Chapter 17 - The President Moves
Chapter 17 - The President Moves
The air in the White House underground meeting room was heavier than usual.
As the thick door closed, the noise from outside vanished completely, and reports brought up to Washington lay on the long table.
A short title was written on the cover.
[Novis Project 1st Investment Review Proposal]
President Richard Alan did not speak for a while, keeping the report open.
The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Energy, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and even the White House Economic Advisor were all looking at the same data, and most of the people in the meeting room already knew the numbers.
However, seeing the numbers again in front of the President felt different.
The President stopped his gaze on the last line.
He could now understand why people were saying Siwoo Yoon was more important than the superconductor itself.
It wasn't a problem that would end just by building factories, nor was it a problem that could be solved just by pouring money into it.
Production was only possible if Siwoo Yoon set the structure himself.
That meant the center of this project wasn't the company, the factory, or the government, but a ten-year-old boy.
The Secretary of the Treasury spoke first.
"Mr. President."
"Speak."
"1.2 trillion dollars is not a scale that can be decided easily."
"It is a heavy burden to handle with just the government budget."
"We need a phased execution."
The Secretary of Labor immediately flipped through the materials.
"But the total employment effect is 12 million people."
"This isn't just a simple industrial project."
"The entire Rust Belt region could start moving again."
The Secretary of the Treasury frowned.
"I know those numbers are attractive, but if it fails, it will be the worst waste of budget in history."
The Secretary of Commerce said in a low voice.
"Being late might be more dangerous than failing."
"If the superconductor is real, the global industrial structure will change."
"If we don't secure the production network first, other countries will make their move."
The Secretary of Energy nodded.
"The power grid will change first."
"Transmission loss, industrial power, data centers, semiconductor processes—the scope of application is too broad."
The President listened to the ministers' arguments without a word.
Each of them was saying the right thing.
The Treasury had to worry about money, and the Labor Department had to look at jobs.
The Commerce and Energy Departments had to look at industry.
The problem was that all these logics were contained within a single report at the same time.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget raised a hand quietly.
"Mr. President."
"Speak."
"I will be honest."
"A project of this scale is almost unprecedented in American history."
The meeting room went quiet.
"But it's also hard to find a reason to refuse."
The Secretary of the Treasury looked at him.
"That doesn't sound like something the Budget Director should say, does it?"
"I know. That's why I'm saying it even more cautiously."
The Budget Director turned a page of the report.
"The investment scale is large, but the effect is also large."
"There is clearly a risk of failure, but the technology verification is complete, and the production control can effectively be tied within the United States."
"Siwoo Yoon is in the U.S., and both MIT and the government verification team have confirmed the exclusivity of the structure setting."
The White House Economic Advisor picked up the conversation.
"This isn't just factory construction."
"It's a plan to produce the base materials for future industries within the U.S."
"30 production hubs might seem extreme in terms of numbers, but considering global supply, it's actually closer to an initial scale."
The President closed the report, and the sound made the meeting room go quiet.
"Why does Siwoo Yoon want to work with the government?"
The Economic Advisor answered.
"It appears he judged that he couldn't protect it alone."
"The technology itself is too big."
"It connects to power, semiconductors, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, military, and the space industry."
The Secretary of Commerce added.
"According to the report, Siwoo Yoon's position is that he will only supply the superconductors."
"He said derivative products should be made by existing companies."
"He saw that if he monopolized it, the industry could collapse."
The President's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"A ten-year-old said that?"
The Secretary of Labor laughed softly.
"Yes. And he's right."
Silence descended upon the meeting room.
No one could easily deny it.
A monopoly might be fast, but it cannot grow an industry.
Siwoo Yoon knew that.
The President was lost in thought for a moment.
Cities where factories had stopped, workers who had lost their jobs, regions that had lost their manufacturing base and were left with only political anger—if the lights could be turned back on in all those places, this wasn't just a simple investment proposal.
"Let's approve it."
The movement in the meeting room stopped.
"The Treasury and the Budget Office should redraw the phased execution plan."
"But the principle is approval."
"We will push forward with the Novis Project as a national industrial project."
The Secretary of Commerce bowed his head.
"We will prepare immediately."
The Secretary of Labor let out a quiet breath, and the Budget Director had already started marking the materials.
The President spoke again.
"And... I need to meet Siwoo Yoon."
The Chief of Staff asked.
"Shall we call him to the White House?"
The President thought for a moment.
"No, I will go to MIT."
It was no light matter for the President to move personally, but no one objected.
This matter had already gone beyond standard procedure.
"The investment proposal has been approved."
"Now I need to hear directly what that child is thinking."
That afternoon, MIT began to be quietly controlled.
Black vehicles arrived one by one, and strange security personnel were deployed at every entrance.
Jonathan Reed opened the lab door and entered.
Siwoo Yoon was standing in front of the whiteboard, and he was still looking at the production line structure.
"Siwoo, the President is coming."
"Here?"
"Yes."
"He's coming to MIT personally."
Siwoo thought for a moment.
It wasn't that he wasn't surprised.
It was rare for the President to move personally.
But it wasn't entirely unexpected either.
1.2 trillion dollars, 30 production hubs, the starting point for most future industries—it wouldn't be strange for the President to want to verify that in person.
"When?"
"Soon. Are you nervous?"
"A little. But the President coming doesn't change the structure, so."
Jonathan didn't speak for a while, then laughed softly.
Not long after, the President arrived at a private meeting room next to the MIT President's office.
The hallway was completely controlled, and only the President of the university, Jonathan, and a few government officials remained.
As soon as the President entered the meeting room, he looked at Siwoo Yoon.
Ten years old—the person he faced in reality looked even younger than the age he had seen in the report.
The President held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Siwoo Yoon."
Siwoo shook his hand.
"Hello."
After sitting down, the President got straight to the point.
"I read the report."
"Yes."
"30 production hubs, 1.2 trillion dollars, 12 million employment effect."
The President paused for a moment.
"It was a tremendous plan."
"I thought it was the necessary scale."
"I have a question."
"Please, go ahead."
"Why did you bring it to the government?"
Siwoo didn't answer immediately.
This question wasn't asking about money, but about the reason.
Why Siwoo Yoon didn't hold onto it alone and brought the government in, why he wanted to go with the U.S. government.
I organized my thoughts for a moment.
I was the one who made the superconductor, and I had to set the production line.
But holding onto this alone wasn't a good structure.
If the technology is too big, the people who swarm around it become more dangerous than the technology itself.
Companies would swarm, nations would swarm, and there would probably be people moving in ways I hadn't even thought of.
Siwoo opened his mouth slowly.
"Because it's too big."
"Too big?"
"Yes. If you look at just the superconductor, it might look like just a material."
"But what comes after is the problem."
Siwoo folded his fingers one by one.
"Power, semiconductors, telecommunications, AI, military, space industry—everything will change."
He looked at the President.
"In fact, the superconductor will be the starting point for most future industries."
"So I thought it was too dangerous to do it alone."
"I can make the superconductor, but I can't stop all the problems surrounding it by myself."
"What kind of problems?"
"Companies will swarm, and other countries will make their moves."
"There will be people trying to steal samples, people trying to extract the production line, and someone might directly target me and my parents."
Jonathan's expression stiffened, and the President's was the same.
Siwoo continued.
"That's why I thought it was right to go with the U.S. government."
The President asked slowly.
"So that's why you requested government investment?"
"Yes. And I'm planning to give the government a 30% stake."
The air in the meeting room stopped for a moment.
A moment later, the Secretary of the Treasury asked back quietly.
"30%?"
"Yes."
"What is the reason?"
Siwoo looked at the President.
"I can't protect it alone. This isn't a technology that can be protected by money alone."
"If the superconductor becomes the key to most future industries, the government must also take responsibility."
"It's dangerous if I hold onto everything, so it's more stable if the government holds a stake and we go together."
The President looked at Siwoo for a while.
Siwoo was saying he would share his technology with the government.
Not because he needed money, but because he couldn't protect it alone.
"Do you have any conditions?"
"I do."
"Tell me."
"The government must protect Novis."
"The factories, the production lines, the technology. And you must ensure that companies can make the derivative products."
The Secretary of Commerce asked.
"Do you really not intend to make them yourself?"
"I don't. I will only make the superconductors."
"Wires, semiconductors, telecommunications equipment—other companies must do that."
"If I do it all, the industry will die."
The President laughed shortly.
"That doesn't sound like something a ten-year-old would say."
Siwoo looked at the President for a moment and answered.
"The superconductor isn't something a ten-year-old would make, either."
Laughter burst out in the meeting room.
The tension eased a little, and the President eventually laughed too.
The President had already reached a conclusion.
This child is not just an inventor.
He knows the dangers of technology, he sees the structure of the industry, and he is calculating even the areas he cannot protect.
If so, what the government had to do was clear.
"Good."
The President said.
"The government will approve the Novis Project."
"The detailed stake structure and legal mechanisms will need to be readjusted, but in principle, we will go together."
Siwoo nodded quietly.
"Thank you."
"There's no need to thank me."
"This is also for the sake of the United States."
The President stood up from his seat, and Siwoo stood up as well.
The two shook hands again.
"Siwoo."
"Yes."
"There are more people involved in this than you think."
"I know."
"Do you really know?"
Siwoo thought for a moment.
"I don't know everything, but at least I know that if factories are built, many people can work."
"And other companies will make more things with the superconductors those people make."
"That's the structure I thought of."
The President looked at Siwoo without a word.
And very slowly, he nodded.
"That's a good structure."
It was a while after that when the President left MIT.
The motorcade quietly left the campus.
On the surface, it was a short private visit, but the conversation that took place within it could change the direction of American industry.
Inside the presidential vehicle, the Chief of Staff asked cautiously.
"How did you find it?"
"It's more important than the content of the report."
"Are you talking about the superconductor?"
"No."
The President was silent for a moment.
"I'm talking about Siwoo Yoon."
"That child knows what he has made."
"And he also knows what he cannot protect."
The car went quiet.
"Tell the Secret Service."
"Yes."
"Double the security personnel attached to Siwoo Yoon and his parents."
"Redo everything—MIT, their home, their movement routes."
"Strengthen access control, and prepare for all possibilities, including foreign intelligence agencies and corporate spies."
The Chief of Staff's expression stiffened.
"I will take action immediately."
The President looked out the window again.
"From now on, I cannot allow any risk."
"We are not protecting the superconductor. We are protecting Siwoo Yoon."
That evening, strange movements began to be detected around Washington and MIT.
The President's schedule did not list the MIT visit as an official event.
But there were people who saw the presidential motorcade, and there were students who saw the control around MIT.
And reporters didn't miss that scent.
A few hours later, the first article went up.
《U.S. President, Private Visit to MIT》
Other articles followed immediately.
《President and Siwoo Yoon in Private Meeting》
《What did they talk about with Humanity's Intellect, Siwoo Yoon?》
《White House, Meeting Content Private》
《Entire MIT Controlled... What is the Reason for the President's Visit?》
The White House answered briefly.
"The President discussed private pending issues with MIT officials."
"We cannot confirm the specific details yet."
That answer only added fuel to the fire, and the internet heated up in an instant.