Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 399 The Key to the Second Age of Exploration
"What kind of infrastructure maniac are you?!"

"Our journey is to the stars and the sea, not just empty words! When I saw the payload bay fly out without a single flame in the live broadcast, I almost burst into tears."

"Will going to the moon be like taking the high-speed rail in the future? The high-speed rail ticket costs 200, while the moon ticket costs 100 million? If I start saving money now, I'm sure I can go in my lifetime, right?"

"Those who say we only know how to plagiarize, come out and show yourselves! Let's see what else we have to criticize this time! Can you even copy a Steel Dragon from the Moon?"

Chinese netizens couldn't stand the name "lunar electromagnetic orbit" because it was too dry, so after the appearance of "Steel Dragon," everyone started using it along with the lunar surface to refer to the electromagnetic orbit on the moon.

"This is not an ordinary launch; it turns the moon into a space home port! All future deep space probes can be launched from the moon."

On Zhihu, the discussions among netizens were more in-depth.

"Thank you for the invitation. Mr. Lin has been mentioning this for a long time. Foreign media have been suspicious that even though Apollo Technology's colleagues broadcast almost every step live, except for some key technical details which are omitted, most of the other steps are broadcast live for everyone to see."

From initial disbelief, to skepticism, to utter astonishment, and now complete disbelief, the foreigners on Reddit's r/space forum are completely convinced.

One by one, they've given President Lin the title of "Space Emperor." In English, "Great" is "Great" and "Emperor" is "Emperor," and there's a difference between the two. The former is a title of respect. I see many Americans are already calling on the US to appoint President Lin as NASA's director.

They brought up a previous Washington Post report about Lin's live stream claiming he wanted to be NASA's administrator, urging Big T to appoint him quickly, saying that the gap between Musk and Lin is light-years.

On the contrary, I find many people on the Simplified Chinese Internet quite ridiculous. When President Lin proposed the goals, you all said that President Lin was just shouting slogans, that he was just a thief who stole NASA technology, shouting slogans to fool the country into investing, saying that it would be an epic unfinished project, and you always use Evergrande as an analogy.

Once the lunar base was completed, President Lin took President Lei up there and personally laid the foundation stone for the lunar orbit using lunar soil bricks. The internet was in an uproar, but these people were still singing a different tune, saying, "So what if you 3D printed lunar soil material? What's so great about that? We're still a long way from electromagnetic orbit. President Lin is just putting on a show."

Holy crap, they've already achieved a stable power supply, put the lunar 3D printing factory into operation, implemented large-scale solar and nuclear energy applications, and even completed the orbital design, and they're still putting on a show.

At the time, America's Foreign Affairs magazine, a core American geopolitical think tank, said that we should pay attention to this matter, as it was terrifying and that China's progress far exceeded expectations.

On the contrary, this group of Chinese people felt that this was no big deal and that they should really send you to Washington to make decisions.

Now that the electromagnetic orbiter is connected to the grid and the launch was successful, there's finally no more dissenting voices or talk of it not being able to return to Earth.

Now, let's start asking, does this have anything to do with your monthly salary of 3,000? In every comment section where someone is praising it, I can see someone jump out and ask, does this have anything to do with your monthly salary of 3,000? What bothers me the most is that there is one person who, on the one hand, asks if this has anything to do with your monthly salary of 3,000, and on the other hand, answers the question about the tenth successful Starship mission with great praise, calling it "the light of humanity".

Is it really a human? Does the success of the starship have anything to do with you? How many jobs has Apollo Technology created? How much has it driven the market value of the entire aerospace sector to skyrocket? The housing prices in the entire Shenhai Baoshan District have doubled compared to before Apollo Technology came.

Don't even mention a monthly salary of 3,000; even if you only earn 300 a month, this matter still concerns you. It can make your money more valuable, and it's relevant to every Chinese person.

Otherwise, why should we be the only ones without inflation when the whole world is experiencing it? Why should our money still have a relative value?

Finally, let's talk about the significance of this matter, which is definitely far beyond what many people imagine.

This successful test proves China's ability to apply nuclear energy on the moon. Compared to previous tests, this one marks the successful grid connection of a multi-nuclear fission power plant.

Then, superconducting materials at extremely low temperatures are perfectly capable of being used for relatively basic applications such as electromagnetic emission, and we can start to look forward to ultra-low temperature superconducting chips.

Significant breakthroughs have been achieved in multiple fields, including large-scale robot collaborative operations.

These technologies are the cornerstone of future space exploration and also have broad application prospects on Earth.

The second cost revolution: The success of electromagnetic orbit launches means that the cost of transporting supplies from the moon will be close to zero in the future.

This will fundamentally change the economic model of lunar exploration. We could mine resources on the moon and then transport them back to Earth, which would greatly boost the commercialization of lunar resources.

And this model can be replicated on Mars, absolutely replicated on Mars, and if it weren't for the cost and effort, we could start right now.

August is typhoon season in Taipei, and typhoons strike frequently.

Rain is even more common, much more so than in April.

For them, China's lunar steel dragon was a Category 13 hurricane, leaving everyone with a profound sense of powerlessness.

A certain blue-tinted television program studio

The camera's red light came on, and the host, Fang Yuan, faced the lens with a solemn expression, as heavy as a dark cloud.

The guest next to him, a veteran commentator, also looked somber, with heavy eye bags that looked like they were about to fall out.

"Viewers, welcome back to 'Big Talk News'." Fang Yuan was completely flustered: "Just a few hours ago, a piece of news that shocked the world came."

According to reports from Chinese officials and several international media outlets, they have completed the first-ever electromagnetic orbit launch test at the lunar south pole.

An unmanned payload capsule, without flames or loud noises, was quietly sent into lunar orbit.

This lunar orbit has been dubbed the "Steel Dragon of the Moon" by foreign media.

He shook his head and looked at the guest. "Professor Guo, what does this mean?"

Guo took off his glasses, rubbed his nose, and sighed: "Host, to be honest, there's not much deeper meaning in this. It's just that the technology in mainland China has reached a level that's hard for us to understand. Their progress in the past few years has been too fast."

In the past, we would discuss on the show whether mainland China could complete a manned lunar landing before 2035. Let me tell you, it wasn't that long ago, it was five years ago, in 2020, when mainland China first brought back lunar soil samples from the moon.

Then, Hanbing, Shuai Jiangjun, and I sat here discussing our most optimistic estimate: that by 2030, mainland China would be able to send astronauts to the moon.

What we saw was that, five years later, it is no more difficult for Chinese astronauts to go to the moon than for us to go to New York.

This isn't the most terrifying thing; the most terrifying thing is this lunar steel dragon.

This is a great name. It sounds powerful and fits the image of the mainland perfectly, as it combines steel and dragons.

While we were debating whether to sell the chips to America or the mainland, they had already set their sights on the moon.

While we're still arguing about those 28-nanometer technologies, they've already paved the way for lunar industrialization through electromagnetic orbit.

"Have you seen the official propaganda from China? They say this system can significantly reduce the transportation costs between Earth and the Moon."

What does this mean? It means that future lunar resources can be continuously transported back to Earth.

This means that they have begun to use the moon as their resource base.

This is not just a technological breakthrough; it's a redefinition of the rules of the game for the future.

To be frank, the mainland's ambitions are completely different from what they used to be.

Their true goal now can be said to be the stars and the sea.

Fang Yuan frowned, his voice trembling: "So the turmoil we've experienced this year, the blood we've shed, the markets we've lost, are just the prelude?"

Guo did not answer directly, but looked at the camera with a look of helplessness and sorrow in his eyes: "I just want to say that when the mainland is discussing how to extract resources from the moon, and you are still discussing how to keep the mature processes you have, and when your most relied-upon ally is trying to drain you dry, you should know that you are already on the menu."

Old Guo shook his head, his heart filled with sorrow, because he felt that he had no bargaining chips left in negotiations, no matter which side he was negotiating with.

In the past, when we had leverage, we didn't talk about it. Now that the mainland has realized what's happening, I'm not only going to increase my own leverage, but I can also reduce yours.

When you run out of bargaining chips, you have less and less to talk about.

Elephants have difficulty turning, but the potential energy they generate after turning is so great that they cannot resist.

A coffee shop in the Science Park, Hsinchu.

The coffee shop was unusually desolate. The hollowing out of the semiconductor industry has also affected the local consumer sector, which is in a slump.

"Old Chen, are you really not going to reconsider?" Section Chief Lin of the Hsinchu Economic Bureau pleaded in his voice. "The government is working hard, and we believe that as long as we weather this storm, we can still..."

"Get through this wave?" Chen Minghui gave a bitter smile and put down his coffee cup. "Section Chief Lin, did you see the news today? The mainland has laid out orbits on the moon! They used lunar soil to 3D print the foundation and launched spacecraft using electromagnetic force! They have already set their sights on the stars and the sea, and what about us?"

What can we use to defend ourselves? How did your talks in Yanjing go? Will Yanjing even give us a second glance now?

Section Chief Lin was speechless. He knew that what Chen Minghui said was true. The government's reassurance seemed so pale and powerless in the face of such a huge technological and strategic gap.

What's worse is that Blue has now lost its voice in Yanjing.

Upon arriving in Yanjing, the other party expressed their willingness to offer concessions in exchange for semiconductor industry orders from 4V. In the past, Yanjing would arrange for companies to connect with 4V and for state-owned enterprises to place orders with them.

They only need to name a number, and Yanjing can arrange to absorb all that production capacity.

Now, the common response is, "This is a market behavior, and we can't demand anything from companies. You need to work hard to achieve it yourselves. I see that your technology is quite good. Why don't you consider building a factory in China?"
This change left them bewildered.

Chen Minghui took a deep breath and made his final decision: "Section Chief Lin, I'm leaving."

I'll keep the R&D center in Hsinchu, but my new factory will be on Xiamen Island.

Because there, at least I can do business with peace of mind. I don't have to worry about whether my partners will be shorted by Wall Street tomorrow, or whether my clients will abandon me for political reasons.

While they were already building orbits on the moon, all I wanted was to survive.

Even after the successful test of the lunar steel dragon, Chen Minghui was thinking about whether he should send his son to the mainland.

Because even though it's called rolling, it can actually produce results.

A hundred years ago, China was struggling in poverty and war. Even having enough to eat was a luxury, let alone looking up at the stars and watching Europe and America rise in the wave of the Industrial Revolution and their fleets sail toward our coast. China was shut out and forgotten by the world.

Fifty years ago, China was finally able to launch its own satellites into space, but at that time, China's progress was fraught with difficulty. China watched as the Soviet Union and America engaged in a fierce space race, landing on the moon, while China could only silently chase after them from Earth.

Twenty years ago, China finally had its own manned spacecraft and its own space station. China proved to the world with its actions that it has the ability to enter space and leave its mark on the universe.

Now, China has simply copied other countries' technologies and pioneered a completely new path. Instead of competing with others on who has the bigger rockets or the most fuel, China has utilized the moon's own resources and the most advanced electromagnetic technology to turn the moon into a space home port.

Chen Minghui could easily imagine that behind this was the hard work of countless people.

They don't roll, they don't roll like the West did, they landed on the moon 60 years ago, but now they can't go back up.

Chen Minghui was torn between taking his son to Xiamen or sending him to America.

He is just a microcosm of the 4V businessmen.

Many 4V semiconductor companies have chosen to move north, and their presence can be seen in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Some companies have moved their production there, some have moved their research and development there, and some have even formed joint ventures with mainland companies to jointly develop high-end industrial chains.

The technology transfer from Japan created a broken window effect. Simply put, previously, 4V companies felt their technology was extremely valuable and absolutely could not be given to mainland China. They believed that if mainland China took it, they would not only lose their business but also their competitive advantage.

Now, they are choosing to embrace the mainland.

They had no other choice.

On September 1, inside a black government vehicle traveling on the Jianguo Elevated Road in Taipei, the atmosphere was even more oppressive than the torrential rain outside.

Wu Jianzhong handed the phone directly to Chen Xiaoxian. The screen displayed an internal briefing page that required three layers of passwords to access.

The title is in black, bold, and looks alarming.

"A Preliminary Strategic Assessment of the Successful Electromagnetic Orbit Test at China's Lunar Base"

“Xiaoxian,” Wu Jianzhong said in a hoarse voice, “Taipei received the summary of this briefing this morning, along with Washington and Tokyo. The world has changed.”

“The Pentagon’s initial assessment is,” Wu Jianzhong interrupted Chen Xiaoxian’s reading, summarizing for him, “that this is not a simple space mission, but the beginning of a cost revolution.”

They could mine helium-3 and rare earth elements on the moon, then launch them back to Earth like catapults. Even more frightening, the report explicitly states that this model could be completely replicated on Mars.

A flash of lightning streaked across the car window, illuminating Wu Jianzhong's bloodless face.

“It’s not that Mount Shenshan collapsed,” he murmured, “it’s that China already has alien technology.”

“Jianzhong,” Chen Xiaoxian began, “what does this mean for America?”

"It means they are less willing to lose, and even less able to afford to lose."

A nation that has already grasped the key to the Second Age of Exploration, a nation that is about to commercialize resources on the moon and even Mars, possesses a war potential and long-term resilience that we cannot even imagine.

America would never dare to gamble with an opponent like that, on the sake of us, on a risky gamble that could result in the loss of the entire carrier strike group.

Wu Jianzhong's face was extremely pale.

Even the most optimistic VV wouldn't dare to have such fantasies now.

“They dare not,” Chen Xiaoxian said coldly. “Therefore, in their eyes, the value of our shield is rapidly depreciating.”

Because America behind the shield had lost her will to win.

To say that one lacks the determination to win is to be overly optimistic.

"Will they abandon us?" Wu Jianzhong continued.

“Worse than giving up,” Chen Xiaoxian said, emphasizing each word. “Before abandoning the ship, they will dismantle all the valuable parts on board. Every time China launches from the moon, the Pentagon’s probability of failure increases by one point, and the White House’s anxiety deepens by ten points.”

This anxiety will absolutely translate into pressure on us.

"Previously, they were taking their time to exhaust the progress, but now it seems the window of opportunity is rapidly shrinking, and I can sense that the short sellers are becoming impatient."

I feel they want to swallow our industries and foreign exchange reserves whole, before China can completely digest the moon and convert it into an absolute advantage on Earth!

Chen Xiaoxian took out his phone and pulled up the information on Essellred Capital:

"You'll see, the next part of the script is going to be even crazier."

The White House will use a national security emergency as a pretext to bypass business rules and directly demand that TSMC and MediaTek hand over their most core technologies and talents as reserves for the free world to jointly combat the crisis.

Wall Street, in turn, will orchestrate an even greater financial panic, telling the world: "Our technological assets, if not immediately transferred to America, could be worthless tomorrow."

Wu Jianzhong said quietly, "Before, we were chess pieces. Now, we are chess pieces that they can eat to make up for their defeat before they lose the whole game."

The atmosphere in the oval office was heavy.

Big T sat behind the resolute desk, his usual exaggerated expression gone, replaced by a rare, somber, Lyndon Johnson-like seriousness.

When Musk was brought in, Big T was tapping on a picture with his fingers. The picture showed the blurry outline of China's lunar south pole base and a long, futuristic-looking structure.

“Elon,” Big T said without looking up, his voice low. “Did you see? Your men should have briefed you too.”

This is the biggest news in the last few days: the Chinese have used an electromagnetic railgun to launch something into orbit on the moon.

It's like playing with a slingshot.

A cluster of small nuclear power plants, solar panels, a bunch of robots, and a slingshot.

They succeeded.

Musk walked to the table and glanced at the picture.

"Yes, Mr. President. An impressive engineering achievement."

"Their applications of superconducting materials and energy systems are indeed very efficient," Musk said.

“Efficient?” Big T finally looked up, his eyes sharp. “Elon, this isn’t efficient, it’s a disaster! An absolute disaster! While our astronauts are still arguing with Congress over the budget for our lunar base, they’re already building factories on the moon! They’re laughing at us, Elon, the whole world is watching us make a fool of ourselves!”

Musk seemed unmoved by this emotional rhetoric and began to articulate his grand vision: "Mr. President, based on first principles, the moon is actually a strategic trap."

Although its gravity well is smaller than that of Earth, it is still significant.

To build a sustainable, self-sustaining civilization, the target must be Mars.

The entire design philosophy of Starship, from the Raptor engine to its reusability, is geared towards one goal: colonizing Mars and making humanity a multiplanetary species. We should bypass the Moon and concentrate all our resources and energy on the real rewards.

Big T slammed his hand on the table, making the water glass on the table shake.

"Mars?" His voice suddenly rose. "We don't have time to talk about those damned, distant human civilizations! We're talking about the life and death of the United States of America over the next five to ten years!"

He stood up, walked up to Musk, pointed at him, and spoke with an undeniable air of authority.

"Don't you understand yet? This isn't scientific exploration; it's geopolitics!"

What does it mean that they captured the moon? It means they control the ultimate strategic high ground! Whoever controls the Earth-Moon space controls the Earth!
Their satellites, their space station, and their missiles can all be supported by a lunar base.

This is the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 21st century, except this time, the missile bases aren't in Cuba, but right above all of us!

He paused for a moment, letting the weight of his words settle.

"Why do they dare to let us economically reap the benefits of 4V? Why is our deterrence failing? It's because they hold this trump card of the future! They think they've already won the future, so they don't care about taking a gamble now! We must take this card from their hands!"

Musk attempted to argue: "But Mr. President, from a resource allocation perspective..."

“No buts!” Big T interrupted him rudely. “I need SpaceX, I need you, Elon.”

I need you to stop that damn Mars plan and change course. Target: the Moon!

I don't care what method you use, I don't care how much money you spend, I need an America's lunar base, a base that is bigger and better than theirs!

I need our own electromagnetic launch orbit! Not in 2035, but before the end of my term!

He brought his face close to Musk's, his voice low and full of threat and seduction.

"All your government contracts, from NASA to the Department of Defense, all your launch permits, from the FAA to the FCC, every single one of them requires my signature."

We can make SpaceX the greatest company in human history; we can give you an unlimited budget.

Alternatively, we could have your every launch submerged in endless environmental assessments and safety reviews.

"Think it through, Elon. Do you want to be a dreamer who goes bankrupt with his Mars dream, or an America hero who conquers the moon?"

Musk fell silent. He looked at Big T, then at the satellite images on the table. His distant dream of multi-planetary species seemed so fragile in the face of the naked will of the state apparatus.

After a long while, he let out a long sigh.

“Mr. President,” his voice carried the weariness and excitement of an engineer facing a new challenge, “a lunar base and an electromagnetic launch system require us to redesign the entire Artemis program’s payload. The Starship lunar lander version needs major modifications, but it is physics-wise feasible.”

A victorious smile finally appeared on Big T's face, and he patted Musk on the shoulder heavily.

“That’s more like it! That’s the Elon I know!” he announced loudly, as if he had already won the war: “Not only will we go to the moon, we’ll build a massive T-space base there! We’ll show the entire universe once again what the true power of America is!”

“Mr. President, I think we can communicate with China. They are willing to sell us the technology for landing on the lunar north pole. I think we can talk to them; that would save the most time as quickly as possible,” Musk suggested.

Big T seemed to remember something: "Yeah, I remember now, but it seems like their asking price was too high. They wanted all the technology related to Nikon's most advanced 7nm lithography machine, which was a bit too expensive."

Let's call old Morgan and ask him what other scrap metal he can sell to the Chinese!

"What?! They're all sold?!"

John Morgan Sr.'s reply on the other end of the phone plunged the Oval Office into silence.

Regarding the 28nm technology, including compounds and special gases, Japan sold everything.

"No, didn't I say I'd select some peripheral technologies to sell to the Chinese? When did I allow the sale of everything!" Big T was a bit exasperated. John Morgan's actions had seriously affected his negotiation principles; he would take advantage of any opportunity he could.

Now it seems like we can't gain any advantage.

“Mr. President, you agree.” John Morgan’s voice came through the phone.

At the same time, Bessant said quietly, "Mr. President, you came to my office where Akazawa Ryo was meeting and told him personally that anything could be sold."

I originally wanted to confirm each point with him one by one, to establish a priority order, and to discuss it from the bottom up.

At that time, you appeared in the office, waved your hand, and said that these could be sold, they were useless.

They said they would spend a lot of money and be happy to take these technologies back, thinking they had won, but we know we gave them an illusion they could never catch up to.

　I'm taking a day off tomorrow, so I'm releasing two days' worth of content today.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)