Dictator From Outer Space

The Naro Space Center was bustling with people on a late May day. 

They were installing engines and various measurement devices to test the thrust of the newly developed ion propulsion system.

Since it was not a proper combustion test, the media showed little interest in it. 

In fact, many regarded Starfield Corporation as a personal hobby project supported by the government.

Despite acquiring facilities and hiring staff, it looked modest compared to advanced countries like the United States and Japan.

There were also doubts about the new engine with a completely different concept.

One rocket engineer chuckled when he heard the media report comparing it to an ion engine.

—Hey, do you know what an ion engine is? Even journalists like you and me could produce thrust similar to an average ion engine by just farting.

—So, are you saying that ion engines are useless?

—In the atmosphere, yes. Ion engines have weak thrust, but they excel in space. They can provide propulsion for several years with just a small amount of propellant.

—Is Starfield developing an ion engine?

—Well, the ion engine itself doesn’t run for free. It requires electrical power. Normally, you would choose between solar panels, a nuclear reactor, or atomic batteries, but in Korea, we only have solar panels. But did anyone hear that Starfield developed solar panels?

—It seems unlikely…

—Isn’t it just a hobby project for the chaebol? At best, they can only launch small satellites. I don’t know why the government gave them the Naro Space Center.

His statement revealed the skeptical view of the domestic academic community.

Although he had shown talent in various fields when he was young, he never pursued a formal doctoral program. 

Some criticized him for not attending seminars and declining invitations, saying he was a quack.

There were also many complaints about his secrecy regarding drone algorithms.

An algorithm expert shared his thoughts with the media during an interview:

“Starfield’s dictator is too secretive. He should share his knowledge with others. I wanted to research black metal, but he wouldn’t cooperate.”

Today, scientific and technological advancements require extensive cross-validation of data through papers, seminars, and more. 

Do you think it’s all about having some kind of black metal factor or something by sheer luck? Absolutely not. 

Nothing can be achieved alone.

It was a provocation to draw him into the academic community, but Starfield did not respond.

He was busy observing the testing of the new ion propulsion system.

To be precise, he was observing the results, which were rather dismal as the thrust had been significantly reduced.

After all the preparations were done, androids disguised as humans emerged from the combustion testing room.

Soon, the countdown began.

[Activate electromagnetic coil, inject ion tubes.]

[Ignite the engine.]

In an instant, a dazzling golden light poured out from the black nozzle.

Unlike conventional rockets that use liquid fuel and oxidizers, there was almost no noise or vibration.

After one minute, the test was over, and Arma held up a tablet to report.

“The thrust is approximately 40 tons. That’s the limit we can achieve.”

“Isn’t 40 tons too small? Wasn’t the American Saturn V rocket around 3,400 tons?”

“If we cluster them, it’s enough to put satellites into low orbit.”

“We can’t go to the Moon right away. Once we finish with low orbit, we should prepare for the next version that can be launched immediately.”

“And what about the requests from the media and the government to continue observing? What should we do?”

“Just send out a simple press release. It’s similar to an ion engine, but it’s not the same. Just mention that we’ll soon begin combustion testing.”

“Understood.”

Starfield distributed press releases to various media outlets. 

However, during the process of publishing it in a Japanese version, there was a mistranslation.

The ion propulsion system was translated as an ion engine.

Thanks to the mistranslation, Japanese netizens became furious and curious about Korea.

—Ion engine? It reminds me of Hayabusa.

—There were rumors that JAXA transferred the technology. It’s confirmed now.

—They shamelessly use Japan’s technology.

—Escaping Earth’s gravity with an ion engine is impossible anyway. Isn’t it just a rich person’s hobby?

—For a hobby, it’s quite ambitious. They even acquired a launch site, and it’s quite substantial.

—I hope they’re not aiming for a lunar landing.

—With the scale of Starfield, they can’t even properly make a single probe.

—nyway, since they have no interest in space, they’ll soon lose interest and give up.

Such perspectives were held not only by the Japanese but also by many others.

Today, venturing into space is a battle of money and time.

Depending on how much money and time you invest, experience and technology accumulate, becoming valuable foundations.

In that regard, Starfield had only been established for a few months, and they were severely lacking in personnel and funds.

Even Blue Origin, which sells space tourism packages in low orbit, would look like a dinosaur compared to Starfield.

Many people had such doubts, but Starfield focused solely on research, blocking most of the communication.

Trucks carrying various equipment rushed into the Naro Space Center.

As June arrived, significant changes occurred in Northeast Asia.

The chaos in China not only failed to be contained but also spread further, resulting in a sharp decline in logistics.

The protests that started in Beijing showed signs of spreading to nearby cities like Tianjin.

It was unclear who was fighting against whom, and everything was in complete chaos.

As China plunged into severe turmoil, Korea suffered a significant blow.

The logistics volume plummeted, resulting in a substantial suspension of raw material imports.

Chinese ingredients vanished from supermarkets, and travel was completely halted.

Interactions between the two countries were worse than the previous Korean sanctions.

However, Korea’s major exports such as semiconductors, manufacturing equipment, displays, and petrochemical products did not drop much.

As some Chinese companies stopped their exports, Korean products sold like hotcakes.

Nevertheless, this was only a depletion of inventory, and the prevailing assessment was that if Korea could not import from China, its export volume would soon nosedive.

While Korea was groaning from the side effects, North Korea suffered a devastating blow.

North Korea was already in a state of freefall in all aspects after the COVID-19 pandemic.

With its trade with China cut off entirely due to the current situation, the price of rice skyrocketed threefold within a few days, and rumors spread that the core class in Pyongyang was restless.

Various political and security-related columns speculated that North Korea might provoke a conflict.

When internal affairs are chaotic, it is common to seek out external enemies.

Thanks to this, the border areas such as the DMZ and Yeonpyeong Island were on high alert, but recently, things were slightly better.

This was partly due to the official introduction of the drone system developed by Silla Hi-Tech and the steady distribution of new body armor plates.

Of course, these things did not directly prevent North Korea’s provocations, but they had great value in protecting the lives of soldiers to some extent.

The main contributor who helped these soldiers was pursuing a new business venture after signing an agreement with the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

It was a project to pilot 100 Windrunners within the city of Seoul.

After successfully debuting in K-City, the autonomous driving algorithm of the Windrunner was ready for a new challenge.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government showed great enthusiasm, actively supporting the project and allowing it to serve passengers in various locations.

Passengers who wanted to use the Windrunner taxi could download and install the dedicated app from the Silla Auto website and make a call.

Despite minimal promotion, this pilot project generated a lot of buzz.

It was the first vehicle model to simultaneously incorporate Silla Auto’s algorithm and black metal batteries.

Being able to personally experience a car that was previously only heard of in rumors naturally made it very popular.

The number of app downloads exceeded 500,000 within a few days, and the Silla Auto website was flooded with questions asking why the service was only available in Seoul.

—Busan: “What about Busan? Do we not matter to Seoul? How about running 100 units for just one month without accidents and granting Level 5 autonomous driving?”

—Silla Auto: “Well, Silla Auto is based in the Seoul capital area, so it’s only natural.”

—They said on their website that they would start with Seoul and expand nationwide.

—How do we hail the Windrunner? Is it like calling a regular taxi?

—Everything is explained in the app. Just press the call button and wait for your ride. The estimated wait time is also displayed.

—But it’s so popular that even if you press the call button, the wait time seems to be very long.

—How’s the driving performance? Does it feel human-like?

—I’ve actually ridden in one before, and the autonomous driving feels incredibly human-like. If these are deployed as taxis, all taxi drivers will be out of work for sure.

—But what about other services like Tada or Uber? They will be wiped out, won’t they?

—Since it’s still a pilot project, we’ll have to wait and see.

As time passed, the moment finally arrived when 100 Windrunners were deployed on the roads of Seoul.

The first passenger to ride was President Lee Hyun-sung.

He exchanged greetings with Yu Ji-ha and got into the car.

“I heard the secretaries were raving about it. Let’s give it a try.”

“You won’t be disappointed.”

The route took them around the National Museum of Korea and back to the front of the Blue House (the presidential residence).

When Yu Ji-ha entered the route into the system, President Lee Hyun-sung was inwardly amazed.

“Is it possible to have such smooth driving?”

“Of course. It can handle fuel-efficient driving or even slightly sportier driving if instructed. It slows down in front of cameras, though.”

“Haha, I hope it doesn’t do that if possible…”

“For now, we’ve only implemented the functionality.”

“We’re ready to depart.”

As the Windrunner started, the vehicles carrying the secretaries followed closely behind.

At several intersections, the Windrunner showcased driving skills almost indistinguishable from a human.

President Lee Hyun-sung was surprised when he saw the emergency lights turn on, even though he hadn’t touched anything.

“Is it because the road is Narrower due to construction?”

“Yes. Isn’t this a common courtesy? Although fewer people do it these days.”

“Hehe, that’s true.”

An algorithm more human than humans—it was an unprecedented phenomenon.

When the vehicle came to a stop at an intersection, President Lee Hyun-sung brought up the main topic.

“Vice Chairman Yu, are you interested in NCC subsidiaries?”

“So, we’re finally entering the stage of selling them.”

“As you know, anti-China sentiment… It’s hard to attract customers to the NCC Electronics flagship store these days.”

Until now, the NCC Group had imported various electronic products produced in China and sold them domestically.

The once formidable position of Korean white goods, known as the “iron fortress,” had partially crumbled due to the incredible cost-effectiveness of Chinese products.

However, the China scandals changed everything.

Starting from Li Wei to Representative Lee Hong-sik, the extreme ugliness of pro-China sentiment had greatly increased.

Although many pro-China lawmakers were caught up in unfortunate accidents, anti-China sentiment remained unchanged.

As a result, the funeral that was supposed to be held for the chairman of the society was changed to a family ceremony.

Unable to withstand the overwhelming anti-China public opinion pouring in from all directions, it was doubtful whether NCC, a Chinese company, could survive.

With a rapid decline in sales, most stores were left empty of customers.

Under normal circumstances, they would have persisted until conditions improved, considering the money invested and all.

However, the situation changed when Zhang Jiaojun, who was the real driving force, passed away and their home country was on the brink of civil war. 

They urgently began the process of selling the company.

“Well, except for the Leo factory, there isn’t much…”

“I thought you would say that. In fact, when it comes to Leo electric cars, there is no other company besides the Silla Group that can acquire them.”

The Future Automobile Group had failed to secure Black Metal batteries, so they had no chance to jump in.

They were in a hurry to sell on the market, but there were no bidders?

Naturally, the price dropped.

However, they had no intention of retaining Leo employees.

“We’ll wait. If it’s urgent, we’ll lay off the employees and only provide the facilities.”

“Do you have plans to hire new Korean employees?”

“We often hear rumors that your side has a messy attendance record. Our work assignment system is somewhat unique, so we don’t think they would adapt well.”

“I’ve heard rumors that work instructions are given every 10 minutes.”

“Instead, there’s no overtime and you can leave early.”

“I envy that. Our secretaries would love that.”

Actually, these were topics that the secretaries, not the president, should bring up.

But President Lee Hyun-sung seemed to enjoy the conversation with Yu Ji-ha.

He looked at the passing streets of Seoul and said.

“I heard that the attack submarine deal is almost done, judging by the internal atmosphere. I heard that the Australian Navy said it was perfect except for the displacement.”

“The Barracuda-class was originally a nuclear-powered submarine, so it must have been hard to adjust the ROC.”

“Anyway, I always get help from Vice Chairman Yu. The drone system reduced the fatigue of the GOP soldiers greatly. And what about the body armor plates?”

“I just found a way to help the country.”

It would be his property soon anyway.

President Lee Hyun-sung misunderstood that and nodded his head in admiration.

The drive was over and the secretaries opened the door of the Windrunner.

“This is so comfortable that I thought there was a skilled driver. Isn’t level 4 good enough for this?”

“Level 4 is not a technical problem but a political problem…”

Who would be responsible if there was an accident? That was still an unresolved issue.

“Just test it nationwide for now. Then we can discuss level 4 certification.”

“Understood.”

After that, he met many people, including Seoul Mayor Lee Min-ho, who accompanied Yu Ji-ha.

Of course, the Windrunner autonomous car was also open to the citizens and received rave reviews.

―Wow, this feels like a seasoned driver.

―I broke my savings account, so hurry up and come out!

—Future Automobile really went downhill. 

—They don’t have Black Metal batteries, and their autonomous driving technology is mediocre.

—But Silla Auto seems too small and might struggle to keep up with the demand?

—The Leo electric car was put up for sale recently. 

—They could acquire that.

—Both the Black Metal batteries and the drones… it seems like it’s a different era where only Yu Ji-ha thrives.

—Did you guys hear about that strange subsidiary under the Silla Group?

—Is it the metaverse thing? They imported essential computing servers from abroad, but I don’t know what they’re planning to do with them.

—And the space-related company, Starfield, finished its combustion test. I wish they would show us what kind of engine they have.

—They’ve become a complete joke now. Do you think they can escape the atmosphere with an ion engine?

—They didn’t say ion engine, did they? They said ion propulsion system, right?

—Aren’t they the same thing anyway?

—Read the press release properly. It says it’s a different engine with a similar principle.

—Well, they can do whatever they want. It’s not like our tax money is going into it. We can just watch with popcorn in hand.

—We’re lagging behind in the space industry, while Japan is preparing for a moon landing…

—If Japan lands, it’ll be the second time, right? They’ll probably stick a flag next to the US flag.

—It’s unbelievable.

-–When will we ever land on the moon…

—It’s easier to give up.

…