The University of Pennsylvania, a school that was often used by good people to "fish" before Lin Youde traveled through time and space, its Wharton School and California State University, Berkeley, can be called the "North American Pheasant University Duo" - because the name looks too much like those three B-line bad schools in China, and the deception effect is excellent.

On July 3, 1934, the dignitaries and high-ranking officials of the U.S. government arrived at Pennsylvania, led by none other than Charlotte, the big boss of the United States of America.

Charlotte got out of the car, looked at the construction site on the left, which was still surrounded by a makeshift fence, and turned to the factory building on the other side, with its huge chimneys.

"There's still some time, I'd like to see Harley first."

The Harley that Charlotte refers to is not a man, but a machine, a giant machine that is far more intelligent than humans in some respects.

No one could disobey Charlotte's will in such a trivial matter, so a large group of people walked towards the factory-like building.

For a long time, the fact that there was a factory on the Penn campus has been the talk of many Penn residents who have been talking about the plant's function. Penn's official statement is that the plant is a teaching facility for engineering students, but in fact, engineering students generally only practice in the power station and steam boiler rooms outside the factory, and only professors from the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences and their assistants have access to the core area of the factory.

Whether it is a professor or an assistant, they are secretive about the core part of the factory, and they will never confide in half a word outside the factory.

Charlotte led the senior government officials through layers of security to the heart of the factory. The Difference Machine, a mechanical computer made up of countless gears, reveals its massive silhouette in front of Charlotte.

In front of this behemoth, Charlotte and her wheelchair are like a pocket toy.

Babbage's invention of the differential machine, which could only perform the basic four arithmetic, was not taken seriously in Europe, which was immersed in the leap forward victory of magic magic, and he had no investment in building larger machines to test his designs. So he came to the United States of America.

At that time, the United States was defeated by the British Empire because of its rash invasion of British Canada, and if it were not for the British Empire's attention at that time, all the attention of the British Empire at that time was focused on Napoleon, the United States might have become a part of the British Empire again.

After the White House was burned down by the British army, Americans fell into a state of confusion about the future, and the insecurity caused by the lack of a god queen plagued all Americans at the time.

When Babbage brought his bookcase-sized machine, which could only do four simple arithmetic, to Thomas Jefferson, who was already in his old age, the Founding Father of the United States immediately realized that this was the window that God had opened for America.

Jefferson used his and his family's influence to provide Babbage with money and a lot of manpower, and a larger difference machine was built, which could perform low-power power and open square operations.

At that time, there were many leaders in the United States who thought that such a huge machine was useless, and that it was simply putting the cart before the horse to build such a complex machine to solve things that could be solved with a single piece of paper and a pen. But Jefferson's supporters kept protecting the infant differential project, and soon the larger differential machines showed more computing power.

By 1900, the differential machine could already be used in one day to complete the calculation of a person without eating or drinking for a year, and the development of science and technology in the United States, with the support of this computing power, gradually surpassed that of Europe. Before 1880, the United States had been plagiarizing European technology, and the US patent office blatantly rejected patent applications from Europe, and adopted a de facto acquiescence stance towards domestic technology copycats – almost the same situation as the United States in Lin's original time and space.

But after 1880, as the Americans caught up in scientific research, they suddenly found themselves no longer plagiarizing European invention patents.

The Steam Revolution and the Magic Technique Revolution made Europe replace Asia as the center of the world, while the New Technique Revolution in the United States made the United States, a country that could only be relegated to the second rate because of its lack of gods and poor magic skills, become one of the great powers.

As Charlotte said, the huge machine in front of her is the source of America's strength, the spark sent by Prometheus, and the key to the future.

Charlotte looked up at the steel giant in front of her, the sound of its movement sounding like heaven to her.

"The light of science and technology will replace the grace of God." Charlotte whispered a sentence from Lin Youde's book, "That guy probably doesn't know what to say, the founding pioneers of the United States of America expected this more than a hundred years ago." ”

Because of the noise of the machinery, no one heard Charlotte's words.

However, from today onwards, mechanical computers will be a thing of the past, and although these things that run on mechanical power will have a residual heat for a while before the popularization of electronic computers, they will eventually become part of the yellowed pile of historical papers, a kind of nostalgic memory.

Charlotte wanted to say goodbye to this veteran who had served the United States for many years before starting a new era with her own hands.

Probably no one in the group behind him could understand Charlotte's inner thoughts at this time.

I don't know what Lu Dao is for, Charlotte always feels that Lin Youde, who has only one side, must be able to understand her mood at the moment.

At this time, Marshall, the attendant, reminded Charlotte in a whisper: "Miss, the time is coming soon, we should leave." ”

"It's good." Charlotte looked at the big machine that was still contributing to scientific research in the United States, and turned around with the induction operation of the wheelchair, at this moment, she suddenly felt that the big machine behind her was talking to her, she turned her head suspiciously, but saw the gear group still running as usual.

Charlotte pricked up her ears, but she didn't pick up any sounds that could be mistaken for "words" other than the roar of machinery.

The technician, who was working on the small operating table at the top of the machine, looked Charlotte strangely, as if he thought Miss President was looking at him, and raised his white-gloved hand and waved.

But Charlotte didn't notice the technician at all, she was preoccupied with searching for the source of the breath she had just felt.

At this time, Marshall reminded in a whisper: "Miss Charlotte, time ......"

"I know it." Charlotte nodded, withdrew her gaze from the machine, and turned back to the exit ahead. The senior U.S. government officials who followed her immediately made way for her.

As she left the roaring factory building, Charlotte felt the ethereal aura again, and she thought it should be a faint magic fluctuation, but it was too ethereal to be sure.

However, there are a lot of magic equipment for security around this factory, and it is probably a little wrong with one of them, so this fluctuation is made.

Thinking so, Charlotte left the factory.

Together with a large group of attachés, she walked through the almost destroyed grass between the factory and the construction site, and then passed through the main gate of the construction site, which was equipped with security that was not inferior to the factory gate.

The building's façade, surrounded by a fence, is unfinished and looks like an ugly turtle lying on the ground, and the scaffolding that covers the façade makes it look even worse.

Fortunately, the guests attending the unveiling ceremony did not care about this, and they entered the building along the path outlined by the sentinels with their standing positions.

Inside the building is a very different world from the factory just now, huge electron tubes are densely arranged on steel welded shelves, and many of the heat dissipation devices scattered between the tubes are being tested in operation, and the strong wind from the rotating fan sweeps through the heat dissipation channels that have not yet been built, making a low roaring sound as if some kind of beast is roaring.

The project director excitedly greeted Charlotte, who opened his arms and said to the high-ranking officials of the U.S. government in an exaggerated tone as if he was performing an opera: "Welcome, you will see here-"

The Director turned around and waved his hand at the huge cluster of tubes behind him: "-Future!" ”

The officials looked at each other.

Charlotte was the first to applaud, and soon the officials did the same, so that the applause drowned out the noise of the machinery.

After the applause, Charlotte said to the director, "Doctor, without further ado, let's get started." ”

"Ah, about that...... We've had a little trouble with our preparations, but that's okay, we'll be able to fix it soon, and the baby's initial start-up experiment will definitely be able to take place by lunchtime. Miss President and ministers, we have prepared excellent tea and snacks for you, so ......"

Before the words fell, a loud whistle pierced everyone's eardrums.

"What's going on?" Charlotte asked Marshall as she activated the arms in her wheelchair.

Marshall was also confused.

At this time, the project director said: "Don't be nervous, this whistle is the signal whistle next door, it should be that old antique has a problem." When the new generation of computers is about to start experiments, there is a problem, and that old antique is quite good at picking time. ”

The project director's words caused quite a bit of laughter among Charlotte's entourage, though not particularly humorous.

Charlotte didn't smile, she suddenly thought of the scent she had just felt in the factory next door.

So Charlotte turned to Marshall and ordered: "Immediately raise the alert level, let the security forces surround the factory next to it, and no one is allowed to leave." The factory immediately began to count documents, drawings and other things, while checking everyone's personal belongings, paying special attention to microfilm. ”

"Uh, yes, Miss President." Marshall was stunned for a moment, then nodded, turned around and shouted as he ran towards the soldiers guarding the door.