Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

On the afternoon of July 16th, Xingchen Aerospace released an official statement. The wording was as concise as a mathematical formula: ”Xingchen welcomes all nations to participate in the construction of the lunar base. Principle of cooperation: Distribution based on contribution. Xingchen holds project leadership. All participating nations enjoy equal scientific research rights.”

The front-page headline of The New York Times was: ”Lunar Base: Led by Xingchen, Great Powers Line Up.” The Financial Times headline was even more direct: ”United States Excluded from Lunar Development.”

That evening, Washington. In Bridenstine’s office at NASA headquarters, the lights were still on. On the screen before him were Xingchen’s official statement and news of the five nations lining up. He picked up the phone and dialed the White House.

”Mr. President, we need to talk.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

380,000 kilometers away, on the wasteland of Oceanus Procellarum, yutu-3 was still working. The 3D printing device was sintering the two-hundredth lunar soil brick. The bricks were neatly stacked on the lunar surface, like the foundation of a small warehouse. When human astronauts arrived, these bricks would become walls, domes, and homes. In the silence, the Moon waited for its first inhabitants.