Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 353 It's all about timing and circumstance!
We don't even need to go back to 1969, more than 50 years ago; even going back 20 years, things weren't like this today.

John Morgan Jr. thought that even though he was overwhelmed with grief, he could still profit from it.

What benefits could these reporters present possibly gain from China's aerospace technology intrusion? Nothing, absolutely nothing; their main focus was on even greater grief and indignation.

The country has been hollowed out by you plutocrats and Commissioner Smith, and our honest engineers and soldiers have been destroyed by your "happy education."

Everyone was cursing inwardly, cursing the Morgan family's newcomers for having no shame.

"This was a great collaboration!" John Morgan Jr. concluded.

The reporters in the audience were speechless. It was indeed a great collaboration for you, acquiring technology with just dollars. For the Morgan family, there was no need to worry about not having orders. No matter if the White House was a donkey or an elephant, they would still have to give you face.

For America, this was definitely bad news.

They're rotten to the core.

The intrusion of foreign technology would have a serious impact on SpaceX, which is homegrown and developed domestically, and could even cause a devastating blow.

After John Morgan Jr. finished speaking, the reporters in the audience raised their hands high.

People have countless questions for John Morgan Jr., wanting to understand the details of this epic collaboration.

"Mr. Morgan, what is the White House's view on this? Will the White House be proud that America used a replica of the Apollo moon landing made in China to successfully land on the moon again? Will the President personally visit the Kennedy Space Center to witness the launch and moon landing?"

The reporter's question was malicious; he wanted to indirectly probe whether the president had Alzheimer's disease, since only someone with Alzheimer's would be proud of it and promote it as a great victory for America.

With the general election just around the corner next year, the president's intellectual capacity is directly related to the election, and some journalists with pro-election stances have already begun to plan ahead.

"I'm sorry, I'm not aware of this at the moment. This is a spontaneous action by the public and has nothing to do with NASA. NASA is still officially pushing forward with the Artemis program."

"We will certainly invite the President to attend, and hope that he can witness America's return to the moon together, but it is uncertain whether the President will accept our invitation," John Morgan Jr. replied.

The White House has some sense of decency; it wouldn't go so far as to portray this as a victory for America.

Publicity also requires skill. We should downplay how they went to the moon, avoid publicizing it, and freeze the topic altogether. The reappearance of American footprints on the moon demonstrates their indomitable spirit, which is something we can publicize extensively.

This includes Aldrin training astronauts and the passing down of skills among astronauts—these can be widely publicized.

This is a victory for the Americans, not for America.

"Mr. Morgan, you just said this is a technology collaboration. How did you convince them to transfer the technology? I believe many people in Silicon Valley are interested in Apollo Technology's technology, and many companies have tried it. Why were you successful?" Another reporter asked a more pointed question.

How were you able to obtain such core technology from China? What kind of collusion did you make behind the scenes? You're practically begging to reveal your true colors as a traitor to the United States.

Some tech-savvy journalists have already speculated that John Morgan Jr. might have sold off GE's legacy in jet engines and propulsion systems to the Chinese.

People really dare not overestimate the integrity of the Morgan family. If they can carry out this level of cooperation with China in the aerospace field, what else can't they do?

Moreover, their trading partner was none other than the renowned science archaeology enthusiast, Lin Ran, who not only revived the Apollo moon landing from people's memories by digging through old documents, but also actually achieved the moon landing using this technological approach.

Some current technologies, such as the ceramic matrix composites and 3D printed parts used in the LEAP engine, are also very valuable to China. China's C919 passenger aircraft uses this engine, which is a joint venture between CFM International and Safran of France. If China can obtain this technology from General Motors, it can greatly shorten the time it takes for China to reverse engineer the engine.

On one hand, they can sell anything; on the other hand, they want everything.

This combination inevitably caused great concern among the reporters on site, who worried that the restrictive clauses might not be applicable to Morgan.

When others are investigated, they disappear; when the Morgan family is investigated, the investigators disappear.

"This is because I have developed a very good personal relationship with Professor Randolph Lin. We get along very well and have a lot in common."

"In Chinese terms, we're like old friends from the first meeting, like brothers from different fathers!" John Morgan Jr. said. "And it turns out my gut feeling was right; the generosity of our Chinese partners was truly exciting!"

The press conference lasted for two hours. Reporters bombarded the press with sensitive questions, but no one dared to openly criticize, leaving room for maneuver. As a result, John Morgan Jr. easily glossed over the issues with diplomatic language.

As the news spread and the image of America's version of the Saturn V rocket circulated on social media, the whole situation quickly spiraled out of control.

First, there was Musk. Ever since China landed in Shackleton Crater, he has been completely disillusioned with the White House. Now, General Aerospace's entry into the field poses an even greater threat to him.

An unprecedented threat.

He does have the support of America's military, but compared to John Morgan Jr., who is backed by the Morgan family, his connections are nothing.

It can solve the same problems and keep NASA running. The emergence of General Aerospace will take away at least half of the budget that NASA gives to suppliers.

This was a bolt from the blue for him.

Musk finally understood why GE spun off General Aerospace and what they relied on.

He initially thought Boeing was too old to shoulder the responsibility, and Lockheed Martin was just a supplier that couldn't carry the load, while companies like Rail Dynamics and Blue Origin hadn't yet matured.

General Dynamics? Musk previously thought it was just a second-generation startup gimmick, but now it has given him a surprise, or perhaps a shock.

“John Morgan Jr.’s actions are a complete betrayal of America! His private dealings with Randolph Lin are highly suspicious and warrant scrutiny. I strongly urge Washington to establish an investigative committee to thoroughly investigate this matter!”

“General Aerospace is funding our biggest competitor, providing ammunition to our biggest competitor’s space company in this way. General Aerospace has provided Apollo Technologies with a massive amount of cash.”

The above is Musk's tweet. Because he also needs to do business in China, and the Tesla factory in Shenhai supports half of Tesla's business, he dares not call it an enemy, but can only use the more neutral term "biggest competitor".

Musk tweeted nonstop, almost frantically, posting more than 10 tweets about the matter in just one day.

John Morgan Jr., a young man who also registered an account, commented directly on Musk's second tweet:

"You can set up a Tesla Gigafactory in China, providing tax revenue, jobs, and training experienced electric vehicle engineers and managers for China, but I can't cooperate with China within the legal framework? I only import technology from China, while you provide China with far more than I do."

The two sides exchanged barbs on Twitter, creating quite a stir.

The involvement of bigwigs has made the whole thing even more sensational.

General Aerospace's official account simultaneously launched the video on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. The first video featured Aldrin leading a group of six astronauts in spacesuits standing side by side in a simulated lunar environment.

"Let's start again!" That's the only line.

The second video is a panoramic video of the Saturn V from America's perspective, which includes a close-up of the Stars and Stripes on the fairing.

Public opinion was completely ignited. On the R/space section of Reddit (the American version of Baidu Tieba), the progress of Starship was a thing of the past, and now everyone was discussing the Saturn V. "Although this was a technology transfer from China, I have to admit that when I saw the Saturn V and the Stars and Stripes, my passion was still ignited. I have never been so excited about the launch of a rocket."

"Yes, and General Aerospace brought in Buzz. Last time, Buzz went to the moon on a Chinese rocket, which saddened me for a long time. I felt like America's hero had become a mercenary for another country. Now Buzz can finally go to the moon on our own rocket."

General Aerospace did not disclose which astronauts were going to the moon this year; they only announced that Aldrin was involved. Whether it was Aldrin or the Saturn V, the purpose was to awaken the American people's memories of the golden age and downplay the role of China in technology transfer.

The discussions in the Reddit space forum prove that General Aerospace's strategy is successful, with everyone's attention focused on the Saturn V and America's upcoming moon landing itself.

John Morgan Jr. took the initiative on Twitter:

"Our country has had a lot of cooperation in the space field in the past. We were able to cooperate with the Soviet Union and Russia to build a space station together. The history of so many space cooperation proves that cooperation in the space field is beneficial to both sides."

Chinese technology is civilian-oriented, and our agreements prohibit its military application, whether it's Apollo technology or General Dynamics. GAI's mission is exploration; we are concerned with how to get to the moon and how to lead humanity into space.

There's nothing shameful about starting a business through technology transfer; what's shameful is when a few people use security as a pretext, when in reality they're only considering their own interests.

GAI is an abbreviation for General Aerospace, and a small number of people here are directly targeting Musk.

There's no need for guessing; John Morgan Jr.'s subsequent tweet directly revealed the answer: "Musk is afraid of competition. He keeps saying that SpaceX isn't worried about competition, but what he actually wants is a monopoly, he wants no competition."

The repeated, sarcastic remarks and direct competition between Musk and his rivals have allowed John Morgan Jr. to surpass Bezos and become Musk's most hated target.

This also sparked heated discussions on the Simplified Chinese internet, with few netizens feeling that it was inappropriate.

The Saturn V rocket was originally America's own technology. I took her technology and then sold it to her at a high price. How could I not make a profit?

Burning One is indeed valuable, but transferring it to America puts General Aerospace and SpaceX in competition, which is a huge mess.

Competition between the second generation of established wealthy families and the first generation of emerging rich people.

"I have only one thought right now: the Americans' actions correspond to ancient Chinese history, which is like inviting An Lushan into Chang'an, marking the end of the Tang Dynasty!"

I used to think the Americans were like the Qing Dynasty, but now I realize they're like the Tang Dynasty. Their overseas military presence is like that of regional military governors, and the internal factions of the "donkey party" and "elephant party" are just partisan infighting.

"I'm quite curious about how much John Morgan Jr. actually spent?"

"Since Burn-1 can be sold to General Aerospace, I feel that if European companies want to buy it, they can sell it to them too. Anyway, their launch vehicle orders won't go to us, leaving SpaceX with nowhere to go."

"So, if our allies refuse to sell, our adversaries will have to sell off their assets at a huge discount? Russia must be furious. How could the Chinese be so wicked?"

"I'm quite curious about who will be in charge. Is the God of War going to America to direct the moon landing in person?"

"When I was little, I really envied the International Space Station. It was so big and amazing, and it felt like science fiction. I wondered when we would have one."

Later, I continued to pay attention to aerospace-related knowledge, learned about the Apollo moon landing, and learned about the Saturn V. I was even more envious. I never imagined that one day China would also have a Saturn V and complete the Apollo moon landing. What I didn't expect was that the technology could be transferred back.

Previously, people only knew about technology replication and Chinese knockoffs. Whether on the external or internal internet, when people mentioned "Made in China," they only knew about knockoffs. This is truly the first time I've seen technology flow back to China. I've reverse-engineered countless times, but this is the first time technology has flowed back to China!

Although Li Yiqing is based in Hong Kong, his social media platforms are mainly dominated by domestic media. In his various WeChat groups, there are all sorts of articles from public accounts about this collaboration, people's complaints, memes, and so on.

"The American whites in my group were very optimistic. They felt it was a great victory. At least they were second. China did not sell the moon landing technology to Russia and did not let Russia surpass them."

They felt that if China sold its lunar landing technology to Russia, allowing the Russians to land on the moon before the Americans, that would be a real failure, reminiscent of the Cold War space race of the 21st century—the Americans won last time, but lost this time.

“Yes, my classmate America doesn’t think much of it. We think it’s a huge deal, but they think it’s normal. Sixty years ago, the moon landing was led by engineers poached from Germany. This time it’s just that it’s been moved from Germany to China.”

“My white classmates laughed at the rednecks’ breach of defense. They thought it proved America’s advantage and that the technology was flowing to America. It was not a disadvantage but an advantage. It was a win.”

"Awesome! I've always thought the competition between Chinese and Americans is amazing. How can there be such competition that both sides feel like they've won? So who's the loser?"

"I don't know who lost, but I do know that my Indian classmate asked me during a casual chat before the group meeting today, 'If the Saturn V can be sold to America, then it should be able to be sold to us too, right?'"

"When doing business with Indians, you have to pay upfront, otherwise they'll definitely renege on their debts!"

Li Yiqing's classmates have a lot of students who have gone abroad. It's easy for a math undergraduate from Yenching University to apply for a PhD abroad; the only difference is the US ranking.

There are plenty of students studying in America, so they can access discussions about this matter from both sides. With Seohyun also in the group, the discussion is incredibly heated.

Li Yiqing typed on the keyboard: "I feel that this technology cannot be given to India. Rockets and intercontinental ballistic missiles are closely related, not to mention that India and we have a direct territorial dispute."

After he finished typing, he saw a woman, dressed in a women's suit but still exuding a student-like air, being led by Manager Li to the other party's office.

Li Yiqing racked his brains for a while, vaguely remembering that he had seen this face before. He opened Google, searched for the name Li Xiaoman, compared the face in the Google search images with the one he had just seen, and thought to himself:

"Sure enough, but the question is, why would Burning God's assistant come to Hong Kong? Could it be that Burning God is also going to set up a family trust in Hong Kong and entrust Morgan Stanley to handle it?"

As Lin Ran's fame rose, Li Xiaoman also became the focus of attention. They met when they were both unknown, she was one of the individual shareholders of Apollo Technology, Lin Ran's most trusted assistant, and a business partner who returned to China to start a business. Her experience was comparable to that of Boss Cai and Jack Ma, all of which added to her mystique.

Of course, there were rumors about him having a girlfriend, but he never publicly acknowledged it.

Li Yiqing was filled with doubts, wondering why Li Xiaoman would be here.

Three days later, he finally understood. Pete, who was sitting next to him, asked mysteriously, "Ethan, do you know why we bought that old property a while ago?"

Li Yiqing suddenly realized, "Transferring it to Professor Lin? One of the bargaining chips John Morgan Jr. used to acquire the technology from Apollo Technology?"

Pete nodded: "Smart! No wonder you're a math PhD from Peking University. But it's not a bargaining chip; I heard it's just a small gift."

The world of the rich is different; an office building worth at least HK$4 million is just a gift to them.

The lady who came a few days ago brought Professor Lin's power of attorney. I was responsible for helping her complete the procedures. The ownership of that property was transferred to Professor Lin through a gratuitous gift, not a transaction.

Li Yiqing said quietly, "No, besides money, we also had a month of hard work negotiating to buy this office building with such complicated ownership. The world of the big boss is really awesome."

With just a word, someone will provide what you want.

We're all the same age, so why is there such a big difference? Li Yiqing felt a pang of sadness. She thought to herself that the gap between her and Professor Lin felt as big as the gap between them in mathematics. Was this what it felt like for a mayfly to see the blue sky?

At the same time, he still couldn't understand why Professor Lin would choose that commercial office building.

(End of this chapter)