Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 307 A Prophecy Far Ahead
"I would like to ask the professor, what role did you play in President Johnson's Star Wars program?"

The Washington Post reporter persisted, asking further questions.

Nobody believed that you came up with the plan. They were nitpicking and even though Lyndon Johnson said it was your idea, they still asked Lin Ran again.

Lyndon Johnson turned to look at Lin Ran with a smile on his face, looking confident.

Of course, the reporters in the audience saw this as a threat, a variation of the Johnson treatment applied to Lin Ran.

Lin Ran patted the microphone in front of him, "Of course, the Star Wars program was proposed by President Johnson."

President Lyndon Johnson, with his remarkable wisdom and exceptional vision, recognized the rapid and significant changes taking place in the space industry and how quickly our technology was advancing.

When I presented President Johnson with the idea of ​​reusable rockets and multiple satellite launches, he quickly realized that we should use these technologies to build a global defense system for America.

This is a grand plan; it will build an impregnable fortress in space for the free forces. The success of the Star Wars program will be the fall of the Iron Curtain. This Iron Curtain is not a man-made concept, but a real barrier capable of defending against any attack from the Soviet bloc.

After Lin Ran finished speaking, a round of enthusiastic applause broke out from the audience, and the reporters clearly preferred Lin Ran.

"Professor, because this plan is really too extravagant. Ten thousand satellites, I believe that when ten thousand satellites belonging to America are floating in space, it can play a decisive role."

We would like you to explain in detail how we intend to achieve this, as well as the multiple satellite launches and reusable rockets you mentioned.

I believe we can only understand the feasibility of this grand plan after we fully understand these two concepts.

Lin Ran replied, "Reusable rockets mean that most of the components of a rocket can be recovered and reused after launch, which can greatly reduce our costs. For example, in the past, the cost of a rocket was 1 million US dollars, but in the future, we can launch a rocket more than ten or even dozens of times, so the cost of a single launch can be reduced to an unimaginable level."

"One rocket, multiple satellites" means that a single rocket can send multiple satellites into their designated orbits. This requires extremely precise orbit control technology. My plan is to be able to send more than 30 satellites into their designated orbits at once within five years.

By adding reusable rocket technology, we can complete this ambitious plan with just $100 billion.

This is also the source of President Johnson's wildly imaginative ideas.

This time the applause was even more enthusiastic.

"Professor, are all 10,000 of our satellites nuclear-powered? In addition to monitoring, will they also serve as part of our near-Earth orbit nuclear deterrence, as you mentioned at yesterday's UN General Assembly?"

All the questions were passed to Lin Ran; no one asked Lyndon Johnson any questions. As for Dean Rusk, did such a person even exist?
"No, we will never use nuclear power for low-orbit satellites because the risks are too high. For higher orbit satellites, we will consider nuclear energy, which is for the sake of the power system, not for the deployment of nuclear weapons."

America has signed the Outer Space Treaty and will abide by it; we will not arm space.

Helens whispered in Jenny's ear, "I get the feeling that the professor is the president."

Jenny patted her arm, signaling her to be quiet.

Because there were many reporters in the East Room today, and the room was packed with them, Helens's voice was very low, but there was still a chance that someone might hear it and it would reach Johnson's ears.

It's not that I'm afraid of Johnson, but rather that I want to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Press Secretary George Christian quickly realized something was wrong: Why are you all asking the professor for his opinion? Where is the president?

He knew he had to get the press conference back on track quickly, repeatedly referring to Lyndon Johnson's long-time supporters who were on good terms with the White House, which brought the press conference's attention back to Lyndon Johnson.

But clearly, once the reporters being asked aren't the same few regulars, everyone will turn the conversation to Lin Ran.

This created a very subtle atmosphere at the press conference.

Although the three people sitting on the stage kept smiling throughout, everyone could clearly tell that Lyndon Johnson's smile was fake, and Lin Ran was equally uncomfortable.

“Oh, no wonder President Johnson needs to be wary of the professor. If I were President Johnson, I would also be wary of the professor.”

After the press conference, Helens and Jenny complained in a restaurant next to the White House.

Jenny said helplessly, "Is being too capable a mistake?"
Whether it's a technical issue, international law, or the specific progress of the Star Wars program, I wouldn't mind asking Lyndon Johnson if he knew the answer, but he couldn't.

Didn't you see Jonathan ask him when the reusable rocket could be tested for the first time, and whether reporters would be invited to visit the Cape Canaveral launch site for the test, and he couldn't answer at all?

"We still had to rely on the professor to get us out of this predicament."

Helens smiled and said, "It's precisely because the professor has such a strong presence that everyone asks these professional questions."

Think about it, if it weren't professors but other NASA officials, would the reporters still ask these kinds of questions?

I even saw some reporters trying to get a statement from the professor on questions like whether the Vietnam War should be stopped, and I noticed that the professor's expression at that time was off.

So President Johnson was wary of the professor because of his strong presence.

What's even more terrifying is that if the Star Wars program were to start, no matter who the president changes, the professor would remain in the position of NASA administrator.

It's now clear that both President Johnson and potential presidential candidates Nixon and Fred from the Republican Party are very satisfied with the professor.

The professor's influence will continue to grow, and he may even stay in the position of NASA administrator for longer than Hoover.

Add to that his leadership of the Apollo moon landing and Star Wars programs, and the sheer scale of his influence is terrifying.

After listening, Jenny realized that Helens was describing a very likely future.

Helens paused for a moment and then said quietly, "I even think that whoever is in the White House in the future will only become more and more wary of the professor. This has nothing to do with how well or poorly the president is doing, it only has to do with the professor's existence."

Jenny sighed, "See? I don't think the professor necessarily wants to stay at NASA forever."

Helens's eyes lit up: "What? Do you have any inside information? Has the rift between the professor and President Johnson reached the point where the professor is being forced to leave NASA?"
If the professor really leaves NASA, that would be huge news, second only to the assassination of President Kennedy in the last decade.

Jenny shook her head repeatedly: "I didn't say that. It's just a feeling. I just feel that the professor isn't as enthusiastic about his work at NASA as he used to be."

Perhaps the professor has grown tired of the cutthroat competition at NASA and the White House and wants to return to Columbia University to focus on academic pursuits.

He was half right. Lin Ran didn't want to go back to Columbia University to study diligently. If possible, he would like to return to Hong Kong University to serve as a professor in the mathematics department and teach and nurture students.

"Oh, I believe that if the Star Wars program succeeds, it will bring about a different change to the Vietnam War, and the battle will be much smoother."

Unfortunately, the Vietnam War is almost over. We'll soon drive the monkeys back into the sea, and we'll soon win this war. If I were the commander, I think maybe 24 hours would be enough.

"Of course I don't believe that President Johnson proposed the Star Wars program. He doesn't have the brains for it. Believe me, if he had the brains to design the Star Wars program, he wouldn't have managed the Vietnam War so poorly."

This was 100% the professor's idea. I believe Lyndon Johnson doesn't even understand the concepts of reusable rockets and multiple satellite launches at once.

"No, no, no, I'm not saying President Johnson lied, but rather that he exaggerated his contributions to the Star Wars program."

Do you understand? Let's imagine a scenario where the professor reports to President Johnson that we have observed the Soviet Union launching a nuclear-powered satellite. This is a very serious matter and will pose a serious threat to our security. We need to take it seriously.

Then President Johnson said, "Is it possible for us to see what the Soviets are doing before they launch their nuclear-powered satellites?"

So the professor suggested he use 10,000 satellites, with low-Earth orbit and medium-Earth orbit satellites interspersed to monitor the globe. Finally, President Johnson gave it a name: the Star Wars program.

In other words, regarding the entire Star Wars program, he probably only said two sentences: "Oh my god, America's presidency is so easy; just two sentences and he can become the architect of the Iron Curtain after the Star Wars program is completed."

Reporters on the front lines of the Vietnam War loved interviewing this blond-haired, blue-eyed rookie soldier.

It's not just because he's Fred's son, but also because he can make surprising and insightful statements in his interviews.

If he were commander, he could end the Vietnam War in 24 hours. The higher-ups would definitely not be happy to hear such a thing, but the reporters would be very happy to hear it, because that would provide them with material.
The announcement of the Star Wars program sparked heated debate among the public. Some argued that the program would be too expensive and increase expenditures, while others believed that since the Soviet Union had already launched nuclear-powered satellites into space, the program was necessary. However, the proposal faced no objections in Congress and passed a special congressional budget by an overwhelming majority to fund the Star Wars program.

Because the Republican Party is mainly composed of conservatives, most of whom support maintaining the Cold War and fighting against the Soviet Union, while the Democratic Party, on the other hand, was proposed by its president, so they have no reason to oppose it.

A special budget of $20 billion was allocated directly from Congress to NASA for the Star Wars program.

Reporters also flocked to the scene, seeking opinions from various people.

The name Star Wars has also inspired many artists.

For example, George Lucas, who just finished filming his first short film "Freiheit" last year, thought after seeing the news: "Star Wars? That's such a cool name. Satellites are stars too. How come I never thought of that? Humans could live on satellites in the future, and then fight on satellites."

The Starlink version of Star Wars has steered Lucas's Star Wars film series astray.

It remains to be seen whether this off-track version of Star Wars will achieve the same level of influence as the original.

On June 5, on the eve of Kosygin's visit to America, Soviet Ambassador to the United Nations Nikolai Fedorenko met with Secretary-General U Thant at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

He handed over a document, his tone calm but cautious:
"Mr. Secretary General, the Soviet Union regrets to inform you that our Cosmos 250 satellite may re-enter the atmosphere within the next two weeks due to a technical malfunction."

The satellite carries a nuclear reactor for peaceful ocean observation.

We are making every effort to mitigate risks and will assume responsibility in accordance with the Outer Space Treaty.

Wu Dan, clutching the report, was dumbfounded. "You mean the satellite will turn into a nuclear bomb and crash to Earth?"

Early in the morning, the Soviet side sent a secretary to meet with him, saying there was an emergency.

The debate about nuclear-powered satellites has been going on since the beginning of the year.

The Soviet Union did not deny that it had nuclear-powered satellites, but only said that their nuclear-powered satellites were absolutely safe and were used entirely for peaceful ocean observation purposes.

During this time, Lin Ran wrote two popular science articles that were published in the New York Times, which explained in detail why Soviet nuclear-powered satellites were at great risk of crashing.

The Soviet Union quickly published an article refuting the claim, stating that Lin Ran harbored treacherous ambitions and would stop at nothing to curry favor with the White House, and that he was slandering the Soviet Union's technological capabilities.

Even at the United Nations, in the past, whenever space-related issues were involved, the representatives of America and the Soviet Union would argue for a while before officially starting today's topic.

Wu Dan was dumbfounded because Fedorenko had always maintained that their satellites were absolutely safe and could never pose a danger, and that the Soviet Union's technology in the space field was undoubtedly the strongest.

And then you suddenly tell me that your nuclear-powered satellite is going to crash?
The shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 flashed through his mind. This was nuclear technology, and any mistake related to nuclear technology could trigger global panic.

"Yes, its nuclear reactor specifications include 50 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, a thermal power of 100 kilowatts, and an electrical power of 3 kilowatts."

"If the debris scatters, it could cause serious environmental pollution," Fedorenko said calmly, without the slightest embarrassment. He had already mentally prepared himself; if he had any sense of shame, he would never be able to continue in this line of work.

Wu Dan's expression instantly turned serious, and he tapped his fingers lightly on the table. He really wanted to curse.

“A nuclear reactor? Mr. Ambassador, this is very serious.”

Where do you expect the debris to land?

"Based on current orbital data, it is likely located in the northwestern region of Canada or the Arctic region."

We have notified the Maple Leaf government through our embassy in Maple Leaf and pledged to provide technical support in response to any consequences.

Wu Dan knew very well that the current orbital calculation indicated this location, but after all, Canada bordered America. What if you accidentally crashed in America?
This is a major accident.

Wu Dan took a deep breath. "I understand. I will immediately notify the Maple Leaf Nation and America, and convene the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to discuss this matter."

Would the Soviet Union be willing to disclose more technical details to assist the international response?
Fedorenko hesitated for a moment, weighing the line between transparency and state secrets.

He was well aware that excessive disclosure could expose their space technology, but concealment would exacerbate distrust.

"We will provide the necessary information to ensure that the international community is aware of the situation, and we will also be committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Outer Space Treaty."

Fedorenko concluded by saying that the Russian Space Agency was the one making the judgment, and in this matter, he adhered to one principle: to be a good mouthpiece.

Wu Dan was really about to curse. What kind of time is this to be trying to fool me with diplomatic language?

However, he was helpless. He was just the secretary-general, and all he could do was convene meetings and let America and Soviet Russia vie for power.

At almost the same time, the Soviet Russian Embassy in Maple Leaf Country was located in Ottawa.

Soviet Ambassador Alexander Yofi met urgently with Canadian Foreign Minister Mitchell Sharp.

Yofi handed over a formal letter, his tone solemn.

"Mr. Minister, the Soviet Russian government regrets to inform you that our Cosmos 250 satellite is likely to crash in your country's northwest region due to a technical malfunction."

The satellite carries a nuclear reactor; we are monitoring its orbit and will provide technical support in case of any consequences.

Sharp's face turned ashen, and the pen in his hand froze in mid-air.

He quickly recalled the terms of the Outer Space Treaty and realized that Soviet Russia must be held responsible for any damage.

"Nuclear reactor? Mr. Ambassador, you've always said your technology is unbreakable and has no problems whatsoever!"

This will pose a serious threat to our environment and people. Can you guarantee that the debris will not cause pollution?

Joffe replied, "Our engineers expect most of the reactor to burn up in the atmosphere, but we cannot completely rule out the possibility of debris falling to the ground."

But we will do everything in our power to assist Canada in dealing with any consequences.

Upon receiving the news, the Canadian side immediately sent people to contact America for assistance.

The news also spread rapidly at the United Nations, provoking strong reactions from representatives of various countries.

The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space convened an emergency meeting to discuss the Cosmos 250 crisis.

Arthur spoke first, his tone filled with anger.

"Mr. Chairman, the actions of Soviet Russia are appalling."

Less than a year after the signing of the Outer Space Treaty, they allowed a nuclear-powered satellite to go out of control, threatening North American security.

This is a blatant challenge to the spirit of the treaty! We demand that the Soviet Union disclose all technical details and assume full responsibility.

Professor Mingming has repeatedly warned the Soviets, but they have been shirking their responsibilities and obligations, constantly disguising military projects as marine monitoring!

Maple Leaf Country representative Robert McDonald followed closely behind.
"The Maple Leaf Country expressed its gratitude for the advance notification from the Soviet Union, but this was not enough to alleviate our concerns."

Radioactive debris could contaminate our land and water sources, threatening lives at the landing site.

We demanded that the Soviet Union provide a detailed crash prediction and promise to fully reimburse the cleanup costs.

(End of this chapter)