Chapter 16

Lin Ran smelled the thick scent of a "pledge of allegiance" in this.

However, he did not refuse immediately, because clearly, the conditions Horkheimer offered were enough to make him tempted.

He wanted to listen a bit more.

"Of course, everything must have a price," Horkheimer said.

Lin Ran felt relieved instead: "Professor, what do you need me to do for you?"

Horkheimer looked directly at him: "You need to truly join the Frankfurt School. How about this: come and study for a doctorate in philosophy with me, and I will lead you personally.

If your doctoral dissertation can satisfy me, I will give you some extra surprises.

You don't need to worry about anything else; I will arrange all the doubts about your identity properly."

It was indeed a pledge of allegiance, but the conditions of this pledge were a bit too good.

Becoming a disciple under Horkheimer, the founding father of the Frankfurt School, did not just mean that all members of the Frankfurt School could become his support.

There are many types of Jewish people. Horkheimer's father was a textile factory owner in Stuttgart, Germany; such an identity undoubtedly carried original sin in Germany during the S2 period.

Likewise, after the war ended, Jewish people with this type of identity were the elite in Europe and America. Coupled with Horkheimer being a famous professor, in the environment of America, he belonged to the Brahmins among the Jewish people.

Becoming Horkheimer's direct disciple meant that he would gain the help of the Jewish community.

Looking to the future, if one wants to join the core circle of the Jewish community, one must either go to Lolita Island for a turn and leave some photos on the island, or marry into a Jewish family; one must hand over some hard work.

The fact that Horkheimer mentioned he could easily arrange for the Rockefeller Foundation to help him with identity cover-up was, in Lin Ran's view, indirect proof that he could obtain the help of the Jewish community.

Moreover, in Lin Ran's thinking, whether he starts his own business when the time is ripe in the future, or stirs up global public opinion, making good use of the Jewish community would have only benefits and no harm.

Even hearing about the secrets of the Jewish community in 1960 might be useful in 2020.

"Professor, it is a great honor to study critical social theory systematically under your name. I would also like to go with you on this trip to Göttingen."

Lin Ran did not say much about his relationship with the Fabian Society and the Frankfurt School; he did not directly say yes or no, adopting an ambiguous attitude throughout.

"I want to study critical social theory systematically, but that doesn't mean I haven't studied this stuff before."

And by going to Göttingen, Lin Ran was thinking of leaving some anchor points in Germany.

As for the fact that the state of Lower Saxony, where the University of Göttingen is located, belonged to West Germany during the Cold War and was still within America's sphere of influence, there was nothing that could be done about that.

America's control over Göttingen was certainly much weaker than in the American mainland.

At the moment, he had not yet found a suitable opportunity to go to the other camp to leave a door.

"But my identity might have some problems." Lin Ran's implication was that for someone like him who appeared out of thin air, if you want to help me cover my identity, the procedures must be done completely.

Professor Horkheimer did not talk about this, turning instead to other issues: "Randolph, are you interested in aerospace?"

Lin Ran's heart tightened: "Of course, I am an aerospace enthusiast."

Horkheimer continued: "Perhaps there will be an opportunity. NASA has long been controlled by scientists from the Nazi regime; we need to have our own scientists who can compete with them.

Evil forces like Nazi scientists cannot last long.

NASA's background checks are extremely strict; we will fabricate your identity according to that standard.

Wernher von Braun's identity can still be tolerated by the federal government; your identity is much more legitimate than his."

Lin Ran was silent. Since the big boss had said so, and he had truly become his student, the other party could not possibly harm him.

To avoid trouble, Lin Ran returned to 2020 that same night and drove all the way to Columbia University, hoping to find some clues in the historical archives.

"This trip was not in vain; so that's how it is."

From the historical archives of the 1960s in the Columbia University library, he caught a glimpse of a mystery.

John F. Kennedy would be elected at the end of 1960. His election was a turning point in American history because he possessed both Irish-American and Catholic backgrounds.

Although the former was also white, Irish-American whites were a minority group in America.

Catholicism, Protestantism, and Mormonism all belong to Christianity, but in America, Catholicism also belongs to the minority. Protestants account for about 50%, while Catholics account for less than 25%.

In other words, Kennedy's background in 1960s America belonged to a minority group. His ability to be elected clearly meant he had obtained certain support, which included the Jewish community.

During his campaign, the Jewish community could be said to have spared no effort.

First, since the Roosevelt New Deal, that is, 1930, Jewish people had long supported the Donkey Party with a ratio of over 70%, and Kennedy was the Donkey Party candidate.

Secondly, in this 1960 election, Niuyuezhou was not yet a stronghold for the Donkey Party; at this time, Niuyuezhou was still a swing state. One-third of all Jewish people in the United States were gathered in Niuyuezhou, totaling 2 million people, and they played a crucial role in Kennedy winning Niuyuezhou.

Finally, Jewish media figures like Philip Graham of The Washington Post were frantically creating momentum for Kennedy, and entrepreneurs in the Jewish community like Abraham Feinberg of Chicago were providing campaign funding support for him.

Clearly, Horkheimer, as a Brahmin in the Jewish community, had long known that their target of support this year was Kennedy.

Historically speaking, after Kennedy won the election, he repaid the Jewish community with very powerful actions, approving the sale of "Hawk" anti-aircraft missiles to Israel; this was the first time America had directly sold arms to Israel.

It can be said that America's path to recognizing a "daddy" started with Kennedy.

And the reason Horkheimer mentioned NASA was that NASA was currently controlled by scientists from Nazi Germany.

Not only did the Jewish community view this group of German scientists as enemies, but they also wished they were dead.

It was just that during this period, without German scientists, NASA could not carry the banner of competing with Soviet Russia at all.

Lin Ran discovered a very interesting point from historical records, which was that Arthur Rudolph retired from NASA in 1969. During his tenure, he also won the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. Even many years later, in the 1980s and 1990s, many parts of Arthur Rudolph's files in America were still redacted and not made public.

And after the collapse of Soviet Russia, Arthur Rudolph's files were not only made public, but America even stripped him of his pension. As for whether there was physical destruction, no specific information could be found in the files and news.

"If that's the case, if I show enough strength, will the Jewish community support me in driving the German scientists out of NASA? Is it not impossible to turn NASA into my own domain?"