Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 236 The Conditions Offered by Johnson
"Diplomatic recognition"

When Lin Ran heard such professional terminology coming from Lyndon Johnson's mouth, he was a little confused.

He knew this was probably related to China, but Lin Ran had no idea what it was for or what it referred to.

Lin Ran didn't speak, but instead looked at Lyndon Johnson with a questioning gaze, asking him to explain further.

"I lifted the import and export restrictions with China, allowing them to join the free trade cycle."

The United Nations may face some difficulties in the short term, but the GATT is fine, including removing China from the Deal with the Enemy Act.

The international community should grant China a certain degree of diplomatic recognition.

As mentioned earlier, Lyndon Johnson always felt that it was normal for Lin Ran, as a Chinese American, to help China, just like Irish, German, and Italian Americans do.

After Lyndon Johnson finished speaking, Lin Ran was indeed tempted.

"No, no, no, China has never admitted to withdrawing from GATT."
In other words, within GATT, China doesn't consider itself to have withdrawn, and in fact, they haven't withdrawn. So, all we need to do is acknowledge it, and China will naturally join.

However, Lin Ran pretended to be troubled: "We are all from the same country and are all Chinese. I don't think it's appropriate to ask the island to withdraw from GATT."

GATT stands for General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which was the predecessor of the WTO and was replaced by the WTO in 1994.

To put it simply, China was actually one of the original signatories of the GATT, one of the earliest countries to sign it, although the timing was a bit awkward, as it was in 1948.

After Lin Ran made this statement, Lyndon Johnson also breathed a sigh of relief: "Professor, you can rest assured about this."

Lin Ran nodded: "Mr. President, I understand. This November, you will see astronaut America on the moon."

But if you don't keep your promise, Mr. President, you should know the consequences.

This was a blatant threat from Lin Ran.

But Lyndon Johnson was not offended in the slightest.

Ultimately, it is strength that determines status.

Lin Ran is no longer the unknown newcomer who got his position through Kennedy's charity when he first arrived in 1960.

Now he is a world-renowned professor who has spent five and a half years working at NASA, transforming it into an unbreakable entity.

Lyndon Johnson is the president, that's true, and he can replace Lin Ran, but then what?

Whoever takes over will face the same problem: Lin Ran has disrupted NASA's management mechanism by adopting a unilateral decision-making system.

The advantage of this management model is that it is extremely efficient. In particular, Lin Ran has a thorough understanding of the detailed information on the Apollo program, making it both efficient and unlikely to make mistakes. Lin Ran is familiar with every possible problem.

This also helped Lin Ran cultivate the golden image of a professor who had only succeeded and never failed among the American public over the past five years.

The downside is that, apart from Lin Ran, no one else could manage NASA properly, neither in terms of knowledge nor energy.

It will take at least six months to readjust the organizational structure. After the readjustment, the management team will need to be re-promoted, their abilities, loyalty, and job suitability will need to be assessed, and they will also need to gain the trust of the staff. Any problems that arise during this process will seriously affect confidence.

After all, there were only successes when Lin Ran was there, so why did it all fail when you replaced him?
Replace Lin Ran? Be prepared for NASA's Apollo program to stagnate for three years.

Moreover, Lin Ran has the strong support of Morgan and Rockefeller. Can he really be replaced?
Just like McNamara, Lyndon Johnson didn't want to fight or use McNamara, that madman. McNamara was a complete mess when he was micro-managed; the more he fought, the more people he killed, and the entire Baiyue region became a pile of mud.

Wouldn't the frontline generals tell Lyndon Johnson, who had worked with McNamara since the Kennedy era, that he knew exactly what kind of guy he was?
But since these were candidates promoted by the military-industrial complex, they couldn't be replaced at all.

McNamara can't be replaced, and the same applies to Lin Ran.

After Kennedy, the presidency is no longer a position you can control at will; the aura of power has faded.

Furthermore, compared to McNamara, Lin Ran has another halo: the support of the people.

Even among conservative white people, they have to admit that Lin Ran is the most suitable candidate.

A poll conducted by The New York Times showed that NASA Administrator Randolph Lin had the highest approval rating among senior White House officials.

If he really leaves the White House, Lin Ran will be back at Columbia University as the head of the mathematics department, and the Columbia School of Mathematics will be waiting for him to establish it.

NASA, on the other hand, would truly face a situation where no one is available.

Lyndon Johnson had no way to control Lin Ran.

After listening, Lyndon Johnson smiled wryly and said, "Professor, don't worry, I will definitely keep my promise."

The prerequisite for keeping promises is strength.

Lin Ran can influence a number of people, but more importantly, Lyndon Johnson is afraid of Lin Ran's mind.

Former Vice President Nixon has returned to the Republican Party political stage. With Fred's election defeat, Nixon has rebuilt voters' trust in him and is sharpening his knives in preparation for the 1968 general election.

Former presidential candidate Fred has also been dominating the front pages of New York newspapers for years, frequently coming up with top-notch ideas such as the need for Black people to be educated before they can gain the right to vote.

As for how to determine whether the Black community has been successfully indoctrinated, isn't that up to the white people to decide?
It's essentially a variation of the old system where voting rights required passing an exam.

This argument resonated with conservative white supporters.

According to Lyndon Johnson's intelligence, both Nixon and Fred were inextricably linked to Lin Ran.

Therefore, in Lyndon Johnson's view, Lin Ran did indeed have the power to change the course of the election.

This power comes from both the opponent's top-notch intellect and their status.

A few more words here: at the beginning of this year, Lin Ran successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in philosophy in the presence of many prominent figures from the Frankfurt School.

Adorno, Marcuse, Fromm and other big names were all present.

Systemic oppression has also officially become a branch of critical theory.

This paper was used by social movement leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. as an ideological weapon and widely promoted.

Lin Ran has become one of the theoretical leaders in the civil rights movement.

He was a member of a minority group, a prominent figure or even leader of the Frankfurt School, and was also claimed by Martin Luther King Jr. as his close friend.

Such a status is extremely sensitive.

It is so sensitive that as long as Lin Ran publicly supports Fred or Nixon, the Elephant Party, as a conservative stronghold, will have no difficulty in winning over progressive voters and ethnic minorities.

The Chinese community that Lin Ran can influence is also a significant force in blue states that were originally biased towards the Democratic Party.

Lyndon Johnson didn't have much of an advantage in terms of approval ratings to begin with, and Lin Ran alone could disrupt that balance.

This is strength.

In addition, Lin Ran can also utilize the power of the Hearst Media empire to influence the balance of the election.

Therefore, Lyndon Johnson's tone was very sincere.

Lin Ran stood up and extended his hand to Lyndon Johnson: "Mr. President, I think we will have a pleasant working relationship."

The Michoud Assembly Plant in New Orleans.

This is the final assembly plant for the Saturn V rocket, and the only obstacle to completing the lunar landing before the end of this year.

In Lin Ran's view, the only thing that might have a problem is the Saturn V.

After all, this thing has been very successful in history, but they have never tested it even once.

At least one actual launch test could have been arranged. Now Lyndon Johnson is rushing things, wanting to get the moon landing done by the end of this year.

Therefore, Lin Ran decided to personally oversee the Michoud assembly plant and follow up on the entire assembly, testing, and ignition verification of the Saturn V.

At 4:30 a.m., Lin Ran was already awake before his alarm clock went off.

This is a habit he has developed over the past two weeks: sleeping only 4 hours a day and devoting the rest of his time to this temporarily added task.

Inside the massive Michoud assembly plant, a 361-foot-tall Saturn V rocket stands silently.

Under the dim industrial lighting, this steel behemoth exudes an awe-inspiring majesty.

The majesty of this industrial Cthulhu monster is real, just like the feeling you get when you look at giant industrial machinery.

Lin Ran, dressed in work clothes and holding a checklist, slowly walked around the five F-1 engines at the bottom of the rocket.

“Professor, each engine has a thrust of 150 million pounds,” Chief Engineer von Brian explained from the side. “The five engines together have a thrust of 750 million pounds, enough to propel a 630 million pound rocket away from Earth.”

Feng Brian initially had the idea of ​​competing with Lin Ran, but later that idea turned into outlasting Lin Ran.

Now, it's completely gone.

It's hard to imagine from the newspapers that Nixon and Fred, the two undisputed candidates for the next presidential election within the Republican Party, would often mention Randolph as their close friend when talking about Lin Ran.

The former is a seasoned veteran of the Elephant Party with deep experience, while the latter is a newcomer who relies on crooked methods.

No, aren't you the Elephant Party?

How could they trust Randolph, a high-ranking official who served in two consecutive Democratic White Houses?
Von Bryan found it hard to imagine how Lin Ran had managed to win over these two men: Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Fred. He felt that Randolph might have used some ancient Chinese magic to bewitch them.

Newspapers might report selectively, but television is much more truthful. Von Blaine watched television programs, while Nixon was traumatized and almost avoided television altogether, but Fred loved them.

Fred often mentions Lin Ran on television programs, and his sincere expression makes it hard to doubt that he is lying.

When faced with accusations of being a white supremacist, Fred would always bring up Lin Ran, saying, "I am a close friend of the professor. Are white supremacists and Asians close friends?"
This time, Trump has truly become a successor to a political dynasty; Fred will surely leave him a far greater political legacy than in the original timeline.

Von Bryan knew this was a propaganda strategy, but the problem was that whoever was elected would have to continue this propaganda strategy, which would inevitably mean that Lin Ran would have to stay in the White House.

This reality led von Bryan to give up, fearing he wouldn't be able to outlast Lin Ran.

All he wants to do now is work hard and wait for his retirement.

Lin Ran is too young; even if he gains more experience, he won't be able to outlast the other person.

Lin Ran stopped and looked up at the huge engine nozzle. "Feng, I know all these numbers. What I want to know is how much confidence you have in these engines?"

“From a technical perspective,” von Bryan said instinctively.

“No, we know very well that technical parameters are just data. I don’t need technical parameters,” Lin Ran interrupted him. “I need your intuition. As an engineer, do you think they will work properly at critical moments?”

Von Bryan was silent for a moment. “To be honest, Professor, I’m a little worried. This is the most powerful rocket engine ever built by mankind, and we don’t have enough time to test it.”

I'm not quite sure why we suddenly need to speed up the process.

The current pace is a bit too rushed.

“Then we’ll create time.” Lin Ran turned to face him. “Starting today, we’ll operate on a 24-hour, three-shift system. I want each engine to undergo at least 100 ignition tests.”

"100 times? That would consume a huge amount of fuel, and..."

"And what?" Lin Ran's tone turned stern. "Feng, you need to understand that we are entrusting the lives of two people to these machines."

Don't worry about fuel; the White House will give us a special budget, bringing forward next year's budget to this year.

Von Bryan said helplessly, "Okay, Professor, I understand. The pressure from the White House is too great. Alas, the Vietnam War was a war that should never have started."

Lin Ran shook his head: "Feng, from an emotional point of view, no war should happen, but from a rational point of view, they are all inevitable contradictions."

July 1966, Mississippi Testing Center
The testing center in Mississippi turned into a real hell on a hot summer day.

On the massive test bench, an F-1 engine is undergoing its 73rd ignition test.

With a deafening roar, orange flames shot out from the nozzles, and the entire earth trembled.

Lin Ran stood in the control room, two miles away from the test platform, his eyes fixed on the data jumping on the screen.

His shirt was soaked with sweat, but he was highly focused.

"The combustion chamber pressure is normal, and the thrust curve is stable," the test engineer reported the data.

Suddenly, a curve on the screen began to fluctuate abnormally.

"Wait," Lin Ran raised his hand, "There's a problem with the combustion chamber pressure in the third engine. Stop the test!"

"But Professor, the pressure is still within the normal range."

"I said stop!" Lin Ran's voice echoed throughout the control room. A few seconds later, the massive flames went out as the fuel supply was cut off.

Wernher von Braun came up from behind. "Professor, what do you see? The data shows everything is normal."

Lin Ran pointed to the curve on the screen, "Look here, at this tiny oscillation. Although it's still within the normal range, the frequency is wrong. This could be an early sign of turbopump failure."

You mean...

“I mean, if we don’t address this issue now, it could lead to a catastrophic failure during launch.” Lin Ran turned to face all the engineers in the room. “Gentlemen, let’s disassemble this engine and inspect every single part.”

Complaints could be heard from inside the room:

"This will take two weeks!"

"Our schedule was already very tight!"

Lin Ran tapped on the table, and the room immediately fell silent.

"As ordered!"

After Lin Ran returned to his office, Hugh Dryden pushed open the door and walked in:
"Professor, we've received another email from Moscow, inviting you to this year's International Congress of Mathematicians in Moscow."

I just spoke with the chairman of the organizing committee, Ivan Vinogradov, on the phone. He assured me that your safety in Moscow is guaranteed and that Moscow will certainly not prevent you from returning to America.

He also revealed to me that, thanks to a donation from an anonymous donor, the Fields Medal could be awarded four times instead of two times this year.

Therefore, Chen has a good chance. He said that if Chen wins the award, he hopes that you will personally present the award to Chen.

In both of the previous and current Fields Medal winners, Chinese scholars received awards for their work in number theory, symbolizing the outstanding contributions of Chinese mathematicians and representing a passing of the torch.

Previously, the Fields Medal was awarded to two people every four years, but the International Congress of Mathematicians in Moscow in 1966 was the first time that it was awarded to four people at the same time.

After listening, Lin Ran asked, "What did the White House say?"

“President Johnson wants you not to participate, but the final decision is in your hands, and conservative lawmakers are strongly opposed,” Hugh Dryden said. “However, the conservative lawmakers are not targeting you, but the president. They think the president trusts you too much. The Soviet Union would never have allowed Korolev to set foot on Washington soil, but we can get the NASA administrator and chief engineer to go to Moscow.”

Lin Ran chuckled, "Doesn't this just prove America's confidence?"

I thought about it and decided not to go. I'll write a letter asking Professor Siegel to go and present the award on my behalf if Chen wins it.

Lin Ran didn't go not because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to come back, but because the schedule was too tight, and more importantly, everyone's expectations of him were too high. If he went, he wouldn't have any outstanding achievements to show for it, so he simply didn't go.

(End of this chapter)