Empire State Summit
The Information Super-Highway. New York—a concrete jungle where countless dreams and desires intertwined. As America's largest city, it was the most vibrant and famous. It stood at the center of global culture, fashion, politics, finance, art, and entertainment, and with the United Nations headquarters located there, it was no exaggeration to call it the capital of the world. In particular, its undisputed dominance in finance and culture made Wall Street inseparable from New York itself.
“Empire State Building.”
Among the skyscrapers overlooking Wall Street, the most famous was the Empire State Building. Built in the Art Deco style, it had once held the title of the world's tallest skyscraper. Though the World Trade Center's twin towers had claimed that title upon their completion in 1973, its prestige remained undiminished. A perfect commercial facility, its lower floors housed shopping malls and restaurants, while offices occupied the upper levels.
The meeting with Edwin Feulner had been scheduled for yesterday—right here, in the penthouse of the Empire State Building.
“The Heritage Foundation must be swimming in money. They even gave their president a penthouse.”
“Perhaps he chose this location to impress the boss. The foundation's headquarters are in Washington, D.C., after all. This ESB location has little to do with the Heritage Foundation itself.”
Yoo Jae-won's remark had been a question about whether Edwin Feulner was wealthy enough to own a penthouse in the Empire State Building. Remington's reply offered a reasonable deduction that it might be for show. After hearing the explanation, Remington's words seemed plausible.
“Let's go.”
Accompanied by Remington, Kim Dae-seok, and the security team he had specially hired upon arriving in New York, Yoo Jae-won entered the lobby.
“Welcome. We're delighted to have you. You can purchase Skyline admission tickets over there.”
The Empire State Building was a famous tourist attraction. The lobby staff kindly directed Yoo Jae-won's group to the ticket counter for the observation deck, apparently mistaking them for tourists. When they presented the invitation card with gold-embossed lettering, the staff apologized and immediately began guiding them instead.
This wasn't the elevator tourists used. It led to a private elevator reserved for insiders. Two burly men who looked like American football players stood guard on either side of the elevator doors.
“We've notified them upstairs. Someone will come down to greet you. Enjoy your visit!”
The staff member who had finished guiding them returned to their post. The building, constructed long ago, wasn't overwhelmingly ornate. Still, there were numerous accents that gleamed with a luxurious golden hue—whether gold-plated or actual gold was unclear.
Ding~!
With a clear chime, the elevator doors opened. It wasn't empty.
“Hello?”
A beautiful blonde woman in her twenties, radiant like a blooming rose, greeted them with a bright smile. She was the first beauty Yoo Jae-won had encountered in America.
“You must be President Yoo Jae-won of ID Technology?”
“Yes.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Shayla Dolly, Secretary to Chairman Edwin. And these gentlemen are…?”
“My entourage. Vice President Remington, Secretary Kim Dae-seok, and the security detail.”
“Ah, I see. Please come up together. Chairman Edwin is waiting.”
She seemed slightly flustered by the larger-than-expected number of attendants, but Shayla skillfully led the group.
“Thank you for coming all this way. I am Edwin Feulner, President of the Heritage Foundation.”
Edwin Feulner greeted Yoo Jae-won warmly. His overall impression matched exactly what Yoo Jae-won had seen through his Memory Palace. As the head of America's conservative think tank, he was white. Born in 1941, he was now forty-nine. His once-dark hair had turned half-gray. His large build, clad in a black suit with gray stripes, made him appear even bigger. Ah, and the gold-rimmed glasses were an indispensable part of his image.
“It's a pleasure. I'm Yoo Jae-won. This is Vice President Remington, my secretary, and my security team.”
“Everyone, it's good to meet you.”
Edwin Feulner shook hands first with Yoo Jae-won, then with Remington and Kim Dae-seok without exception. He had seemed like the type who might be particular about rank and protocol, yet his willingness to shake hands with everyone regardless of position slightly improved Yoo Jae-won's impression of him.
After the initial introductions, he left Kim Dae-seok and the security team in the living room and guided Yoo Jae-won and Remington to a table in the study. Though called a study, it didn't carry the musty scent of old books. While the shelves were indeed filled with books befitting the name, they were relatively recent publications, so there was no stale odor. Instead, the tea prepared on the table emitted a subtle fragrance.
Unusually, plush sofas surrounded the tea table instead of rigid chairs. There was a single-seater sofa facing the table and two larger sofas that could seat several people side by side. It was a space where seven or eight people could comfortably converse.
“Well, I've heard plenty about your reputation, so I know it well enough. It's an honor to meet you in person.”
“You're too kind.”
Though English lacked honorifics, his tone conveyed sufficient respect. The seating arrangement reflected this as well. Logically, the single-seater sofa was the place of honor. Yet Edwin Feulner had chosen to sit on the multi-person sofa facing Yoo Jae-won's group instead.
“By the way, would you like tea or coffee?”
“Coffee, please.”
At Yoo Jae-won's request, it was Edwin Feulner who moved. Usually, a secretary or butler would serve the drinks, but apparently there was no such arrangement here. The coffee wasn't from an espresso machine either—it had been brewed with a simple dripper.
“Good. Lately, I've taken up the hobby of brewing my own coffee. The beans are Colombian Supremo Medellín, dark-roasted. I hope they suit your taste.”
Yoo Jae-won accepted the coffee with gratitude and took a sip. Korea's coffee culture revolved around instant coffee mixes. One had to visit a hotel or the occasional specialty café to get proper brewed coffee. High-grade beans like Supremo were hard to come by. The dark roast, with its substantial body and balanced bitterness, suited Yoo Jae-won's palate perfectly.
“It's exactly to my taste. I like it very much. If you opened a café and worked as a barista after retirement, you'd be a huge success.”
“Haha, thank you for the compliment.”
Even before getting to the main topic, Yoo Jae-won found himself warming up to this man.
“A café, you say. I'll have to consider it if my hands get restless after retirement. Anyway, it's truly delightful to finally meet you in person after hearing so much about your rising fame since last year. Our foundation has been watching ID Technology and you, Yoo Jae-won, very closely—watching your meteoric rise like a comet.”
“Is that so?”
“Especially when you launched the Security Challenge, it caused quite a stir.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because a powerful encryption system is directly tied to a nation's security level. Yet that system was created by a young child from a small country in the East—fourteen years old? Ah, last year, so thirteen. Anyway, a child created it, so it's only natural that security research organizations like ours would be shocked.”
“Heh, I suppose I was quite exceptional.”
Yoo Jae-won didn't bother with false modesty. Humility was a cultural norm in Asian countries like Korea and Japan, but in America, it was important to properly showcase one's abilities. Capability directly translated into value and compensation. Unlike in Asia, many Americans viewed excessive humility from someone clearly talented as a sign of lacking confidence.
“I can't deny it. To be precise, you weren't just ordinarily talented—you were so exceptional that you could be called unique on a global scale. But here's the thing. Our bloated, slow-moving government… Oh dear! If you happen to meet President Bush, please keep what I'm about to say a secret.”
“Of course.”
“Haha, thank you. Anyway, like a dinosaur, it's big but can't keep up with the changing times. Thanks to that, I had to wear out my mouth convincing the relevant parties about the excellence, integrity, and security of the encryption system you created. Fortunately, there was at least some strong connection between our foundation and the administration. Thanks to that, we were able to introduce it in time.”
Interesting. Edwin Feulner was quite the operator as well. In other words, he was framing the federal government's purchase of ID Office and the AES-256 license last year as entirely their own achievement.
“Furthermore, the one who underestimated your abilities and paid dearly for it was none other than Microsoft, wasn't it?”
“Heh, they certainly gave off that vibe.”
If Gates and Ballmer hadn't underestimated ID Technology as a small company and had instead devoted their full strength, the outcome of the trial might have been different. But that slight complacency ultimately led to the collapse of their empire.
With the injunction lifted, Android Alpha was rapidly encroaching on the PC operating system market. Major computer manufacturers like Dell, Compaq, and even HP were pushing models equipped with Android Alpha as their flagship consumer products. The latest version of MS-DOS, 4.0, had dropped to around forty dollars per copy through aggressive discount policies aimed at countering ID Technology. However, Android Alpha's adware version was free, and the ad-free version supplied to major vendors cost only ten dollars. It was remarkably inexpensive, yet functionally superior to MS-DOS in many ways. The Ribbon Interface and Glide X created a powerful synergistic effect. Now, not only ID Technology but other software manufacturers were actively adopting the Ribbon Interface through patches. These factors combined to produce rapid growth in market share. Day by day, Microsoft's market share was visibly plummeting.
“The problem is that Microsoft is one of our foundation's largest donors, which has put me in quite a difficult position.”
“Oh my, that must be troublesome.”
“It's fine. In a free competitive market, when companies compete, unexpected ups and downs are only natural.”
The Heritage Foundation was conservative. At the same time, it was a devout follower of neoliberalism. A place that strictly adhered to market economic logic, it didn't invoke nationalism regarding ID Technology's victory.
“You mentioned you had some advice regarding the Microsoft acquisition? And some operational advice for the company as well?”
After exchanging various small talk over the coffee Edwin Feulner had served, they finally arrived at the main topic. The biggest reason he had summoned Yoo Jae-won was to offer valuable advice on the acquisition.
“That's right. But our foundation's consulting fees are quite expensive.”
Yoo Jae-won nodded at Edwin Feulner's words. At the same time, a curious thought occurred to him. The man hadn't asked at all whether Yoo Jae-won had the financial capacity to acquire Microsoft, a company dozens of times larger than ID Technology. There was no way Edwin Feulner knew about the oil futures investment using the Gulf War, so perhaps he had something else in mind.
“That's fine. If I like what I hear, ID Technology will provide support so substantial that you won't even remember Microsoft's donations.”
Yoo Jae-won hinted at a generous donation, urging him to lay out his proposal.