Chapter 211 Future Planning Meeting

Beijing, Great Hall of the People.

December in Beijing was biting cold, but the conference hall was warm. Lin Mo sat in the third row, looking at the giant national emblem hanging on the podium, silently counting—this was his fourth time in the Great Hall of the People this year.

The first time was to receive the State Highest Science and Technology Award, the second was for the site selection report of the Nuclear Fusion power station, and the third was a secret report for the deep space signal research group. This time, it was the "National Future Technology Development Planning Seminar."

Though called a "seminar," it was actually about setting the direction.

Over three hundred people sat in the audience—leaders of various ministries, Academicians of the two academies, heads of military industrial groups, and presidents of key universities. On the podium, several white-haired old scientists were speaking, each discussing the future outlook of their respective fields.

Lin Mo listened quietly, occasionally jotting down a few notes in his notebook.

Sitting next to him was General Manager Liu of the Aerospace Group, an old aerospace expert in his sixties with graying hair but sharp eyes. General Manager Liu turned to the side and lowered his voice: "Little Lin, I heard you're going to talk about a big project later?"

Lin Mo nodded: "Yes."

General Manager Liu smiled: "I've heard about it for a while now, the space elevator, right? We've discussed it within our group, and everyone says it's wishful thinking."

Lin Mo glanced at him: "You think so too?"

General Manager Liu shook his head: "I didn't say it was wishful thinking. I work in aerospace; I know this thing is theoretically feasible. The problem is—where will the money come from?"

Lin Mo didn't answer, just smiled.

At ten in the morning, it was Lin Mo's turn to speak.

He walked onto the podium, opened the projector, and the first image was a thin line extending from Earth into space.

"Respected leaders, respected experts," Lin Mo's voice echoed in the conference hall, "What I am reporting on today is a project that could change the fate of humanity—the sky ladder project."

Low murmurs arose from the audience.

Lin Mo ignored them and continued:

"The core of the sky ladder project is to build a space elevator. The ground anchoring platform will be located in equatorial waters, and the cable will be woven from Carbon Nanotubes fibers, extending all the way to a synchronous orbit 36,000 kilometers away. The elevator cabin will travel up and down along the cable, capable of carrying 100 tons at a time, with a one-way transport time of 72 hours."

He switched to the next image—a giant space station in synchronous orbit.

"In synchronous orbit, we will build the 'Tian Shu' space station to serve as the top counterweight for the space elevator. At the same time, it will also be a gateway to deep space—from here, we can depart for the Moon, Mars, and even further interstellar space."

Someone in the audience raised their hand.

Lin Mo gestured: "Please go ahead."

An elderly man wearing glasses stood up: "Academician Lin, I am Wang Demin from the Chinese Academy of Engineering. I would like to ask, how much will this project cost?"

Lin Mo had been prepared, pulling up a budget sheet:

"Preliminary estimates: the first phase—materials R&D, cable manufacturing, ground platform construction—will require about 500 billion. The second phase—space station construction, elevator cabin manufacturing, system integration—will require about 800 billion. Totaling approximately 1.3 trillion."

The conference hall instantly erupted.

"1.3 trillion!"

"That's equivalent to half of last year's military budget!"

"Where will this money come from?"

Lin Mo waited for the murmurs to subside slightly before continuing:

"Everyone, this number sounds large, but we must look at the returns. Once the space elevator is built, space transport costs will drop from the current ten thousand USD per kilogram to two hundred yuan per kilogram. A decrease of two orders of magnitude."

He pulled up the next image:

"What does this mean? It means large-scale space development will become possible. We can build factories in space to produce materials that cannot be produced on Earth; we can build space power stations to generate electricity 24 hours a day; we can develop lunar resources, transporting Helium-3 back to Earth as fuel for Nuclear Fusion; we can establish a Earth-Moon space economic zone, forming a trillion-level industrial chain."

He looked at the audience, speaking word for word:

"An investment of 1.3 trillion in exchange for a ten-trillion-level industry and humanity's ability to reach for the stars and the sea. I believe this calculation is worth it."

The audience was silent for a few seconds, then someone raised their hand.

This time it was a middle-aged military officer; his shoulder boards indicated he was a Major General:

"Academician Lin, I am from the Equipment Development Department. How do you consider the technical risks? With a cable 36,000 kilometers long, what if it breaks? What if it's hit by space debris?"

Lin Mo nodded: "That's a good question."

He pulled up a schematic diagram:

"The cable is not a single strand, but woven from hundreds of millions of Carbon Nanotubes fibers. A single fiber has a strength of 80 GPa, a hundred times that of steel. After being woven into a cable, even if some fibers break, the overall structure remains safe. We have designed multiple redundancies with a safety factor of over 2.0."

He switched to the next image:

"Regarding the space debris problem, we have three lines of defense. First, the ground anchoring platform can maneuver to avoid known large fragments. Second, the cable surface is coated with self-healing materials, so micro-impacts can heal automatically. Third, a laser cleaning system will be deployed in synchronous orbit to actively clear dangerous debris."

The Major General nodded after listening and sat down.

Someone else raised their hand. This time it was a white-haired old man, whom Lin Mo recognized—a titan of the aerospace industry, a student of the late Elder Qian, the 85-year-old Elder Guo.

"Little Lin," Elder Guo's voice was a bit hoarse, but steady and strong, "I have a question."

Lin Mo bowed slightly: "Please go ahead, Elder Guo."

Elder Guo looked at him, his gaze sharp:

"You are thirty-three years old this year, correct?"

Lin Mo nodded.

Elder Guo continued: "The space elevator, from pre-research to completion, will take at least twenty years. You will be fifty-three then. How many people present here will live to see that day?"

The audience went quiet.

Elder Guo sighed:

"I am not questioning your plan. I am saying that to undertake such a massive project, one must have the determination for intergenerational inheritance. It is not something one generation can complete; it requires two, three generations to continue the work. Are you ready?"

Lin Mo was silent for two seconds, then nodded solemnly:

"Elder Guo, I am ready."

He paused, his voice steady:

"My teacher, Academician Wang Zhenguo, is eighty-three years old this year. When he was young, he worked in aerospace, but the project was canceled; later he worked on Nuclear Fusion, worked his whole life, and finally succeeded in my generation. He once told me: Some things cannot be finished by one generation, but someone must take the first step."

He looked at the audience, his gaze sweeping over face after face:

"I am willing to take that first step. Twenty years from now, if I am still alive, I will definitely stand on the space elevator, looking down at Earth."

The conference hall was silent for a few seconds, then applause erupted.

At first it was sparse, then it became increasingly dense.

Elder Guo also began to applaud, a light in his eyes.

The subsequent discussion lasted two hours.

Some supported it, believing it to be a strategic opportunity to seize the high ground of future space. Some questioned it, thinking the risk was too high, the investment too large, and that they should focus on building a lunar base first. Some suggested a step-by-step approach: build a small space elevator first to verify the technology, then build the large one.

Lin Mo responded to each one, unhurried, with detailed data.

Finally, the Director of the National Development and Reform Commission who presided over the meeting summarized:

"Everyone has heard Academician Lin's report. This project is indeed huge, so huge it exceeds the imagination of most of us. But big does not mean it cannot be done. When we worked on the Two Bombs and One Satellite, some also said it was too big, said it couldn't be done. But what was the result?"

He paused:

"My opinion is to support the pre-research first. Academician Lin will lead, organize an expert group, and take two years to refine the plan, identify the risks, and calculate the costs accurately. We will discuss it again in two years."

Applause broke out in the audience.

Lin Mo stood up and bowed slightly.

After the meeting, many people crowded around.

Some wanted business cards, some wanted to schedule private chats, and some asked directly if they could participate in the project. Lin Mo handled them one by one until the crowd dispersed.

General Manager Liu walked over and patted his shoulder:

"Little Lin, you spoke well today. Our Aerospace Group fully supports you."

Lin Mo shook his hand: "Thank you, General Manager Liu."

General Manager Liu shook his head: "Don't thank me. I have selfish motives—after working in aerospace for forty years, I've always hoped to see humanity walk off the Earth with my own eyes. Your project gives me hope."

He smiled and turned to leave.

Lin Mo stood in place, watching his retreating figure.

Walking out of the conference hall, it was already evening. The lights on Changan Avenue were just coming on, and the traffic flowed like a river.

His phone rang; it was a message from Li Xiao:

"Senior Brother, are you done? How did it go?"

Lin Mo replied: "It passed. Pre-research is supported."

Li Xiao replied instantly: "That's great!!!!"

Followed by a long string of exclamation marks.

Lin Mo smiled.

He sent another one to Chen Xueming: "Pre-research passed."

Chen Xueming replied: "Old Lin, you're awesome! I knew you could do it!"

Zhao Gang's reply was the briefest: "What do you need me to do?"

Lin Mo looked at these three messages, feeling warm inside.

He lifted his head and looked at the sky.

The light pollution in Beijing was too severe; he couldn't see the stars.

But he knew they were there.

Up there, 36,000 kilometers away, there was a place waiting for humanity to build a Sky Ladder.

He remembered what Wang Zhenguo had said:

"Go take a look for me."

I will, Teacher.

It won't be long now.