Chapter 212 Heated Debate

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the meeting entered the open debate session.

As soon as the moderator finished speaking, seven or eight hands shot up simultaneously.

Lin Mo sat at the speaker's podium with a glass of water in front of him, but he hadn't taken a single sip—he knew the real challenge had only just begun.

"Let me say a few words."

A burly elderly man stood up. Lin Mo recognized him—Academician Zhou Deming from the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He was seventy-eight years old, an authority in the field of domestic engineering management, and known for "speaking his mind."

Academician Zhou Deming walked to the speaker's podium, faced the audience, and said in a resonant voice:

"I have listened to Academician Lin's proposal. To be honest, I am stunned. A thirty-six-thousand-kilometer-long space elevator, a payload of one hundred tons, and transportation costs reduced to two hundred yuan per kilogram—this vision is extremely enticing."

He paused, then changed his tone:

"However, I have a question—where will the money come from?"

Low murmurs of discussion rose from the audience.

Academician Zhou Deming continued, "One point three trillion—that is Academician Lin's own estimate. Based on my decades of experience in engineering, the actual cost of such a pioneering project is often two to three times the estimate. In other words, it could be three trillion, or even four trillion."

He looked at Lin Mo:

"Academician Lin, what is the concept of four trillion? Last year's national fiscal revenue was twenty trillion. A single project wants to consume one-fifth of that? Is this appropriate?"

Lin Mo stood up, neither humble nor arrogant:

"Academician Zhou, you are right. Large-scale engineering projects often have budget overruns; I completely agree with that. But I would like to ask everyone to consider another angle—the cost-benefit ratio."

He pulled up a new chart:

"After the space elevator is built, space transportation costs will drop by two orders of magnitude. What does this mean? It means the current fifty-billion-yuan annual space launch market will expand to five hundred billion, or one trillion. It means we can build factories in space to produce materials that cannot be produced on Earth—such as high-purity crystalline drugs, where one kilogram is worth over a hundred million. It means we can develop lunar resources; the potential value of Helium-3 is enough to cover the entire project cost."

He looked at Academician Zhou Deming:

"Therefore, my view is—this is not spending money; it is an investment."

Academician Zhou Deming frowned: "Investment also has risks. What if it fails? What if we find the technology is unfeasible halfway through? What if it is destroyed by space debris after being built? Who will bear these risks?"

Lin Mo nodded: "Risks certainly exist. That is why I suggest a phased approach—first, spend five years and invest fifty billion to complete key technical breakthroughs and scale-down verification. If the verification is successful, we launch fully. If it fails, the losses are controllable."

Academician Zhou Deming was silent for a few seconds, then nodded and sat down.

Just after Academician Zhou Deming sat down, someone else raised their hand.

This time it was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, who looked like an official. He introduced himself: "Department of High and New Technology, National Development and Reform Commission, Wang Jianguo."

Lin Mo recognized him—he had seen him at the last Nuclear Fusion power station site selection meeting.

Wang Jianguo said: "Academician Lin, I am not questioning the technology, nor am I questioning the investment. I want to ask a more fundamental question—why do we need to build this thing?"

The audience fell silent.

Wang Jianguo continued: "You say that after building the space elevator, we can develop space resources, build space factories, and establish a Earth-Moon economic zone. But the question is, do we really need these resources right now?"

He walked to the front of the stage, facing everyone:

"Everyone, we still have so many realistic problems that have not been solved—the wealth gap, medical care and education, rural revitalization, and pension security. Every single one requires money and investment. With so many urgent problems, is it appropriate for us to pour hundreds of billions or even trillions into a space project that will only show results in decades?"

Some nodded, some frowned.

Wang Jianguo looked at Lin Mo:

"Academician Lin, I am not against exploring space. I want to ask, is the timing right? Shouldn't we wait until we have handled things on Earth before considering these?"

The conference hall was silent for a few seconds, then a round of applause broke out—clearly, many people agreed with his point of view.

Lin Mo was silent for a moment, then began:

"Director Wang, I have also thought a lot about the question you raised."

He stood up, walked to the front of the stage, and looked at the audience:

"One hundred years ago, someone asked Einstein: 'What is the use of your research on relativity?' Einstein said: 'I don't know yet, but one day it will be useful.' Later, relativity became the foundation of GPS, the foundation of nuclear energy, and the cornerstone of modern physics."

He paused:

"Fifty years ago, someone asked the pioneers of the Two Bombs, One Satellite project: 'We don't even have enough to eat, why build an atomic bomb?' They said: 'Without the atomic bomb, we wouldn't even have the right to eat.'"

He looked at Wang Jianguo:

"Today, you ask me: 'Why build a space elevator?' My answer is—so that the next generation will not have to ask us the same question."

The audience fell silent.

Lin Mo continued: "Space is the next frontier. Whoever masters the ability to enter space at a low cost first will hold the initiative for the next hundred years. If we don't plan now, and wait twenty years to build it, we might already be left behind by then."

He raised his voice a little:

"Director Wang, you say the problems on Earth haven't been solved. But the problems on Earth will never be completely solved. There will always be a wealth gap, there will always be medical and educational issues, there will always be pension security. If we wait until all problems are solved before we look up, by then, there will be no room left in the sky."

The conference hall was deathly silent.

A few seconds later, someone started to applaud.

The applause grew louder and louder.

Wang Jianguo was silent for a while, then nodded and sat down.

The debate continued.

An expert from a military industry group raised a technical question: "The strength of Carbon Nanotubes fiber is 80 GPa, but that is only laboratory data. Can this level be maintained during mass production?"

Lin Mo replied: "We achieved 76 GPa on the pilot production line. There is still a gap from 80, but the gap is narrowing. After the thousand-ton production line is built, we are confident in stabilizing it above 80."

An economics expert asked about the investment return period: "If 1.3 trillion is invested, how many years will it take to recover the cost?"

Lin Mo pulled up a calculation table: "According to our model, ten years after the space elevator is built, the cumulative revenue can cover the investment. By the twentieth year, the revenue will be five times the investment. By the thirtieth year, ten times."

A military representative asked about security issues: "If a war breaks out, what happens if the enemy attacks the space elevator?"

Lin Mo replied: "The ground anchoring platform is protected by anti-missile systems, and the synchronous orbit space station has maneuvering capabilities. Most importantly, once the space elevator is built, it will become the common asset of all humanity. Whoever attacks it will be an enemy of all mankind."

...

The debate lasted for three full hours.

Supporters believed this was a strategic opportunity to seize the commanding heights of the future, while skeptics were concerned about excessive investment, high risks, and premature timing. Both sides went back and forth, neither willing to give in.

Lin Mo responded to each one, maintaining his calm and patience throughout.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the moderator announced that the debate had concluded.

Applause rang out in the conference hall—not for any one side, but for the high-quality debate itself.

Lin Mo returned to his seat and realized his shirt was soaked with sweat. Beside him, Mr. Liu handed him a bottle of water: "Drink some water. Well said."

Lin Mo took the water and took a big gulp.

Mr. Liu lowered his voice: "Those who questioned you weren't actually against you. They were thinking on your behalf, laying out the potential problems so you could think them through clearly."

Lin Mo nodded: "I know."

Mr. Liu smiled: "Good that you know. Undertaking such a massive project, the hardest part isn't the technology; it's convincing everyone. You took the first step today."

After the meeting adjourned, Lin Mo walked out of the Great Hall of the People.

It was already dark, and Changan Avenue was brightly lit. He stood on the steps and took a deep breath of the cold air.

His phone rang.

It was Fang Lin.

"Lin Mo, I watched the entire debate today."

Lin Mo said: "Director Fang, what did you think?"

Director Fang was silent for two seconds, then said:

"Do you know who was sitting in the audience today?"

Lin Mo was taken aback: "Who?"

"Number One," Director Fang said. "He listened from start to finish without saying a word."

Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat.

Director Fang continued: "When the meeting ended, he said one thing to me."

"What did he say?"

"He said: 'This young man can shoulder responsibilities.'"

Lin Mo was stunned.

Director Fang laughed: "Lin Mo, your project has a real chance."

After hanging up, Lin Mo stood there for a long time without moving.

On Changan Avenue, the traffic flowed ceaselessly.

The lights of the Great Hall of the People shone behind him.

He looked up at the night sky.

In the sky over Beijing, no stars could be seen.

But he knew they were there.

Thirty-six thousand kilometers away, there was a place waiting for humanity to build a sky ladder.

He took a deep breath and walked down the steps.