Chapter 178 Global Attention
Eight o'clock in the morning sharp.
The sun over the Gobi Desert had already risen to mid-air, and golden sunlight bathed the entire base. The tokamak-3 glittered in the sunlight, like a silver temple standing on the desolate plains.
In the press zone, hundreds of cameras lit up with red lights simultaneously.
"Dear viewers, this is China Central Television, and we are broadcasting live for you from the Gobi Desert. The first Nuclear Fusion ignition in human history is about to be completed by Chinese scientists in three hours."
"BBC reporting from the scene: the tokamak-3 device is ready, and all parameters appear normal. This is another major breakthrough for China in the energy sector, following Room-Temperature Superconductivity and Lithium Extraction from Seawater."
"CNN reporting from the Gobi Desert: the international observation team has entered the base, led by Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Professor Smith. They will witness this historic moment with their own eyes."
"This is NHK, broadcasting from Tokyo. All of Japan's eyes are focused on the Chinese Gobi Desert at this moment..."
Countless voices were transmitted through the airwaves to every corner of the world.
Beijing, in a certain residential building.
An old man sat in front of the television early on, holding a cup of tea that had long since gone cold. His eyes were fixed on the screen, not blinking once.
On the screen, the tokamak-3 stood silently in the Gobi Desert.
The old man's hands trembled slightly.
He remembered that failed night thirty years ago. When the ignition of the "eastern star" failed, he had sat alone in the laboratory for the entire night. Back then, he thought he might never see this day in his lifetime.
Now, he was seeing it.
Even though he wasn't at the scene, he could see it.
The old man smiled, picked up his teacup, and took a gentle sip.
It was cold, but his heart was warm.
London, in a certain laboratory.
Several young graduate students were gathered around a computer, the screen displaying the live broadcast from the Gobi Desert. They were supposed to be conducting experiments, but no one had the heart for it at the moment.
"Do you think they can really ignite it?" asked a girl wearing glasses.
The boy next to her shrugged: "I don't know. But Professor Smith went to the scene, which means there is at least some credibility to it."
Another girl stared at the screen and suddenly said: "If they can ignite it... that would truly be history."
The group was silent for a few seconds.
Then they continued to stare at the screen, waiting for that moment three hours later.
Tokyo, in a certain izakaya.
The owner tuned the TV to the live broadcast channel, and the few scattered customers in the shop all looked up at the screen.
"Is this China's Nuclear Fusion?" a middle-aged man asked.
The owner nodded: "Yes, ignition is today."
The middle-aged man stared at the screen for a long time, then said: "If it succeeds, won't we have to worry about energy problems in the future?"
A young man next to him laughed: "That will still take decades. But, it's better than nothing."
The few people continued to watch the screen, discussing it from time to time.
Outside the izakaya, the streets of Tokyo were bustling with traffic, everything as usual. But in this small shop, a few people were witnessing history.
New York, Times Square.
On a massive electronic screen, the live broadcast from the Gobi Desert was playing. Pedestrians stopped and looked up, gazing at that distant device.
"What is this?" a tourist asked.
The person next to them glanced at the subtitles at the bottom of the screen: "China's Nuclear Fusion device, igniting today."
The tourist was stunned for a few seconds, then took out their phone to take a picture.
More people stopped and looked up at that screen.
Times Square remained noisy, with traffic and crowds flowing endlessly. But at this moment, countless eyes were looking in the same direction—the Gobi Desert.
Berlin, in a certain apartment.
Mrs. Smith sat alone on the sofa, watching the live broadcast on TV. She didn't understand Nuclear Fusion, but she recognized the person standing next to the device—that was her husband.
On the screen, Smith was talking with Lin Mo. Both of them had calm expressions, as if they were chatting about daily life.
Mrs. Smith stared at the screen, her eyes becoming moist.
She remembered how her husband looked when he first mentioned Nuclear Fusion to her thirty years ago. He was young then, and his eyes were full of light. He said that one day, humanity would light up the Artificial Sun.
Thirty years had passed.
His hair had turned white, and his back was hunched, but the light in his eyes remained.
Today, he was finally going to see that moment with his own eyes.
Mrs. Smith said softly: "John, you've waited for this."
Gobi Desert, inside the control room.
Lin Mo stood in front of the main console, watching the data flickering. There were two hours left until ignition, and all parameters were within the normal range.
Chen Xueming walked over and handed him a cup of water: "Drink something, don't be nervous."
Lin Mo took the cup, took a sip, and suddenly asked: "Teacher Chen, how many people do you think are watching right now?"
Chen Xueming thought for a moment: "Billions, I suppose."
Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Billions..."
Chen Xueming also laughed: "What, are you nervous?"
Lin Mo shook his head, then nodded: "It would be a lie to say I'm not nervous. But thinking that they are all watching, I instead feel..."
He didn't finish, but Chen Xueming understood.
Instead, he felt it was all worth it.
Li Xiao suddenly exclaimed: "Director Lin! Look!"
She pointed to one of the screens, which showed the real-time footage of the press zone. Countless cameras were pointed at the tokamak-3, and reporters were nervously making final preparations.
But that was not what made Li Xiao exclaim. It was the scrolling comments at the bottom of the screen.
Those were real-time messages from viewers all over the world.
"Go, China!"
"The hope of humanity!"
"God bless you all."
"If you succeed, this will be the greatest moment."
"Blessings from Brazil!"
"I am praying for you from South Africa."
"Ignition success!"
Comments were scrolling at a rate of hundreds per second, from every corner of the globe.
Li Xiao looked at those comments, and her eyes suddenly turned red.
"Director Lin," her voice trembled slightly, "the whole world is watching us."
Lin Mo also saw those comments.
He was silent for a few seconds, then said softly: "Then let them watch."
Outside the window, the sunlight was just right.
The tokamak-3 stood silently in the Gobi Desert, waiting for that moment to arrive.
Billions of eyes around the world were watching it simultaneously.
Two hours until ignition.