[Chapter 488: A Harmonious Relationship]
A devastating earthquake claimed nearly 63 lives, but to the Soviets, it was hardly a big deal. The number of people buried in Chernobyl far exceeded that.
However, what made this situation peculiar was that a Soviet leader expressed concern over the losses in America. Generally speaking, the Soviets took pleasure in American disasters, often highlighting them in the last few minutes of the news.
Yet, this time was different. The Soviets were willing to offer assistance to America. Even though the support was minimal, the gesture was very clear.
Yes, the Soviets were trying to be friendly.
Since they had already reached an agreement with America, they needed to show good will. If they acted delightfully malicious as before, it would have been quite awkward, especially since the two superpowers were soon to meet. They couldn't afford to appear too overbearing.
The two leaders were being unusually harmonious, and honestly, it left quite a few people puzzled. Today's international relations were clearly black and white; one either sided with America or the Soviets. There were very few exceptions.
The international community highly regarded the Soviet actions.
More and more people recognized that the Soviets might genuinely be in trouble. The chaos in Eastern Europe was plain as day to anyone with eyes.
"Sir, do you think the Soviets really can't control the situation this time?" Tanner asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Sir, I think that Gorbachev, or whatever his name is, appears to be quite friendly towards America," he added.
William White was a bit taken aback; while he knew this guy had indeed shaken the Soviet foundation, he hadn't realized he was friendly with America.
"I suspect he won't be able to keep this up. His reform policies aren't gaining traction," Tanner continued.
"Reform? How can he do that? The elite won't give up their power, how can it possibly succeed?" came the retort.
...
Due to the sudden disaster, William White stayed on the island a few extra days, and when he finally returned to Los Angeles, it was already a week later.
The earthquake hadn't greatly impacted him; after all, it was hardly a magnitude seven quake. The construction at Bell Labs, however, faced some setbacks. Everyone was focused on disaster relief, so there were no expectations for construction.
William White found it strange that while his other buildings remained intact, the overpass had collapsed; that was quite baffling. Being in an earthquake-prone region, the buildings should have high seismic standards, so it was downright ridiculous for that bridge to fall.
During a disaster, typically schools and gymnasiums would serve as shelters, and they were supposed to withstand at least a seven-point quake, if not an eight.
As for overpasses, one could bet that more stringent regulations would emerge from this incident.
As they say, there's no need to wait until the sheep are gone to mend the pen. In America, this happens quite often. If someone were to lose their life because of this, there would certainly be plenty of new regulations. It was unfortunate that no one was held accountable for the poor quality of the overpass.
San Francisco suffered unfortunate losses; not only did 63 people die, but the economic damage exceeded 6 billion dollars. On the bright side, America still seemed to have decent public support; even its biggest enemy had intentions of reconciling.
...
The world wars, effectively, ceased to exist from that moment onward. At least, barring any extremely drastic events, it seemed unlikely that anything approaching a world war would occur again.
The Soviets had indeed softened.
Faced with the situation, the American public felt confused, or perhaps they simply couldn't adjust.
America at that time lacked confidence. After so many years without war, they couldn't claim to have a battle-ready military, let alone abundant supplies.
For many years, they had undoubtedly entered a race to the bottom with the Soviets. Fortunately, the decline had come from within; even without external interference, it would have been tough for them to recover.
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