[{"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-27":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},2269511,4430,"Chapter 27: The World Rises and Falls, Yet I Stand Unmoved","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-27",27,"\u003Cp>Another point is that he is a newcomer in Xiangjiang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be inappropriate for renowned Chinese mathematicians like Hua Luogeng or Su Buqing to go to Xiangjiang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A young man like Chen Jingrun, still under thirty, attending Xiangjiang University’s seminar series would be neither out of place nor strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Xiangjiang University’s mathematics department having no record of him—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is not difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A certain level of threshold is better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be too easy to manipulate otherwise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the 1960 timeline, it is only March, yet China has already begun preparing for July’s events.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides selecting personnel, Chen Jingrun must undergo various trainings, which takes time—after all, Xiangjiang is not yet under control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides his regular classes at Columbia University and occasional paper publications, Lin Ran spends time with John Morgan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day after Lin Ran laid out his terms, John Morgan accepted his demands, saying he would swiftly divest General Electric’s aerospace division.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had not yet understood—until one night at home, his mother, Catherine Francis Lovell Adams, enlightened him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thirty percent equity is indeed substantial; even thirty percent of General Electric’s aerospace division is a astronomical sum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, you must understand: how long can a Chinese-American with no background, no family lineage, possibly hold onto these thirty percent shares?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Edison, whom Morgan drove out of General—could Randolph Lin be more powerful than Edison?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even if he cannot remove him during his lifetime, what about after he dies? Will his descendants remain on General Aerospace’s board?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you extend the timeline, you’ll see: Morgan will always be Morgan; other outstanding figures vanish with time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It sounded arrogant—but it convinced John Morgan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn’t old Morgan and Edison co-found Edison General Electric, only for Edison to eventually be pushed out?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So even if you give Lin Ran shares, once his technological advantage fades, can a Chinese man really cling to thirty percent?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An ordinary man bears no guilt, yet possessing a treasure invites disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By then, as head of the Morgan family, I will have a hundred ways to deal with Randolph Lin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In General Electric’s New York conference room, Lin Ran could not help launching into a tirade:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither materials, propellants, nor structural design are mature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How long would it take to research such a rocket? The White House demands results—two administrations combined have at most eight years!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In eight years, you can’t even build this rocket—how could they approve your proposal? Can you show any political sensitivity at all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran’s role is consultant; the project lead is George Arthur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>George Arthur was previously the manager of General Electric’s Philadelphia division, now transferred to New York to kickstart the entire project early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John Morgan participates throughout, attending every meeting in person, while simultaneously pushing the internal split of General Aerospace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From start to finish, George Arthur is the one being scolded; Lin Ran berates him without mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me put it this way: your direct ascent plan has zero flexibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do you remember the Pioneer TV3 satellite launch in November 1957?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire American public, Washington, and the White House watched the live broadcast—only to see the rocket ignite and then explode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your plan has one flaw: total failure, no room for recovery whatsoever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Are you seriously presenting this as a viable plan?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In my view, manned lunar landing breaks down into three modes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second is Earth orbit rendezvous: launch different modules separately, assemble them in Earth orbit, then proceed to land on the Moon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third is lunar orbit rendezvous: similar to the second, but final assembly occurs in lunar orbit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I say only the second and third are viable; the third has greater potential than the second.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He doesn’t see this as a goal we must accomplish within the next few years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s more like a sci-fi writer than a competent aerospace engineer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the value of the General Aerospace division he divested would shrink drastically, and his influence within the Morgan family would weaken accordingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’re all on the same boat now; he has established initial trust in Lin Ran’s expertise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could you directly take over as project lead instead of just special consultant?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Randolph, you hold shares in General Aerospace,” John Morgan proposed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran shook his head: “Sorry, I still have teaching duties at Columbia University.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>John Morgan said: “I can handle that—I’ll arrange for you to keep your salary without teaching.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran refused again: “No, I enjoy teaching young students—it’s a pleasure, John. You can’t deprive me of that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have a brilliant idea that will permanently resolve all your concerns,” Lin Ran said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What idea?” John Morgan asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Acquire the Glenn L. Martin Company.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1077,"2026-06-19T21:37:46.551Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c81abffa4c1186efba1c81b7053a53d263b17d2d508552f5e70cc25968e10342","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-28","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-26",162,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftechnology-invades-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]