[{"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-73":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},2269557,4430,"Chapter 73","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-73",73,"\u003Cp>Whether in 2020 or 1960, this was Lin Ran’s first time entering the White House.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lyndon Johnson was waiting for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After seeing the appointment, Lin Ran realized his plan had to change—he would have to cooperate with Lyndon Johnson for a long time, not Kennedy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then again, it made sense: as president, Kennedy had limited time and energy to devote to space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chairman of the Space Committee was already Lyndon Johnson, not Kennedy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Lyndon Johnson’s secretary led him to the office, she left Lin Ran alone inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran could smell tobacco lingering in the room, and saw wall hangings of pure cowhide and oil paintings of ranches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This office, in Washington D.C.’s old executive building, exuded a strong Texas cowboy vibe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No surprise—he was a Washington bureaucrat from Texas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran watched the clock; thirty-seven minutes later, Lyndon Johnson pushed the door open:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor, the White House welcomes you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vice president, with his rugged appearance and blunt, domineering style, offered a brief welcome and got straight to the point:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor, James Webb has been appointed director of NASA. You must assist him in restructuring NASA’s organizational framework.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“NASA’s program has already begun—we will send astronauts into space this May. The White House cannot and will not accept another failure.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You will have full authority over this space program. If you need anything from me, call me anytime.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The military jet is waiting for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor, I hope you get to work quickly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lyndon Johnson stood up, shook Lin Ran’s hand, and made it clear he was being dismissed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood, sir.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Lin Ran stepped out of the office, the expected small talk, flattery, and mutual probing were entirely absent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In reality, it came down to two words: get to work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor, the helicopter is ready. We’ll first go to Andrews Air Force Base, ten miles southeast of Washington D.C., then take the helicopter to Redstone Arsenal,” said Mike, seated in a modified Ford, waiting for Lin Ran to get in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mike was assigned as Lin Ran’s driver, bodyguard, and possibly other roles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ford he drove was one of the most commonly used models by the *IA at the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Newspapers of the era had jokingly dubbed it “the *IA’s Ford.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Lin Ran couldn’t help asking: “What model is the helicopter?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mike answered instinctively: “Sikorsky H-19.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran slapped his forehead. “Shit! Can we switch to another model?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lyndon Johnson’s full name was Lyndon Baines Johnson, often abbreviated as LBJ, and Sikorsky was the exact model of helicopter Kobe Bryant died in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the 2020 timeline, it was already February, and the hottest news globally was Kobe’s helicopter crash in late January.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Lin Ran didn’t care about Kobe, he’d seen plenty of news reports about the crash—and the brand: Sikorsky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>LBJ plus Sikorsky—this combination was too complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mike frowned. “Professor, the distance from Washington D.C. to Redstone is about six hundred miles. The Sikorsky’s range is four hundred miles—we just need one mid-flight refuel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Switching to Bell or another model would waste time and complicate things further.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mike simply couldn’t understand why Professor Lin was so sensitive—Sikorsky was the most mainstream helicopter for U.S. executive transport.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who the hell is Randolph? Why did he suddenly get assigned over me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of everyone at NASA, the most uneasy about Lin Ran’s arrival was Rudolf Arthur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had previously clashed directly with Lin Ran, and even led military personnel from Redstone Arsenal in an attempt to forcibly seize Lin Ran’s researchers at Columbia University. Now, he had risen to become NASA’s second-most powerful figure after James Webb—and he was terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least, if he were Lin Ran, he wouldn’t give Rudolf an inch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rudolf knew well that everything he’d done in Nazi Germany was documented by the Americans; once he shed his NASA cover, his next meeting would be either in a federal prison or in a Huntsville bar with a bullet in his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director, since Kennedy took office, we’ve got lawyers and mathematicians everywhere—this is clearly a lack of trust in us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rudolf Arthur, technical director for propulsion improvements and the Mercury manned program, sought out Wernher von Braun, the leading representative of former German scientists at NASA.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Von Braun reassured him: “As long as we do our jobs well, they can’t touch us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though Webb lacks a scientific background, Professor Lin is a mathematical master. I believe he’ll adapt quickly to NASA’s work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Von Braun assumed Rudolf was worried about amateurs directing experts—until Rudolf nervously confessed the grudge he’d held against Randolph since last year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Von Braun had no energy left to scold him: “Rudolf, you know Professor Lin is Horkheimer’s student. His attitude toward us is obvious—how could you be so foolish?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rudolf, sweating profusely, explained: “I thought he had talent in aerospace, so I wanted to recruit him to NASA—I just went about it too roughly. I failed in the end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Von Braun waved his hand. “Alright, I understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh. Good luck to you. Stay out of trouble these next few weeks—I might still be able to protect you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just be careful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like Rudolf Arthur, von Braun, as a technical expert, had reservations about Webb’s lack of scientific background.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was more accustomed to working with technically oriented managers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was simple: over the past five years, NASA had failed repeatedly. With a technically competent leader, you had room to explain—you could make them understand the problems and earn some leeway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with a leader like James Webb—a lawyer and politician—von Braun believed such men cared only about results. No matter how much you explained, if you had no results, it was useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So his original plan had been to court Lin Ran, using him as a bridge to explain things to James Webb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On paper, Lin Ran was second-in-command, but in reality, he could contact the White House directly—his latent power might not be weaker than Webb’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His only concern was Lin Ran’s Jewish background—but fortunately, Lin Ran was ethnically Chinese, and von Braun had gotten along well with previous Chinese colleagues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, von Braun hoped Lin Ran had ties to China—this would make cooperation smoother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I worked for Germany. You worked for China. What’s the difference?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Rudolf Arthur’s antics last year had shattered that fantasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Von Braun had a bad feeling: Lin Ran was far more likely to ally with James Webb than with him.\u003C\u002Fp>",1070,"2026-06-19T21:37:46.551Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","afd6229ddd3c4701924f3ce007795c5b2bdd475edcf14e56d610c5fccda1d47a","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-74","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-72",162,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftechnology-invades-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]