50: Chapter 50 Dr. Green's Faith Collapse
Pretty Country, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Control Center.
This was once the kingdom of Dr. Elizabeth Green, a stage where she, relying on her exceptional intellect and the immense national power of the Pretty Country, looked down upon the global aerospace community. The walls were covered with magnificent images of Voyager traversing the sea of stars, high-definition landscapes sent back by Mars probes, and countless medals and certificates of honor she had personally received. This place represented the forefront of human exploration of the universe and also carried her lifelong belief—that the development of science depends on free and open competition and substantial, sustained capital investment, and the Pretty Country was undoubtedly the only lighthouse on this path.
However, at this moment, the control center was dead silent. On the massive main screen, there were no star charts or probe data, but rather a live broadcast of the Long Country press conference. That mass of dim blue plasma burning stably within the toroidal device was like a ruthless hand, tightly gripping everyone's throat.
Dr. Green stood before the screen, motionless, like a statue that had lost its soul. The pristine, ironed white lab coat she wore now seemed jarringly stark. Her meticulously styled blonde hair seemed to have lost its former luster, and in her azure eyes, the sharpness and confidence of the past had vanished, leaving only a shattered, incredulous bewilderment.
"Q-value greater than 15... sustained for 1000 hours..." Her lips moved, unconsciously repeating these words, each one like a cold needle piercing into the scientific cognitive system she had upheld her entire life.
This is impossible!
This completely violates the laws of physics!
The tokamak route is the only verified, correct path! The ITER project gathered the world's top minds and spent astronomical amounts of capital, yet it is still struggling at the critical point of whether the Q-value can reach 1!
Long Country? A country that even needs to import high-end vacuum pumps and precision machine tools? A country that they have blockaded in every aspect and that struggles even in the field of basic materials?
How could they?!
In her mind, images from the past flashed uncontrollably: she had scoffed at the "radical" theories proposed by Long Country representatives at international conferences; she had privately mocked Long Country's aerospace program to colleagues as "the fantasies of the poor"; she firmly believed that without the Pretty Country's chips and Europa's instruments, Long Country couldn't even build a decent satellite...
But... the precise landing of "Guanghan Palace" on the far side of the moon...
But... those strange, suddenly appearing new materials...
And now... this artificial sun that has overturned everything!
The cornerstone of her faith collapsed in this instant. All the scientific "common sense" and "systems" she relied on, took pride in, and believed in, appeared so pale, ridiculous, and vulnerable before this unreasonable "sun" from Long Country.
"Did they... did they find some... physical laws that we are completely unaware of?" a young researcher beside her asked, voice trembling, their face filled with the terror of having their worldview destroyed.
Dr. Green did not answer. She just stared fixedly at that dim blue light, as if trying to discern the secrets hidden by Long Country within it. A profound despair, stemming from the total crushing of her academic dignity, mixed with a massive fear of unknown technology, submerged her instantly like a cold tide.
She stumbled back a step, hitting the console, and knocked over a thick stack of planning documents regarding NASA's fusion research roadmap for the next twenty years. The papers scattered across the floor, and the curves, formulas, and concepts she had painstakingly drawn on them now seemed like nothing more than scrap paper, a ridiculous epitaph recording an era about to be phased out.
"What... what has our research of the past few decades... actually amounted to?" she muttered to herself, her voice hoarse and hollow, carrying a weariness of utter desolation.
She slowly raised her head, took one last look at the "sun" belonging to Long Country on the screen, then abruptly turned around and stumbled out of the control center, not even acknowledging the panicked shouts of her subordinates behind her.
She needed to escape from here, to escape from this place that once symbolized her supreme glory but now only made her feel endless shame and confusion.
In the corridor, her silhouette appeared exceptionally hunched and aged. A world built upon a lifelong faith had shattered, and she did not even know how to stand up again amidst the ruins.
Just as Dr. Green's faith was collapsing, at CIA headquarters, James Craig received the final notification from the White House—he was suspended indefinitely, pending a comprehensive investigation.
He put down the phone, no tears in his eyes, only a crazed crimson. He grabbed a crystal ashtray from the table and, with all his might, smashed it viciously against the giant world map on the wall, hitting exactly where Long Country was located.
"Lin Mo! 'Patriot X'! No matter who you are... I swear, I will drag you out!!" Like a wounded beast, he let out a desperate and hideous roar.