367: Chapter 367 The Problem of IQ

The meeting had entered its second hour.

Now they were discussing the second item: the bottom line for the technology transfer negotiations.

A representative from the Department of State proposed a plan:

"As consideration for the first contact, we can provide the alien civilization with some of Earth's resources. In return, we demand that they share basic technology in three Domains."

"First, anti-gravity propulsion."

"Second, stealth technology—or rather, the principles behind how they deceived NORAD."

"Third, energy Systems—it is quite clear that they are using an energy source we do not understand at all."

NASA's chief scientist continued: "If the basic principles of any one of these three technologies are transferred to the USA, our technological gap over the rest of the world will be stretched to over a hundred years."

"One hundred years." A researcher from the Council on Foreign Relations repeated the words. "Everyone, what does this mean?"

"It means that Daxia will never be able to catch up with us."

"It means that Russia's nuclear threat will become meaningless."

"It means that the 21st century—no, the entire next millennium—will be the era of the USA."

The atmosphere in the conference room reached a new high.

Everyone had an expression on their face that said, "We are making history."

Just then—

A young man sitting at the very end of the conference table raised his hand.

It was the young man who had been mocked earlier.

"Mr. Secretary of State," he said. "May I speak?"

The Secretary of State paused, then recognized him.

"You are—the young man from the Situation Room last time?"

"Yes, sir."

"Go ahead."

The young man stood up.

His hands were shaking slightly. But he had decided to say this.

"Sir, in the last twenty-four hours, I have received over a dozen independent Materials science analysis reports."

The conference room went quiet for a moment.

"What analysis reports?" the Secretary of State asked.

"An analysis of the hull Materials of the spaceship above Washington," the young man said. "Over a dozen different institutions, analyzing independently, have reached the same conclusion—the spectral match between the hull Materials of this ship and the Daxia mecha that stole the statue of liberty half a year ago is 98.7 percent."

The atmosphere in the conference room paused for a second.

The Secretary of State frowned.

"This report—" the Secretary of State said, "Why haven't I received it?"

"I—I don't know, sir," the young man said. "These reports were delivered to The Pentagon yesterday afternoon."

The Secretary of State looked at the representative from the Department of Defense.

The representative from the Department of Defense was an assistant secretary sitting to the right of the Secretary of Defense. He stood up.

"Mr. Secretary of State," he said. "The Secretary of Defense has already reviewed this report. The Secretary of Defense's assessment is that the laws of physics are universal throughout the Universe, and it is not rare for different civilizations to use similar Materials."

"He said it is just a technical coincidence."

"Therefore, this report was not forwarded to the Situation Room."

The Secretary of State nodded.

"I understand," he said.

Then he turned to the young man.

"Young man, did you hear the Department of Defense's assessment?"

"I heard it, sir. But—" the young man swallowed. "A 98.7 percent spectral match in Materials science cannot be explained by 'coincidence'."

"Then what do you want to say?"

The young man took a deep breath.

"Sir—" he said, "Is it possible that this ship was built by Daxia?"

The conference room was silent for three seconds.

Then—

The Secretary of State laughed.

It wasn't a mocking laugh, but one almost full of sympathy.

"Young man," the Secretary of State said. "Do you know what my name is?"

"...You are Mr. Secretary of State, sir."

"What is my name?"

"You—" the young man paused. "You are Mr. M.R."

"Correct," the Secretary of State said. "I am sixty-one years old. I have been in the USA diplomatic System since I was thirty. I have met four Daxia leaders. I have personally been to the capital seventeen times and to Shanghai fourteen times. I have dealt with almost every Advanced official in the Daxia Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"So I can tell you very responsibly—"

"Daxia cannot build something like this."

"They can't even build a decent lithography machine. Their aero-engines are still using models we phased out ten years ago. Their chip industry was crippled by a single decree from us."

"You tell me—how could such a country build a six-hundred-meter-long spaceship that can deceive NORAD and hover over the Washington Monument?"

Laughter rang out in the conference room.

The Secretary of State continued: "As for the '98.7 percent spectral match' you mentioned—young man, let me teach you a bit of physics common sense. The periodic table of elements in the Universe is universal. Iron is iron, aluminum is aluminum, carbon is carbon. Any civilization that wants to manufacture large aircraft will use similar alloy formulas—because the laws of physics determine which alloy formulas are optimal."

"Therefore, a 98.7 percent spectral match—precisely indicates that the metallurgical technology level of this alien civilization is on a similar physical plane to the metallurgical technology level of our Earth. This is good news, as it means their technology is not something we are completely unable to understand."

The young man's face flushed.

"Sir, I—"

"I haven't finished," the Secretary of State raised his hand.

The young man shut his mouth.

The Secretary of State looked at him.

"Young man, how old are you?"

"Twenty-nine, sir."

"Twenty-nine." The Secretary of State shook his head. "Did you graduate from Stanford?"

"Yes, sir."

"International Relations major?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then let me ask you—what is the most basic principle of international relations you learned at Stanford?"

The young man didn't answer.

"The most basic one," the Secretary of State said, "is to never overestimate your opponent."

"The hypothesis you proposed in this conference room today—is essentially overestimating Daxia. You have raised Daxia to a height they simply cannot reach. You say they could build this kind of spaceship—this is not only an insult to our USA, but also an insult to the laws of physics."

"I have to wonder—"

The Secretary of State's voice slowed down.

"—two things."

"First, whether your IQ meets the minimum standard for working at The Pentagon."

"Second—"

He looked at the young man.

"—whether you are a spy planted here by Daxia."

The conference room went completely silent.

No one laughed.

It wasn't because the Secretary of State's words were too harsh, but because everyone felt this conclusion was reasonable.

The young man stood there.

His face was red at first, then slowly turned pale.

He looked at the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State looked back at him.

Five seconds later, the young man lowered his head.

"...I'm sorry, sir. You are right, I acknowledge your statement just now."

"What are you acknowledging?"

"My hypothesis earlier—" he said, "is invalid. Daxia could not have built this spaceship."

"Then what is this ship?"

The young man was silent for two seconds.

"It is... an alien civilization's spaceship."

"Very good," the Secretary of State said. "Sit down."

The young man sat down.

The atmosphere in the conference room slowly returned to the relaxation from before.

The Secretary of State cleared his throat: "Everyone, let's continue. We were just discussing the three Domains for technology transfer—"

The meeting continued for another forty minutes.

The final conclusion was:

The reception team would be formed within seventy-two hours, with the President personally serving as the head of the team.

The primary goal of the technology transfer negotiations would be anti-gravity propulsion.

The USA would represent all of humanity in engaging with the alien civilization, and other countries must go through USA channels to access the relevant technology.