The Tipping Point
The year has turned. I’m twenty-nine now. My entire twenties are slipping away, all while I pray for a world-ending apocalypse that hasn't even arrived yet. I have no regrets. It’s better to be like this now than to regret it later. Besides, I have nothing to regret. At the very least, I have things left to my name: the mountain, the house, and funds that have multiplied several times over. Even if the world doesn't end, I’ll be able to spend the rest of my life without want. So, I prepare for the future, calmly and step by step. For the sake of the "what ifs" to come. For the future that is clearly, inevitably on its way.
South Korea, and East Asia in general, were undeniably dull to the changes in the world. For one, it’s because we have four distinct seasons. Even if plants were to explode in growth, they’d just die off on their own once winter hit, so we don't feel the increase to a degree that’s tangible. The climate is the same. It’s just a bit more noticeable that it’s gotten colder or hotter, but that’s something that happens every year anyway. To the people in this neck of the woods, "record-breaking cold" or "record-breaking heat" is just seen as a minor update to the history books—a mere "Oh, I see..." sort of thing. But the world is definitely falling apart. Those phenomena are happening all over the globe; they just aren't getting much attention.
Plants aren't just spreading acidic mucus spores. Fungi are also breeding like crazy, leading to an increase in cases of invasive fungal infections in the body, causing frequent deaths among the immunocompromised. This is especially true in places with poor medical infrastructure. And they don't get any attention. Then there’s the increase in insects. More plants mean more food for them. While those living in cities might find it hard to feel, those in slightly more remote areas have definitely felt the surge in insects. Where we live, everything dies off in the winter, so we don't feel it either. But there are plenty of other signs.
Eutrophication in rivers causing massive algal blooms, turning the water into something like green tea lattes? The way that worsens, putting an increasing load on water supply systems? Those are indirect experiences. They aren't things that directly harm people. The same goes for the increased forest fires or frequent power outages. While threatening, they don't directly take human lives. The only thing that hits home directly is heatstroke. The sudden explosion of heatstroke victims. Patients. The increased humidity prevents the body from releasing heat. Consequently, bodies that fail to regulate their temperature simply "shut down." Those who work outdoors are especially exposed to that danger. People collapsing left and right. The elderly and the weak were the first to suffer.
IBRA predicted that if plants increased, they would absorb enough carbon to prevent the Earth from heating up. But Dr. Lee said that was an idea on the level of a middle schooler. And he was right. In fact, IBRA must know by now that they’ve completely screwed the pooch. They’re just not saying anything because if they did, they’d have to shoulder all the blame. So, they’re pretending everything is going well on the outside while doing all sorts of things behind the scenes to reverse the situation. They’ve been cutting down or burning the plants that have grown beyond their control with their own hands. The scale of that isn't small, either. They’ve probably stopped trying to propagate plants and are now only focused on reducing them. Of course, IBRA tried to dismiss the controversy by claiming that controlling the number of plants is part of their job, too.
The problem is that cutting or burning plants like that also contributes to the Earth heating up. Burning the plants that went through all the trouble of soaking up carbon is an act that completely nullifies the effort. Furthermore, dead plants create methane when they decompose in oxygen-deprived conditions. They’re the main culprits of global warming. They’re actually much worse than just carbon. That’s why Project C.E., launched by IBRA, was a complete failure. It’s just people who don't want to take responsibility playing pretend. No, the people in charge now must feel pretty aggrieved, too. The current leaders aren't the first generation. The ones who actually started this mess have already slipped away and are playing dumb.
Still, the world keeps spinning. The world doesn't sense that it's "fucked" just because of heatstroke. There hasn't been a direct, fatal blow yet. So, people’s sense of crisis won't skyrocket until then. Which is an opportunity for me.
A ship sank off the coast of the Indian Ocean. The ship that sank was an oil tanker. It was a ship so massive that ordinary people couldn't even imagine it. If you saw it up close, you’d be speechless at its size. A ship like that split in two and sank, and for a very brief moment, the world paid attention to the incident. But the Indian Ocean is too far away. It’s not like many people died. So, that accident was quickly forgotten. I, however, watched it carefully.
Power outages have become frequent. Korea is actually on the better side of things. Our infrastructure is incredibly well-developed. Areas where power lines are buried underground are almost entirely unexposed to acidic mucus spores. So, places like cities where that’s well-implemented don't suffer from large-scale blackouts. It’s only in places where utility poles still remain that such outages are frequent.
A car company in the US issued a recall. The undercarriage of a car is a place constantly exposed to spores. Therefore, it’s quite helpless against the continuous damage from spores. Minor breakdowns, corrosion—the car company must feel pretty aggrieved. Who would have known that acidic mucus spores would become so prevalent? They didn't build them with that in mind from the start, after all.
But those things are still just at the level of a "happening." Of course, there are places that suffer massive damage every time it happens. Even so, they don't directly affect people. It’s just a nuisance. But the frequency is increasing. Signs of chaos are beginning to show. Now, we just need one trigger to go off... The problem is, I don't even know what that is. Does anyone even know? Even at P, where Dr. Lee is, they only cautiously predict what could happen. And those predictions are far too broad. They just check every single possibility.
In the meantime, the construction was completed. The second building. My multi. The purpose of this place is clear. This will be the residence for the people I need. That’s why my multi was slightly larger than the main base. It has five rooms and three bathrooms, so it can accommodate quite a few people. But I don't know if I'll ever have a use for it. Is there even anyone who could enter this place? Even if the world ends and everyone starts dying, I have no intention of showing kindness to just anyone and letting them in. Why would I? Why on earth would I? So, perhaps, this place might never house a single resident. If that happens, well, I’ll just use it for my own emergency purposes. What’s the problem with that?
Then one day, Baek Jin-ho called. He said we should meet. He told me he had something to show me and sent me a street address in Suwon. I went. I was curious to see what he was so proud of, so I had to go. Just how much scale would the young master of a conglomerate show me? And what I saw was quite surprising. It was still in the pilot stage, but... it was immense.
"You have every right to brag. It’s amazing."
What he showed me was an AI Smart Farm. The entire building is one massive farm, yet it takes fewer than three people to operate the whole thing.
"After seeing your data, I worked hard to persuade my father. It’s fortunate, really. Our company has a militant labor union. So, when I told them it was an AI industry that doesn't use people, they were quite favorable. They’re sick and tired of people, you see."
I can understand that. AI doesn't incur labor costs. You don't need to pay overtime, and it can work 24/7, 365 days a year.
"Isn't it cool? What’s even more impressive is that we made this purely with our company’s own technology."
"I see. It’s very impressive."
That’s only possible because it’s the Seonyang Group. Electricity, electronics, engineering, food, construction... Seonyang has all of those as subsidiaries. So, it would have been possible to do this as an internal project without any outside help. Plus, the fact that Baek Jin-ho is the team leader in charge of future business must have played a part. Where else would you find a future industry of this scale? This is truly a future industry.
Above all, Baek Jin-ho doesn't need to scale this up. He doesn't need to think about profitability and turn it into a sustainable business. It’s all going to collapse anyway. So, an experimental building capable of continuous production is more than enough. And under that pretext, he can create all sorts of things one after another.
"This is the livestock barn."
"Nice. It doesn't even feel like a livestock barn."
"Right?"
I had thought about raising animals myself. But that’s not easy. For one, there’s no way to deal with the manure. But here, they solve even that with a perfect air-conditioning system and manure-processing technology. It’s technology in the truest sense. Is this the taste of a conglomerate that an individual like me can't attempt?
"But."
"Yeah?"
"What about power?"
"That’s the problem."
I was slightly disappointed by that answer. The most important thing was missing. Without electricity, all of this is as good as nothing.
"What about water? Sustainability? Maintenance methods? Required personnel? You’re keeping all that in mind, right?"
"Hey. No matter what, I can't be that obvious about it. The people here don't know the world is going to be fucked."
I suppose that’s true. To them, electricity is just something that’s naturally there. They wouldn't even think that it might disappear.
"Still, there’s a way. So don't worry."
"What is it?"
"That’s still classified. I need to watch it a bit longer."
There wasn't much worry in Jin-ho’s expression as he said that. He must have something in mind. Seeing him make that face, he definitely does.
"Right. Whatever it is, I hope it gets resolved well."
"It’ll work out. That’s not the hard part. The hard part is hiding the real intention and making up a plausible excuse. It’s killing me, man."
And yet, he looked so relaxed. He’s really overacting. That’s not the face of someone who’s truly anxious. Who would look at him and think that? Absolutely not.