Chapter 117: Surround Korea
There was a time when the Artemis program was in full swing, when everyone was launching rockets into space and even planning to go to Mars.
That trend was led by an ambitious entrepreneur who had no problem executing his vision.
It was a time when reusable launch vehicles became common and moon base construction plans were discussed casually.
Some argued that the technology was not mature enough and demanded a cautious approach, but the entrepreneur showed his gambler’s spirit and succeeded in launching one spacecraft after another.
Thus, the Artemis program and the Mars colonization project proceeded almost simultaneously.
While NASA took charge of the former, the latter was entirely the entrepreneur’s hobby.
Mars was different from the moon in that it required a tremendous amount of time and investment to travel back and forth.
The orbital problem meant that one had to wait for the closest relative position between Earth and Mars, which occurred every 26 months.
That meant that using conventional fuel, one could only send a spacecraft to Mars every 26 months, and the same for returning.
The travel time was also an issue, as it took at least six months for a long journey.
A few people had to share a cramped spacecraft, which could easily cause mental problems.
Of course, that was part of the astronaut training, and the entrepreneur also completed a short course.
However, those in the space industry claimed that there were many problems with the Starship program as a whole.
—It takes at least six months to get to Mars, and the entire exploration plan will take at least two years to finish. You seem to want to be the first human to land on Mars, but what about your company during that period?
—The technology is not mature enough. The Starship launch vehicle looks good, but it has not been sufficiently verified. The orbital calculations for the moon and Mars are different in dimension.
But despite all these concerns, the Starship launch vehicle took off to Mars with the entrepreneur and eight astronauts.
It was a year before Yu Ji-ha crashed into the East Sea with Settler.
The original plan was to return by 2026, but the Starship launch vehicle failed to ignite for landing and fell down, completely destroyed.
Nine astronauts died, and the Mars manned landing project was scrapped.
The Artemis program also failed to progress properly due to various problems.
Many people questioned the idea of spending a lot of money to enter space when the economy was difficult.
By 2030, Korea was the only country that showed enthusiasm for space exploration.
Almost the whole world was looking at Korea’s mouth.
NASA, which had led humanity’s space science and technology, became a financier who invested money in Naro Space Company and Starfield.
The Democratic Party of the United States criticized this point, but their own measures were not much different.
—It’s good to reduce dependence. But how are you going to do that? It’s not written at all.
—It is important to increase the thrust of ion thrusters and the resolution of black metal decomposers. We know that too. But what about psychers?
—There are very few psychers registered in Korea. They seem to be hiding data.
Psychers could not be artificially cultivated.
It was natural since they did not even know what ether they used was.
Eventually time would solve it, but the United States was impatient.
At this rate, they would lose their leadership in space exploration and be dragged along.
They were flustered when Yu Ji-ha announced Mars exploration, development, and base construction.
—Why are you interested in Mars? Wouldn’t it be better to use black metal hulls for Venus exploration? It should withstand Venus’s atmosphere without any problem with its durability.
-If you want to follow that entrepreneur’s footsteps, I want to stop you. There is no economic value on Mars. If it’s purely for research purposes, let’s cooperate. We have a lot of data collected over time.
But Yu Ji-ha rejected the US proposal.
“The Mars base will be carried out with the power of United Human Federation. We will not accept any investment or disclose any information.”
The space industry officials were outraged by his uncooperative attitude.
—When you started the Moonlight project, you asked us for a lot of help. What happened?
—The situation has changed now. He made a lot of money and accumulated enough know-how. He doesn’t need to care about us anymore.
—Well, having money is never bad…
In fact, there was a good reason for him to proceed with Mars colonization independently.
He had a good reason to focus on Mars in the future.
Starting from the summer of 2031, more than 20 relics would arrive on Mars, which accounted for 50% of the relics that humanity secured.
Among them, there were some that could not be disclosed at all, so it was better to build a base and research them there.
Also, there was an important resource on Mars.
It was a metal named mithril by the former United Human Federation, also known as tin.
This silver metal was used to draw artificial ether circuits, so it was indispensable for future ether-related industries.
The reserves were also quite abundant, and the closest mining site was Mariner Valley on Mars.
It was expected that there would be a lot on the ninth planet, Nox, but that place was guarded by the Plague.
Did they resent humanity for being called by the Pioneers?
‘Nox…’
It was a place he had to go someday when Yu Ji-ha achieved his goal.
By then, he would have prepared a proper pioneer team.
The solar system would be peaceful, and the United Human Federation would have a proper government.
Taking the pioneer team to the home of the Pioneers.
That was Yu Ji-ha’s second goal.
‘I wonder if it will go well.’
Yu Ji-ha thought so and finished his announcement in front of the people with astonished eyes.
“I’m going to Mars.”
This crazy bastard wants to die there too.
That’s what people thought.
***
After the United Human Federation declared its entry into Mars, space-related organizations and officials unanimously opposed it.
What they were worried about was the United Human Federation’s exclusivity over Mars.
—Why are you suddenly doing this when you involved multiple countries in the Moonlight project?
—Mars is not owned by an individual or a specific country. It is a precious celestial body that humanity should cultivate and research together.
—The United Human Federation is not affiliated with the UN. But that doesn’t mean they can monopolize Mars.
—We may think that what we know about space is natural. But human space exploration is built on the blood and sweat of countless scientists and officials. I hope you appreciate that meaning.
A huge amount of criticism and requests poured out, but Yu Ji-ha didn’t budge.
“Don’t ask me to give you information, go to Mars yourself.”
When he said that, most of the officials shut their mouths.
There was nothing to say when he told them to do it themselves.
But going to Mars was also difficult.
Most of the space budget was frozen or reduced, and the slogan of building a base on Mars did not persuade politicians.
—Mars, very familiar, right? Good for you. But why do you have to build a base there? Is there anything worth eating?
—The moon has unobtanium and helium-3, so it has enough value to challenge. But not Mars. Don’t send me proposals to my office ever again.
Scientists always had to beg politicians for budget.
Even NASA in its heyday always had to sell itself to someone who could be a financier.
At this point, Yu Ji-ha was the only one who pushed ahead with space-related projects without thinking about money.
But he was actually secretive about it, so they had no choice but to explode with anger.
—Didn’t you dream of space when you read science books as a child? I heard you speculated on the orbital path of the ninth planet in your boyhood. I hope you haven’t forgotten that dream.
They even made remarks that touched his emotions, but Yu Ji-ha didn’t care at all.
That was the original Yu Ji-ha’s dream, not his own.
‘I’m interested in Nox, but.’
It was too far away to go right now, and there was no point in going there anyway.
The warp gate on Nox would open around 2130.
Considering that the timeline had been pulled forward, it could be calculated around 2090.
‘I don’t have much time.’
Yu Ji-ha held his chest with frustration and embarked on the Mars base plan with Arma.
He had to stay hidden until the moment the Plague invaded.
Fortunately, the Plague seemed to have no interest in anything outside of Earth.
It was something that was on Earth, but there was no information about its identity.
He had to meet the Plague again and ask them.
But it was doubtful if they would even talk to him.
Yu Ji-ha sat on a chair and watched Arma design the Mars base on the spot.
And in the EU and elsewhere, they proposed a space project that excluded Korea.
—We are also developing ion thrusters. They are not as good as traditional rockets yet, but we will be able to achieve efficiency soon.
—We can no longer tolerate Yu Ji-ha’s tyranny of monopolizing all information. We need to establish a global space exploration agency that excludes him and Korea.
They talked a lot, but the voices of France and Britain were especially loud.
The two countries, which were famous for tripping each other whenever they had a chance, were busy using the United States.
—If NASA steps up, we will fully cooperate and provide budget.
But the United States did not move right away.
They were making a lot of profit from the moon base, and they didn’t know what was on Mars either.
Also, they saw through that the establishment of a specialized agency that the EU was pushing for was impulsive and would not last long, as it came from resentment against Yu Ji-ha.
—If Yu Ji-ha just releases some information, the value of that agency will drop to zero.
—NASA is also hearing complaints about wasting budget. Do we need to spend more money to create a meaningless agency?
However, some argued that there was a need to stop Yu Ji-ha’s unilateral actions.
It was mostly said among Democratic senators who had confirmed their presidential candidacy.
They went back and forth between their offices and cafes in Washington, having deep discussions with bureaucrats from various countries.
They were trying to surround Korea and Yu Ji-ha.
***
In August 2030, the vacant Japanese prime minister was elected.
It was Matsuda, who had been the secretary-general of the New Japan Restoration Party. He was rumored to have been pushed out by the Japanese political circles.
—He caused all kinds of trouble and hid behind, but he couldn’t do that this time.
—How much did the United States pressure him to take office as prime minister? Look at his nervous expression.
His expression was honestly not good at the inauguration ceremony.
He stuttered even at the stage where he announced his ambitions and plans for the future.
But one sentence was clear.
“I will reclaim Tsushima and get an apology from Korea. That’s all.”
Unfortunately, Tsushima had been swallowed and digested by Korea long ago.
Maybe because it was an island where conflicts with Japan were reserved, there were few residents and only minimal administrative agencies and facilities for fishing and leisure were installed.
The rest were all military facilities, and the island was practically fortified.
The Japanese government kept highlighting this point to the international community, but they could not create the situation they wanted.
But recently, when Middle Kingdom (China) changed its name back to China, the atmosphere changed.
Wang Xian from Shangzhang said this to Yu Ji-ha who asked for an explanation.
“We can’t follow Korea anymore. That’s what it means.”
“Do you mean you don’t care if the battery factory in your country stops operating?”
“Do as you please.”
Korea received land in exchange for supplying black metal batteries to factories built by Middle Kingdom (China) in its territory.
Only a handful of people, including Wang Xian Shangzhang, knew about that agreement, but it became known to Middle Kingdom (China) recently and caused a big commotion.
They questioned Wang Xian’s qualification as a leader for losing land without expanding it.
That was why he couldn’t rise to the position of president.
That aside, what did he promise to the United States to do this?
He sprinkled microdrones over the White House and the reconstructed Zhongnanhai, but no useful information came out.
They seemed to be extremely careful about information leakage.
It was obvious that it was a cooperation of three countries against Korea.
Yu Ji-ha asked just in case.
“I assume you won’t ask me to return the land I gave you before.”
“China is big. I can accept that.”
“But you must have lost a lot by losing Xinjiang Uyghur and Tibet.”
When he scratched his nerves openly, Wang Xian from Shangjang was silent for a while.
Then he opened his mouth quietly.
“I know what you want. You want to provoke us into a war.”
“Did you hear it from the US?”
“Korean tank units entering Liaoning Province, helicopters invading our airspace, I have been patient until now, but I can’t tolerate it anymore.”
“So you want to solidify the border line at this point?”
“Let’s talk about that issue separately later. Don’t cross the Yalu River and the Tumen River again. We have our own plans.”
“What did the US promise you? We are willing to give you more than that.”
“Do you think I would believe that?”
Was it because of the stress he had received from home and abroad?
Wang Xian Shangjang’s voice began to crack.
“Didn’t I ask you to let me introduce one nuclear fusion plant? But what I got was a formal letter from the secretary’s office, not from the president.”
“That’s strange. I thought I told you to think carefully.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t I tell you to think and propose what you would give in return for introducing a nuclear fusion plant? Or did you think you would get it for free?”
“I will pay the order fee, of course.”
“That’s not the problem. I mean the cost of improving relations. Don’t you really know why EU, except Germany, is getting no benefits at all?”
In other words, he meant to prepare a generous pocket and poke him.
That was exactly what was causing Wang Xian Shangjang’s stress.
He couldn’t stand it and raised his voice on the phone.
“I invested 100 billion yuan in North Korea! I gave them Mount Baekdu and land! What more do you want?”
“My life value.”
“What?”
“It’s very cheap compared to what threatened my life.”
“So every time I introduce your technology, I have to pay a corresponding price?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Where do you find free things in this world?”
When he heard laughter from the other side of the phone, Wang Xian Shangjang bit his lips until they bled.
Yes, this was his fate after all.
The claim of some that they could get technology by getting along with Korea was nothing but a delusion.
They put price tags on every technology they maintained, and coldly refused if this side’s proposal did not meet the standard.
It was natural from a business perspective, but Wang Xian wanted more national cooperation.
Naturally, his voice became low.
“I understand your and Korea’s intentions well.”
“Don’t forget. It was you who tried to kill me.”
“It wasn’t me, it was the previous regime.”
“Do you think the actions of the previous regime are neatly discarded just because the leadership has changed? That’s a very convenient logic.”
“…”
Silence always follows when each other’s arguments are parallel.
Wang Xian Shangjang didn’t say anything for a long time and suddenly ended the call.
Yu Ji-ha called Arma in the presidential office.
“It seems like the siege network is being formed. What do you think will come next?”
「The military means will be left to China and Japan, and the US will impose economic sanctions.」
“Economic sanctions… They can’t use anything too great.”
The US was also in the ecosystem created by Yu Ji-ha in a broad sense.
But they could always create indirect sanctions.
For example, taking over the leadership of memory semiconductors produced by Hansung Group…
「In the early 20s, the US formed a semiconductor triangle alliance with Japan and Taiwan. They thought Korea was unstable.」
“They won’t use the same method as then.”
「They will do it in parallel. The US also directly protected TSMC in the Yang’an War. If they expand their supply chain and control the supply of semiconductor production equipment, Hansung Electronics will surely not be able to withstand it.」
Silla Group was too dominant, but Hansung Group was also a fairly large company ranked second in business circles.
Although they lost their foundry industry completely to the US and even lost their dominant position in memory, their sales were still considerable.
“Isn’t that too indirect? It seems like it will take years for the results to show up.”
「As you said, it is difficult for the US to completely break with Master. They need to proceed carefully.」
“Then let’s proceed with breaking their siege network completely.”
The semiconductors of this era were too slow and inefficient to be used at all.
He also had to continue the research on ether and black metal at the artifact analysis agency Ark, so the development of a new operation unit was essential.
“This should do it.”
He pulled out one of the blueprints from the DB of the Settler.
When this semiconductor enters the market, the existing infrastructure will fall into trash.
They couldn’t compete with it in terms of efficiency and power consumption.
Above all, this semiconductor was a shortcut to quantum computers.
He instructed Arma.
“Let’s start taking over the semiconductor market. Start building from the theoretical data.”
「Yes, I understand.」
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