Chapter 924 - The End of an Era (1/2)

Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_

Moscow, Kremlin. There was a conference being specifically held on the s.p.a.ce elevator built in the territorial waters of Xin.

“Yesterday, Celestial Trade sold us the RM-320 rocket engine promised to us. Reverse engineering has started. Within one year at most, the new rocket engine will replace the old engine. We will take one year to surpa.s.s the gap the UA took decades to maintain.”

“Unfortunately, when Celestial Trade handed this sword to us, they also pulled down the curtain of the entire stage. Whether it’s economics, politics, culture, or military, everything tomorrow will be different from today since it’s unknown there, and unknown means infinite.”

Here, the director of the Russian s.p.a.ce Agency, Oleg Aosta, lowered his eyes and stated the facts in an artistic way. He looked at the members of the Russian Federation Committee present there, as well as the person sitting at the head of the table, President Putin.

After a pause, Oleg continued.

“Guys, the old era is over.”

Taking a deep breath, the Minister of Defense looked at Putin, who was silent. He murmured, “If the s.p.a.ce elevator can send tons of supplies to outer s.p.a.ce, then the s.p.a.ce-defense force we’re most proud of will be a joke.”

Putin tilted his head slightly.

“Fortunately, our relations.h.i.+p with them is good?”

“That’s the case, but we cannot place all our hopes on good diplomatic relations,” the Minister of Defense said with his voice lowered, he continued to whisper, “The United Nations will discuss the safety and reasonable use of the s.p.a.ce elevator. I am very much in favor of maintaining good bilateral relations with Xin, but only an alliance with matching strength is in line with our interests. Is it appropriate to weaken them…”

Putin lifted his hand and interrupted the statement made by the Minister of Defense.

“If the United Nations is destined to become history, then what significance does it have for us to make things difficult for them at the United Nations?”

…

In the Congress building in the faraway Capital, a special hearing was also being held.

At the meeting, with Congress members, experts, and scholars present, the director of the National Aeronautics and s.p.a.ce Administration, Charles Bolden, read the ma.n.u.script in his hand.

“Although Congress has been trying to reduce our budget, we will still use a limited budget to advance the s.p.a.ce program step by step. The results achieved over the past decades have been great, shockingly great. We haven’t only focused on the privatization of the s.p.a.ce industry. Even the seemingly loss-making facet project finally achieved profitability.”

“Yes, we’ve lead before.” Mr. Bolden paused there and scanned the members in the hearing. “We once convinced the world that the Statue of Liberty was the future.”

The Congress Budget Committee members who aggressively reduced NASA’s budget in the past all looked defeated. They lowered their heads and didn’t dare to make eye contact with the old man.

Secretary of State Kerry coughed.

“This is the Congress hearing, not federal court. What we should discuss now isn’t determining who is accountable but how to deal with it.”