Clear sky blue

In I told takanami will follow him to the decision of the institute of lightning, "he said," before you make a final decision, I should clarify something: I know you're thinking right now is ball lightning, although our starting point is different, I am also bullish on this project, but you want to know, at first, I can't get in with a lot of power to get you on the project. Do you know why Chang Bin failed? He's stuck in theory! But I can't blame him. It's just a matter of circumstances. This two years my impression to you is to ignore the experiment, wrong, you do doctoral program I didn't consider experiment, because the investment of this experiment is too high, according to our existing conditions, fundamental do bad, not accurate and even not true pull theory, the result of the remarks made me rediscover the takanami this man, so active like him on the academic thought, It is rare to be so realistic in society, which is probably the characteristic of people coming out of MIT. In fact, I think as he does, I understand that building basic experimental facilities is essential to ball lightning research, because the mark of success in ball lightning research is to create it artificially. These facilities should include, first of all, large lightning simulators, as well as sophisticated magnetic field generators and more sophisticated sensor detection systems, which are bound to have a mind-boggling budget. I'm not a nerd. I know that in order to achieve my dreams, I have to start from reality.

On the train, Gao Bo suddenly asked me about Lin Yun. It has been two years since Tai Shan's departure, and Lin Yun's shadow has not disappeared from my mind, but because of my concentration on ball lightning, the memory has not developed into something uncontrollable. The short time I spent with her on Mount Tai is the best treasure of my memory. Memories of her often emerge in the most tired room, which makes it like listening to a soft piece of music, which is a good rest. Gao Bo once said that he envied me this state, because love life has to be detached, it is not good to get stuck in.

Gao bo said of Lin Yun, "She mentioned the Thunder weapon system to you? I'm very interested in that. "

"You want a defense project? "

"Why not? The military can't have a perfect lightning research facility, and they're ultimately relying on us. This kind of project funding is very stable, is also a very potential market. "

I have not contacted Lin Yun since we parted, she only left me a mobile phone number, gao Bo asked me to contact her as soon as I arrived in Beijing.

"You need to find out about the current state of military lightning research. Don't ask her directly. Take her out to dinner or a concert or something. Gao Bo now looked like a crafty spymaster.

After arriving in Beijing, I did not settle down, I called Lin Yun, when the familiar voice came, I felt a kind of indescribable warmth, heard that she learned that I was also very surprised. According to Gao Bo's idea, I should offer to visit her at her work place, but the words couldn't be said, but she unexpectedly invited me there.

"Come to me at the New Concept, and have business to talk to you!" She then gave me an address in the suburbs of Beijing.

"New concept?" What immediately came to mind was Alexander's English textbook.

"Oh, we used to call it that. It's the New Concept Weapon Development Center of the National Defense University. I've been working here since I graduated."

I have not reported to the new unit, Gao Bo can not wait for me to find Lin Yun.

After the bus left the fourth ring Road and walked for about half an hour, wheat fields appeared beside the highway. The area is home to many of the military's research institutes, many of which are simple buildings with tall walls and unmarked gates. But the new Concept Weapons development Center is a modern, ostentatious 20-story building that looks like the office of a multinational corporation. Unlike the other institutions in the neighborhood, there are no sentinels at the entrance and people walk in and out at will.

I through automatic door into the spacious bright hall, take the lift upstairs to find Lin Yun office to find this place is similar to a civilian executive agencies, from the hallway looking in two copies of a few of the half-open door, see inside is now the frame combined layout of office space, a lot of people busy in the computer and document paper heap, if not their military uniforms, You really think you're walking into a big corporate office building. I also saw several foreigners, two of them even in their national uniforms, chatting and laughing with Chinese soldiers in an office.

In an office marked "System evaluation Part ii", I found Lin Yun. When she came up to me in her major's uniform with a bright smile and a beauty that transcended fashion, I knew at once that she belonged in the army.

"It's not what you expected, is it?" "She asked after greeting me.

"It's so different. What on earth is it?"

"Just as the name suggests."

"What is the new concept weapon?"

"For example, in World War II the Soviets strapped explosives to trained dogs to get under German tanks, and that was a new concept weapon. It's a new concept even now, but there are many variations: Such as explosives tied to the dolphins for them to attack submarine, or training a group of small bombs to carry the birds of the air, and so on, here is a new idea - "Lin Yun pronate on her computer, bring up a copy of illustrated web document looks like insects knowledge," put satellites of the corrosive liquid capsule to insects, such as cockroaches Let them destroy the integrated circuits of the enemy's weapon systems."

"That's funny." I said, when I was looking at the computer screen, I was very close to the forest clouds, and I smelled the faint fragrance, which is a kind of fragrance that removes all sweetness, and there is a kind of comfortable bitterness, which reminds me of the green grass in the sunshine after a rainstorm...

"And look at this, a liquid that, when sprayed, makes roads smooth and impassable; This one, a gas that shuts down the engines of vehicles and tanks; This is less interesting: a laser that, like an electron gun on a TELEVISION tube, can scan an area and make everyone within it temporarily or permanently mission..."

Lin Yun surprised me: it seemed that anything in their information system could be pulled up for outsiders to see.

"We produce concepts, most of which are useless, some of which even seem like a joke, but one in 100 or even one in 1,000 of which could become reality is significant."

"So this is a think tank."

"You could say that. My department's job is to take those ideas and find out what works and take them to the next level, sometimes as we're going to talk about with the Lightning weapon system."

It was a good sign that she was talking so quickly about what Gao Bo wanted to know, but I asked her another question that intrigued me: "What's going on with all the Western officers here?"

"Visiting scholar. Weapons research is a science and requires communication. The new concept weapon is a long way from being realized, it's just a concept. It's a field that needs a lot of ideas, a lot of information and a lot of ideas, and the exchange is beneficial to both sides."

"That means you also sent visiting scholars to each other."

"Two years ago when I came back from Mount Tai, I went to Europe and North America as a visiting scholar and spent three months at their new Concept Weapons Development Agency, which they called the Weapons Systems Advance Assessment Committee, which had been around since the Kennedy era... How have you been for the last two years, still tracking ball lightning every day?"

I said, "Sure, what else can I do, but for now it can only be traced on paper."

"Then I'll give you a gift," she said, moving her mouse to search for something on her computer. "It's an eyewitness account of the ball lightning."

"I've seen thousands of these things," I said disapprovingly.

"But this is different." Lin Yun said, and a video to appear on the screen: on a glade, have a military helicopter, helicopter stood in two people, one is in the army combat uniform Lin Yun, another light in flight suit, is obviously the helicopter pilot, can also be seen in the vision behind the rise in the form of a few balloons. Lin Yun said, "This is Captain Wang Songlin, the helicopter pilot of Lu Aviation."

Then I heard Lin Yun's voice on the tape: "Say it again. I'll record it for my friend."

The captain said, "All right. I mean, when have I ever seen something that's definitely what you're talking about. In 1998, during the flood fighting in the Yangtze River, I went out to the disaster area to drop emergency supplies. At a height of 700 meters, I accidentally flew into a thunderstorm cloud, which was an absolute no-fly zone, but I couldn't get out for a moment. Turbulence in the clouds was making the plane bounce up and down like a leaf in the wind, and MY head hit the canopy; Most of the gauges were jiggling, and nothing could be heard on the radio. It was dark outside, and suddenly there was a flash of lightning, and then I saw it, it was the size of a basketball, it was orange, and when it appeared, the noise on the radio suddenly increased..."

'Listen carefully! Lin Yun reminded me.

"... It went round the engine, not very fast, first from the nose to the tail, then vertically up through the rotors, down through the rotors again, and so on for about half a minute, and then it disappeared."

"Wait, play that back!" I shouted. As Lin yun says, there is something unusual about this sighting.

Video playback, after putting this section of the next, Lin Yun in the picture asked the question I want to ask: "you were flying or hovering?"

"Would I hover in a thunderstorm? Flying, of course, at least 400. I'm looking for the exit of the cloud."

"You must be wrong, you should have been hovering, otherwise it would have been wrong!"

"I know what you're thinking. The evil is here. It's not affected by currents at all! Even if I'm wrong or wrong, the rotors keep spinning, and there's a lot of turbulence, and there's no wind in the air? But the fireball just goes around the body at a very slow speed, relative speed, but it's not affected by turbulence!"

"This is really important information!" I said, "There have been some indications of this in many previous accounts, such as eyewitnesses of ball lightning flying out of rooms through doors or Windows just as the wind was blowing in from outside; There have been direct sightings of ball lightning flying upwind, but none as convincing as this one. If the motion of ball lightning really isn't affected by airflow, the idea that it's plasma, which is the basis of most current ball lightning theories, doesn't hold water. Can I see the pilot?"

Lin Yun gently shook his head: "It's impossible. All right, let's get down to business. First I'll show you what we've been doing for two years." Then she picked up the phone, as if to contact something about a visit. Look to complete the task of high wave is easy to do, I then size up the desk of Lin Yun.

The first photo I saw was of Lin Yun with several Marines, all dressed in their blue-and-white Marine camouflage. Lin Yun, the only woman among them, looked young and fresh-faced, cradling an assault rifle to her chest like a puppy. There were several landing craft on the sea behind them and smoke from the explosion nearby.

I was then struck by another photograph, of a young navy captain, handsome and charismatic, in the background of the tall tower island of the mother Everest, which is often featured in the media. I immediately had a strong desire to ask Lin Yun who it was, but I resisted.

At this time Lin Yun finished the phone, said to me: "Go, I take you to see our two years is not the results of the results."

We went out to take the elevator downstairs, on the way Lin Yun said: "In the past two years we spent a lot of effort to do thunder weapons, to do two sub-projects, but not successful, now this project has not cancelled. The weapon system was the furthest and most invested in the new concept, and the results were disastrous."

As I entered the entrance hall, I noticed many smiles and greetings at Lin Yun, and I had a hunch that she was more than a major.

After going out, Lin Yun took me to a car, and she sat side by side in the front seat, I smelled the light bitter fragrance of the grass after the rain, which made me relaxed and happy, but then the fragrance was more ethereal, like the last light cloud in the blue sky, like the fleeting bell in the deep valley. My nose twitched twice to catch it.

"Do you like the perfume?" Lin Yun smiled and looked at me and said.

"Ah... Oh, isn't perfume forbidden in the army?" I asked stupidly.

"Sometimes."

She started the car with her charming smile. I was intrigued by a small ornament hanging from the window: We have two, it was a bamboo, fingers thick, branches and leaves with a root, modelling and have lasting appeal, because I am interested in bamboo and leaves have been totally withered and yellow, bamboo in the dry air in the north are cracked a few fine seam, obviously is very old, she still hang such significant position, it is likely to be a story in the bamboo. I reach out a hand to go, want to take it down to take a close look, but Lin Yun seized the wrist, her hand fine white, but surprisingly powerful, but my hand after the force is very fast hours, only ordered my heartbeat soft and warm.

"It was a landmine." "She said quietly.

I looked at her in surprise and then at the seemingly absolutely harmless piece of bamboo in disbelief.

"It's an infantry mine. It's very simple: the bottom section contains the charge, the top section contains the trigger fuse, and the sound is really a small flexible firing pin and a rubber band. The bamboo was deformed when it was stepped on, and the firing pin bounced off."

"This...... Where did you get it?"

"Frontline captured in guangxi in the early eighty s, is the creation of the classic, low cost to the level of the double bang firecracker, caused damage is very big, and there were few because the metal parts, common mine detector test not to come out, let the engineer is very headache, appearance is hidden, setting need not buried, scattered on the floor, when the army is a big tens of thousands of pieces."

"I can't believe something so small can kill someone?"

"Normally you can't blow up a person, but you can blow up half a foot or a shank, and this weapon is more effective than a lethal weapon in reducing the opponent's combat power."

It hurt that this beautiful girl who had touched my heart could talk about blood and death as calmly as other girls her age would talk about cosmetics. But who can say whether this is not an indispensable part of her beauty that fascinates me?

"Can it still explode?" "I asked, pointing to the bamboo.

"I think so. But it's also possible that the rubber band that pushes the firing pin has aged over the years."

"What! You mean it's... It also......"