In the conference room of Kennedy Space Center's Building 12, the seven of them were holding a study manual that NASA had just given them.
"This sixty-page thing is just a table of contents?" The fat guy felt like he was about to collapse. "We have to learn basic rocket physics, aerodynamics, orbital dynamics, jet propulsion, astronomy … I can understand all of these, but what about life sciences, geology, and materials science? I don't even understand the title of this electronic engineering. How can we learn so much in fifty-five days? "
"Let me remind you, these are just the theoretical parts," the high school boy said.
"What else is there?" the fat guy asked in despair.
"Physical training, EVA (extravehicular walk), disorientation training, spacesuit training, familiarization training, piloting training, emergency escape training … anything is possible. Apollo 11 was a space project fifty years ago, after all. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what kind of training is available in this era," the high school boy said, his expression not looking too good either.
He was the most excited among the players. For an astronaut enthusiast, there was nothing cooler than flying into space in a spacecraft, not to mention participating in one of the most important events in human history. Although it was a fly in the ointment to only be able to plant the American flag on the moon, it was only in the game, after all, and it wouldn't affect reality. But when he actually got the manual and remembered how many things an astronaut had to learn, he found it hard to laugh.
"Destiny circle?" The strong man named Anthony raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a sarcastic smile. "Then you should be able to fly straight to the sky."
"Actually, there's no need to be so pessimistic," the middle-aged man said, pushing the glasses on his face. "There are three positions on Apollo 11, which means that in addition to the skills that an astronaut must master, each of us can purposefully give up some training, choose a main direction, and complement each other —"
However, he was interrupted before he could finish his sentence. A tall, thin, and somewhat listless young man said, "Forget it, uncle. Since everyone is playing solo except for that fatty over there, it's best not to treat everyone else as fools."
He yawned and said lazily, "Don't tell me you didn't notice that Captain William Kenhaus is holding a small notebook in his hand. When each of us comes down from the multi-axis trainer, he writes something in the notebook. If I'm not mistaken, he's scoring our performance. These scores must be related to who gets to go on Apollo 11 and who gets to be a substitute. You want us to purposefully give up some training and focus on others, but the sum of three sixties is much higher than one eighty."
The middle-aged man who looked like an intellectual pushed up his glasses and said without changing his expression, "I'm just providing everyone with a plan to increase everyone's chances of survival after we take off..."
"That's only if we can sit in the command and service module of Apollo 11, right?" the high school student asked.
"Actually … if we really want to calculate, our chances of being selected are still very high," the middle-aged man said faintly.
"A fifty-fifty chance. That's normal," Anthony said with a frown.
"Not fifty-fifty." The high school student seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes lit up.
"What?" The listless young man twirled the pen in his hand.
The high school student's eyes turned to the only female player in the dungeon. The latter raised an eyebrow and asked, "What?"
"Unfortunately, you might have entered the wrong dungeon this time. If our game's difficulty is Hard, then your game's difficulty might very well be Hell."
"Why do you say so?"
"You don't know much about the United States in the 1960s, do you?" The middle-aged man smiled gently.
"Marilyn Monroe, The Beatles, Bob Dylan … Is there anything worth mentioning in this era?" the girl asked rhetorically.
"Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has come into effect, unfortunately, discrimination still exists. It's not just against people of color, but also against women. This is why the feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s was so frequent. Women were rarely allowed to join the jury, and the loans they received from the bank were only half of what men received. At the same time, the interest was also half higher."
The high school student continued, "Not many people know that in 1960, NASA implemented a program to determine if women could become astronauts. Twenty-five female pilots were invited to undergo the same inspection and assessment as the male astronauts of the Mercury project, and thirteen of them passed."
"What happened to them?"
"Although these thirteen women received the same evaluation and training as the male astronauts, the government never officially announced that they were astronauts in reserve, nor did they arrange for them to enter space flight. It was said that NASA management believed that female astronauts were a waste of rare resources and diverted the public's attention away from male astronauts. If they were injured or killed during a mission, it would have a negative impact on the public. So in 1963, NASA terminated the female astronaut training program."
The high school student paused. "And it has to be mentioned that in the same year, the Soviet Union sent the first female astronaut, Valentina Tereshkova, into space. It's ironic when you compare the two."
"So if I want to board Apollo 11, not only do I have to perform well, but I also have to pray that Captain Kenhaus and NASA's higher-ups are forward-thinking people who don't have any prejudice against women?"
"Unfortunately, I'm afraid so."
"That's really terrible." The girl forced a smile on her face. She was sitting very close to Zhang Heng, and when she heard the high school student's words, she moved closer to him, almost pressing her body against his.
"Three out of five. That means we're in luck this time." A look of joy appeared on the burly man named Anthony's face.
"Time is tight this time. I suggest that we get along peacefully in this quest. Everyone will rely on their own abilities, and the one who scores the highest in the end will win the main mission." After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he looked at the only person in the room who had not spoken a word.
The brawny man named Anthony and the high school student also shifted their attention to Zhang Heng. Although the sleepy young man did not look back, the pen in his hand that had been spinning stopped at this moment.
Zhang Heng had been sitting in the corner, quietly flipping through the study manual. When he heard the question, he finally looked up and closed the manual in his hand. "I refuse."
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