For a moment, Hedwig thought the rocket had exploded. Before embarking on this unprecedented livestream, Hedwig spent an hour understanding the entire rocket launch process in order to remember what to say in what situations, but the scientist in charge of training her forgot to tell Sù Hedwig what the rocket looked like when it was launched.

Hedwig held the microphone, not knowing which plan to take - she had two versions of each story, dealing with two very different possibilities.

In the second that Hedwig hesitated, the rocket, which had just been on the ground like a dead fish, began to slowly rise upward, faster and faster, and it left the launch pad and flew towards the sky. The image on the main screen is shaking from side to side, and it seems that the camera is following the rocket.

"Audience friends, we can now see the rocket taking off!"

Hedwig decisively took the plan to report the successful launch, put on a look of surprise and excitement, and said loudly to the camera.

As soon as the words fell, something scattered and fell off on the rocket, and this time Hedwig reacted quickly: "Just now we saw that the bundled engine fell off the rocket, and during the whole lift-off process, the rocket will continue to throw away the engine compartment that has run out of fuel, so as to reduce its own weight and continue to accelerate!" ”

As he spoke, the rocket grew smaller and smaller, becoming a tiny bright spot on the screen, and the footage that had just been shaking because of the tracking of the rocket finally stabilized - as the rocket went away, the camera only had to turn a small amplitude to capture the rocket within its own camera range.

"The rocket is flying higher and higher! Audience, this rocket is more than ten meters long, and the total length of the tail flame sprayed may reach dozens of meters! But now it looks as small as an ant! It's heading for space! ”

**

At this moment, Kali Woods, like other Germans with television sets at home, huddles with his neighbors to follow the first live broadcast in human history.

"I just said it wasn't an explosion!" Someone said, "Mr. Lin can't go wrong, if you say that you want to fly to the universe, you will fly to the universe, you say, tiger?" ”

As the number one chariot ace of the German army in the war, Kali Woods has long become a well-known hero, so the neighbors no longer call him Otto, but call him the nickname Tiger, or simply call him Tiger King.

Whenever it comes to Lin Youde, the neighbors tend to trust Callie Woods' judgment.

Otto? Kali Woods nodded: "Mr. Lin usually doesn't make mistakes in big things, but accidents are also possible, after all, there are many people involved in this project in addition to Mr. Lin." Just like my tiger, Mr. Lin personally directed the design, it has perfect frontal protection, but there are always some unlucky tigers, because of such and such unlucky people, they are penetrated head-on. ”

"You're always obsessed with your tiger." The beautiful woman sitting next to Otto sighed, "In that case, why refuse to continue in military service?" ”

"Because I want to live a peaceful life, Veronica, haven't you also applied for retirement?" Otto turned his head and kissed his wife lightly on the cheek, "However, I would consider working at the War Museum in the past, but then I may have to explain my battle deeds to visitors every day, and I feel as if I have become an exhibit......"

Otto's car has been housed in the Berlin War Museum and preserved as a valuable artifact, with 270 medals on the side of the car.

Because there were so many of them, Otto's tigers almost sacrificed their own concealment, but the Tiger King didn't mind. At that time, the Red Baron insisted on painting his plane extremely conspicuous red, just to make his enemies fear him, so as to gain a psychological advantage, in fact, he did it, and Otto's flower tiger also had the same effect, many Russian charioteers were frightened when they saw the dense battle medals, and some simply turned around and showed Otto the fragile side.

At this time, the neighbors crowded in Otto's pharmacy suddenly exclaimed: "Explosion! ”

Otto hurriedly turned his gaze to the TV, just in time to hear the announcer say: "Just now we saw that the bundled engine fell off the rocket, and throughout the lift-off process, the rocket will continue to throw away the engine compartment that has run out of fuel to reduce its own weight and continue to accelerate!" ”

Otto breathed a sigh of relief, and he heard Veronica laughing, as if amused by his nervousness.

"You really care about Mr. Lin's reputation." Veronica's voice and laughter creeze into Otto's ears together.

"After all, that's the person I admire the most." Otto said, glancing at the wedding photo hanging behind the counter of the drugstore, in addition to Otto in a tuxedo and Veronica in a wedding dress, there were also Lin Youde and his wife. Viola, who was still the president of Germany at the time, stood on Veronica's right hand, and Lin Youde stood on Otto's left, and the two supreme German powers became Otto and Veronica's foils.

"To tell you the truth," Otto whispered, "I thought that the mere fact of leading us to victory was great enough, but I didn't expect him to have even more ambitious plans. ”

"yes, what an unfathomable person." Veronica softly agreed.

And in the TV screen in front of them, the rocket is flying higher and higher.

**

Major Oliver sat in his place, looking with some uncertainty at the optical tracker next to him, an observer operating the tracker to search for the area where the rocket was intended to appear.

The location where the optical tracker was installed was originally used to mount a machine gun, and Oliver was a little uneasy at the thought that his plane didn't even have a machine gun for self-defense.

It seems that he has been deeply affected by the war, and he will probably not be able to escape this influence for the rest of his life.

"I see the target!" The observer loudly reported that "the target did not deviate from the predetermined trajectory, and the engine was in good working order." ”

Oliver stood up and patted the observer on the shoulder, and the observer gave up the tracker's operating position to Oliver.

Indeed, the rocket looks normal.

"Send a report to the command center in Potsdam that the rocket is working normally."

**

Back in Potsdam, by this time the cameras on the ground could no longer see the rocket, and could only wait for the report of the surveillance aircraft in the sky. According to the live broadcast process, in order not to bore the audience in front of the TV, there is an interview with Lin Youde's family.

"There's rabbits on the moon to eat!" Xiaolu shouted into the microphone, "I'm going to eat the moon rabbit!" ”

"Aha, there are rabbits on the moon, this is the content of Chinese myths and legends, Miss Xiaolu is very simple and cute. What does Miss Sophie think of this side? ”

"My sister is a fool, don't worry about it." Sophie complained directly.

"Uh, not to ask what you think of your sister......"

"Of course I know, it's humor, you idiot." Sophie gave the announcer a blank look, "It is important to open up the universe, and one day in the future we will send humans into the universe." Humans are weightless in the universe, and I especially want to experience that feeling of weightlessness. ”

"So, Miss Sophie wants to be a goddess who enters the universe? But once you leave the earth, the power of the god will weaken or even disappear, Miss Sophie, can you bear to be an ordinary person? ”

Lin Youde couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and said in his heart that the Hedwig he personally named, I didn't expect that in addition to the big breast, there was a little brain, and this question just now was not in the pre-prepared line book.

Lin Youde couldn't help but look at Sophie's side face, a little worried that his daughter wouldn't be able to cope with it.

But Sophie replied calmly: "Actually, this idea is inaccurate, and that's only because the performance of the old-fashioned magic equipment is too poor, and the empiricism that the magic guide craftsmen believe in makes them rest on their laurels. Their souls are bound by gravity. And our new magic equipment can operate even if it leaves the earth, because they themselves are the crystallization of science and the embodiment of the scientific spirit. I believe that science has defeated empiricism, and this is the concrete expression of the substitution of the light of science and technology for the grace of God as described in my father's panhumanism. ”

Lin Youde was shocked.

When did this little guy Nima become so a**?

"This ...... Ah......" Hedwig felt a little unsure of what to say after being blocked by such a straight argument, and after a short pause, she decided to change the subject, "Miss Sophie's argument is very revealing, well, enlightening. Let's ask the other ladies what they think. Miss Lilith, what do you think? ”

Because Lilith looked like a big girl now, Hedwig used honorifics - it still seemed strange for an adult to use honorifics for a little girl like Sophie, and Sophie's actual age was much younger than Hedwig. Lilith looked close to being an adult woman.

"Dad said that in the future, after the satellite network is established, my singing can be heard in every corner of the world, and I will have more fans. So I'm happy. ”

"Well, Miss Lilith, you will get your wish. What about Miss Nia? ”

"When this technology matures, my Spartan will be able to be airdropped to every corner of the earth at any time! It's amazing when you think about it, isn't it? My Iron Warrior will change the ...... of future wars."

"Thank you for your thoughts, Miss Nia. Miss Ysera......"

"I don't really care about the last territory of mankind, but I know very well that in the war that just ended, we were able to survive because we controlled the sky, and if we win the next war, we have to master the universe."

"Ah, that's a very realistic point of view, and it's in the same vein as Miss Nia......"

As she was talking, Hedwig noticed what someone said in front of Lin Youde, so she immediately said: "It seems that the result has come out, audience friends, let's look forward to it together!" ”

Then Lin Youde stood up: "Now I announce that mankind's first artificial satellite has been put into orbit. ”

Then Lin Youde took the lead in applauding, and the next moment the applause resounded throughout the command hall.

After a few moments, the applause fell, and everyone began to sing:

…… In the army that conquers the universe / I am the one who silently dedicates / In the long river of brilliant career / I am the one who will always gallop...... On the journey to the universe / The selfless struggle is me / In the galaxy of the republic / The one who shines forever is me......

**

United States, White House.

Newly elected US President Dwight D. Eisenhower watched the scene on television.

"Damn, they really sent things into space?"

"I don't know, it's going to be a few minutes before our observatory can see it." Bradley, who was temporarily acting as Secretary of Defense at this time, shook his head.

Immediately after that, Howard, who attended the meeting as a science and technology advisor? "We had previously estimated the capabilities of that thing based on intelligence from the new CIA, and the Germans should have put the satellite into the least difficult orbit, and if the rocket hadn't exploded, or if there had been a secondary engine ignition failure, the satellite would have been in orbit," Stark said. ”

"Damn, the Germans can launch that thing, does that mean they can already hit our homeland?" Eisenhower asked Howard worriedly, "What do we need to defend against this attack?" ”

"Don't worry, Your Excellency. That satellite was very small, and even if the Germans had the means to hit something of this weight on the American mainland, how much damage would they have done? Do you remember the Paris cannons used by the Germans in the last war - sorry, I mean? Such weapons do not mean anything other than to create political propaganda. ”

"But the Germans could use it to launch nuclear bombs." Eisenhower tapped his fingers on the table.

"In fact, Mr. President, the mass of nuclear bombs is very large, and among our current bombers, only two models, the Super Flying Fortress and the Peacemaker, can carry and drop nuclear bombs relatively safely." Howard shrugged at Eisenhower, "Besides, the Germans haven't conducted their first nuclear test yet, so you don't have to worry." ”

Eisenhower looked a little more relaxed.

"But this thing still needs to be guarded," said Charlotte, who attended the meeting as a staff member, "and the official German content shows that it can play Lin Youde's music, and the whole of the United States will receive music from the Germans on a regular basis." Lin Youde is a person who likes to play tricks in these places, and he has a set of theories about cultural infiltration, and we must be vigilant. ”

"How to be vigilant, Miss Ex-President." Because Charlotte is a Democrat, there are many "daring people" in this Republican administration who want to run on her at any time, and Secretary of State Dulles is one of them. Believe me, even if we do, there will be a 'witch' who will hand our Sleeping Beauty the radio at the right time, and then what? Are we still putting the whole of America into a deep sleep, as in fairy tales, waiting for the prince to come and wake the princess with a kiss? ”

Dulles seemed to revel in his own "brilliant" sarcasm, but it was of no avail, and Charlotte ignored him.

"It is imperative that we immediately accelerate the pace of our rocket development. We also need to have satellites. Although it seems that it has little use for anything other than playing Lin Youde's music on a short wave, I believe that it will be one of the decisive forces in the future. Even Lin Youde's teenage daughter can see this clearly! ”

Charlotte's aura at this moment makes people feel that she is the leader in this office at this time. But unfortunately, now she is no longer the leader.

"Whether or not to speed up research depends on whether Congress will approve a budget." "We issued a huge amount of war bonds during the war, and now the pressure to repay them is so great that it seems unrealistic to increase the allocation of funds for the space program," said the Federal Finance Minister with a frown. ”

As he spoke, the finance minister glanced at Charlotte, as if blaming her for starting the war.

"Then convince Congress! I'm in charge of convincing the Democrats, and you're going to make sure that all the Republicans are in charge. We have to catch up in the space race! In addition, the space race can generate a large number of orders, and the major conglomerates, including the Rockefeller family, can benefit from a wide range of benefits. Mr. Wilson, are you right? ”

Charles Wilson in this plane is the undersecretary of defense, not the secretary of defense in another plane, and he is also the manager of the General Corporation.

"If anything, most people in this room would not object to starting a huge national project." Wilson shrugged, "Who would have a hard time with the dollar." We're concerned about whether this is really good for the United States, and do we really need space engineering so much? If it's just a face-saving project, I think we can put it a little bit aside......"

"You don't care if it's good for the United States." Charlotte pointed out bluntly, "What you care about is whether space engineering can produce a product that can be sold. You know that no one but the U.S. government buys equipment related to space engineering, so in your opinion, it is not comparable to arms that can be sold to buyers all over the world. To put it more bluntly, you're disgusted that its profit margins are too low! ”

Wilson smiled and shook his head, "Miss Charlotte, I'm sorry you have such an opinion. GM and the United States are both prosperous and loss-in, and I know this better than anyone. If mastering space can indeed bring huge benefits to the United States, then GM will certainly go all out to support it. Mr. Howard Stark, you are an expert in this area, may I ask, is it really so important to master space? ”

"It's really that important." Howard Stark affirmed, "Just a simple example, radar. The earth is circular, while radar waves can only travel in a straight line. Therefore, no matter how powerful the radar we build, the sea surface range that can be detected by putting it on a ship is limited, and the air targets that can be detected are a little farther away than those on the sea surface, but they are also limited. And if we have radar and something like that on our satellites, we can monitor a very large area. The same is true for communications, theoretically three communications satellites can ensure global communication links, and if you build a ground base station or lay cables, you need much more. Do you understand what I mean? ”

Wilson nodded: "Understood." ”R1148