December 3, 2019, 13:00

  Choongbook Chungju-si Bongmu mountain Olympus base Basement 17th-floor Auditorium

  Inside the 500-seat auditorium were President Suh Hyun-woo and 30 or more other high-ranking government bureaucrats and military commanders. Also, the commanders who had a rank of lieutenant colonel and above were watching via a video feed while keeping confidentiality in their living quarters.

  After a while, Dr. Baek Nam-il grabbed the microphone and began to speak. Dr. Baek Nam-il was a second-generation immigrant from the U.S. He worked as a professor of Physics at MIT and was famous in the field of physics in America. When the Olympus base was completed, the search for staff from both within the country and overseas led them to Dr. Baek, who was selected to lead the research under Dr. Kim Soo-jin’s recommendation and the government’s continued request.

  “Hello, everyone. I am Baek Nam-il, the lead development researcher in Olympus base. Our 9,400 staff from Olympus base, various defense industries, ADD researchers, and the underground research facility have worked for three years, day and night, to develop the next-generation Korean weaponry, and it is a great privilege to show our first results to the President and our other honored guests.”


  The researchers of Olympus base, ADD, and the defense industries used all their power to develop and produce the next-generation Korean weaponry under the “2020 Korean Military Power Enrichment Plan” based on data from the 17th Fighter Wing’s underground research facility.

  “Now we will announce the protective suit using NT or nanotechnology.”


  Soon the large screen at the center showed an image of the protective suit and an explanation of its functions. To the right of the podium, a soldier appeared wearing the protective suit; he moved to the center of the stage. The soldier in the protective suit looked like a cyclist because of the skin-tight black clothes he was wearing.

  “The official name of the protective suit is K-NT01. It would be easier to understand if you thought of the suit as a thin piece of clothing coated with a compound metal alloy using nanotechnology. The protective suit is designed to be worn under the standard uniform and is divided into a bandana, top, pants, gloves, and socks. It is connected to the control module X-K01 that is worn on the left wrist. The first function of K-NT01 is thermoregulation, which will allow soldiers to maintain an optimal temperature in both heat and cold. They will not be affected by weather changes. It also has a sterilization feature that will sanitize the suit from sweat, bacteria, and viruses even if worn for a long time. Thus, it can be considered as a multipurpose protective suit.”


  Dr. Baek Nam-il glanced at the buzzing crowd. Then he put his lips near the microphone and continued speaking.

  “The second feature is, it is bulletproof and shrapnel-proof from explosives as the name protective suit suggests. This suit has 65% protective capabilities against 7.62mm rounds and shrapnel from grenades and other explosives. If it is worn alongside the standard bulletproof suits and uniforms, then its protective capability increases to 90%, thus, guaranteeing a high survival rate. It also has additional shock absorption capabilities. We will now show the test footage of the protective suit.”


  The attendees all seemed impressed by Dr. Baek Nam-il’s presentation, and all directed their attention to the center screen. In the footage, five mannequins wearing the protective suit and uniforms were shot with AK-47 rifles and hit with a grenade explosion. After the tests, some of the mannequins fell from the shock waves from the grenade’s shrapnel, but the mannequins came out unscathed with only a few scratches on the protective suits.

  A man seated in the middle row wearing a Special Forces uniform raised his hand.

  “I have a question. Would this be a good time?”


  “Yes.”


  Dr. Baek Nam-il looked at the soldier who raised his hand, then the soldier spoke.

  “Hello. I am Lt. Colonel Kang Jung-hyun, a commander in the Special Forces. As a soldier myself, I believe this would give some peace of mind if our men wore this protective equipment in war. I would like to thank all the researchers who developed this protective suit. I do have a point of concern, though. If this protective suit were taken by the enemy, it would be a serious problem. Do you have a solution for such a scenario?”


  Many of the people in the audience nodded their heads and turned their gaze to Dr. Baek Nam-il, waiting for an answer.

  “That is a good question. However, there is no need to worry. The protective suit is matched to the wearer’s heart rate, brain waves, and dermal information with the X-K01 control module’s software. If another person or enemy would wear it and not be able to match with the owner’s physical imprint, then the protective functions will not be activated. Also, through our multiple tests, we have ensured each protective suit to generate a heat of 5,100 degrees to be terminated.”


  After Dr. Baek Nam-il has replied, the sound of applause rang out from the crowd.

  “Thank you. I will now continue our presentation with the second item, the sentry robot.”


  A moment later, the floor at the center of the stage opened, and a black object with four legs rose from a platform.

  “The official name for this is K-1000 Haetae. The Haetae robot will replace the standard troops in the GOP border. It is equipped with a 12mm laser Vulcan beam and a 9-round (3 x 3) multiple rocket launcher on its sides that have the 50mm multipurpose anti-tank and air black dragon missile. Also, it has a 16-round (2 x 8) 40mm rockets on the back. The operating modes are auto sentry and manual remote operation. Its main duty is to guard the border and the DMZ area, but it can also be deployed to any battlefield, including mountains, plains, and urban districts, and can be considered as an all-weather multipurpose battle sentry robot.”


  After Dr. Baek Nam-il finished speaking, the K-1000 began making smooth mechanical sounds and started to move.

  Whirl~ Click~

  The four-legged robot was like something out of a movie. When it started to move, the members of the audience—whose average age was 50—stared in awe and began to murmur.

  “Before we see the testing footage, I would like to remind the audience that the human in the video is a robot wearing a heating mechanism. I hope no one gets confused. Now, let’s take a look.”


  On the large screen, a K-1000 Haetae was standing watch of a forest 3 kilometers away from its position. A moment later, it detected movement and turned its upper body to the direction of the forest. It got into a battle position by lowering its body and opened the launching mechanism for its black dragon missiles.

  On the other screen, it showed the operator’s screen for the K-1000 Haetae and showed the object’s infrared, electromagnetic, and inverter status footage in a split-screen. The human-like life form detected on the screen was outlined in color, and the armored vehicle following the man also clearly showed up on the screen with its electronic signal and inverter status.

  Soon the operator used the high-definition optical zoom on the screen to confirm the footage. It was five fully armed soldiers and a single-armored vehicle. In response, the K-1000 Haetae fired each of its black dragon missiles from its sides and began to open fire its 12mm laser Vulcan beams to the direction of the forest.

  Woosh~ Boom!!!

  Pew~ Pew~ Pew~ Pew~ Pew~ Pew~ Pew~

  Within 20 seconds, the forest was wiped out, and the five soldiers vanished without a trace. The armored vehicle was also destroyed so that it became unrecognizable.

  The test footage continued.

  This time a dozen transport trucks were speeding in an open field 5 kilometers away from the Haetae robot. The robot’s upper body immediately spun around. The 16 multiple-launch rocket on its back opened up, and eight rockets were released all at once.

  The rockets flew in an arc, spewing white smoke, and split to many fragments when it was at an altitude of 10 meters before falling to the ground. The transport trucks were completely wrecked to an inoperable state. As a finishing measure, the 12mm Vulcan laser beams destroyed the litigation vehicles. The footage stopped playing.

  Clap clap clap!

  When the footage was over, the President gave a standing ovation; all other government bureaucrats and other military commanders also stood up from their seats to applaud.

  “This is truly amazing. To have developed an advanced concept weapon, this will largely increase the survival rate of our troops in sentry duty and out in the battlefield.”


  The Minister of National Defense Kang Hyun-soo also clapped his hands, smiled in satisfaction, and spoke.

  “That’s right. If a weapon like that will be deployed to the battlefield, then we can avoid unnecessary bloodshed in our troops. This weapon is truly a wonder.”


  When the applause in the auditorium had died down, Dr. Baek Nam-il put his mouth near the microphone and spoke.

  “Thank you. It feels as if all the hardships in development are washed away by the positive reaction we are getting today. Now, the next item in the presentation is a bulletproof helmet that will protect our infantry.”


  The center screen showed a 3D image of a bulletproof helmet and an explanation of its additional functions.

  “The bulletproof helmet, officially named K-01BP, has the standard function of protecting the cranium, but it also has many other additional ones. First, the helmet is made by combining hydronium alloy and, thus, has the capability to withstand a 20mm machine gun.”


  Dr. Baek Nam-il pointed to the helmet’s other area on the screen and continued his presentation.

  “Secondly, inside the helmet, a shield glass has been installed, which has two visual features that can extend out to the front in times of battle and at nighttime. Also, this shield glass can not only protect from bullets, but it also can identify from friend to foe and mark them accordingly.”


  “It can also show its surroundings at night to be bright as day. Also, the inverter mode can penetrate and show the inside of concrete buildings up to 500mm.”


  “The third feature is the Turkion-Xm wireless communication. It is connected to the control module of the protective suit that can set a range of squadron, platoon, company, and battalion. This helmet can be seen as a multipurpose bulletproof helmet equipped with communicative capabilities. We will now show the test footage. Please direct your attention to the center screen.”


  That day on the 14th basement floor of Olympus base auditorium, the presentation for the newly developed weaponry using applied next-generation technology lasted for six hours.