Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 437 The End of the 60s

A dark cloud still lingered over Washington, D.C.

V for Vendetta achieved unprecedented box office success over the past year.

The film was refused screening in Soviet Russia and its allies, for fear that it would remind people of the Prague Spring, or that it would lead to another Prague Spring.

It is highly regarded in the liberal camp.

Of course, this kind of praise refers to the general public.

Because it is endorsed by the governments of every country in the free camp.

The film was not well received by the location of the story, 10 Downing Street in London.

This is a direct reference to London and Downing Street.

Catholics in Northern Ireland, who have long faced systemic discrimination, are among the most devoted fans of "V for Vendetta," and they took to the streets to protest wearing the mask of V from the movie.

The Northern Ireland question began in 1968, and since then, riots and disturbances have occurred repeatedly during marches by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association.

The release of "V for Vendetta" caused the peak of the Northern Irish protests to erupt two months earlier than in the original timeline.

Prime Minister Harold Wilson chose to send troops to Northern Ireland, to the front lines, from Derry to Belfast.

Then came three decades of low-intensity conflict, a long period of violence in Northern Ireland from 1968 to 1998.

More than 3500 people died in the entire process.

Both involve sending troops into the streets.

The Prague Spring is still being talked about to this day.

The actions of 10 Downing Street, in terms of duration, the damage caused, and the social division they created, far surpassed those of the Prague Spring.

But nobody cared, and the media didn't report it; it was simply forgotten in the dust of history.

This is indirect evidence that the liberal camp controls the media.

Of course, England is watching now.

Things need time to process, but right now, this is the most important news in England, even more so than England's first astronaut being selected for training at the Kennedy Space Centre.

Downing Street believes that V, that damn guy, escalated the conflict.

His existence and the films he's involved in have created an intractable situation, caused Northern Ireland to spiral out of control, and resulted in the predicament of complete incompetence for the local government of Northern Ireland if they don't send in the army.

Downing Street blamed everything on V.

The Times and The Guardian chose to publish extensive reports that V was a conspirator and an ambitious man, not a civil rights fighter or someone who would fight to the death.

Mainstream media outlets, including those with a "yellow" tone, are urging the public not to be misled.

As for your question about why England allowed V for Vendetta to be shown, I can only say that they were forced to do so.

The liberal camp showed the films, but the socialism camp did not.

London can choose its own side.

Which faction do you want to be considered to be on?
Neighboring Paris frequently mocks England's cowardice and baseness, even going so far as to be afraid of a movie.

London was forced into a corner and had no choice but to reluctantly allow the film to be shown after West Germany announced its release.

Countries that have produced heads of state are not afraid, but look at how scared you are.

Faced with such accusations from Paris, London finally relented and allowed the film to be shown.

English tabloids quipped: "V for Vendetta is the most contradictory film ever made. It has the highest public buzz but the lowest media coverage. The media ignores the film, while long lines form outside theaters."

The more Downing Street reacted negatively, the more curious the public became, and the higher the box office for "V for Vendetta" went.

In terms of population proportion, England has the highest proportion of viewers in all of Europe.

Aside from "V for Vendetta," the space station was the most memorable thing for the public throughout 1969.

Living in space has sparked numerous fantasies about space cities.

In various science fiction novels, the themes have shifted from moon landings, aliens, and lunar wars to space cities.

Universities are exploring how to design a space city that is feasible from a technical perspective.

The images of Aldrin and Armstrong as space heroes have been further solidified.

America is conducting its first astronaut selection process among its allies. The selected astronauts will go to the space station and the moon.

Media outlets around the world are concerned about when their astronauts will be able to reach the space station and the moon.

Finally, at the end of 1969, Lin Ran announced an important framework corresponding to the Randolph program of local geometry at the New York Mathematicians' Christmas party.

He introduced the Fargues-Fontaine curve as a bridge, creating a wormhole to connect geometry and number theory.

Although this paper discusses a very narrow scope, only the correspondence between a small part of number theory and a small part of geometry.

This mathematical achievement, which was originally scheduled to be completed in 2021, drew thunderous applause from the mathematicians present in New York.

Everyone felt that Lin Ran's map illuminated a small part of their understanding through this paper.

It has been proven that the depicted map and the real mathematical world overlap and are consistent.

This made all mathematicians genuinely happy for this step forward in the unification of mathematics.

Mathematicians certainly have their share of power struggles, and their biographies are filled with stories of such struggles.

But in the face of truth at this level, all other personal likes and dislikes, and selfish desires must be put aside; the truth itself is the most important thing.

Everyone agreed that there was no better mathematical gift than this that ushered in the 1970s.

This is the best.

At the dinner that evening, the American mathematicians took turns toasting Lin Ran, all of them dreaming about whether they could complete the unification of mathematics in the 70s.

Dawn has broken.

It's only a matter of time before the bridge to the whole of mathematics is discovered.

It's like how, after the successful moon landing, everyone was dreaming about the arrival of the space age.

No one knows how difficult this is; everyone is full of hope for the future.

This is an era full of hope.

The smoke of battle on the front lines could not reach the universities in America.

In this respect, mathematicians are even more detached from worldly concerns.

After the New York Christmas dinner, the White House New Year's Eve dinner will follow.

Lin Ran met Kissinger here, who had returned to the White House from Hong Kong.

"Negotiations are lengthy, difficult, and cannot be accomplished overnight; it will be a marathon negotiation."

Kissinger and Lin Ran were talking in a corner of the banquet, with Jenny standing next to Lin Ran, listening to the two discussing the situation at the front.

Perhaps of everyone here, the only one who truly wanted the Vietnam War to end was Jenny.

The other White House officials tactfully chatted in small groups and did not disturb them.

"Yes, this concerns their strategic security, and it's impossible to get them to compromise."

I think that instead of trying to force China to compromise, we should find a suitable time to negotiate, ease domestic tensions, reduce the intensity of the conflict on the front lines, and gradually withdraw the soldiers from the Vietnam War back to our homeland.

Leave the battlefield to the South Vietnamese themselves.

A dignified end is far better than an endless war and escalating conflict.

I've heard plenty of complaints about the Department of Defense from Richard Kershoff.

He complained that the demands made by the Department of Defense were becoming increasingly unreasonable.

Richard Kershaugh was the head of Transit, the precursor to GPS, which was developed by scientists under the Department of Defense commissioned by the Navy, as mentioned earlier.

America's earliest nuclear-powered satellites were components of Transit.

Kissinger sighed: "Professor, you've said a lot before. We can make mistakes, but we can't do things that offend voters and lose votes."

This will not change based on individual will. Even though we all know that as long as we can win over China, losing Annam would be acceptable to us.

We should cease our involvement in South Vietnam and sign a peace agreement.

Kissinger's subtext was that as long as we withdrew our troops, South Vietnam would be defeated without a doubt.

This is not a disregard for South Vietnam, but rather a consequence of the performance of the South Vietnamese army on the front lines of the Vietnam War in the past.

Their fighting ability was so poor that they were unable to compete with North Vietnam by simply providing supplies before America left the field.

Both their fighting spirit and the quality of their troops are extremely worrying.

Lin Ran said calmly, "All we can do now is wait for the wind to come."

Kissinger, looking puzzled, repeated those few words: "Waiting for the wind?"

Lin Ran said, "You heard me right. When the wind blows, public opinion is like the wind. It comes swiftly and changes just as quickly, like a gust of wind."

For example, the job you do.

You can't say anything until public opinion changes.

But once public opinion shifts, they can help us quickly achieve our desired goals and exert the external force we want on North Vietnam.

Now, all we need to do is wait for the war on the front lines to escalate and for anti-war sentiment among the people to rise.

When the anti-war sentiment among the public outweighs the conservatives' aversion to socialism, the dawn of peace will appear.

The glorious peace that President Nixon spoke of will also come.

There was no other way.

Lin Ran spoke gently, but the content of his words was incredibly cold.

Jenny gripped Lin Ran's hand tightly. She thought of the soldiers who lost their lives on the front lines, the bombed villages, the poor children, and the deteriorating economic situation in America.

All of this is the price to pay for waiting for Lin Ran's so-called "wind" to arrive.

Kissinger immediately understood, "I understand, I understand."

I will communicate with the president. We need to lay the groundwork, just like you said, professor, we need to wait for the right opportunity.

We need to promote the message that signing a peace agreement is not surrender, but a dignified end achieved through diplomacy and military means.

We need to start now and gradually hand over the responsibility of fighting to South Vietnam, so that the conservative members of parliament and their supporters in the country will believe that we are not abandoning our allies.

Rather, it was helping South Vietnam become self-reliant.

That's pure nonsense.

After the withdrawal of troops, the first thing the South Vietnamese president did was to announce his resignation on television and then fly into exile overseas.

Everyone, including the Air Force Commander and Army Generals, was thinking about escaping and how to escape quickly.

Instead of fighting.

Thousands of officials, military personnel, and elites participated in the chaotic evacuation, including rushing to America's embassy and boarding helicopters or boats.

On April 29, 1975, Dutch photographer Hubert van Eys took a picture from the roof of an apartment building at 22 Gia Long Street, Saigon, South Vietnam, showing an America helicopter assisting in the evacuation. This photo is also the most famous picture of America's defeat in the Vietnam War. The failure, chaos, panicked escape, and weak will of South Vietnam to resist are vividly reflected in this photo.

Kissinger believed that with the stalemate on the front lines, South Vietnam would shift from the offensive to the defensive.

But at least we can hold on, right?
History provides a glimpse into examples of Kissinger's way of thinking.

In the original timeline, Nixon planned to complete the withdrawal within 18 months, but Kissinger opposed it. Kissinger was not against the withdrawal itself, but against withdrawing so quickly. He believed that if the withdrawal was completed within 18 months, South Vietnam would not be able to cope.

Kissinger's proposed solution was to allow the South Vietnamese army to conduct ground combat independently with their air support, without the involvement of the US military, as a test and training exercise for South Vietnam's autonomy.

However, even though Kissinger had slowed down the withdrawal, giving the South Vietnamese army ample opportunity to train,

They were even taken to Cambodia for combat training.

In reality, once America left, South Vietnam was completely defeated within weeks.

South Vietnam lasted for less than six months.

Kissinger continued, "So Professor, I need your help. I hope you can help me write a letter to the authorities in Yanjing."

I believe this letter will come in handy when I next negotiate with Chinese representatives in Singapore.

Lin Ran readily agreed.

It's just writing a letter.

Why not?

After Kissinger left, Nixon followed closely behind.

"Professor, Happy New Year." Nixon said, raising his glass. "Miss Hearst, you too."

Lin Ran raised his glass in response, saying, "It was a terrible year; so many unexpected things happened."

Nixon's relaxed expression immediately tensed up, and he frowned: "Yes, I won't be at ease until V is found."

This guy is even more annoying than Johnson.

He was referring to former President Johnson, who frequently gave media interviews and made sarcastic remarks about him during those interviews.

Fred was challenging him within his own party, and Johnson was also eager to make his move within the Democratic Party.

The Johnson of this timeline has a greater political legacy, a better reputation, and, similarly, greater ambitions than the Johnson of the original timeline.

He can choose again.

Failing to be re-elected is certainly a disgrace, but if one can return to the White House after a defeat, wouldn't that be a kind of triumph, a testament to perseverance and a source of honor?
Nixon might disregard Fred, but Johnson was definitely a formidable rival and a major concern.

Nixon's words were also a reminder to Lin Ran: I hate Johnson, so don't you dare give Johnson any advice.

I rose to the top and became president thanks to Huntsville's Longzhong Plan. If Johnson asks you, you can't help him anymore.

“Mr. President, you are the president now, so you don’t need to pay too much attention to the media,” Lin Ran reminded him.

"Professor, do you still believe that we can only choose between South Vietnam and China?" Nixon understood Lin Ran's subtext, nodded, and then asked.

Lin Ran nodded firmly, "Yes, Mr. President, the Korean War proved that."

We can only choose one of the two.

It is impossible for us to win the Vietnam War and gain China's support at the same time.

Lin Ran seemed to be issuing a critical illness diagnosis: "Mr. President, please, please do not place any, not even the slightest, hope in South Vietnam."

Nixon closed his eyes in anguish and downed the champagne in his glass in one gulp.

Why champagne?

The New Year's Eve dinner was to celebrate Nixon's great victory at the White House in 1969.

Although, apart from Nixon himself, no one else could really explain what exactly made it a great victory.

Lin Ran continued, "The Chairman once said, 'If you save the land but lose the people, you will lose both the land and the people; if you save the people but lose the land, you will save both the land and the people.'"

Similarly, if we gain Annam but lose China, we will lose both sooner or later.

"We will gain China and lose Annam; sooner or later we will gain both."

Nixon walked away, seemingly lost in thought.

When McNamara came over to exchange pleasantries, Jenny interrupted, "Professor, shall we go for a walk in the rose garden?"

The Rose Garden is a garden located next to the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House.

McNamara tactfully replied, "Professor, welcome to the Pentagon. I have so much to ask you."

In the rose garden, Jenny sighed, "Professor, humanity is too complex, and politics is too dirty."

Looking at the twinkling stars, Lin Ran recalled that on the last day of 2019, also in America, he had specifically chosen a spot to admire the starry sky. He pointed to the sky and said:

"That's what makes the universe so beautiful, and one of the reasons why space travel is so meaningful."

It allows us to forget the troubles of the earth and appreciate the beauty created by the Creator.

(End of this chapter)