Chapter 1396: Full of Confidence for the Future

The day of the press conference.

The No.1 conference hall at the Jinling launch site was crowded with people.

Reporters of different skin colors stood here, filling the spacious conference hall.

In order to leave enough space for the interviewers, all cameras, whether automatic or manual, were arranged on both sides of the conference hall, leaving the middle of the conference room empty.

A young man in formal clothes was standing next to Director Li. He looked around as he asked, “Do you think Academician Lu can handle this pressure? There are so many people here.”

He was the secretary for the State Administration for National Defense. He originally served as the spokesperson for this press conference. But since Lu Zhou agreed to attend himself, he became a substitute.

Director Li laughed when he heard the secretary’s words.

“He can’t handle it? Are you kidding me? This guy has been to more places than I have. We don’t have to worry about him.” ”

It was time.

Under everyone’s expectation, Lu Zhou walked onto the stage in a suit.

The audience stared at him closely. He cleared his throat as usual, then spoke in a steady voice.

“Good afternoon, everyone, I am Lu Zhou, the chief designer of the Mars landing plan.

“In our original arrangement, the second batch of scientific researchers to the Mars scientific research base will launch with the supply to Mars at the end of the year, but because we found a suspected area with traces of extraterrestrial civilization near 15° south latitude and 128.1° west longitude, the original launch plan was revised and the second batch of personnel and equipment for the Mars landing plan were reconfigured.

“The following is the adjusted road map of the Mars landing plan and the specific work arrangement for the second contact… Please see the big screen below.”

A brief introduction to the entire Mars landing plan was given in concise terms. When Lu Zhou was showing the PowerPoint, he gave the reporters enough time to take pictures of the slides.

Soon after, the PowerPoint screening ended.

Lu Zhou nodded to the staff next to him, indicating that the first round of questioning could begin.

The news disclosure of the press conference was divided into two parts. The first half was for the specific details of the plan and the second half was the announcement for the list of “human representatives” for the second contact. A brief introduction of the identities of the representatives was given.

In order to facilitate the reporters to concentrate on their questions, the questioning session was also divided into two parts.

“Hello, Academician Lu Zhou, I am a reporter from Everyone Daily. I would like to ask what are the highlights of this Mars landing plan.”

The reporter lady from “Everyone Daily” reached out the microphone in her hand.

Lu Zhou smiled at her and nodded.

“I think there are two aspects worth paying attention to.

“One is transportation, the other is living.

“From the perspective of transportation, the all-terrain rover we deployed on Mars this time has enhanced the communication module and includes many special designs for the dust storm environment on Mars. As for the living aspect, this time we are sending additional functional colony capsules to Mars as well.

“Through these independent colony capsules as well as the pipeline connecting the core colony capsule and the functional modules, we will expand the scientific research base on the surface of Mars. In the future, we will be able to accommodate more scholars to carry out scientific research activities on Mars.”

After the reporter from Everyone Daily finished the question, another foreign reporter stood up.

“Hello, I am a reporter from the Washington Post. We noticed that you used the word ‘suspected’ when referring to the traces of extraterrestrial civilization. I would like to ask… Are there any new discoveries from the Mars landing office in regards to the extraterrestrial civilization?”

Lu Zhou: “That was only me being cautious, please do not over-interpret my words.”

Lu Zhou answered the questions from the reporters one after another.

Generally speaking, the atmosphere of the conference was pretty good.

Although some of the questions were tricky, they were all within a reasonable range. They were all questions that normal people would ask. However, when the New York Times reporter began to ask questions, the atmosphere at the press conference suddenly became weird.

The reporter was a white male.

He reached out the microphone in his hand and raised a question that had little to do with the Mars landing plan itself.

“Have you heard of Xu Jing?”

Xu Jing?

Lu Zhou frowned and thought about where he had heard the name, but he couldn’t remember.

“No, why?”

“Nothing, I’m just surprised you didn’t know her.” The reporter looked at Lu Zhou and said, “Then let me briefly introduce her. She is a reporter who once wrote a column for our newspaper. She is active as a freelance journalist and is relatively well-known on the internet.”

Lu Zhou finally remembered who this person was. It was the author of the article that blew up on WeChat.

Lu Zhou continued with a playful expression, “Do you want to ask a question for your former employee?”

“Of course! However, it’s not because of her former employee status, but because of the question she raised. It is what we are all thinking about.”

The white reporter stared at Lu Zhou and spoke quickly.

“As we all know, China has achieved excellent results in the field of aerospace. China intends to expand the existing results to Mars. However, this space race brings us not only the waste of resources but also does not solve any other problems.

“Ms. Xu pointed out in her article that there are still many people living below the poverty line in your country. Many people have not even flown on airplanes. Do you think there is meaning in developing aerospace technology in China?”

Lu Zhou interrupted the reporter’s speech.

“Have you been to Los Angeles?”

Reporter: “… Of course, it is the largest city on the west coast. Of course I have been there. Why?”

Lu Zhou: “I have been there too, and I was fortunate enough to take the subway there. Have you considered that, when sending astronauts to space, there are many homeless people living in the subway tunnels?”

An awkward expression appeared on the reporter’s face.

He realized what Lu Zhou might say next, so he quickly spoke first.

“Of course… Our country also has its own problems. But aren’t we talking about China now?

“There is no doubt that you are the most influential scholar in China and in the world. You have made world-renowned achievements in your field! But just like Ms. Xu wrote in the article, have you considered the social problems that your research may bring, such as poverty and unemployment.

“In your opinion, in regards to the three examples mentioned in her article, do those people not deserve happiness, or even the right to survive?”

Lu Zhou was under the sharp gaze of the white reporter. He knew all of this was rehearsed.

However, Lu Zhou was not nervous.

It was normal for American journalists to ask ridiculous things at press conferences.

Lu Zhou gave his own answer casually with a smile.

“To be honest, I never thought about it, nor do I care.”

There was a commotion at the press conference.

Even the white reporter’s eyes widened. It seemed that he didn’t expect Lu Zhou to be so direct and walk directly into his trap.

He even thought of tomorrow’s headline for The New York Times.

Director Li was a little anxious. He gestured frantically at Lu Zhou. He pulled the secretary next to him and wanted him to go to the rescue Academician Lu.

However, Lu Zhou seemed to have completely ignored Director Li.

After a pause, he continued, “You expect me to be a great and noble man.

“To resolve all your worries, make bread for you when you are hungry, cut it into slices when you are too lazy to do it, or even chew it up and feed it to you…”

Lu Zhou continued without caring for the reporter’s reaction.

“But that’s not going to happen.

“Technology is only a tool for wealth creation.

“Someone has to study new sociological theories, dive into new production relations and resource allocation methods, and lay a theoretical foundation for the new system. Because our social scientists know that this is the only approach to solve inequality.

“However, no matter how you cut up the cake, you have to make the cake first.

“The development of science and technology will inevitably eliminate backward production capacity, jobs will change, but job opportunities will never disappear. They will reappear in a more creative and modern form. We will protect those who have lost their jobs due to industrial transformation, and provide them with free training, unemployment compensation, and guide them to find their own positions in this society.

“If you don’t know what I mean by modern, you should look through your history textbooks and compare North America in the 18th century to North America now. I believe you can find the answer you want from history. If you think that the creation of lithium-sulfur batteries, controllable fusion, or quantum computers and space shuttles only deprives people of their work and has no meaning in building a utopia, then I can only feel sorry for your stupidity.

“So, this is why I don’t care about the problems you raised.

“Because that is not my research area.

“And also I am confident that people in the future will solve these problems.

“As for whether I am brave…”

Lu Zhou paused for a second then continued, “I will personally lead the team to Mars.”

The white reporter who asked the previous question was shocked.

The entire conference hall went crazy…

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