12. Red Shore, Part Two
Upon entering the Red Shore base, Ye Wenjie was not assigned a fixed job, but instead worked on various technical tasks under the supervision of a security officer.
As early as her second year of university, Ye Wenjie had already been familiar with her future research supervisor. He told her that if one wanted to study astrophysics and didn't have experimental skills or observational ability, even the best theories were useless. At least, this was the case within China. This contrasted sharply with her father's views. However, Ye Wenjie was inclined to agree with this perspective. She always felt that her father was too theoretical. Her supervisor was one of the pioneers of radio astronomy in China. Under his influence, Ye Wenjie also developed a strong interest in radio astronomy, and she self-studied electronics and computer science (Note: At the time, these two fields were often combined in most universities). This provided the experimental and observational technical basis for the subject. During her postgraduate years, she worked with her supervisor to debug the first small-scale radio telescope in China, and also gained considerable experience in this field. Unbelievably, these skills were actually put to use at the Red Shore base.
Ye Wenjie initially worked in the launch division on equipment maintenance and repair, and soon became an indispensable technical backbone of the launch division. This surprised her. She was the only person in the base who didn't wear military uniforms, and her identity also kept everyone at a distance from her, which made it difficult for her to alleviate her loneliness. However, this was not enough to explain the situation. After all, this was a key national defense project, and why were the technical personnel here so mediocre? Why was it necessary to replace someone like her, who had no technical background and no work experience?
She soon discovered the reasons. Contrary to what was seen on the surface, the Red Shore base was equipped with the best technical officers from the Second Artillery Force. These outstanding electronic and computer engineers were perhaps even beyond her ability to keep up with. However, the base was located in a remote area, with poor conditions. Furthermore, the main research and development work for the Red Shore system had already been completed, and it was only used for operation and maintenance. There were no opportunities to make any technological breakthroughs. Most people worked conscientiously, knowing that in such a highly classified project, once they entered a technical core position, it would be difficult to transfer. So, everyone would deliberately lower their capabilities, but still maintain a certain level of performance, in order to avoid being seen as incompetent by their superiors.
Many people had indeed succeeded in getting transferred in this way. In such a situation, Ye Wenjie unconsciously became an important figure in the Red Shore base. However, another reason that made her perplexed was that there was no truly advanced technology in the Red Shore base, at least in the part that she was familiar with.
After entering the base, Ye Wenjie mainly worked in the launch division. With time, the restrictions on her gradually relaxed, and the person who had been supervising her constantly also stopped. She was now able to access most of the Red Shore system's structure. She could also read the corresponding technical documents. Of course, there were still things that were prohibited, such as accessing the computer control part. But Ye Wenjie later discovered that this part did not play such an important role in the Red Shore system as she had imagined. For example, the computers in the launch division were even older and less advanced than the DJS130. They used heavy magnetic cores and punched tape input, with the longest uninterrupted operation time not exceeding 15 hours. She also saw the aiming part of the Red Shore system, which was very inaccurate, and might even be worse than the aiming equipment of a small gun.
That day, Lei Zhengwei (the political commissar) again asked Ye Wenjie for a discussion. Now, in her eyes, Yang Wenning and Lei ZhiCheng had swapped positions. In this era, Yang Wenning, as the highest technical leader, did not have a high political status, and without technical authority, he was just a person. He had to be cautious even when talking to subordinates, and if he spoke rudely, they would be seen as "intimidating" and "brainwashing". So, when Ye Wenjie was faced with difficulties in her work, she would become his punching bag. However, as Ye Wenjie became increasingly important in the technical field, Lei Zhengwei gradually changed from his initial cold and aloof attitude to a more amiable one.
"Little Ye, now that you're familiar with the launch system, this is the attack part of the Red Shore system, its core, tell me your overall opinion on this system?" Lei Zhengwei said. They were sitting at the edge of the radar peak, which was the most secluded place in the base. The steep cliff seemed to drop into the abyss, which initially made Ye Wenjie feel uneasy, but now she liked coming here alone.
Lei Zhengwei asked Ye Wenjie a question. Ye Wenjie was a little flustered. She was only responsible for equipment maintenance and repair, and she had no knowledge of the overall situation of the Red Shore system, including its operating mode and attack targets. She thought for a moment, but couldn't speak.