18: Chapter 18: The Arrogance of the Federal Experts at the Conference

The sunlight in Silicon Valley is always so brilliant, casting a dazzling layer of gold over the spacious and bright lecture hall through the conference center's massive floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall.

The air was filled with the aroma of coffee, the scent of paper and ink, and the unique 'academic buzz' created by the hushed conversations of top scholars from all over the world.

The special symposium of the International Cryptography and Information Security Conference (CryptoCon) was about to begin.

The lecture hall, which could accommodate nearly five hundred people, was almost full.

Eyes from academia, industry, government agencies, and the media were focused on the podium at the front.

The backdrop of the podium was a Deep Blue curtain with the conference logo in the center. A slightly smaller screen had been specially added to the side, displaying the title of this symposium: 'Challenges and Opportunities in Post-Quantum Cryptography—With a Discussion on the Impact of New Computing Paradigms on Existing Encryption Systems.'

Below the title, the names and titles of the five keynote speakers were listed.

Four of them came from top federal universities, national laboratories, or well-known technology companies, and were prominent figures in the fields of cryptography, quantum computing, and cybersecurity.

The fifth one, however—the name of the representative from the Long Country 'Jiuzhang Special Project,' Lin Shen—stood out, attracting the most curious and scrutinizing gazes.

Lin Shen sat in the seat prepared for speakers behind the side of the podium.

He was wearing a well-fitted dark suit and a sober tie today, a suggestion from his team's image consultant before departure, intended to project professionalism and rigor.

Beside him sat Professor Zheng, a cryptography expert from the temporary support team, and Counselor Han, the science and technology diplomacy expert.

Topologist and another theoretical physicist were stationed at the base command center thousands of miles away via an encrypted satellite link, ready to provide technical support at any moment.

Lin Shen leafed through the abstract of his speech, appearing calm, but in reality, his heart was beating slightly faster than usual, and his palms were slightly damp with sweat.

This was not his first time attending an international conference, but under the shadow of athena, and speaking at such an occasion as a representative of what was essentially the opposing camp, the pressure was completely different.

He could feel the gazes cast from the audience below.

There was pure academic curiosity, scrutiny and evaluation, undisguised skepticism, and, of course, the playful looks filled with superiority, waiting to see how the 'newcomer' would handle it.

The moderator of the symposium, a senior cryptographer from the Federal National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), walked onto the podium and gave a brief opening.

He reviewed the history of cryptography's development, emphasized the paradigm-shifting challenges brought about by the advent of athena, and pointed out that this symposium aimed to gather wisdom to face the future of post-quantum cryptography together.

'First, let us welcome Dr. James Watson from the MIT Lincoln Laboratory to elaborate on the latest progress and potential timeline of athena in cracking classical public-key cryptosystems,' the moderator said.

An elderly man with graying hair and a sharp demeanor walked up to the podium.

Dr. Watson was one of the federal authorities on the application of quantum computing to cryptanalysis.

His speech was confident and clear.

He first briefly introduced the hardware parameters and performance benchmarks of athena, and then focused on presenting the latest estimates of the quantum resources required for simulated Grover/Shor algorithm attacks on current mainstream public-key algorithms such as RSA-2048 and ECC-256.

'...Based on the current number of logical qubits and gate fidelity of athena, as well as our latest understanding of algorithm optimization,' Dr. Watson pushed up his glasses, his tone flat yet carrying an unquestionable sense of authority, 'we conservatively estimate that for RSA-2048, building a practical quantum attacker requires increasing the number of logical qubits by another order of magnitude and reducing the error rate by at least an order of magnitude. This still sounds distant, but please remember, it took less than five years for athena to go from theory to the implementation of 512 logical qubits. According to the current technological progress curve, we have reason to believe that within the next ten to fifteen years, a substantial threat to existing public-key systems based on quantum computing will become reality. This is no longer science fiction, but a timeline issue that needs to be taken seriously.'

He displayed exquisite charts and convincing data, and a low murmur of discussion and nods of agreement arose from the audience.

Next, a chief scientist from a well-known cybersecurity company elaborated on the urgency of migrating to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and the challenges faced in selecting technical paths.

Another theoretical computer scientist from a federal national laboratory explored the possibilities of brand-new cryptographic primitives and protocols that quantum computing might spawn.

Every federal expert's speech was logically rigorous, data-rich, and filled with a powerful confidence in their own technical paths and judgment.

Their words implicitly constructed a 'post-quantum cryptography' narrative framework with athena and the federal research system as the benchmark and core.

Peers from other countries seemed to be placed more in the position of 'learners' and 'responders.'

Finally, it was Lin Shen's turn.

When the moderator read his name and affiliation, a brief, subtle silence fell over the lecture hall, and then all eyes were focused on this young Eastern face.

Lin Shen stood up and walked steadily toward the podium.

He adjusted the height of the microphone and scanned the dense crowd below with a calm gaze.

'Good afternoon, colleagues.' His English was clear and fluent, with a faint, imperceptible Eastern accent, but his tone was steady. 'Thank you for the invitation to the conference, giving me the opportunity to share some initial thoughts and explorations from the Long Country on addressing the challenges of new computing paradigms.'

He got straight to the point without too much pleasantry. 'First, I fully agree with Dr. Watson and the other experts regarding the judgment that quantum computing poses a long-term and severe challenge to existing cryptosystems. The achievements of athena are impressive and have sounded an alarm for all of us.'

This opening statement both expressed respect and set the tone for a rational discussion.

'However,' Lin Shen changed the subject, 'while facing the challenges, I believe we also need to maintain a cautious optimism and an open mind. Quantum computing itself is still in the early stages of rapid development, and its final technical form, performance limits, and even the feasible paths for engineering implementation still contain a large number of unknowns and multiple possibilities.'

He pulled up the first slide, which displayed a simplified diagram of 'Quantum Computing Technology Paths and Challenges,' covering major directions such as superconducting, ion trap, optical quantum, Topological Quantum Computing, and semiconductor quantum dots, and marked their core bottlenecks in scalability, fidelity, error correction overhead, etc.

'The breakthrough achieved by athena in hybrid architecture is undoubtedly a milestone. But the superconducting/ion trap path it represents, when scaling to a larger size, faces the problem of exponential growth in error correction resources, which remains a Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads.' Lin Shen did not avoid the issue but directly pointed out the pain points of the current mainstream route. 'This prompts us to think: are there other technical paths that could fundamentally change the rules of the game? For example, Topological Quantum Computing, which has the potential for natural immunity to noise?'

When he mentioned 'Topological Quantum Computing,' there was a visible commotion in the audience. Many listeners showed expressions of 'as expected' or 'what is this again.' Obviously, the Western academic community had heard about the Long Country's recent high-profile mention of the topological direction and generally held a skeptical or even mocking attitude.

Lin Shen ignored these reactions and continued to speak according to his prepared line of thought. He briefly introduced the basic principles and theoretical advantages of Topological Quantum Computing and frankly pointed out the huge difficulties in current experimental implementation. 'We do not think this is a shortcut that can replace the mainstream route in the short term. On the contrary, we view it as a foundational exploration that requires long-term investment, aiming to find a more solid physical foundation for the ultimate form of future quantum computing.'

His attitude was pragmatic and frank, without exaggeration or avoidance of difficulties. This caused some listeners who were initially biased to slightly restrain their look of contempt.

Next, Lin Shen turned the topic to cryptography itself. 'Facing the threat of quantum computing, migration to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is necessary and urgent. The Long Country has also conducted a large amount of research and standardization follow-up work in this field.' He briefly introduced some domestic research progress and international cooperation regarding PQC candidate algorithms such as lattice-based cryptography, code-based cryptography, and multivariate cryptography.

'But what I want to emphasize is,' Lin Shen's tone became slightly more forceful, 'the evolution of cryptography is not just passive defense against new attack methods. New computing paradigms, especially the parallelism and entanglement characteristics exhibited by quantum computing, may also open up brand-new ways for us to design and understand cryptographic protocols. For example, key distribution based on quantum entanglement (QKD) has already moved toward practicality, and in the future, is it possible for cryptographic primitives to be born based on the non-abelian statistics of topological qubits, possessing brand-new security attributes? This is worth the global cryptography community thinking about and exploring together.'

This viewpoint jumped out of the framework of pure 'defense' and pointed to more cutting-edge possibilities, arousing the interest of some theoretical cryptographers.

'Finally,' Lin Shen concluded, 'faced with athena and even more powerful quantum computers in the future, what we need is not just competition in technical solutions, but more importantly, open and rational dialogue and cooperation among the global scientific community. The exploration of different technical paths and the evaluation of various cryptographic schemes should be based on science itself, serving to enhance the security and resilience of global digital infrastructure. The Long Country is willing to contribute its own strength to this and learn from the advanced experience of countries around the world.'

The timing of his speech was perfectly controlled; the content had both a clear understanding of reality and forward-looking thoughts about the future; his attitude was neither humble nor pushy, and his logic was clear.

According to the agenda, the next part was the Q&A and discussion session.

As soon as the moderator announced the start, several hands were raised in the audience. The first person to get the opportunity to ask a question was none other than Dr. James Watson, who had spoken earlier.

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Dr. Watson didn't use a microphone; his voice was resonant, carrying the tone of an academic elder scrutinizing a junior: "Mr. Lin, thank you for your comprehensive and... cautious speech. You mentioned Topological Quantum Computing and acknowledged its immense experimental challenges. I have no objection to that. But I would like to ask a more specific, and perhaps more practical question: How do you evaluate the timeline for the verified superconducting-ion trap hybrid architecture used by athena to pose a practical threat to encryption algorithms at the level of RSA-2048 within the next five to ten years? Do you believe that the Dragon Kingdom's current investment and layout in the field of quantum computing are sufficient to ensure a timely response to such threats at the national level? Or are you placing more of your hopes on... long-term explorations such as Topological Quantum Computing?"

The question was extremely sharp, directly targeting the "substance" of the Dragon Kingdom's quantum strategy and its "capability" to respond to threats. The subtext was: Your long-term vision sounds nice, but the threat from athena is imminent; what do you have to counter it?

The entire hall fell silent, and everyone looked at Lin Shen.

Lin Shen took a deep breath; this question was within his prepared scenarios. He adjusted his posture and met Dr. Watson's gaze calmly.

"Dr. Watson, thank you for your question." Lin Shen's tone remained steady. "First, regarding the timeline of the threat posed by the athena architecture to specific cryptographic algorithms, I agree with your previous analysis—this is a medium-to-long-term challenge that needs to be taken seriously. Any responsible government and research institution should make technical reserves and migration preparations based on worst-case assumptions. The Dragon Kingdom is no exception."

He paused and continued, "As for our country's quantum computing layout, as I mentioned before, we have adopted a multi-path parallel strategy. We pay close attention to and learn from the progress of all mainstream technical routes, including athena, and invest resources in related fields to catch up and make breakthroughs. At the same time, we also support the exploration of disruptive directions such as Topological Quantum Computing. We believe that in such a rapidly evolving field, maintaining diversity in technical routes and openness in exploration is a wise choice for dealing with uncertainty."

This answer was standard and balanced, neither denying the gap nor failing to emphasize their own strategies and efforts.

But Dr. Watson was clearly dissatisfied. He raised an eyebrow slightly and followed up: "Then, more specifically, in your view, how far is the Dragon Kingdom currently from achieving logical qubits and fidelity on the superconducting or ion trap routes similar to the scale of athena? Is there a quantifiable milestone that can be discussed publicly?"

This was a more specific and even more difficult question to answer. Giving specific numbers directly, whether optimistic or pessimistic, could be misinterpreted or exploited.

Lin Shen's brain worked rapidly. He could not avoid it, nor could he give a specific commitment that might be misread.

"The process of scientific exploration, especially engineering breakthroughs, is often difficult to predict accurately with a simple timeline," Lin Shen chose a more principle-based answer. "The achievements of athena are the result of years of accumulation and concentrated effort. Related research in the Dragon Kingdom also has a foundation of many years, and in recent years, we have made a series of progress in areas such as single-qubit quality and multi-qubit entanglement. We will continue to promote the research and development of various technical routes with the greatest determination and effort. Specific milestone goals fall within the scope of our internal technical planning. However, I can guarantee that our emphasis on and investment in this field are continuous and ever-increasing."

This answer both held the bottom line and expressed determination.

Dr. Watson seemed to want to ask more, but the moderator intervened at the right time, giving the opportunity to a scholar from Europa.

The next few questions involved technical details, standard cooperation, and some had a probing tone. With the silent support of Professor Zheng and Counselor Han, and the sporadic key information prompts provided by the rear team through his encrypted earpiece, Lin Shen answered them all cautiously. He maintained a calm, professional, and open attitude throughout, neither falling into the opponent's preset debate traps nor showing any defensive agitation.

However, as the discussion deepened, a subtle atmosphere gradually permeated the hall. Several experts from the Federation, when asking questions and making comments, intentionally or unintentionally reinforced the status of athena as a benchmark and leader, their words revealing the confidence and composure of "rule-makers." Meanwhile, representatives from other countries, including Lin Shen, were mostly "responding" to and "discussing" the topics they set.

This implicit inequality in academic discourse power was more pressuring than any sharp question.

Just as the seminar was nearing its end and the moderator was preparing to make closing remarks, a young expert from the research institute of a top tech company in the Federation, who had been sitting in the front row and had not yet spoken, suddenly raised his hand and stood up directly. His tone carried an almost brisk, challenging arrogance:

"Moderator, Mr. Lin, I have a question that might be unrelated to technology but is quite interesting." This expert appeared to be in his thirties, blond-haired and blue-eyed, with a confident smile on his face. "We have heard many discussions about different technical paths and the Dragon Kingdom's investment in multiple paths. This reminds me of a metaphor: when others are already speeding down the highway in sports cars, is it necessary to expend massive effort repeatedly verifying blueprints for 'new types of transportation' that look beautiful but might require building a completely new road? Especially when it is completely uncertain whether this new road can be completed or when it might be finished? Is this a type of resource... perhaps it could be called 'romantic waste'? Has the Dragon Kingdom considered focusing more on how to quickly obtain a 'sports car' of its own that can run on existing highways, even if it might not be that fast at first?"

The question was posed in a seemingly lighthearted but actually highly provocative and disparaging way, likening exploratory research such as Topological Quantum Computing to unrealistic "blueprints" and the athena path to mature "highways" and "sports cars." The superiority and inferiority between them were self-evident.

A low burst of laughter and whispering immediately broke out in the hall. Many eyes focused on Lin Shen once again, wanting to see how this young representative of the Dragon Kingdom would respond to such an almost insulting metaphorical questioning.

Lin Shen's expression remained calm, but in the depths of his eyes, it was as if something quiet had been ignited.

He took a soft breath, looked directly at the expert who asked the question, and then slowly scanned the faces in the audience, which bore various expressions.

He did not immediately refute the metaphor but instead nodded slightly.

"Thank you, sir, for proposing a very vivid metaphor." Lin Shen's voice was not loud, but it spread clearly through the quiet hall. "This is indeed a classic question about scientific and technological innovation strategy: is it better to strive to catch up along a known, mature path, or to try to carve out a new path that might be shorter but might also lead nowhere?"

He paused for a moment, letting everyone's attention focus on him.

"My answer is: Only children make choices. A responsible major technological power usually chooses—to have it all."

The laughter from the audience stopped abruptly.

"We need to strive to catch up and aim to possess 'sports cars' that can race on existing highways as soon as possible; this is a realistic need to ensure current security and development," Lin Shen's voice was steady and firm. "But at the same time, we cannot gamble our entire future on an established route that might eventually encounter insurmountable toll booths or dead ends. Exploring new 'transportation' and 'roads,' even if nine out of ten attempts fail, a single success could lead us to unprecedented new continents, or even discover new 'oceans' and 'skies.' This exploration itself is an expansion of the boundaries of human knowledge and technological possibilities, and its value cannot be measured by simple 'waste.'"

He looked at the expert who asked the question, his tone peaceful yet powerful: "As for the 'romance' you mentioned... perhaps. But in the history of science, weren't many of the greatest breakthroughs initially regarded as 'romantic' or even 'insane' fantasies? Without a bit of 'romantic' spirit to challenge established frameworks, humanity might still be looking up at the starry sky, never having thought of flying toward it."

His answer clearly explained the strategic logic of the Dragon Kingdom's "multi-path parallel" approach and cleverly transformed the other party's disparaging metaphor into a praise and defense of the spirit of scientific exploration.

The hall fell into a brief silence once again. The expert who asked the question opened his mouth as if to refute, but ultimately just shrugged and sat down. Meanwhile, many in the audience, especially scholars from non-Federation countries or those with a neutral stance, showed looks of deep thought or even approval in their eyes.

The moderator timely seized the rhythm, made a concluding speech, thanked the speakers for their contributions, and announced the end of the seminar.

Lin Shen walked down from the podium, feeling the shirt on his back already slightly soaked with sweat. The first round of direct confrontation was tense but without mishap. He hadn't "won," but at least he hadn't "lost." More importantly, he had clearly conveyed his side's position and logic, and to some extent, neutralized the other party's arrogant offensive.

However, he knew this was only the beginning. The real contest might still be ahead.

Just as he was preparing to leave the lecture hall with the crowd, a conference staff member walked over quickly and said in a low voice to him and Counselor Han: "Mr. Lin, Counselor Han, the co-chair of the seminar, Professor Miller of Stanford University, would like to have a brief, informal, small-scale exchange with Mr. Lin during the tea break. Would that be convenient?"

Counselor Han looked at Lin Shen, his eyes filled with inquiry and alertness.

Lin Shen pondered for a moment and then nodded.

What is meant to come will always come, whether under the spotlight or in the corner of the tea break area.