Chapter 699 - 679 Misjudgment

Sullivan’s suggestive words were almost entirely on the nose for him; he heard the true meaning behind every sentence.

In other words, Sullivan was waiting for him to take a stand.

How to respond to the NX17 crisis had sparked widespread debate among the staff group and think tank, mainly because the adversary’s purpose wasn’t clear.

The Union’s launch of the "Staike-DM" was basically semi-public and couldn’t be concealed, but NX17 had been operating stealthily for a year and must have conducted countless tests, achieving overwhelming superiority over America in this field.

The reason for still hiding it was either because there was some error with the laser satellite course or they were preparing for a significant move.

In such a situation, to actively reveal that one was informed would be a huge provocation, possibly leading to unforeseen consequences, but ignoring it wasn’t an option either.

The think tank believed that the best approach was to hint to the other party without alarming anyone else and then secretly negotiate, asking them to slow down the construction of the laser satellite defense network.

The American experts assembled after learning about NX17 expressed amazement at the rapid development of China’s laser technology and firmly stated that a few laser satellites had limited interception capability. To disrupt the balance of deterrence, a large network was needed.

It was certain that the cost of doing so would be extremely high; even America concluded it was hard to bear, yet considering the huge benefits after completion, there were enough reasons to invest.

Therefore, the purpose of the negotiation was to use this point, by making some concessions to weaken the other party’s resolve to continue developing laser satellites, thereby winning time for America to urgently develop similar products and reduce the gap as much as possible before the opponent ran out of patience.

The range of "concessions" was set wide by the think tank and the staff group, as it was impossible to achieve the goal with just a tiny profit, it had to be a real sacrifice.

However, Sullivan still tried to posture as much as possible to avoid too great a loss.

He had been observing Xu Rang for several days, and today he finally saw some inexplicable expressions on the other’s face, a good sign that Xu was not feigning ignorance as before.

After the discussion meeting ended, and the five parties dispersed, but the assistants of Xu Rang and Sullivan quietly met and exchanged something.

A few hours later, Annapolis, Jing Shui Park Villa Area.

Two Cadillac SUVs drove into the villa area, several people got out and, keeping their heads low, quickly entered the pre-arranged meeting spot.

In the entire team, only Xu Rang knew what was to be discussed, and the rest of his entourage did not participate in the meeting.

The villa area had already been completely evacuated, making it an ideal and perfect secret meeting spot.

Upon entering, he saw Sullivan, who, unlike the false courtesy of the day, proactively stood to shake his hand.

Sullivan, nearly six feet two, had to bow slightly to shake hands with Xu Rang, who was just over five foot seven, which seemed to the latter like an implicit message.

In the living room, only Sullivan and the translator were present. Xu Rang naturally took a seat in the armchair, smiling as he accepted the tea passed by the translator.

Sullivan watched him sipping tea, and as Xu Rang praised the taste of the leaves, Sullivan cut straight to the point:

"Mr. Xu, we are shocked by your attempt to spread the flames of war to space."

"I don’t know what you are talking about, nor do I know who is arming space, but the X37B has been hovering for many years already."

Xu Rang naturally was unaware of the slight discrepancies in intelligence between the two parties, but he promptly employed a firm denial.

"That’s a different matter!"

Sullivan showed a hint of annoyance:

"We all know that this unprecedented peace comes from a fragile balance, and you are trying to break this balance. The consequences of a disrupted scale are a catastrophe for all of humanity!"

"We are not disrupting the balance and eliminating peace, but rather we are upholding peace with greater force!"

Xu Rang was not to be outdone:

"The balance built upon nuclear weapons is the Sword of Damocles, bound to fall one day. What we are doing are merely defensive measures, putting a sheath on the sword, allowing humanity to completely step out of the shadow of nuclear warfare!"

Xu Rang could understand English directly, but Sullivan needed a translation. After hearing it, he frowned deeply.

Indeed, a sheath was being put on the sword, but only four out of five swords were covered. The last sword, albeit thinner, could still easily kill everyone.

Could it be that after the Space-based laser missile defense system was completed, everyone would honestly melt down their swords to forge ploughs? That’s fooling no one!

But given the pressing situation, Sullivan had to pinch his nose and accept this hypocritical statement.

After taking a few deep breaths, he finally offered the first concession:

"America has always been committed to world peace and the reduction of nuclear weapons. For the peaceful use of atomic energy, we plan to retire 1500 nuclear warheads by 2025, applying them to peaceful purposes."

After finishing, he paused, then continued to add:

"Apart from breaking down nuclear materials for power generation, we can also sell them at a reasonable price to space enterprises for exploiting resources on alien planets."

Xu Rang offered a heap of praise without changing his expression, and then silently looked at him.

Nuclear disarmament was certainly good, but it didn’t bring significant benefits.

"Besides this..." as if he had made some great sacrifice, Sullivan grumbled:

"Out of encouragement for the development of international space enterprise, we in principle support the repeal of the Wolf Amendment."

At this, he stopped to observe Xu Rang’s reaction, who finally showed a hint of interest on his face.

...

Louisiana, Livingston.

Barry Barish walked into the LIGO Observatory Center here, leaning on a cane and receiving the respect of the staff.

More than two years ago, he, along with Rainer Weiss and Kip Thorne, won that year’s Nobel Prize in Physics for GW150914.

Their ages were 82, 86, and 78, respectively. They dedicated their youth to the Gravity Wave enterprise and led the research and construction of LIGO.

UK physicist Ronald Drever should also have been present, but he passed away six months before the discovery of Gravity Waves, which was a great pity.

Since the initial detection of Gravity Waves, LIGO has continually received various Gravity Wave signals, turning Einstein’s impossibilities into possibilities, and unveiling more mysteries of it to humanity.

However, the three Nobel laureates had long since stepped back from frontline monitoring work. Barry was here today mainly because LIGO had encountered some minor issues:

Three days ago, in the morning, the Livingston Observatory encountered a false alarm, while the other Hanford Observatory and the Italian ’Virgo’ Observatory did not detect the GW180509 that the computer at Livingston Observatory had recorded.

All three observatories had undergone upgrades and had roughly the same sensitivity, so GW180509 was deemed a false alarm.

This caught Barry’s attention; he suspected there was a problem with the basic components and if not resolved, it could lead to no small amount of trouble.