves were designed as wrench-style manual valves, making them easy for astronauts to grip and operate in the lunar environment.

"That's right. We use heat-resistant materials such as stainless steel or aluminum alloy and add an insulation layer to keep the fuel temperature stable."

"Have you forgotten that there is lunar dust on the moon! Our probes that went to the moon have already brought us this information. How could you forget about the dust cover!"
Remember to maintain a tight seal to prevent fuel evaporation, but also install dust covers on connectors and valves to prevent lunar dust from affecting the system!

"No, no, no, sufficient redundancy must be provided for key components. Valves and connectors are certainly key components!"
There must be sufficient redundancy here to ensure that the system can still operate even if there is a partial failure.

The design of a fuel transfer system should include double seals, explosion-proof valves, inert gas protection, and manually operated, user-friendly valves and connectors.

The plan was finalized in three days, and the first model took two weeks to finalize, and was transported to Moscow by special plane.

Yuri Gagarin's mindset is complex.

At first, I thought I was going to die.

In October, two months before his last mission, he had already written his will, waiting for the Russian Space Agency to notify his family after his sacrifice.

Star City was the location of the Soviet Union's cosmonaut training center, established in 1960 specifically for training cosmonauts to perform space missions. It was later renamed the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

It is equipped with a variety of advanced facilities, including simulators, centrifuges and underwater training facilities, to simulate the space environment and weightlessness.

Unexpectedly, things took an unexpected turn, and the Soviet Union and America actually began cooperating on the moon landing.

Upon learning that Randolph Lin was personally involved in this collaboration to ensure fuel was delivered near his landing site and that he could return to Earth.

Although he knew how difficult it was, a person's reputation is like a tree's shadow.

Lin Randu said that the chances of successfully returning to Earth have increased from 5% to 30%.

Gagarin also gained some confidence, after all, no one wants to die if they can live.

Even if it's for a common human ideal.

Korolev stood on the observation platform, holding binoculars, watching Gagarin's movements intently.

　Still 10,000 words! Sorry for the slightly late post, I'm experiencing some writer's block.

　　
　
(End of article)