The opera house was full of people in addition to the two presidents and government officials; Frankberg citizens and invited business elites were among the people attending the show. Sitting in a VIP booth, Sim Gorde looked at the packed crowd below him. He couldn't help but smile.
Frankberg was a parliamentary system; although the federal President represented Frankberg internally and externally, the real power was in the parliament and appointed Prime Minister. The main duties of the President in the House were only to sign and publish the bills passed by the parliament as well as the laws and regulations signed by the Federal Minister, but he had no veto power. The Prime Minister was the head of state, but he was only a representative figure.
Even the President only really tasted power during diplomatic meetings.
The light illuminated the opera house. The baton swayed as harmonious music drifted down from the stage with the audience immersed in the melody. The performance today was from the world famous Mino Orchestra from Vienna.
The deputy Prime Minister, Evelyn Gillwick, was sitting behind Sim. He looked up at the clock on the wall, pulled the tie around his collar, and moved closer to the President's ear."Mr. Sim, I have another commitment in a bit - is it okay if I leave you here alone?"
...
Sim's eyebrows furrowed as the act of being excluded from formal functions made him extremely displeased.
"A commitment? What kind of commitment? How come I don't know about this?"
"It's a private function. My alma mater is hosting a seminar and I reserved front row seats."
When Sim heard it was a private function, Sim's eyebrows were no longer furrowed. He gently coughed and took on the role of a President.
"You can go; just leave this place to me."Evelyn expressed his apologies to the Austrian President and Deputy Prime Minister then immediately departed. The moment he stepped out of the opera, he felt relieved.
"To the University of Ber. Quick, the gala will start in ten minutes." Evelyn scanned the security in the area as he instructed his assistant.
…
Outside the University of Ber church, it was packed with people. Although it was a Han student gala, when people heard that the chief designer of Future 1.0 and president of Future Group, Jiang Chen, would attend the gala and deliver a speech during the opening ceremony, people other than students showed up.
"Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend this gala out of such a sudden request. We didn't think so many people would show up." Inside the small church, Chen Yuqiao kept thanking Jiang Chen.
"No worries - it was my honor to receive your invitation." Jiang Chen smiled.
When Chen Yuqiao received Jiang Chen's affirmation, a relieved smile appeared on her face.
With a large crowd outside the church, Ayesha looked tensed.
"Do we not need to worry about security concerns? What if—"
"No need to worry." Jiang Chen tried to comfort the worried Ayesha.
The four Celestial Trades bodyguards were already stationed at the four corners of the venue. Jiang Chen was wearing a carbon Nano bulletproof vest on him and Ayesha was with him as backup; he wasn't worried at all.
The church bell rang and struck six o'clock.
The members of the student organization, school officials, and special guest, Jiang Chen, all entered the venue. The MC introduced a few things before immediately handing the microphone to Jiang Chen.
With microphone in hand, Jiang Chen calmly stepped onto the stage.
He faced a similar situation countless times already, so having a larger audience wouldn't affect his state of mind.
"I'm surprised there are so many of you in the audience; I thought I would only have to say a few things in order to meet the demands of your student leader, but now I have to be more serious."
As Jiang Chen spoke, he jokingly made a funny face.
He waited for a moment for the friendly laughter and clapping to die down before he continued.
"All of your academic qualifications are probably higher than mine, not to mention your professional knowledge. Your professor Graeme knows much more than I do, and many of your classmates' grades are still in his hands."
Hearing Jiang Chen mention his name, Professor Graeme cast a surprised expression then gave Jiang Chen a friendly smile. It was a consensus that Future Technology replaced IBM as the leader in artificial intelligence application. For Professor Graeme to be recognized by the chief designer of Future 1.0 was a demonstration of his abilities.
"Then we'll talk about something that concerns all of you-" Jiang Chen paused to build up suspense then he waved a phone that didn't resemble any current brand and placed it on the podium. "...technology."
Just as the audience was waiting for Jiang Chen to continue, a shocking scene appeared.
The blue photo particles rose from the phone's camera to form two three-dimensional light curtains that looked extremely realistic. The curtain hovered beside Jiang Chen. When Jiang Chen slowly opened both his hands, he elevated the two screens gently.
The audience was completely stunned to the point of forgetting to clap. Whether it was the dean or Professor Graeme, everyone's eyes widened at the sci-fi scene. It wasn't that they never witnessed hologram technology before, but it was the first time they saw hologram technology that allowed human interaction.
And that wasn't the most important thing. All functions were achieved through a palm-sized phone!
Gradually, the audience became louder and finally broke out into excited cheers. The reporters outside the venue shouted as they expressed their shock in front of the camera.
"How's technology changing our lives?" Jiang Chen looked at the pairs of stunned eyes as he spoke in Han.
The hologram screens on both sides translated his words in real time to English and Frankish. The audience gasped, but they couldn't further demonstrate their astonishment because the previous scene already shocked them to the fullest.
The same question circled in everyone's mind - how did Future Technology do it?!
"This is how science is changing our lives."
Jiang Chen knew it was impossible to leave a deep impression on the university students with just a few sentences.
But technology could!
For these young people, advanced technology could leave a deeper impression compared to money. He knew someone must be taking photos in the audience, so his speech would definitely be uploaded online for more people to watch.
This would become a hiring advertisement for Future Technology!
The phone was Yao Yao's masterpiece - not only did it include all the functions of a smartphone, but it also implemented modules for hologram computers. Although his demonstration just showed basic functions of a hologram computer, he had no problem stunning the modern people who didn't know anything.
"I know everyone has a lot of questions - for example, what's so special about my phone, and how did Future Group create such an astonishing product? Of course, allow me to pass on the question and build suspense. Since this isn't a product launch from Future Technology and the smartphone in my hands is only in a conceptual stage, perhaps it will be introduced in the next two years."
"The emergence of an epoch-making technology can bring subversive changes to our daily life. Like the steam engine two centuries ago, the internal combustion engine a century ago, and the computers at the end of the last century, the smartphone in everyone's pocket will follow the same path."
"I once stressed the importance of science and technology not because Future Group's current investments are all concentrated in these cutting-edge technologies, but because it involves each of our futures..."
On the stage, Jiang Chen passionately demonstrated his speech skills and laid out the blueprints for the future.
From virtual reality to the connection from the virtual to the real world, from new energy vehicles to the existence of maglev in science fiction, the audience had been shocked by the technology he showed. When they heard Jiang Chen's interpretation of the future, the students didn't raise the slightest objection.
The church bells rang indicating it was seven o'clock; an hour had gone by without notice, but the crowd present didn't sense the slightest passage of time. In the picture depicting the future described by Jiang Chen, a virtual reality scene subconsciously surfaced in everyone's brains.
Perhaps because they had really "seen" it and because his words seemed especially convincing that the listeners felt he spoke the truth.
At the conclusion of his speech, overwhelming applause rang out.
In the face of this applause, Jiang Chen's mouth couldn't help but slowly smile.
He knew the intended effect had been achieved. In any case, the name Future Group had been engraved in the hearts of these students. These people would be graduates from top universities and they would also be the source of talent for Future Group. Even if Jiang Chen could bring back advanced technology from the future, these technologies had to be digested and understood by people.
"In a short time...is it really possible to achieve it?" The audience couldn't hold their thoughts longer.
Jiang Chen didn't care about this abrupt statement as looked at the audience. He smiled and said.
"Whether it's going to be a short time or long time, I don't know. But if you join us, the time will certainly shorten by a lot."
The poser of the question sat back down with a red face. Even nonchalant words were still great encouragement. Of course, how the future would turn out wasn't something Jiang Chen could forecast.
Jiang Chen gave the microphone back to Chen Yuqiao who was waiting by the side. Her expression when she took the microphone suggested she was still in shock. The organizers of the gala could see that students were desperate for Jiang Chen to speak longer.
After walking off the stage, Jiang Chen headed toward the back of the church. But this time, a middle-aged man in a suit walked toward him and extended his right hand with a smile. Behind him also followed two seemingly powerful bodyguards and a secretary carrying a briefcase. From the man's companions, it was easy to guess his extraordinary identity.
"Amazing speech."
"Thank you for the praise. May I ask your name?" Jiang Chen shook his hand.
"Evelyn Gillwick, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Frankberg and the Minister of Economy and Energy." Evelyn cleared his throat and spoke with friendliness.
