Chapter 6 3. American Law

two days ago. It was nine o'clock in the morning on July 30th, and the drizzle that had been lingering over Washington for several days finally had the meaning to stop. Lieutenant General Gates is always used to arriving at the venue five minutes earlier, and today is no exception. Or should I say - especially today. Gates looked down at his watch and scratched the brown wig on his dark head. For some reason, he was a little nervous.The person I will meet with today is neither the President of the United States of America nor the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but frankly speaking, General Gates is now on pins and needles, almost more nervous than facing his tigress-like mother-in-law at home—— Of course, that was many years ago.

With a serious face, the guard opened the door of the meeting room for the visiting distinguished guests.A middle-aged Caucasian man in a suit, bow tie, and silver-rimmed glasses sat straight across from the general in a less "polite" manner, quickly flipped open the laptop under his arm, and pressed the button. start key. "Let's cut to the chase, General Gates," he said in a husky voice, and to be honest—it sounded like phlegm in his mouth, "It's been 24 hours since I was last contacted by two of my scouts. What happened before, combined with the current situation on Paget Island, I have reason to believe that they have encountered an accident—at least their lives are in danger.”

General Gates stared at the middle-aged man who was ten years younger than himself. With the calmness characteristic of an old soldier, he said unhurriedly: "Mr. President has authorized me to handle this matter, so, Dr. Freeman, You can, and should, start from the beginning and explain the whole incident, instead of just telling me that the lives of your two prospectors are in danger." "Ah, that's right, of course," the white man called Freeman snapped his fingers, and responded in a joking tone: "Look, General, I'm here to do exactly this. Is it?" Obviously, Lieutenant General Gates, who is known for his seriousness and low profile, can't understand the other party's attitude, but Dr. Freeman is Dr. Freeman after all, and he is a key player in the cooperation between NASA and the military.It is no exaggeration to say that without Dr. Freeman, many space "experimental projects" of the US military would be impossible.

A blue desktop appeared on the laptop. Unlike in the past, what Freeman demonstrated this time did not appear in the standard interface of "National Aeronautics and Space Administration", but entered the password in a very simple dialog box . "Pegett Island," Freeman licked his upper lip and tapped the screen: "It is located on the trench 250 nautical miles north of the Philippines, with a permanent population of about 2,600 and an area..." "The main source of income is tourism, iron ore and seafood exports, right?" General Gates shook his head: "We are not taking a high school geography class, doctor, please get straight to the point."

"Ok, very good..." Freeman paused: "At 4:27 a.m. on July 25th," he obviously sped up his speech: "A meteorite the size of a refrigerator broke through the atmosphere, Falling near Paget Island at 30,000 miles per hour - our observers say the impact is likely to be inside the island." "One," the general narrowed his eyes, "a meteorite the size of a refrigerator?" "Well, maybe it's Haier brand..." Freeman shrugged, "Is it important?" "Go on." "The number of the meteorite is XYY0607EG58, or G58 for short," Freeman adjusted his laptop so that the screen faced Lieutenant General Gates: "This is the clearest photo we have taken."

The general supported the table with his elbows, leaned forward a few centimeters, and carefully looked at the so-called "high-definition" picture on the screen-a drop-shaped object with a pale light trailing on a dark background-don't say It's a bit of a trick, Gates can't even say "what is this". Gates looked embarrassed: "This is..." "Oh, from an academic point of view, this kind of small meteorite is too common. A dozen of them fall on the earth every year. Please take a look at this one, General," Freeman pressed "" on the keyboard. Down arrow": "This is a comparison picture taken with the latest X95 radio telescope."

To be honest, this picture is even blurrier than the one just now, with coordinates like latitude and longitude marked on the periphery of several groups of colored layers of different sizes. In Gates' view, it is somewhat similar to some kind of military satellite map— — still encrypted. "Doctor, I majored in philosophy at the military school." Gates shook his head and said, "So please tell me in the most concise language, what do you want to express?" "Hey, that's a pity," Freeman pouted, "If you've seen even one similar photo, you'll understand what I'm going to say..." He turned slightly and pointed to the The screen said: "This meteorite, G58, is no different from ordinary meteorites on the surface, but under the radio telescope, it shows completely different properties, even properties that we have never seen before."

"How do you say that?" Lieutenant General Gates seemed to be a little interested. "The radiation intensity of G58 is fourteen times greater than that of ordinary meteorites, and it has an extremely special magnetic field. After it enters the earth's orbit—especially after entering the atmosphere, until it falls on Paget Island, the earth's magnetic field around it is completely was affected, and formed a sort of 'shell' around it, and our radio telescope just picked up this shell." "A shell... well," Gates frowned. "Isn't that unusual?"

"No, this is very common." Dr. Freeman pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose: "When each meteorite falls, it will affect the surrounding magnetic field to some extent, and the difference is only the degree." He paused: "The unusual thing is that the magnetic field of G58 itself is very strong, and the shape of this 'shell'—" the doctor drew a circle on a graphic on the screen: "Look, it's here, it's very strange, we've never seen it before. in such a shape." "Then what is the conclusion?" "The problem is that there is no conclusion," Freeman said, "General, the nature of this meteorite has caused NASA analysts to rack their brains and forget to eat and sleep. So far, we have not been able to draw any valuable 'conclusions'. "

"So NASA sent surveyors to a rioting island just to study a meteorite?" "No, General, you don't understand at all." Dr. Freeman became excited, even his hands were shaking: "This stone may contain some completely unknown chemical element, and it may even change our view of the universe!" Gates knows these NASA "lunatics" very well. They are always in the habit of exaggerating the research projects they are engaged in, and fooling Congress with empty promises such as "rewriting history", "benefiting mankind" or "entering the universe" And the president, defrauding a lot of research funding, often ends up in the end-in the name of "exploring science must pay a price".

"General, I think you must have heard," Freeman continued: "The president's scientific and technological advisers are very concerned about this matter. If the United States wants to maintain its own space advantage, it must not let go of every advance. Chance." You see, here it comes again—Gates thought to himself, this guy really had already greeted the "superior" in advance before he dared to boss him around in front of him. "We must get that meteorite, Lieutenant General, since you have been authorized to take charge of this matter, then I believe you must have your own detailed plan, and I, too, was promised to see that stone in a week's time— —in the NASA research lab." Freeman leaned back: "You should know me very well, Gates, I'm a scientist, and I'm only concerned with the results, just like I used to do with the military, and You can only care about the result." Gates thought for a moment, nodded and said: "...The current situation of Peget Island is quite difficult. There are both typhoons and mob riots. And today the CIA has confirmed that the Chinese navy is 'soon' to set off. Rescue overseas Chinese and Chinese tourists on the island, due to geographical location, they will definitely arrive before our fleet, if we go to recover the meteorite at this time..." "I must remind you, General," Freeman interrupted impatiently, "according to the white paper on the space program published by the Chinese government, the Chinese intend to break our superiority in space technology within twenty-five years. To be honest, I hate to believe that they have the same advanced radio detection technology as my side, but if you wait until your people go to the island, only to find that the meteorite has been taken away by the jubilant Chinese... I can hardly say that Mr. President will be What kind of expression is it?" The words are heavy, but it is the doctor's usual style, and the lieutenant general has long been accustomed to it.Moreover, what the doctor said is correct, the "space advantage" accumulated with countless taxpayers' money must not be given to other countries at will.As a professional soldier, Gates' mission is naturally to defend the country, and defending the country—whether in a narrow or broad sense—is to ensure that one's own country always has an advantage. "Well, at least on this point, we have reached a consensus," Gates smacked his lips: "I will send the best team to complete this task." "Best?" Freeman raised the corners of his lips and adjusted his glasses frame by the way: "I remember the last time you said 'best', that is, last year, we dropped eight corpses in Namibia and found nothing. " This sentence finally angered the general. He patted the table hard and pointed at Freeman's nose: "Listen, doctor, we specialize in technology. You are in charge of your project, and I will take care of my people. If you question my ability, then I will It can be said responsibly that you will never find anyone here in the military who can help you bring back the stone." "Well, that's very good." Freeman stood up with a smile, closed the laptop, and put it under his arm: "I will send an assistant to explain the specific details to your 'best team'. General, until I We will remain in 'close contact' until we see that stone, and I hope you don't find it troublesome." After a simple farewell, General Gates returned to the wooden chair. He supported the table with his elbows and his cheeks with the back of his hand. He frowned and pondered for a while. Finally, as if he had made a decision, he picked up the dedicated phone on the table: "Notify Lieutenant Colonel Smith of the CATS program and tell him to come to my office." Gates' voice was very soft, but with an unquestionable majesty: "immediately."