Chapter 204: Before The War Machine Starts
As time passed, Lin Ran was very clear that he would see more and more familiar things appear.
Cars, airplanes, electronic equipment, and so on.
He was equally clear about the changes he had brought to this era.
From the first day he obtained the “gate,” he had never worried that he would alter this spacetime beyond recognition.
Therefore, a portable calculator appearing ahead of schedule could not surprise him.
It was just that the surprise John Morgan mentioned made Lin Ran immediately guess that this thing came from China.
Because of the screen, this calculator’s screen had obvious differences from the currently popular display equipment.
And the Raspberry Pi he gave to China happened to include light emitting diodes.
He also didn’t need to hide it in front of John Morgan.
Even if he said in front of John Morgan that he was working for China and passing information to China.
John Morgan would first say “well said,” then find ways to help him cover it up, earnestly advising him that such words were just for fun between us brothers in private, and not to let it slip outside.
The reason was simple; without Lin Ran, who would guarantee John Morgan’s interests at NASA? This was his interest, and his interests did not completely overlap with the Morgan family.
Without Lin Ran, he would naturally lack a powerful ally in the internal competition within the Morgan family.
In the America system, Lin Ran could be considered a player of no small weight.
From the perspective of strategic maneuvering, Lin Ran could even be said to have jumped out of the pawn’s identity and was transforming into a player.
If Lin Ran failed, John Morgan would feel heartbroken; the interest connection was far more reliable than feelings.
So after Lin Ran said this thing came from China, John Morgan was first surprised, then clapped: “Spot on!
The professor is indeed omnipotent and omniscient.”
Lin Ran fondled this thing, seemingly able to feel the pioneering and hardworking spirit of China’s scientific researchers from this advanced electronic equipment.
“Only if it comes from China can it be called a surprise.
If it was just General Electric developing this equipment, it wouldn’t be a surprise to me; I didn’t buy General Electric stocks.
But for IBM, that would be a surprise of no small magnitude.”
John Morgan shook his head: “No, for Watson, this is a shock.”
Watson was IBM’s CEO.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Ran said: “How much per unit?”
John Morgan said: “Five thousand US dollars per unit. The China side will cover after-sales service; they need to guarantee after-sales for fault issues, handover in Hong Kong.”
Lin Ran thought to himself that given the current market demand, selling tens of thousands of units a year should be no problem, and for China, this foreign exchange could do many things.
“Understood.” Lin Ran said no more.
Although he could say anything in front of John Morgan without worrying about being betrayed, Lin Ran would not do so.
Because not now didn’t mean never.
Never say forever at any time.
Lin Ran continued: “Is America about to launch a large-scale landing in Vietnam?”
John Morgan nodded: “Yes, basically the materials preparation is already in full mobilization.
Materials are being shipped one ship after another to places like Saigon and Da Nang.
The training bases in Can Tho and Nha Trang should be piled full of materials.”
War is suffering for some people and revelry for others.
Obviously, John Morgan belonged to the latter.
When place names like Saigon, Da Nang, Can Tho, Nha Trang came out of the other’s mouth, Lin Ran had a sense of bewilderment as if the other was naming dishes.
As a Chinese person, he only knew Saigon.
“Sigh.” Lin Ran said no more, just let out a long sigh.
He knew war would not shift because of personal will.
When everyone from officers to capital was ready to make a killing in this war, it could not be stopped by external forces.
Kennedy couldn’t, let alone him.
Although Lin Ran didn’t want to see bloodshed or a group of people making a fortune on another’s suffering.
But this was the naked essence of how the world operated.
“I actually guessed it too. Richard Kshona, in charge of Transit at the Department of Defense, is getting more anxious and comes to chat with me about this system from time to time.
They even want to hand over the launch of Transit-related satellites to NASA.
I guessed it; it must be that America’s massive war machine is about to move.”
The cold wind howled outside.
Behind the president’s desk hung the Stars and Stripes, and the portrait on the wall seemed to gaze at history.
Every time Lin Ran came here, he wasn’t used to it because the cigar smell was too strong.
No matter when he came, it was always thick with cigar smell.
It was just the difference between just burned out or currently burning.
“Professor, sit down,” Johnson’s voice was low, “tell me, any good news from NASA lately?”
After sitting down, Lin Ran said: “Mr. President, the Apollo Program is progressing smoothly. Our engineers are perfecting the Saturn V rocket, expected to conduct the first unmanned test this year.
More importantly, the Gemini Program has paved the way for us—in just last month, Ed White of Gemini 4 completed our first spacewalk, proving our orbit operation capabilities.
We are confident in achieving a standalone manned moon landing before the Soviet Union.
Compared to the Soviet Union, our plan is a complete, comprehensive, and reliable plan.”
Obviously, after Gagarin’s moon landing, although America’s public opinion machine started up, with media synergy from free world countries, promoting it as a model of US-Soviet cooperation in the Cold War era, a perfect embodiment of the peace spirit.
Everyone won, no one lost.
But it couldn’t withstand the dissatisfaction of opponents and conservatives.
Lyndon Johnson needed to complete an independent manned moon landing before 1968, that is, before the end of his term.
Originally, the White House’s demand was within the 1960s, that is, before 1969.
But because there was already one successful experience, the timeline was advanced by a year.
Lyndon Johnson had already begun fantasizing about completing the moon landing during his term, fighting a perfect war in Vietnam, and gaining the upper hand in the Cold War.
Stealing two years from Kennedy, then serving eight more, a total of ten years as president, becoming one of America’s greatest presidents in history, successfully ascending Capitol Hill.
He had already begun fantasizing.
Among them, the moon landing was an indispensable part.
So Lin Ran must support it; no one in the world was more suitable as NASA director than Lin Ran.
“Well done, professor. The White House fully trusts you; we will give you all support!” Lyndon Johnson said, “Besides this, is there anything else to report?
I remember on the phone yesterday, you said there was a massive plan needing my approval.”
Lin Ran’s tone contained caution and enthusiasm: “Mr. President, I want to talk about the future of space exploration.
The Apollo Program is our response to the Soviet Union’s moon landing, an embodiment of America technology, but it also lets us see a problem.
Each Saturn V launch costs hundreds of millions of US dollars, and these rockets can only be used once, like throwing a brand-new airplane into the sea.”
Johnson furrowed his brows, the cigar pausing in his hand. “Professor, I know the cost is high, but this is necessary spending for the moon landing.”
“Fully agree, Mr. President,” Lin Ran nodded: “The moon landing is our primary goal. But once we achieve it, we need to plan for the future.
If we want space exploration to become routine, whether building space stations, exploring Mars, or other missions, we must reduce the cost of entering space.
Therefore, I propose that NASA invest in researching a brand-new technology—reusable rockets.”
Johnson’s eyebrows raised, with some doubt. “Reusable rockets? What does that mean? You mean have the rocket fly back and reuse it?”
“Exactly so, sir,” Lin Ran said firmly. He opened the folder, took out a simple sketch depicting a rocket landing on the ground. “Our idea is to design a rocket that can send payload to orbit, then safely return to Earth, be inspected and refurbished, and launch again. This way, each launch cost could be only one-tenth of now.”
Johnson took the blueprint, squinted at it for a while, tone still doubtful: “This sounds like science fiction novel, professor. Can this really work?”
Lin Ran leaned forward, eyes bright. “Mr. President, our scientists and engineers have conducted theoretical research and believe it is feasible.
General Dynamics proposed a concept called ‘Nexus,’ a fully reusable launch vehicle capable of sending hundreds of tons of payload to orbit.
Additionally, Wernher von Braun proposed similar ideas as early as the 1950s; his ‘ferry rocket’ design also provides inspiration for us.”
Johnson put down the blueprint, leaned back in his chair, cigar smoke swirling in the air: “Professor, I believe this is feasible in theory; I believe your proposal. If you think it works, the White House will seriously consider it.”
Now at the public opinion level, no one in the world understood aerospace better than Lin Ran.
Especially after reporters exposed the moon landing return process, where Moscow handed command authority to NASA, and Lin Ran personally commanded Gagarin’s return to Earth, this voice gained worldwide recognition.
The upcoming Gagarin visit to America, and the exclusive interview with Columbia Television in New York with Lin Ran, had global public looking forward to it.
Everyone wanted to hear more non-technical details about the moon landing.
This would also be Gagarin’s first trip abroad after recovery and recuperation.
Lyndon Johnson paused, tone becoming serious: “But professor, we are now going all out on Apollo; the budget is already stretched thin. You know how much money NASA has burned these years.
Those guys in Congress won’t easily shell out money for new projects.”
Lin Ran was fully prepared; his voice was steady and persuasive.
The purpose of coming here wasn’t to burn America’s budget as much as possible?
Otherwise, why come? To do technology poverty alleviation for America?
Reusable rockets, like Musk’s SpaceX-level reusable rockets, in 2020, other commercial institutions or national space organizations couldn’t even see the tail lights.
At this time, what Lin Ran needed to do was use NASA’s resources to research reusable rocket technology.
This was one of the few technologies that had no technical difficulties in developing in the current spacetime; instead, due to the fully developed space investment, it had advantages.
A technology that could be used after returning to the 2020 spacetime.
This was also Lin Ran’s small test of his authority in this era after holding great power.
“I fully understand the budget pressure, Mr. President. But please allow me to explain from another angle: Apollo is a sprint, aimed at the moon landing; but space exploration is a marathon.
To ensure our space leadership position in the coming decades, we need to lay the foundation for next-generation technology now.
Reusable rockets can not only save costs but also give us advantages in commercial and military fields.”
Johnson’s gaze shifted between Lin Ran and the blueprint, falling into thought.
The grandfather clock in the office ticked away, time seeming to slow down at this moment.
Finally, Johnson spoke: “You make sense, professor. But how difficult is this technology? How much time is needed?”
After all, Lin Ran’s reputation was there.
Johnson was also very clear that Lin Ran never made requests that were hard for him to fulfill.
There were many in NASA who understood technology, but few who understood politics.
In Johnson’s view, even Von Braun, coming from Germany, could only be considered passing in politics.
Lin Ran and Korolev’s face-to-face exclusive interview on BBC, Johnson watched the whole thing, including his New York Times interview, which Johnson read word for word.
Johnson knew that in Lin Ran’s expression, he both expressed a call for peace, disdain for the Soviet Union, and flattery for the White House.
Therefore, for Lin Ran, Johnson considered him a politician not inferior to himself.
If he were white and American-born, Johnson even thought the other could eventually become president.
Lin Ran smiled, knowing Johnson’s interest was hooked:
“There are indeed challenges technically, like thermal protection during rocket reentry, precise landing system, and rapid refurbishment process.
But our team has identified key areas and believes these problems can be solved.
As for time, if we start investing now, with NASA’s strength, we could have a usable prototype within ten years.”
Johnson nodded, fingers lightly tapping the desk. “Ten years, hmm… that’s not short.”
He paused: “What about Congress? They won’t like hearing NASA wants to spend big money again.”
Lin Ran had a counter ready: “Mr. President, we can start small-scale, like funding a technology verification project or developing a reusable first-stage booster.
This way initial investment is small, but it can prove the concept’s feasibility and strive for more support in the future.”
Johnson said slowly: “That’s a way. Let me discuss with the consultants and see how much budget we can squeeze out.”
Lin Ran said solemnly: “Thank you, Mr. President. I believe this will be a wise investment in America’s space endeavors, ensuring we always lead in the sea of stars.”
Johnson waved his hand, signaling he could leave, but his eyes held more thought.
Lin Ran did not leave the White House but went to the Eisenhower Building.
McNamara was waiting for him in his own office:
“Professor, America’s massive war machine is about to move.”
Lin Ran’s expression remained unchanged.
“Professor, I’ve reserved a consultant position for you in the combat command room. Calling it consultant considers your limited usual time, but in fact, whenever you come to the White House, your authority is no less than mine.
Are you willing to accept the consultant role?”
