SEC Chapter 215 The Real-World Echoes of the New Era: Marching Towards the Stars and the Sea!
Chapter 215 The Real-World Echoes of the New Era: Marching Towards the Stars and the Sea!
Time flies, and summer has quietly arrived.
The incessant chirping of cicadas in the sycamore trees lining the streets during the height of summer, and the sweltering heat sweeping through every city in the summer kingdom.
But even hotter than the weather, and more nerve-wracking for millions of families, is the annual college entrance examination results release and college application process.
Countless high school seniors who have just finished twelve years of hard study are now facing a crossroads that will determine the future of their lives.
Admission brochures from various universities are flying all over the country like snowflakes, and parents are turning the thick college application guides up and down until the edges are worn out.
In this information-saturated era, the annual college application trends are often the most direct barometer of current social hotspots and industry trends.
In previous years, computer science, finance, clinical medicine, and artificial intelligence were undoubtedly the most popular and sought-after majors for high-scoring students who were eager to get in.
However, this year, the situation has taken an extremely strange yet exciting turn.
The scene of a college application consultation meeting at No. 1 Middle School in Jinghai City.
Crowds thronged the recruitment booths of various universities, with anxious parents and students crowding around.
Lin Xiao, an on-location reporter from the education channel of Xia Guo Youth Daily, is leading a cameraman through the crowd to conduct the annual live street interview on "College Entrance Examination Candidates' Aspirations".
Lin Xiao, holding a microphone with the station's logo, stopped a boy who looked refined and wore black-rimmed glasses.
"Hello, student, I'm a reporter from the Youth Daily. May I ask how many points you got on the exam this year? Have you decided on your preferred major and university yet?" Lin Xiao asked with a professional smile.
The boy then replied, "Hello, reporter. I scored 678 in the science exam this year. I've already filled out my first choice: Aerospace Propulsion Engineering at Beihang University. If I don't get into that program, my second choice is Aerospace Engineering at Harbin Institute of Technology."
Lin Xiao was slightly taken aback.
A score of 678 is definitely among the top scores in the province.
Logically, students with such scores would mostly choose to attend the top finance departments or the most popular computer science and technology programs at prestigious universities, and after graduation, they would directly enter large companies or investment banks, earning enviable high salaries.
"That's an amazing score!"
Lin Xiao pressed on with some curiosity, "But classmate, aircraft propulsion engineering and aerospace engineering are traditional, hard-core engineering majors. The learning process is very arduous, and the future work environment may be relatively remote. Why did you give up those seemingly more 'glamorous' or 'quicker to cash out' popular majors and choose aerospace engineering instead? Is it because you have an elder in your family who works in a related field?"
The boy shook his head, a slightly childish yet incredibly sincere smile suddenly appearing on his lips: "No one in my family does this. I chose this major because of a man and a TV series."
"A TV series?"
Lin Xiao was even more confused.
The boy looked directly into the camera and said, word by word, "Because of Ultraman Dyna, because of Shin Asuka."
Upon hearing this answer, not only Lin Xiao, but even the cameraman carrying the equipment behind her trembled slightly.
"Nobunaga's Ark?"
Although Lin Xiao had heard of Ultraman, which had recently become a hit, she couldn't connect a tokusatsu drama with the rigorous process of college application. "Could you elaborate?"
The boy's eyes instantly brightened, as if sparkling with light: "Reporter, did you watch the finale of 'Ultraman Dyna'? When that giant planet Gransphia descended upon the solar system, humanity didn't give up. What impressed me most wasn't Dyna's miraculous light, but the power of humanity itself!"
"The Super GUTS Kurak Call, it's a real mobile space fortress! And that Neomagus Cannon, which embodies the pinnacle of human technology! The moment Captain Hibiki gave the order to fire, I got goosebumps all over! Later, Asuka turned into light and disappeared into the black hole to explore the deeper universe."
The boy took a deep breath, his tone becoming extremely serious: "Daigo Tiga said that things that humanity can solve ourselves should be solved by humanity itself. Dyna's theme is 'The New Era.' I don't want to spend my days sitting in an office building coding on a computer screen or trading numbers in the financial markets. I want to build real spaceships, to build our own 'Victory Eagle' and 'Kurak Call'! Only through continuous advancements in human space technology can we soar towards tomorrow, reach the stars, and catch up with the birds in flight!"
These words were spoken with such force that they completely stunned Lin Xiao.
Before Lin Xiao could react, a girl with a high ponytail and a thick stack of admission brochures approached and said to the camera, "Reporter, me too! I scored 655 points this year, and I applied to Nanjing University's astronomy program!"
"Are you also watching Ultraman Dyna?" Lin Xiao asked instinctively.
The girl nodded vigorously, her eyes even slightly reddening: "Yes! I will never forget what Shin Asuka's father, Shin Kazuma, said to young Asuka under the starry sky: 'Why did the first humans climb mountains? Because it was an unknown world. Why do we go to space? Because we are human!'"
The girl's voice was clear and crisp, yet it carried an unwavering stubbornness: "In this day and age, everyone is looking down at their phones, pursuing immediate gains, and few people are willing to look up at the stars anymore. This drama has rekindled my curiosity about the stars. I want to study those stars, I want to see if there really are giants of light protecting us in the deepest part of the universe."
As the interview progressed, Lin Xiao was shocked to discover that this was definitely not an isolated case!
During her one-hour street interviews, she encountered at least ten recent graduates who clearly stated that they would choose aerospace, astronomy, aircraft design, or related majors as their first choice.
When asked why, the words they used most frequently were "Dyna," "New Territory Era," "Super Victory Team," and "Flying Towards Tomorrow."
At this moment, the live stream chat room of the Youth Daily was completely flooded with comments.
Netizens watched as these students, their faces brimming with youth and dreams, furiously typed away on their keyboards.
[Holy crap! This is so exciting! It got this 30-year-old office worker's blood pumping!]
Because we are human! Therefore, we must explore the unknown! These kids are amazing!
[Gu Laozei is amazing! A tokusatsu drama actually boosted the application rate for aerospace engineering this year?!]
[I'm moved to tears. Who would have thought that Ultraman would plant a seed of yearning for the stars and the sea in the hearts of this generation of young people!]
[I'm not saying anything more, I'm going to rewatch the Dyna finale right now! So I can keep flying through space!]
This is true cultural export! This is a true positive role model! Xin Feiniao is not dead; he lives on in the college application forms filled out by these high school graduates!
As a current aerospace engineering student, I must warn my juniors: Aerospace engineering is incredibly tough! Advanced mathematics, fluid mechanics, and theoretical mechanics can drive you crazy! It's definitely not something you can solve by simply shouting "Dyna!" But… if you truly love it, if you truly want to pursue that light, you're welcome to join us! The real-life Super Victory Team needs you!
This surge in applications for professional programs, sparked by a single entertainment work, quickly attracted significant attention from major educational institutions and the media.
Inside the headquarters office of "Navigator Education," the most famous college application guidance institution in China.
Teacher Zhang, a top-notch college application expert, was looking at the big data monitoring report on college application intentions from all provinces across the country on the computer screen in front of him. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were filled with disbelief.
"That's strange..."
Teacher Zhang tapped her fingers lightly on the table, then turned to her assistant, "Xiao Liu, have you checked this data? There shouldn't be any bugs, right?"
Assistant Liu adjusted his glasses and answered with absolute certainty, "Professor Zhang, I've checked it three times; the data is completely accurate and valid. This year, nationwide, inquiries and application rates for 'niche but hardcore engineering' fields such as aerospace engineering, aircraft design and engineering, detection guidance and control technology, and astronomy have surged by nearly 300% compared to the same period last year!"
"Not only that, but the estimated admission scores for these majors at various universities have also increased by ten or twenty points compared to previous years!"
"Especially at the 'Seven Sons of National Defense' universities like Beihang University, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Northwestern Polytechnical University, the competition for aerospace-related majors this year is almost comparable to that of the top-tier computer science experimental classes!"
Teacher Zhang took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair: "Why is this happening? Has the country recently introduced any major space incentive policies? Or is there some groundbreaking space breakthrough news that I missed?"
Xiao Liu's expression turned a little strange. He hesitated for a moment, then opened his phone, pulled up a video, and handed it to Teacher Zhang: "Teacher Zhang, it's not like that. Actually... it's because of a TV series called 'Ultraman Dyna'."
"Ultraman? That monster-fighting show?"
Teacher Zhang frowned even more deeply. As an expert in the traditional education industry, he did not have a deep understanding of this subculture.
"Please take a look at this clip first."
Xiao Liu pressed the play button.
On the screen, the final battle was playing, showing Captain Hibiki ordering the launch of the Neomagus Cannon, and Shin Asuka transforming into light in the depths of space as he plunged into a black hole for the future of humanity.
Accompanied by the poignant variation of the background music "I Just Want to Protect You," there's also Daigo's line to Asuka in the Martian Ecological Park: "What humans can solve themselves, humans must solve themselves."
Teacher Zhang watched the short clip quietly. Her initially dismissive gaze gradually turned serious, and finally transformed into a deep sense of awe.
As an experienced educator, he keenly grasped the profound spiritual core behind this video.
"I see……"
Teacher Zhang sighed deeply and handed the phone back to Xiao Liu. "I take back what I just said. This is indeed an extremely profound and romantic hard science fiction epic."
Teacher Zhang stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked out at the bustling metropolis with its towering buildings.
"Xiao Liu, do you know? Since the end of the Cold War and the conclusion of that crazy space race, the pace of humankind's foray into space has actually slowed down significantly. Everyone feels that exploring outer space is too expensive and the return cycle is too long. We've put more of our energy and capital into industries that can generate quick profits, such as the internet, finance, and real estate."
"The college entrance exam takers of the past ten years or so have been too pragmatic. When filling out their college applications, they look at which majors lead to good job prospects, which majors offer high starting salaries, and which majors allow them to buy a house in a big city. This is understandable; it's a survival instinct."
Teacher Zhang turned around, a strange light flashing in his eyes: "But what makes humans human is that we can't just keep our heads down picking up sixpence; someone has to look up at the moon! This Ultraman Dyna, with its so-called 'New Era' setting, is telling today's young people not to let the reality before them completely extinguish their fighting spirit."
"The sacrifice of the character Shin Asuka is not merely to defeat a fictional monster in a script; he is more like a spiritual totem! He rekindled a burning fire called 'exploring the unknown,' which had long been extinguished by reality, in the hearts of some young people today! This is the highest social value of cultural and entertainment works!"
……
With widespread media coverage and expert analysis, the hashtag "Dyna sparks a surge in aerospace major applications" has soared to the top of trending topics on major social media platforms with unstoppable momentum.
On Zhihu, a well-known in-depth knowledge exchange community, a related question garnered tens of millions of views and tens of thousands of lengthy and professional answers in just a few hours.
[Hot Topic Discussion: How should we view the phenomenon this year in college application season, where a large number of high-scoring graduating students, influenced by the tokusatsu drama "Ultraman Dyna," abandoned popular, high-paying majors and flocked to aerospace and astronomy? Is this a blind, immature trend-following behavior, or an awakening of the youth of the new era?]
Below this question, respondents from various fields expressed their opinions, resulting in a very high number of replies and an exceptionally lively and in-depth discussion.
[Top-rated answer 1 / Answerer: Stargazer (Postdoctoral Fellow in Sociology, Science Fiction Columnist)]
[Number of upvotes: 25+]
Thank you.
I'm in the lab, and I just finished reading this year's application data analysis report. I'm deeply shocked.
First, let's get straight to the conclusion: this is absolutely not a blind, immature trend-following fad; it is an extremely successful intellectual enlightenment and romantic revival triggered by top-tier cultural works.
Everyone needs to understand a macro-level context.
In today's society, pragmatism reigns supreme.
We're used to measuring everything in terms of return on investment, including dreams. Is aerospace engineering a tough major?
It's too tough. Many professionals spend more than half a year in the Gobi Desert or at launch sites in Northwest China, working silently and earning far less than half the salary of those in the financial sector.
Before Dyna, if you asked a high school student why they wanted to build a rocket, they might have thought the question was vague.
However, director Gu Nan has extremely keenly grasped the instinctive desire deep within the human heart for "evolution" and the "unknown".
He used the shell of a giant of light to package an extremely grand and hardcore core of space exploration.
The Super GUTS team in the show isn't just for show!
Xing Xingtian, Zhong Dao, Xin Shouya, Kawa Mai...
Each of them is using human technology, using tangible weapons like the Kurak Call, to fight against Sfia.
Shinichi's line was simply a stroke of genius.
It perfectly explains human motivation.
When Shin Asuka plunged into the black hole, he was not just Ultraman; he represented humanity's extreme desire to expand outwards.
Today's children aren't stupid; they know that space travel is tough. But they also know that if humanity forever remains confined to Earth, forever indulging in the virtual world and the mundane realities of daily life, it's tantamount to a slow death.
Dyna gave them a concrete goal—to go into the sea of stars and usher in a new era! This is the awakening of human civilization's instincts!
[Top-rated answer 2 / Answerer: Test-taker (Senior student in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at a 985 university)]
[Number of upvotes: 18+]
Seeing so many junior students applying to our major because of Asuka, as a seasoned student, I have mixed feelings.
I was half excited and half worried.
What's exciting is that our profession, which has always been known as a "clean and unproductive department," is finally receiving a fresh and passionate infusion of blood! We desperately need people like this who have pure dreams.
My concern is that I have to pour cold water on everyone's enthusiasm and pull them back to reality from the filter of tokusatsu dramas.
Dear juniors! Building a spaceship isn't something you can do just by shouting "The real battle has only just begun!"
What you are about to face are advanced mathematics, complex analysis, theoretical mechanics, mechanics of materials, and aerodynamics—subjects that will make your hair fall out!
Your daily routine isn't about wielding a flash sword and transforming, but about running tens of thousands of lines of simulation code in front of a computer and pulling all-nighters in a wind tunnel lab!
There's no Ultraman to bail us out in real life. If you're just acting impulsively, I advise you to think carefully.
But! If you are prepared to suffer, if even when you are being tormented to the point of death by fluid mechanics, you can still look up at the stars in the middle of the night and remember the bird's words, "I am who I am."
Well then, welcome to the real-life New Territory Era.
One day, the spaceship we build will replace Dyna and protect our Earth.
[Top-rated answer 3 / Answerer: I just want to protect you (Senior tokusatsu fan, ordinary office worker)]
[Number of upvotes: 15+]
This is purely an emotional statement; I don't understand any profound principles.
When I saw this news, I admit that my eyes welled up with tears.
In the finale, Miyako cried in the command room, saying that Asuka was a liar.
Captain Hibiki said, "The bird is still flying. Let's go catch up with him."
I was thinking, "Super Victory Team has the Kurak call sign to chase them. What about in the real world?"
Now I see the answer.
In the real world, there is no Kurak call sign.
However, we have this group of high school graduates who have just come of age! They are using their youth and future to fill out application forms for aerospace engineering majors!
They are the real-world Super Victory Team!
They are using their own methods, dedicating their entire lives to building our own spaceship.
Perhaps when they get old, we will actually be able to build a warship that can fly out of the solar system.
At that time, if we encounter that red, blue, and silver light in the depths of the universe, we can proudly say to it:
"Bird, we've caught up with you. Humanity hasn't stopped."