Chapter 264 Elevator Cabin Test

January 15, 2040.

Six in the morning, Space Elevator Platform.

Chen Xueming stood in front of the Elevator Car; he had already been standing there for a full ten minutes.

The silver-white cabin shimmered with a soft luster in the morning light. Three meters in diameter and five meters high, its surface was covered with various sensors and interfaces. The small porthole on the cabin door was like an eye, quietly watching him.

Today was the day of the no-load test.

There were no passengers, only this twelve-ton cabin, which would slowly ascend along that thirty-six-thousand-kilometer-long cable to an altitude of one hundred kilometers before returning.

One hundred kilometers. The Kármán Line. The starting point of space.

"General Manager Chen," Wang Lei ran over and handed him a document, "The final checklist. All systems are normal."

Chen Xueming took the document and flipped through it page by page. Power system, braking system, communication system, life support system, emergency return system... Every item had detailed test data, and every piece of data was signed with the name of the testing personnel.

He closed the document and looked up.

"Prepare to begin."

At eight in the morning, the no-load test officially began.

Chen Xueming stood before the command console, staring at the data on the screen. Lin Mo watched simultaneously via video link from the base, and Li Xiao sat beside him, fingers hovering over the keyboard, ready to intervene at any moment.

"Elevator Car self-check complete," came the voice of Technician Xiao Zhou.

"Cable gripping mechanism unlocked."

"Power system starting."

"Beginning ascent."

The numbers on the screen began to jump. The Elevator Car slowly rose along the cable, its speed gradually increasing from zero to five meters per second. Ten meters, fifty meters, one hundred meters... It rose higher and higher, and the platform beneath it grew smaller and smaller.

Chen Xueming stared at that speck of light, his palms drenched in sweat.

"Altitude: one thousand meters."

"Five thousand meters."

"Ten thousand meters."

The Elevator Car passed through the low-altitude clouds and through flight paths, continuing its ascent. The images on the screen came from the cameras outside the cabin—the azure sky gradually deepened, and the clouds spread out into a white ocean beneath.

"Twenty thousand meters."

"Thirty thousand meters."

"Forty thousand meters."

Xiao Zhou's voice grew more and more excited, but Chen Xueming's face remained tense. The no-load test was only the first step; the real challenge lay ahead.

"Fifty thousand meters."

"Eighty thousand meters."

"Ninety thousand meters."

"One hundred thousand meters!"

Cheers erupted in the Command Center. One hundred kilometers, the Kármán Line, the starting point of space. The Elevator Car had reached its designated altitude.

Chen Xueming did not cheer; he just stared at the screen, waiting for the next command.

"Begin return," he said.

The Elevator Car began to descend.

Returning was more dangerous than ascending. The braking system had to control the speed precisely; too fast would damage the cabin, and too slow would waste energy. Every parameter had to be perfect.

Chen Xueming stared at the data on the screen, his heart beating so fast it felt like it would jump out.

"Altitude: ninety thousand meters."

"Eighty thousand meters."

"Fifty thousand meters."

"Ten thousand meters."

"Five thousand meters."

"One thousand meters."

"One hundred meters."

"Ten meters."

"Contact!"

The Elevator Car landed steadily on the platform, exactly as it had been when it departed.

The Command Center fell silent for a second.

Then, cheers surged like a tide. Xiao Zhou jumped up from his seat and hugged the person next to him. The technicians high-fived each other, and some shed tears. Outside the platform, workers set off the fireworks they had prepared long ago, red light blooming in the sky.

Chen Xueming sat in his chair and let out a long breath.

Lin Mo's face appeared on the screen. He was also smiling, his eyes slightly red.

"Xueming," he said, "well done."

Chen Xueming nodded without a word, but his eyes were also red.

At two in the afternoon, Lin Mo flew to the platform.

As he stepped off the helicopter, Chen Xueming was beside the Elevator Car, checking the test data with the technicians. Seeing Lin Mo, he straightened up and walked over.

"Old Lin, the data is out." He handed over a report. "Everything is normal. Power system, braking system, communication system... all met the standards."

Lin Mo took the report and scanned it quickly. Then he looked up at Chen Xueming.

"Xueming," he said, "the next step is the manned test."

Chen Xueming froze for a moment.

Manned test.

This meant someone would sit in that cabin, ascend to one hundred kilometers along the cable, and then return. This was an adventure unprecedented in human history.

"Who's going?" he asked.

Lin Mo looked at him. "What do you think?"

Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds.

Then he smiled.

"I'll go."

That evening, Chen Xueming told the team about his decision.

Everyone in the Command Center was stunned.

Xiao Zhou was the first to jump up. "General Manager Chen, you can't go! You're the commander-in-chief; if something happens..."

Chen Xueming waved his hand, cutting him off. "Precisely because I am the commander-in-chief, I should be the first to go."

Wang Lei grew anxious. "General Manager Chen, let me go! I'm young and in good shape!"

Chen Xueming looked at him with something warm in his gaze.

"Wang Lei," he said, "did you forget? I said I would take you up in the future. But not this time."

Wang Lei opened his mouth but couldn't find the words.

Liu Jianguo stepped forward. "General Manager Chen, please reconsider. The risks of a manned test..."

"I know," Chen Xueming interrupted him, "but someone has to be the first."

He scanned the people present, his gaze finally landing on Lin Mo's face on the screen.

"Old Lin, do you agree?"

Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Agreed."

Late at night, Chen Xueming stood alone at the edge of the platform.

The sea breeze was strong, making his clothes flap loudly. But he stood firm, like a statue.

Footsteps came from behind.

"I knew you'd be here."

It was Lin Mo's voice. He walked up beside Chen Xueming, also looking out at the pitch-black sea.

The two stood in silence.

After a long time, Lin Mo said, "Xueming, do you know the risks of the manned test?"

Chen Xueming nodded.

"I know."

"And you're still going?"

Chen Xueming turned his head to look at him. "Old Lin, do you remember the Nuclear Fusion ignition?"

Lin Mo nodded.

"That time I was in the control room, watching you deduce the parameters over and over again." Chen Xueming's voice was soft. "Back then, I thought that if one day someone needed to take a risk, I hoped it would be me."

Lin Mo remained silent.

Chen Xueming continued, "All these years, you've always been at the forefront. Room-Temperature Superconductivity, lithium-sulfur batteries, Nuclear Fusion, the space elevator... you've carried the weight every time."

He paused and looked at Lin Mo.

"This time, it's my turn."

Lin Mo looked at him for a long time.

Then he reached out and patted Chen Xueming's shoulder.

"Come back alive."

Chen Xueming smiled.

"Don't worry. I'm tough to kill."