Chapter 1360: End This Race

1600, Pennsylvania Avenue.

It was a busy scene here since the early morning.

Thanks to the Chinese people, the persistent journalists, the representatives of civil organizations, and lawmakers had been making things difficult for them. As if this would solve the problem.

However, this wasn’t what distressed the White House.

After the completion of the Earth-Moon economic integration strategy based on the Moon Palace and the establishment of the Guanghan Special Economic Zone, they had been completely left behind.

Before this, they were able to compete with China in the aerospace field, but now, it had developed to the point where they were powerless.

To put it bluntly, due to the controllable fusion technology and plasma propulsion technology, the breathing room left for chemical rockets was very, very small. They did not lose in strategy, they were simply stuck in a technology bottleneck.

But, in any case, losing was losing.

Anyone could see that they had been unable to continue the competition in this space race. The most important thing now was not how to win, but how to end in a saving-face manner.

“The latest news from the China National Space Administration… They announced the road map of the Mars colonization program to the United Nations and the International Space Organization, intending to build a 200-person permanent settlement on Mars within five years. This will be used for scientific research and exploration activities.

“In addition, according to the latest information from the Arizona Observatory, the Xu Fu colonial ship has successfully left the Earth-Moon system and continues to operate according to its current trajectory. It will reach Mars orbit at the earliest on the 14th.”

The President listened to the endless reports from his subordinates. He was sitting behind his desk, rubbing his sore eyebrow with his index finger and thumb.

Since taking office as the president, he had lost countless nights of sleep for his country.

Among the many presidents in the history of the United States, no president had been as stressful as him.

If there ever was, it would definitely be the next president in office.

“Keep paying attention… Apart from waiting for the news from Lunar Gateway, there is nothing we can do for the time being.”

After hearing these words, Director Carson, who was standing in the office, had an awkward expression on his face. He pretended not to hear him and looked to the side.

Concerned about the President’s negative attitude, the Secretary of State frowned and said, “It’s not a good idea to do nothing. Judging from the current state of public opinion, the people have already expressed dissatisfaction with our indifference. I am worried that this will continue…”

The President said impatiently, “Do you have any good ideas?”

“I can’t say it’s a good idea, but… I think it’s at least a remedy.”

“Oh, really?”

“Although many Americans are unwilling to admit, in fact, we have lost the competition.” The Secretary of State glanced at Director Carson and said, “The lunar scientific research station and the ILHCRC collider have won the support from the international academic community. It is impractical for us to delay their economic development through the space race.”

After a moment of silence, the Secretary of State continued, “We can’t continue to drag on passively like this.

“My suggestion is to end this meaningless race as soon as possible so that our relationship can return to normal. If we can’t beat them, then we should join them.”

The office was dead silent.

Although this was the best choice, the courage required to make such a choice was beyond the capabilities of most politicians.

Perhaps it was a wrong decision to start this competition at all.

But it was too late now.

Someone had to stand up and step on the brakes for this reckless train.

After a long silence, the President finally sighed and spoke slowly.

“You’re right.

“It’s time to end everything.”

When Director Carson heard the President say those words, he instantly felt like he was back to being a teenager.

But in any case, Carson was relieved when he heard this.

Before coming here, what he worried the most was that the President would stubbornly carry on the competition and arbitrarily implement a Mars landing plan. All of the problems would be thrown onto him.

If this had happened, it would be a disaster for the United States.

Fortunately, the President was still reasonable. And it was not too late to step on the brakes.

“We need an opportunity to repair our political relations. Something that is acceptable to the people of both countries and also gives us an opportunity to step down.”

Now that the decision had been made, there was nothing to hesitate over.

The President regained a confident expression on his face.

The Secretary of State was satisfied to see that his boss had made the right choice. He nodded with a relaxed expression and spoke.

“Yes, we need an opportunity. The award from the International Union of Materials Research Societies was a good opportunity; it’s a pity that it was rejected by Lu Zhou.”

After a pause, he continued, “However, although Lu Zhou himself can’t come, I heard that his student is going to Boston in April to attend the conference of the International Union of Materials Research Societies in place of him at the meeting, and she will report on Lu Zhou’s paper.”

The President frowned and said, “A successful scholar has many students. This is normal.”

“But there is always someone special, such as Ms. Han Mengqi.” The Secretary of State had a confident smile on his face. He continued, “According to the information we investigated, she is Chen Yushan’s cousin. And that Ms. Chen Yushan is, needless to say, the one who has gotten engaged to Lu Zhou some time ago. According to China’s culture, Academician Lu is now Han Mengqi’s brother-in-law.”

The President looked at the Secretary of State weirdly and hesitated.

“We can’t… give her the Annual Union Award.”

“Of course not! Never would the International Union of Materials Research Societies do such a ridiculous thing, but… the International Union of Materials Research Societies can find a substitute, such as setting up an award for her specifically, such as the International Progressive Young Scholars Award.”

The Secretary of State showed a smile on his face and continued with a confident tone, “Then, we can use this opportunity to invite her and other winners to a dinner at the White House, where the Chinese ambassador will be there.

“And if the Chinese side wants to repair their relationship with us.

“Everything will be much easier.”

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