Prelude #1: Alaska, the Monroe Doctrine's Fuse
Alaska is the detonator of America's Monroe Doctrine. Right now, they're desperate to sell it, but once enough blacks have starved or frozen to death, they'll start itching to take it back. Just holding onto it earns you America's enmity. But I accepted it anyway. Not for any special reason—just because it seemed like they'd ship those blacks straight to Haiti otherwise. I have a heart too, and I couldn't turn a blind eye to the catastrophe that would unfold if ten million of them ended up there.
Anyway, the natural resources buried under Alaska's frozen tundra—stuff we can't even mine properly yet—are just a bonus. But precisely because of that, I didn't just take it outright. No, to be exact, I couldn't. The cost of averting that disaster was way too steep. Relocating the blacks and turning a profit? Instead, I'd end up shelling out to buy Siberia across the sea. It was a loss on every front—financially, opportunity-wise. Even if they threw in ten million as a freebie, unwanted baggage is still unwanted baggage.
Some comrades were already grumbling: seeing the whites dump their trash on us, weren't we getting scammed? They were right—we were getting played—so even I, endlessly honest with my comrades, couldn't deny it outright. So we struck a deal: I'd set up an autonomous government there, keep the "Alaska Black Republic" under Korea's influence, and in exchange, Korea could sell it back to America decades later at a premium—or America could buy it back from us for an even steeper price, guaranteed.
America jumped at it. They were already second-guessing selling Alaska to Korea while not caring much about the blacks, so they happily agreed. And they thought: "Korea has no intention of fighting America either." Seeing that proviso, they figured Korea planned to clear out the blacks and flip Alaska back at a markup. Not wrong, exactly—closer to right, even. Korea didn't need the blacks, or Alaska for that matter.
Cold War? Alaska might matter then, but why start a Cold War? Korea had shrugged off the Brits on its own and now wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with America—not duke it out. So the Supreme Leader shipped off a few straight-talking comrades who'd treated the blacks like trash to New York for reeducation, then built the great sea lane from Alaska to Busan to Sudan.
Europe was in a real-time depression anyway—selling intermediates there wouldn't fetch much, and they weren't buying. So we rerouted all those ships to the Alaska-Sudan line. Europe's depression worsening from Korea's market pullout and raw/intermediate shortages? Not our problem. Send more ships like always. Korea could weather a depression, earn a bit less. Numbers? Self-circulating trade makes them. Everyone believed it without question.
"We'll pull the ships!"
"?!!"
"You're pulling the ships?!"
"No!"
"They load the cargo but don't pay!"
"It's still a signed contract! We have to deliver!"
"Fine, we'll drop it at the Sinai Peninsula—Suez Railway. Pick it up there!"
"Deal!"
Raw materials from Alaska to Busan, "unload" the blacks. Load the semi-humanized blacks in Busan as "cargo," "deliver" to Sudan. Load sugar in Sudan, head to Busan, unload sugar, load rice, rice flour, femicon, and essentials, then to Alaska. Saving lives? A truly great sea lane.
Blacks pouring into Alaska by the tens of thousands via rail and carriage in real time—to keep them from starving, we had to deliver something. America could let them starve, but Korea couldn't. But there were minor disagreements on methods.
"Isn't femicon too fancy? And you're dumping it cheap."
"You think? Yeah, costs a bit to make."
"If we're spending, use that femicon? It's excess stock."
"? That femicon?"
"The one we've made since the kingdom days—for famine prep."
"!?! Use that? We barely use it as fish bait now."
"So in emergencies, we'd feed people inedible femicon?"
"…"
"It's old anyway—no such thing as inedible."
The world was the majestic 20th century; canned food was no horror story.
"Proceed."
"Yes, sir."
Thanks to my bold comrades, yellowish protein blocks of soybean flour, peanut paste, and pork fat started flowing to Alaska. Unknowing blacks ate the "tasty" femicon, thawing in train cars with stoves against the killing cold, gently melting the frozen blocks.
"Booze is too fancy too. Clear rice wine? We can't even drink it casually—it's dirt cheap."
"Rice flour-made? Needs this proof or it freezes."
"Still cheap. Give it to comrades."
"…"
From then, stockpiled premium clear wine gave way to Sudan rum rations. Cold-craving blacks gulped the rum gratefully.
"Rice too fancy? Why top Korean new rice? Dump the Southeast Asian stuff."
"Nah, that's a bit…"
At least the Supreme Leader blocked the flavorless rice. Unlike Korea's world-famous, breed-improved sticky, aromatic rice from Joseon days, Southeast Asian grains lacked stickiness and scent. Blacks had noses and tongues—feed them that as "rice," and riots erupt. No black rice escape for the black rice-heads.
Blacks meekly heading to Alaska would reverse flow. The Supreme Leader thought it wasn't bad, but humans shouldn't engineer that. How many would die? With a human heart, he couldn't.
Unlike whites who'd done every filthy thing, he held no grudge against blacks. Discriminating against yellows? Fine, he discriminated against blacks too.
"Ah, British Canada, right?"
"Yes. What can we do for you?"
"COD some food to Alaska—anything."
"Customer at last! First in ages. Blacks settling en masse?"
"Yeah. Anything—Irish potatoes even."
Save lives first. Who knows, might help someday. Korea's depression buffer had reasons: intact consumer market like America's. Intact market? Lots of homemaker moms.
Yes. Korea—if homemaking's a job—was the land of homemaker moms. No one intended it, but:
"People's Mother Kim Sun-ja, you wanted to see me."
"Aigoo, General. Hear me out."
"Of course. Sit, ma'am. Drop the 'General'."
The Supreme Leader heard Kim Sun-ja's tearful plea and nailed the issue.
"Want to move in with your youngest, but can't relocate?"
"Yes, General."
"Youngest married into the city?"
"Yes."
"Hm."
Korea lacked rural-urban move offices outside hometowns, but legal marriage allowed residency shifts via process. Kids could follow parents; no one just called it relocation. Problem: parents couldn't follow kids.
Marriage? Allowed for "can't live apart" comrades. Kids? "Can't leave parents." But parents? Siblings? Allow parents/siblings following distant-married kids/sibs, and in-laws follow too. Parents follow kids, siblings follow parents, cousins follow—fake marriages everywhere. My rural-urban ban crumbles.
Obviously couldn't allow. But it bred this: kids marry far, parents left behind. My rules allowed splits, not merges. Kid-following-parent still ok—merges happened. Useless, though. Most like this mom: kid city-bound, parents crave follow. Kids pick better cities if possible; parents can't block; kids stay urban even if parents sicken. Frequent visits, sure.
That's why I pondered banning rural-urban marriages. Legal ones, anyway. Comrades begged for de facto ok; soft-hearted me relented.
To People's Mother: no merge, but cheaper priority kid-parent train tickets. Sent her off. Back to rocker.
"Marriage, inheritance—humanity's original sin."
Brain growth, world conquest? Marriage, inheritance, monogamy, skill/role passing. Paradox: that birthed sin. Monogamy: cram in trash shacks with meh spouse. No monogamy? Hot mates abound. Or Ice Age extinction.
Monogamy ensured survival, not happiness. Inheritance too: efficient humans, but denied fruits. Triggered classes pillaging surplus.
Korea didn't need it. Useful for apex survival, hindrance for maintaining. Ice Age now? Extinction? Nah. Past life, humans never got it—apex needs apex traits.
Lions brawl classes daily? No, territory scraps—avoid if possible. Injury loss. Humans, long prey, punch passers—opposite.
From Joseon reforms, Yusin, revolution: chipped marriage/inheritance towers. Comrades' terms: not one pyramid, divvy territories, multi-pyramids—apexes chill.
Korea schools: no total scores, per-subject ranks. Math dummies, English flops—go your way.
Marriage: agencies score/rank? Nah, childhood sweethearts if anything.
Made it so. Had to.
Inheritance same. Ditched growth rates, 200%/300% gibberish—repyramid by side dishes, home size. Wage-obsess to life-zone focus. Productive rice-heads via simple incentives.
Korea's myriad homemaker moms? That fruit. Me? Housewives meh, but... whatever. Scattered, no industry brawls? Breed kids. Human birthing job? If you like, ok.
"Kill ten million adult males, birth twenty million more—no problem."
Pre-war prelude, he pondered war's coda: aftermath.