mtl008 Chapter 3681: The Mercury Age (1)
Chapter 3681: The Mercury Age (1)
Chapter 3681: The Mercury Age (I)
In the midsummer, New York's Central Park is full of rich green. The grass is fresh and tender, and the trees are lush. The sun falls into the river of wind, splashing waves of light, jumping between the crowds, and blowing up the soft and light skirts. The light-colored picnic blanket on the lawn is like a flock of seabirds on the green ocean, with feathers that are so bright that they seem to glow, gathered together, and were exposed to the sun like ice cream that fell on the ground and gradually melted.
They sat on the slope, watching with some curiosity as pairs of SHIELD agents walked towards the corner of the park. Natasha's red hair was even illuminated by the sun, turning it into a warm and beautiful orange. Coulson covered his eyes with his palms, his skin red, like a sun-wrinkled orange.
Natasha stepped onto the edge of the lawn, twirling the keychain in her hand, looking at Stark and Peter who were doing the final adjustments to the flying car, and said, "Why did you have to do something when we're on vacation? I've sent people to block off this small area. If you hit someone again, you'll have to pay for it yourself."
"Have some faith in me, beautiful lady." Stark's head suddenly popped out from the trunk and then sank back down.
"Ah, Tony, there seems to be something wrong with the brake valve. I think it should be tightened a little more. What do you think?"
"It was tightened too much before, which caused it to be too sensitive and stall easily. Don't move, I'll adjust it..."
Schiller sat on the grass nearby, basking in the sun while watching the two of them tinkering with the old car, which reminded him of the days when he screwed in light bulbs in Stark's laboratory.
But he really couldn't help with the hover car. He couldn't even tell the difference between this car and a normal car, so he just sat there and watched them do it.
Seeing Natasha approaching, he looked up and said, "Nick asked you two to come over?"
"He didn't expect Tony and his team to come up with a prototype so quickly, and they chose to test it in Central Park. This is somewhat dangerous, right? If an accident really happens, it will be even more difficult to get Congress to pass a bill in the future. We have to keep an eye on it."
"Should we disperse the crowd?" Coulson came over and asked. He turned around and saw that there were already some ordinary people around the lawn who were watching out of curiosity.
"Let's not do that," Schiller said. "Tony chose to test here to attract attention. After all, those who come to the park for a walk at this time may be potential customers of high-end flying cars in the future."
Natasha also turned around to look. She quickly concluded that what Schiller said was right - at noon on a weekday, most of the people who were in the mood to walk in Central Park were nearby residents and tourists. This group of people would surely be very interested in flying classic cars.
"I hope nothing happens," said Natasha.
"Well, look at this beautiful little baby." Stark patted the car window and said, "Stark Industries is your most trusted partner. Let's get in and try it out."
Stark and Peter got in the driver's seat and the co-pilot's seat respectively, and then they sat in the car together and stared at Schiller. Schiller was confused by their stares, and he said, "Do you want me to get in the car?"
"Please, what are we looking for you for?"
"I thought I was just going to sit here and watch you guys fly. You don't really want me to go up there, do you?"
"Stop talking nonsense and come on!"
Schiller stood up helplessly. He first looked around the car, but he really couldn't see anything special, so he had to open the back door and get in, subconsciously looking for the seat belt.
"Don't look for it. The prototype car doesn't have seat belts." Stark said as he started the engine. "And if you tie yourself to the car, it will be difficult to escape if something happens. Don't treat us as ordinary people."
Before Schiller could say anything, the car had already taken off. He didn't dare to push the car door, but patted the window helplessly and said, "You are crazy. You dare to fly hundreds of meters in the air without any safety measures. What if you fall down?"
"Didn't I tell you? If you fall, run away quickly. Of course, if you insist on being an ordinary person, I can get a mecha to rescue you..."
"Forget it." Schiller refused decisively. Then he looked out the window with some curiosity and said, "It's taking off very fast. How did this car fly?"
Peter turned his head, gestured with his hands and said, "Have you ever taken a maglev train, doctor? The principle is similar to that of a maglev train, except that we don't need to use the track to generate repulsion, but directly repel the earth's magnetic field. This principle can also be applied to rockets. As long as the power is sufficient, it can be directly ejected from the earth..."
"Don't explain so much to him," Stark said, "he won't understand. Just enjoy the scenery. Schiller, just wait and see, the flying car of Stark Group will definitely be very popular!"
"Repulsion from the Earth's magnetic field? Isn't this a kind of anti-gravity technology? Then what about the anti-gravity technology used by China?"
"We use electromagnetic wave anti-gravity technology, but the technology used on the starship is actually antimatter technology." Peter continued, "The latter is indeed more advanced, but the extraction and storage of antimatter is too difficult. It requires the establishment of a large experimental base and an unimaginable huge investment. Subsequent miniaturization is even more difficult. To be honest, I can't figure out how they achieved it..."
"Political system advantage." This was not said by Schiller, but by Stark. Speaking of this, Stark was like a scholar who was not appreciated for his talent. He mumbled a lot, saying that the United States would never learn to concentrate its efforts on major events. It was still like a makeshift team in the era of interstellar colonization. If it weren't for him, the Americans would definitely be at a loss as to what to do under the wheel of history.
Schiller neither refuted nor agreed. He knew very well that Stark was a patriot, but he was also a slightly unrealistic idealist. He used his best imagination to weave a utopian America, and compared this America with the current America, which was naturally inferior in every way. Naturally, he had many complaints and had long and unresolvable worries.
Soldiers like Captain America who have truly witnessed the glorious era of the United States, immortals like Natasha who have survived the Cold War, ordinary people like Peter who once lived at the bottom of the American society, and time travelers like Schiller who have lived two lives and experienced both Eastern and Western life, actually view the current United States with an optimistic attitude. It can be said that the United States in this era has entered the most glorious period in history.
Yes, Washington is still arguing, Congress is still fighting every day, the federal government, state government, city government and even county government are still unwilling to give in, and are even hindering each other. There is not a single conscience that can float to the surface in the blood and tears of Wall Street.
But in fact, the air transportation system that completely changed the transportation mode was implemented in just a few years, and the unemployment and employment problems it brought were basically solved within the next two years. The transportation and travel costs are almost non-existent, and even the time cost of going out is non-existent.
The almost unlimited energy brought by the solar system development plan has not been plundered by capitalists. Electricity prices have been pushed down to the lowest level, and ordinary families no longer have to worry about hundreds of dollars a month in water and electricity bills. The development of various planets in the solar system and the construction of starports and starships have provided countless jobs. Now, on average, one in three working-age Americans is involved in space-related work. Clean and cheap energy has also reduced the cost of producing the most basic food and water sources for human survival, and the cost of living has also been reduced. Even if wages have not increased, disposable income has greatly increased.
In Schiller's opinion, Stark is somewhat whining. The United States is already lucky enough. Looking at the history of its development, it really did not suffer any hardship: it had nothing to do with World War I, it enjoyed all the dividends of World War II, became a beacon of the world during the Cold War, and then reaped the benefits of the world for decades. Before the evil consequences of capitalism came, the bottom line of living standards was greatly improved due to the great development of productivity, and it was getting better and better.
Looking at other countries, some were severely damaged by war, some collapsed before dawn, and some were so poor that they were almost penniless. In comparison, the United States is like the super lucky star in the class who never studies hard, but can pass the exam as long as he reviews something, and can guess all the answers even if he doesn't review.
Especially for Stark's father's generation, when they were young, there were opportunities everywhere and they could make a fortune by doing anything; when they reached middle age, it was their golden age and one person could support a whole family by working; when they reached old age, the interstellar era arrived again, and the cost of living necessary for humans was reduced to the lowest, so they lived an even more free and easy life.
The most infuriating thing is that Howard and his gang of capitalists, and the group of pigs on the wind of his generation, not only did not live a prosperous life to be hated by everyone, but when they reached old age, they were blown up by a gust of spring breeze and became the leaders of the interstellar age and pioneers of mankind.
With the popularization of space transportation technology and some space exploration technologies in the solar system development plan, some private companies on Earth now have the ability to explore the universe. There are thousands of private exploration stations of all sizes built around Saturn and Jupiter alone, most of which are from the United States and China.
Moreover, the American people are no longer satisfied with just making rockets. After the completion of the first human starship, the Midgard, many companies began to study spacecraft, hoping to have their own fleet of transport spacecraft within the solar system and take the first bite of the cake in the interstellar era.
NASA and the Russian Space Agency (former Soviet Space Agency), which once represented the highest achievements of human space exploration, have already set their sights on places outside the solar system and want to explore beyond the galaxy. It is said that the former Soviet scientists who are still alive are now doing dimensional research. Perhaps it will not be long before humans will reach a new level in the depth and breadth of cosmic exploration.
So whenever Stark and the people around him complained about the United States and Congress, most of the others just gave a perfunctory response. What else could they say? That Stark was just being Versailles and not knowing how to appreciate the good things he had?
There are always some people or things in this world who are not good in every aspect, but can successfully catch every wind of the times. To some extent, having such luck is also a kind of strength. National destiny is also an indispensable part of a country's historical development.