WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 362: A Splendid Invitation (14)

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Manners aside, in a world where diseased corpses ran loose, it was the kind of question that might as well be taboo. So many people had vanished in this age. All the more when the person being asked was Gyeoul, a former refugee.

Anne’s expression hardened.

Still, there had to be a reason Talbot had asked. For one brief moment, Gyeoul could not help thinking of his father and mother from the outside world, but the discomfort, like a heavy stone pressing against his solar plexus, soon vanished. It was an illusion. The boundary between life and afterlife did not collapse that way. Gyeoul steadied himself with a single deep breath in and out, then thought.

‘Asking why they’re asking would be meaningless.’

Because the answer to that “why?” would be the real matter.

The Intelligence correction printed a string only Gyeoul could see. Details about his background that had not been fixed beforehand were often reflected in real time by the decisions made in moments like this.

In any case, in the world of Days after Apocalypse, having no surviving family was the default. Most afterlives were the same. That was what the poor wanted.

“I can’t say they were ever good.”

Gyeoul spoke slowly.

“I’m not comfortable going into my personal history in a place like this... Let’s just say I’m not sad I can’t see them again. I don’t especially miss them, either. Is that enough of an answer?”

With that, Gyeoul’s information was updated. A deep sadness passed through Anne’s eyes as she stood with her arms folded.

“Ah, of course. Thank you sincerely for answering such a difficult question.”

Anne asked Talbot, who had relaxed in relief.

“Have people claiming to be Gyeoul’s parents appeared?”

“There have been plenty of those sorts for a long time. Fraudsters who deceive others, and liars who manage to deceive even themselves. In the end, not one of them had matching genes.”

“What about this time?”

“This is not that kind of case. I asked today for a different reason.”

Their exchange flowed naturally. Apparently, quite a few people had pretended to be Gyeoul’s family without him knowing. As for genetic testing, since he was a U.S. soldier, they would naturally have blood samples from his medical examinations, and there would also be the blood drawn recently to check him for infection after his battle with Esther.

And not only Gyeoul. There must have been plenty of people pretending to be blood relatives of those killed or missing on the quarantine front. Just as there had been attempts to fake common-law marriages in the refugee zone.

So the relevant authorities had probably turned it into routine work long ago.

Gyeoul brought the topic back.

“Then can I hear the real story now?”

“Yes.”

Talbot nodded and cleared their throat.

“I was not personally involved in the operation, but our Intelligence Agency once pursued a rather unusual kind of secret operation. It was a cyberattack plan against Iran’s nuclear facilities.”

“...Iran? Cyberattack?”

The gap between his parents and the Middle East was far too wide.

“I know you must be wondering what this has to do with anything, but please hear me out.”

“...”

“The goal of the operation was to use carefully crafted malware to monitor research progress, cripple control systems, and physically destroy nuclear fuel enrichment facilities at the same time. And to some extent, it succeeded. We were retaliated against twice, and there were concerns about indiscriminate cyberterrorism spreading, so we did not carry out the second attack. Still, looking only at the results, it was encouraging. A completely new type of weapon had proven its value.”

“So?”

“After that, we began developing a more advanced form of malware. Since the plan had already succeeded once, we were assigned more budget and personnel than before. Then, during that process, a nuclear power plant accident occurred in Japan.”

Gyeoul understood less and less. Seeing his foggy expression, Talbot continued with an awkward smile.

“That was another security threat we had not prepared for. While radioactive contamination was spreading all the way to the west coast of North America, the Japanese government was extremely uncooperative about disclosing information. Because of that, the White House concluded that it needed its own monitoring systems and safeguards, both to understand the situation and to prevent anything similar from happening again.”

“You planted that malware.”

“That’s right.”

Talbot confirmed it.

“But the targets were not limited to Japan. Ultimately, the goal was to obtain internal information from power plants and other nuclear facilities located along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. As long as the code was used only to extract information, it would not be detected, and after a set period, it would delete itself automatically and leave no trace... In this operation, there was no distinction between potential enemy nations and traditional allies. Naturally, Korea was included as well.”

“That means, then.”

Gyeoul’s eyes narrowed as he caught the implication.

“At the time Morgellons spread, America had the ability to control every nuclear power plant in countries along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts?”

“Not every one.”

Talbot carefully denied part of the suspicion.

“The computer networks of such important facilities are often isolated from the outside. Our Intelligence Agency did try to secure viable networks, but taking control of every nuclear power plant was impossible from the start. Our capabilities had clear limits. However...”

“However?”

“In Korea’s case, our progress rate was very high. Lower than Japan, where we put in the most effort, but still.”

Only then did the picture become clear. Gyeoul asked.

“So that caused friction with the Korean government?”

“Yes.”

“What, did you demand that they prioritize protecting nuclear power plants over their own citizens? Using power supply in an emergency as a weapon?”

“...”

“Seriously?”

His simplest guess must have struck home, because Talbot answered with a brief silence. Anne’s expression filled with shock as she listened. Gyeoul felt some of the same.

At last, Talbot spoke again.

“At the time, the White House predicted that if all those nuclear power plants were abandoned, a global disaster would arrive within decades. That was the experts’ forecast. The plague was not the only crisis humanity had to overcome. Europe at least had several months before the mutants arrived in force, but Asia, which was in immediate danger of falling, was urgent. When Korea, after holding out for so long, finally lost the capital region completely... in other words, when it lost more than half its combat power, the final stage of our operation was carried out.”

That meant they had seized control authority over the reactors where they had built connection networks. If power was cut, military operations would be disrupted, and the maintenance of key strongholds and the survival of evacuated citizens would also be put at risk. From Korea’s perspective, they had to think about what came afterward too. They were already in a position where they needed one-sided help accepting refugees. The Korean government could not have ignored America’s demands.

Even though Talbot had not truly been involved, they added as if making an excuse.

“I believe you understand very well what it means for a military to lose more than half its combat strength.”

“I do.”

Gyeoul accepted it. Unlike in ordinary movies or novels, in reality, a unit that lost even twenty percent of its troops was considered destroyed. In other words, America had not made a cruel demand from the beginning.

“If not for that decision, most of the power plants would have been abandoned without proper measures. They said automated safeguards exist, but those only get them through an immediate crisis. They are not enough to leave the plants unmanaged for a long time. Looking at several accident cases, there was no guarantee those devices would work normally either.”

“What condition are they in now?”

“I heard that, for the nuclear power plants where measures were completed, they should be fine if left alone for at least a few years.”

Something similar had probably happened in Japan too. Even so, Talbot’s tone suggested that some nuclear power plants had caused trouble. Since they had designated even information about Humpbacks as classified out of concern for social unrest, information about nuclear power plants turned into hellscapes would be treated as an even greater secret.

No wonder there had been no news about it.

Gyeoul cut off his wandering thoughts and returned to the first question.

‘They asked about my relationship with my parents because they were worried I might think America was responsible for their deaths... or disappearance.’

But what role were they trying to give him, if they were willing to reveal a secret like this?

“I’ll ask directly. What do I need to do?”

Though the Intelligence Agency agent seemed rather relieved by Gyeoul’s calmness, another question came out instead.

“Do you not resent this country?”

“...Resent?”

After letting the question sit for a moment, Gyeoul answered.

“Well, if I had to say, I suppose I would call it a necessary evil. In the end, it became something far more important. I can’t say there was nothing wrong with it, but what would be the point of criticizing it now? Like I said earlier... you don’t need to worry about my parents. The same goes for my other family.”

When he said it had become far more important in the end, he was thinking of the unique toxin created when Morgellons were destroyed by radiation. Weren’t they in a situation where using nuclear weapons had been all but sealed off out of fear that the toxin might accumulate in the ecosystem?

The total amount of radioactive contamination from a nuclear power plant with its cover blown off and its floor melted through far surpassed that of a nuclear weapon. Excluding exceptional nuclear warheads designed for contamination itself.

So if they had not settled this problem back then, even if the later world had gone better than it had, after a dozen years or so they would eventually have faced a giant apocalypse crawling toward them like a turtle. Whether from radiation or from toxin.

The Korean government would have had to bear that damage first.

Talbot showed regret.

“That is unfortunate. I wish the Korean president thought the same way you do, Lieutenant Colonel.”

“So it is that side after all.”

“Yes. It is not shown openly, but from what we learned through unofficial means, there is considerable hostility toward America. If only the three divisions and the materials America demanded be redeployed back then had been available, at least tens of thousands more citizens could have been rescued... That is the resentment being held.”

“And the Intelligence Agency believes that such a president may be involved in a dangerous plan?”

“Only that there is a possibility.”

“How? What power does the government of a ruined country have to get involved in a plan like that?”

“I cannot speak for anything else, but they do have quite a lot of money.”

“A lot of money... That makes even less sense.”

It was a question he had already had when he heard that the Korean government had bought his time. Ruined countries varied by circumstance. Korea, which had collapsed early in the spread of the plague, would not have had the leisure to carry away gold, dollars, and fine horses like some dictator. Talbot answered that question.

“They have money left because the country collapsed.”

“...?”

“For both practical benefit and humanitarian support, the federal government is paying considerable sums to various countries. Existing national debts are being deferred or offset as much as possible. Among those costs, the largest item is funds for leasing and acquiring various assets. Aircraft, ships, satellites, things like that.”

“Ah...”

“Ownership belonged to each government or corporation, after all. Among them are expensive military aircraft. Things worth tens of millions of dollars per unit. Of course, the military aircraft the Korean government managed to save with our aerial refueling support are pitiful in number compared to what they originally had, but even that alone becomes a considerable sum. The number of surviving citizens is very small. And the population accepted as refugees is being handled separately by the United States.”

The land currently maintained by the Korean government consisted only of small islands. The population left there could not be large. In other words, they were feeding on the legacy of a ruined nation as if cutting up and selling a corpse, but because the number of people they had to feed had shrunk so much, even that method left money.

“On top of that, there are shares and bonds held under the state’s name, remnants of pension funds, other physical assets, licensing fees for technology patents, and so on. There are still ways to gather funds. They have finances that will not run dry for the next several years.”

“Mm, I understand what you mean. So I just need to sound them out a little.”

“Yes. The riding club where you will meet President Woo is a place where heads of state in similar positions, or diplomats, continue to hold social gatherings. The idea of forming solidarity and helping one another as people in the same situation is fine, but we received intelligence that a highly suspicious secret collusion is underway.”

“You’re saying this isn’t something that can be solved by dealing with one president. If some dark gathering really exists, the best outcome would be finding out who is involved.”

“Exactly.”

After hearing that much, Gyeoul looked convinced on the outside, but inwardly he was puzzled.

‘Is it really fine for Anne to hear this?’

Was it unofficial information sharing, or some kind of bait thrown out to divert the Bureau’s attention?

At the same time, an Insight brushed past him, suggesting that preventing Gyeoul’s defection itself might have been the more important objective. What if Gyeoul heard the secret behind his “parents’” deaths from someone and became furious? For the Intelligence Agency, which did not know what was inside Gyeoul, that was a reasonable concern. Few nightmares were worse than a double Medal of Honor recipient taking part in terrorism.

Talbot called to Gyeoul.

“Lieutenant Colonel. This will be another rude question, but...”

“Again? Please stop being rude.”

Anne let out a short laugh at Gyeoul’s deliberately narrowed eyes. Talbot gave a bitter smile too.

“I apologize.”

“I was joking. You looked too serious.”

It was also a way to show that he truly did not care about his parents’ deaths. If he had been heartbroken, how could such light words have come out? Gyeoul calmly gestured.

“Go ahead.”

“When you hear the facts I told you today again from President Woo... would you be able to act at the same level as you did when you were operating as Kurt Lee?”

Gyeoul wondered why that was rude, then read the meaning behind it and nodded slightly.

“It would be hard to act sad, but if it’s just getting angry, I can do that as much as needed.”

He only had to think of his parents from when he was alive. He could leave the emotion there and dress up only his words and actions.

Anne, who had been paying close attention to Gyeoul’s mood for some time, seemed to feel the weight of those words. Looking back, she had experience as a profiler.

“I see.”

Talbot also seemed strained. They were someone who owed Gyeoul their life.

“Please do not think of it as difficult. In the end, it is only that one day.”

“That one day?”

“It is the only time with Lieutenant Colonel Han that President Woo was able to buy. If there is some plan, and the president intends to pull you into it, they will have no choice but to bring it up, even if hastily.”

“And you won’t ask for anything beyond that?”

“Your time is expensive, is it not?”

Talbot relaxed their shoulders and spoke as if joking, but it was not only a joke. The more of Gyeoul’s time they took, the more the Department of Defense would dislike it. There were people who had donated hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars for a meal with Gyeoul. The quarantine war was still ongoing.

His earlier guess gained more weight. The Intelligence Agency was probably not placing much importance on today’s second request.

“I have a question. Was Senator Brennan also part of the test?”

At Gyeoul’s question, Talbot smiled awkwardly.

“Your instincts are as good now as they were before. We received help from him. Please consider it a gift rather than a test.”

“Before” probably referred to the matter with Kowalski.

At that, Gyeoul remembered one more thing he had forgotten and took a ring from inside his clothes.

“Oh, right. I almost forgot again. Take this with you when you go.”

“What is that?”

“Kurt Lee’s wedding ring.”

“Huh... You still had that?”

Talbot, who spoke, and Anne, who watched, both looked dumbfounded. Gyeoul shrugged.

“That’s just how it turned out. I thought I had lost it, but it turned up somewhere, and I remembered you said we would meet in D.C., so I brought it. It’s a minor thing, but it’s an Intelligence Agency asset, so I’ll return it.”

Talbot waved a hand.

“That is fine. Just keep it as a souvenir.”

“A souvenir? A ring?”

“What is wrong with that? You could even use it when you actually propose. No woman would dislike hearing the story behind it. At the very least, it has more meaning than something simply bought with money, does it not?”

A proposal. Gyeoul put the ring away, thinking the problem was that it did not feel real at all.

Footnotes:

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