George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 272

< Episode 271 >

Sun Power was taken aback by the sudden responsibility of a 150-gigawatt project. It wasn’t simply handed to them; Sun Power was practically the only company in the world capable of handling such a massive undertaking.

Of course, whether they liked it or not, it was a good thing. The larger the project, the more revenue it generated. What was the purpose of a corporation? To make money. Money was the reason corporations existed, and money was the reason there were CEOs.

The word ‘overreach’ didn’t apply here. This was a project they would have fought tooth and nail to secure, even at great risk. They had to make it work, no matter what.

“It will work out somehow. Even if it fails, we can deal with it then,” the Chief of Staff said, noticing Bush’s worry and offering encouragement. However, Bush still looked serious, as if the encouragement hadn’t quite eased his mind.

“Failure is absolutely unacceptable in matters of national importance. We must succeed, no matter what.”

This project was a test of the nation’s technological prowess. Everyone knew that their solar cell technology was the best in the world, but it had never been tested on this scale. It had been limited to a few small complexes, and the semi-permanent high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft had only just begun test flights.

Even that aircraft could only fly for 70 minutes at a time, far short of the ambitious goal of semi-permanence. However, Bush wasn’t discouraged. He knew that even in 2019, exceeding the 90-minute mark had been a struggle.

In any case, this project was essentially a trial run for the alternative energy initiatives they had been developing. At the same time, it was Bush’s trump card to silence the environmental groups that had been criticizing shale gas development.

This 150-gigawatt project wasn’t a card Bush had been saving carelessly. The groups opposing Bush were caught off guard by the unique wave he had created, making their stance somewhat ambiguous. People who disliked Bush were more driven by personal preference than by a large, unified movement.

Even if there was a perfect superman, as the fascists of the old 20th century had proclaimed, whether the orders that superman issued were properly executed was a completely different matter. This was because the person executing the orders was not an automaton.

There could be corruption, misunderstandings, and mistakes. Moreover, Bush was neither a man of iron will, nor a superman, nor an unfeeling machine.

No matter how hard Bush tried, as long as he was in the political arena, people who disliked him would inevitably spring up like mushrooms after the rain.

In any case, the biggest reason for disliking him was that he didn’t care about the environment, which wasn’t entirely wrong. The only reason Bush cared about nature was that he fully understood that destroying it would eventually backfire. He saw it as an inevitability, like a stretched rubber band snapping back.

If it weren’t for this potential ‘wrath of nature,’ Bush wouldn’t have cared at all. Bush fundamentally hated what he saw as indiscriminate environmental protection.

Seeing someone holding a sign that read ‘No to oil drilling!’ while driving a car that burned oil was enough to make anyone scoff.

In any case, these actions slowly accumulated and irritated environmental groups. Among them, the hard-core protection groups were particularly annoyed, while groups that knew how to compromise didn’t seem to care much.

The problem was that environmental protection, more than anything else, easily appeared to be justice while satisfying a rather twisted sense of morality, which attracted many supporters. This was especially true after the South burned [referring to wildfires or environmental disasters], as the damage then was unimaginable.

Some people seriously considered their impact after experiencing the heat firsthand, but for those who just needed an excuse, there was nothing better. Those who were really serious usually decided to live like the Amish.

Of course, the Amish also had clear limitations. Although they didn’t use electricity directly, the clothes they wore and the houses they built were ultimately made with electricity, and their land holdings were often vast. As a result, the farmland was impossible to manage by hand, so some communities, though it varied, even used tractors.

In any case, the news of this project was well-received by environmentalists. Of course, the solar cells were the product of all sorts of environmental pollution during manufacturing, but it was also true that it was better than simply burning oil.

“If low oil prices come back just as we’re starting to recover, it will be hard to handle. We can’t afford to upset the Saudis right now.”

Of course, if they trampled on Bush’s pure intentions, he could just deploy a Welsh Corgi unit [a humorous reference to a disproportionate response]. He wouldn’t actually unleash dogs on Saudi Arabia, but after being bombarded with countless Tomahawk missile handshake requests [another humorous reference to military action], they might change their minds.

Besides, even though he said not to upset them, wasn’t modern business all the same?

“On top of that, we’re all working together to completely destroy oil prices, and low oil prices are becoming entrenched, causing no end of worry. If that happens again, either we die, Saudi Arabia dies, or Russia dies.”

“The Vice President and his cronies seem to want to give Saudi Arabia a gift made of gunpowder.”

The image of them arguing that they should deploy a carrier strike group to Saudi Arabia and bombard them with bombs 24 hours a day was vivid in his mind, even though he hadn’t seen it. Well, he was someone who openly talked about going to war with Russia, so it was too late to be surprised by something like this.

“They seem to think we’re offering a Molotov cocktail. Well, civilians often use the expression ‘delivering freedom.’ It’s not entirely wrong, though.”

Besides, they had actually delivered freedom to Afghanistan. Whether it was real freedom was another matter, but it was at least better than being under the Taliban. Anyway, Africa was sluggish, but American influence, whether private or governmental, was steadily and deeply penetrating.

“War is difficult for us in times like these. It’s difficult for any country, not just us.”

But difficult didn’t mean impossible. It just meant it was a bit burdensome. They were capable of carrying out the war itself. It was just that there was no reason to go to war now that an agreement had been reached. If an agreement with Saudi Arabia hadn’t been reached, they might have thought differently, but there was no reason to shed the blood of innocent soldiers.

“There’s a lot of talk about building the world’s largest solar power plant overseas instead of domestically.”

The suddenly increased number of nationalists were saying that it should be built domestically, either the same size or larger, but Bush wasn’t very interested in that.

“Then let’s say we’ll build one domestically around 2010.”

“Are you passing the buck to the next administration?”

“Of course. I have no intention of building one that size domestically. Frankly, where would we get the money to build one here? If we had it, I’d rather invest it elsewhere.”

They did have the money, technically. The problem was that most of the budget had already been allocated elsewhere. Only people in Congress who were more interested in honor than budget, or those who supported the ‘World’s Largest Solar Complex in the Country!’ protest, supported it. As expected of Congress, the federal government’s greatest enemy, they were negative about this slogan.

Decisively, since their leading president was negative about it, it was a near-impossible dream that a Saudi-level solar power plant would be built domestically while Bush was in power. Unless oil on Earth was suddenly cut in half.

“I see. I haven’t been paying much attention, but what’s my approval rating? Does it seem okay?”

Bush had started the era of low oil prices, but he was also the one who ended it. And an administration that spends its time in an oil-producing country during an era of low oil prices is not very welcome. This was something that no country or administration could avoid.

“It was touch and go. If low oil prices had continued a little longer, your approval rating would have plummeted.”

“Specifically?”

The Chief of Staff calculated in his head. Something didn’t seem right, so he rummaged through the documents before opening his mouth. This was evidence that his efficiency was gradually declining due to long hours of work. The Chief of Staff decided to take a 10-minute break after this was over.

“It’s been steadily declining, and it’s currently around 72%. If we had maintained low oil prices, it might have recorded an unprecedented low of below 50%.”

“Damn, that’s too high.”

“Only you would say that’s high, Mr. President. Usually, people try their best to get that high.”

“I just wanted it to drop to a reasonable level.”

“Then the public wouldn’t have accepted your recklessness so far. Frankly, how many things have been overlooked just because it’s ‘George W. Bush!’?”

That was true. Bush, at a loss for words, changed the subject.

“Frankly, I’d rather build more nuclear power plants than solar power plants.”

“Aren’t we already the world’s largest nuclear power country in name and reality? Including the reactor that will be completed this time, we’ll have exactly 100.”

“That’s not enough.”

“The stability is also insufficient.”

He was at a loss for words again. He had changed the subject for nothing. It was true that the stability was insufficient. There’s a saying that you shouldn’t be afraid of maggots and not make soy sauce [a proverb about not letting fear prevent progress], but if the maggots were the size of mountains, it would be scary. Radioactivity was like that. Once it was leaked, it couldn’t be reversed in a generation.

“Damn it. Then let’s just say that the solar power plant we’re going to build in 2010 will be built in space.”

He didn’t say it because he thought it would happen, but just said it. Of course, if he really said that, he could quell the complaints that were coming up now, but other complaints would arise. Besides, with the current technology, it was impossible no matter how much money he poured in.

“Maybe not in 2010, but wouldn’t it be possible in 2030 at least?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if that will be possible even in 2030. Frankly, I’d be lucky if the construction site wasn’t destroyed by space debris during construction.”

In this respect, this project was more difficult than a lunar base. Of course, that didn’t mean that trash didn’t fall on the moon, but it was still better than orbit.

“Come to think of it, my schedule for tomorrow is to visit NASA. Why don’t you just ask them directly?”