Chapter 19 - The Door to the Industrial Revolution
Chapter 19 - The Door to the Industrial Revolution
I didn't think much of it when the article first went up.
After working as a reporter for a long time, the President's visit to MIT itself wasn't really news.
Visiting famous universities happened all the time, and it was common for the President to meet a few professors and head back.
The problem was what came next.
8:14 AM
《President's MIT Visit, Rumors of a Massive Industrial Project》
I put down my coffee and opened the article.
Anonymous government officials, undisclosed industrial issues, the White House refusing to comment—these were phrases I would usually just gloss over, but the fact that this came right after the President's visit to MIT bothered me.
8:27 AM
《Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, and Office of Management and Budget Spotted Moving Simultaneously》
I sat up straight.
The Department of Commerce looks at industry, the Department of Labor at jobs, and the Office of Management and Budget at money.
But the fact that all three were moving at once meant that, at the very least, some big calculations were going on inside the government.
8:41 AM
《Government Preparing for Large-Scale Manufacturing Investment》
By now, the atmosphere in the office started to change.
The political reporter sitting next to me looked at my monitor and said in a low voice.
"Is this for real?"
"I don't know yet."
"But you smell something, don't you?"
Instead of answering, I pointed at the screen.
President, MIT, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, Office of Management and Budget, manufacturing investment—it fits together too perfectly to be a coincidence.
"Isn't this related to Yoon Siwoo?"
When that name came up, a few people in the office looked up at the same time.
Yoon Siwoo, the kid who turned the global mathematical community upside down two years ago by solving the Hodge Conjecture.
The ten-year-old genius who moved to the US, got into MIT, and even earned the nickname 'Humanity's Intellect'.
The President went to MIT, and government departments are moving simultaneously.
And rumors of manufacturing investment are emerging.
Nothing is confirmed yet, but after working as a reporter for a long time, there are moments when you just know.
Moments when the atmosphere moves before the facts do.
I called the editor-in-chief.
"Desk."
"What is it?"
"We need to scale this up."
"Basis?"
"It's lacking for now."
"Then why scale it up?"
"The government is too quiet."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.
"That's your basis?"
"Yes."
After a short silence, the editor-in-chief said.
"Keep digging."
9:03 AM
《White House Refuses to Answer Related Questions》
With that one article, the situation changed completely.
The fact that the White House didn't deny it was enough, and the internet heated up in an instant.
- What, is there really something going on?
- So that's why the President went to MIT.
- Manufacturing investment?
- I've never seen the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor move at the same time.
- Is it Yoon Siwoo again?
- What did Yoon Siwoo make this time?
- If the government hides it like that, I get even more curious.
- If it's MIT, isn't it basically Yoon Siwoo?
- Seeing the White House refuse to answer, it seems like something really big.
- Why hide it if it's not a national security project?
At first, it seemed like internet speculation, but as noon approached, broadcasting stations also started asking the same questions.
CNN analyzed the President's route during the MIT visit, and FOX tracked the private meeting schedules of the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor.
NBC aired news that officials from the Office of Management and Budget held meetings much later than usual.
Economic channels moved in a completely different direction.
"If it's manufacturing investment, there's a possibility the scale is significant."
"The fact that the Department of Labor is moving along with them means that employment effect calculations have been included."
"If the Office of Management and Budget is involved too, it's not just a simple policy announcement."
Yoon Siwoo's photo appeared on one side of the screen.
A small frame, a face bordering on expressionless, an old photo taken in front of an MIT lecture hall.
The anchor said while looking at the photo.
"The White House is not officially confirming whether a meeting with Yoon Siwoo took place."
One panelist chuckled.
"Not confirming means they aren't denying it either."
That remark was immediately clipped and spread across the internet.
- Not confirming = It's true
- Looks like Yoon Siwoo really made something
- Why is a mathematician connected to a manufacturing project?
- He's not just a mathematician, he's a genius lol
- He was quiet for 2 years, did he blow something up again?
News started to reach Korean portals as well.
《US President's MIT Visit Mystery》
《Rumors Regarding Yoon Siwoo Reignited》
《Korean-American Genius Who Solved the Hodge Conjecture, Is He at the Center of This Too?》
- If it's Yoon Siwoo, that's that kid, right?
- The US didn't take him for nothing.
- If the President went himself, it doesn't seem like a normal matter.
- I thought it ended with math, but what is it this time?
- If it's real, the US would never reveal it.
- The more the White House hides it, the more suspicious it is.
- Did the Korean-American genius cause another incident?
1:20 PM
The White House press briefing room was practically a battlefield.
Reporters were making calls simultaneously, and the spokesperson repeated the same answer.
"I cannot confirm."
"There is no information available for release at this time."
"We will provide an explanation at an appropriate time."
The moment the third answer came out, I made eye contact with the reporter next to me, and he was smiling.
We were thinking the same thing.
That it wasn't an answer, but it was enough to write an article.
1:44 PM
《White House Evades Questions About President's MIT Visit》
2:02 PM
《Suspicions Amplify Amid Government Silence》
2:18 PM
《Rumors of Imminent Large-Scale Industrial Project Spread》
As the articles piled up, people's interest grew, and the problem was now the government.
You can hide it, but the more you hide it, the bigger it gets.
In the White House, the President's office, the newly uploaded articles were organized, and the President silently scanned the headlines.
President's MIT visit, rumors regarding Yoon Siwoo, large-scale manufacturing investment, government refusal to answer.
The reporters didn't know the core yet.
No media outlet had reached the word 'superconductor' yet, but it would only be a matter of time before the media found out the truth.
The Chief of Staff said cautiously.
"The media has caught up faster than expected."
"How far have they come?"
"They are almost certain of the project's existence."
"The technology?"
"They don't know yet."
"Yoon Siwoo?"
"It's at the speculation stage."
You can hide it for now, but you can't hide it forever.
The President's MIT visit was already revealed, and the movements of government departments had also been tracked.
If we maintain silence like this, it will only fuel even greater suspicion.
The President put down the documents.
The conference room went quiet, and the Chief of Staff waited for the President's next words.
"It was something that had to be revealed anyway."
The Chief of Staff looked up.
"Prepare a press conference."
"Do you mean today?"
"Yes."
The President slowly stood up from his seat.
"We just need to tell the people the direction."
"Where America is heading."
That afternoon, the White House issued an emergency notice.
[Presidential Special Press Conference]
The topic wasn't clearly disclosed, but a single sentence was attached: a major announcement regarding American industry and the nation's future.
That one line set broadcasting stations around the world in motion.
CNN, FOX, NBC, BBC, NHK, Reuters, AFP, and broadcasting stations from each country reduced their scheduled broadcasts and prepared for the live White House feed.
Reporters filled the White House press briefing room much earlier than the scheduled time.
Dozens of cameras were aimed at the podium, and reporters exchanged information in low voices with their laptops turned on.
"Is it a manufacturing announcement?"
"There's talk that the investment scale is huge."
"Did you prepare a question about Yoon Siwoo?"
"It's highly likely the White House won't answer."
"Still, we have to ask."
It wasn't just American media; reporters from the UK, Japan, Germany, France, Korea, and China were all looking at the same podium.
Ten minutes before the announcement, the back of the press briefing room became even noisier.
White House aides were moving back and forth quickly, and the spokesperson repeated for the third time that they would not take advance questions from reporters.
I looked down at my laptop screen.
I had already created three headline candidates.
President, Announces Large-Scale Manufacturing Project.
President, Announces US Industrial Reconstruction Plan.
President, First Official Statement Since MIT Visit.
After working as a reporter for a long time, you come to know.
That for a really big announcement, the air in the room is different even before the announcement; it was like that now.
The British reporter next to me said in a low voice.
"Don't you find it strange too?"
"What?"
"The White House is too prepared."
He pointed to the flags behind the podium and the newly installed lighting.
I stopped my hands upon hearing that.
At that moment, my phone rang, and when I checked, it was the editor-in-chief.
"Are you ready?"
"Nothing has been announced yet."
"Prepare anyway."
"In which direction?"
"In the direction that becomes the bigger issue."
The economic newspaper reporter sitting in the front row of the press conference was already tapping on a calculator.
Political reporters were talking about the President's approval rating, and tech reporters were alternating between searching for MIT and the name Yoon Siwoo.
Everyone was looking at something different, but in the end, they were reaching the same conclusion.
This isn't a political event; it's that America is about to start something.
Inside the White House, the President was re-reading the last sentence of the speech, and the Chief of Staff waited quietly by his side.
"Isn't this expression too strong?"
The President was silent for a moment.
He knew that the words were strong.
Words that come out of the President's mouth move markets, move allies, and even move hostile nations.
That was why he couldn't say it any weaker.
1.2 trillion dollars, 30 production hubs, 12 million jobs, and superconductors.
This isn't the usual economic stimulus package people talk about; it's the moment when a single technology changes the foundation of industry.
The President folded the speech.
"These words must be strong."
"Because the people need to know."
"Know what, sir?"
"That we are moving toward a new era."
The President walked toward the door.
"And the world must know too."
"That America has started moving toward a new era first."
The door opened, and President Richard walked out to the podium.
The conference room went quiet, and only flashes kept going off.
The President stood in front of the podium, looked at the reporters for a moment, and then slowly opened his mouth.
"My fellow Americans."
"America is now standing before the door of a new era."
Camera flashes went off, and the President continued.
"For decades, we have experienced the decline of manufacturing and the hollowing out of industry."
"Countless people have lost their jobs, and countless cities have come to a standstill."
Reporters stopped moving as they listened to the President.
Those words were not political rhetoric, but the reality that America had long ignored.
The President's voice lowered a bit more.
"But today, America is about to start again."
The air in the conference room changed, and the whole world was watching the live broadcast.
The President looked straight ahead and said slowly.
"Beyond the 4th Industrial Revolution..."
"We will begin the 5th Industrial Revolution."