Dear Comrade the Leader Episode 211
But as a last resort, one of the Chinese diplomats focused and tried to comprehend Musk’s haphazard explanations.
“that… … That is a truly innovative idea.”
“Yes! You understand! But it doesn’t end here! My dream is not only to develop space through Space X, but also to other fields, green energy and transportation, all of which ultimately make humanity better!”
“… … Is there anything else, Mr Musk?”
“of course! Listen. The first thing I came up with in Los Angeles during a traffic jam was to build a very large vacuum tube and send a capsule with a person inside it. And when that happens, there is an idea of implanting electrodes in the human brain later so that neural signals can control external devices… … .”
The Chinese ambassador and diplomat looked at each other with bewildered expressions as Musk continued to explain his great master plan as he thought the Chinese side was also interested.
Musk, who had been giving young explanations with enthusiasm for a long time, then tapped his forehead and looked at Jeonghwan.
“… … Oops, I almost forgot. And thanks to the support of General Secretary Kim here, financially and spiritually, such as deciding to invest in my Space X and allowing me to use the Musudan-ri launch site for free, I am finally able to launch a rocket carrying satellites for communication within this year. has been I never dreamed that I would meet someone with such foresight, neither in America nor in Far East Asia.”
“uh… … General Secretary. Interest, no, did you trust this person and invest your money? So, the tax of the Korean people?”
“exactly.”
As Jeonghwan nodded calmly, the faces of the Chinese ambassadors and diplomats changed once again.
From the expression on his face, Junghwan could read another sentence.
– This American is definitely crazy. This time, General Secretary Kim is also throwing away money. I have to tell my home country that there is no need to worry.
“The launch is scheduled to be completed after the final inspection in Musudan, which will be launched in the next four months, so we are borrowing this space to notify each other in advance so that there is no misunderstanding.”
Junghwan gave a bit of strength to the words ‘notice’ rather than ‘I ask for your understanding’ or ‘I hope you understand’, but the thought of reporting that ‘that loach-like Kim Junghwan has finally stumbled’ in the middle of Nanhai gave me a bit of strength. This sold-out line simply nodded frantically.
“Yes, I would like to congratulate you in advance for the great country’s ally, Joseon, taking another step forward. Then the misunderstanding was resolved, and we… … .”
“Take a look.”
“Oh, are you leaving already? I heard that China is also investing heavily in high-speed rail these days. … .”
“Mr. Musk, you are a dreamer who is really drunk on dreams. I hope that our Republic and the Workers’ Party of Korea can become reliable partners in realizing that dream.”
Jeonghwan thought to himself, “I think I’ll have to learn to speak calmly when I speak,” but Musk replied with a wide smile that he was still happy and didn’t know what to do.
“The General Secretary is so talkative, honestly, I never dreamed that I, too, would accept the idea of space development so easily in a place that was a communist country until a few decades ago. Besides, you give me everything I need… … .”
“Since our republic is a small country, we have no choice but to give preference to ideas to survive in the capitalist competitive market with large countries such as China and the United States… … Let me introduce you to the start-up entrepreneurs residing in the Pyongyang Information Technology Complex in the near future. They will also be looking forward to meeting Mr. Musk.”
“It is always welcome to meet future competitors and partners. furthermore… … .”
As he said this, Musk leaned down and lowered his voice.
“… … Now that you have given me a clear answer about the military use of rocket technology, which I was worried about, I can’t be more happy. I will do my best for the rest of the time so that North Korea’s space development can progress.”
“As I said, our Republic has no plans to study orbital projectiles for military purposes, either now or in the future. I hope Musk also actively explains that the rockets being developed in Musudan now are also not offensive weapons, that is, missiles to many people who have doubts about this.”
As Musk was about to say something, someone came back into the secretary’s office as if following the Chinese ambassador who went out the door.
Upon seeing the person entering, Musk got up and asked to shake hands.
“Ah, Comrade Antonov! I was still talking with the general secretary about the Musudan business.”
“… … Hello. But don’t you think it’s that comrade? It’s been more than 10 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and my comrade freezes to death.”
“uh… … Sorry. ah! And this time I got a call from my staff saying that the advice you gave regarding the flight mechanics of the Musudan rocket was really helpful! May I ask for advice more often in the future? Comrad Antono… … No, Mr. Antonov.”
“… … Just do it as Antonov. Because the United States and the Soviet Union are united under a rocket, I thought that the day would not come if it was not an extraterrestrial invasion. Anyway, since we are the same person, we should get along well.”
When Antonov, who was subtly sarcastic, took a sip of water and glanced at Jeonghwan, Jeonghwan realized what he wanted and said to Musk.
“Mr. Musk. Don’t you have to go slowly to meet the launch schedule? As you can see, I and our party are also very excited about this launch. I want you to prepare without mistakes.”
“ah! of course. Then I’ll just go for it. I’m very busy, so I’ll see you later when I give you the electric vehicle briefing you requested. See you then, Comrad Antono. No, Mr… … sorry. Antonov. Then come on.”
The clerk’s door closed, and Musk disappeared with a happy expression on his face.
As soon as he heard the door closing, Antonov, who had an uncomfortable expression all the time, immediately complained to Jeonghwan.
“Tell me honestly. I don’t like that Yankee. If you’re thinking of throwing it away, I’m strongly in favor of it.”
“It’s not going to happen. It’s in a different direction from you, but he’s also a genius of the century. His genius will be of great help in preoccupying the future industry of this republic.”
When Jeonghwan cut his words out, Antonov, who was grunting vaguely, sighed that the ground was gone, and then quickly turned his head as if he had remembered something.
“By the way, is that really true? Are you saying, ‘I will not make orbital projectiles for military purposes’?”
“Sure. Musk is basically a pacifist. I would never have come to this North Korea if I had known that my invention could be used in a devastating way for mankind.”
“Then you are talking about not making missiles? What was the last thing you said to me?”
As Antonov tilted his head as if he didn’t understand the English language, Jeonghwan tapped his finger on the thick desk in the secretary’s office and slightly corrected his words.
“You have to be precise. What we promised Musk not to make is ‘military orbital projectiles’, not all ‘missiles’. Aren’t there far more missiles that don’t go out of Earth’s orbit?”
At Jeonghwan’s subtly different words, Antonov’s eyebrows rose slightly upward.
It might sound like a pun to someone unfamiliar with these rocket ordnance systems, but Antonov, who had once studied all things flying with weapons, quickly understood what he was saying.
“So… … Out of Earth’s orbit… … Does that mean we won’t just study ballistic missiles?”
“right. You never mentioned anything like cruise missiles.”
“Isn’t that pure pun? It’s you, Secretary. Even if you think so, I don’t think Musk or Mersey understood it… … I don’t know if he thinks he was taken advantage of by you later.”
As Antonov grumbled as to whether he had any emotions left until the end, Jeonghwan stopped his hand tapping the desk and said with a bitter smile.
“Hey, Comrade Antonov. Did that person really not know that? If you had been interested in rockets like that for a long time, do you think you wouldn’t have known until the end that at least ‘development of a rocket that has no possibility of being used as a weapon’ is a pun on words?”
“… … The story… … ?”
“And, why do you think that person, who had been talking to government agencies about researching rockets, went to and fro from the Republic of Korea and the United States for several years and never received any restraint from the federal government? If the U.S. government really wanted our republic not to have any missiles, wouldn’t it have been better to just warn us by banning Musk from leaving the country?”
After saying this, Jeonghwan leaned back on his chair and looked out the window.
The last rain was falling in Pyongyang, where summer was almost over.
“Finally, do you think it was towards Musk that I promised, ‘I don’t know anything else, I won’t have as many orbital projectiles’?”
“… … .”
Silence returned to the clerk’s office as even Antonov shut his mouth.
How much time had passed, Antonov shook his head and muttered, half sighing and half laughing.
“After all, everyone takes advantage of each other.”
“Everyone is.”
Musk and me, I am Musk, the United States is this republic, and this republic is the United States, Jeonghwan thought to himself.
“Anyway, we have to pray that the upcoming launch will be successful. Whether it’s cruise missiles or ballistic missiles, civilian or military use, it’s loaded with essential items for our republic in the future.”
Four months later, at the rocket launch site in Musudan-ri, North Hamgyeong Province, fire and smoke erupted from the tail of a long, white column-like object with a roar.
The name of the rocket, which was 35m high and weighed 45,000kg, was later reported as ‘Polaris-1’ in English-speaking media, but as it was written on the rocket’s shell, the official name was different.
-General Secretary, what would you name this Musudan rocket?
-Polaris, let’s call it ‘Polaris No. 1’. In the future, our Republic’s rockets will be based on this North Star.
– Because it is the North Pole Star, even ancient sailors saw the North Star and set their course. That’s a good name.
-It used to be a bad name. So I try to make it good.
-… … ?
Although the name existed for a completely different purpose at a completely different time in the original history where Jeong Hwan lived, the Pukguksong-1 rocket successfully escaped the earth’s gravity and successfully placed a payload in geostationary orbit.
And in case of any failure (which will occur with high probability), most of the people of North Korea, who did not even know about the launch or the live broadcast, learned that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) had the first artificial satellite through the news report of the Korean Central Broadcasting System. .
– Fellow people! Please rejoice! I just confirmed that ‘Baekdusan-1’, an artificial satellite made with pure Korean technology, was also carried on the projectile Pukguksong-1 made with pure Korean technology, successfully communicating with the control center on the current orbit and starting its mission!
-Weight 300 kg and equipped with a solar panel made of one solar panel, Mt. Baekdu will be used for satellite communication, weather observation, and public purpose communication for the next seven years. It has announced that it will further research recycled rocket technology and launch 300 more satellites by 2020 so that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) can lead the future space exploration.
Countries around the world were astonished to hear this news, and although the first satellite was launched in 1993, far earlier than North Korea, South Korea, which launched artificial satellites by borrowing technology from the US and France, was even more astonished.
And among them, those with military insight realized that ‘public purpose communication’ could be expressed as ‘cruise missile trajectory relay and error correction’ and announced this to the public, but politicians and experts showed skepticism.
-Well, one military navigation satellite is useless, and it takes at least six to show its power. … It is questionable whether North Korea, which is still a middle-income country, can continue to afford the costly rocket launches.
-However, the United States, especially China, is too quiet to be considered a paving stone for the development of ballistic missiles… … . In other words, it is the story of having already sought the understanding that it is not for military purposes from the US and China, and above all, North Korea is by no means a maniac country that develops ballistic missiles that do not fit the economic situation of the country and poses enormous diplomatic risks. Considering that General Secretary Kim Jeong-hwan is a very rational national leader… … .
-Perhaps it is most likely that it was launched as an event for the purpose of internal system propaganda and national IT technology development?
Of course, at present, the only person who was convinced of the future innovations of the Space X company was Kim Jung-hwan, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, not Korea or the people of the United States and China, not even Elon Musk himself.