Chapter 158: Who Wants to Board the Space Battleship?
As France and the United Human Federation reconciled, the EU summit and the executive committee were in a dilemma.
Germany was already intoxicated by the sweet honey from the United Human Federation, and France also smelled the honey.
The EU did not dissolve immediately, but it was clear that the French people’s view of the EU had become cold and fearful.
They thought there was no benefit to staying in the EU anymore.
—What can the EU do for us? Nothing. They just take a huge amount of money from us every year and nag us.
—It was awesome how those Belgians closed the border in this crisis. I wish they would shut their big mouths.
It became an issue belatedly that Belgium had deployed troops to the border near Paris and blocked it.
They made an excuse that it was for population control, but the French people felt betrayed as if they had been hit in the back of the head.
—In the end, the EU was not one in a national crisis. The most important thing is our country.
It was a natural behavior in these days when nationalism was rampant, but the French people never imagined that Belgium would do that.
They realized too late that the fence called the EU was actually hollow.
What about the United Human Federation?
They mobilized Earth Fleet to kill the most important space monster, and they did not make any demands afterwards.
They only conveyed their wish to be friendly.
The French people were deeply impressed by Yu Ji-ha’s gentle attitude.
And so, the two countries became close as if they had never fought or slandered each other.
The sanctions were lifted sequentially, and the introduction of nuclear fusion plants, mass drivers, and hyperloop trains were seriously discussed.
They could not confirm it because they had to hold a general election, but both countries’ officials diagnosed that there would be no big problem after the summit.
But the summit was postponed a little.
Yu Ji-ha was a very busy person, and he took a vacation for a while because he had a son.
“I can’t rush him when he has a son.”
“Well, at least we have a branch office in Mega City. Let’s go there.”
The Mega City branch office was a place where they screened applicants for residency.
They were scattered all over the world, regardless of race, gender, or age, as long as they met certain criteria.
Originally, they registered through the internet website or app, but the branch office was introduced because the accessibility was not good.
As a result, the number of people who obtained Mega City residency increased significantly.
Some people were worried about the brain drain, as many of them were young talents that anyone would covet, such as scientists or engineers.
But the argument that they could not break the mood that had finally formed with the United Human Federation prevailed, so it did not surface.
Anyway, the Mega City Paris branch office attracted a lot of attention from the citizens.
It was not only a function of screening and notifying the hopefuls, but also a function of promoting the technology of the United Human Federation, so it was quite large.
The Paris city authorities gave them a whole building, and thanks to that, they were able to play a role similar to a promotional hall.
The citizens who came to see the branch office could not help but be dazzled.
“This is the Settler, a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle that can go to the moon without any fuel tank.”
“The United Human Federation is not only planning to enter Mars, but also has a problem with the moon base. We only have one satellite.”
“Wait a minute, were all the women in this building androids?”
France, which had been favored by the United Human Federation-led ecosystem, felt like an alien civilization.
The Parisians who came to see realized how stagnant they had been.
They also felt relieved that they could improve their relationship belatedly.
The young man Fabian, who was 23 years old, was no exception.
He was from the countryside and came to Paris, but he was wandering without finding a job.
The United Human Federation was a strange place for him, and Mega City was even more unfamiliar.
But he felt that he had to do something and was led to a counselor.
“Hi.”
“Hello? Please sit here.”
A woman, no, an android who guided him with fluent French and a slight smile.
Fabian did not find anything awkward in her smile on her face.
Is she actually human?
“My name is Lucia. I have a model name, but you can just call me Lucia. What is your name?”
“Fabian, Fabian is fine.”
“Okay… You seem to have a reason for coming here. Are you interested in Mega City?”
“Yes…”
“But I’m worried that I might not qualify and I’m curious about what kind of place it is, so I think I should consult with you, right?”
Does this android have psychological counseling function as well?
Fabian nodded his head without thinking and Lucia glanced at the completed document.
“Aha… That’s why you’re worried. Unfortunately, you can’t get Mega City residency with this condition.”
“Yeah, I thought so.”
“But don’t worry. You have been given a special opportunity. You’re lucky, Fabian. This is something that was recently prepared.”
He perked up his ears with curiosity.
“A special opportunity?”
“Are you interested in spaceships?”
“Uh… I like Star Wars. And Star Trek.”
“What about space battleships? They’re not that big, but they’re about the size of an aircraft carrier. They carry many fighters and go into space to fight monsters.”
He sounded doubtful as his voice trailed off.
Lucia smiled and took his hand.
“Of course, ordinary people can’t fight those monsters. But we have a weapon. You can control that weapon, Fabian. If you undergo a special procedure.”
“What kind of procedure…”
“It’s not that complicated. You’ve heard of black metal and ether, right? It’s a way of giving you the ability to manipulate them a little.”
“Am I becoming a psychic?”
“You could say you’re a kind of artificial psychic. You won’t be able to unleash great power, though.”
There are many psychics in the world.
What Yu Ji-ha wanted was the top 1% of psychics who could provide seeds for the assault armor pilots.
The rest of the 99% were not useless.
They boarded the battleships and formed a fire net.
The plague was so fast and agile that there was a limit to aiming with computers.
But psychics with implanted ether circuits could sense the plague.
They formed a wide network and blocked the plague’s advance and sent data to the pilots.
This coordination between the battleships and the assault armor was essential for winning the battle.
If all the pilots were monsters like Yu Ji-ha, it wouldn’t be necessary, but he was the only one.
Anyway, Fabian was very interested in Lucia’s proposal.
“It sounds painful…”
“It’s not that painful. You’re just opening your eyes to a world you didn’t know before. You can also communicate with other psychics around you.”
“Communicate…”
As Fabian seemed to be swayed, Lucia listed the benefits that were offered.
“If you sign this document, you’ll get a round-trip ticket and accommodation for a month-long visit to Mega City, as well as living expenses. And if you serve on the space battleship for five years, you’ll get official permanent residency in the United Human Federation.”
“What about Mega City residency?”
“That’s automatic when you get permanent residency. You’ll get all kinds of benefits through CP, of course. Since you’re becoming a Mega City citizen in advance, you might be isolated or expelled if you run out of CP. Then you’ll have to say goodbye to the space battleship plan.”
Fabian had read countless stories of people who got into trouble or were kicked out of Mega City.
Fortunately, he was a gentle young man who wouldn’t do that.
“What about androids…”
“If you sign the service document and join Mega City, you’ll get an android assigned to you. You can choose the appearance and personality, or you can refuse if you don’t want one.”
“I want a model like Lucia, is that okay?”
“There are many Lucias like me there. They’re identical models.”
“So, the Lucia in front of me right now.”
Fabian pointed at the android and she smiled with her eyes narrowed.
“Oh, thank you. But I don’t know if that’s possible. Let me check with my superiors… Oh, they gave me permission. If you sign this document, I’m yours.”
He had to serve for five years and not do anything violent, but Fabian couldn’t resist.
He filled out the document and Lucia, who had been counseling him until then, got up and stood next to him.
A lovely woman with black hair, black eyes, and a stunning figure.
Although she was not human, she was the lover that Fabian had dreamed of.
The eyes of the people who were watching around them widened.
Is that even possible?
After that, the service application rate at the Mega City Paris branch office skyrocketed.
***
As of 2033, the US had detected two extraterrestrial bases of the United Human Federation: one on the moon and one on Mars.
The US accepted the moon base, but they couldn’t tolerate the much larger and unmanned Mars base, so they tried every means to dig up information.
But Mars was too far away and reconnaissance means were limited, so no reliable information came out.
At the end of last year, they sent a rover near the base and it broke down, so they had to ask the United Human Federation to fix it for them.
NASA hid this fact at the time and got audited by President Bernstein.
“It’s natural for robots to break down sometimes, but why did you hide it?”
“…The rover’s location was moved. The United Human Federation fixed it but moved it far away. It’s near Olympus Mons, our original target.”
“Did they know our plan from the start? Damn it, they probably know what color underwear I’m wearing today.”
The main weapons were large-caliber railguns and ion cannons, which were much more accurate than artificial intelligence aiming, as they could directly sense the presence of the plague.
Of course, this only applied to pilots other than Yu Ji-ha.
The reason he was treated as the hope of humanity was his record of breaking through the plague’s barrage and destroying the fleet in a short time, when the flagship was sunk.
He had shown such miracles from time to time, earning him the title of uber pilot, and no one had achieved similar results for nearly 40 years.
But despite such miraculous achievements, he couldn’t fight the war alone.
He felt it painfully in his last battle, and started training combat officers before the battle cruiser was launched.
A new announcement was posted on the United Human Federation’s talent recruitment site and branch offices.
“Unified Space Force Combat Officer Recruitment”
“We are looking for healthy candidates between 20 and 30 years old. Gender, nationality, education, etc. are irrelevant.”
“When you fill out the application form, you will have the opportunity to join Mega City and receive various benefits. Don’t miss this chance!”
“Applicants must undergo a special procedure and training and serve on a space battleship for five years. After completing your service, you will be given additional work opportunities and permanent residency in the United Human Federation.”
“United Human Federation President Yu Ji-ha”
This announcement caused a lot of controversy.
They had abolished conscription and disbanded the army a long time ago, and now they were recruiting troops again.
But that was something they could say because they didn’t know the mission of the combat officers.
Due to the nature of the battle in space, they had to receive training equivalent to or even higher than that of astronauts at Starfield.
Especially, they needed a procedure to implant ether circuits in their bodies.
Mithril itself was harmless to the body, but it could cause rejection reactions if they were old.
The trained combat officers were a kind of artificial psychics, but they couldn’t be called real psychics.
Anyway, this announcement was quite attractive for young people.
“Combat in space? I’ve never been abroad, let alone space. I don’t know if I can do it.”
“They say they’re combat officers, but it seems like all they do is operate weapons. The rest is done by computers.”
“Then why don’t we just leave the weapon operation to computers? Why do we need us?”
“Who knows what he’s thinking.”
Conversations like this took place everywhere, and young people of various nationalities knocked on the doors of the branch offices.
Yu Ji-ha also pushed for the enlistment of young former officers into the Unified Space Force.
Bae Seongmin, chief secretary, reported.
“They are registered as reservists on paper, so we can call them right away.”
“We can’t recruit them like that. We have to train them from scratch. Earth and space are completely different environments.”
It was a reasonable argument, but had the president ever been to space?
As far as Bae Seongmin knew, Yu Ji-ha had never been to the moon, let alone space.
There was a rumor that he had space phobia, but Bae Seongmin didn’t believe such nonsense.
“It would be helpful if you could tell me how they are different.”
“For details, refer to this document. The special note is that you have to undergo a procedure. It’s an Aether-related procedure that is harmless to your body but leaves a mark. Like this.”
On the laptop screen was a man with a silver pattern on his right chest.
“It looks like a tattoo, but what does it do…”
“It turns you into an artificial psychic. You can’t cause a sophisticated transform phenomenon, but you can feel ether.”
“Artificial psychic… It sounds like an amazing plan.”
“We will use them to fight in space. Only recruit those who have no objection to the tattoo procedure and going into space.”
“The tattoo looks cool in silver, so I think it’s fine. And there’s some honor in being a combat officer.”
“Even if it’s not honor, we’ll give them some extra benefits. Advertise that there’s something extra for the existing psychics. For example, citizenship is one of them.”
Citizenship was a different benefit from permanent residency.
“I understand.”
Bae Seongmin, the chief secretary, was gathering the necessary documents when he suddenly asked.
“What about the battleship? Are you going to modify the Earth Fleet?”
There were many guesses that it wouldn’t be a problem to go into space since they had submarines that could fly in the sky.
But he was wrong.
“The Earth Fleet is inefficient because it was made to operate within the atmosphere. There’s a real spaceship.”
“Oh, it’s going to be launched soon from Terra Island.”
“No. It’s being built at the Mars base. It’ll come to Earth when the engine and exterior work are done.”
“Mars, base?”
Bae Seongmin knew there was a base on Mars, but he didn’t know that a space battleship was being built there.
But he wasn’t disappointed.
There wouldn’t be many people who knew that.
The United Human Federation would be nothing without Yu Ji-ha and Lucia, and in the US, only the president and the core officials of NASA would know.
“Can I ask how big it is?”
“You know the American aircraft carrier? It’s just like that. It’s a bit longer and narrower.”
“So if you compare it to a ship, it’s 100,000 tons…”
“Probably around that.”
Bae Seongmin, who was immune to most things, stuck out his tongue.
Was he planning to wage a space war against the US?
Read latest chapters at f(r)eewebnov𝒆l Only