Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 123 Victory After Victory
As the mission reached its third orbit and prepared for re-entry, a tense atmosphere filled the Mercury control center. The room was filled with gray control consoles, and green numbers and graphs flashed on the screens.

Lin Ran stood in the center, looking confident and composed. He put his hands on his hips and broke the brief silence with a calm voice:
"Joe, how are the stats for Heat Shield?"

The staff members, dressed in white short-sleeved shirts, had fine beads of sweat on their foreheads, their eyes darting rapidly between the instrument panel and each other.

Joe Smith sat at the console, his brow furrowed, his fingers flying across the keyboard as data streamed slowly across the screen.

"Director, the alarm is still flashing, but we compared the telemetry data, and it's possible there's a problem with the switch. The heat shield itself should be fine." His voice was slightly hoarse from working continuously for several hours.

Lin Ran relaxed even more, nodded, and turned to the communications officer, Scott Carpenter:
“Scott, tell Glenn we believe the heat shield is safe, but have him keep the deceleration pack just in case.”

Carpenter adjusted his headphones, brought them closer to the microphone, and the sound was steady and clear.

There's nothing he can do about instability. For someone in his position, even if the spaceship is about to explode the next second, he has to calmly comfort the astronauts and let them say their last words the second beforehand.

"Friendship 7, this is Mercury Control Center. We've analyzed the data; the heat shield should be fine, but please retain the deceleration packs upon reentry, just in case. Over."

A few seconds later, John Glenn's voice came through the loudspeaker; the good news that the heat shield was fine clearly put him in a much better mood.

"Mercury Control Center, Friendship 7 received. Retain deceleration pack, understood. Over."

The engineers in the control center relaxed slightly, but the tense atmosphere did not dissipate.

After the mission had progressed to 4:30 a.m., John Glenn sat in the cramped spacecraft, his body securely strapped to his seat. The instrument panel lights flickered faintly, emitting a soft hum. Through the small window in front of him, he could see the blurry blue of Earth.

Spacesuits of that era had limited functionality due to outdated battery technology, and their temperature control systems were somewhat weak, resulting in a stuffy and hot environment inside. Sweat streamed down John Glenn's forehead, but he remained focused.

“Start slowing down,” John Glenn whispered to himself.

Their fingers skillfully pressed the buttons.

The three deceleration rockets ignited in sequence, the capsule vibrated slightly, and the spacecraft began to decelerate, preparing to enter the atmosphere.

Outside the window, the dark space was gradually replaced by a streak of orange-red light, the sparks produced by the friction between reentry and the atmosphere.

Inside the control center, everyone's eyes were fixed on the trajectory diagram and speed readings.

The clock on the wall ticked away, each second seeming to stretch out the perception of time.

Lin Ran knew this would be successful, but considering that he had already changed so much "history," what if this would also be changed? Lin Ran gripped the armrest of the chair slightly harder.

"The deceleration rockets are ignited, and the speed is decreasing," Smith's voice came from the control panel, his tone becoming more relaxed.

"Very good, keep monitoring on." Lin Ran replied briefly, his eyes still fixed on the screen.

Suddenly, Glenn's voice pierced the silence of the control room over the radio: "Mercury Control Center, I saw large pieces of the deceleration pack break off! It's a fireball outside!"

His voice was tinged with surprise and a hint of fear.

The room fell into a deathly silence; everyone held their breath.

Lin Ran glanced at the data and then said, "It should be the deceleration pack that's burning out; the heat shield can hold up."

"Joe, keep an eye on things. Carpenter, tell him to stay calm! The heat shield will protect him. Let him continue monitoring."

Carpenter immediately shouted into the microphone, "Friendship 7, stay calm, the heat shield will protect you. Continue reporting. Over."

Glenn's voice came again, slightly hurried but still trying to remain calm: "Understood, I'm watching. May the professor speak to me for a moment?"

NASA has many directors, but only one professor.

Carpenter took off his headphones, turned his head and said, "Director, Glenn wants to say a few words to you."

Lin Ran nodded, walked towards Carpenter's position, took the headset, and said loudly, "Glenn, remember what I told you!"

John Glenn said, "I remember, Professor."

"Okay, I'm telling you now, the temperature is rising, but it's within a controllable range. Remember the manual operations you performed in the simulator, and prepare to return. Over."

Lin Ran didn't listen to what John Glenn had to say anymore. He handed the headphones to Carpenter and returned to his seat.

The people in the control center exchanged glances; the sound of heartbeats could almost be heard in the room.

At 4:55 PM, Friendship 7 broke through the clouds at an astonishing speed, eventually splashing up a huge spray of water in the North Atlantic. The sea surface churned with whitecaps, and the spacecraft rocked on the water a few times before slowly stabilizing.

Inside the cabin, Glenn let out a long breath, unbuckled his seatbelt, and felt a sense of relief. He looked out the small window; the seawater was lapping against the bulkhead. He wasn't sure if he had landed in the designated landing area; all he knew was that he was in the North Atlantic.

A moment later, the roar of a helicopter grew louder as it approached. A naval helicopter hovered overhead, its rotors creating waves. Rescue workers quickly lowered ropes, preparing to lift the spacecraft. Glenn opened the hatch, a gust of salty sea air rushing in. He squinted: "Professor, I did it."

"Landing confirmed!" Smith shouted, looking up from the control panel. Before his words even finished, deafening applause and cheers erupted in the control center.

Lin Ran stood up and clapped, and the entire control center began to clap along.

"Well done, guys!" Lin Ran shouted, though his voice lacked excitement. "Glen has landed safely!"

Carpenter took off his headphones, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and smiled as he muttered to himself, "He did it, we did it."

At 10 a.m. after the mission ended, the press conference room at Cape Canaveral was packed with people, reporters holding cameras and notebooks on their laps.

The air was filled with the smells of coffee and cigarettes.

A microphone was placed on the stage in the center of the venue, with the NASA logo in a blue and white color scheme in the background.

Previously, there were many journalists at Cape Canaveral, but they were mainly foreign journalists, with more foreign media reporters than American journalists.

This is because NASA keeps failing, and no American would want to see this kind of news.

American media outlets generally adopt a "if it happens, I have to report it" attitude towards NASA news, showing virtually no enthusiasm whatsoever.

Unless we can dig up some bombshell.

Foreign media love to report on this; who doesn't enjoy watching a spectacle?

Especially the media in England and Germany.

At the time, The Times invented "Flopnik" to mock America, a combination of Flop (failure) and the Soviet Union's successful launch of the satellite "Sputnik".

The German newspaper Pravda used "Kaputnik," where Kaputt means "bad" or "out of control" in German.

With NASA's two successes last year, both the successful hard landing on the moon and the subsequent manned flight, the morale of the America team was greatly boosted, and everyone realized that NASA was indeed completely different after the change of leadership.

This has led to an increasing number of American journalists being sent to Cape Canaveral.

NASA Administrator James Webb stood on the stage, impeccably dressed in a suit, with an irrepressible smile on his face.

"Today is a great day in the history of America's spaceflight." Weber's voice resounded throughout the venue through the loudspeakers. "John Glenn's courage and the efforts of the NASA team have enabled us to achieve the first American man orbital flight. This is not only a victory for technology, but also a victory for the spirit of freedom."

John Glenn didn't come, but the photos did. He was just pulled from the Atlantic Ocean and is still receiving treatment on the aircraft carrier.

In the subsequent interviews, many reporters felt that compared to Lin Ran, veteran bureaucrats like James Webb were far too boring.

Therefore, not many reporters asked him questions; most of the questions were directed at Lin Ran.

"Professor, I would like to ask you, you said before that you would only bring NASA victory after victory, and we have clearly seen that you have done it again this time. I would like to ask how you helped NASA achieve such a big transformation?"

The person who asked this question was Jenny, who had practically become Lin Ran's personal reporter. After the last Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony, Jenny published a lengthy investigative report about Lin Ran in the New York Times, which received widespread acclaim.

This not only gave the American people a more direct impression of Lin Ran, but also made Lin Ran more well-known worldwide.

In the past, when people talked about Chinese Americans in America, they usually mentioned Anna May Wong, the Hollywood Chinese film stars before Bruce Lee, but now everyone is talking about Lin Ran.

The people of America may not know that Anna May Wong's English name is Anna, but they will certainly know very well that Randolph Lin's English name is Randolph.

Lin Ran smiled after hearing Jenny's question and said, "I've answered this question many times before. NASA has the world's best aerospace engineers, and America has the world's best aerospace companies. Together, we can accomplish the impossible."

NASA's past failures stemmed from a minor integration issue. Administrator James Webb and I, who are excellent partners, worked together to resolve this small problem, and NASA got back on track.

This is what everyone has seen: one success after another.

"Hello, Assistant Lin, I am a reporter from AFP. First of all, congratulations on winning the 1961 Nobel Peace Prize. According to a recent report by Deutsche Pravda, during the Geneva hotline negotiations, you were asked by the Soviet Union to have a two-hour meeting with Korolev."

Would it be convenient for us to disclose the content of your meeting?

Obviously, with so many people involved in the negotiations, it's hard to keep this a secret from the outside world. From officials to staff members and even within each country, everyone will release the information for various reasons.

Although America could keep it as secret as possible because it was Lyndon Johnson's doing, the Soviet Union wouldn't keep it a secret from you.

Perhaps Korolev was thinking he could wait and see, that Lin Ran was still young and would eventually see through America's hypocritical facade and join their side.

But others felt they had to put pressure on Lin Ran, creating an unfriendly atmosphere towards him through various means.

McCarthy may be gone, but his influence remains.

America at present has not been guided by the critical school of thought, but the Donald Party is carrying out large-scale transformations, completely polluting the soil.

Lin Ran replied, "I'm sorry, this is a NASA press conference, not my personal press conference."

"But since you asked, I can tell you that it did happen. We discussed some math problems, and it seems he's seen the limits of human intellect before and wanted to see them again, so he came to me."

Lin Ran answered the question cleverly, and at the same time, he praised himself extensively.

The journalists present reacted differently to this answer because of their differing camps.

Those who chuckled were friendly to Lin Ran, while those who frantically took notes in their notebooks, recording not only Lin Ran's exact words but also their own thoughts, were clearly trying to create a big news story.

“Professor, you can completely ignore such obviously malicious questions. The reason they ask these questions is to make this matter a reality, to keep creating the illusion that you have a close relationship with Soviet Russia, that Korolev admires you, and that you will eventually join the Soviet camp because of your Chinese identity and your admiration for Chinese culture.”

Jenny reminded her, a hint of worry in her eyes.

Lin Ran and she strolled on the beach. This place is called Coco Beach, the closest city to Cape Calaveral. It's basically full of people working in the aerospace industry or some supporting basic service facilities, such as restaurants and pharmacies.

"Okay, actually, whether I respond or not, people with ulterior motives would do the same thing."

"All I can do is retaliate with my grades," Lin Ran said helplessly.

To put it bluntly, the real reason behind this is simply because he is Chinese.

If he were white, none of these rumors would exist.

In the current environment, a Chinese man is leading NASA to one success after another, rapidly closing the gap with the Soviet Union and Russia in the space race.

For many white supremacists, it would be better to have lost.

If there is still fertile ground for the emergence of rednecks sixty years later, then such a phenomenon was even more obvious sixty years ago.

"Professor, you're right. No matter what you say, there will be people who will do it."

I've already got all of Hearst's media outlets promoting you, making you the epitome of the American Dream in this era.

Jenny worried that Chinese people from Europe might not understand what America's Dream was, so she explained carefully: "Although television now portrays America's Dream as having a villa with a white fence and a large garden, which is the symbol of America's Dream."

They might take James Traslow Adams's words about America's dream in *The Epic of America*: "In this land, everyone can live a better, richer, and more fulfilling life according to their own abilities or achievements, regardless of their birth or class." as America's dream.

But in my view, these are only a part, a part extracted from President Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.

After listening, Lin Ran asked, "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? In my memory, that's what the Declaration of Independence says."

He had only seen the words under the Jefferson statue by chance inside Columbia University, but the memory of it was like a photograph, firmly imprinted in his mind.

Jenny narrowed her eyes and took Lin Ran's arm in the process: "Your talents in aerospace and mathematics are so outstanding that I almost forgot you are also a potential philosophy master."

That's right, but if we trace the core of America's dream further back, we can trace it back to the Puritans who came to New England on the Mayflower, hoping to establish a city upon a hill.

Its core is not just about pursuing a better life, regardless of social status.

The more substantial core is expansion, whether for oneself or for America.

Professor, you fit the definition of America's dream in every way.

You're expanding America's cosmic territory.

Is there anyone in all of America who meets this standard better than you?

Jenny pumped her fist: "Professor, don't worry, Hearst Corporation is a master of propaganda."

Just wait to be molded into the representative of the new era's America Dream.

With this identity, it won't be so easy for the Elephant Party to trip you up anymore.

This was actually Jenny's good intention. As a woman from a large family who worked in the journalism industry, she was all too familiar with the experiences of scientists like Oppenheimer in the past.

In her view, creating a halo effect seems very necessary.

"Thank you." Lin Ran could sense the other party's good intentions, and he knew very well that being Chinese did not necessarily mean that something was wrong.

Take Chien-Shiung Wu as an example. She was the only Chinese person involved in the Manhattan Project and participated in the development of uranium isotope separation technology, the improvement of the Geiger counter, and the resolution of xenon poisoning in the Hanford B reactor. These can all be considered core contributions.

But she not only participated in it, but also received high-level security clearance, and was not investigated at all during the McCarthy era afterward.

In Lin Ran's view, his problem was that he had close ties with Korolev and had an emotional tendency to sympathize with China.

He felt that Jenny was trying to offset these problems by creating an image of America Meng for him.

When Jenny took his arm, Lin Ran realized that having too sharp a sense of smell wasn't always a good thing.

I'm always easily distracted.

"Professor, where are you planning to take me out for dinner tonight?" Jenny asked.

For Lin Ran, this was a short vacation after the success of the manned spaceflight.

Lin Ran said, "I have plans with John Morgan tonight, so I'm sorry I can't join you."

“John Morgan? I don’t think he’d mind having another person at dinner with you.” Jenny squinted, already recognizing who this person was.

Lin Ran said, "Okay, I might get angry then, as long as you don't mind."

(End of this chapter)