Beijing.
At the Institute of Orbital Design of the Pan-Asian Academy of Sciences, a group of researchers in white coats were standing in front of a map with a frown on their faces, pointing at the red circles drawn on the map.
"What about point 104? I remember that in the alternative plan … "
"Impossible, it was already discussed at the last meeting. Although there has been no strong geological activity in the past 50 years, this area is still on the volcanic belt!"
"Then point 86 —"
The sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, interrupting the discussion of the researchers around the holographic map.
Looking in the direction of the door, when he saw the people walking into the office, the scholar with gray sideburns immediately showed a surprised expression on his face. He stepped forward and spoke.
"Chairman … and Secretary-General? Academician Lu? You … Why are you here all of a sudden? "
The two powerful figures of the Pan-Asian Cooperation!
And the leader of the academic community, Academician Lu!
Although the speech at the Ignition Day celebration had already made him feel that the space elevator project was becoming a national key project of the Pan-Asian Cooperation, he did not expect that his small temple would attract so many big shots to visit.
"Sorry to disturb you." Li Guangya nodded in a friendly manner as he looked at the old scholar who came to greet him. He then looked at Lu Zhou standing next to him and said.
"This is Academician Ge Huaizhi, the director of the Institute of Orbital Design. He is also the actual person in charge of the current space elevator project. Since about five years ago, the research team led by him has been tackling the technical problems in the field of space elevators. He is a top expert in this field. "
Academician Ge's face suddenly showed an awkward expression when he heard the second half of Chairman Li Guangya's introduction. He said subtly, "I'm flattered, I'm flattered.
"You flatter me, you flatter me. I've been studying this field for so many years, but I can't even produce a decent result. I'm ashamed."
"There is no need to be ashamed of this kind of thing. Scientific research is not like farming. Seeds are not planted and watered." Lu Zhou looked at the embarrassed Academician Ge. After comforting him casually, he went straight to the point and said, "So, what problems did you encounter?"
Before Academician Ge could speak, Li Guangya coughed lightly and spoke for him.
"We encountered problems from the very beginning …"
"Location?"
After glancing at Academician Ge in disbelief, Lu Zhou showed a speechless expression on his face. He couldn't help but complain.
"… The place where you encountered problems is really beyond my expectations."
"Ahem, as the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning …" Li Gaoliang coughed and quickly shifted the topic to the right track. He put on a serious expression and continued, "Academician Ge, tell Academician Lu what is going on here."
Several researchers looked at each other. Finally, Academician Ge sighed and spoke.
"Let me tell you. It's like this …"
It took about three minutes for Academician Ge to explain the whole story to Lu Zhou in concise terms.
It turned out that about five or six years ago, when the entire space elevator project had just started, they had actually chosen the space elevator anchorage.
It was a small island near Malaysia, located on the equator line. Although it was very close to the Pacific Ring of Fire, in theory, this island did not belong to a seismically active zone.
Unfortunately, an earthquake three years ago completely ruined their plan.
However, no one cared at the time. After all, until a few days ago, the research related to the space elevator was regarded as a relatively marginal research project in the Pan-Asian Cooperation. Even the researchers in the project team did not pay much attention to it. They completely treated applied science as theoretical research.
Anyway, the matter of site selection was not so critical. There was no certainty when the whole project would start. It did not seem to make much sense to find a place to anchor the space elevator in such a hurry.
However, no one had expected that this day would come so suddenly that all the problems that they hadn't considered at that time, or rather, they hadn't seriously considered, were all exposed.
After listening to Academician Ge's description, Lu Zhou did not hesitate and spoke bluntly.
"Let me see the map."
"It's here." Academician Ge nodded and immediately brought Lu Zhou to the map suspended in the holographic window. He pointed to the red dots on the screen and said, "These are the anchorages we have inspected before. Basically, we have invited marine geologists to make an assessment … Previously, points 104 and 86 were in our alternative plans, but for various reasons, we have eliminated them again."
Without listening to what Academician Ge was saying, Lu Zhou stared at the map and thought for about five minutes. He suddenly stretched out his index finger and pointed to the high seas of the Pacific Ocean east of the Malaysian Archipelago.
"Finding the space elevator anchorage in the Pacific Ring of Fire is simply nonsense! The safest way is to build it directly in the Pacific Ocean. "
All the territorial waters of the Pan-Asian Cooperation on the equator were almost all distributed at the junction of the Indian Ocean Plate and the Pacific Ocean Plate, or they were next to each other. It was almost impossible to find a suitable anchorage.
Not to mention those points located on the monsoon belt. In a sense, encountering typhoons was more terrifying than earthquakes and volcanoes.
Therefore, from this perspective, only the Pacific Ocean was the most suitable choice.
"I'm afraid not." Hearing Lu Zhou's words, Secretary-General Wu Shuhua, who had not spoken, frowned slightly and reminded, "This violates international conventions and is inconsistent with the diplomatic norms of the Pan-Asian Alliance to build a community with a shared future for mankind."
A wry smile appeared on Academician Ge's face as he made a helpless expression toward Lu Zhou.
If he could find a small island in the Pacific Ocean to build it, he would have proposed it a long time ago.
However, this was obviously unrealistic.
"Not necessarily." After hearing Wu Shuhua's words, Lu Zhou looked at her and raised a rebuttal. "It is precisely because the diplomatic norms of the Pan-Asian Cooperation are to build a community with a shared future for mankind that we should set an example and build this space elevator on the high seas."
Wu Shuhua frowned and was about to say something. Li Guangya, who was standing next to her, suddenly interjected with a smile.
"Academician Lu is right. Once the space elevator is built, the whole world can benefit from it. From this perspective, there is nothing wrong with our behavior. We represent the interests of all mankind."
"This, this is too reckless. Don't you think this explanation is a bit far-fetched?"
Hearing Li Guangya's words, Wu Shuhua couldn't help but show a wry smile on her face.
In fact, what she wanted to say was that this was too hooligan and would damage the international image of the Pan-Asian Cooperation.
However, Li Guangya smiled heartily and spoke as if he didn't take it seriously.
"It's not far-fetched. At most, it's a bit unreasonable … But I think we are still quite strong. There should be no problem with doing this kind of thing. Even if it causes a diplomatic dispute, I believe that with your ability, you will be able to solve it easily! "
Wu Shuhua sighed and did not continue to say anything on this issue. Instead, she persuaded from another perspective.
"Putting aside the diplomatic issues for the time being … Have you never considered the cost of building a space elevator on the high seas?"
Without waiting for Li Guangya to speak, Wu Shuhua continued.
"In terms of cost, the farther the anchorage of this space elevator is from our economic zone, the higher the cost of construction and maintenance, and the economic utility will diminish. Even if this is a project that will benefit the future generations, what we should consider is to leave a valuable asset for the future generations, not a heavy burden. "
Academician Ge nodded and added.
"Cost is indeed a big problem … A space elevator with a total length of 500 kilometers. The logistics cost of construction materials alone is astronomical, not to mention the construction. The farther this construction site is from our transportation network, the greater the pressure we will bear on costs. "
The discussion seemed to be stuck.
Even Li Guangya, who previously agreed with Lu Zhou's view, showed an awkward expression on his face at this moment.
Indeed.
If the space elevator was far away from the borders of the Pan-Asian Cooperation, it would be meaningless.
In addition, he also thought of some other issues, such as national security.
Guarding an elevator with a vertical height of 500 kilometers on the high seas was obviously not as convenient as guarding this elevator within the country.
Casting a look at Lu Zhou for help, Chairman Li Guangya said sincerely, "Is there any alternative plan?"
Lu Zhou thought for a while and gave an answer that seemed feasible to him.
"Although I don't know much about economics, the decision of our Lunar Orbit Committee was to build a city on the Moon."
Build a city?
Hearing these words, Wu Shuhua was stunned.
"Build a city? You mean reclaiming land from the sea? On the high seas of the Pacific Ocean? How is that possible — "
"I didn't say reclaiming land from the sea." Lu Zhou interrupted her and continued in a calm tone, "We will build a large ship, about the size of Guanghan City, and then let it float on the sea, symbolically moving one or two centimeters every year … No one will measure it anyway."
"I understand what you mean." Li Guangya's eyes lit up, and he instantly realized, "Just like the strategy we adopted on Guanghan City, the territory of the Moon belongs to all mankind in name, but the spacecraft we deployed on the Moon are the property of the Pan-Asian people!"
Lu Zhou smiled and nodded.
"That's it."
Freedom of navigation was the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, organizations, and regional alliances. Just because this ship was a little slow, they couldn't stop it from going into the water, right?
With the current technical strength and industrial capacity of the Pan-Asian Cooperation, it was entirely possible to build this floating city on the sea, and this project could be carried out together with the space elevator!
Li Guangya's eyes became brighter and brighter. He clenched his right hand into a fist and knocked hard on the palm of his left hand.
"It's settled then!"
"This city will be called Penglai!"
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