Episode 13 — The Reveal
By my recommendation, Ontel's board had decided to unveil the optical semiconductor in Korea first.
The press conference, prepared with their full backing, was held with remarkable suddenness and secrecy.
“Reporter Kim. It's been a while, hasn't it?”
“Oh, hyung-nim! How have you been?”
It was a tiny press room that couldn't have seated fifty people. For a global giant like Ontel to have arranged it, the scale was almost laughably shabby — and so, even as the scheduled hour drew near, the number of reporters who had gathered was smaller than expected.
“Seriously, why did they contact us in such a rush?”
“No idea. I was just getting ready for work when the desk suddenly called and told me to cover this. I've been scrambling since this morning. Total chaos.”
Reporter Kim muttered, scratching his disheveled hair as if he hadn't even managed a proper shower. Then, glancing around with a look of surprise, he said,
“Still, why on earth would Ontel suddenly hold a press conference? In this climate?”
Ontel had pulled off an outrageous con on the entire world.
The resentment and fury of the small shareholders who'd lost big was raining down from every direction, and plenty of people in Korea had climbed aboard the Ontel bandwagon only to get burned, so the overall mood was far from friendly. And yet Ontel had abruptly volunteered to hold its press conference not in the United States, but in Korea. Faced with something he couldn't make sense of, Reporter Kim tilted his head, and Reporter Choi shrugged.
“You'll see soon enough. Maybe they're going to claim they were victims too.”
“Victims?”
“Well, you know... that company Ontel signed with — Limitless, was it? A Korean outfit. Maybe they're going to argue they got scammed by that Kang Gun guy without knowing a thing.”
“Ha... is that even plausible?”
“Heh heh... I said it, and even I don't buy it. But look at how small a scale they've set this up on. It's obvious this isn't some happy occasion they've gathered us for, isn't it?”
“Fair point...”
Everyone was curious about the purpose of this press conference. But before long, as the people taking the stage came into view, suspicion and curiosity bloomed across their faces at the same time.
“That man is...”
“Ontel's CEO came in person?”
Of all people, the CEO of Ontel himself had walked into the press room. And with such a heavyweight appearing at a conference held in Korea — not America — the reporters, unlike before, began to listen with considerably more seriousness.
[ Then, we will now begin Ontel's press conference. As this matter required an extremely high level of security, we were unable to share the schedule in advance and had to notify you at the last moment. We ask for your deep understanding and patience. ]
The press conference began with the moderator's remarks. Jonathan, CEO of Ontel, stepped up to the podium, took hold of the microphone, and launched into a rapid, fluent address in English.
[ As you all know, over the past several months numerous suspicions have been raised about our company, and there has been considerable controversy. ]
[ It is because I wished to offer an explanation to our shareholders — in Korea and around the world — that I have arranged this occasion. ]
Jonathan had been branded a man who inflated his stock price through an absurd, colossal fraud, stripping Ontel's brand value and reputation down to the bone, and he had soaked up every curse word imaginable. Online, mocking composite images and memes of him had gone viral — he had been one of the people beaten hardest by public opinion throughout this entire affair.
[ If we look back at the history of computing, we have achieved countless advances. The first generation, built on vacuum tubes. The second, built on transistors. Since then we've drawn generational lines with terms like IC, LSI, and VLSI — but I believe that classification is fundamentally wrong. ]
[ I — and we — have still not moved beyond the second generation. No matter how small and precise we make them, no matter how many hundreds of millions or billions of transistors we pack in to build ultra-dense circuits, in the end we remain within the bounds of electronic circuits driven by transistors. ]
No matter how many more transistors they crammed in than today, it was impossible to surpass the inherent limits of transistor technology itself. Especially of late, with the semiconductor industry stalled at that very wall, its progress and performance gains sputtering — he invoked that situation and continued.
[ We have stagnated for over seventy years. The time has come to break out of this long stagnation and advance toward new progress. That is why Ontel previously announced that it would focus on developing optical semiconductor technology — a method entirely different from conventional semiconductors. ]
[ But certain skeptics and naysayers refused to believe our vision. They sneered and accused us — claiming it was unrealizable at present, nothing more than a fraudulent scheme inflating the public with hollow, empty fantasies. Because of that, our company suffered enormous damage. ]
A vision of a better future and of progress. But the public had dismissed it as a giant con, as absurd nonsense. Mentioning that, Jonathan cast a quick glance over the reporters busily typing on their keyboards, and said,
[ And so... Ontel is unveiling it to you all for the first time, here and now, to show you that our dream, our future, is not an impossible, empty delusion. This, right here... is the next-generation optical semiconductor device we have developed — the leading actor that will drive the semiconductor industry of tomorrow. Lucid. ]
A small, square chip resting on a silver metallic package.
As he lifted the chip, sealed inside a transparent vacuum case, and held it up for all to see, blindingly bright flashes began erupting from every direction.
[ This chip is composed entirely of 'photogates' — logic elements driven by photons, completely different from conventional transistors. Compared to existing silicon-based semiconductor chips, it is hundreds, thousands of times faster, more stable, and more efficient. For the detailed performance figures we have verified, please refer to the materials being distributed now. ]
“Te... teraflops?”
“What the... is... is this real?”
“Good grief...”
Even without being industry experts, one glance at the specs was enough to leave jaws hanging — the gap was that overwhelming. As everyone reeled at the sight of a single semiconductor chip delivering tera-scale computing power, Jonathan continued his explanation.
[ Of course, realizing the performance you see before you right away is realistically difficult. Without software, communications systems, and input/output infrastructure fully compatible with optical semiconductors, it remains, for now, a picture on the wall. ]
[ And to be perfectly frank, the Lucid here is still a laboratory-grade product. Developing a mass-production system will require solving many remaining challenges — and a tremendous amount of capital. ]
Dispassionately speaking, no matter how revolutionary a technology emerges, progress cannot happen overnight. All the more so when a national-scale project of staggering magnitude must come first — one requiring the complete overhaul of all existing infrastructure.
But... even if commercialization wasn't possible right this moment, for the current situation, it was more than enough.
[ Nevertheless — contrary to what you may doubt — optical semiconductor technology most certainly exists. This Lucid, right before your eyes, is the proof. ]
Because what the forces attacking Ontel now — and the people hurling stones at it in fury — needed was not immediate profit, but hope and conviction in Ontel's brilliant future ahead.
[ The future business strategy and vision Ontel announced several months ago remains fully valid. Our conventional semiconductor business will be gradually scaled down, and in due course all of our silicon-transistor-based products will be discontinued. And after a sweeping overhaul of our production facilities, we will release a wide range of optical semiconductor products built on photogates, beginning with Lucid. ]
CPU, GPU, DRAM, NAND flash, SOC...
Ontel had declared it would independently design and produce semiconductor chips across every domain without exception. And that declaration amounted to nothing less than Ontel swallowing the entire semiconductor industry whole.
“!!!!”
“What does that even...”
Not everyone, but a few reporters who grasped the full implication of Jonathan's calmly delivered words went pale, gulping down breaths as they furiously typed out articles and hurriedly dialed someone — anyone. Amid that brief stir of commotion, he remained composed, finished everything he had to say, and added one final remark before rising from his seat.
[ Ah, one additional comment. Ontel is aware that large-scale short-selling forces were deeply involved in the recent stock price volatility, and we regard this with great regret. ]
Dozens of short-selling reports had poured down like bamboo shoots after rain. Jonathan, who had bled considerably because of them, wore a smile — but as he stared steadily into the cameras, there was something cold in his eyes.
[ Ontel continues to devote great effort to returning value to its shareholders. Even recently, in response to the further decline in our stock price, we carried out large-scale buybacks and cancellations of our own shares, and I, along with our board and all of Ontel's employees, hold substantial amounts of Ontel stock — setting an example to strengthen trust in the company. ]
[ To all our shareholders, I would advise that you base your investment decisions not on temporary fluctuations in the stock price, but on your faith in Ontel's future. ]
By local time in the United States, it was late at night — the hour when one would be enjoying time with family and heading to bed. But Jonathan, having just unleashed shocking news across the ocean on the other side of the globe that would leave everyone aghast, turned away with an inwardly satisfied expression and stepped down from the podium.
“You've worked hard.”
“Hard work? On the contrary, I should be thanking you.”
Jonathan, who normally maintained a stony expression betraying no emotion, was now grinning brightly, mischievous as a schoolboy.
“Dropping a major announcement on a deep Friday night when everyone's asleep — utterly brilliant. Just imagining what those damned Wall Street bastards will face next week is delightful.”
He was right.
After market close... and on a Friday night at that, when everyone was resting easy, he had dropped a bombshell of this magnitude. Having pulled off a stunt clearly designed to stick it to the people who had been toying with Ontel's stock price, Jonathan gave my shoulder a pat.
“Now it's the expert's turn. I'm counting on you.”
The Q&A session on the optical semiconductor chip Ontel had developed.
When it came to understanding optical semiconductor technology — and explaining it properly — no one on Earth was better suited than I was.
“That man is...”
“Who is he? His face looks familiar somehow.”
“Wait... no way...?”
As I stepped onto the stage alone, the whole room looked on in bewilderment. And in the midst of that confusion, I spoke into the microphone and introduced myself for the first time.
[ Good afternoon. Though only in a temporary capacity, I served as overall director of Ontel's next-generation semiconductor chip development — and to you, I am known as a legendary con artist and habitual liar, a mere bachelor's-degree holder who couldn't even finish a master's program... ]
[ Kang Gun, CEO of Limitless Inc. ]
And so, for the first time, I revealed my face to the entire world.
Not as a jobless graduate school dropout scrambling for employment...
But as the genius scientist who had created technology that would leave the whole world stunned.