Chapter 13: Special Treatment for a VVIP
Translator: ShutDoor
Wondering if it could possibly be true, I searched the internet for a satellite called the KH-13.
Before long, I found speculation that a satellite provisionally called the KH-13 was the latest reconnaissance model operated by the United States.
Apparently, it had been given the codename KH, for Key-Hole, because it could see even a pinhole on the ground from space.
According to the search results, its predecessor, the KH-12, had cost over 10 billion dollars for the satellite alone at 2010 prices. In other words, each one had cost an absurd 23 trillion won in today’s money.
How did that make any sense? A single satellite cost 23 trillion won?
That was more expensive than a state-of-the-art nuclear-powered aircraft carrier carrying thousands of people.
Looked at that way, I could somehow understand why the KH-13, a model one tier above it, was priced at 28 trillion won.
“It is deployed directly into orbit upon purchase, so the price is not entirely unreasonable.”
“You’re saying 28 trillion isn’t expensive?”
Ann nodded without batting an eye.
“Every nation in Northeast Asia has an early-warning radar network capable of detecting ballistic missiles and all other launch vehicles within seconds. The ability to bypass those surveillance networks and place a satellite directly into orbit without a ground launch is worth that much.”
In other words, the 28 trillion won price tag included the ‘security cost’ of keeping the shelter’s location hidden from South Korea and the surrounding countries.
“However, there is a possibility that the United States will detect it.”
I knew that much. The United States operated the SSN, the Space Surveillance Network, which tracked orbital debris in real time. Even if an artificial satellite suddenly popped into existence in empty space, its presence would inevitably be discovered within a few hours at most.
America’s space surveillance technology was probably why Hollywood kept making it fight aliens all the time.
“Administrator, how do you know all of this?”
“I wanted to be an astronomer when I was a kid.”
Ann nodded, then continued as though trying to ease my concerns.
“Even so, if we employ directional-beam communication and LPI/LPD technology, meaning low-probability-of-intercept and low-probability-of-detection signals, the United States may detect the reconnaissance satellite appearing in space, but it will not be able to trace it back to the shelter’s location on the ground.”
I hadn’t known that. This satellite had features like that too?
“The United States operates its reconnaissance satellites in precisely that manner. And this is the latest model operated by the United States.”
That made sense.
I racked my brain over whether a satellite was worth the staggering investment of 28 trillion won. The KH-13’s projected lifespan displayed on the screen was around fifteen years.
Having our own satellite would certainly be reassuring, but was it worth burning through nearly 2 trillion won a year in depreciation alone? Besides, operating only one or two low-Earth-orbit satellites would be of limited use.
Even the cutting-edge KH-13 could closely observe South Korea for only around five minutes a day. A low-Earth-orbit satellite circled the planet every ninety minutes, but Earth rotated beneath it during that time, shifting the surface westward.
That was why they launched constellations of multiple satellites instead of relying on just one.
Spend 28 trillion won for five minutes of surveillance a day? The numbers didn’t add up.
Once I considered that I would also need to launch communications and weather satellites, 28 trillion won seemed like an excessive investment no matter how I looked at it.
Then a question I had kept ignoring came back to me.
Why could I purchase only modern satellite models, while androids were available in near-future versions?
One thing the past few days had driven painfully home was that 「Shelter Builder」 was by no means a user-friendly game. It was every bit as brutally realistic as reality itself, infuriatingly strict, and full of conditions to satisfy.
So why?
Why was every other piece of infrastructure limited to what modern technology could achieve, while androids alone were treated as an exception?
“…”
This time, I refused to let the question slide. I dropped to the ground right where I was and sank into thought.
What was different? Why had the system allowed androids and nothing else? What had created that difference in the system?
For starters, I had received a whopping one quadrillion won in initial funds because I had spent hours writing down every detail of the shelter I had always fantasized about.
The amount reflected the cost of everything I had listed: artificial satellites, enormous blast doors, dozens of state-of-the-art tanks, SMR reactors that had yet to be commercialized, and ultra-high-performance AI and robots impossible with modern technology—
“!!!”
I hurriedly searched through the system shop. What other near-future technologies existed only in the experimental stage like SMRs, or had not been commercialized at all like Ann?
One technology immediately came to mind. A quantum computer.
「No search results found.」
Neuralink, a BCI still in the early clinical-trial stage.
「No search results found.」
Wireless power transmission, still in the demonstration-testing stage.
「No search results found.」
‘Ah.’
I understood.
Future technologies that did not yet exist could only be purchased if I had personally mentioned them in the survey.
*****
“Administrator?”
Wait. Did that mean the other users were flying blind as they built their shelters, without help from a specialist like Ann? Was that even possible?
The crude shelter plans I had drawn up at the beginning and the current interior layout after Ann’s revisions were on entirely different levels.
With Ann’s expert touch, the internal traffic flow had become far more efficient and the facilities more refined. Above all, safety, which was directly tied to survival, had improved dramatically.
Of course, the other users could use the [Automated Construction Service] provided by 「Shelter Builder」 to keep their shelters from collapsing right away, but detailed internal infrastructure such as the water supply and sewerage, power grid, and ventilation equipment could not be properly built without specialized knowledge.
A specialist in a relevant field might have happened to buy the game, but realistically, what were the chances that such highly educated people had bought a mysterious game being sold on a busy street on Christmas Eve?
“Administrator.”
Then what about the implant embedded in my head? That was futuristic technology too. Had nanorobots been grouped with related technologies and unlocked because I had written ‘robots’ in the survey?
No, setting that aside. If someone had written about a deep-sea base or a space base in one of the essay questions, did that mean they had unlocked future technology in those fields?
Maybe even something like an orbital bombardment laser?
“Administrator.”
Only then did I suddenly come to my senses. When I looked up, the sky that had been bright moments ago had already grown dim.
I must have been lost in thought for much longer than I realized. When I moved my stiff body, every muscle protested with a dull ache.
“Oh, sorry. I got lost in thought for a bit.”
“You stood there without moving for an entire hour. Are you not cold?”
No wonder I had started shivering. Standing motionless in the mountains for an hour in the dead of winter was bound to have that effect.
I checked the time. It was seven in the evening.
“…Should we get some dinner?”
“If so, please choose something other than cup noodles.”
I had been planning to eat ramen.
*****
After discovering this new loophole in the system, I ultimately decided to purchase reconnaissance satellites for military use.
There was no telling what outlandish ideas the other users had written in their essay answers. If I didn’t want to fall behind them, I needed to possess the very best cutting-edge technology, at least in the field where I had gotten a head start.
That went without saying for androids like Ann and the Juggernauts.
However, I had no intention of purchasing the reconnaissance satellites immediately.
The recommended number for a proper low-Earth-orbit reconnaissance satellite network was four to six. Even the minimum of four would consume an astronomical 112 trillion won. I therefore decided to secure all the essential infrastructure needed for the shelter first, then determine how many satellites to operate based on the remaining budget.
The one consolation was that once I began operating reconnaissance satellites, mine would have much longer lifespans than the American satellites. The fact that I would launch mine later was one reason.
Ordinary reconnaissance satellites frequently adjusted their orbits to avoid detection by hostile nations, consuming enormous amounts of propellant. A satellite’s lifespan was also more often limited by depleted propellant than by component failure.
In conclusion, my satellites would only need to maintain their orbits, meaning they would waste almost no fuel and last several years longer.
That was enough about the satellites for now.
The next facility to construct was the central control room, the nervous system of this vast shelter and its single most critical area.
In other words, the place that would become my home.
*****
When designing the central control room, I focused on two key concepts: ‘protection’ and ‘independence’.
If a riot broke out inside the shelter or an outside force invaded, this area had to serve as the final stronghold. The moment it was seized, the vast ship that was the shelter would sink.
Accordingly, its entrance would be fitted with a two-meter-thick alloy blast door built to the same specifications as the shelter’s main entrance.
“Additionally, I recommend applying two coats of EMP shielding over the control room’s entire outer wall and embedding standalone emergency batteries within it.”
“That sounds good.”
I rolled the mouse wheel and began shaping the control room’s interior layout.
I installed a massive panoramic display covering the entire front wall, then arranged a broad semicircle of consoles before it where androids would remain on duty around the clock, processing power-grid, CCTV, and satellite data.
Then, at the very rear of the control room, in a blind spot beyond even the bluish light of the display, I drew in a secret passage leading to my private quarters.
“Completely separate the air purification systems and drinking-water lines for my quarters and the control room from the shelter’s main network. If the vents and pipes are connected, someone could attack us with poison gas or contaminate the water.”
Despite the extreme scenario I had raised, Ann nodded without batting an eye.
“Understood. I will configure the control room so that, in an emergency, it can remain completely cut off from the outside and survive for at least three years using only its stockpiled resources and independent purification systems.”
That was Ann for you. Even when I gave her only the broad strokes, she produced the perfect technical solution.
“How should we furnish my quarters? A bed, shower, and bathroom are essential…”
“In preparation for prolonged isolation, I recommend adding an artificial skylight for psychological well-being and a small private greenhouse.”
“…A greenhouse? In my room?”
“Yes. Caring for plants greatly benefits mental health. With a hydroponic growing kit, you should be able to grow a few cherry tomatoes or herbs.”
The image of myself holed up in a sealed steel room 1,000 meters underground, watering cherry tomatoes while monitoring the shelter.
It seemed a little bizarre when I pictured it, like something a psychopathic villain would do, but I decided to accept the suggestion.
“All right. Let’s add that too.”
*****
That night, Italy declared a national state of emergency.
[My fellow citizens, Italy is facing a national catastrophe amid an unprecedented inferno. Fueled by strong winds, massive wildfires have spread beyond the capacity of our own firefighting forces to control…]
As the massive wildfires spread, more than 20,000 hectares burned, over 120,000 people evacuated, and thousands of homes were consumed by the flames.
For better or worse, I did not watch the devastating breaking news live.
I was too busy staying up all night building the shelter.
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