A few months later.

The progress of the EAST project has far exceeded expectations, and the overwhelming coverage since the deflector problem was solved has made almost everyone in the world deeply aware of the changes that are about to take place in their lives.

Those who said at the beginning, "What does this have to do with me with a monthly salary of 3,000 months", also had to step into the torrent of this largest grand narrative in human history.

Massive amounts of information continue to wash people's cognition, and those technologies that were originally science fiction described by the media either pertinently or exaggeratedly have begun to gradually enter everyone's field of vision.

Vertical farms?

Maglev trains?

Land speeding?

Cyber city?

Space elevators?

The human imagination seems to have suddenly taken on huge limits in front of it, just as humanity in the mid-20th century could not imagine the age of the Internet, and humanity in the early 21st century could not imagine what the age of nuclear fusion would really look like.

But even so, the picture of the future is good enough.

Everyone is eagerly looking forward to that day, looking forward to leapfrogging technological progress that can bring a little change to their bleak lives.

Yellowstone Farms, Wyoming.

John Dutton sat quietly on a stake by the corral, his two sons standing beside him.

Weststatton, and Keith Statton.

Wes was dressed in a suit and carrying a thick stack of legal papers, while Keith was wearing a bulletproof vest and clutching the AR-15, which at a glance he knew was not a civilian version.

Keith's eyes were vigilant, he kept scanning the meadow in front of him, as if he was guarding against enemies who might come out of there at any moment, while his brother Wes was full of sorrow, and his eyes were full of helplessness when he looked at his father John.

We really couldn't hold on any longer, and in a few months, our entire farm loss had exceeded $6 million, which was so large that it even exceeded our half-year profit."

"Give up, John."

"Traditional farming has come to an end, and as far as I know, there are already several farmers in California who have accepted the state government's renovation plan and are ready to start working with commercial companies to build large-scale vertical farms."

"It's also an opportunity for us to take over $1 billion in cash and invest in the next more promising industry if we sell our land and leave the livestock industry."

"Times are advancing, and the time of old cowboys like you is gone."

"Do you have to wait until things have reached the point of no return, and then you are willing to let go of the things you hold on to that are not worth mentioning?"

Hearing his words, John's eyes did not change in the slightest, he just stared directly at an old cow grazing leisurely in the pasture, and replied:

"It's not something that doesn't go unnoticed."

"This farm is our home, since my grandfather's generation, and it is still in my hands."

"I can change the way it works and make it more future-proof, but I can't destroy our home with my own hands."

At this point, he paused for a moment, then continued:

"In addition, even from your point of view, from a technical point of view, the most affected right now are the red necks who grow wheat and corn."

"The electricity that is used up can be used to grow hemp and wheat, but it is absolutely impossible to raise cattle."

"These animals don't photosynthesize, they have very picky tongues, and only the grass that grows naturally in Yellowstone can make them grow delicious muscles."

"But no one cares."

Wes interrupted John.

"Nobody cares about the quality of the meat, you know, what they want, it's the land."

At this point, John's eyes changed slightly.

Yes, how could he not be clear about this?

He's a cowboy, but he's also a seasoned farmer and businessman, and he's spent most of his life dealing with state governments, and well-dressed politicians can see the color of their panties even if they just lift their legs.

And this time is no different.

If it's just to transform the ranch, they don't have to be in such a hurry.

What they really want to do is to purge the "extraterritoriality" they have established in this land, and they want to knock out their disobedient "gate valve".

Yes, gate valves.

They used the word "gentry," and John didn't even understand what it meant when he first heard it from Wes.

Country aristocrats?

It did seem to fit his identity — but it dawned on Mr. Wess as he explained the political implications of the word to himself that he had been relegated to some sort of "pressing problem."

Thinking of this, he let out a long sigh.

Then he spoke:

"I don't understand why things are the way they are, and we've been doing just fine for decades."

"This land of freedom has always grown in a free way, providing the country with untold amounts of food and meat."

"But why, it was like overnight, everything changed?"

Wess had a serious look in his eyes, and unlike his father and brother, he was the only one who really smelled that strange cool breeze from the East.

His brow furrowed slightly, then furrowed again.

"It's a debt we owe."

He spoke.

"I can't explain too much to you about the economic and political issues, I can only tell you that this is an official decision that must be made."

"You can think about it, now they are just asking us to sell part of the land to the big companies, and they have met with such strong resistance, and the conflict that broke out even caused casualties."

"What kind of signal is this to them?"

"It's not that you don't watch the news, so you should also know how we will develop in the future."

"Concentration of power is an inevitable trend, and communal power will inevitably be broken and withdrawn."

"This is just the first step, all I can say is that the days of wild disorder are coming to an end soon."

"It's a choice between confrontation and compromise and compromise."

After listening to Wes's words, John stood up from the stake.

His hand was subconsciously placed on his waist, where there was a Colt pistol that he trusted incomparably.

With this pistol, he has dealt with opponents who have provoked him several times, and he has also saved his lover from the claws of a grizzly bear.

But now, it looks so weak.

What can a pistol and six rounds change in front of the rolling forward state apparatus?

Perhaps, it's really time for you to let go.

He took one last look at the herd in the distance and asked:

"So, Tyson has already made a final offer?"

"That's right, $1.12 billion, that's the price they paid for buying the entire farm."

Wess could hear that John's tone was a little loose, so he quickly continued:

"But that's not the final solution, we don't need to sell all of our shares."

"We just need to reduce the equity to less than 30 percent and let Tyson get the right to run the farm."

"In fact, according to this plan, it is still possible that we will reclaim the farm one day in the future"

"That's just a dream."

John interrupted.

"I don't know if it's the right thing to do, but don't you think that even if we cooperate with the authorities, we won't get the results they want?"

"The power of the community at the bottom is taken back, but not directly into the hands of the authorities, but with large corporations as agents."

"So at the end of the day, is it the government or the companies that really control the country?"

A mocking, schadenfreude smile appeared on Wes's face.

He replied:

"It's just a matter of order."

"We only have AR-15s, but Tyson is able to mobilize the M249s of the Guard."

"In the same way, their ceiling is limited to light weapons, but the official has tanks and bombers."

The words fell, and John fell silent.

He picked up a glass bottle filled with gasoline from the ground and glanced at Keith, who was aware of the shotgun on his back.

A few seconds later, the vial was thrown far away, and Keith took aim with aplomb, firing.

Dragon's Breath shatters the glass bottle into powder and ignites the fuel.

Flames fell from the sky, igniting the pastures on the ground.

Under the sunset, thick black smoke rose into the sky, and the backs of the three of them gradually became blurred in the heat wave.

This is the eve of the official ignition of the EAST project, and John has not yet understood the significance of this project, but this fire, it seems to have burned a lot of things.

4 a.m., AH.

Hefei is not an "early-riser" city, in fact, for a long time, its rhythm has been extremely "lazy".

However, these years have not been the same.

As one high-tech project after another moved in, and as the number of researchers who seemed to be in the lab as if they were dying, the city had to keep up.

At 4 o'clock, the all-night snack stalls will be given a makeover, putting away the slightly greasy barbecue and fried skewers, and bringing out the steamers with a steaming and moist aroma.

The owner of the stall does not know the identity of the customer, and the customer will never say a word of nonsense in front of the stall that has nothing to do with the saltiness of the bun and the softness and hardness of the sweet potato, but the wonderful thing is that these foods from the hands of the most simple, mediocre and "lowly" laborers in the world are often brought into the heavily guarded island, and together with the diners who bought it, they witness the most important "events" in human history.

I have to say that this is an emotional collision.

——

Although most of the time, neither the stall owners nor the diners actually think deeply about the meaning of this collision

It was another ordinary day, and Lao Liu, who set up the stall, changed the signboard as usual and waited quietly for his first guests.

About 15 minutes later, a young man with a flat head walked up to his stall as usual and asked for a cup of soy milk, two buns and a stick of corn.

Lao Liu quickly filled breakfast for him, but this time, the young man did not leave as usual, but walked to the side of the table and sat down, and slowly peeled the corn with a leisurely expression.

This action made Lao Liu stunned.

In his memory, this young man never stayed long, even when it was raining, he would rather run away quickly than hide in the rain in the stall.

The sun is coming out of the west today?

It was still early, and there were almost no customers at the stall, so Lao Liu pressed his curiosity, tentatively walked up to the young man, and asked:

"Are the buns hot? I just got on the steamer, and I don't know if it's steamed. ”

Hearing his words, the young man raised his head and smiled, then replied:

"It's hot enough."

"It's hot enough."

Lao Liu couldn't help laughing.

In his opinion, there is only a difference between hot and cold food, what does it mean to be hot enough?

"You young man is rough enough, if you don't steam it through, I'll give you a new one, it won't be long. You've been eating breakfast with me for a few months, and you can still suffer this loss? ”

His tone was sincere, but the refusal of the young man on the other side was also resolute.

"I really don't need to, uncle, I'm not in a hurry today, I just feel hot enough."

Lao Liu was relieved, he wiped his hands on his apron, moved a stool and sat down opposite the young man, and then asked curiously:

"You wake up so early every day, can your body stand it?"

"What kind of work are you doing, busy like this?"

The young man hesitated for a moment, and there seemed to be a flash of relief in his eyes.

He replied:

"Work on the island."

"On the island?!"

Lao Liu's eyes immediately widened, and he reconfirmed in disbelief:

"Science Island? Really? You're not going to do nuclear fusion on TV, are you? ”

"It's nuclear fusion."

The young man nodded solemnly, and at this moment, there was finally a trace of pride in his tone.

"Oh my boy, it's terrible. I thought you were working on the construction site, carrying a broken schoolbag every day. ”

"Hey, I heard you're going to light a fire today, is that true?"

Lao Liu's tone was excited, he looked at the young man with burning eyes, and he was eager to get some "first-hand information" from the other party.

And the young man did not disappoint him.

"Yes, at ten o'clock this morning, the official ignition."

"Isn't it already said on the news? Just watch the news then. ”

"I know, I know, the news is definitely going to be watched."

Lao Liu nodded again and again, and his movements were a little overwhelmed.

This was the first time he had met the so-called "big people", and in his mind, the people working on Science Island were all the elite of the country, and he might not have had the opportunity to contact them in his life.

But now it seems. It doesn't seem that mysterious, does it?

Thinking of this, he laughed twice and continued to speak:

"I used to see you always on TV, but today I finally saw a living person"

"I'm really lucky, if you weren't in a hurry today, I probably wouldn't have known that I had met with you big guys in my life."

Hearing this, the young man looked at Lao Liu suspiciously, and subconsciously asked:

"Why?"

"I'm going to move, and I won't open a stall in the future."

Lao Liu said with emotion.

"All this old factory area will be demolished, saying that it is going to build a factory, the contract has been signed, today is the last day, you come again tomorrow, this place is estimated to be fenced off."

"Oh, I know that. In the future, the first superconductivity-fusion industrial complex will be built here. ”

The young man nodded thoughtfully.

In fact, he had heard of this plan, but before that, he had not taken it to heart.

The topic of demolition is actually not that friendly.

Maybe it won't be so easy to get people who have lived here for a long time away from the home where they have lived for decades, right?

"So what are you going to do in the future?"

He asked tentatively.

In his heart, he had already vaguely come up with an idea: although he was soft-spoken, if the lives of these nearby residents were affected by the EAST project, he would still try his best to help them say a few words.

However, Lao Liu's answer surprised him a little.

"I, I'm also in the factory - go to the canteen to do white cases."

"I've been doing this all my life, and I still have some experience."

"It's settled so soon?"

The young man asked.

"It's been decided a long time ago, and it's decided when the contract is signed - you don't know, there is a shortage of people now."

"If you can accept the nearby placement position, you can also receive an additional 20,000 yuan subsidy."

Hearing this, the young man finally put his mind at ease.

But at the same time, he felt that this matter was a little beyond his expectations.

The superconductivity-fusion industrial consortium, when this plan was first proposed, was full of far-sighted technical ambitions, and the core of all the discussions was to highlight the advanced and high-end nature of the project.

If it can be completed, Huaxia will immediately become the first country in human history to industrialize the application of fusion energy, and the city where it is located will also be recorded in the history of human development in a special way.

He has always believed that the people who can participate in this project should be at least those who are similar to him, or above him.

But now, he suddenly realized that these people also want to eat.

The fates of the leaders at the top of the academic world and the owners of the night market stalls selling kebabs and sauerkraut meat dumplings seem to be intertwined in a strange way.

The young man burst out laughing.

He opened his mouth and said:

"You can be regarded as contributing to the progress of mankind."

"That's not it!"

The boss laughed as if he was making a harmless joke.

The young man finally drank the last sip of soy milk in the disposable plastic cup, patted his stomach and stood up, looking up to see that the people on the street were gradually increasing.

There is no Science Island in sight, but as you can imagine, the behemoth is ready to wake up.

In the distance, the sky was already brightening, and the night was over.

On the eve of a new era, the gears of fate have begun to turn for many.

They may not have felt the torrent rolling forward yet, but perhaps in the future, when they recall this day, they will remember not the dazzling light of the EAST device on the TV screen, but the rough taste of the hand-ground soy milk with some residue on the breakfast stand.

On August 10, 2012, the first ignition test of the EAST project was successful, and the tokamak device ran stably for more than 60 minutes, with a power of 8,000MW for four generating units, and mankind has since entered the era of fusion.

(End of chapter)