Chapter 168: The Eve of the Storm
President Yu Ji-ha had a schedule that was planned in 10-minute intervals.
He had long eliminated ceremonies and events from his agenda and minimized his official visits, but he still lacked time.
There were people who were busier than Yu Ji-ha.
They were the presidential secretariat.
The unofficial schedules were handled by Arma, but most of the official ones were processed by the secretariat.
Since the president had a lot of schedules and a wide range of activities, there were inevitable troubles, and the secretariat chief always scolded them.
“The only ones in charge of unofficial schedules are one android and Minister Arma. But there have been no issues so far. How can you say that our secretariat, which doesn’t even do official visits, can’t keep up?”
The secretaries would bow their heads and check where the trouble occurred every time.
It wasn’t their fault.
Arma was an artificial intelligence and an android, so she could handle all the work by herself.
It was a feat that only she could pull off to call dozens of contacts at the same time and ask for cooperation.
Anyway, the secretariat was always very busy, but it got worse this season.
It was because James, the president of the United States, requested a summit meeting after taking office.
The US visit was confirmed for a week, and the official visit secretaries were tense.
“The US will probably mobilize their chairmen this time. Do we have to respond to them too?”
“It looks like President James will come out personally at the airport. How should we arrange the president’s itinerary?”
“There are four banquets in a week, so we have to bring some alcohol from our side too. Let’s start with booking some traditional liquor workshops.”
The secretariat as a whole entered a state of emergency as there were many secretaries who had not done official visits before.
They worked overtime every day, but the atmosphere was not bad.
It was because Yu Ji-ha was not a bad president to serve.
He was ruthless to the forces or individuals who opposed him, but he was quite generous to his subordinates.
He would sometimes let go of the secretaries’ mistakes and even give them new products from the Group to try out.
Above all, he had a philosophy that everything he did for efficiency was for humans.
“What’s the point of finding efficiency? In the end, humans have to be happy. Next week is a holiday, so don’t come to work, including the secretariat chief. I’ll take care of it myself.”
The president couldn’t even cook ramen by himself, but Yu Ji-ha was the first president to do that.
Of course, he had Arma and androids, so he didn’t really cook it by himself.
As the secretariat coordinated the schedule with the US SS, they heard unexpected news.
“They contacted us and said they would like you to bring your wife. It’s a directive from President James himself.”
“Bring my wife…”
Bae Seongmin, the secretariat chief, was embarrassed.
The president had a wife, but they were not officially married.
They were like cohabitants, which might be mainstream in Western society, but in the United Human Federation with strong Korean customs, they had strange eyes.
That’s why the elders were surprised when they heard that President Yu Ji-ha had a son.
“How did he get a son without getting married?”
“That’s what’s trendy these days.”
“No, no matter how upside down the world is, a person who is a president should follow the basic marriage system…”
The elders were generally satisfied with Yu Ji-ha’s rule, but they had a lot of complaints about his radical words and actions.
After conveying the request to the president, Bae Seongmin, the secretariat chief, received a positive answer.
“It’s not uncommon for spouses to accompany each other at summit meetings. Just think of it as adding one more person to the schedule and proceed.”
“I’ll do that. But, Mr. President, what about your son…”
“Oh, Lucia will take care of Eugene.”
The name Lucia was used in various ways, but in the Blue House, it referred to the android who served as Yu Ji-ha’s secretary while Arma was pregnant.
The secretaries who had trouble sleeping when she first came to work at the secretariat were not few.
They were greatly disappointed when they found out she was an android.
Android nannies might sound strange in foreign countries, but they were quite common in the United Human Federation.
Anyone who met a certain CP requirement could apply for a nanny without any extra charge.
Anyway, it was a relief that Lucia would look after the son.
As time passed, the date of the summit meeting approached.
Yu Ji-ha and Arma boarded the private jet that landed in the Blue House garden.
When they arrived in the US, they would be greeted by all kinds of splendid ceremonies, but in the United Human Federation, it was over as soon as they got on the private jet.
Lucia waved her hand with the baby in her arms.
“Bye bye, daddy.”
It was a meaningless farewell to a baby who was not even a year old.
The remaining secretaries smiled as the private jet took off with the staff members.
The ether field enveloped the private jet and it disappeared into the clouds in an instant.
***
The US welcomed Yu Ji-ha with a grand hospitality.
As if to protest his omission of most of the official visits, President James broke precedent and came to the airport himself.
They reviewed a naval honor guard.
Usually, marines would be mobilized for such occasions, but they chose navy because they remembered the New York incident.
“The US soldiers are amazing. They have dignity.”
“Haha, can’t android soldiers do that?”
As they exchanged compliments with each other, a car parade began.
Yu Ji-ha looked at the endless line of vehicles and thought it was a waste.
Of course, national leaders should choose the safest and fastest means of transportation.
But that didn’t mean they had to parade like this.
‘I’d rather take a helicopter than block all these roads. It’s a waste.’
He decided to endure it for a while, since these ceremonies would disappear completely when the war with Plague began.
The US also mobilized a huge number of events and personnel to show off their official visits.
Yu Ji-ha and Arma took commemorative photos every time they moved somewhere and received bouquets from boys and girls.
‘I wonder if the Soviet secretary-general who went to the US during the Cold War received this kind of treatment.’
He had been there a few times, but the US had never been so hospitable.
The US was clearly nervous now, and it showed in their official visits.
It was six hours after he arrived at the airport that Yu Ji-ha entered the formal summit meeting.
He would have started it in 30 minutes if he were in Korea, but he decided to bear with it since this was the US.
He exchanged various pleasantries with his counterpart, and President James ordered the White House photographers, including his secretaries, to step back.
Then he spoke in a subdued voice.
“We realized from the Manhattan incident that we can no longer afford to have conflicts among humans.”
“Welcome. If the US cooperates with the United Human Federation, we can smash the monsters from space.”
Did he mean that he welcomed him to join the order they had established?
James took Yu Ji-ha’s casual remark as an insult.
He was in a slightly deranged state due to the drug Typhoon that was injected by nanomachines, which amplified his emotions.
But he still had the dignity of a politician who had dominated Washington for decades, so he didn’t make any harsh remarks.
Instead, he clenched and unclenched the armrests of his chair so hard that his fingerprints were left.
“…Times have changed. The US no longer needs to maintain a huge army and shoulder the world’s security. That army did nothing in this crisis.”
“The US’s efforts to achieve world peace should be respected. But as you said, times have changed, so we need to change our direction.”
“Unfortunately, we don’t know much about that direction. Maybe the United Human Federation does…”
“We can cooperate as much as you want. We are all humans.”
The two leaders uttered words they didn’t mean.
Yu Ji-ha listened to Arma’s report through his biochip, and James was just waiting for his subordinates to finish their preparations in a state of ecstasy.
In the midst of that, James asked out of the blue.
“The United Human Federation’s power was clearly proven in this crisis. I have one question. Does the United Human Federation’s army not move without your command, President Yu?”
He was openly probing him because he had lost his patience.
He looked like a gentleman on the outside, but if you looked at his inner self, he wanted to grab Yu Ji-ha by the collar.
Yu Ji-ha smiled faintly and said.
“Basically, the army doesn’t move without my command. Artificial intelligence is dangerous.”
“That’s right. They may be strong artificial intelligence, but they don’t have human hearts. They need strict control from the user.”
“You know that artificial intelligence is dangerous. It can go berserk at any time.”
“So you have double or triple safety measures?”
“Of course. But I have the authority to access Lucia in an instant. It’s impossible to stop me unless you imprison me.”
“That’s an interesting thing to say. Who would imprison the president of the United Human Federation?”
They were making absurd remarks.
President James didn’t understand what Yu Ji-ha meant by saying that openly.
Instead, he was seized by a strong desire to capture Yu Ji-ha right away.
It was only his position as the president and this rigid place that kept him from doing so.
Sweat poured down his wide forehead and he wiped it with a handkerchief.
“It seems a bit hot in here.”
Considering that this was the White House and everything from heating to air was thoroughly controlled, it was clear how much James was psychologically cornered.
He couldn’t stand it anymore and stopped the meeting.
“Let’s take a break.”
“Sure.”
A while later, James met Colonel MacLaine of the Marines in the presidential library.
“Start the operation right now.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. President, but I thought the operation was scheduled for the third day…”
“Is there a problem if we start now? There are only two of them.”
“The number of people is not the problem. We need time to replace the troops at Camp David. We have to avoid the surveillance of artificial satellites…”
This operation was the president’s unilateral decision without the approval of the US government.
Therefore, the only troops he could mobilize were the Marines.
Fortunately, the security forces at Camp David were also Marines, but replacing them was not easy.
They had to be extremely cautious because they didn’t know what kind of reconnaissance means the United Human Federation had.
Some heads of intelligence agencies requested to cancel this operation, saying it was very dangerous.
“According to our analysis of his past, there is a high possibility of assassination using nanomachines. He is suspected of killing the former prime minister of Korea and the presidential candidate Bryant.”
They were both obstacles for Yu Ji-ha and they died without any clear signs.
At that time, they thought it was just a coincidence, but their doubts grew as the United Human Federation showed off their transcendent technology one after another.
“…So you’re saying we should cancel this operation?”
“If the United Human Federation has developed nanomachines, we have no way to counter them, Mr. President.”
“Can’t we destroy their electronic circuits with that EMP thing?”
“I’m telling you that it’s impossible to create a perfect secret room with US technology.”
“…”
President James answered by firing the head of the intelligence agency who advised him.
He was tormented by an obsession that he had to imprison Yu Ji-ha and ignored all advice.
There was some resistance, but the party was more concerned about the presidential election next year and the aides didn’t care much because they were leaving soon.
James proceeded with his preparations to imprison Yu Ji-ha one by one.
He had to change the schedule now, but Yu Ji-ha surprisingly agreed to visit Camp David.
“Camp David is a meaningful place for me. I met President McKinley there. It was a pretty good memory.”
The truth was the opposite.
Ever since he ran the Silla Group, he had faced pressure from the Democratic Party of the United States.
He had made a deal with the president to get by, but he and the Democrats never got along.
But President James Hyun interpreted his smile differently.
“I hope you have only good memories from this visit.”
After the meeting, they waited for their spouses who had toured the Lincoln Memorial.
The cameras of the reporters all focused on Arma.
***
Contrary to the expectations of the world that this summit would be tense, it was very relaxed.
Both leaders, despite being in somewhat uncomfortable positions, did not make any harsh remarks and the meeting proceeded smoothly.
This atmosphere spread to the world and raised hopes that the cooperation between the two countries would go smoothly.
However, some pointed out that the leaders did not make any key statements.
―The conversation is very peaceful. But it’s just a formal speech at the summit, there’s no content about taking concrete actions.
―It’s a typical show filled with words like hope and expectation. The real thing will start at the working-level meeting.
Despite the negative observations, there was also praise that the attempt was not bad, because the situation between the two countries was so serious.
The United States had completely restored its pride with the Manhattan incident, but it was also on the verge of a conflict with the United Federation of Humanity.
The key was how to resolve it, but it was surprisingly peaceful.
No, it looked like that.
After the summit, the delegation moved to Camp David and had a meeting at the golf course.
President James showed his excellent skills as an American politician and Yu Ji-ha praised him moderately.
He could have easily made consecutive hole-in-ones with his physical abilities, but there was no need to do that.
In the evening, there was a dinner and everyone complimented the young president and his wife on their appearance.
While they were flattering each other’s faces, there was tension outside Camp David.
A special unit had replaced the perimeter forces under cover of darkness.
They were Recon Marines under the command of the Marine Corps headquarters, all veterans with a lot of combat experience and muscular bodies over 180cm tall.
They did not mobilize any other special forces because they feared information leakage.
Also, Colonel McRyan of the Marine Corps, who was in charge of the entire operation, insisted that the command system had to be unified to kidnap Yu Ji-ha.
The perimeter forces of Camp David, which were designated as the location, were also Marines, so this operation was led by the Marine Corps.
They had prepared enough countermeasures for the Blue House security staff who were jointly guarding him, but they had to think carefully about drones and androids.
“The Blue House staff installed drone containers in advance and left. We can’t touch the containers themselves, so cut off the power.”
The containers were the basis for drones to operate and receive hatred from all over the world.
It was hard to penetrate black metal material with ordinary firepower, and they had no choice but to cut off power or communication, which was not easy in a breathless battlefield.
The container installed in Camp David was a bit better.
The president and his wife were staying for about a day, so they connected power.
There were security staff watching, but there were only two of them, so it was not a big problem. And communication would be jammed by interference waves when the operation started.
“The headache is always the android that accompanies the president. It has no weapons, but it can tear apart humans with pure strength alone.”
He had been able to deal with the Iranian situation using a neutralizer, but there was no way it hadn’t been improved.
It would be suicide to clash with a force of this size, so naturally they needed a deception tactic.
“Use the special adhesive bullets. If we cover the cameras and sensors, we can easily shake them off.”
The objective of the execution unit was not to destroy the android, but to kidnap two targets, so they just needed to buy some time.
Meanwhile, at 100km above Camp David, the newly produced Sibiri-class combat support satellite No. 2 was in position.
This satellite was reverse-engineered from the original Sibiri satellite brought from 2180 and greatly improved for the case of a full-scale war with a giant country like the United States.
It had increased its size to be able to launch 10 Fords at once, and reduced the excessive firepower of the ion cannon to be able to hit multiple places at the same time.
As its combat power had increased remarkably, its reconnaissance ability had been reduced, but it didn’t matter much since it had Settler and could exchange data with the original satellite.
With the gravity radar and Arma’s deduction algorithm, they could see the whole of the United States as if looking at their palm, not just Camp David.
That meant they could find out where Yu Ji-ha was hiding right away.
And almost at the same time, the second ship of the Seoul-class combat cruiser, Pyeongyang, which was built at the Mars base, escaped the atmosphere through a sandstorm.
The United States had no idea about this, because Pyeongyang had an optical camouflage net applied.
It also helped that most of the observation means were paralyzed by the sandstorm blowing in the valley.
Instead, all of America’s reconnaissance power was focused on Earth Fleet.
They expected that if Yu Ji-ha decided to go to war, he would move Earth Fleet first, as it had been active all over the world including the Manhattan incident.
But Earth Fleet, which was anchored at Terra’s underwater base, did not move until the execution unit entered Camp David.
The Seoul-class combat cruiser was quietly waiting in Seoul’s airspace.
After receiving a series of reports, Colonel McRyan finally gave the operation order.
“We’ll move in as soon as it’s midnight. Secure the target boldly but with utmost courtesy. He’ll work for us from now on.”
Yu Ji-ha, who had never made such a promise, tore a page from a book he was reading in his room and wrote something on it.
And he handed a note to Baek Sung-min, chief secretary of his office, who came in with juice.
―If I get kidnapped, protest but don’t make a big fuss.
“…”
Baek Sung-min stopped breathing as he read the contents.
Did he mean there was a planned terror attack in this camp?
He hadn’t felt anything.
He took the juice from Yu Ji-ha and slipped the note under the coaster.
―Don’t worry, I’ll get out on my own. After that, there will be a war, so you should entrust yourself to an official institution as much as possible.
War…
Baek Sung-min barely exhaled and bowed his head.
“I’ll go out then. Please rest well.”
He nodded and looked out at the scenery.
His modified eyes detected the intruders in the darkness.
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