Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 323 The Death of Martin Luther King Jr.

Lin Ran didn't have as much contact with Robert Kennedy as he did with John F. Kennedy.

Lin Ran's impression of this person was limited to the fact that he was President Kennedy's brother, rather than the Attorney General.

Therefore, when Lin Ran met Robert Kennedy in Huntsville, the 43-year-old politician was completely different from the one he remembered.

Lin Ran could sense that the other person was preoccupied with worries, as if they were not living for themselves.

(Lydon Johnson and Robert Kennedy meet at the White House)
He could understand this, after all, first his elder brother Joseph Kennedy Jr. died, and then his own brother President Kennedy died. Including the appearance of V and the White House's insistence that there was no conspiracy behind Kennedy's death, all of these things caused Robert Kennedy great pain.

Robert Kennedy realized that only by becoming president and mobilizing the state apparatus could he possibly uncover the truth behind Kennedy's death and find out who V was.

The opportunity had never presented itself in the past, but now, with Lyndon Johnson's poor decision-making, he believes the opportunity has finally arrived.

Unfortunately, the window of opportunity lasted only a little over a month. Lin Ran, the most outstanding talent discovered by his own brother, helped Lyndon Johnson make up for his erroneous decision, and the war was about to come to an end.

The most appealing part of his campaign slogan has lost its effectiveness.

Can he really defeat Lyndon Johnson in the party primaries by relying solely on African American, Hispanic, and Catholic voters? Then he'll also need to defeat the candidate from the Elephant Party. The road to the White House is so difficult.

But if he could bring Lin Ran into his campaign team, Robert Kennedy believed it would pave a smooth path to the White House.

This was also his father's idea, Joseph Kennedy Sr., to have him try to gain Lin Ran's support.

Joseph Kennedy Sr. was the former American Ambassador to England (1938-1940) and Chairman of the American Securities and Exchange Commission, a true power broker.

At 1938, on the eve of World War II, America's position as ambassador to England was more important than ever before.

“Professor, I need your support,” Robert Kennedy said. “I would like you to serve as my campaign advisor.”

The position of consultant can be both very important and very insignificant.

The power of this position depends on who holds it. If Lin Ran holds this position, he will definitely be able to make a lot of decisions, from campaign strategies to target groups, and even campaign speeches.

Lin Ran remained noncommittal and did not answer.

Robert Kennedy continued, "Professor, if I were to enter the White House, I would push for America to establish diplomatic relations with China, and I would appoint you as the first ambassador to China after the establishment of diplomatic relations, if you wish."

Lin Ran remained expressionless. He was not interested in the position, nor was he interested in returning to Yanjing at this time.

The existence of a door meant that such conditions were not enough to sway him.

Robert Kennedy remained steadfast: “If I lose the election, I will hand over the New York State Senator seat to you, and I will do everything in my power to help you become a New York State Senator.”

This means Lin Ran will have to compete with Fred.

Fred, a New York State Representative, had long coveted the Senate seat.

He wasn't sure he could be elected president, but he was absolutely certain he could win the senator election.

Lin Ran grinned after hearing this: "You don't like Fred either?"

Robert smiled wryly: “No Donald like Fred. I’ve said before that President Johnson is mean, sarcastic, and vicious—in many ways an animal.”

But after seeing Fred, I'm sorry, I must apologize to President Johnson, because there are now more animalistic members of Congress.

Robert called Johnson an animal, and Johnson called Robert a dwarf.

In the 1964 presidential election, Gallup polls showed that Robert Kennedy was the vice-presidential choice of 47% of Democratic voters, ranking first, second only to 18%, and the final vice-presidential choice, Hubert Humphrey, ranked third, with only 10% of Democratic voters supporting him.

Even with so many Donald Party voters supporting Robert and him having an overwhelming advantage, Johnson ultimately chose Humphrey.

The conflict between Robert Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson was so obvious.

Lin Ran laughed loudly: "What about Big T?" he then asked.

Robert Kennedy replied without hesitation, "I like animals that wear suits."

This made Lin Ran laugh out loud. He felt it was a bit of a pity that the social media platform needed to be launched soon. He couldn't wait to see these Cold War-era politicians hurling insults at each other on social media.

It was quite an interesting thing to see Nixon and Leonard exchanging words in the White House, and Nikita, who was vacationing on the Black Sea, added a few sarcastic remarks as well.

De Gaulle is still alive, so everyone can come and chat for a bit.

“Robert, you’re interesting, but I still have to decline. I’m not interested in this position. I don’t want to take sides prematurely because I’m not interested in any position outside of NASA,” Lin Ran said.

Robert looked rather grim. He hadn't expected that neither establishing diplomatic relations nor appointing the first ambassador to China could sway Lin Ran.

Robert Kennedy was one of those who came full of enthusiasm but left disappointed.

Not long after Robert arrived, Nixon also arrived.

Nixon and Lin Ran were scheduled to meet on April 5th.

April 2nd was the Elephant Party primary in Wisconsin, where Nixon won by a narrow margin with 49% of the vote, defeating Fred T. with 40% and Ronald Reagan with 11%.

They won, but by a small margin.

However, a black swan event soon disrupted the balance.

That was the death of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4th, a death that so profoundly shattered the balance.

Whether in the original timeline or in this timeline.

If Martin Luther King Jr. hadn't died in the original timeline, Nixon would most likely not have been able to defeat Hubert Humphrey.

Because Martin Luther King Jr.'s death sparked an unprecedented wave of protests in the Black community, the Democratic-controlled White House deployed the National Guard to suppress the riots, which resulted in a large number of Black voters not coming out to vote.

The Lorraine Motel is located on the corner of Mullbury Street. This unassuming two-story building is known in the local Black community for its blue and white sign and iron balcony.

Martin Luther King Jr. stayed here for several days in an effort to make the strike effective.

The striking sanitation workers, mostly Black, have been on strike for weeks, demanding higher wages and better working conditions.

Their current weekly salary of only $22 makes it difficult for them to make a living.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s arrival instilled hope in them; he planned to lead a peace march.

In this timeline, Martin Luther King Jr.'s social movement environment was much more relaxed because Hoover was restricted by the Kremlin and did not send anyone to follow him.

The BI report to the White House indicated that Martin Luther King Jr. was being followed to ensure his activities remained under control. However, Hoover's report to the Kremlin indicated that they did not track or monitor King's activities.

In the afternoon, Martin Luther King Jr. rested in room 237 of the hotel. For mathematicians, this was a room filled with prime numbers that inspired them, while for ordinary people, it was a professor's room number that brought good luck.

His team gathered around him: Reverend Ralph Abernathy, his close aide Andrew Young, the young civil rights activist, and Jesse Jackson, the strike organizer, busy arranging the rally that evening.

After resting, Martin Luther King Jr. went out of his room and discussed with his team members his speech that evening at Mason Temple. He planned to use the theme "A View from the Summit" to inspire the crowd to persevere in the strike.

Around 6 p.m., Jin walked out of the room and stood on the second-floor balcony.

As the sun set, it cast long shadows over the hotel. Beth's Boarding House across the street was barely visible in the twilight, with one of its bathroom windows open unnoticed.

Martin Luther King Jr. leaned against the railing, chatting with his team downstairs.

In that instant, a sharp gunshot shattered the silence.

The bullet came out of the bathroom window of the boarding house across the street, hitting his right jaw and neck, tearing apart arteries and spinal cord.

Martin Luther King Jr. was hit and fell backward, his blood quickly staining the iron railings and concrete floor of the balcony.

The team downstairs was stunned for a moment, then screams and chaos erupted.

Abernathy rushed onto the balcony, knelt beside Kim, and tried to stop the bleeding: "Dr. Kim, hold on! God, no!"

Martin Luther King Jr.'s eyes were half-open, and he was muttering something, but his voice was weak.

His inner thoughts flashed by like silhouettes in a movie: Is this the end?

Ever since he saw President Kennedy's death on television, he had a premonition that he would suffer the same fate.

Because the land upon a hill has never belonged to Black people, nor to those who seek racial equality.

Those dreams—equality, justice, nonviolence—will all go with me?

Blood gushed from the wound, and he felt a strange sense of calm.

A surge of strength suddenly erupted within him, and his voice, once weak, became clear: "Invite the professor to give a speech at my funeral!"

The team members surrounding him clearly heard his final plea. While others hesitated, Abernathy said directly, "Dr. King, you won't die like this! If you really sacrifice yourself, I will definitely do it!"

Martin Luther King Jr. nodded, closed his eyes, and conserved his energy.

Andrew Young murmured, "I saw the V!"

Jesse Jackson wondered if he had heard correctly: "Who did you say?"

Andrew Young's tone became firm this time: "V! The V who filmed the entire assassination of President Kennedy, his mask appeared on the other side!"

After Andrew Young finished speaking, everyone was shocked. Abernathy was still taking care of Martin Luther King Jr. Jesse Jackson rushed to the balcony and looked out, but he couldn't see anything clearly in the twilight.

All you can see is the car starting up.

Inside the boarding house, the assassin James Earl Ray quickly fled, throwing down his gun, getting into his car, and preparing to escape to Canada.

“I saw a car, but I don’t know if it’s the killer or V!” Jesse Jackson said.

In the chaos, the hotel manager, Lorraine Bailey, called for emergency medical assistance.

Martin Luther King Jr. was quickly put on a stretcher and taken to the nearby St. Joseph's Hospital.

The hospital's emergency room was brightly lit, and doctors were busy around the operating table: the bullet had torn through the jugular vein and trachea, and excessive blood loss had caused shock.

The attending physician attempted to repair the wound, but Martin Luther King Jr.'s blood pressure dropped sharply.

At 7:05 p.m., the doctor pronounced him dead.

The team members wept in the hallway.

The news spread like wildfire.

In a televised address from the White House, Lyndon Johnson mourned: "America has lost a great leader."

The country has descended into riots: riots have broken out in more than 100 cities, including Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Baltimore, with the anger of the Black community erupting like a volcano.

Buildings caught fire, the National Guard was deployed, resulting in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries.

Amidst the turmoil, Lin Ran met Nixon in Huntsville.

When Lin Ran and Nixon were alone, Nixon did not feign the sadness he showed in front of reporters; he remained calm.

He was indifferent to Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, as if it were the death of an insignificant person.

Don't expect the Republican presidential candidate to have any goodwill towards Black people.

Fred openly displayed his contempt for Black people, and Nixon was no better.

In his call with Reagan, he referred to Africans as monkeys.

In terms of racial discrimination, Wallace is greater than Fred, who is greater than Nixon.

After all, Fred wouldn't refuse to do business with someone just because they were black, nor did he do anything in his apartment that prohibited blacks from entering, so he was better than Wallace in this respect.

Lin Ran remained calm: "Vice President Nixon, congratulations, the Vice will soon be removed."

As a Chinese person who received a traditional Chinese education, he found it difficult to empathize with the historical event of Martin Luther King Jr.'s death. His faint sadness stemmed from their friendship, not from the fact that the other person was Martin Luther King Jr.

He appeared at the scene and captured crucial evidence, proving that there were other murderers besides James Earl Ray. In Lin Ran's view, finding the real killer was the best consolation for Martin Luther King Jr.

Seeing that Lin Ran was not saddened by Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, Nixon began to smile: "Professor, I hope so. I can't wait to work with you."

We can lead America to victory!

Lin Ran thought to himself, "That's true. To some extent, the reason the US was able to win was because Nixon orchestrated the collapse of the Bretton Woods Agreement, stubbornly forcing the dollar to decouple from gold, which gave the US a huge boost in its resources, effectively outlasting the Soviet Union."

Nixon's words were not an exaggeration.

“Aren’t you worried about Fred and Lyndon Johnson?” Lin Ran asked.

Nixon shook his head: "Just because people like watching the Joker doesn't mean they'll actually choose the Joker for the White House."

(End of this chapter)