Chapter 547 - 536: I Join You_1

At 2:10 in the afternoon, after a few hours of delay, the two rocket stages were slowly transported out of the base by trailers through a large section of dismantled walls and security gates.

The trees along the road it passed were purposely cut down, leaving bare stumps everywhere.

Academician She and Lin Ju followed the convoy on foot, stopping and going for over two hours before arriving at the floating dock. Although it was a temporary construction, it was not small in scale. Two 1500-ton crawler cranes had been waiting there for several days.

As Academician She watched the busy workers start to bind lifting straps to the two rocket stages under supervision, he still found it hard to believe such a massive object was actually a rocket.

Lin Ju: "In a little over ten days, the ’Chapter 9’ spaceship will also be completed and will need to be transported from here. We’ve grown accustomed to air transport, and the timeliness of water routes is too poor. A month’s time, we could even build a CZ-3 rocket in that period."

Academician She: "If you chose to launch at the seaport in Modu City, it would definitely be a lot faster."

Lin Ju: "For the No. 4 rocket, the impact of latitude on carrying capacity cannot be ignored. Even if it’s only two-tenths of a percent, that’s 30 tons of capacity, enough to send 10 tons more payload to the Moon than a CZ-7 could."

"..."

Somewhat speechless at the thought of the space agency’s mightiest rocket being reduced to a unit of measurement, Academician She quickly regained his composure and asked:

"I heard you produced 100 H280s? A single No. 4 rocket uses only 39 units. It seems you don’t plan on producing a second rocket, do you?"

Lin Ju shook his head, one New Yuan No. 4 rocket was enough, as its application range was quite limited.

"Indeed, we do not. The main reason is that after calculating the costs and including the expenses for research and development and adjustments to the production line, the total expenditure for producing 39 units is almost no different from producing 100 units. We might as well produce a batch of extras to stockpile."

"Is this what you would consider overstocked inventory? Could there be a discount if it’s sold?"

"..."

...

Capital, The Great Hall, 27th October.

Standing at the forefront, Wu Yunfeng addressed the full audience.

"The first World Frontier Physics Promoting Exchange Conference has successfully concluded. Thank you to all the scientific workers from 26 countries, thank you for traveling from afar to be here, and thank you for your efforts to advance human scientific endeavors!"

Immediately, applause resounded throughout the venue, followed by an even more eager anticipation as the Dean smiled and walked onto the stage.

Although rumors circulated during the middle and later stages of the conference that the TEPA had been approved for planning, no specifics were disclosed. Now, the advent of the Dean surely meant he brought with him the answer.

The Dean, with his hair turned grey, swept a glance around the prestigious audience below and, meeting the gaze of tens of thousands of hopeful eyes, declared:

"Given the current state of development in high-energy physics and the objective facts of our country’s early deficiencies in basic science, the Academy and the Institute of High Energy Physics have concluded that it is necessary for our country to further construct large basic scientific research facilities.

After considering various factors, we have decided to initiate the construction plan for a new generation of super-large ring cyclotron Proton accelerators with an energy level of 300 petaelectronvolts, with construction starting within 2018, aiming to be completed by 2030, and to be operational by no later than 2035 at the latest.

The total budget is estimated to be around 157 billion RMB. Upon completion, it will become the world’s largest Proton accelerator, making significant contributions to the advancement of human basic science.

Now, we cordially invite scientists, organizations, and institutions from around the world to join the accelerator construction plan and work together for the progress of civilization!"

The speech was surprisingly brief, and after the Dean finished, he calmly placed his notes down and looked forward as thunderous applause filled the venue.

Especially the many Nobel laureates and renowned physicists seated in the front row stood up to cheer.

Stephen Hawking, though unable to stand, still typed a series of "Great" on his computer screen.

It took several minutes for the clapping to subside, but the atmosphere became unprecedentedly lively.

Rolf Heuer, looking excitedly at Penrose, exclaimed:

"157 billion RMB! Exactly 20 billion euros, 1 billion euros less than LHC. Perhaps we should have built accelerators in China long ago; the costs here are much lower.

For less money than the LHC, the energy level is at least 20 times higher!"

Penrose: "Infrastructure is their strong suit. They build more subway lines in a year than all the new railway lines in Europe combined.

However, that is still a lot of money. I’ve seen their last year’s research funding investment, aerospace accounts for about 3.4%, and considering a 10-year timeframe, TEPA would need about 1% per year, a rather extravagant number."

Heuer: "We must get involved. LHC can only hold out for another three years before reaching its limit. It’s such a pity, I just hope my mind will still be clear by then!"

But as soon as he finished this sentence, he realized it was somewhat inappropriate, as Hawking had been diagnosed with very little time left, and ten years seemed a formidable stretch for him.

However, Hawking himself didn’t seem to care much and even managed a smile:

"Roger, you’ve said that life never ends and the universe is always in cycles. So, I will still be able to see the truth of the universe, and death is just a temporary separation."

The three of them only chatted for a brief moment, as the venue had already restored order, and now it was the turn for selected scholars to take the stage and address the audience—a sign of respect was due.

With the official announcement of TEPA, the atmosphere at The World Things Association’s last two hours was quite lively, unanimously passing the proposal from the Academy to hold a conference every year.

At the end, the attendees in the first three rows were gathered on the stage for a group photo, with Heuer and Penrose also pushing Hawking forward.

After capturing the science-rich group photo of the 21st century, people started to dispense gradually, but the hundred or so individuals on stage were requested by the organizers to remain.

Only when the crowd had mostly dispersed did Wu Yunfeng, along with Ye Changsi, step before the gathered individuals.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ye Changsi, who, while being an applied physicist, is also a practitioner in the field of aerospace and has participated in the development of the Aero-Space Plane."

Ye Changsi greeted the crowd, which included many foreigners, and went straight to the point:

"Gentlemen, the Aerospace Development Committee hopes to establish a permanent scientific institution for scientists from around the world to participate in academic exchanges and provide related consulting services.

In addition to the regular allowance, we promise to offer every participating member the opportunity to enter space for scientific experiments once a year."

The domestic scientists were the first to react, their eyes widening. The others from various countries needed the help of translators, and soon they expressed their astonishment in various languages, incredulously discussing with their colleagues.

Hawking, occupying the prestigious front center spot, maneuvered his wheelchair forward half a meter and typed out a line on his computer:

"I join you."