Chapter 27: The World Rises and Falls, Yet I Stand Unmoved

Another point is that he is a newcomer in Xiangjiang.

It would be inappropriate for renowned Chinese mathematicians like Hua Luogeng or Su Buqing to go to Xiangjiang.

A young man like Chen Jingrun, still under thirty, attending Xiangjiang University’s seminar series would be neither out of place nor strange.

As for Xiangjiang University’s mathematics department having no record of him—

Let Lin Ran request Xiangjiang University to organize a mathematics seminar open to all of Xiangjiang, with participants required to register and pass an exam to qualify.

This is not difficult.

A certain level of threshold is better.

It would be too easy to manipulate otherwise.

Even assigning Chen Jingrun a fake identity as a student in Xiangjiang University’s mathematics department is not beyond reach for China at this time.

In the 1960 timeline, it is only March, yet China has already begun preparing for July’s events.

Besides selecting personnel, Chen Jingrun must undergo various trainings, which takes time—after all, Xiangjiang is not yet under control.

Besides his regular classes at Columbia University and occasional paper publications, Lin Ran spends time with John Morgan.

The day after Lin Ran laid out his terms, John Morgan accepted his demands, saying he would swiftly divest General Electric’s aerospace division.

He had not yet understood—until one night at home, his mother, Catherine Francis Lovell Adams, enlightened him:

“Thirty percent equity is indeed substantial; even thirty percent of General Electric’s aerospace division is a astronomical sum.

But if he truly helps you secure NASA’s lunar landing contract and makes General’s aerospace division the lead contractor, this deal is not a loss.

More importantly, you must understand: how long can a Chinese-American with no background, no family lineage, possibly hold onto these thirty percent shares?

Even Edison, whom Morgan drove out of General—could Randolph Lin be more powerful than Edison?

And even if he cannot remove him during his lifetime, what about after he dies? Will his descendants remain on General Aerospace’s board?

When you extend the timeline, you’ll see: Morgan will always be Morgan; other outstanding figures vanish with time.”

John Morgan’s mother, Catherine Adams, was the eldest daughter of Charles Francis Adams III, Secretary of the Navy; her advice to John carried the grandeur of “The world rises and falls, yet I stand unmoved.”

It sounded arrogant—but it convinced John Morgan.

Didn’t old Morgan and Edison co-found Edison General Electric, only for Edison to eventually be pushed out?

So even if you give Lin Ran shares, once his technological advantage fades, can a Chinese man really cling to thirty percent?

An ordinary man bears no guilt, yet possessing a treasure invites disaster.

By then, as head of the Morgan family, I will have a hundred ways to deal with Randolph Lin.

In General Electric’s New York conference room, Lin Ran could not help launching into a tirade:

“Idiot! Your design calls for a single super-large rocket—have you considered it needs forty million pounds of thrust? With current technology, manufacturing such a massive rocket in the short term is utterly impossible.

Neither materials, propellants, nor structural design are mature.

How long would it take to research such a rocket? The White House demands results—two administrations combined have at most eight years!

In eight years, you can’t even build this rocket—how could they approve your proposal? Can you show any political sensitivity at all!”

Lin Ran’s role is consultant; the project lead is George Arthur.

George Arthur was previously the manager of General Electric’s Philadelphia division, now transferred to New York to kickstart the entire project early.

John Morgan participates throughout, attending every meeting in person, while simultaneously pushing the internal split of General Aerospace.

From start to finish, George Arthur is the one being scolded; Lin Ran berates him without mercy.

“Let me put it this way: your direct ascent plan has zero flexibility.

Do you remember the Pioneer TV3 satellite launch in November 1957?

The entire American public, Washington, and the White House watched the live broadcast—only to see the rocket ignite and then explode.

Your plan has one flaw: total failure, no room for recovery whatsoever.

Are you seriously presenting this as a viable plan?

In my view, manned lunar landing breaks down into three modes.

Direct ascent: launch the entire spacecraft—lander and return capsule as one unit—land on the Moon, then return using the same return capsule. That’s your proposal.

The second is Earth orbit rendezvous: launch different modules separately, assemble them in Earth orbit, then proceed to land on the Moon.

The third is lunar orbit rendezvous: similar to the second, but final assembly occurs in lunar orbit.

I say only the second and third are viable; the third has greater potential than the second.”

After the project team left, Lin Ran told John Morgan directly: “George Arthur is unfit. He treats lunar landing like a sci-fi novel premise—any theoretical feasibility he treats as practically achievable.

He doesn’t see this as a goal we must accomplish within the next few years.

He’s more like a sci-fi writer than a competent aerospace engineer.”

John Morgan was also anxious; though he lacked judgment himself, he knew asking other engineers in the team, they all said Randolph’s opinions were incisive, while George Arthur’s performance was hard to evaluate.

“Randolph, the problem is every capable company is preparing for NASA’s tender. We currently can’t find a better candidate than George Arthur.” John Morgan had already invested all his resources—if this round fails to stand out in NASA’s tender,

the value of the General Aerospace division he divested would shrink drastically, and his influence within the Morgan family would weaken accordingly.

We’re all on the same boat now; he has established initial trust in Lin Ran’s expertise.

“Could you directly take over as project lead instead of just special consultant?

Randolph, you hold shares in General Aerospace,” John Morgan proposed.

Lin Ran shook his head: “Sorry, I still have teaching duties at Columbia University.”

John Morgan said: “I can handle that—I’ll arrange for you to keep your salary without teaching.”

Lin Ran refused again: “No, I enjoy teaching young students—it’s a pleasure, John. You can’t deprive me of that.”

This was naturally preparation for going to Xiangjiang; if he stopped teaching entirely at Columbia, suddenly appearing at Xiangjiang University to teach would seem too odd.

“I have a brilliant idea that will permanently resolve all your concerns,” Lin Ran said.

“What idea?” John Morgan asked.

“Acquire the Glenn L. Martin Company.”