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Chapter 52: Dangerous Korea
Chapter 52: Dangerous Korea
Chapter 52: Dangerous Korea
He watched the android that he had made being completed.
Silicon skin slowly covered the body and high-resolution cameras were installed in the holes of the face.
This model was a simplified version of the technology applied to Arma’s sub-body, so that Boston Dynamics could use it.
It was inferior to Arma and even to the android employees, but it was hard to find any difference from a human at first glance.
But it seemed difficult to launch this android on the market.
“Some groups are strongly opposed, right?”
Arma showed him a video of the protesters and reported.
“As you can see, there is especially strong opposition from religious groups and civic organizations.”
The source of their opposition was an instinctive repulsion, a hatred.
They felt threatened by the fact that something that was not human entered and walked around in the human world.
In fact, there was no such problem with the previous humanoid robots.
No matter how well they jumped or tumbled, they couldn’t cross the line of being robots.
Now an artificial intelligence mounted on an android appeared, dancing and conversing without any hindrance.
Where is the place for humans then?
“And the unions are also opposed. They say that androids will take away jobs…”
“It’s a premature worry, but it has some merit.
The current production cost of Lucia is one billion won.
She can only be used for three hours at a time, so the claim that she will take away jobs is unrealistic at this point.
But there are several versions reserved for upgrades, so the situation will change in a few years.”
Actually, there was no such concern in Mega City.
Androids were only for hobby or assistance purposes, and they were regulated by law so that they would not invade human territory.
It was just that Korea had no relevant laws at all, so people were anxious.
“The National Assembly should solve that, but…”
“It looks difficult because the companies are fiercely opposed. President Jo Hyung-geun also seems to think this is risky.”
“I guess so. If Lucia is deployed, the whole country will turn upside down.”
On the internet and elsewhere, there was a lot of noise about deploying Lucia to the financial network and administrative network as soon as possible, but as always, it would end up as a storm in a teacup.
“There is no institution that wants to voluntarily reveal its flaws.”
“We are no different either.”
Yu Ji-ha was no different from them either.
He was just more determined to act because he came from the future.
He gave instructions to Arma.
“Tell BD to prepare for mass production. And don’t forget about Japan’s movements.”
The thing he was worried about regarding Japan’s situation was their espionage.
They could withstand the criticism and sanctions of the international community if they proceeded with nuclear development, but they didn’t want to do that unnecessarily.
In this case, he could suggest one scenario.
What if they pushed Korea to attempt nuclear development and took advantage of the gap when they were sanctioned by the international community to complete their own development?
Japan’s nuclear armament was estimated to be possible within a year at most, or six months at least.
If they had prepared in advance and quickly developed it while Korea was receiving all kinds of sanctions, they could minimize their diplomatic burden.
After all, weren’t China and Europe eager to impose sanctions on Korea?
If only the US turned a blind eye, Japan could try this method.
The possibility was low, but Arma had accurately predicted China’s kidnapping attempt.
She didn’t think that the activities of the Japanese lobbyists who were frantically lobbying in Washington were a coincidence.
Yu Ji-ha emphasized once more.
“Monitor everyone, whether they are presidents or congressmen.”
Yemen, where a civil war had been going on for 14 years.
A meaningful battle ended in the city of Aden in Yemen.
After a year of fighting, the Hadi government forces supported by Saudi Arabia won.
“God is great!”
“Look at that! The rebels are running away!”
Amidst the flames and smoke rising from various parts of the city, the Hadi government forces climbed onto the rooftops of buildings and cheered.
This victory was not because the government forces or the Saudi mercenaries fought well.
A weapon system brought from thousands of kilometers away had completely changed the situation.
It was a combat drone system produced by Silla High-Tech in Korea.
When Crown Prince Mohammed brought this drone, the Hadi government forces and Saudi mercenaries were not very interested.
“Another drone? The Houthis also use drones a lot.”
“Korean weapons are decent. But that doesn’t mean they can win this battle.”
“Why don’t you invest in us instead of wasting money on these toys?”
This evaluation was natural because weapon systems called drones were used routinely in today’s world.
Not only rebel groups but even terrorists fired missiles with drones.
But the drone that came from Korea was different.
Saudi transport planes flew over the city of Aden, which was occupied by the Houthi rebels, and spat out containers with parachutes one after another.
Anti-aircraft guns and others were mobilized to shoot them down, but most of them survived because it was night.
And when the containers opened, CDS-1, Combat Drone System, was activated.
This drone system was a surveillance drone with guns and grenades added and an algorithm applied.
The bulletproof performance was enhanced and the battery capacity was increased, so the operating time was longer.
If the Houthi rebels had heard even a little bit of evaluation about this drone, they would never have attempted a night attack.
But they didn’t know much about Korea, a faraway country in East Asia, and even less about drones.
And so began what would later be called the nightmare of May night, a massacre.
Hundreds of drones that popped out of the containers immediately entered the city and began to kill the Houthi rebels.
The Houthi rebels who first encountered them were startled and didn’t know what to do.
“Drones are shooting guns!”
“They’re just drones! Shoot them down!”
But these drones were different.
They tried to hide and cover themselves like humans and killed all the rebels.
The Houthi rebels had a lot of night vision devices, so they weren’t completely blind at night.
But they were no match for the drones that could see like daylight with all kinds of sensors.
Fighting broke out everywhere and the drones achieved an overwhelming combat ratio, killing the rebels.
And before dawn, the drones annoyingly protected each other and returned to their containers.
It was unbelievable for the rebels.
“What are those things? They’re not controlled by humans, are they?”
“Maybe if they go back to those boxes to charge…”
“They’ll come again tonight!”
The terrified Houthi rebels tried to pour short-range ballistic missiles into the containers during the day, but they were shot down by anti-aircraft missiles from Saudi mercenaries.
Even if they hit by chance, only the containers were damaged, and the drones inside were fine.
The containers themselves were made of black metal and had a structure to protect the drones inside.
And so every night, drones entered the city and fought fiercely with rebels.
The combat ratio at this time was an astonishing 30:1, which was hard to handle even with a large number of troops.
And soldiers get tired and scared easily, but machines don’t have that problem either.
There were not a few drones that broke down or were shot down, but every time that happened, mercenaries threw containers away and drove them crazy.
The frustrated Aden defense commander tried to launch a large-scale sweep during the day.
“We won’t lose to those machines in broad daylight! God will protect us!”
But that was a mistake.
The drones noticed their approach and hid in the surrounding terrain and launched a preemptive attack.
The rebels, who were suddenly caught in a fight, responded with rocket launchers and heavy weapons, but they didn’t see much effect.
The drones were small and fast, making them hard to hit.
Even when they sprayed bullets like fireworks, most of them were met with a bizarre bulletproof performance and counterattacked.
The Hadi government forces and Saudi mercenaries were not idle either.
After three weeks of fierce fighting, the Houthi rebels fled, leaving behind a huge number of casualties in the city.
Finally, after a year, the flag of the Hadi government was raised in Aden.
The crown prince Muhammad, who confirmed this record and video, was very satisfied and sent a message to the owner of Silla Group.
“My friend. The guys you sent did a splendid job. We have now occupied Aden and are moving on to Zinjibar.”
“We have poured more than 700 million dollars into Aden in the last year. But your drones took back Aden in just three weeks with only 5 million dollars.”
“Congratulations, Your Highness. I’m glad you’re satisfied.”
“We need more drones. I’ll send a private jet, can you supply them?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. The drone production facilities of Silla Hi-Tech are currently unable to spare any capacity for supplying the Korean army.”
“I just deposited 100 million dollars into Chairman Yu’s account. Leave the negotiation with the Korean government to me.”
“I’ll have them ready when the private jet arrives.”
However, the coalition forces supporting Saudi Arabia were shocked by the combat records.
Especially Kate, a war correspondent dispatched by CNN, fiercely criticized the drone system.
“There are no longer humans on this battlefield. There is only murder planned by machines. It has not been confirmed whether they killed civilians, but if they did, who would be responsible? The Hadi government forces? The Saudi mercenaries? Or the merchant of death in faraway Korea?”
“Artificial intelligence has now entered our daily lives and is performing wars. Maybe in 10 years there will be no humans on the battlefield. We can no longer ignore artificial intelligence. This is Kate, signing off.”
This statement caused quite a controversy in the United States.
?CNN must not like the Korean company that rejected the battery factory proposed by the Democrats.
?Isn’t calling him a merchant of death a bit too much? How much did that small company export?
?Hey, Kate was warning about the danger of drones controlled by artificial intelligence. It’s not such a petty emotion.
?According to the report, those drones are perfect for identifying targets and even learning tactics. They’re not ordinary drones.
?Is it wrong for machines to kill humans? Do you need to insert a human procedure to feel better?
?It’s not that simple. If machines kill humans, who is accountable?
?Has anyone ever been held accountable for the Yemeni civil war? The coalition’s goal is to end the civil war as soon as possible. To do that, the Saudi government supported Hadi with money and found a way to end the war efficiently.
?They’re just uncomfortable. They don’t have to go to the battlefield, so they’re just babbling about human dignity being killed by machines from their rooms.
?Think about it when those androids with artificial intelligence enter our lives. What if they threaten to shoot you if you don’t mow the lawn?
?I just thought of something. How about throwing those drones into DMV (US Vehicle Bureau)?
?Oh, are you finally killing those slowpokes at DMV who are slower than sloths?
?They’re doing it for you, you idiot.
As always, this kind of debate quickly fizzled out.
Instead, more countries became interested in the combat drone system.
No country wanted to save money and in that respect this drone system was optimal.
It couldn’t completely replace humans but it often surpassed them in some missions.
Thus, drone exports increased day by day.
Along with that, Yu Ji-ha’s nickname became the merchant of death that Kate had given him.
He didn’t seem to care about that nickname.
…
In early summer of 2027.
Korea unveiled a new platform equipped with a railgun.
It was presented as a destroyer with a displacement of 10,000 tons, but overseas analysts estimated it to be 15,000 tons, assuming it was downsized.
So far, there was not much to say, but the problem was the propulsion system.
It was equipped with a new ion thruster developed by Starfield.
Surprisingly, the four gas turbines were directly connected to the generator.
This meant that the ion thruster could handle such a huge vessel by itself.
The main armament was the railguns mounted on the bow and stern, and there was not a single vertical launch system.
In other words, this new platform was a combat ship built for railguns only.
A finely crafted CG video uploaded to the Korean Navy’s YouTube account drew tremendous popularity.
However, some countries, especially the United States, doubted the specs of this platform.
?How can four gas turbines power two railguns? That’s impossible.
?With 100,000 horsepower to load the whole ship and run the radar, the power going to the railguns would be less than 60%.
?Reducing the range of the railguns would be foolish.
There was something.
To solve the mystery, the US Defense Intelligence Agency stepped in and the results were reported to the White House.
“Korea’s new combat ship has two railguns? How did that happen?”
“The output from the four COGAG gas turbines is about 100,000 horsepower, which is not enough to handle two railguns. But when we put together what the Korean Navy said, it’s hard to believe they reduced the range.”
“···Korea didn’t give us everything about their railgun.”
“Yes. And we have intelligence that the generator capacity used in Korea’s railgun test was pathetic. They deliberately hid it.”
“···”
Humphrey, the national security adviser, bowed his head in advance to prepare for the scream.
But President McKinley turned his chair silently and looked out the window.
“National security adviser, it seems like Korea is getting out of our hands.”
“That’s especially true lately.”
They supplied ion thrusters to Russia and announced their own moon development plan···
Of course they didn’t have to get permission from us, but they could at least notify us.
President McKinley had recently met with lobbyists recommended by the Republican Party and talked to them.
Their statements were unanimous.
“Korea’s military expansion is eye-popping. From railgun propulsion combat ships to black metal battery submarines···”
“They even say they’re mounting ion thrusters on hypersonic anti-ship missiles. It would be expensive, but the range would be tremendous.”
“What about EU sanctions? The stock market crashed when they announced their research results on solar fusion and went back to before subprime. There’s no law that says their blade won’t point to other countries.”
They all said Korea was too dangerous.
And Japanese bureaucrats also said the same thing.
Japan had been focusing all its attention on Korea’s defense enhancement lately.
Railguns, ion thrusters, drones···it was suffocating.
The only thing Japan could get was black metal batteries, and even that was limited to electric cars.
They succeeded in launching a terra projectile with a robot and brought back unobtainium, but that was just a return for transferring technology from JAXA.
The next projectile didn’t have Japan’s robot and there was no promise when they could get in.
Meanwhile, Japan was shocked when Android Lucia was announced.
The shock was incomparable to what the United States, Russia, Germany and others had received.
Japan was the dominant country of humanoid robots except for Boston Dynamics and they had no intention of giving up their position to Korea.
But the android that Silla Group came up with instantly relegated Japan’s level to toy level.
Especially Japanese otakus were greatly disappointed that Lucia Premium was not released.
?Why are we left out when Germany is scheduled to release it after the US and even Russia is on the list?
?Yu Ji-ha must hate Japan for sure.
?What did we do···
?They invited them to negotiate and left them in a warehouse office. You didn’t forget that already?
?That’s what Toyota and Panasonic did. It has nothing to do with us.
?There are also posts on Korean internet that Lucia scanned this side of web and confirmed an enormous amount of anti-Korean materials.
?What about those horrible anti-Korean books on online bookstores? You’ll get hated for sure if you do that.
?There are books like that in Korea too. Zainichi.
This kind of stupid claim was not taken seriously as it was from the far-right.
However, even if the atmosphere was not like this in Japan, there were many opinions that they should talk.
?Why can’t we get along with Korea? We don’t have to be confrontational.
?Just take Dokdo and Yu Ji-ha will be finished? Please stop the far-right delusions.
?Let’s just admit Dokdo as Korea’s territory and establish a friendly relationship. Silla Group’s position will change if we become allies.
But in Japan, this opinion was a minority.
Most of the middle-aged and older generations over 50 regarded Korea as a younger brother.
That was the fact.
In the 70s and 80s, when Japan achieved rapid growth, Korea was nothing but a developing country.
They learned a lot of technology from Japan through partnerships and most of the image that Japanese have of Korea stems from here.
?Korea? They’re just leeches. Japan feeds Korea by letting them suck. They should be grateful for that.
Even recently, this perception didn’t change much.
Rather, some argued that Korea should be taught a lesson for being wicked.
?Silla Group’s business is ultimately a black metal one-trick. If we block black metal, we can block everything from railguns to ion thrusters, unobtainium and nuclear fusion.
?The monopoly mining rights will end in a year and a half. During the negotiation period, if we move the pro-Japanese lawmakers in Korea, a very headache situation will arise.
?We can mobilize the escort fleet and secure only the deposits near Takeshima. Yu Ji-ha will have no choice but to surrender.
?They have too many enemies with 1.6 billion turned against them and the US’s attitude is not good lately. Silla Group has nowhere to give black metal.
?Are you guys stupid? There’s plenty of black metal in Russia and India. You’re just getting hated for nothing.
?Shut up Zainichi.
Many people in Japan thought they should talk to Silla Group anyway. They couldn’t stay like this.
So in early June, Ozawa, the Japanese prime minister, visited Korea.
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