Are you talking about joint development?
Kapoor was skeptical.
Everyone knows that space resources belong to whoever grabs them first. Joint development has always been bullshit; if joint development were actually possible, there would be no point in having a space race.
"Joint development." Harry nodded.
"NASA takes the lead, and the space agencies of various countries provide manpower and technology to jointly develop Mars. Isn't that an ideal scenario?"
Kapoor thought for a moment and said, "Wait a minute. I also hope that countries can jointly develop it, but that's just a pipe dream. If we give up our advantages to develop it with others, and then other countries update their technology, the ruling party will be..."
Kapoor stopped mid-sentence, and Harry looked at him with a smile.
"Well said, continue."
"The President taking office next year will be an independent," Kapoor muttered.
Harry wasn't strictly an American; to be precise, he was an "internationalist."
A unified World creates more value than a divided one—after all, the Osborn Group didn't build its fortune on selling weapons.
"Besides, we already know that we are not the only intelligent life in this vast Universe. Why should we still be obsessed with killing each other?"
Harry spread his hands.
"But how are you going to face the attacks from other parties? Four years is very short."
Norman was an independent President. His administrative strategies didn't need to consider the ideologies of the two major parties or the interests of the groups they represented, but that didn't mean the other two parties wouldn't use this to attack him.
However, as long as things keep getting better, no problem is a problem. Right now, the United States is in the worst period in history; things can only go up from here.
Harry interrupted, "Wait a minute. I thought you came here to discuss space issues. So, what's your take?"
Kapoor stood up and paced around the conference room, occasionally stopping to carefully examine the "colony ship." Idealism and another kind of -ism were constantly clashing in his heart.
However, it was clear that there was more idealism in Mr. Kapoor.
Kapoor stopped and said slowly, "Undoubtedly, if we can really make everyone set aside their differences and come together, Mars will just be a small stepping stone on humanity's space journey."
That's more like it.
"Well, I think you know how to report back to your Director now."
"I'll have to think about that carefully."
After seeing Kapoor off, Harry sat in the conference room, spinning in his chair.
The space station was already built—he still had one system mission unfinished. Theoretically, he just needed to fly up there himself to complete the mission.
But this could wait. The general election was three months away, and another thing was going to happen during this period.
That was the fake The Mandarin's attack on the United States.
The attack was actually planned by Killian from AIM, and everything was to take out the President and showcase his Extremis.
The development of Extremis actually had some connection to HYDRA, which might be the reason why Killian wanted to take out the President.
According to the original plot, the final attack was scheduled for Christmas Eve. By then, the election should have just ended, and it would be during the transition period. Norman would be sworn in as President in January of next year.
In the original story, perhaps because President Ellis was re-elected, Killian's target was clear—it was Ellis. But now, it was obvious he had run into a change of leadership.
Harry could indeed accuse Killian in advance and catch him before he committed the crime.
But this event was also an excellent opportunity to promote Osborn products. Being too far ahead was unnecessary; it would be best to stop the attack just in time.
Cruel as it may sound, this attack could still be used as a political weapon.
The Vice President was involved in this, and there were even videos of AIM conducting Extremis tests within the congressional network. Once Norman took office, this could become a weapon for him to root out HYDRA or some hostile forces.
He could even cut out the tongues of those who didn't listen; at worst, he could just label them as terrorists.
This stuff really was cruel, Harry smiled self-deprecatingly.
The next day, a bombing occurred in Tennessee.
Only Harry, who had seen the script, knew that this attack was related to AIM's Extremis.
However, he had to pretend to be someone who knew nothing.
After expressing his condolences to the local victims and the public, Harry recommended ctOS to the Governor and local officials.
And the Governor and local officials, caught between the will of the people and Osborn's sales tactics, decided to adopt the ctOS defense system.
After all, this was something that could defend against Aliens.
A few days later, the official news announced the introduction of ctOS across the state.
"I am very happy that Tennessee has welcomed ctOS, a highly meritorious urban optimization system."
"Not only that, but the state will also be connected to completely clean fusion energy—I know many people have always hoped we would do this."
Harry, Max, the local Governor, and several mayors stood together for a group photo.
Max was now a bona fide star engineer, and he was much more confident. I heard he even found a girlfriend.
As for Electro? He probably wouldn't be seen again.
Power would be drawn from Illinois, using new technology for ultra-high-voltage long-distance transmission. Max loved studying this and was already working so hard he forgot to eat and sleep.
What a good young man; Harry just loved such diligent employees.
While thinking about this, Harry pondered that he should assign him a bodyguard or something; Max's work was still very important.
A reporter asked a question, "Mr. Osborn, we all know that ctOS works very well in cities, but Rose Hill, which was attacked this time, is just a small rural area. Will it be effective there?"
Harry opened his holographic bracelet, "That's a good question, but in fact, the new version of ctOS can also achieve very good monitoring effects in rural areas—via satellite. That's how it is in New York."
The bracelet displayed a map of New York.
"In cities, there are many public facilities for ctOS to utilize, but that's not the case in rural areas. The new version of ctOS is connected to the Osborn Group's latest satellite network, 'Hermes' Winged Sandals,' which allows the countryside, without as many deployable facilities, to also be under the protection of ctOS."
"'Hermes' Winged Sandals'? Are those the satellites Osborn just launched?"
Harry nodded, "Speaking of which, I haven't officially introduced these satellites to everyone yet. They have quite a few functions—communication, positioning, meteorological observation, and so on."
"Actually, I also plan to launch more satellites for network communication to cover the entire World with network signals."
The reporter continued to ask, "Global network coverage? How many satellites would that require?"
"That's a question... A friend of mine thinks it might require over 40,000 satellites, but obviously, such a large number of satellites would cause many problems, so I'm still working on technical upgrades to try to reduce that number."
The reporter quickly wrote down: Osborn to launch 90,000 satellites into low Earth orbit!
"In short, Osborn's satellites can assist ctOS in ensuring your safety even in smaller areas. Choosing Osborn means choosing safety."
"Finally, don't forget to vote for Norman Osborn."
After canvassing for votes, Harry ended the press conference.
Attacks were spreading across various states. With a little promotion, they would soon be scrambling to deploy ctOS.
After all, other people's crime rates were ridiculously low, while in your territory, there were shootouts every day, and even suicide attacks. In that case, the Governor or Mayor wouldn't be able to stay in office.
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