Chapter 1304: Lively Press Conference
Shanghai.
ILHCRC headquarters.
In order to give a clear answer to the media around the world and all the people who were paying attention to this matter, the ILHCRC vacated the first-floor meeting room one day in advance and transformed it into a press conference site.
However, what everyone did not expect was that even though they had made sufficient preparations, the press conference scene was still in chaos.
The media trucks filled the parking lot. Everyone was crowded at the entrance, squeezing through the escalators.
Everyone wanted to stand in a convenient position, and the media reporters were worried that their cameras would not be able to capture the best shot. The organizers of the conference exclaimed that everyone would be able to enter the conference venue, but that was of no help.
Honestly, this was the first time Luo Wenxuan was in such a tricky situation.
Before this, ILHCRC had also announced many spectacular results, such as the Z particle and the Void theory, but nothing was as crazy as today…
“Was it the same when CERN discovered the Higgs particle?”
Luo Wenxuan was standing next to a window. He looked at the crowd downstairs and then at the tall, skinny man standing next to him.
The skinny man shrugged his shoulders and said, “No… But a similar situation has happened before.”
The person who spoke was Epton Olet, a French professor in physics who was proficient in four languages.
He used to be the director of the Saide laboratory at CERN, but recently, CERN had not conducted any major projects. Most of the CERN researchers had been working at other inst.i.tutes. Thus, he had completely jumped s.h.i.+p to the ILHCRC side.
As for now, he was the director of the Z Particle Laboratory.
Strictly speaking, the research project where Professor Dobrik discovered the gravitational anomaly was caused by Z particles was one of the many research subjects in this laboratory.
As for the experiment in Jinling yesterday, he was also one of the physicists who witnessed the historic moment in-person.
“When?”
Professor Olet: “OPERA. The neutrinos sent from France to the Gran Sa.s.so laboratory 732 kilometers away were 60 nanoseconds faster than the speed of light. You should have heard of this.”
“… Wasn’t that debunked?”
“Yes, but before it was debunked, how many people were certain that it was false? People were still frightened by this result.”
“This time is the same.”
Professor Olet smiled and spoke emotionally.
“Surpa.s.sing the speed of light… This sounds like a fairy tale. But perhaps we are living in a fairy tale.”
He reached out his hand and touched Luo Wenxuan’s shoulder.
“Think about how to explain this to the laymen. They will definitely not let you off easily.”
When Luo Wenxuan thought about the crazy crowd outside, he started to get gooseb.u.mps.
This should have been Lu Zhou’s job.
But Lu Zhou was on a retreat.
Yeah, retreat!
A retreat right after the experiment!
Bullsh*t!
“Can’t you help me come up with some ideas?”
“No can do.” Olet looked at Secretary-General Luo. He laughed mercilessly and said confidently, “I’m not the next chairman. Why should I do this?”
After that, he turned around and walked away without looking back.
Luo Wenxuan watched him walk until the end of the corridor and disappear behind the elevator doors.
“I see…”
Luo Wenxuan couldn’t figure out why Academician Lu chose to disappear at this time and use going on a “retreat” as an excuse.
But now, he suddenly understood everything.
The reason why Lu Zhou chose to leave at this important time and give him such a difficult task wasn’t because of some retreat; it was because Lu Zhou wanted to cultivate and train him!
Otherwise, why would a guy like Lu Zhou, who loved to show off, let him announce this historic achievement of the ILHCRC?
Not to mention that this research was mostly done by Lu Zhou himself.
Luo Wenxuan was moved when he thought about how caring and thoughtful Lu Zhou was.
When he thought of his previous annoyance and even resentment toward Lu Zhou, he couldn’t help but feel guilty.
I’m too…
Too naive!
“But then again, how come even Professor Olet knows this? Is it that obvious?”
Lu Zhou obviously wouldn’t tell people who the next ILHCRC chairman was.
However, it seemed like everyone but him knew.
Luo Wenxuan was actually a little happy.
The ILHCRC had many outstanding talents, but their excellence was overshadowed by Professor Lu himself.
And he was one of those people.
No matter how many top conferences he had spoken at, and no matter how many excellent papers he published or how cutting-edge his research was, people only cared about who the ILHCRC chairman was. No one paid attention to the Secretary-General.
Even though he didn’t care about this too much since he was happy to ride on Lu Zhou’s back, he was still a little unhappy in his heart.
In some sense, Professor Olet’s words were a confirmation of his ability.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said it…
Luo Wenxuan gradually felt the energy in his heart.
I have to live up to the expectations of my friends!
I have to live up to Lu Zhou’s trust!
I will host this conference and fulfill my responsibilities as the Secretary-General of the ILHCRC!
This is my responsibility to all of mankind!
…
The ILHCRC press conference began as scheduled.
Luo Wenxuan, the Secretary-General of the ILHCRC, was wearing a suit. He walked to the stage of the press conference, gently tidied his notes, and spoke in a clear voice.
“Good evening, everyone, I am the Secretary-General of the ILHCRC, Luo Wenxuan.
“Due to work, Academician Lu is unable to attend the press conference. I will speak on behalf of Academician Lu and elaborate on some of the important issues.”
Like most press conferences, his job was basically to read the script and answer the questions from the pesky reporters.
The entire world’s attention was glued to ILHCRC’s experiment yesterday. There were bound to be some tricky questions.
Luo Wenxuan spent about 15 minutes reading the speech in his hand. He also took advantage of this time and thought about the questions that might be asked at the press conference.
After this, he put aside the speech and looked at the audience.
“Next is the Q&A session…
“If you have any questions, you can ask them now.”
The entire venue went into chaos as hands instantly rose up in the air.
“h.e.l.lo, Secretary-General Luo, CTV here. What does the latest discovery from the ILHCRC mean? Can you give a detailed explanation for the audience in front of the TV?”
“Of course.”
Faced with the flas.h.i.+ng cameras, Luo Wenxuan tried to calm his mind. He raised his voice and said, “Using the Z particle clock designed by Professor Lu Zhou, we were able to use the interference of the gravitational bond between the planets, to create a long and narrow area with low s.p.a.cetime curvature. We call it a hypers.p.a.ce channel.
“It’s like a highway between mountains. Its physical properties are no different from the conventional universe. The only difference is that it has a lower curvature relative to nearby s.p.a.cetime. Its distance in the three-dimensional s.p.a.ce is shorter.
“Basically, by traveling through this hypers.p.a.ce channel to the two endpoints in the universe, the photons we shoot from one end to the other actually travels a shorter distance than what we normally experience… It’s like a shortcut.”
After the CTV reporter finished, another foreign reporter immediately reached out with a microphone and said, “Excuse me, Secretary-General Luo, if the hypers.p.a.ce theory is proven to be true, what impact will it have on our world?”
“Correction, not if. It has already been proven to be true.” Luo Wenxuan continued, “The birth of hypers.p.a.ce theory will have a huge impact on communications, astronomical observations, and even long-distance s.p.a.ce activities. Of course, it might take a while before this impact affects us…”
There was a commotion in the audience.
When people heard about long-distance s.p.a.ce activities, many of them had glimpses of excitement in their eyes.
As soon as he finished answering, another microphone was shoved into his face, not giving him any time to rest.
A reporter with long, brown hair spoke quickly.
“h.e.l.lo, Secretary-General Luo, I’m a reporter for the Los Angeles Times! May I ask if this means… that interstellar travel will become a reality!”
This was something that the vast majority of reporters at the scene were concerned about.
However, after hearing this question, Luo Wenxuan’s face showed a look of boredom as he answered with a sigh, “Maybe it’s possible.
“But I must emphasize that this won’t become a reality for a century or even several centuries.
“No matter from which point of view, hypers.p.a.ce theory is just a start. We are faster than we thought, and we have mastered the way to break through the limit of the speed of light.
“But it is not wise to have too many unrealistic expectations.”
A reporter extended the microphone and asked, “So, are you saying that you are pessimistic about achieving faster than light in the near future?”
Without hesitation, Luo Wenxuan nodded.
“Yeah…
“I’m very pessimistic.”