Chapter 772 - 737: The Legacy of Mars_3

John, other senior officials of the Federation, and the top banking elites had already seen the beginnings of a huge conspiracy, but they were still missing something and couldn’t grasp the truth.

McMaster finally couldn’t hold back his doubts and out of his function, asked:

"In my view, the only advantage of the Enterprise over the Aero-Space Plane is that it doesn’t need a runway. Could it be that they plan to start a war and directly... drop an elite squad from space to occupy Washington?"

"..."

"..."

Claire: "With all due respect, I can’t see the practical significance of doing this, besides, the Enterprise is easily shot down, even anti-aircraft guns could pose a threat."

After negating McMaster’s unrealistic fantasies, David stepped forward to explain:

"Let’s consider it from a different angle, apart from war, under what circumstances would there need to be landings of the Enterprise on Earth."

Not long after this question was raised, an air force general provided an answer:

"Unless there are no reliable landing sites available on the ground for Aero-Space Planes to take off and land, and at the same time the Enterprise is nuclear-powered, it could return to space without much need for ground maintenance."

"The results of the air force’s research are the same, the Enterprise’s practical significance is far less than that of the Aero-Space Plane, and I can’t think of any point in its favor to replace the Aero-Space Plane."

John: "I’m beginning to understand what you all are getting at, this is truly unbelievable."

McMaster: "I’ve also grasped some of it."

The faces of several people gradually showed a solemn expression, but others still couldn’t figure it out, just maintained their chilly silence, faintly nodding to feign having thoughts of their own.

"..."

"This is what I wanted to say."

David’s expression was more serious than ever, his gaze gradually became hollow:

"The current humanity researching shuttle machines akin to the Enterprise is meaningless, but what if it’s not the present, nor is it humans?"

"Only in Earth’s Wilderness Era, or the time before the world had established telegraphs and cables, would ’someone’ need to travel between Earth and space, thus they developed relevant shuttle machines and power technologies."

"It’s aliens!"

Someone blurted out but immediately regretted it, realizing the flaw, and quickly denied:

"No, a civilization capable of reaching the Solar System would not lack fusion technology, at least they couldn’t still be using fission engines, that’s impossible."

Those who thought they had guessed the truth immediately felt a wave of disappointment, indeed, an alien civilization capable of reaching Earth could not possibly be that primitive.

However, David still maintained his confidence and firmly uttered his conclusion:

"I don’t think it’s an alien civilization either, but the universe isn’t just home to humans and alien civilizations, what’s the definition of an ’alien civilization’?"

No one answered, David continued:

"An alien civilization doesn’t necessarily need to land on Earth. Earth’s resources in the Solar System aren’t particularly abundant, and there’s no need for such an inefficient method of exploitation."

"Alien travelers have no reason to do so, only those living in the Solar System would feel attachment to this planet."

"Mars, Venus, Earth could all have been suitable for the birth of life a long time ago, a Solar System civilization would have a reason to do so."

"Let me propose a possibility: a long time ago there was a Martian civilization, with science about 20 to 40 years more advanced than ours, and they could already land on their closest Earth-like planet."

"Later, this civilization disappeared for some reason, but they left traces on Earth and Mars, including ancient spaceships or related technology."

"Products of this level, humans of the 21st century could make an effort to digest and replicate."

"And on their home planet, there are more relics, hiding the last legacy of a lost civilization."

"..."

"..."

John was quite impressed with his imagination, but he responded sharply without any courtesy:

"From the Pyramids to the Ancient Babylonian Ruins, to the mysterious Qing Dynasty Imperial Palace, America has almost traveled every corner of the world and found no traces of Martians."

"Chinese People casually explored and dug up an Ancient Spaceship?"

Facing John’s accusation, David was not annoyed at all and patiently responded:

"Your Excellency, luck is often the most important part in history, nothing is impossible."