Chapter 70

"...once the hearing passes, this will be the first time in history that a person of Chinese descent holds a senior bureaucratic position in the White House..."

The newspaper article left Chen Jingrun with a mix of emotions.

Chen Jingrun’s ability to come to America for studies hinged critically on the $300 million interest-free loan China received from the Soviet Union.

It wasn’t that his tuition and living expenses came from that money—after all, the scholarships from both New York City University and Harvey Cohen were more than enough to sustain him in New York, not to mention that Chen Jingrun’s mathematical prowess made him more than qualified for the Fulbright Program.

Rather, the $300 million interest-free loan proved beyond doubt Lin Ran’s value—he possessed the ability to turn stones into gold.

Originally, the Chinese side had only hoped to train their team and achieve a level comparable to the Soviet Union’s crippled S-2 missile.

The Soviet agreement claimed to transfer the S-2, but in reality, they transferred the crippled P-2; the DF-1, developed from the P-2, had no significant difference in range or speed from the S-2.

But due to insufficient accuracy and other issues, the DF-1 was never deployed—it wasn’t until the subsequent DF-2 that it was officially adopted.

Yet with Lin Ran’s help, the DF-1 had gained strong combat capability, its accuracy now capable of directly threatening the Shilin Mansion—the residence of the Bald Man.

It could effectively reduce pressure along the coast while also generating economic benefits.

Under these combined factors, China naturally increased manpower investment in the entire project—not only did it cloak the project under the guise of importing Western academic journals and establish it in Yangcheng, but even the arrangements for Chen Jingrun himself became increasingly meticulous.

His identity in Xiangjiang had been forged flawlessly, allowing him to successfully secure the opportunity to come to America.

Thanks to Lin Ran’s letter of recommendation, Harvey Cohen had personally handled his round-trip airfare and visa; after the interview, Cohen was thoroughly satisfied with the Chinese student Lin Ran had found for him.

He personally took care of all subsequent matters: visas, enrollment, and settling in New York.

Chen Jingrun deeply appreciated Lin Ran for enabling him to come to New York, to engage with the latest number theory, and to work alongside so many mathematicians.

Yet he had not forgotten his mission: research was one thing, but extracting even more valuable knowledge from Professor Lin for China was the most important task.

He could not bear to live comfortably alone in New York while failing to help his compatriots back home.

Thus, upon seeing the newspaper, he could not understand why Professor Lin was serving America.

Although the newspaper described the position as “Assistant,” the modifier “Special” preceded it, and American media consistently labeled Lin Ran’s role as “Senior,” defining it as a senior bureaucratic post.

As a simple Chinese man, he was perplexed that Lin Ran would accept a senior position in America—especially one tied to aerospace.

In this era, aerospace, due to its close ties with missile technology, was inherently linked to military affairs.

“This isn’t just watching from the sidelines,” Chen Jingrun mused.

Fortunately, the mathematicians present were all deeply curious about this topic; as soon as Lin Ran entered the conference room, their first conversation was not about number theory, not about Lin Ran’s ABC conjecture, not about Fermat’s Diophantine conjecture, not about his linear forms in logarithms theory—but about his new position.

The mathematicians were quite gossipy.

“Randolph, how did you quietly land a job at the White House? Are you planning to teach math there?” Harvey Cohen teased. “Those guys in the White House won’t understand a word you say.”

Lin Ran smiled and replied: “First, my appointment hasn’t been finalized yet. Second, even if it is, I’ll spend far more time at Redstone Base than at the White House.”

Courant said: “Randolph, I still don’t understand why you’d want to take a position at the White House—it’s not a good place to be.”

Compared to mathematicians, Washington’s political animals are far too complex.”

Courant held Lin Ran in high regard and had long wanted to lure him from Columbia University to the Courant Institute at NYU; he had even privately told Lin Ran that if he came, he would rename the Courant Institute the Randolph Institute.

(The Courant Institute was officially renamed in 1964; in 1961, it was still called the Graduate School of Applied Mathematics.)

Courant was seventy-two, with only a few years left before retirement; as a top-tier scholar who had co-authored “What Is Mathematics?” with Hilbert, he clearly hoped to find a suitable successor before retiring.

Among his students, none was more suitable than Lin Ran.

By the way, Courant was a German-American, but beyond his German heritage, he was also Jewish—he had left Germany earlier than most Jewish scholars, proving mathematicians’ instincts were sharp enough.

Precisely because of this, Courant did not want his promising young protégé to be drawn into the vortex of politics.

Lin Ran explained: “I understand, Professor. I’m going there to do work, not to become a politician.”

Sir Isaac Newton himself served at the Royal Mint in England; I’m no exception. The universe has always been my aspiration—I hope to make a small contribution to humanity’s journey into space.”

“What could be more interesting than space? Perhaps mathematics—but I’m only in my twenties. I need a change of pace. It won’t affect my mathematical research.”

The mathematicians present then realized: he was too young—youth itself was capital.

“Randolph, you really should give it a try.”

“Unlike you, I have full confidence in Randolph. Aerospace, like mathematics, is simple: it works or it doesn’t. I’m certain the folks at Redstone Base will bow to Randolph’s ability, just as we do.”

“Who bowed? I merely admire him—I wouldn’t say I’ve submitted.” The mathematicians teased each other.

Harvey Cohen concluded: “Same here, Randolph. If you come to our number theory seminar more often, I’ll admit defeat.”

“So, Randolph, what are you going to tell us today?”

Lin Ran walked to the prepared blackboard and wrote:

“Λ=b1logα1+b2logα2+⋯+bnlogαn”

“I’ll begin with my linear forms in logarithms theory. I mentioned this theory in my paper proving Fermat’s Diophantine conjecture, and I proved my own version of it.”

I believe that after learning I was coming, you’ve all studied it—you know it applies to Diophantine equations and transcendental number theory.”

For example, the Catalan conjecture—that the integer solutions to a^x - b^y = 1 are extremely limited—can be resolved using it.”

Whether in basic concepts or application scope, I assume you’ve all done your homework and have some understanding.”

So today, I’d like to explain the motivation behind it.”