Chapter 260

Translator: Dreamscribe

The unusual decision by the Technology Security Committee under the US Department of Defense to invoke DURC regulations had been driven by lobbying from the powerful financial interests that moved Washington, DC.

Normally, lobbying was carried out by a single interest group, but Seo-ha's paper had simultaneously provoked three major power blocs: Big Tech, Big Pharma, and the defense industry.

[Report on the Restructuring of Technological Hegemony in the Post-Turing Era]

[The Future Impact of the Life Matrix on the Pharmaceutical Industry]

[Assessment of Asymmetric Computational Advantage and National Security Risks]

The three groups had subtly different objectives. Big Tech wanted to delay the research and secure a head start on the underlying theory, pharmaceutical interests wanted to secure licensing rights, and the defense industry wanted exclusive control over asymmetric weapons.

The problem was that they had no way to force Seo-ha to comply.

He was not a US citizen, and he was also a Tenured Professor at MIT. On top of that, he was a renowned Fields Medalist who had produced achievements worthy of a Nobel Prize.

He had developed Utopia and resolved the cryptographic collapse crisis, while the Life Matrix he had devised had become the last ray of hope for cancer patients.

A conference room at a law firm on K Street in Washington.

Silence hung between the representatives of the three factions. Henderson, the lobbyist representing the Big Tech alliance, was the first to speak.

"This is troublesome. We don't have any justification."

Sarah, the legal counsel representing pharmaceutical interests, had the same concern.

"He has overwhelming public support, so it would be difficult to turn public opinion against him. MIT is also firmly committed to protecting him."

Baldwin, a retired lieutenant general representing the defense industry consortium, shook their head.

"We cannot make it look like persecution. That would only cause a backlash. Defense contractors already have a terrible image, and I'd rather not have us branded as cold-blooded on top of that."

Silence fell once again.

Henderson tapped his pen against the table, then his eyes suddenly lit up as though an idea had occurred to him.

"What if we frame it as protection instead of persecution?"

"Protection?"

Sarah asked with a puzzled expression.

"Professor Yu Seo-ha's research is a blessing to humanity, but at the same time, it could become Pandora's box and open the door to a dystopia... What about that angle? What if Asymmetric Computational Advantage fell into the hands of a terrorist organization?"

A gleam appeared in Baldwin's eyes.

"Good. The Life Matrix could also be transformed into the most horrifying Genetic Weapon imaginable. We're protecting humanity and the professor from that catastrophic possibility."

The three of them nodded at the same time, satisfied.

"The justification is perfect. Still, direct regulation would be too blatant. It would also take too long to get legislation introduced."

At Sarah's observation, Baldwin gave a cold smile.

"We don't need to intervene directly. MIT receives billions of dollars in research funding from the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation every year. Team Apex is funded through those channels as well. More importantly, if we invoke the DURC provisions, the university won't be able to refuse."

'Isn't this getting too big?'

Henderson's goal was to secure access to the foundational theory.

It did not need to be exclusive. As long as Big Tech could gain even a temporary head start, its financial power could take care of everything else.

He crossed his arms and asked,

"What if the professor simply leaves the university? Couldn't he just fund his own research institute out of pocket? I've heard Apex Lab already has its own funding structure."

Were they about to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs?

The amount of money at stake was enormous. If this went wrong, he could be disgracefully driven out of the industry. He wanted to reduce the risk as much as possible.

"You don't need to worry about that."

Click.

Sarah took a document out of her bag.

They were materials Big Pharma had investigated in advance during the Life Matrix incident. When she spread the documents across the table, rows of densely packed numbers were revealed.

"Look. Professor Yu Seo-ha used supercomputers both when verifying the Riemann Hypothesis and when working on the Life Matrix. MIT's The Core and Johns Hopkins' Rockfish."

"Ah!"

Baldwin and Henderson looked over the documents at the same time. They were filled with staggering figures.

"Annual maintenance alone costs this much?"

"Building one from scratch costs more than ten times that. And then there's electricity. Running a top-tier supercomputer at full capacity consumes as much power as an average small city. Add the salaries of specialized personnel on top of that..."

The two chuckled quietly.

"So in the end, the research itself is impossible without support from a university or a national-level institution."

"The moment he gives up that infrastructure and leaves, the 13-Step Hypothesis comes to a complete halt."

"Heh. Then let him leave if he wants. He won't have anywhere else to go anyway."

The tension in the conference room gradually dissipated. Sarah gathered the documents with a satisfied smile. Henderson, however, still could not completely relax.

"Hold on. Still, it wouldn't be wise to do nothing but tighten the leash. We should at least significantly increase his budget."

"We could attach conditions to that as well. We could require him to accept researchers from our side... Even if the conditions are somewhat unreasonable, he'll have no choice but to accept them."

"Now we're talking. How about this? In exchange for increasing the budget, we classify the important formulas... Then we could steer the direction of the research however we want..."

A country where money could accomplish nearly anything.

Moreover, the conclusion reached by the three groups also aligned with the interests of the US government, which wanted to bring "Tier Zero" under control. Naturally, the plan took concrete shape at a frightening speed.

The report drafted in the law firm's conference room was transformed into a report from the US Department of Defense's Technology Security Committee in only one week, and three days later, it became an agenda item for the White House National Security Council.

While Washington bureaucrats danced to the lobbyists' tune, MIT's board could do nothing. Federal grants accounted for half of MIT's research budget.

And it did not take long for the bomb to reach Seo-ha.

***

The Pentagon briefing room.

A spokesperson with a sharply cut hairstyle stood at the podium in dress uniform. The waiting reporters immediately began bombarding them with questions.

"You mentioned national security risks. Specifically, what kind of military threat does Professor Yu's research pose?"

"If Team Apex's Gene Mapping technology were misused, it could potentially be exploited to manufacture precision biochemical weapons targeting specific racial groups or genetic traits. This could render existing Biological Weapons Convention safeguards ineffective."

"The Life Matrix is the last hope of cancer patients around the world. If these regulations delay clinical trials and drug development, will the government take responsibility?"

"The government is equally concerned about that possibility. That is precisely why we have chosen safe oversight rather than a total ban. Please understand this as the minimum necessary safeguard to prevent a treatment capable of saving humanity from becoming a weapon capable of wiping it out instead."

An unbeatable argument.

Colonel Bradley, spokesperson for the US Department of Defense, delivered the prepared answers without so much as blinking beneath the countless camera flashes. The reporters' piercing questions struck the iron wall of national security and bounced away without effect.

The face of MIT's research director, who had been watching the live broadcast, turned ashen.

"I have no excuse."

The director's lips trembled. Standing before Seo-ha with his head bowed, he could not bring himself to meet his eyes. He was a senior administrator at a university that prided itself on being the best in the world, yet before the card played by the government, he had been utterly powerless.

Seo-ha's face remained expressionless.

Not a single hint of what he was thinking could be read from it. Wiping away his cold sweat, the director cautiously watched the newly appointed professor's reaction.

"The board tried everything it could to hold out. But the government's position was simply too firm. They threatened to cut off our funding starting next semester..."

There were currently more than three thousand projects underway at MIT. Including small-scale undergraduate projects, the total approached ten thousand. They had to avoid a situation in which all of them were halted at once.

"I understand, Director."

Seo-ha's voice was unexpectedly calm. There was no trace of disappointment or anger in his even tone.

'I knew something like this would happen eventually.'

He had already expected it ever since he first felt pressure from the government during his military service.

The director's face brightened for a moment.

"You understand? In truth, it's not entirely bad. They've also offered to double the budget. There is a condition that three researchers designated by the Department of Defense join the team, but I don't think that will be a major problem."

Taking Seo-ha's reaction as a positive sign, he continued while repeatedly wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.

"They may be designated by the Department of Defense, but they're all Ivy League elites. They're practically desperate for the chance to study under you, Professor. With a larger budget as well, the research may actually progress even faster."

Seo-ha did not interrupt him. Instead, he quietly looked around.

This was the first laboratory he had ever had. Memories of the time he had spent laughing and crying with his colleagues flashed before his eyes in rapid succession.

"Director."

"Yes, Professor?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't accept that proposal. Don't misunderstand. I still want to continue working as a professor. However, Team Apex will be closing its doors as of today."

"What?"

What about the research?

Was he seriously planning to continue alone without any infrastructure? The director's eyes widened.

"I owe you a great deal for everything you've done for me. I'll never forget the time I spent here for the rest of my life. But I think this is as far as I can go here."

"..."

Seo-ha bowed politely, then left without a trace of hesitation.

Step.

Step.

When he entered the laboratory corridor, a familiar silhouette was waiting for him beneath the fluorescent lights.

Orange hair and sharply defined features. It was Theo.

"Yo!"

With a bag slung over one shoulder, he approached wearing his usual confident expression. The sight pulled a fragment of memory from deep within Seo-ha's mind.

The day Theodore Langford, Stanford's arrogant genius, had stormed into MIT to personally test Seo-ha's talent.

Inhale!

Seo-ha drew in a deep breath.

The Infinite Corridor. The smell of floor wax and coffee, along with the faint scent of chalk tickling his nose.

"Theo!"

"You're coming out after turning them down, right?"

Seo-ha answered with an awkward expression.

"Yes."

"I knew you would."

"I'm sorry. My stubbornness just made you unemployed, Theo."

Theo shrugged.

"So you're finally done telling me to go find my own path?"

"Well..."

Seo-ha's face reddened with embarrassment.

"I really want to prove the 13-Step Hypothesis. I'm sure there's another world waiting beyond it. But I really don't think I can do it alone. Would you please help me?"

Theo was caught off guard by the unexpected answer.

Seo-ha had always been the boy who raced impossibly far ahead of everyone else and stared alone into the abyss. Theo had been so awed by that overwhelming intellect that he had willingly resolved to become his shield.

But there had always been one question in the back of his mind.

'Am I really helping him?'

And now Seo-ha was asking him for help.

Theo felt as though he had finally received the answer to a question he had carried for so long. A wave of emotion surged up from deep in his chest.

Trying to hide it, he deliberately answered in an exaggerated voice.

"Of course!"

He gave Seo-ha a light smack on the back and started walking ahead down the corridor. When they rounded the corner, Seo-ha flinched in surprise at the sight before him.

"Huh?"

The middle of the hallway was packed with large suitcases and bags stuffed with belongings. A moment later, faces that had been hidden behind the luggage began appearing one by one.

Su-jeong, Cecilia, Sri, Ben.

Seo-ha was too stunned to say anything. Su-jeong, dressed in jeans and a gray hoodie, approached him with a pouty expression.

"You could've told us in advance! Do you have any idea how much stuff we had in the lab? I thought I was going to die packing everything in a rush!

"Director! You're taking me with you too, right?"

"There's obviously a place for me, correct? Surely you aren't planning to make these hopeless people handle the paperwork?"

"I don't have any reason to stay here without you either."

Cecilia lifted her chin with an elegant expression.

"Everyone... Thank you so much."

They had given up more things that day than he could possibly count.

Seo-ha discreetly wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve. Then he showed them a brighter smile than ever before.

[Master, it's finally beginning.]

Inside the phone in his pocket, Daisy's blue eyes shone as she celebrated her master's new beginning.

*****

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