Chapter 1662: Pledge of Allegiance and Ultimatum

The top floor offices of Tesla's Design Center in Palo Alto, California.

Heavy blackout curtains blocked out the California sun, and only a reading light illuminated the room.

Elon Musk was slumped in his large office chair. On the tablet screen in front of him was the full text of the official technical white paper on the "Beacon" international space hub program, as well as a description of the parameters of the XS-1 space nuclear reactor.

Those are heart-pounding numbers: megawatt-level continuous power output, a design life of no less than 10 years, autonomous operation and maintenance capabilities in strong radiation environments, and a modular, scalable structure...

Every parameter was striking his eyes.

Obviously, this technology can be used for more than just space stations.

In other words, Musk is almost certain that this infrastructure was aimed at providing energy to extraterrestrial bases from the beginning of its development.

As for XS-1, it is just a temporary choice made under current conditions.

"Mars Base..."

The thought flashed through his mind again.

There are two core bottlenecks in SpaceX's ambitious vision of colonizing Mars.

One is how to establish a reliable, powerful and long-lasting energy source on the surface of Mars or inside an interstellar spacecraft.

He had envisioned large solar arrays and nuclear fission batteries... but he never dared to imagine that such a high-power space nuclear reactor would be practical in the short term and sent into deep space orbit.

And if the XS-1 can maintain normal operation at the Lagrange point, then it will definitely have no problem on the surface of Mars.

The second is how to transport large amounts of equipment and materials from Earth to Mars.

If the traditional Earth-Mars transfer orbit is adopted, then an unprecedented super rocket with a carrying capacity exceeding that of Saturn V and Energia will undoubtedly be needed.

Even Musk himself has to admit that this technology route is very risky.

Originally, he still had the confidence to repeat the development path of the Falcon Rocket and gradually improve the technology through testing.

But the recent setback Tesla suffered is undoubtedly a huge blow.

Of course, if SpaceX were to go public, it might still be able to raise enough funds.

But that also means that his control over the company is reduced.

Other capitals, even NASA, may not be willing to accompany him to colonize Mars.

And now, another possibility seems to appear before my eyes...

"They actually did it..." Musk muttered to himself, "This is even crazier than my Mars city plan!"

The "crazy" here is certainly not a derogatory term but a recognition of the ultimate engineering ambition.

He couldn't help but recall NASA's performance in recent years: the endless bickering over the congressional budget caused the deep space exploration program to falter and be repeatedly delayed;

The next-generation high-thrust rocket SLS is mired in cost overruns and schedule delays, and has been nicknamed the "Capitol Hill Jobs Plan";

Under the lobbying of traditional aerospace giants such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the decision-makers appear indecisive and have been slow to respond to disruptive technologies such as reusable rockets.

NASA's once pioneering spirit seems to be eroded by bureaucracy and vested interests.

Compared with the decisiveness, execution and technical courage demonstrated by China in the "Beacon" program, NASA appears to be decadent, conservative and lacking in imagination.

An idea became extremely clear in his mind: the key to the future is not in Silicon Valley, nor in Washington today, but on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Not only does Tesla's survival depend on the Chinese market and new materials, but SpaceX's dream of reaching the stars and the sea may also need a new fulcrum.

He sat up straight abruptly, his eyes becoming resolute again.

He picked up a specially encrypted satellite phone that was only connected to the company's internal network and dialed a number: "It's me. Come to my office immediately and bring the 'black box'." His voice was low and rapid.

A moment later, a confidant with a capable expression and taciturnity pushed the door open and placed an ordinary-looking black encrypted storage device with no markings on Musk's desk.

Musk didn't say any nonsense, just gave his instructions in a very low voice:

"Record an encrypted memo, read only once."

"Confirmed upgrade of the Gigafactory plan in China: the investment cap has been raised to US$15 billion. If approved, the full set of mass production lines for the next-generation tab-free batteries and its core process R&D team will be deployed first in the Huaxia factory. Simultaneously, some pilot R&D lines for silicon-carbon materials will be transferred."

"Technical cooperation intention: Explore the possibility of data exchange and technical collaboration under specific frameworks and regulations in the areas of reusable rocket landing and recovery technology and spectrum compatibility and coordination between the Starlink low-orbit communication system and ground gateway stations, emphasizing our sincerity."

"besides……"

Having said this, Musk suddenly stopped.

Then, he pressed the erase button on the side of the "black box".

"No." He shook his head and looked at the doubtful eyes of his confidant opposite him, "Maybe I should go there myself..."

……

Just as Musk was preparing this dangerous "pledge of allegiance".

Washington.

White House Situation Room.

On the huge electronic situation map, the icons of the "Beacon" space station and XS-1 were highlighted, along with their estimated deployment locations.

The Earth-Moon Lagrange L4 point.

Theoretically, there are only two perfect deployment points for this type of relay base, which is the rarest orbital resource.

Once the opponent gets ahead of you, it may mean that there will be no chance of catching up in the foreseeable future.

Ao Guanhai sat at the head seat at the long table with a face so gloomy that water could drip out of it.

He was listening to a top-secret briefing by the chairman of the Science and Technology Advisory Committee, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the NASA administrator, and several other key members.

"Your Excellency," Chief Scientific Advisor Attila Holder pointed at the XS-1's parameters on the screen. "Based on currently available intelligence analysis, China's XS-1 space nuclear reactor substantially surpasses any of our currently developed or deployed space energy systems in terms of design power, power density, reliability, and autonomous on-orbit operation capabilities. Its technological maturity is high enough to support its claimed launch schedule within two years."

"But how did they develop this technology quietly?" Ao Guanhai's tone was full of confusion.

"Looking back now, they must have hidden the tests under multiple projects with other purposes," Holder replied. "For example, the previous test at the High Flux Nuclear Reactor in the Netherlands. At the time, analysis suggested that the main target was the tritium breeding module. And then there was the verification reactor that China suddenly built three years ago. It was also previously believed to be used for isotope production."

"So there's a problem with intelligence?" Ao Guanhai looked at the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper next to him with an unfriendly look.

"That's not the case," Holder quickly shook her head. She didn't want to offend her colleagues in this situation. "The uses mentioned in the previous analysis definitely exist. The Chinese are very good at this kind of strategy of killing two birds with one stone. Without other clues, it's impossible to draw conclusions out of thin air."

Clapper, whose name was just mentioned, also added:

"It is worth noting that the overall design concept of the 'Beacon' is extremely forward-looking. Once its core module is deployed and initially operational at the L4 point, they will gain an undisputed strategic commanding height in cis-lunar space. Its capabilities for on-orbit refueling, spacecraft maintenance and upgrades, and deep space mission transfer and command are sufficient to make it the sole hub and rule-maker for deep space exploration activities for the next ten or even twenty years."

"We assess that this will give our adversaries a decisive strategic advantage for at least 20 years, weaken our global technological leadership, and even...completely marginalize us."

The NASA director looked dejected and nodded silently, agreeing with the conclusion of the technical assessment.

The combat room was completely silent, with only the muffled sound of equipment operating.

The last glimmer of hope in Ao Guanhai's eyes completely disappeared.

Originally, he occasionally wondered whether his decision to initiate a technology ban was too hasty.

But now, the situation is very clear.

The other party's ambition to replace himself has never changed.

The previous series of containment actions were not too early, but too late.

But no matter what, this change in status must not happen during my term.

Thinking of this, his eyes became stern, and a cold determination flashed in his eyes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the situation is crystal clear. This is no longer a simple technological competition; it is a fundamental and urgent challenge to our global leadership!"

His voice was extremely firm:

"Now is the last window to stop this from happening! We must, and must, take the most decisive action!"

He turned to the National Security Advisor next to him:

"Immediately draft an Executive Order sending a top-level diplomatic note to all our allies and all nations we consider partners or that rely on our security guarantees and economic system!"

Tom Donilon quickly wrote down the key points.

The core content is:

"First, a strict requirement: All recipient countries must commit to not participating in the 'Beacon' international space hub program. This includes, but is not limited to: not submitting any form of cooperation proposals, not providing any financial or material support, not allowing their own scientific research institutions or enterprises to participate in its research and development and construction, and not sending personnel to participate in its related activities."

"Second, any country that violates the above requirements or is found to be secretly supporting the plan in any form will be regarded as deliberately undermining core national security interests and undermining the rules-based international order."

"Third, we will immediately initiate procedures to terminate all cooperation projects with these countries in key strategic science and technology fields. At the same time, we will impose trade, financial, and technological bans on them in accordance with the Emergency Economic Powers Act, including but not limited to freezing relevant assets, restricting the import and export of key commodities, excluding their major financial institutions from the US dollar clearing system, and suspending the issuance of all high-tech product licenses..."

Ao Guanhai stood up, placed his hands on the table, and leaned forward:

"The wording must be strong and clear, leaving no room for ambiguity or maneuvering. They must clearly state their stance!"

Hearing these almost crazy contents, Donilon's right hand began to tremble slightly as he wrote.

But now, the situation has entered China's turn.

They seemed to have no better choice but to use their past power and control over their allies to delay the other side as much as possible.

"Do it immediately!" Ao Guanhai gave the order in a firm tone, his voice echoing in the closed war room.

This unprecedented ultimatum, which forced the country to choose between two options, was like a supernova exploding in the galaxy, instantly pushing the already extremely tense world situation to the brink of a full-scale showdown.