Chapter 460: Miraculous Reversal
This successful space rescue let the world see that China has already achieved actual control over the Moon.
The Moon is not the Moon of all humanity; the Moon is China’s Moon.
Now in peacetime, of course anyone can come.
But once the situation changes, anyone who wants to build a base on the Moon will need to get China’s nod.
No one can defeat China on the Moon, where it possesses both guidance and anti-missile capabilities.
In this spacetime, in 1970 Nice, France, the Chinese Representative sitting across from Lin Ran could never have imagined that in just fifty-five years, China would possess the entire Moon.
The two sat facing each other.
On the table lay a slightly worn document: “Outline of the Vision for Science and Technology Development Planning from 1956 to 1967”.
This was a very important document in China’s history, yet one that was overlooked.
It embodied the foresight of that era’s ancient country in top-tier design for technology.
In 1956, White Horse hadn’t arrived yet.
“Back then, we proposed 57 major science and technology tasks from 13 aspects, including 616 central issues, and further synthesized them into 12 key tasks.
The most important was of course National Defense, the cornerstone of our sustained development, which included the atomic bomb and missile; now developments are going well, we made the atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb, and possess medium-range high-precision guided missiles.
In emerging technologies, we planned computer technology, semiconductor technology, radio electronics, automation and remote control technologies.
In fields urgently needed by the national economy, agriculture and science and technology related to solving food, clothing and daily needs, as well as technological transformation issues in departments like mining and metallurgy, fuel and power, machinery manufacturing, chemical industry, construction, transportation and communication of the national economy, all were listed.
Basic science planning also focused on development directions in mathematics, mechanics, physics, chemistry and other basic sciences.
Honestly, at the initial promulgation of the plan, internationally it was generally considered overly grand, even impractical; in 1957, the year it was formulated.
I specially flew to Moscow, hoping that Moscow’s science and technology committee, Soviet Academy of Sciences and research institutions of relevant ministries would give opinions on our science and technology planning draft.
At that time, Comrade Kosygin said to me that our plan was too grand, its breadth and depth already on par with the Soviet Union’s national economy science and technology planning, even more comprehensive in coverage of some emerging disciplines than theirs.
He asked if it could be reduced a bit, indicating that the Soviet Union had seriously studied and given feedback on the plan’s content.
My feedback to him was that we needed to follow this plan; Soviet experts only needed to check feasibility for us, we would advance it ourselves.
My rhetoric at the time was that this was not just a technical list, it was even more a spiritual program to inspire all Chinese people to march toward science; its grandeur was our ambition.”
Lin Ran knew that after three days, the other party finally wanted to talk about some more practical issues with him.
“So Professor, this document guided the past twelve years of work.
We hope to obtain guidance for the next twelve years from his mouth.
Similarly, like the Soviet Union’s guidance, I hope the guidance you provide us is at the macro level, at the directional level.
As long as you give the correct direction, with our system and people, we will certainly be able to continue advancing until achieving that great goal.
Drawing on the remaining ferocity of six generations in the 20th century is also feasible.”
This was an open scheme.
The other’s subtext was actually, how should we chase in alien technology, what should we do.
Just using science and technology planning as the entry point to avoid detection by America.
“Very remarkable achievements; I have always followed Homeland, especially shocked by the continuous implementation of this twelve-year science and technology planning.
Honestly, when I first learned of it, I also thought it was overly grand, even impractical.
But you really achieved it; this is a miracle.”
Both knew in their hearts that Lin Ran was also one of the contributors to this miracle.
“The goal when we formulated the plan at that time was to concentrate efforts to catch up head-on; the core lay in the word ‘concentrate’.
We knew our foundation was thin and had to invest limited resources into the most urgently needed fields.
The plan’s implementation went even smoother than we expected.
This was the victory of scientific decision-making and nationwide effort, and also relied on the Chinese Descent Scientists who chose to return to China in that era; they made outstanding contributions to our technological development. New concept.
In the plan, we listed semiconductors, computers, and automatic control as the three major focuses of emerging technologies.
Now the twelve-year plan has ended; we have reached advanced levels in a few fields. Professor, you are not only the world’s top-tier scientist, but also a science fiction writer renowned globally with countless supporters. I really want to know your view on future technological development?” The Chinese Representative changed direction and asked, very candidly.
After pondering for a moment, Lin Ran said: “In my view, the future is the future of information.
In the short term, it is coexistence of humans and information; in the long term, it is information that can exist entirely on its own.”
The Chinese Representative quickly reacted: “The technological singularity brought by artificial intelligence that you mentioned?”
Lin Ran nodded, then shook his head: “Yes and no.”
Lin Ran elaborated carefully: “First, the term computer will soon become outdated, because it will no longer be towering cabinets, but an extension of human senses.
Future people will drive high integration of information, miniaturizing computing power to the extreme, making it easily put in pockets, worn on wrists, or even embedded in glasses.
Every individual will have a personal, always-on, connected information companion far more powerful than any current large machine.”
The Chinese Representative felt a chill inside; isn’t Raspberry Pi exactly like that.
Raspberry Pi is a device put in pockets? America also has computers worn on wrists and embedded in glasses?
The Chinese Representative, who had some pride in China’s semiconductor development, suddenly became even more cautious.
The Chinese Representative listened almost attentively, taking notes on a notebook while also bringing out the best work state in old age.
Lin Ran ignored what the other thought and continued: “In this coexistence era, information is no longer passively stored, but actively flows.
What future people need is an all-encompassing information nervous system, letting all these personal terminals connect and dialogue with each other.
This is the networking of information.
Breakthroughs in semiconductor technology will make data transmission speed grow exponentially, ultimately enabling information interaction in any corner of the world to complete in an instant.
Humanity’s knowledge, decision-making, business activities will all highly depend on this real-time, dynamic information network.
Leadership in semiconductors must be converted into an advantage in information penetration rate in this phase.
Whoever can manufacture smaller, more efficient, more widespread chips will dominate this wave of human-information coexistence.
Information will become humanity’s cheapest, most convenient tool, thereby completely changing the form of all industries.”
The Chinese Representative thought the future Lin Ran described would arrive a long time later.
Little did he know, it would come soon, sooner than he could imagine.
A forum with built-in translation function would sweep the entire world.
Cyber God would even bring unprecedented changes to humanity’s ideological trends in this era.
“However, coexistence is just a transition.
The more distant future will be the era where information can exist entirely on its own.
This is an essential leap, a cross from tools to life forms.
In this long-term phase, the challenge humanity faces will no longer be how to make information faster and smaller, but how to make the information structure itself generate autonomous consciousness and intelligence.
The artificial intelligence we talk about now is still at the level of sophisticated calculators; future information bodies must be able to perform abstract, cross-field, even superhuman experience reasoning and learning; this is the technological singularity I mean.
Once information structures can self-program, self-repair, self-optimize, and start possessing self-defined goal functions, they achieve independent existence detached from human biological control. They no longer need human instructions, but can make the most advantageous decisions for themselves based on data, at speeds and logic far exceeding humans.
At the physical level, the physical body of such independent information life forms is highly autonomous robots.
They are highly intelligent entities that can adapt to any complex environment, self-organize, self-replicate, self-evolve.
Information structures will endow machines with souls, while machines provide shells for information.
Of course in this future, humanity will face countless ethical problems, even the possibility of being eliminated by the life forms it creates itself.
So for China, in the short term, achieve interconnection of information, miniaturization of computer equipment; these are your goals.
In the long term, the goal is to create artificial intelligence with its own life and wisdom.
As for specific implementation paths, I don’t know how to reach the future I described, but I know it is the future.”
Lin Ran’s final words entered the other’s brain more like a precept revealing a corner of the universe’s truth.
After Queqiao No. 2 spaceship completed over ten days of Earth return transfer, sending the three astronauts back to Earth’s atmosphere, the three astronauts were successfully recovered by China’s search and rescue team in the East China Sea.
Without astronauts, it didn’t hinder a grand welcome ceremony held at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
At the center stage of the welcome ceremony, the screen showed the three astronauts with weary faces but high spirits.
Surrounding them were the Donkey Party’s former president, senior senator, and congress leader.
Obama stood in the most prominent position; he personally stepped forward to pay respects to the three astronauts one by one.
“In the deepest desperate situation, humanity showed its greatest qualities. This rescue is the victory of international cooperation spirit, the victory of science and humanitarianism.
We are proud of the courage of Carl, Lena, and Sarah, and we also extend our sincerest thanks to the China Aerospace team.
Just as our astronaut team has demonstrated, a diverse, integrated society can truly meet future challenges!”
In the Donkey Party’s view, though lost, yet won.
This rescue’s narrative was extremely favorable to them.
It successfully tied space exploration closely with the globalism, scientific collaboration, and multicultural themes championed by the Donkey Party, forming a stark contrast with the current White House’s isolationism.
Another point was that the big T’s Moon Base was originally very impressive; although China has one too, this is the world’s second, and at the Lunar North Pole.
The White House has been signaling to the world that we and China occupy the South Pole and North Pole respectively; who wins or loses in the Moon competition remains to be seen.
America didn’t lose!
Didn’t lose, isn’t that winning?
But China’s deep space interception capability instantly punctured the winning studies halo for you.
China can launch spaceships and intercept.
What does this mean?
China not only can launch spaceships, but can also intercept at extremely low cost and extremely high precision.
This means that if China is willing, they have the capability at any time to prevent any other country’s spaceship from entering lunar orbit or interfering with its orbit.
It means that your ability to build the Lunar North Pole Base is not because you can stand against China on the Moon, share the Moon, but because China, based on peacetime, granted a boon.
Not only didn’t win, but lost.
As long as China doesn’t activate their militarized capabilities, America can safely go to and from the Moon.
This huge psychological discrepancy and strategic humiliation, through amplification by traditional media and Donkey Party supporters, quickly fermented among the public.
The complete shift in narrative logic, such a magical reversal, left the White House stunned; big T encountered this situation for the first time.
The opponent’s technological level had exceeded his understanding and control range.
In traditional business and political fields, he could solve problems with intimidation and transactions.
But in the face of space’s physical laws, his power was invalid.
The final result became: Blue Origin is a great victory of international cooperation, NASA is a humiliating success.
Whether Obama or Clinton, their performance at the welcome ceremony left Chinese netizens dumbfounded.
Aren’t they the ones we rescued? Aren’t the astronauts still resting in China’s recovery center? How did it turn into your Donkey Party’s great victory?
Meanwhile, Donkey Party politicians started pulling out the old 2016 G2 again as their strategic vision.
