Chapter 73: All Elements Present

Whether it was 2020 or 1960, this was Lin Ran's first time entering the White House.

Lin Deng Johnson was waiting for him.

After seeing the appointment, Lin Ran realized that his plan had to change; at least for a long period of time, he would have to cooperate with Lin Deng Johnson, not Kennedy.

But thinking about it, as President, the energy and time Kennedy spent in the aerospace field were limited.

The chairman of the Space Council itself was also Vice President Lin Deng Johnson, not Kennedy.

After Lin Deng Johnson's secretary led him to the office, he left Lin Ran alone in the office to wait.

Lin Ran could smell the tobacco smell permeating the room, and on the wall hung pure cowhide tapestries and oil paintings of ranches.

This office in the Old Executive Office Building in Washington D. C. embodied a strong Texas cowboy style.

As expected of a Washington bureaucrat from Texas.

Lin Ran looked at the wall clock; 37 minutes later, Lin Deng Johnson pushed the door and entered:

"Professor, the White House welcomes your joining."

After a simple welcome from this Vice President with a tough look and an overbearing and rough style, he went straight to the topic:

"Professor, James Webb has been appointed as NASA Administrator; you need to cooperate with him to adjust NASA's organizational structure.

Also, NASA's plan has already started; we will send astronauts into space this May, and the White House cannot and cannot accept another failure.

This space program is also fully overseen by you. If there is anything you need me to cooperate with, communicate with me by phone at any time.

The military's special plane is already waiting for you.

Professor, I hope you enter working state as soon as possible!"

After Lin Deng Johnson stood up and shook hands with Lin Ran, he had the appearance of seeing a guest out.

"Alright, sir."

Walking out of the office, the small talk, flattery, and mutual probing that Lin Ran expected were all non-existent.

In reality, it was just two words: Work!

"Professor, the helicopter has already been prepared for you. We will first go to Andrews Air Force Base, 10 miles southeast of Washington D. C., and take a helicopter to the Redstone Arsenal," Mike said after Lin Ran got into the modified Ford.

Mike, the driver and bodyguard assigned to Lin Ran, might also have some other duties.

The Ford he drove was also the most commonly used car model by the *IA at the moment.

Newspapers at the time once jokingly called it "The *IA's Ford."

Hearing this, Lin Ran couldn't help but ask one more question: "What is the helicopter model?"

Mike answered subconsciously: "Sikorsky H-19."

Lin Ran patted his forehead, "Dog shit! Can we change a model?"

Vice President Lin Deng Johnson's full name was Lyndon Baines Johnson, often abbreviated as LBJ, and Sikorsky was the helicopter model Kobe was riding when he passed away.

The 2020 space-time had already entered February, and the hottest news in America and even the world was Kobe's helicopter crash at the end of January.

Although Lin Ran didn't care much about Kobe, he had seen the aircraft brand he crashed in—Sikorsky—no less than a few times in the news.

LBJ plus Sikorsky—these elements were a bit too complete.

Mike was confused: "Professor, we are going from Washington D. C. to the Redstone Arsenal, a distance of about 600 miles. The Sikorsky's range is 400 miles; we just need to refuel once in the middle.

If we change to a Bell or another model, not only will it delay time, but it will also be more troublesome."

Mike really couldn't understand; Sikorsky was the most mainstream helicopter currently used by America for administrative tasks. Why was Professor Lin so sensitive?

"Alright."

"What is Randolph's background? How did he suddenly appear above my head?"

For Lin Ran's arrival, the person most uneasy in the entire NASA was Rudolph Arthur.

As someone who had once directly conflicted with Lin Ran and had even led military personnel from the Redstone Arsenal to try to run to Columbia University to forcibly snatch Lin Ran's researchers, the other party leaping to become the real-power figure in the entire NASA second only to James Webb made Rudolph Arthur very worried.

At least if he were the other party, he certainly wouldn't give himself any good fruit to eat.

And Rudolph knew very well that what he did in NAZI Germany was recorded by the American side; as long as he took off this layer of NASA skin, the next time they met would either be in a federal prison or he would be inexplicably shot in the head in a small bar in Huntsville.

"Director, after Kennedy took office, he's either a lawyer or a mathematician; this is clearly a lack of trust in us."

Rudolph Arthur was the technical supervisor for propulsion system improvement and the Mercury manned program. He found the representative figure of former German scientists at NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center Director Von Braun.

Von Braun comforted him: "As long as we do our work well, they can't do anything to us either.

Although Webb lacks a scientific background, Professor Lin is a mathematical master; I believe he will adapt to NASA's work very quickly."

Von Braun thought Rudolph was worried about laymen directing experts, so Arthur Rudolph then rambled on and confessed to the other party the grudge he had formed with Randolph last year.

Von Braun was already unable to complain: "Rudolph, you know Professor Lin is Horkheimer's disciple; you can imagine his attitude toward us. How could you be so unwise?"

Rudolph explained, sweating profusely: "I thought he had talent in the aerospace field at the time, so I hoped to recruit him to work at NASA; it was just that the method was a bit rough. I didn't succeed in the end either."

Von Braun waved his hand: "Alright, I know.

Sigh, you pray for your own blessings; don't have any problems during this period, and I can still protect you.

In short, be careful."

Similar to Arthur Rudolph, Von Braun, as a technical expert, had reservations about Webb lacking a scientific background.

Because he was more accustomed to working with technology-oriented managers.

It was a very simple truth: in the past five years, NASA had failed every few days. Dealing with leaders who understand technology gives you room for explanation; the other party can better understand technical problems and can give you leeway.

But if it were a leader like James Webb who came from a lawyer and politician background, in Von Braun's understanding, this type of leader only cares about results; no matter how much you explain, it's useless if you don't have results.

So originally, his plan was to win over Lin Ran, using Lin Ran as an intermediary bridge to explain to James Webb.

On the surface, Lin Ran was the number two figure, but in reality, Lin Ran could directly contact the White House, and his hidden power might not necessarily be weaker than James Webb's.

His only worry was Lin Ran's Jewish background, but fortunately, the other party was Chinese-American, and he had gotten along well with previous Chinese-Americans.

Von Braun even couldn't wait for Lin Ran to have intersections with Cultural Huaguo, so that their cooperation would be even smoother.

I worked for Germany, you worked for Cultural Huaguo; we're no different.

As a result, Arthur Rudolph's crazy operation last year directly shattered his fantasy.

Von Braun had a bad premonition: compared to him and Lin Ran joining forces, the possibility of Lin Ran and James Webb joining forces was much greater. ===== CHAPTER 74 =====