Chapter 120: It’s Me, America?
The pressure from the United States became more blatant as the days went by.
Recently, Starfield received a notification from Intel that it was difficult to sell space semiconductors.
As a result, the Mars exploration project suffered a major setback.
What’s the use of making a good spaceship and calculating orbital mechanics?
They couldn’t even make the console system right away.
Space semiconductors are difficult to dissipate heat and have resistance to cosmic particles, so they are manufactured by adding special processes.
If you take an ordinary CPU, you never know when a soft error will pop up.
If there is even a slight error in the orbital calculation, the spacecraft may not enter the atmosphere and bounce off into space.
There are only a few countries that can add such processes, such as the United States and Russia.
The former has produced various processors based on its extensive space experience, while the latter was hard to trust.
Also, the spacecraft instruction set had a different structure, so they couldn’t easily replace the processor.
This measure extended to military CPUs, so that Kim Gu-class 2nd and 3rd ships had to stop their retrofitting.
The only good thing was that Korea’s aviation sector was developed in collaboration with Russia.
Several military aircraft, including the soon-to-be-released drone KF-31, were equipped with Russian processors, so they were relatively free in the current situation.
Each company and military headquarters immediately sent a letter of protest to the contracted company, but only excuses such as delays in raw material supply and shipping problems came back.
It was absurd that sand, which is the material of silicon semiconductors, was not supplied.
Not any sand can be used, but there was no difficulty until now.
As various pressures were applied in the semiconductor field, the Korean business community was quite nervous.
―The United States will not end it like this. They will continue to secretly strangle our necks.
―President Yu Ji-ha has many cards, but only those that he can’t use recklessly.
That was the biggest problem.
President Yu Ji-ha had a lot of cards to pressure the United States.
But he couldn’t confront the United States head-on unless it was China or Japan.
Maybe if one or more megacities were completed.
And since they started boycotting in the semiconductor field, they had to respond only to semiconductors in this area.
Expanding to other fields meant fighting openly.
It might be possible for China in the 2020s, but Korea did not have enough guts to fight against the United States at present.
Yu Ji-ha contacted President McKinley first via hotline for the first time.
After a brief greeting, a surprisingly sarcastic tone popped out.
“It must be this serious for President Yu to call me.”
“Let me put it briefly. Undo all measures.”
“I’m sorry, but this measure was not done by the White House. It’s something that companies do autonomously, so it’s not a boycott.”
“Are you joking with me right now?”
President McKinley frowned as he held the receiver.
No matter how his term was ending, he couldn’t talk to him like this.
But on the other hand, he was also pleased.
When did he ever see Yu Ji-ha flustered?
This was the power of America.
“By saying this much, it means that President Yu is also cornered. This is amazing.”
“Well, we’ll have to wait and see who’s cornered.”
“Haha… Are you going to announce a new semiconductor soon? Of course it’s impossible.”
He had received a report that Quantum Solutions had just launched and was moving busily, but President McKinley wanted to put more weight on bluffing.
That’s right.
It hadn’t been long since the sanctions started, so it was impossible to overcome this situation with some kind of semiconductor.
Even if they made something, they couldn’t compete in a fair fight.
US companies including TSMC have commercialized 1nm, and it was impossible for Korea to catch up with this in a short time.
First of all, it took hundreds of billions of dollars and several years of time to invest in equipment, and they blocked this side.
What about manpower?
The personnel leaked from Hanseong Foundry and Electronics were being used well by various US companies.
The only remaining manpower in the country was Jukjeong.
Considering all this, it was clear that President Yu Ji-ha had been caught in a tight spot this time.
Unless they wanted to start a war, it was impossible to escape from this net.
Of course, looking back at President Yu Ji-ha’s actions, he might have been able to pull off a miracle.
One of the intelligence agencies sent this report:
「Signs of diamond semiconductors detected.」
「Large amount of diamond samples confirmed to be sent from Russia’s Alrosa.」
「Hanseong Electronics found to be reviving 130nm semiconductor production equipment.」
「The pressure vessel being manufactured by Quantum Solutions is of very high quality and is only used by institutions that study celestial atmospheres.」
It was evident that Yu Ji-ha was preparing for a counterattack in various ways.
If that counterattack was effective, the answer would lie in the strong artificial intelligence Lucia.
The US government had recognized Lucia, but they had been skeptical about her being a strong artificial intelligence and being able to develop something separate from that.
In other words, they had bet on Yu Ji-ha exaggerating his achievements in artificial intelligence.
In fact, most of the things that Yu Ji-ha had revealed so far were related to black metal.
But diamond semiconductors had nothing to do with black metal.
If he had developed that too, they would have to admit that he was a strong artificial intelligence and rethink their strategy.
President McKinley wanted to persuade him and somehow bring him to the US side, but the Democrats might have a different opinion.
Yu Ji-ha lowered his voice.
“I’m telling you for sure, the US started it first.”
“That’s scary. Are you going to take any measures related to black metal?”
In that case, the US would immediately expand the scope of sanctions to other areas.
It was up to him to take his own measures out of anger, but it would only end up tying his own ankles.
But Yu Ji-ha’s answer was different.
“No. I’ll keep everything as it is. But the things that will come out in the semiconductor field will be a little different.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing how amazing they will be.”
“You won’t be able to say that anymore once the announcement starts. And the US semiconductor-related companies will no longer be under the control of the government.”
“…”
What did he prepare that made him so confident?
He ended the call with a regretful remark.
Yu Ji-ha’s last words lingered in his head.
―The US semiconductors will be destroyed soon. Taiwan too, of course. Don’t cling to me then. I warned you clearly.
It was a typical bluff, but it felt creepy coming from him.
President McKinley wanted to turn the tables soon, but unfortunately he was not on the scene.
The one leading the game was not the US government, but the Congress.
‘I wonder if I messed with him for nothing.’
He didn’t need to worry about it since his term was ending soon…
He looked around the Oval Office and packed his belongings.
***
At the end of 2030, the US Congress agreed to hold a presidential election with another candidate instead of Bryant who had died.
As a result, President McKinley’s term was extended a bit and he had to accept the Congress’s request not to do anything.
There was nothing more disgraceful than abusing executive orders when it wasn’t his original term anyway.
As the White House quieted down, voting began in some states.
The newly nominated candidate Edmund Baldwin was a black candidate who did not advocate for hardline policies.
That was why he lost in the primaries, but anyway he said he had a lot of cooperation with Yu Ji-ha.
“Most of the economic measures led by the US today are no different from war. Just because we don’t wage war doesn’t mean peace will come. Money is the most powerful weapon, and we must remember this deeply.”
His position was not mainstream even in the Democratic Party, so opinions were divided.
He could be seen as the most left-wing person that America could tolerate.
The Democratic Party originally wanted a different candidate, but they had no choice but to nominate Baldwin because the Republicans opposed everyone else.
They did not take any special measures against Yu Ji-ha, who supported him.
One of the candidates had died, but who would be suspected if he died too?
And Baldwin seemed to be a good match for him in terms of personality.
Of course, this was only until Yu Ji-ha stabbed him in the back, but that would not happen during his term.
And the election was over and he finally won.
Baldwin went straight to the White House after taking the oath.
It was customary for the US president to call the Anglo-Saxon-dominated allies first when he took office.
But he boldly broke the tradition by calling Korea first.
Britain would be unhappy, but Yu Ji-ha was more important to him.
“I asked the president personally and he said it was for the peace of humanity. We are on the same page on that. We have a lot to do in the future.”
“Shouldn’t the lifting of sanctions on Korea be the first thing?”
Naturally, Baldwin was the US president and it was hard for him to go against the tide.
“I’m sorry.”
“By the way, let me tell you. If you don’t lift the sanctions, we will also take corresponding measures.”
“Come on, don’t be too aggressive. I have my own position as well as the president. To coordinate that, I have to turn over some cards…”
“I can’t show you any of my cards.”
“Are they that great? You’re aiming for a reversal in one breath.”
“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”
“I’d love to lift them and push for a summit as soon as possible, but the opinion within the party is not like that. I’ll tell you that there will be no more boycotts for now.”
“You knocked him out and then say there will be no more punching? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Korea is surprisingly holding up well for being knocked out.”
“There’s nothing more to lose. Thanks to some country that took everything away.”
This is not easy.
The opponent was a fierce dog with a lot of poison and the Democratic Party was ready to whip him at any time.
Baldwin wanted a mediator, but the situation did not seem favorable.
The conversation ended without much benefit and he had to endure the criticism from the media that he broke the tradition of America.
The uncomfortable remark of Ballard, the British prime minister, was a bonus.
There was no significant change after he took office.
In fact, America’s strategy toward East Asia-Pacific was under the influence of various institutions and experts, so it was hard to change it right away.
If the president’s will was very strong, he could use his personnel power to change the strategy itself, but Baldwin wanted to proceed gradually.
The establishment of Silla Group’s US branch would be the start.
Meanwhile, China began to strengthen its quarantine of agricultural products exported to Korea.
Agricultural products below the standard were not sold and Korea’s basket price rose considerably.
They also banned food exports to North Korea on the pretext that their own crop situation was not good.
Thanks to this, Korea suddenly lacked tens of thousands of tons of food and had to urgently import rice from Vietnam.
While China was secretly strangling Korea’s neck like this, Japan declared a confrontation openly.
The new Matsuda prime minister declared nationalization of Dokdo and announced that he would revise Article 9 of the Constitution.
He also reorganized the Self-Defense Forces into a formal Japanese army and increased defense spending significantly.
This was what the Japanese right-wingers wanted, but there was one twist.
He decided to push for conscription because he judged that it would be difficult to reach the level that America wanted with the current conscription system.
The right-wingers who had been claiming that they should wage war with Korea and reclaim Dokdo suddenly changed their words.
-Suddenly conscription? It must be only for those in their 20s, right?
-What did this idiot Matsuda get from America?
-War is bad.
The anti-Korean protests that had been taking place all over Japan suddenly turned into anti-conscription protests.
Whether or not, Matsuda pushed through the conscription bill by pressuring parliament.
It would have been impossible in normal times, but the current Japanese government was under pressure to reclaim Dokdo at all costs.
They also had to cooperate with America in order not to be completely excluded from the black metal ecosystem.
Other countries were also researching black metal and psychers, but it was hard to catch up with America in this field.
Of course, Japan could not choose to normalize relations with Korea.
It was Korea who declared severance first. If they bowed their heads and went back now, what would Japan’s pride be?
However, the business community was creating a lot of anxiety that this would not work.
-Korea is starting to accelerate its research on other fields using unobtanium. Is Japan okay with not following this trend?
-Korea is also catching up in the fields of materials and industrial robots, which were Japan’s strengths. Especially, the walker robot is incomparable in versatility. If this continues, we will lose all our market share.
Especially, the fact that they were hit by Silla Group’s walker in the field of industrial robots, which they thought was Japan’s traditional territory, was huge.
The walker could replace most of the robots and it was easy to repair.
Unlike other robots that required employees from the headquarters, this one only needed to introduce a repair center and it could be repaired locally.
Of course, industrial robots were a very conservative field, so they did not change their suppliers easily.
It was also a big expense for the management to educate the employees on how to operate the robots every time they changed their suppliers.
So they usually kept the brand they introduced at first.
Nevertheless, it was undeniable that Silla Group’s walker was gaining popularity in the industrial robot market.
The fully unmanned smart factory also attracted a lot of attention and the Japanese business community was very nervous about it.
As Korea’s rise became more prominent, America’s semiconductor sanctions became a big issue.
No matter how much Yu Ji-ha said, he had to bow his head this time, some observers said.
Japan’s broadcast even said that they might be able to get Korea’s surrender if they did well.
“America will not end it like this. The newly inaugurated President Baldwin also said he would maintain the existing strategy, right? This is a huge blow for Korea.”
“To be honest, I don’t see a breakthrough. It’s too much to expect that Quantum Solution or whatever company will do something.”
“I hope Korea takes a more proactive attitude this time, but is it too much to ask?”
“They’ll regret it after they take a big hit. The opponent is America.”
“I can’t wait for that.”
And the new year came.
Quantum Solution’s smart factory, which set a record for the shortest completion time, began to operate fully.
The fusion reactor of Settlerho operated and grew the diamond seed in an instant.
It was still far from mass production, but there was no problem in producing samples.
And thus, the world’s first diamond semiconductor was handed over to Yu Ji-ha.
***
It was mid-January of 2031.
A press conference was held at the business center of Megacity South, which had started to be built in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula.
This was the headquarters of Quantum Solution, but there were only a few employees, and most of the work was done by artificial intelligence.
The smart factory next to the business center was unmanned and there was no one to be seen.
The reporters were surprised to see walkers instead of forklifts that were common in factories and warehouses.
“There’s no one to be found anywhere.”
“It must be very efficient, but how do people make a living?”
“I don’t want this to be the future that the president envisions.”
Soon after, President Yu Ji-ha came out with his chief of staff.
“From this moment on, the world’s semiconductor industry will change from the root. The existing silicon semiconductors will become obsolete and disappear. So will most of the semiconductor companies.”
Most of the semiconductor companies?
Does that mean the world’s leading companies like Apple, Intel, NVIDIA, AMD?
The reporters thought it was nonsense, but they decided to listen to the announcement for now.
They had been surprised enough so far, and it would be troublesome if they made a fuss at this point.
Only the sound of laptop keyboards clicked as Yu Ji-ha raised his voice.
“I’m going to introduce you to the semiconductor that will make it happen. It’s a diamond semiconductor made by Quantum Solution.”
“…”
The press room was filled with silence for a moment.
The reporters stared blankly at the president without even thinking of raising their hands.
There was also a reporter who asked when Quantum Solution was established in the corner.
“What? A little over three months? But how can they produce semiconductors?”
“I don’t know. No one has been inside that factory.”
“No, it doesn’t make sense logically.”
“Senior, you talk like everything else is logical.”
“Oh.”
Koreans were living in an era where androids walked around the streets and traveled to the moon.
It was a change that happened in just four years, not decades.
So they tended to shrug off anything that happened.
Yu Ji-ha’s voice explaining the basic theory of diamond semiconductors filled the press room, but few people were interested.
When it came to semiconductors, performance and low power consumption were important as well as mass production.
There were many cases where they were disappointed when they tried out processors that had the best performance in theory.
But… this time seemed different.
A large monitor installed in the press room showed the process of the smart factory in video.
People were shocked by the diamonds growing slowly in the pressure vessel.
Most of the reporters did not know that diamonds were made like that.
“Wow, there’s such equipment in the factory?”
“It’s unbelievable. They grow diamonds that big in less than a day?”
The artificial diamonds that were made like that were immediately processed into wafers and went through various processes to finally enter packaging.
The last one to pick up the chip was Yu Ji-ha’s hand.
As he lifted up the actual chip, the reporters’ eyes focused on him.
“This chip’s performance is easily over 11 times that of the existing highest-end personal processor. It doesn’t matter which company’s product you bring. The power consumption is low enough to use it on mobile devices and you don’t need any cooling solution. You can use it without a fan.”
“This chip will also be released at a very reasonable price. Of course, not only chips but also other parts and programs need to follow. We will manage all of that at Quantum Solution.”
“I would have announced it on Ion Thruster. All platforms will be equipped with Ion Thruster. System semiconductors are no exception. From now on, if you want high performance and low power consumption, you have to use diamond semiconductors.”
Who doesn’t need a processor?
These days, anything that had electricity also had a processor installed.
They even used high-performance processors in refrigerators as a sales point.
The expression “this is a big deal” appeared on the faces of the reporters.
They all knew very well what kind of sanctions America had imposed on Yu Ji-ha.
“So make your choice. Whether you join my ecosystem or continue with America’s sanctions.”
A nuclear bomb dropped on the world’s semiconductor market.
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