Chapter 3: Hermann Oberth
Back at the parking lot, Wilhelm gave a hard kick to the tire as he prepared to get in the car.
"Damn it, what is this old man pretending to be noble for? If it weren't for worrying about hurting the feelings of other scientists, I would really throw you into a dark and dismal dungeon. After all, his mind contains all the papers published by Albert Einstein in the original space-time. It wouldn't hurt to sign his own name and publish those papers. How much impact can it have on the scientific development of this space-time?"
After cursing in his heart, Wilhelm sat angrily in the car and said impatiently, "Let's not go back for now, just drive around randomly."
Now, he mentioned to Einstein about his intention to develop nuclear weapons. Who knows if this old man will do the same as in the original space-time and advise the President of the United States, Roosevelt, to manufacture an atomic bomb?
Thinking about the devastating power of nuclear weapons, which could annihilate a hundred million people and even make Japan, prepared to fight to the death, surrender in the end, Wilhelm couldn't help but shudder. After all, no one wants an atomic bomb to fall on their heads.
Thinking of this, Wilhelm instructed Annie, "Tell Mr. Hans to send someone to monitor Einstein. If he dares to go to the United States... I will decide then." In the original space-time, Einstein went to the United States in 1933, at a time when the little mustache officially became the German Chancellor, and the Nazi Party was actively persecuting Jews, with intense ethnic conflicts. Einstein did not return to Germany after going to the United States and obtained American citizenship in 1940.
There is no little mustache now, and there is no Nazi Party. Although there is discrimination against Jews domestically, the entire Europe is anti-Semitic, and the United States is not much better.
Annie responded promptly, "Understood, Your Highness."
As the car drove for a while, Wilhelm, who was casually staring out the window, suddenly saw a makeshift stand by the roadside with a cylindrical pillar of over two meters high, whose purpose was unknown. There were a few young people standing next to it, passionately explaining something to the few people gathered around.
"...." What the hell is this?
A few minutes later, Wilhelm suddenly shouted, "Stop the car!"
The drive slammed on the brakes, and Annie, who was sitting in the passenger seat, lunged forward and almost hit the windshield. Wilhelm, caught off guard, bumped into the hard backrest of the passenger seat, causing stars to appear in his vision. "Damn it, can't you drive? Are you intentionally trying to kill me? What kind of crappy car is this, it doesn't even have a seatbelt?!" While Wilhelm held his slightly dazed head and cursed in his mind, the drive and Annie had already drawn their pistols and nervously looked around. "Your Highness, are you alright? What happened?"
"I'm fine..." Wilhelm shook his dizzy head and pointed behind him. "Go back the way we came."
Annie asked worriedly, "Yes, Your Highness, are you sure you're alright?" She seemed to have seen His Highness hit the backrest and heard a loud bang.
"I'm fine." Wilhelm looked down and couldn't see any seat belts in the car. It seemed that seat belts hadn't been invented at this time. "Hurry and turn back."
The car drove back for less than two minutes, and Wilhelm saw the few young people carrying the cylindrical object walking dejectedly along the road.
"Close call, we almost took a wrong turn. 'Miss Annie, go and ask them who they are," Wilhelm said.
"Yes." Annie got out of the car and ran over to catch up with the group of people. After some inquiries, she returned and reported, "Your Highness, they are members of the recently established 'Space Travel Association.' They have been around here these days trying to raise research funds."
Space Travel Association? No wonder that thing looks so much like a primitive rocket. "Who is their president?" Wilhelm asked.
"Hermann Oberth," Annie replied. Upon hearing her response, Wilhelm nodded to himself. This secretary is truly competent. If it were him, he would have to make another trip just to ask for the president's name.
Their president is Hermann Oberth...? Wilhelm could barely contain his laughter.
Indeed, Germany at this time is full of talents. You can run into world-renowned figures just by kicking a stone on the road. Hermann Oberth, the renowned father of European rockets, German rocket expert, one of the founding fathers of modern astronautics, and a pioneer in space exploration alongside Tsiolkovsky and Goddard. His classic works on rocket propulsion are considered the "bible" of the aerospace field by a generation of engineers. Even the famous scientist Qian, in the future, was deeply influenced by him.
Unlike Einstein, Oberth was not a pacifist. In the original timeline, in 1941, Hermann Oberth participated in the development of the V-2 rocket at Peenemünde Research Center. In 1943, he even devised the A-9 and A-10 multistage rocket plans, intending to launch an attack on Washington, USA, from the sea.
Thinking of all this, Wilhelm's previously frustrated mood due to Dr. Einstein's uncooperative attitude vanished instantly. "Invite their president to have lunch with me."
Little did he know that as soon as he returned to the palace, Hermann Oberth followed shortly after. "Greetings to you, esteemed Crown Prince," Oberth said.
Wilhelm approached and warmly welcomed the distinguished guest. "Mr. Oberth, I have long heard of your name. Have you heard the story of Chang'e flying to the moon from the Great Ming Dynasty?"
Oberth smiled and nodded. "I have heard of it. I even bought that comic book for my young son, and he enjoys reading it."
Wilhelm gestured for him to sit on the sofa and smiled slightly. "That is, of course, a myth, but what I want to see is Germans flying to the moon. Not only launching rockets into the sky but breaking through the atmosphere and flying to the moon. And then, using manned rockets, we will have our astronauts set foot on the moon. Of course, this is just the first step. The second step is to establish a base on the moon, which will be the starting point for humanity's exploration of the universe. And then, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn... One day, we will leave the solar system and conquer the endless sea of stars!"
"Crown Prince!!" Oberth exclaimed, filled with excitement. On his way here, he had been racking his brain to figure out how to explain his rocket dreams to the Crown Prince and secure more research funding. Unexpectedly, this young Crown Prince was bolder and had a broader vision than he had anticipated. Compared to the grand ideals of the Crown Prince, his dream of launching rockets into the sky seemed too small and insignificant.
In that moment, he felt like a spirited horse meeting its master and was overwhelmed with excitement. He immediately regarded Wilhelm as a kindred spirit in life.
Seeing his flushed face and excitement, Wilhelm decided to temper his enthusiasm a bit, lest the fellow become too carried away. "Mr. Oberth, please calm down and listen to me first. Such a space program would undoubtedly be a grand undertaking, requiring significant advancements in overall technology. Let's take the most crucial component, the rocket engine, for example. With current technology and materials, we can't even build an engine capable of achieving the first cosmic velocity, can we? And there are various communication devices, remote sensing equipment, computers... speaking of computers, it reminds me of that homosexual genius from the British Empire. He must be around fifteen or sixteen this year, and I must find a way to lure him to Germany."
Noticing his own indiscretion, Oberth awkwardly chuckled. "You're right, Crown Prince. I got a bit carried away."
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