Bruce said with a solemn face:

"There are two main things to do here. The first is that more than a year ago, we successfully contacted the second interstellar ship on Earth, the "Wanhu". At this time, there is only about a year left before the two sides meet. ”

At this time, except for a few military personnel with calm expressions, the rest of the people had a look of surprise on their faces, they were all core decision-makers, and they didn't even know that there was such a thing. This is a bit too good of secrecy.

Bruce didn't care about their attitude and continued:

"It's a nice thing to do, but on the other hand, it's not necessarily a good thing for us on the Atlantis. The other side has ten times as many shipboard personnel as us, and it relies on the resources of the earth and a huge population base, and the scientific and technological strength and the advanced degree of weapons are too far ahead of us. In terms of the strength of the two sides, we are in an absolutely weak position. ”

"After my analysis, the other party's attitude towards our ship is nothing more than three kinds: first, based on the reasons of the same human beings, give us support and technical assistance, let us move forward side by side with them, and jointly develop a new planet, which is the best result; Secondly, the other party disdains to cooperate with us, and after the rendezvous, they march to Proxima Centauri alone, and we may not arrive until more than a hundred years after them, which is a good ending, and we can still achieve our goal; The third is the worst outcome, that is, the other side will take advantage of its superiority in personnel, technology, and weapons that surpasses us to coerce us into obeying its rule, enslave us, or even destroy us directly, which is not impossible. As the old saying goes, we don't know our hearts but we have to plan ahead. ”

"So, a year ago, your military began to expand the scope of conscription, conduct high-intensity training, implement material rationing, and develop new training methods?" The Speaker of the Assembly, a spirited old man, asked.

"Yes, we took these measures as soon as we contacted them. Any questions? Mr. Speaker. Bruce replied calmly.

"There is no problem, but you should have let us know first, so that we thought there was something wrong inside the starship." The Speaker was still a little dissatisfied.

"I'm sorry for this, but I have to do this for the purpose of protecting the interests of the entire starship. Thank you for your understanding. Bruce sincerely apologized for gaining support for the follow-up proposal.

"So, Mr. Captain, what is the second thing you are talking about?" An official from the executive branch asked.

"This second thing has a lot to do with the first thing, but it also has to do with me personally." This sentence was very sensitive, and everyone pricked up their ears and listened carefully, for fear of missing a word.

"The advent of the 'Wanhu Number' is both an opportunity and a huge challenge for us. I'm already old, and I'm afraid that my energy, physical strength, and mind won't be able to cope with this incident, so my second agenda item is to propose the next captain. ”

As soon as Bruce's words fell, the entire venue immediately exploded and became noisy, and everyone's expressions were different.

"I'm against it, it's a taboo for soldiers to change commanders on the spot, captain, you better stick to it and talk about it when this matter is over."

"I'm against it too, Captain Bruce's prestige is unmatched, and I'm afraid it would be worse if I were someone else."

"I agree, Captain Bruce is too tired and needs plenty of rest."

"I agree."

Everyone has different opinions, each with its own reasons, and no one can convince anyone.

Just when everyone was arguing, a clear voice came, "Since everyone has different opinions, then listen to me." "It was Athena who spoke.

The voice disappeared in a flash, after all, in the face of an absolute power holder with three votes, the necessary respect had to be maintained, even though "she" was not a human being.

"I think Bruce has a point, in the face of a huge crisis, there must be someone who is energetic, clear-headed, daring to act, and daring to fight. In this regard, Bruce is really not up to the task. ”

Athena's analysis made everyone nod.

"And I wouldn't recommend choosing between you." Athena is not shocking and endless, so that the hearts of those who have ambitions for the captain's position are suddenly cool.

"Why? Because you have been in a high position for a long time, you have become accustomed to thinking from the perspective of your own interests, or some people have become rigid in their thinking and do not know how to be flexible, and some people have too much desire for power, and all kinds of problems make you mediocre, and the consequences of such people serving as captains are difficult to imagine. Of course, this is only from the perspective of me, a superintelligent program, which is not mixed with any of your human feelings and interests. ”

Athena's words made everyone red-faced and embarrassed.

"Therefore, I suggest that the new captain should be selected from among the younger generation, who are agile, innovative, have a good vision for the future, and have strong energy and strength, which are all necessary elements to lead the Atlantis out of trouble. Moreover, if we can get the technical support of Wanhu, then we may face more significant planetary landing missions in more than 20 years, and we will need young and experienced leaders. Will you be up to the task? Or a new captain? ”

After Athena's words were finished, Prince Kai immediately stood up and said with an excited expression: "I strongly oppose Athena's proposal. Let a hairy boy lead our group of lieutenant generals and generals, I can't lose that face. And, do young people have any experience dealing with similar incidents? Can young people have the support of all? It's good for young people to have momentum, but more often than not, impulsiveness is the devil, and impulsiveness at critical moments can ruin the entire starship......" After speaking, Wang Zikai, who sat down, looked still indignant.

Bruce glared at Wang Zikai, and said angrily: "Maybe some of you are unwilling, you have contributed your whole life to the starship, and in the end you have to listen to the orders of a child. This is indeed a bit difficult to accept, but the starship is not a starship of one person, it belongs to 500,000 people, and it belongs to the entire Earth Federation. As long as it's good for Atlantis and good for humanity, I'll accept it. ”

Seeing that there were still some people who were silent, knowing that they were still resisting in their hearts, Bruce couldn't help but sigh secretly: this is human nature, in the face of huge interests and high positions, few people can be natural and calm.

"Since there are such huge differences, let's vote." In the face of major affairs, although the captain has great prestige, he must also follow the rules.

Of the ten people, four voted in favor and six voted against, but as you know, the three votes in Athena's hand were decisive. Sure enough, Athena voted yes. With seven votes in favor and six against, Athena's proposal was passed.

The proposal passed, but Bruce's heart was even heavier, it was six negative votes, for the future young captain, these six people may be six powerful nuclear bombs, enough to destroy everything.

"So, given the time constraints, can we put forward some backup candidates and focus on them in the coming period?" Lin Shaotian said as if intentionally or unintentionally.

His words immediately aroused Wang Zikai's disgust: Your son Lin Yue has performed outstandingly, of course you want to determine his backup qualifications. It's a pity that you only have one son in the army, and I have two, and although I can't be the captain of the ship, my son has a much better chance of success than you. It seems that when I go back, I have to explain to the two boys, make some achievements, expand my influence, and create momentum for myself. Hehe, it's still my prince Kai's clever plan.

"That's good. According to the captain selection procedure, each person can nominate one reserve candidate, Athena can nominate two according to the information of the central computer, and the previous captain cannot nominate him, so that there are 11 candidates. I hope that you can choose young talents with both ability and political integrity and outstanding ability. ”

"Of course, even if the selected person is really good, we need everyone here to support him, help him, and help him on a journey, so that he can integrate into the role more quickly and take on heavy responsibilities." Bruce said as if to mean something.

Surprisingly, five people from the executive branch and parliament abstained from voting, because in this case, young people with military backgrounds were the best choice, and they clearly had no choice in the military.

As a result, there are only 6 candidates left. Higgins nominated an operational staff officer for the General Staff; Lin Shaotian did not nominate Lin Yue as Wang Zikai expected, but made Li Zhi a candidate; Wang Zikai chose his eldest son Wang Renze; The Minister of Equipment nominated Lin Yue, perhaps because Lin Yue's prestige in the army is indeed very high. Finally, everyone looked to Athena. The two candidates proposed by Athena made everyone stunned: Lin Feng and Helen. Because of Lin's horizontal practice, Lin Feng has become a popular figure for a period of time, and everyone is not too unfamiliar with him, and he is quite recognized. But can this Helen, a girl, be qualified for such an important position?

It is obviously impossible to question Athena's nomination, which was chosen based on the data collected by the central computer, and besides, no one questioned the impartiality of a superintelligent program.