Chapter 187: The Eve of the Storm
As of 2046, the 12 megacities of the United Human Federation and numerous space command centers and resource plants were operating in a very stable state.
However, this stability was under the control of Lucia, a strong artificial intelligence.
If she were gone, they would have no choice but to return to the previous system.
Yujin’s dilemma was also here.
He had to go to the prophet’s homeland, and Lucia wanted to accompany him.
The pillar that supported the entire network of the United Human Federation would disappear.
There was no way to solve this smoothly at present.
Lucia was the only one, and no alternative artificial intelligence had been developed.
It was impossible to analyze the black box, so it could not be copied, and it was impossible to divide the computing unit.
If Knox’s warp gate closed, the network would be cut off, so he had to choose one of two: either go with him or stay in the solar system.
And Lucia finally chose to go with Yujin.
She said it was natural to be with her master.
He was grateful, but it was a very headache situation for Yujin.
The cause of this was that he rushed too much for war preparations.
He started his actions as soon as he arrived in 2025 and created a situation where he could expect a considerable chance of winning by 2046.
If he entered a full-scale war with Plague in his current state, his chances were more than half, and that would increase as the year went by.
It was a good thing that he achieved such results in 20 years, but human artificial intelligence technology did not mature as much.
Lucia could make things by extracting various designs from the blueprints stored in the Settler, but artificial intelligence was difficult.
This was confirmed by the Codex.
“According to Article 5 of the Artificial Intelligence Codex, it is impossible to create an artificial intelligence equal to me.”
To modify the Codex, he had to open and analyze the black box, but no one could do that.
Therefore, if she left, there would be a big obstacle in controlling the United Human Federation.
“Even if we develop and deploy a similar algorithm as much as possible, there will be a lot of gaps.”
“Then humans have to take care of it.”
In the end, it meant that they had to go back to the previous system.
Yujin did not want to force his system to continue either.
Dictatorship was more inefficient than he thought, and without strong artificial intelligence, even the advantages that existed disappeared.
So it was best to improve the system while he and Lucia were there.
So that humans no longer depend on dictatorship.
“Of course, if we win the war with Plague. But we have to prepare in advance.”
Speaking of his chances, Lucia analyzed that if they entered a full-scale war with Plague right now, it would be about 60%.
“Of course, this is based on the assumption that Plague is the same size as before and appears as before.”
The situation changed, so Plague would not be the same size as before either.
But the United Human Federation could not afford any more speed.
In reality, where about 75% of all resources were invested in the Integrated Space Force, they did not dare to do anything more.
The reason why Yujin tolerated some impure movements of some members was because their actions had no meaning.
What if they colluded with external forces in advance?
When the war with Plague begins, everything outside of Megacity will turn into a wasteland.
It means that they are not interested even though countless mock battles are taking place within the Integrated Space Force and reports are coming up to Congress.
Their eyes were focused on fruits whose existence was questionable after the war.
“Let them be for now. They’re going to clean up everything before I leave anyway. Dreaming is not a sin. That’s that. Is the alarm system installed?”
“Yes. We launched satellites with gravity wave radars at 200 locations in the solar system. We can tell right away if Plague’s army appears.”
“We just have to keep making battleships now and pilot training is a problem.”
He hurried as much as possible, but he couldn’t pull it any further.
A pilot who also served as a psychic was not something that could be produced like a battleship.
They selected pilot candidates, implanted ether circuits and seeds, and trained hard, but that was not enough.
So Lucia started producing pilots using biobags.
It was planned from the beginning, but he had to wait until genetic engineering matured enough.
Yujin looked at the screen Lucia sent him.
Naked humans were sleeping in biobag capsules.
“If we keep the concentration of culture fluid at this level, we can produce 25 people every three months.”
They were truly Yujin’s real children.
Unlike pilots who received some genes, they were produced entirely using Yujin’s genes.
They were all male, and their specs for combat were better than the current pilots, but their abilities as psychics, such as responsiveness, were a bit lacking.
Now they will wake up and learn only the minimum knowledge and then be thrown into the battlefield.
Their personality and emotions were faint, and they would blindly follow the instructions of their superiors.
They were close to humans, but they had no free will, so they were not real humans.
“I’m sorry…”
Human production was the method Yujin hated the most, but he couldn’t afford to be picky in a situation where pilot training was falling behind.
“They will be put in the President’s direct Legion Strike Fleet.”
“I understand.”
The Legion Strike Fleet was different from other fleets that received orders from the Integrated Space Force, and was completely controlled by Lucia.
It was the largest in scale and could be said to be the core force of the Integrated Space Force.
Even though a huge budget was invested, most of it was hidden in the fog, such as personnel and organization, and it was also the part that the members of the Supreme Council were most angry about.
The purpose of that fleet was one.
If Plague Queen and Nest appear in the solar system, they will immediately go out and finish it.
However, it was still in formation, so it was difficult to move.
In this way, the United Human Federation was doing its best for the war with Plague.
And Yujin was at the forefront of it.
He had a so-called rank on his uniform.
***
“Hey, nemesis.”
Lieutenant Rogers, who returned to the fleet, raised his hand and greeted Yujin.
Sonya looked at them in turn and asked.
“Have you met before?”
“Exactly, I had something with his father. I was mobilized to the strike package during the Pacific War.”
Lieutenant Rogers was a former US Air Force pilot and started his service as a lieutenant in the Integrated Space Force after recognizing his rank.
Yujin knew that because he had heard it beforehand.
“Isn’t the expression nemesis a bit too much? That’s only possible when a battle is established.”
At his provocative tone, Lieutenant Rogers slapped his forehead.
“I got hit. Yeah. Our pilots also said it was crazy at the time. What can we do to the devil’s machine army controlled by artificial intelligence?”
“Are you still holding a grudge?”
When Yujin asked, he chuckled.
“What grudge? I’m not so bad that I would hold a grudge against my son. And I forgot everything when I entered Megacity. Your father was probably the only one who favored the veterans of the enemy country.”
He didn’t seem to have much bad feelings.
He approached Yujin and tried to put his arm on his shoulder, but failed and smiled awkwardly.
“Your shoulders are too high for a shorty like me. Anyway, welcome to Alpha Squadron. How about going to an android bar for a drink as a welcome party? You brought your android, right?”
“I’ve been with her since I was young, so I couldn’t leave her.”
“Kuh, that’s because you were born with a black metal spoon. I heard that our emperor is building a palace these days, have you been there?”
“I’m not on good terms with him…”
“Oh, there was such a problem. Well, it’s common in novels that the founding monarch and his descendants don’t get along. More importantly, there’s a good android bar at the Mars base…”
“Why do you like androids so much?”
Sonya’s sharp question hit the two men.
Lieutenant Rogers looked at her and slowly squinted his eyes.
“You know it all.”
“I don’t know. Is there a reason to like something that’s not human?”
“What don’t you know? It’s because they’re not human. Isn’t that right?”
“They don’t say no very often.”
“That’s right. We’re going to be a pretty good squadron, buddy.”
The two men hit their fists together as Sonya frowned and retorted.
“That’s why you can’t get married because you’re into those androids.”
“Who gets married these days? If you don’t like it, get out.”
“Who said I’m going?”
“See? Lieutenant Yujin? We have one nag in our squadron, so you better know in advance.”
“I’ve experienced it a while ago.”
“Is that so? These days women are very bold.”
Sonya’s eyebrows were about to rise again when a man walked up.
“Sir, it’s time.”
He was a man with a rather strong impression, tall and wearing glasses.
Lieutenant Rogers introduced him.
“Oh, I was going to take the test. By the way, this is Ivan Nased. His original name is long, but you can just call him Nased.”
Yujin knew who he was.
He was one of the psychics who received Fatima’s genetic seed.
His ability as a psychic was outstanding rather than as a pilot, and he gave the squadron a special ability.
“Nice to meet you, lieutenant.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, lieutenant. We’re in the same squadron now, so let’s do well.”
Despite his strong impression, he seemed to have a very relaxed personality.
Lieutenant Rogers clapped his hands.
“Well then, Alpha Squadron is all here. Shall we go see the pretty lady now?”
“She’s not a lady, she’s a machine.”
Sonya picked on him, but he ignored her with Yujin and Nased on his side.
“It’s been a principle to call ships or planes feminine since ancient times.”
“They’re not ships or planes, they’re assault armors.”
“Anyway, we ride them, right? Then they’re feminine.”
“…”
It was a low-quality joke that made him speechless in an instant.
Nased glanced back and Yujin shrugged.
This atmosphere wasn’t bad either, but it didn’t seem to last long.
***
Assault armors were officially deployed in the 2nd Mobile Fleet.
The pilots controlled the machines for the first time under the control of the headquarters and got fairly positive results.
They didn’t have Honeybird wing packs installed, but there was no difficulty in moving the assault armors.
The officers on the main bridge were busy reporting and recording the movements of the assault armors ejected from the hangar.
“Lock bolt released. Ejection ready.”
“Ejecting.”
Alpha Squadron also joined the test.
It wasn’t anything great, just a simple maneuver test around the Los Angeles ship that was stationary in Mars orbit.
Squadron leader Lieutenant Rogers went out first and led his squad members.
“This is Alpha One to each unit. Just follow me like ducklings, got it?”
“Roger that.”
The officers on the bridge watched Alpha Four, Lieutenant Yujin.
The pilots didn’t know it, but his synchronization rate easily surpassed the previous record.
An operator shook his head and said.
“Synchronization rate 93%… I can’t believe it.”
“What was the highest before? 80% of the 1st Fleet? He easily broke through that.”
“The movement of the assault armor is so smooth as if it were floating. Maybe this is what happens when you exceed 90%.”
The personnel on the bridge were all busy observing Alpha Squadron’s movements.
The other machines were affected by the powerful psych field emanating from Alpha Four.
By now, the other squad members must have been very confused that their machines were not moving as they wanted.
‘It’s like scuba diving in a current.’
He tried to resist by putting strength into his body, but the more he did, the more pressure he felt and it was harder.
It was easier to go where the current led.
If it was a dangerous seabed, it would be a different story, but now she was safely flying in space.
He seemed to be flying slowly, but he was actually much faster than the other squadrons.
‘Is this… his skill?’
How could a man who could influence other machines with such a powerful psych field be?
He didn’t seem to get tired and led the whole squadron throughout the training.
When they finally returned to the hangar, all the squad members were speechless.
Lieutenant Rogers put his hand on his shoulder.
“You seem to be hiding a lot of things.”
“I guess it’s because I was born with a black metal spoon.”
“Well, that might be true. Anyway, it was an unpleasant but pleasant experience.”
He wouldn’t have liked the fact that his machine moved according to someone else’s will.
But he must have thought that it could save his life.
It’s not so bad to be next to a skilled person in wartime.
There’s no reason why the US military has a saying that if you’re next to a tough guy, you’ll die quickly, but this is the Integrated Space Force.
Nased also seemed to look at Yujin with new eyes.
Sonya didn’t say anything with a dumbfounded face.
In the subsequent training evaluation, Yujin’s synchronization rate and psych field were rated as the second strongest after President Yu Ji-ha.
As this became known, the way people looked at Yujin in the 2nd Mobile Fleet changed.
He was no longer a 22-year-old black metal spoon parachute, but a skilled person who surpassed other pilots.
He didn’t know how he would do in combat, but it was a fact that his ability as a psychic was incomparable to other pilots.
The training with the assault armors continued and the skill of Alpha Squadron, where Yujin was, kept rising.
They achieved overwhelming results in combat training using dummy rounds against other squadrons.
Squadron leader Lieutenant Rogers calmly said in the evaluation that it was the result of following Yujin’s orders.
“I think it would be better if he was the squadron leader. Everything from position selection to evasive maneuvers was perfect during training.”
It showed how much difference there was in skill that he gave up his pride and said that.
They were the only ones who succeeded in the combat training where they had to fend off multiple squadrons disguised as Plague attacks.
While other squad members were shot down by the barrage of 20 assault armors, he alone showed a different dimension of evasion and swept them all away.
It was so unbelievable that the other squad members who played the role of Plague asked what kind of monster he was.
“Did he have eyes on his back? It was really ridiculous.”
“I felt like he noticed me before I attacked… but I’m not sure if it was an illusion.”
The command of the mobile fleet decided that it was meaningless to keep him in the rank of lieutenant and recommended him for promotion to captain.
This happened less than three months after he became a lieutenant.
It would have been impossible in a normal army, but it was possible in the Integrated Space Force, which prioritized skill.
At this point, he could have become arrogant, but he still treated Lieutenant Rogers as his squadron leader and got along well with Nased.
He also generously shared his know-how with others.
“The important thing is the position of the machine. If we have enemies and allied ships here, we have to keep moving to find the optimal position.”
“Our main mission is to deliver reactive bullets, right? But we can’t just rush blindly. It’s impossible to peel off Plague’s front line with just our machine’s firepower. Coordination with allied ships is more important than anything else.”
“So you always have to check the data that the combat officers send you. Their position detection is 0.05 seconds faster than the gravity radar.”
Lieutenant Rogers asked incredulously.
“Isn’t 0.05 seconds almost no difference?”
“You’ll feel it’s a huge difference when you enter real combat.”
“You talk like you’ve been through it?”
“It’s all in the manual.”
It sounded like a lame excuse, but his advice was effective.
Sonya also followed his advice and felt her combat training score skyrocketed.
‘Is he really a rookie? Did he train somewhere else?’
He was President Yu Ji-ha’s son, so maybe that was possible.
He inherited excellent genes and probably had his own machine since he was young, so maybe he could have this level of skill if he trained from then on.
But she confirmed that President Yu Ji-ha’s personal machine had been stored in Ark, the artifact analysis institute of the Integrated Space Force.
“It’s been in Ark since the reorganization of the Integrated Space Force?”
“That’s already 10 years ago. I’ve looked at it a lot. The parts I didn’t understand were mostly there.”
The person who said that was Senior Researcher Hwang Sun-young.
She was a founding member of Ark and an authority on ether research who no one could follow.
The modern improvement of assault armors was thanks to her.
She asked casually.
“So how was he?”
“…I don’t know yet.”
“Haven’t you been together for a few months? You should have built a Great Wall with your young blood?”
“What’s a Great Wall?”
“This is what they call a generation gap. I’m so sad, sister.”
There was bound to be a difference in knowledge between Megacity generation and previous generation.
Sonya found Hwang Sun-young annoying for calling herself sister when she was old enough to be her mother, but she decided to let it go.
She looked like that when they stood together anyway.
Anyway, it was certain that Yu Ji-ha’s personal machine had been in Ark for 10 years and he didn’t have any other machines.
“Then where did he learn how to control them?”
It was really strange.
Now she felt more curious than hostile towards Yujin.
There was no point in having a one-sided hostility because there was too much difference in skill.
She learned a lot from him, so it was also ridiculous to deliberately distance herself from him.
But she still couldn’t get rid of that attitude, so she often had the situation where her body was far away but her head was leaning towards him during tactical meetings.
Lieutenant Rogers chuckled at that.
“Your body is honest even if you say you don’t like it.”
He didn’t know what he was talking about.
For a while, peaceful days continued, but they didn’t last long.
In 2047, the alarm system installed by the United Human Federation throughout the solar system went off.
“Ether storm detected, Plague attack alert.”
Countless spots of light appeared on the gravity radar of the Integrated Space Force.
It was incomparable to the previous ones.
Yujin realized that the day had finally come when he heard the alarm.
‘The ones who caused the Night of Sorrow are here.’
In 2103, humanity lost 500 million people to their attacks.
But it would be different now.
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