Chapter 301: Where’s The Professor?
“This newspaper’s Washington chief reporter Jenny Hearst reports from Washington on January 30
Less than a month after the Stars and Stripes unfolded in the gentle breeze at the Sea of Tranquility crater on the Moon, the White House held various celebrations nationwide to declare victory in the moon landing race. However, amid this uproar of celebrating victory, a figure who should have been at the center of the spotlight was conspicuously absent: Professor Randolph Lin. It was his team that once again sent humanity to that desolate land.
President Lyndon Johnson, with the booming voice characteristic of a Texan, declared to the gathered public and cameras: ‘This is the victory of America’s will! The peak of America’s wisdom!’
Spotlights flashed one after another as the president stood shoulder to shoulder with the three astronauts Aldrin, Armstrong, and Collins, shaking hands tightly and receiving thunderous cheers.
The key figure who turned the grand blueprint of the moon landing into reality and ultimately delivered it precisely into lunar orbit was not standing beside the president to share this historic glory.
In the continuous official activities—from the award ceremony on the White House lawn, to the tidal applause under the Capitol dome, to the grand rally in New York, to the parade in Huntsville City—the professor was nowhere to be found.
This reporter inquired with the White House Press Secretary’s office and senior officials at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, receiving only vague responses. One anonymous White House high-level official privately expressed helplessness: Don’t you know? Whenever it’s time to highlight the government’s vision and presidential leadership, NASA officials’ positions are always cleverly arranged out of the picture.
This deliberate marginalization is not the first time.
Looking back to the critical years after President Kennedy issued his bold moon landing proclamation in 1961, the professor, with his irrefutable engineering wisdom, forcefully argued at congressional hearings for the massive resources and technical path needed for the moon landing, laying the cornerstone for the plan.
However, when the Apollo Program officially launched under the president’s name, the spotlights suddenly turned to the political decision-makers.
An unnamed White House high-level official candidly told this newspaper: Redstone Arsenal is the engine, but Washington only wants to award the cockpit.
This kind of neglect has also sparked strong dissatisfaction in the scientific community.
Famous physicist Professor John G. Qu Runpu of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology bluntly stated: ‘Excluding the professor from the core of the celebration is like performing Hamlet without the prince. Columbia wouldn’t have reached the Moon because of political speeches; it got to the Moon because the professor knew how to make it happen.’
Many scientists worry that this dangerous signal will chill young talents from devoting themselves to national scientific endeavors: If the glory of ultimate achievement can be so easily stripped away, how can the passion for exploration be sustained?
More astute Washington political commentators point out that the professor’s overly high prestige makes him an inconvenient contributor in the White House propaganda machine.
A veteran reporter well-versed in White House operations sharply noted: ‘Johnson needs a pure, glossy, 100% ‘White House-made’ victory narrative. Everyone knows the professor’s talent is indispensable, but his history is a footnote that needs to be folded away and tucked into a file cabinet. Have him stand in the Rose Garden? That would disrupt their carefully scripted drama.’
The White House’s response to this newspaper’s persistent questioning has grown increasingly firm. Press Secretary George Christian responded this morning: ‘At a time when the nation is celebrating this great achievement, the New York Times is obsessing over speculation about some missing personnel, which is nitpicking and regrettable. The president is deeply grateful for the contributions of all participants.’
However, if gratitude exists only in words and not in the ceremonies and lenses where it should carry the most weight, what sincerity is there?
The Apollo Command Module once orbited the Moon, with deep space beyond its porthole—a realm explored jointly by human courage and wisdom. If we cannot fairly acknowledge in our ground celebrations the embodiment of that wisdom, the person who turned the stars into beacons, then is our understanding of this great achievement also like viewing through a distant, distorted porthole?”
The professor has indeed disappeared from public view.
The professor’s figure is nowhere to be seen at various celebrations.
Therefore, when Jenny Hearst’s report was placed on the front-page headline of the New York Times, all of America exploded in discussion.
If there were a Twitter trending list, “Where is the professor?” would instantly top the charts.
“No way, is Jenny Hearst crazy? Doesn’t she know where the professor is if others don’t?”
In the White House presidential office, Lyndon Johnson was furious. He had finally used the moon landing celebrations to dilute the increasingly failed Vietnam War and the rising anti-war sentiment, which was having an adverse impact on him, but this New York Times report undid all that previous work.
Suddenly, public opinion’s focus shifted back to the White House being useless, with space achievements all relying on the professor and President Kennedy’s legacy.
The Civil Rights Act is President Kennedy’s legacy, the Apollo Moon Landing is President Kennedy’s legacy, while the only thing Lyndon Johnson himself started—the Vietnam War—is a total mess.
Now public opinion has turned like this again. With this editorial out, faces changed immediately, and media from the Soviet Union camp even verbally and pen-wise attacked the White House, viewing its behavior as disrespect to talent and expressing welcome for the professor to take a job in the Soviet Union, with the position of dean of the Soviet Academy of Sciences reserved for him.
When Leonard publicly accepted an interview, he stated that as long as the professor is willing to come, the authority of the future dean of the Soviet Academy of Sciences will include an additional responsibility: overseeing all Soviet Union technology work.
Lyndon Johnson was furious.
“Wasn’t it that the professor didn’t come to share the glory with us because he himself wanted a long vacation?
That old guy Qu Runpu is even more shameless. What excluding the professor from the core of the celebration—you know what the real situation is? You’re doing this to criticize the White House just for your brother’s presidential election next year?
And what veteran reporter sharply pointed out— wasn’t that you yourself, Jenny Hearst?
Who is that anonymous White House senior official? Who dares to say such things to Jenny Hearst at a time like this? Humphrey, go investigate immediately!”
Lyndon Johnson was burning with rage, practically cooked through, because this was pure fabrication, a pot from out of nowhere.
Lyndon Johnson suddenly stood up, narrowed his eyes at Humphrey: “Humphrey, that anonymous White House senior official wouldn’t be you, would it? I remember you have a close relationship with the Hearst family.”
(Humphrey and Lyndon Johnson in the White House, photo source: Minnesota Historical Society)
The Hearst family has a close relationship with Humphrey. To be precise, the founder and first- and second-generation patriarchs of the Hearst family were all Donkey Party senators.
However, after 1932, Hearst’s media empire turned to support the Elephant Party, until the 1964 presidential election when the Hearst family first returned to supporting the Donkey Party.
(The New York Times published this news on September 18, 1964, with the headline “JOHNSON BACKED BY HEARST CHAIN; Papers Support Democrats for First Time Since 1932”, translated into Chinese as “Johnson gains Hearst Group support; newspapers support Democrats for first time since 1932”)
Hearst supported Johnson, that’s true, but in 1968 they quickly flipped. The Hearst family’s media empire provided Humphrey with massive positive coverage and promotion, indirectly forcing Lyndon Johnson to withdraw from the party primary and making great contributions to Humphrey becoming the Donkey Party presidential candidate.
Humphrey hurriedly retorted: “Mr. President, how could it be me? I’m utterly loyal to you!”
He was just short of swearing by heaven and earth.
Lyndon Johnson said: “Go investigate who has such nerve.”
Humphrey weakly reminded: “What if it’s McNamara? He’s always held the professor in high regard.”
Lyndon Johnson roared: “If it’s him, bring him to me too. I can’t fire him, so I can’t even scold him, right?”
The Vietnam War is being fought ugly—for the public, for the White House—but for interest groups, the Vietnam War is fought beautifully, McNamara’s command is brilliant. Without McNamara’s command, how could we rake in the big bucks?
So Lyndon Johnson has no way to deal with McNamara at all.
“Alright, I’ll go investigate right now.” Humphrey said, knowing not to go against Lyndon Johnson at a time like this.
Lyndon Johnson then asked: “Humphrey, do you think this report is Jenny’s own idea, or the professor’s idea?”
Before Humphrey could answer, Lyndon Johnson muttered to himself: “No, this is the professor’s idea. Without the professor’s approval, Jenny Hearst wouldn’t publish such a report.
Doesn’t she know if others don’t?
The professor himself requested a long vacation and went to a small naval vacation island in Hawaii, saying he wanted seclusion to think and to be alone.
For this, all the staff on that island were completely withdrawn, with the Navy assigning special personnel to deliver water and food to him every day.
This was all arranged according to his request. If I remember correctly, Jenny Hearst also visited the professor on that island.
She was the only one who went to that island during this period.
Now she’s writing here about us deliberately ignoring the professor’s contributions—what is that if not nonsense?
This behavior is too egregious!”
Humphrey nodded: “We must give Jenny Hearst a piece of our mind! I’ll go talk to Press Secretary George Christian right now and have him revoke Jenny Hearst’s White House press pass! Let her never.”
Before Humphrey could finish, Lyndon Johnson interrupted: “No need for that. The president must have the president’s vision! We need to give young people opportunities.”
Humphrey smirked inwardly: Just as I thought, you don’t dare. Do you dare offend both the Hearst family and the professor at the same time?
“Anyway, let me think about it. I need to figure out how to communicate with the professor—can’t let him go to Nixon’s or Fred’s camp.
Especially that bitch Fred!”
Fred has an innate understanding of traffic-era tactics sixty years later. Without anyone teaching him, he knows to bite at Lyndon Johnson every day, so the national public naturally knows who he is.
Saying stupid things is fine—stupid things aren’t scary; what’s scary is no one caring.
Every day his words make the newspapers, becoming a topic of national discussion, dinner-table chatter. Even if it’s just people mocking Fred the idiot for two sentences, it’s much better than being obscure.
Besides, Fred isn’t just about stupid remarks; sometimes he has thought-provoking views in his field of expertise.
Under this interwoven media promotion, plus sending his son to the Vietnam War frontline—West Point graduate, going to the Vietnam War frontline as a frontline Army soldier—this great patriotic spirit deeply moved the American public.
This made his image in the public eye exceptionally real.
In last year’s American congressional elections, Fred overwhelmingly defeated his opponent and continued serving as congressman for New York State.
He is evidently the Elephant Party’s rising political star.
But precisely because of this, Lyndon Johnson hates Fred to the bone.
Imagine waking up every morning to see someone cursing you in the newspapers with all sorts of foul language.
“Compared to being president, Lyndon Johnson wouldn’t even qualify as Mayor of New York City.”
“Lyndon Johnson’s command in the Vietnam War is a disaster; he’s a bona fide idiot.”
“The feeling of being led by Lyndon Johnson is like swallowing flies.”
Even funnier was one time when Fred was giving an exclusive TV station interview downstairs at the T Building, and when asked his view on the Vietnam War, he pointed at a dog-walker on the roadside and said:
“See that? Even that dog sitting in the White House would do better than Lyndon Johnson.”
If Nixon is just competition because everyone aims for the White House, then for Fred, Lyndon Johnson wishes he could kill the guy.
When Lyndon Johnson saw that report—with the photo of Fred pointing at the dog, camera on them—he thought that if he were alone with Fred in the White House office, he might not be able to resist pulling a pistol from the drawer and shooting him.
And Lyndon Johnson specifically told McNamara to take good care of Fred’s son—must take good care!
What Lin Ran meant to McNamara was also, you need to take good care of Fred’s son.
McNamara asked Lin Ran, is it okay to send him to the frontline as Army?
Lin Ran’s answer was to give him full training first.
This was the godfather’s final act of care.
As a result, Fred’s son is now on the frontline, a genuine American soldier fighting scarecrows.
His image in camouflage and straw hat has become widely known nationwide precisely because he’s Fred’s son.
Fred is determined to groom his son onto the path of second-generation congressman or even president.
Of course, if he himself can become president, that’s best.
“Exactly, the professor’s influence is too great, his identity quite delicate, able to sway academia, minority ethnic groups, and the middle class.” Humphrey nodded: “Mr. President, before the professor publicly breaks with you, I don’t suggest creating conflict with him. At least in public, you need to maintain a friendly cooperative relationship.”
Humphrey thought to himself: Bet you didn’t expect, I’m also vying for the professor’s support.
Martin Luther King won’t die until 1968. Lin Ran can influence both black people and yellow people—with appeal to yellow people, and for black people it depends on convincing Martin Luther King.
But the problem is, Lyndon Johnson knows full well that the Vietnam War he started is opposed by everyone, and Lin Ran might really convince black communities to pinch their noses and vote Elephant Party.
Just thinking about it gives him a headache; the other’s influence has grown too big. “I know, I know. The professor is my mentor and benefactor!”
A thought flashed in Humphrey’s mind: “Him take place replace.” He definitely doesn’t know classical Chinese, but it’s about that meaning.
In 1968 itself, it was Humphrey who forced Lyndon Johnson to step down.
Humphrey had already begun laying the groundwork.
He knew that gaining Lin Ran’s support was especially important.
Therefore, after the January 30 meeting with Lyndon Johnson, Humphrey personally flew from Washington D.C. to the Hawaii Islands to pick up Lin Ran. That trip takes over ten hours with multiple refuelings, but for the presidency, what’s a little distance?
The Hawaii Islands base is the U.S. Military’s logistics and command center in the Pacific region, the core for controlling the entire Pacific.
Lin Ran’s vacation was on an unnamed small island in the entire archipelago.
With tens of thousands of American soldiers stationed, Lin Ran couldn’t run, not even a fly could get in.
Lin Ran was waiting for Humphrey at the naval headquarters on Oahu.
But before Humphrey arrived, he first got a call from Fred.
“Professor, thank you!”
