WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

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◈ The Little Prince in the Ossuary

00042 <-- #Public Service Announcement; #Journal -->

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#Public Service Announcement, Second Half of 2042

A radiant world, a landscape where all four seasons merged into one. Looking exactly as she had in her young and beautiful days, the retired old woman walked along a forest path. Above the spring haze, flowers announcing summer had bloomed, and autumn colored maple leaves drifted down the babbling stream. Cherry tree branches in full bloom were covered in the first snow, soft as cotton. It was paradise itself, crafted from the illusion of electronic signals.

Sixty-nine-year-old Kim Sang-sun reached out her delicate hand to pluck an unnamed fruit. She took a bite and savored the sensation of her tongue melting into sweetness. A cool breeze passed by, brushing against her white dress. Her long black hair fluttered fragrantly.

In this moment when everything was perfect, the old woman gazed up at the high sky with a worried expression.

"I'm so happy like this, but I wonder if Seok-hun is doing alright. They say the economy is in a recession these days, I wish there was some way I could help."

She approached a tree. Near the base of the trunk, a sprout emerged and quickly grew thick. The old woman sat demurely on the newly grown branch and let out a long sigh.

A female narrator's voice, empathizing with the old woman.

"Even now, two years after enrollment in afterlife insurance, Kim Sang-sun worries about the grandson she left behind in reality. After her son and daughter-in-law were killed in a traffic accident, it was Kim Sang-sun who raised her grandson Ju Seok-hun. Since there's no one else to care for her grandson, her worries are endless. Is he doing well at his company, is he sick anywhere, should she wait a bit longer for news of his marriage? Since he can't visit often, it seems his circumstances must be quite difficult. That heart, that family love that continues even after death, how noble is it?"

The screen changed. The focus shifted to a man with gloomy eyes. A caption appeared. 27-year-old Ju Seok-hun. Operates a butcher shop. The store was deserted. No customers were visible. The ledger he was writing in had lots of red ink. The narrator explained his circumstances.

"Recently, Ju Seok-hun-ssi's butcher shop has been failing to turn a profit. As society enters the virtual reality era, citizens' dietary habits are changing from before. Consuming meat in reality has now become a luxurious act. After all, it's far more economical to take in only essential nutrients in reality and taste delicacies in virtual reality."

Data screens appeared in succession. Statistics showed that energy packs occupied 86% of the food market. Energy packs. Gel-form food containing an adult's recommended daily intake of all nutrients, made to be squeezed and eaten directly without any separate cooking required. Consumer interviews followed.

"Jeong Bo-kyung (23, University Student): Are you asking if I'm satisfied with this? Honestly, it has no taste. They say strawberry flavor, apple flavor, grape flavor, but the artificial fragrance is so strong I hate it. Still, the nutritional balance is perfect so it's good for your health, right? Delicious things are mostly bad for your health, so you have to eat them in virtual reality where there are no side effects. Plus the prices are unnecessarily expensive."

"Park Han-su (35, Office Worker): Honestly, bothering with real meals is annoying. The food you eat in virtual reality is so delicious that real meals feel even more torturous, you know? Like it breaks the immersion or something. I want to retire quickly too and get afterlife insurance coverage."

"Leak Kana Sotarut (29, Foreign Worker, Cambodia): Ah, Korea, virtual reality food, meal, good. Korea Cambodia people, just don't go restaurant. Meat, don't eat. Virtual reality food, keep eating. Eat and eat and keep wanting eat. Afterlife insurance, signed with friends. Family too will sign. Korea, really amazing."

"Jang Yu-sun (40, Housewife): Well, even until about 10 years ago I used to boil stews and simmer fish and all that. Now I've forgotten it all. Can't remember a single thing, hoho. In rich neighborhoods they still go out to eat and cook nice meals, but honestly doesn't that seem like a waste of money? Even if you make and eat things in reality, it's just more inconvenient than virtual reality in every way. If you eat a lot you have to go to the bathroom frequently too. Those people, well, they're just trying to show off that they're different from us. So unseemly. Don't you think?"

Against this background, passing by semi-transparently, was the butcher shop's ledger shown earlier. The focus returned to the lonely owner of the empty store. The butcher shop owner, Seok-hun, complained.

"Because my family circumstances were difficult I couldn't even go to university. This is all I learned, so if I close the shop I'll have to go work in a factory. Working alongside foreign workers. There's no hope. If I could somehow open a shop in a neighborhood with purchasing power, like Gangnam or Seongbuk, but I don't have enough money. Just ten million won, if I only had ten million won more. Haah."

Here the screen suddenly brightened. The scenery was that very flower path Kim Sang-sun had been walking.

"Don't worry."

The narrator explained in a kind voice.

"For people like Kim Sang-sun-nim and Ju Seok-hun-nim, the afterlife insurance policy loan program is being expanded and implemented. Previously this was a service available only before enrollment. Now it's different. Even those like Grandmother Kim Sang-sun who are already receiving afterlife insurance can take out loans using their coverage period as collateral."

Hopeful music played. A photograph of grandmother and grandson, filtered with a warm feeling, settled right in the center of the screen.

"The disappointment about family members who don't visit often after insurance enrollment, all elderly people receiving afterlife insurance will empathize. But have you thought about the economic difficulties your family members might be facing? Policy loans aren't simply about helping family. When money circulates the economy revives, when the economy revives the nation revives. When the nation revives all citizens become happy. Show your family love and patriotism. The Republic of Korea Afterlife Insurance will help you."

Like all other public service announcements, near the end of the advertisement, the fluttering Korean flag filled the screen.

"This campaign is brought to you jointly by the Public Service Advertising Council, the National Pension Service, and the Afterlife Insurance Corporation."

After that, the narrator read the mandatory notices for policy loan advertisements at an incredibly fast speed. Faster than most rappers. So fast that even young people would have trouble understanding. During that time, this content was included.

"If the debtor is delinquent on loan repayment three or more times the subscriber's afterlife insurance service may be suspended and the subscriber's posthumous data may be converted to preservation standby status, if delinquent five or more times the preservation of the subscriber's posthumous data will be suspended."

#Journal, Page 71, Camp Roberts

Refugees from all over the world were flooding into America.

This wasn't a new development, but it was getting worse. The media said you couldn't see the ocean. Because maritime refugees from around the world had completely filled the American coasts. According to reports, there were over ten thousand vessels of medium-sized ships or larger alone. The number of small vessels and fishing boats was beyond counting. It was almost miraculous how they had crossed the ocean in such tiny boats.

On the American west coast, the main refuges for maritime refugees were San Francisco Bay, the Strait of Georgia near the U.S.-Canada border, and similar areas. San Diego Harbor was not opened. That place was a refuge for American citizens. There was also the reason that it would interfere with military base operations and fleet deployment.

Among them, San Francisco Harbor was the most popular. It was for surviving the winter. Although San Francisco was the origin point of the pollution in western North America, as long as they didn't come ashore they could be safe. Because mutants couldn't swim.

The refugees at sea were surprisingly not starving. This was thanks to receiving food supplies from fishing vessels. America only supplied them with minimal fuel, food, and supplies. Even for America, they were currently busy saving citizens isolated in contaminated areas.

Fights broke out between the refugee vessels. Because warships were mixed in among them, when the scale grew it was effectively war.

An example occurred just this morning. A broadcasting company helicopter flying over San Francisco captured an engagement between warships. Chinese and Japanese destroyers fired their guns and missiles at each other. It was over territorial disputes. The reporter explained in a gloomy tone. How they got into a physical struggle trying to give their evacuated citizens even a slightly larger space, and ultimately caused bloodshed. Even after their nations disappeared, the soldiers trying to protect their citizens remained. It was simply sad that the end was tragedy.

Trouble also occurred near the Mexican border. It was impossible to stop all illegal border crossers across the vast border. In the border cities of El Paso and Laredo, hundreds of infected people broke out simultaneously. It was fortunate that America had foreseen such a situation, or there would have been a second San Francisco incident.

Even raising barriers at the border and strengthening aerial patrols was useless. The tunnels used for drug smuggling were now being used as escape routes for Mexican citizens. Submarines were even being deployed. The drug cartels' smuggling submarines were vessels without proper registration.

The White House threatened the Mexican government. A warning that if they couldn't stop illegal immigration, they would bomb Mexican cities. However, the Mexican government, having lost control over most of its territory, lacked that ability. Perhaps the White House simply needed something to end the news on a positive note?

#Journal, Page 72, Camp Roberts

Yura-ssi's training of the reserve members was completed. With help from U.S. military officers, tactical training was also conducted. At the three-week mark, more than half had dropped out. Considering the training intensity, it was a good result.

All who remained deserved to be compensated. Although it was more people than the quota, it was decided to accept them all as official members.

There was someone who endured despite being expected to drop out. The woman who had burst into tears during the earlier field training. Her name was Jang Han-byul. She unexpectedly revealed excellent qualities.

It was when she received her personal equipment as an official member. The newly received gun needed zeroing. It was the process of adjusting the gun to the person.

Han-byul seemed to shoot easily. After finishing shooting and looking at the target, she let out a deep sigh and said.

"Phew. I didn't hit a single one."

I said let me take a look. She shyly handed over the paper.

She had shot extremely well. I had her shoot five rounds, and in a position biased to the left, all the holes were within one finger's width. It was natural talent. The American soldiers attached as shooting instructors also whistled when they saw the target. I honestly praised her. Said she really shot well.

She looked unconvinced.

"You don't need to comfort me."

But she really had shot well. This was strange. Before zeroing, I had clearly explained the reason. When I asked if she didn't remember, Han-byul-ssi looked embarrassed.

"I was nervous then."

Meaning she hadn't listened properly. That can happen. I explained again. That everyone's retinal refraction rate is different, so even aiming the same way, people hit different spots. If the distance is close it doesn't matter, but the farther away, the more it becomes a problem. That's why you need to calibrate the sights to make it possible to hit what you aim at.

Only then did Han-byul-ssi, realizing her skill, smile brightly.

I taught everyone how to turn the sight adjustment screws. At the same time, I urged them to remember exactly how many turns were needed. That way, even if they received a new gun later, they wouldn't need to zero it again. Though it couldn't be helped if the gun type changed.

In the next round of shooting, Han-byul-ssi made a thick hole in the dead center of the target. It happened from hitting the same spot repeatedly.

"Looks like we won't need to separately select a designated marksman."

That was Sergeant Pierce's assessment.

People cherished their newly received equipment immensely. Not just because it was qualitatively better than the items they had shared when needed. Their attachment to firearms was especially great. After all, it meant they now had a means to protect themselves.

The members were treated as U.S. Army Privates (PV2). It was much better treatment than the volunteer status I had initially received. Pay was also provided normally. It was the moment when the Gyeoul Alliance's standing became higher than any other organization.

Citizenship certificates were awarded to everyone. Even though it was conditional on completing military service to the end or the certificate would be revoked, many cried regardless of gender. The anxiety and hardship up until now must have overwhelmed them. Some cried because it was sad to give up their Korean nationality.

In place of a judge, Captain Capston conducted the citizenship oath ceremony. It was a formality that could have been ignored, but the U.S. military's position seemed different. He had everyone raise their right hand as he read the oath.

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen."

"That I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

"That I will..."

The Captain also required me to take the oath. Just like with the commission, the reason was that my citizenship acquisition had been done too hastily. He said spirit was more important than procedure. His character showed through even in this.

Footnotes:

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