Cyber Heroes

Maybe it's because the strange dream last night was too absurd, or maybe it's because he's simply not used to the tropical climate and is acclimated to the climate. Last night, Xiangshan didn't sleep very well.

After Xiangshan brushed his teeth, he wanted to go to the cafeteria to have breakfast. But when he walked out of the dormitory and turned the first corner, he was shocked.

He remembered that yesterday, there was only a straight line distance of 200 meters between this dormitory and the canteen.

And one night later, rows of built houses appeared at a distance of 200 meters.

It's like clumps of mushrooms growing overnight.

Many soldiers wearing military uniforms and blue helmets were delivering goods to these two- and three-story houses. Those are assembleable office furniture, mostly made of high-strength synthetic materials, which are cheap and lightweight.

"Oh, the efficiency is really terrible." Xiang Shan nodded unconsciously: "Have all human construction-related technologies reached this point?"

At this time, a notification tone suddenly came from Xiangshan's new mobile phone.

"Hello, researcher Xiang Shan. Please arrive at the Rama Special Project Engineering Research Center before 8:30 a.m."

This paragraph was sent in Chinese, English and several languages ​​​​that Xiangshan did not recognize. It also comes with a satellite map, which marks the location of the dormitory and the location of the destination.

Breakfast still provides bread and mashed potatoes, but the meat is replaced by sausages, as well as smooth eggs and egg pancakes. Xiangshan didn't have any problem with the peppery mashed potatoes, but he felt that he had begun to miss the boiled noodles.

The Rama Special Project Engineering Research Center at the destination is a three-story building that was just built this morning - or in other words, it only has three walls now, and one wall is not sealed. The building covers an area of ​​nearly one thousand square meters. The first floor seems to be arranged as some kind of experimental space. Technicians in military uniforms are setting up structures to isolate dust and laying special power lines.

Xiang Shan took a second look and found that there seemed to be room for large equipment in the plan on the first floor. The reason why the wall was not sealed was probably due to this kind of consideration. It looked like they would seal the walls after all the large instruments were installed.

Xiang Shan met Liu Zhenghui at the door. The master and apprentice followed the instructions together and came to the second floor of the research center.

The second floor seems to be an office area. The basic wiring and audio-visual playback equipment have been installed, and several people in military uniforms are quickly assembling desks and chairs. David Crane stood at the front of the crowd. Behind him was a freshly put together desk and several printers running at full speed. Several civilian-looking soldiers were quickly binding the printed contents together and then placing them on the desk in categories.

Xiangshan felt that the synthetic materials that made up this desk were groaning in pain.

Lao Liu lamented: "Tsk, tsk, our country has not kept up with the construction of the team of young scholars. The average age here is probably under forty years old."

Xiang Shan nodded: "Well, if our ages are averaged, it will be the average age here."

"I felt old in an instant." Old Liu thought about a question: "Why do you think the scholars sent by the United States are obviously younger? Is it because this project needs to find people who are more accepting of aliens? ? Or maybe you have a rich imagination... That’s not right. Those who grew up reading the works of the Golden Age of Science Fiction are probably of our generation, right?"

This is somewhat different from the "meeting meeting" Xiangshan imagined. It was still noisy around. The master and apprentice would not attract anyone's attention even if they spoke.

The space was a little cramped as some servicemen were still assembling office furniture. The central air conditioning has not been installed yet, and only a few high-power fans are promoting air convection. In this environment, the hot and humid weather in Southeast Asia is doubly torturous.

Xiangshan felt that this meeting smelled of sweat.

"Hey, man, we meet again..." David Klein waved to Xiangshan: "I remember you...you were yesterday...yesterday was..."

"I'm sitting next to the guy who is laughing." Xiang Shan quickly reached out his hand and shook hands with this guy.

"Oh, yes. That guy should go to the Anthropological Analysis Department." David nodded: "You are also responsible for engineering analysis, right? What field did you study before? Aerospace technology or electronic technology?"

Lao Liu quickly squeezed over: "We are in the same group. We are both from Tsinghua University and originally worked in hardware."

David Klein stretched out his hand: "David Klein, introduced yesterday, is from NASA."

"Liu Zhenghui. This is my student Xiang Shan." Old Liu took over: "What are you doing now? Why is no one here to host the meeting?"

"Don't you know? In this special project, the scientific research department has considerable freedom of action." David said: "This is an unprecedented thing, so scientific researchers have more say than all other bureaucrats... In addition, in a sense, the traditional academic ecology is not suitable for such a special project, and there is no experience in dealing with this kind of thing. Can you understand?"

The core of doing research is the word "money". No matter what kind of cat or dog you are, as long as you can find a "funder" who is willing to spend money on your dream, then you can set up a research project led by yourself. Within this project, you have the authority to speak out—until the results are produced or the money is spent.

The relationship between students and tutors in this ecosystem is not the "teacher and student" under the modern education system. It is even closer to the apprenticeship system and bonded labor of the old society. A student's future can largely be determined by the tutor's personal will rather than the education system itself.

But "Rama Special Project" has a completely different special background. The establishment of projects within this project cannot be decided by one person or one country. The distribution of rights involved may actually affect the whole world.

"All the bureaucrats are accusing other bureaucrats of not being professional at all and thinking that other people's interference is unreasonable. There are also disputes among academics. Many people are not willing to accept the appointment of the bureaucrats, that guy...'Looking at the resume, he is not better than me' Become a leader." David Klein said: "On the other hand, most of the experts in the world who have access to 'Ogun' intelligence are here. Even if the major countries have left some consultants, they are not as professional as Let’s go to those of us on the front line.”

"So for now, we have autonomy."

Xiang Shan pointed to the desk behind David: "This is..."

"The papers of the members of the Engineering Research Center." David said: "Many people here come from different countries and have a very limited understanding of each other. So several former NASA colleagues and I thought that everyone could read other people's papers first. paper to enhance understanding. We also applied to hold a department-established party in the cafeteria. But now the cafeteria is only temporary and does not meet the conditions, so the application was rejected."

Xiangshan clicked his tongue: "You people in the United States are quite outgoing..."

"Ah, by the way, the guys from the Information and Security Department just wrote a simple chat program. Have you added it now?"

As David spoke, he took out his mobile phone: "Yesterday, a few buddies worked together to write it. It's a very simple gadget."

Old Liu was a little worried: "Is this allowed?"

This thing was not released through official channels, which made him a little hesitant.

"Huh?" David was a little surprised: "What?"

"I mean, isn't this kind of private chat software prohibited?"

"That's not true." David Klein sighed: "They just blocked the Internet, making all chat software outside unusable. The servers of this new chat software are under the supervision of the United Nations, and are completely legal and compliant. Regulation."

Old Liu asked strangely: "Then why don't you notify everyone to download the software?"

"Why? Is this a voluntary tool?" David asked: "There is no need to download it now, right?"

After hearing this, Lao Liu felt a little relieved. David used Bluetooth to send the installation package to the two of them, which was only a few hundred KB in size. This size makes people feel quite safe. Lao Liu did not install it immediately, but planned to go back and ask the cadres before making a decision.

Xiangshan wanted to see if he could find a tool to dismantle the code.

The pair were not installed in the first instance, and David Crane was not surprised. In a classified project, it's normal to have concerns about this type of stuff. He said: "In principle, the use of real names is encouraged, but it is not mandatory - well, this is someone else's paper."

Xiang Shan and Lao Liu each received several kilograms of paper. David also enthusiastically found brown paper bags and helped the two people pack them.

"Okay, brother." David Klein handed the brown paper bag in his hand to Lao Liu and said, "Of course, reading papers is not the only way for scholars to communicate. My personal suggestion is that you guys can take advantage of the fact that you are still free. Let’s chat when you can... Of course, it’s not limited to here, it’s best to go to other places. God, this weather is really terrible.”

He said while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Xiang Shan turned around and wanted to go to the cafeteria and read the paper while drinking some cold drinks - you can add ice cubes to the juices and sodas in the cafeteria. He needed this now.

But Lao Liu grabbed him: "Stop, this is a great opportunity to meet colleagues from different countries!"