Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Quantum Cryptography
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The next day, I received official notification from the Director of the NIS that Jaewoo Thales had been selected as the developer for the ballistic missile project.
The Minister of Defense's words—that the President's approval was merely a formality—had now become a reality.
What was surprising were the NIS's follow-up measures. Just two hours after receiving the notification, NIS agents swarmed my research institute.
"Hyun-seung! What in the world is going on? NIS agents are installing something at the entrance to the institute. It's absolute chaos."
At his words, I immediately tried to call the NIS Director.
As if he had expected my reaction, I heard a voice tinged with amusement on the other end of the line.
"Since this facility is handling a classified national project, we must enhance security. From now until the ballistic missile development is complete, our agents, disguised as a private security firm, will be dispatched not only to the institute but also to the relevant departments at Thales."
I had no reason to object.
In fact, it was a welcome development.
I was already worried about information leaks, so having NIS agents handle security would be a great relief.
After all, no matter how thorough my own security measures were, they could hardly compare to the level of the NIS.
If they were the kind of people who could find items hidden in an anus with an X-ray, I wouldn't have to worry about security anymore.
*Screech!*
In the end, I readily agreed and headed to the institute.
When I arrived, the institute was already under strict security checks right from the entrance. X-ray scanners, the kind you'd see at customs, were being installed at every entry point.
"We have to undergo body searches too?"
The researchers were bewildered by the sudden enhancement of security measures.
But when even I, the CEO, complied thoroughly with the search, no one dared to complain.
"So the government really said they're going to develop a ballistic missile?"
A little later, when I met Hee-won in my office and told him the news, he looked astonished.
The reason I hadn't told him earlier was because he hadn't yet gone through the security clearance process.
But an NIS agent had just had him sign the papers, so it was safe to tell him the truth now.
"Of course. An Iskander-class one, at that."
"Iskander-class? That has a range of over 500 kilometers. What about the ROK-US Missile Guidelines that limit us to 180 kilometers?"
As he said, in this era, the Republic of Korea's missile range was restricted to 180 kilometers by the guidelines with the United States.
The funny thing was that this was a result of us shackling ourselves.
Although at the time, maintaining relations with the U.S. and domestic conditions were cited as the reasons.
Consequently, we had to strive for decades to break free from those guidelines, and it wasn't until 2020 that we could possess ballistic missiles with an 800-kilometer range.
"That's why it will be publicly announced as a 300-kilometer range missile. Though we'll face opposition even with that."
"But even that range violates the guidelines."
"It does for now. But the day will soon come when the President negotiates with the U.S., and we're building this in advance to prepare for that."
Historically, that's what happened.
In 1999, during a summit with Clinton, the President demanded that we be allowed to possess missiles with a 500-kilometer range. After difficult negotiations, the guidelines were eventually revised to 300 kilometers.
"Anyway, our institute's job is to develop the materials for the fuel tank and bulkheads that make up the propulsion system. In addition, we'll handle the guidance system design and the gyroscope."
"And I assume you already have the core source material for this too?"
Hee-won asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
When I nodded, he stood up with a look that said he wasn't even surprised anymore.
"Where are you going?"
"Where else? You've given me more homework, so I have to assemble a team."
"Is the team for the HVP system's radar element development finalized?"
"I just finished it. Dammit, I was just about to catch my breath, and now you've brought in more work."
"I told you. We won't have time to sleep for the next few years. By the way, are you managing the servers securely?"
"Don't worry about it. Besides, with such thorough security checks, who would be brazen enough to try and steal information?"
I agreed, but a sliver of anxiety remained.
Wasn't Lee Ho-joong the one who had bypassed all that strict surveillance and security to steal the data chip?
Of course, he failed because of me, but I never found out how he managed to get past such tight security and steal the chip.
*"Shit, where did you hide it! Why the hell are you doing this!"*
Suddenly, I recalled the words he had screamed at me as I was dying.
Why was I willing to give up my life to protect it?
What did I say back then?
Even as my consciousness faded, I think I managed to say something.
*"Fuck you!"*
*Pfft!*
"Right, that's what I said."
******
"Hmm..."
Late that night, I couldn't seem to fall asleep.
As I replayed the situation in my mind, I suddenly became curious about who had ordered Lee Ho-joong to do what he did.
The man, who was in his late thirties at the time, had told dying me that his motive was money, but he never revealed who was behind it all.
'If Lee Ho-joong was in his late thirties then, does that mean he's only in his teens now?'
It was absurd to think of seeking him out at such a young age for something that hadn't even happened yet.
Consequently, I had no way of finding out who was backing him for the time being.
Feeling dejected, I was about to close my eyes again when the data chip on my wrist suddenly caught my attention.
"..."
Since I couldn't sleep anyway, I decided to organize the contents of the data chip and opened the interface.
There were roughly a thousand folders.
I moved the organized folders to one location and was sifting through the unsorted ones when a particular name suddenly jumped out at me.
'Quantum Cryptography Generator?'
A shiver ran down my spine the moment I uttered the words.
Why hadn't I thought of this?
Quantum cryptography was one of the core technologies our ADD had developed.
"...Well, look at this."
Quantum cryptography technology was, in fact, one of the ADD's greatest achievements.
Its legacy was only tarnished by the betrayal of its developer, Lee Ho-joong.
In any case, if we developed it, I should have realized the technology would be on the data chip, but I had never once considered it until now.
'Tsk, was it a kind of trauma?'
Perhaps that was it.
Thinking about the person who killed me was excruciatingly painful.
So, I must have subconsciously pushed away any thoughts related to quantum cryptography.
*Swipe.*
I pushed the thought aside and immediately opened the folder.
A random number generator contained within a device the size of a pinky fingernail.
The quantum random numbers it generated had no pattern and were impossible to predict, making it known to be virtually unhackable.
In other words, with this, I would have a sufficient countermeasure against the risk of hacking.
'But it would be difficult to implement this right away...'
That was precisely the problem.
True random numbers are generated from nature.
That's why Lee Ho-joong solved it by creating a micro-sized random number generator using radioactive isotopes. But even with the source data, it would take time to bring it to life.
'What's this?'
Just then, I saw another folder created by Lee Ho-joong.
I clicked on it immediately and saw that it was another quantum cryptography random number generator, this one in an algorithmic format.
'Oh!'
In truth, random numbers generated by algorithms aren't truly random.
A quantum computer with immense processing power could solve the prime factorization of even the largest numbers in an instant.
But would that be possible with the computing power of this era's computers?
In the end, it meant that even the algorithmic method could serve as an absolute security measure for now.
"Well, I'll be..."
A laugh escaped my lips.
It was something I should have been happy about, yet I felt a strange sense of emptiness.
'I never thought I'd be getting help from the man who took my life.'
******
"Shit! What's this now?"
When I came to the institute early in the morning and shoved the documents in front of him, Hee-won's face grew gaunt.
It was a natural reaction, since anything I handed him was usually more homework.
But the next moment, his eyes widened as he shot a look at me.
"Quantum cryptography?"
"Yes. Give it to the software development department and have them apply this algorithm to all our servers as soon as possible."
"..."
Hee-won stared at me, blinking.
Well, back in this time, the concept of quantum cryptography was so unfamiliar that it was barely even established.
But in the era I came from, it was used by all major military and national facilities, and some versions of the technology, albeit degraded, were even used in mobile phone communications.
"A detailed explanation would be difficult even for me, but you can think of it as a kind of random number generator."
"You mean it's a security program?"
"Exactly. Conventional security programs can't really handle skilled hackers. But a quantum random number generator creates unpredictable numbers with no pattern, making external access impossible."
"Ooh!"
Hee-won examined the documents as if they were some marvelous new invention.
But could he understand it just by looking? In the end, he frowned and looked back at me.
"By the way, why are you so dressed up today? Are you going somewhere nice?"
"I have some business. I need to go meet someone."
"A business trip? Is Secretary Kim going with you?"
"The Senior Managing Director is going. Wouldn't his executive secretary follow?"
At my words, Hee-won's eyes wavered violently.
I turned away, ignoring him, and he muttered in a barely audible voice.
"I... got shot down hard by Secretary Kim."
"...What are you talking about?"
"It's just what I said. I tried to set the mood and make a move, but she rejected me flat out."
"What did she say?"
"She said she's not interested in men to begin with. Dammit, that hurt more than just being told she wasn't interested in me."
"Then give up. Like you said, if it's fate, it'll happen. If not, it won't."
"Dammit, who doesn't know that? I'm saying this because no matter how much I think about it, Secretary Kim feels like my destiny."
"Destiny, my ass. Should I tell you your real destiny?"
"..."
"Listen carefully. In the coming millennium, you'll meet the woman of your dreams. You'll marry her and have two adorable children."
Hee-won blinked, staring at me.
I let out a dry chuckle, and he, seeming to take it as a joke, scowled.
"...What kind of bullshit is that? Are you a shaman?"
"A shaman? More like a devil, maybe."
"..."
******
"Over here!"
When I arrived at Gimpo Airport, the meeting place, Deputy Director Im Hyo-sik of the NIS waved at me.
He approached with several other people and led me not to a gate, but to a VIP reception room set up in a corner of the airport.
"Are we negotiating here?"
"That's right. We can't ignore the prying eyes outside. According to our sources, agents from American intelligence are already on standby outside."
That was rather unexpected news.
I could understand if it were China or Japan, but why was the U.S. being so proactive?
The U.S. already knew all about the Brown Bear project, and they had been strong supporters when we purchased the T-80U tanks, hadn't they?
"Hmm..."
Thinking about it reminded me of a famous anecdote.
The reason the U.S. allowed the import of the T-80U was to gauge Russia's technological level. The rumor was that they were quite surprised after taking it apart.
In particular, the NBC protection and the fully automated loading system were far beyond America's capabilities at the time, which had made the U.S. even more wary since then.
"The second phase is larger in scale than the first. The U.S. is worried that something that might upset neighboring countries could be included. They're also concerned that the arms market in this country, which they consider their turf, could be shaken."
Deputy Director Im let out a lamenting sigh.
Just as I was about to respond with a bitter smile, he suddenly shot to his feet, pointing at the door.
"There he is."
Where his hand pointed, a rather old-looking Russian man stood.
A man with so little presence that I would have walked right past him without noticing.
I looked again, bewildered, but no matter how I looked at him, his shabby appearance made it hard to believe he was the defense minister of a country.
'His disguise is perfect.'