Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 188 The Imperial Seal of the State Endures in a Foreign Land (4.8k)

This is an unprecedentedly contradictory state of mind.

The more outstanding Lin Ran is, the more valuable the information he comes into contact with, and the more significant it is to them.

But the more valuable the information he receives, the harder it is for him to return to China openly and legitimately.

Since Lin Ran became NASA's director, China has given up hope that he will be able to return to the country openly and legitimately in his lifetime.

It all depends on how to rescue the other party when they are exposed.

Looking at it now, if things continue to develop this way, the chances of being rescued are just as slim as the chances of returning home openly and legitimately.

Dean Qian sighed and said, "The White Horse has become like the Imperial Seal of the State. After this is over, let alone returning home, whoever wins it over between the Soviet Union and America will naturally have the legitimacy in terms of public opinion."

This is an exaggeration.

America is a country with very obvious racism, and Soviet Russia is even more so.

The White House may have people of Chinese descent, but the Kremlin has never had any.

The fact that a Chinese person could play such a role in this kind of world is something I never even dared to imagine before.

Who was President Qian? In 1943, he participated in drafting the JPL proposal, which clarified the research direction for future missile and rocket technologies.

He subsequently participated in the development of Private A, MGM-5 Corporal and WAC Corporal, and designed the concept of the intercontinental spacecraft, which became the basis for the X-20 Dyna-Soar.

As an Army technical advisor, he participated in strategic planning for the American Ministry of Defense and assessed German wartime technology.

In other words, while his abilities were important to China at that time, his technological vision was even more important.

But compared to Lin, the information he was exposed to was a bit too peripheral.

One reason is that Dean Qian's abilities simply cannot compare to Lin's, who has an extraordinary talent.

More importantly, it's about reputation. Qian's reputation is limited to his professional field, while Lin is being molded into a synonym for America's dream.

"This makes me think that after this successful moon landing, the White Horse's fame will only grow even greater."

Just as Soviet Russia had Gagarin, America certainly needed someone who could rival Gagarin.

Then all that's left is a white horse.

It's truly hard to imagine.

"Dean Qian, your analogy, though inappropriate, is quite clever. The Imperial Seal of the State being lost to another country is a misfortune and a regret for the nation."

On this momentous day for all humanity, the high-ranking officials of China in Area 51 were filled with mixed emotions.

If China had possessed the technological capabilities of the Soviet Union at that time, and if they had brought Lin Ran back, they could have accomplished the first moon landing themselves.

The middle-aged man then said, "Dean Qian, I will do my best to push forward your proposal."

While a white horse is certainly desirable, we must also cultivate our own white horses.

Our nation has 7 million people. Our generation's Imperial Seal has been lost to foreign lands, but our next generation, and the generation after that, will surely raise our own white horse.

The proposal here refers to the gifted youth program.

Huaguo University of Science and Technology was founded in 1958 at the initiative of President Qian and scientists such as Guo Yonghuai, with the aim of cultivating top scientific and technological talents.

The gifted youth program was originally slated to be established in the 70s under the impetus of Li Zhengdao.

Now, with the example of Lin Ran, who proved Fermat's Last Theorem at the age of twenty, China has realized that geniuses need to be cultivated as early as possible.

Two years ago, the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced a joint entrance examination for students, including some as young as fifteen, and the training process went well.

This further solidified Dean Qian's belief that we should select true geniuses from among 7 million people and begin cultivating them as early as possible.

The gifted youth program was thus created.

However, it takes time for an initiative to become a reality.

The fact that the Imperial Seal of the State could not return to its homeland deeply saddened the middle-aged man, and he resolved to cultivate a "Imperial Seal of the State" native to China as soon as possible.

The Redstone base control center was brightly lit.

Dozens of engineers and controllers sat around rows of consoles, their screens flashing trajectory data from the command bay.

Everyone felt powerless because it was none of their business.

When Moscow agreed to transfer command authority, the previously relaxed atmosphere immediately became tense.

Everyone realized they needed to get moving.

The engineers started instructing the administrators to quickly brew some more coffee.

The fluorescent lights cast a cool white light that made the transition of each person's face from relaxed to tense exceptionally clear.

It turned out that they had nothing to do with it at all.

The professor stood at the top of the control panel and directly gave all the commands.

Flight commanders, trajectory analysts, and computer arrays were completely useless.

The only ones who came in handy were the engineers responsible for communication stability.

They had to ensure that Lin Ran and Gagarin's conversation was stable and clear.

The mission lasted 219 hours (T+2), and the return flight is currently traversing the atmosphere at a speed of 11 kilometers per second.

The control center was so quiet that only the low hum of electronic devices and the ticking of the clock could be heard.

The engineers in the control center dared not speak loudly, lest they disturb the professor's thoughts.

John Smith reported in a low voice: "Command module enters the atmosphere at an angle of 4.5 degrees, speed of 25,000 miles per hour, heat shield temperature rises to 2800 degrees Celsius."

Lin Ran nodded calmly.

Instead, Smith kept replaying the tense moments from previous missions in his mind: fuel tank quality errors, ignition timing adjustments—it felt like dancing on a tightrope at every step.

Gagarin's hoarse but firm voice came through the loudspeaker: "Control center, this is Gagarin. Parachutes deployed, command module in good condition."

The control center erupted in cheers and applause.

John Smith was thrilled and prepared to rush forward to hug Lin Ran in celebration.

A figure rushed in from outside the control room, even faster than him: "Professor, we did it!"

John Smith slowly retreated.

McNamara is someone you can't afford to mess with.

Anyone at NASA knows that McNamara unconditionally supports Lin Ran in everything.

If Lyndon Johnson's support for Lin Ran was something everyone had heard about, then McNamara's support for Lin Ran was something NASA engineers had witnessed firsthand.

Redstone Base was originally a base for America's military before being transferred to NASA.

In other words, there is no such adjective as "lickspittle" now. If there were, everyone would definitely think that McNamara was an absolute lickspittle in front of the professor, fawning over him as if he were a NASA employee.

From the start of the launch mission, McNamara remained at Redstone Base awaiting its completion.

Dobrynin returned to Washington after his first day of sightseeing.

McNamara was the type of person who refused to go to the White House to watch the live broadcast, insisting on staying at Redstone Base. He even told Lyndon Johnson on the phone that he wanted to send the professor congratulations from the White House as soon as possible.

Lyndon Johnson originally wanted James, who is also of Chinese descent, to go and offer his congratulations on his behalf, but since McNamara wanted to go, McNamara was also a good choice.

McNamara grasped Lin Ran's hand, his eyes flashing with excitement: "Professor, this is a great victory!"

Without us, Gagarin certainly wouldn't have been able to return to Earth.

Lin Ran said in a low voice, "There's only one last step left."

He glanced at the report from the Moscow control center and said, "The command module is currently moving at 200 miles per hour at an altitude of 10,000 feet. The estimated splashdown time is 2 minutes."

Two minutes later, the communications officer shouted: "Rescue ship reports, command compartment splashed down! Location: 20 degrees North latitude, 160 degrees West longitude, error only 1 nautical mile!"

Thunderous applause erupted in the control center.

Lin Ran patted McNamara on the shoulder: "Mc, we did it!"

McNamara wiped away his tears of excitement, feeling proud: "As expected, no one can compare to the professor in terms of computational precision!" The image of the rescue ship appeared on the television screen in the control room.

The staff in the control center jumped up and cheered; some hugged, some high-fived.

A young engineer rushed to the front desk, excitedly shouting, "Professor, everyone, let's go to the cafeteria to celebrate! Champagne and delicious food are all ready!"

In the cafeteria, Lin Ran accepted the champagne, raised it with a smile, and said, "Cheers to the successful completion of humanity's first moon landing!"

"Cheers!" the engineers responded in unison.

After finishing his drink, Lin Ran said, "Alright, I'm giving everyone a week off. You can all enjoy this week off to the fullest."

I know that everyone would much rather celebrate with blondes in a Huntsville bar than in the Redstone base canteen with a bunch of engineers.

After Lin Ran finished speaking, McNamara took the microphone:
"Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the White House, I would like to thank you for your contributions, and especially thank the professor for his outstanding contributions to human space exploration."

Today we witness the pinnacle of human space exploration. Gagarin conquered the moon, and NASA has also conquered the moon!
Thank you to every NASA employee for your hard work; this is a victory for everyone!

The applause lasted for a long time.

However, some people realized that something was wrong.

Because McNamara did not mention US-Soviet cooperation at all during his speech.

Although the work was very hard during this period, most people actually didn't have much work to do after Gagarin's moon landing.

Because Lin Ran handled almost all the calculations by himself.

Moreover, they were still able to access information from the outside world through newspapers and television.

External propaganda emphasizes that this is a great victory for human cooperation, a rare moment of warmth in the Cold War, a symbol of humanity's joint exploration of the universe, and a new symbol of human peace.

As a result, McNamara's concluding remarks on behalf of the White House made no mention of this point from beginning to end, nor did they mention peace or cooperation.

The more perceptive engineers present have realized that this may not be the beginning of peace, but rather the final chapter.

Among them, the most perceptive must be von Braun.

He whispered to the German scientist beside him, "It seems that the White House's goal is simply to mitigate the impact of the Soviet moon landing."

True cooperation is still a long way off.

Our Saturn V rocket will still come in handy.

"Yes, it seems that peace for humanity is still not coming anytime soon."

Inside the White House, Lyndon Johnson and his core team were engaged in close discussion as a press conference was about to be held in the East Room.

Lyndon Johnson sat behind his large desk, arms crossed, brow furrowed, his gaze sweeping over the three officials before him: Vice President Humphrey, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and National Security Advisor George Bundy.

The table was scattered with mission briefings from NASA and headlines from major newspapers.

Johnson slammed his hand on the table, causing his pen to jump. He asked in a slightly Texas accent, "How are we supposed to deal with the reporters now?"
If the issue revolves around US-Soviet cooperation, journalists might seize upon this point and make a big deal out of it. Given the influence of Europe, journalists are eager to hear anything related to peace.

Humphrey sighed, "Alas, this collaborative moon landing is certainly a good thing if it's successful, but too much success can turn a good thing into a bad thing."

This collaboration has been so successful that it will raise public expectations for human cooperation in landing on the moon, initiating space exploration, and propelling humanity into the space age.

The desire for peace and the calls to end the Cold War have grown significantly around the world.

This is certainly not good news for the war we are about to begin.

Dean Rusk said calmly, “Mr. President, we need to make the world realize that this is a victory for NASA, and that our technology brought Gagarin back safely.”

We must curb this current narrative logic; we can no longer emphasize cooperation with Soviet Russia.

George Bundy frowned, his tone gentle but firm: "A US-Soviet joint moon landing could demonstrate to the world the possibility of peace, especially after the Cuban Missile Crisis."

If we completely ignore cooperation, Khrushchev might perceive it as a provocation.

Dean Rusk laughed and said, "Are we about to take action against the Baiyue? Isn't that the most direct provocation?"

Does the Kremlin really think our strategy for conquering the Baiyue people isn't for the Asia-Pacific region, but rather to uphold justice for the Baiyue people?

Fortunately, we don't have cell phones now. If we discussed it in a group chat and then brought in reporters, it would definitely cause a huge uproar and public outcry.

Johnson sneered, stood up, and paced to the window: "Peace? Do you think Nikita would lay down his nuclear weapons just because of a moon landing?"

That guy used to yell at the UN a lot about burying us!

Humphrey explained to George Bundy, “Mr. President, from a national security perspective, cooperation can indeed ease tensions.”

However, we cannot appear weak. The hawks at home are already watching us, especially Goldwater's group.

Johnson turned around and pointed at Rusk: "Dean, how are we supposed to explain this to the reporters? They're definitely going to ask why Gagarin is the main character, while our fuel tank is treated like a supporting role!"

Dean Rusk opened the briefing, his tone clear and organized:

"We can emphasize America's technological leadership. The design of the fuel tank, the professor's calculations, our deep space network—without these, Gagarin could not have come back alive."

We can say that this was a scientific collaboration, and America provided crucial support.

I suggest that we have the professor and Korolev participate in a television interview program to discuss America's technical contributions during the collaboration.

And why Moscow ultimately chose to transfer command authority to NASA.

Good heavens, in front of a professor, who dares to say we're just supporting characters?
Would the Soviets dare to say that?

Would Korolev dare to say that?

Johnson nodded and said, "Good idea, but we can't completely rule out cooperation."

After all, just a month ago, we held a joint press conference with Dobrynin in the East Hall.

We can say that this mission proves that science knows no borders, but America remains a leader in space exploration.

The idea of ​​having the professor and Korolev do a joint television interview is excellent.

What about London? Didn't Soviet Russia like London? Didn't Korolev like coming to London?

After hearing this, the three of them said in unison, "London is possible."

Johnson rubbed his temples, sat down, and said with a hint of impatience, "But this still sounds like there's something wrong with it."

The press conference asked us what to do next, whether we should do it again with the Soviet Union and Russia? The answer was more space cooperation.

In fact, we were tricked by the Soviets in this cooperation, and we had no choice but to cooperate.

We will not have similar collaborations in the future; this time we need to give a firm answer.

Bondi proposed: "You could say that this collaboration is a special case, and any future plans will prioritize America's interests. We will continue to develop the Saturn V to ensure we stay ahead in the space race."

Johnson's eyes lit up: "Saturn V, hmm, that's good. Let everyone know we haven't stopped."

He paused, his tone low: "But what about Gagarin? He was the first person on the moon, and the reporters will make a big deal out of that."

Humphrey calmly responded: "We commend his courage, but emphasize that the success of the mission was inseparable from our technology. For example, Randolph's calculations were accurate to the second."

No one can beat Randolph in precise mathematical calculations; we must emphasize, not even Gauss himself.

Rusk added: "We could add, 'Gagalin is a hero, but America's skills are the unsung heroes behind the scenes.'"

This would both save face for Soviet Russia and highlight our contributions.

Johnson nodded: "Okay, that's settled then."

Press Secretary Moyes knocked on the door and peeked in:

"Mr. President, the reporters are getting impatient. The East Room is packed, and CBS and NBC cameras are already set up."

Johnson stood up, straightened his suit, and said firmly, "Okay, guys, we have to play this part well. Tell the world we've landed on the moon, we're the winners!"

Bondi whispered, “Mr. President, reporters might ask about the next steps for Soviet Russia. How would you like to answer that?”

Johnson narrowed his eyes: "We say we welcome competition, but America will always be one step ahead."

The staff rose and followed Johnson toward the East Room.

Johnson shook his head as he walked, thinking, "Peace? Maybe someday, but President Kennedy has only been dead for less than a year. Even if I were president, I could hardly talk about peace."

(End of this chapter)