The Aftermath
Yoo Jae-won slumped in the back seat like a squid washed up on shore. “Ugh, that was exhausting.”
The past twenty-four hours had been an absolute whirlwind of events. Only yesterday morning he had been in San Francisco before flying to New York at the urgent request of Agent Skinner. He had immediately provided critical assistance in analyzing the suspect’s iPhone S and played a decisive role in confirming the perpetrator’s identity. Under normal procedures a trial would have been necessary, but since every terrorist who had taken action was already dead, no trial could ever take place. Thanks to that, the evidence Yoo Jae-won uncovered was more than enough to identify the culprits without issue.
Afterward, as promised by Agent Skinner, Yoo Jae-won had visited the White House armed with the results he had achieved. The purpose was to brief Al Gore, the president who held final decision-making authority. The meeting had taken place only a few hours earlier, so vivid memories of the situation still flashed through his mind the moment he closed his eyes.
“Chairman Yoo, your briefing has been scheduled. It’s set for seven o’clock this morning.”
“Seven o’clock?”
Even though he had heard clearly, he couldn’t help asking again. The clock on the wall had only just passed five in the morning. For someone overflowing with youthful vigor like Yoo Jae-won, pulling an all-nighter was nothing. But the dark circles under Agent Skinner’s eyes had already crept down past his cheeks. Moreover, the briefing Skinner mentioned was for the highest authority. If it was at seven in the morning, that meant even President Al Gore had to wake up early and prepare.
“It’s an emergency situation.”
Agent Skinner’s curt remark explained everything. Unlike the Bush administration, which had been paralyzed for days after the 9/11 attacks, the Al Gore administration was the complete opposite. Even the president himself was working through the night as if it were routine, so the other departments could hardly sit idle. At times it made Yoo Jae-won wonder if this was even the America he remembered.
The pace at which America’s various administrative agencies handled tasks was not as slow as Europe’s, but it had always been far more relaxed compared to Korea. Yet right now it was moving faster than Korea. The evidence recovered from the iPhone S exceeded all expectations—from the terrorists plotting the hijackings with Osama bin Laden, to footage of them murdering the pilots with concealed knives and seizing the cockpit, to messages solidifying their resolve with the other hijacking teams. It was enough to crack even Agent Skinner’s icy composure.
But the truly transcendent feat that Skinner could never have imagined was Yoo Jae-won using the indirect evidence from the iPhone S to track Osama bin Laden’s current location. The excited agent had immediately insisted on a briefing, grabbing his phone and moving busily until he successfully arranged the morning session at the White House.
The drive from New York to Washington DC took four hours by car, but the flight took less than one. The federal government aircraft assigned to Agent Skinner had priority over civilian flights, allowing for a swift takeoff and lightning-fast security screening. Yoo Jae-won and Agent Skinner organized the collected information into a report and flew together to Washington DC to deliver a full briefing on the incident.
In truth, Yoo Jae-won and President Al Gore were close enough to speak by phone anytime, so there were many ways to share information without a formal briefing. Nevertheless, Yoo Jae-won had deliberately chosen the formal route. A proper briefing would allow him to meet face-to-face with the entire core leadership that moved America.
White House – Oval Office
“Chairman Yoo Jae-won. Welcome to the White House. I wish we could have greeted you properly on a better day, but circumstances prevent it. Still, our expectations are incredibly high. According to Agent Skinner, you hit an enormous jackpot.”
In the Oval Office, President Al Gore greeted Yoo Jae-won alongside his senior staff and Pentagon generals. While Yoo Jae-won prepared his briefing materials, Skinner had given them a brief preliminary report, which explained their reaction.
The briefing began shortly afterward. As always, it utilized a projector and the presentation program from ID Office. A summarized report of the presentation materials had also been distributed in advance to President Al Gore, his staff, and the generals, making the content easier to understand.
“To think a single phone could yield such perfect evidence…”
Of course, Yoo Jae-won’s presentation was flawless, so the handouts had not been strictly necessary. The reactions were explosive. The Secretary of Defense and the Pentagon generals immediately raised their voices, insisting that American forces must march into Afghanistan to crush Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. The White House staff also advocated for military action.
It had been a terrorist attack that produced hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. Even the Capitol, a symbol of American democracy, had been struck, resulting in fatalities. For that reason, the pro-war stance received strong support within the Al Gore administration. The prevailing opinion was that, to heal the psychological wounds inflicted on the American people and restore the nation’s image as the world’s police, an uncompromising war against those who had dared target the homeland was essential.
Discussions about deploying not only the Marine Corps and carrier strike groups that always stood at the forefront, but also full regular divisions, quickly became the dominant view. In fact, before the briefing even began, Yoo Jae-won had worried that concerns might be raised about his dismantling of the iPhone S’s encryption system. Yet not a single word was spoken on the matter.
“The masterminds behind the terror have been confirmed as the Islamist fundamentalist armed group al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. There is no reason to hesitate in launching our advance!”
A general covered in stars from the Pentagon raised his voice. His office had been located less than a hundred meters from the impact site of the plane that had crashed into the building. He had been one of the first to rush bravely to the scene to help with rescue efforts. But the site had been so horrific that he could only watch helplessly as colleagues and subordinates died before his eyes. By all rights, he should have been hospitalized for psychological trauma, yet he had insisted on being present. It was only natural that fierce statements poured from his mouth.
And he was far from the only one at the White House who felt this way. Even President Al Gore himself was leaning toward mobilizing large-scale military forces. As concrete proof, every carrier strike group scattered across the globe was currently returning to American waters.
A carrier strike group typically consisted of one aircraft carrier, four to five Aegis escort ships, two or more nuclear submarines, and supporting logistics vessels. Only the United States could operate multiple such full carrier groups simultaneously. America possessed ten Nimitz-class carriers, each displacing 110,000 tons. Rather than keeping such overwhelming power at home, the nation had dispatched them across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans to safeguard global maritime security.
Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. military had ordered all these carrier groups to return home. Military experts interpreted this as preparation for an expeditionary force to carry out retaliatory operations against the terrorists. If left as it was, the same historical flow from the previous timeline—war on terror and the invasion of Afghanistan—would clearly repeat itself.
“Before raising a large army, I strongly recommend a surgical, ultra-precise strike targeting only the core—Osama bin Laden himself—and the al-Qaeda leadership.”
That was why Yoo Jae-won had forcefully advocated for an operation akin to precision surgery against Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. To the Pentagon generals who spoke only of all-out war, he cited the Gulf War and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Both conflicts had begun with excellent plans: a massive offensive to decapitate enemy leadership followed by a swift withdrawal. But what had been the reality?
The Gulf War had become the textbook example of modern warfare. The Republican Guard led by Hussein had melted under the overwhelming firepower of the coalition forces. Yet even now, long after the Gulf War had ended, enormous sums continued to be spent in Iraq. Although Hussein remained president, he had lost control over the country after defeat. Terrorism continued unabated across the region, and maintaining peace while suppressing it consumed vast amounts of money.
In such a situation, rushing unprepared into Afghanistan would mean America was dancing like a puppet exactly as Osama bin Laden had planned. Yoo Jae-won pointed this out clearly.
“Hmm!”
The star-covered generals bristled at Yoo Jae-won’s cool analysis, but President Al Gore nodded as if acknowledging the logic. The hardliners could no longer repeat their arguments. Yoo Jae-won drove the point home with one final nail.
“With the successful execution of the 9/11 attacks, Osama bin Laden has moved beyond mere confidence into outright arrogance. The digital fingerprints left on the iPhone S and his public statement via internet streaming are proof of that. He seems to have completely forgotten that the foundation of the internet lies in ARPANET and that 2.5G mobile technology originated from Qualcomm.”
With that, Yoo Jae-won displayed a map of Afghanistan and pointed to the location of Osama bin Laden’s most recent confirmed activity. Common sense suggested he would be hiding in the rugged mountains of northern Afghanistan, but the data showed the opposite: a luxurious residential area in the capital, Kabul. The information perfectly matched top-secret documents that would be declassified in the mid-21st century. According to those records, Osama bin Laden had operated primarily out of Kabul for nearly ten years after 9/11 before moving to Pakistan around 2011.
“If you decide on a capture operation, we also have cutting-edge systems ready to support it.”
Yoo Jae-won then switched the presentation to a new file. It was the very project that ID High Tech had poured more than a decade into perfecting—drones. From small quadcopters to large models equipped with turbojet engines, the drones capable of supporting a multidimensional capture operation were already fully prepared in Iraq.
“Did I go too far?”
While reviewing his White House presentation in the car, Yoo Jae-won couldn’t help feeling he had pushed things. It was certainly better than the Bush era, when neocons had dominated and the military staff and Pentagon generals would never have listened to him so attentively. Still, if he failed to persuade them, the same tragic history could unfold once again. That concern had led him to reveal the Rainbow Table for the iPhone S, disclose the drone technology, and release a massive amount of intelligence on Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
“They’ll reach a conclusion right before the weekend memorial service.”
Even though Yoo Jae-won had essentially thrown open the warehouse and put everything on sale, President Al Gore had postponed his decision. Given the enormous stakes, it was only natural he couldn’t give an immediate answer. Yoo Jae-won wasn’t particularly disappointed. Ultimately, whose side President Al Gore would take would become clear at the memorial service.
Of course, since Yoo Jae-won shared a particularly close relationship with Al Gore, he expected to receive contact a little earlier. But the difference probably wouldn’t be significant. If he put himself in Al Gore’s position, choosing whose advice to follow would be an incredibly difficult decision.
The same was true for Yoo Jae-won himself.
“Wake me when we arrive.”
Physically, Yoo Jae-won brimmed with energy. However, after handling such monumental tasks in rapid succession, the mental fatigue was considerable. He felt he wouldn’t last much longer without rest.
“Yes, Chairman! Please rest deeply without worry!”
At Kim Dae-seok’s reassuring words, Yoo Jae-won closed his eyes with peace of mind.
Knock knock.
The light knocking sound by his ear made him open his eyes.
“What? We’re already there?”
Yoo Jae-won’s voice was filled with bewilderment. It made sense—he felt as if he had closed his eyes for less than a minute, yet they had already arrived.
“Ah, yes, sir.”
Even Chief of Staff Kim Dae-seok seemed slightly flustered. But when Yoo Jae-won turned to look out the car window, the scene was different from what he expected. Jacob’s funeral had been scheduled at a church, yet they were now stopped in front of a hotel.
“While you were sleeping, the pastor’s wife contacted us.”
“Tiffany?”
The call from Tiffany was unexpected. What she had said was even more surprising. She asked him not to come straight to the funeral home but to rest at the hotel and arrive around two o’clock in the afternoon. She had also prepared funeral attire in the hotel room and requested that he be sure to wear it.
“Hmm.”
While Tiffany’s message had been quite unexpected, Yoo Jae-won could make an educated guess. The atmosphere at the funeral home would naturally be grim, but Jacob’s service was bound to be even worse. She must have hesitated to show her husband that scene in its raw state.
To confirm his suspicion, Yoo Jae-won called Tiffany. After several rings with no answer, he was about to send a message through ID Talk when a chat arrived from her first. After reading the message, he nodded.
The message Tiffany sent contained only a single moving emoticon—the ID Talk mascot characters engaged in an all-out brawl.