Chapter 124 Give up rescue?
Earth.
The White House Conference Room in the United States.
Morton stood there in a daze, obviously not recovering from the "shocking" news just now.
"The return capsule...something went wrong?"
His expression was a little distorted, and he grabbed the collar of the staff member in front of him and shouted: "What happened?!"
Facing the hideous face of Morton, the staff member hesitantly explained.
"Director Morton... Chief Morton, I heard from Houston that it seems that the hydraulic system of the engine exceeded the preset limit when ignited, and the main control computer of the Mars capsule automatically cut off the operation of the engine according to the preset program."
Morton's expression suddenly choked.
This...
Even if he knew nothing about the Mars return capsule, he knew that this thing was not so easy to solve.
"Can it be solved?" Morton took a few deep breaths and calmed down.
The staff was silent for a moment and shook his head slowly.
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Houston said that there is basically no possibility of remote repair."
As if afraid that Morton would not believe it, the staff member added again: "This is what Professor Chris said."
Molton looked at the staff in front of him with his eyes blank.
For a long time.
He gently loosened his hands and turned back to his seat in a daze.
The atmosphere in the conference room became more and more dull.
After dozens of seconds of silence, Albert, who was sitting in the main seat, coughed lightly, breaking the silence of the conference room.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we need to change the topic of discussion now."
"The United States, do you want to carry out a rescue mission for the three astronauts?"
The moment the voice fell, everyone in the room breathed a little faster.
Everyone who attended the meeting looked at each other eagerly, hoping that someone would take the lead and say something.
Albert, who had not received a response for a long time, frowned slightly and directly called Morton's name.
"Molton, as the director of NASA, these three astronauts are your people. Tell me, should we save them?"
Molton's pupils shrank slightly.
This is not an easy question to answer.
Saving means a lot of material and manpower.
No matter which one, the United States today is a little unaffordable.
Don't save?
That's three lives!
Not to mention the long-term impact, the most basic thing is, will NASA astronauts dare to carry out missions in the future?
A trace of entanglement flashed in Morton's eyes: "Mr. President."
He slowly lowered his head and whispered: "I think the United States needs to implement a rescue operation."
"They are heroes of the United States, we can't let them down!"
"Since the founding of the United States, we have never given up our citizens!"
After the voice fell, the conference room fell into silence again.
"Da... Da... Da..."
Albert's slightly thick fingers gently tapped the conference table in front of him.
Molton subconsciously raised his head and glanced at Albert's face.
Seeing Albert's frown, Morton's heart trembled!
It's broken.
As expected.
The next second, Albert sighed deeply, and a helpless look appeared on his face: "Molton, I know what you mean."
"But, at present, we want to build another spacecraft that can go to Mars to implement the rescue plan, which will take at least one year."
"The three astronauts can't hold on until we rescue them, so..."
"Mr. President!" Morton interrupted Albert's words directly, "We can ask Xia for help!"
"At present, Xia's Xuannv II is just one thousand meters away from them. As long as we..."
Albert's eyes showed a trace of anger.
He shouted: "Molton!"
"The United States will never ask Xia for help!"
"Unless I step down, otherwise, this matter is out of the question!"
...
The meeting ended unhappily.
The final result was naturally to abandon the rescue plan.
In other words, the three astronauts became real abandoned children.
As for domestic public opinion, Albert has issued an order to block all channels for the spread of this news.
Morton walked on the way to the office, with a trace of pity in his eyes.
He still remembered what Andrew said when he came to NASA for training.
"Andrew, why do you want to participate in the Pathfinder program? Is it because of money?"
"Yes, sir, you may not know the lives of people like us." The bitter expression on Andrew's face when he said this was deeply engraved in his heart, "This reward of 500,000 US dollars can give my children and wife a safe and stable living environment."
"Then have you ever thought that you can't come back?"
"..." Andrew was silent for a while, and the smile on his face became more bitter, "If you can't come back, you can't come back, but... sir, can the pension be more?"
Not only Andrew, but even Bruno and Joey expressed similar meanings.
Scenes flashed in Morton's mind.
He bit his back teeth hard, and a touch of madness flashed in his eyes!
...
Houston Ground Command Center.
A mobile phone ring woke up Professor Chris.
Because of the Pathfinder incident, he didn't get a good night's sleep the entire night.
He rubbed his slightly swollen eyes and took out his cell phone from his pocket.
Molton?
Professor Chris was suddenly refreshed when he saw the name displayed on the phone screen.
He quickly pressed the answer button: "Director, rescue plan..."
Morton's gritted teeth came from the other end of the phone: "Professor, they gave up!"
Professor Chris's breath suddenly choked, and he subconsciously asked: "Give up? Give up what?"
"The president has given up the rescue plan!" Morton said word by word, "and forbid us to ask Xiaguo for help!"
The moment he heard Morton's words, Chris felt dizzy.
He sat back in his chair and muttered to himself.
"How...how could this happen..."
"This, this is murder!"
Professor Chris's sharp voice reached Morton's ears through the phone: "I want to expose it to the media!"
"... Professor, the president has ordered the blocking of all information dissemination channels. Do you know what this means?"
Chris's face was pale.
He stretched out his hands to cover his eyes, and said with a little sob: "But, but they are still waiting for me to provide them with a plan..."
"I'm sorry, I can't do it, I can't tell them this news..."
A line of hot tears slowly slid down his cheeks.
The microphone was silent, with only a little rustling background noise.
"Professor."
Morton took a deep breath, "I need your help."
"I have a plan..."
