Chapter 20 - Novis Project
Chapter 20 - Novis Project
"We will begin the 5th Industrial Revolution."
The moment the President finished speaking, the press conference hall went completely still for a few seconds.
No one could immediately raise their hand to ask a question.
The 5th Industrial Revolution.
It was too big a phrase for the President to use in a speech, and too heavy to dismiss as a mere political slogan.
After a brief silence, the conference hall began to buzz as if it had exploded.
"Mr. President!"
"What do you mean by the 5th Industrial Revolution?"
"Please tell us the specific details of the project!"
"Is it related to your visit to MIT?"
"Is this a matter related to Siwoo Yoon?"
Questions poured out all at once.
Camera flashes went off again, and the subtitles at the bottom of the live broadcast screen began to change rapidly.
The President raised his hand to calm the reporters.
"I will take questions shortly."
The conference hall was still buzzing, but as the President's voice hit the microphone again, it quieted down little by little.
"Today, the U.S. government officially approves a new national industrial project."
"The name of the project is Novis."
For a moment, some reporters looked at each other.
Novis. It was a name they were hearing for the first time.
Neither the reporters from Wall Street nor the technology journalists knew the name Novis.
"The Novis Project is a plan to rebuild the foundation of U.S. manufacturing and future industries."
The President paused for a moment before delivering the next sentence.
"The total investment scale is 1.2 trillion dollars."
The conference hall shook once again.
Someone checked the scale of the funds, and someone else just stared at the podium with their mouth open.
1.2 trillion dollars. It was an excessively large number for the U.S. government to bring up all at once in a public setting, but the President did not waver.
"30 core production hubs will be built across the United States."
"We expect an employment effect of 12 million people in total: 3.5 million direct jobs and 8.5 million indirect jobs."
At that moment, the press conference hall could not have been any louder.
"12 million people?"
"Is 3.5 million direct jobs correct?"
"What kind of industry is it?"
"What technology makes this scale possible?"
"What does Novis mean?"
The reporters' voices overlapped.
The White House Press Secretary tried to stop them from the side, but this time, the reporters did not back down easily.
What the President had just announced was not just a few factories, nor was it a stimulus package.
It was a scale that could shake the entire U.S. labor market.
At a New York economic broadcasting station, the anchor stopped speaking while looking at the screen.
The prepared script was already on the teleprompter, but the President's announcement was far greater than they had anticipated.
"The President just revealed that the total investment scale of the Novis Project is 1.2 trillion dollars."
He put down the pen he was holding for a moment.
"3.5 million direct jobs."
"8.5 million indirect jobs."
"A total of 12 million people."
The panelist sitting next to him could not respond immediately, and a moment later, he said in a low voice.
"This isn't a stimulus package."
"Then what is it?"
"It's an industrial restructuring."
While that statement was being broadcast, the Wall Street pre-market also began to shake.
Construction equipment, power infrastructure, steel, semiconductor equipment, data centers, industrial automation—no one knew which companies would be included in the Novis Project, but the market was already moving.
In the press conference hall, the President continued speaking.
"Novis is the name of the company that will produce superconductors."
"The core of the Novis Project is the production of next-generation superconductors."
Superconductor. The moment that word fell into the conference hall, the reporters stopped thinking.
There was no one who didn't know the word superconductor.
A material that allows current to flow without resistance, a dream material that could eliminate transmission losses and change everything from power grids and semiconductors to magnetic levitation and medical equipment, and even military technology.
However, room temperature and practical production were always different issues.
Yet, the U.S. President himself had mentioned superconductors as the core of a national industrial project.
"Mr. President!"
"Is it a room-temperature superconductor?"
"Does this mean practical production is possible?"
"Has it passed government verification?"
"Which research institution developed it?"
Questions poured out, and the President did not answer immediately.
He looked at the Secretary of Energy standing next to him for a moment, and the Secretary of Energy stepped up to the auxiliary microphone next to the podium.
"I will speak within the scope of what can be disclosed at this time."
His voice was calm, but the air in the conference hall was still hot.
"The superconductor for the Novis Project has passed the first verification by MIT and the government verification team."
"The plan to build production hubs for practical production has also been approved."
"However, detailed manufacturing methods and some core information will not be disclosed for national industrial security reasons."
Reporters raised their hands simultaneously.
"Who is the developer?"
"You mentioned MIT, is it related to Siwoo Yoon?"
"Was this the purpose of the President's visit to MIT?"
The Secretary of Energy looked at the President again, and the President returned to the microphone.
"The founder of this project is Siwoo Yoon of MIT."
Siwoo Yoon. When that name came out, the atmosphere of the press conference changed completely.
Everyone had already expected it, but expectations and official announcements are different.
The ten-year-old genius who solved the Hodge Conjecture, the boy called Humanity's Intellect.
A name that had been floating only within academia for two years was now mentioned by the U.S. President as the center of an industrial revolution.
"Does this mean Siwoo Yoon developed the superconductor?"
"Isn't he ten years old?"
"Do you plan to release the MIT verification results?"
"Is Siwoo Yoon also participating in the management of Novis?"
The President raised his hand.
"Siwoo Yoon is the founder and core technology developer of Novis."
"However, detailed information and security-related matters regarding Siwoo Yoon personally will not be disclosed."
One reporter shouted immediately.
"Why is the government investing directly in Novis?"
The President looked around the conference hall for a moment.
"The Novis Project is not a typical private corporate project."
"The U.S. government plans to hold a 30% stake in Novis."
"The government is taking a stake?"
"Is it nationalization?"
"Isn't this government intervention in a private company?"
"What happens to the remaining shares?"
The President's expression did not change.
"It is not nationalization."
"Novis will be operated as a private company."
"However, this technology is directly connected to U.S. industry, national security, and future supply chains."
"The 30% government stake is a measure to protect national strategic industries."
The reporters typed like crazy.
-30% government stake
-Novis
-Superconductor
-Siwoo Yoon
-1.2 trillion dollars
-12 million jobs
The President looked at the reporters one last time.
"The United States will not lock this technology away exclusively."
"Novis will produce superconductors."
"And American companies will build new industries on top of them."
The Secretary of Commerce raised his head from behind the podium.
Those words were almost the same as what Siwoo Yoon had said to the President.
The President continued slowly.
"We will build again."
"We will produce again."
"And we will lead again."
With those words, the press conference could no longer be controlled.
The White House Press Secretary tried to organize the questions, but the reporters' voices were already rushing in like waves.
But the core had already gone out.
Before the press conference even ended, news breaking headlines around the world changed simultaneously.
《U.S. Government Officially Approves 1.2 Trillion Dollar Novis Project》
《Core of Novis Project is Superconductor》
《MIT's Siwoo Yoon Officially Confirmed as Superconductor Developer》
《30 Production Hubs to be Built Across the U.S.》
《3.5 Million Direct Jobs, 8.5 Million Indirect Jobs》
《Total Employment Effect of 12 Million... Signal for U.S. Manufacturing Revival》
《U.S. Government to Hold 30% Stake in Novis》
《President Declares "Start of 5th Industrial Revolution"》
The atmosphere on the internet heated up in an instant.
The superconductor was real
Wait, a ten-year-old made this?
So that's why the President went to MIT
1.2 trillion dollars is insane
12 million jobs is enough to change the whole country
It's a declaration of U.S. manufacturing revival
Seeing the government take a 30% stake, it's a real national project
Humanity's Intellect did it again
Hodge Conjecture followed by a superconductor? The genre is weird
A ten-year-old started an industrial revolution
Isn't this a scene that will go into history books?
I got goosebumps the moment Siwoo Yoon's name was mentioned directly
The White House didn't hide it for no reason
If it's a superconductor, doesn't that change everything from power grids to semiconductors?
The U.S. will really tighten its grip on hegemony
Korean portals also reported it immediately.
《Korean-born genius Siwoo Yoon officially confirmed as superconductor developer》
《U.S. government invests 1.2 trillion dollars in Novis, founded by Siwoo Yoon》
《3.5 million direct jobs, 8.5 million indirect jobs... 12 million total effect》
《Humanity's Intellect who solved the Hodge Conjecture, now at the center of the 5th Industrial Revolution》
That's the kid, Siwoo Yoon
The kid who was born in Korea and taken by the U.S.
Wow, the U.S. really hit the jackpot
I thought it would end with just the Hodge Conjecture, but a superconductor?
Isn't the nickname "Humanity's Intellect" insufficient at this point?
Seeing the government take a 30% stake, they must be trying to protect him
12 million jobs, I'm speechless
The term "Industrial Revolution" wasn't an exaggeration
Japan and Europe were no different.
German economic broadcasts analyzed the impact superconductors would have on manufacturing, and British broadcasts debated what the 30% U.S. government stake meant.
Japanese media splashed Siwoo Yoon's name across their headlines again.
Chinese state-run media used cautious language, but internal experts were already saying more serious things.
The U.S. is building 30 superconductor production hubs.
The government is even taking a stake.
And the core developer is inside the U.S.
That meant it wasn't just a simple technology announcement, but that the U.S. had started to lock the door to the future industrial supply chain from the inside.
At MIT, Siwoo was watching the press conference video to the end in his lab.
Jonathan was watching the screen silently beside him, and Ethan Ross was continuously receiving radio communications near the door.
The hallway outside was quieter than before, and he could feel that the security personnel had increased.
"We really can't hide it anymore."
Jonathan said in a low voice.
Siwoo looked at the article headlines floating on the monitor.
-Novis
-Superconductor
-30% government stake
-Siwoo Yoon
"I never intended to hide it in the first place."
"Even so, it's a different matter for the world to accept it."
Siwoo looked out the window for a moment.
Making the superconductor was fine, but the problem was what came next.
Publishing a paper and building an industry were completely different things.
He had to build factories, hire people, and set up production lines.
Moreover, I have to set up the structure for every production hub myself.
People will see 1.2 trillion dollars and 12 million people in the articles.
But what I saw was the flow behind those numbers.
The flow of factories being built, cities moving again, and companies starting to create new products on top of the superconductors.
For that flow to continue properly, the first structure must not be wrong.
Siwoo said quietly.
"Because it's just the beginning."
Jonathan looked at Siwoo.
"Aren't you scared?"
Siwoo thought for a moment.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't scared.
The world had started to move all at once.
The government was moving, companies were moving, and other countries would move too.
But he didn't want to run away.
Since I started this, I have to see it through to the end.