[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-technology-invades-the-modern-world":3,"chapter-technology-invades-the-modern-world-technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-23":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Technology Invades the Modern World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269507,4430,"Chapter 23","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-23",23,"\u003Cp>“I’m sorry, but I’ve accepted an invitation from the University of Hong Kong—I’ll be lecturing there this summer, so I must decline your offer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran was polite, but his tone was utterly firm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without the invitation from the University of Hong Kong, he had no intention of becoming a visiting professor in Japan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After returning to 1960, while researching and learning about this era, he discovered something very interesting: neither Yang Zhenning nor Li Zhengdao had ever given lectures in Japan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Yang Zhenning, unless it was an academic conference, he never attended ordinary lectures—he didn’t become a visiting professor at the Japan Academy until 2010.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(Poster promoting Yang Zhenning’s 2011 lecture at the Japan Academy; he became a visiting professor there starting in 2010.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhengdao also never went to Japan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He received Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, but that was in 2007—its purpose had nothing to do with promoting academic exchange or contributing to Japanese scholarship; it was merely a commemorative honor awarded because 2007 marked the fiftieth anniversary of his Nobel Prize, and Japan honored outstanding Asian figures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Lin Ran was curious: was there no invitation, or was there another reason? During casual conversation after the interview, he specifically asked; both men gave the same explanation: national enmity and ancestral hatred—science knows no borders, but scientists do, and they could not bring themselves to train Japanese talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If even these two seniors refused, how could Lin Ran possibly pretend to promote Sino-Japanese friendship by lecturing in Japan? Even though Japan’s two-month salary matched Columbia University’s annual pay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Huang, I’m going to Hong Kong solely to discuss academia—I’ll stay two months, teaching students and answering questions. I believe my scholarly expertise in mathematics can resolve many difficult problems.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon learning Lin Ran had accepted Hong Kong’s invitation, Huang Yunji’s instincts were razor-sharp; within days, he showed up under the pretense of delivering local specialties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran accepted the Shanghai specialty, red bean cake, and finally understood why Huang had asked about his hometown during the interview—it wasn’t for the readers’ benefit; he’d asked to know what local gift to bring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Understood by both sides as intelligent men, Huang Yunji grasped Lin Ran’s meaning immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can assist with academic matters—anything else is off the table.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides the flood of various visitors—mathematicians, Chinese-American scientists, journalists—he could anticipate them all, but there was one he hadn’t expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This unexpected visitor was John Adams Morgan, a member of the Morgan family, whose mother came from the Adams family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Morgan family was infamous on Chinese-language internet forums because of the Big and Little Morgans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Adams family was America’s first to produce a father-son presidency, and they controlled the defense conglomerate Raytheon—undoubtedly an old-money dynasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the product of this marriage, John Adams Morgan was an absolute power broker within the Morgan family; at thirty, he was a partner at a prestigious New York investment bank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John Morgan clearly wasn’t content being merely a partner—he sought greater power within the Morgan family, which was why he had come specifically to Lin Ran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor, I know you—you’ve made extraordinary contributions to mathematics, but you’re more interested in aerospace. Professor Horkheimer believes we should give you an opportunity, saying you possess a talent unlike any ordinary person.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old men in the family don’t believe it, but I do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m willing to give you the chance to obtain what you want.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John Morgan had the classic white man’s appearance, but he was exceptionally muscular; later, Lin Ran learned he was a former Olympic champion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the upscale restaurant they’d reserved, Lin Ran felt the man was desperately trying to prove himself, determined to control the entire negotiation’s rhythm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how could he possibly succeed? Even if Lin Ran had to rely on Jewish networks, even facing a behemoth like Morgan, the information gap of the next sixty years wasn’t there to be ignored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eisenhower is getting restless?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looks like the media has angered the Republican Party and Eisenhower.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(American media cartoon satirizing Eisenhower after the Soviet satellite launch, mocking him for playing golf while the USSR launched Sputnik.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me guess—to surpass the Soviets, the moon landing is clearly the best option.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Soviets have already launched Sputnik 1, and Sputnik 2 carried a dog into orbit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the goal is merely to send a human into space, the White House has no confidence it can outpace the Soviets.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only a project as vast as a moon landing—with its long timeline and countless technical hurdles—offers real value and a realistic chance to catch up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So the White House plans to land on the moon?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before John Morgan could speak, Lin Ran tapped the table to signal him to hold off—he wasn’t finished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A moon landing would require rigorous feasibility studies first—it’s a project so massive, it can’t be overstated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It demands meticulous preliminary analysis.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not just anyone can handle it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Given Morgan’s influence in the White House, you’ve surely gotten wind of this—plans are underway for feasibility studies, with companies submitting proposals; the winning design will secure America’s lunar mission contract.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only a handful of companies have that capability.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In 1892, under Morgan’s leadership, Edison General Electric merged with Thomson-Houston Electric to form General Electric; Edison was pushed out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though named ‘Electric,’ General Electric spans too many fields—including aerospace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But in aerospace, GE holds no advantage; its aerospace division is not influential within the company—it’s practically marginalized.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, sir, you want me to join General Electric’s feasibility study for a lunar mission, helping them win the NASA contract.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And if they win the contract, with your influence within the Morgan family, General Electric will likely spin off its aerospace division into a new company—General Aerospace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Aerospace could become a behemoth like General Electric itself—just as your grandfather absorbed General Electric—and you could use this rebirth of a new giant to become the head of the Morgan family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before meeting Lin Ran, John Morgan had not only consulted Professor Horkheimer but also contacted Haines at NASA to inquire about Lin Ran’s background—he’d only come because he’d gained some understanding of Lin Ran’s aerospace expertise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haines said Lin Ran was unusual—he hadn’t believed it; how unusual could one man be?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after Lin Ran finished speaking, John Morgan truly felt as if his soul had been laid bare—he couldn’t believe it.\u003C\u002Fp>",1068,"2026-06-19T21:37:46.551Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bcda3494d2ea9c92d7391d8f4122fd90643fa4bc99aa3645e0351a39e9f230f3","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-24","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-22",162,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftechnology-invades-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]