“It will work. If that’s the method, anything would.”
“Uh... you’re saying it’s really that simple?”
“Wasn’t the terraforming method Ad Suho proposed utterly beyond common sense to begin with?”
The man in thick glasses sitting before Suho smiled.
Dr. Barrett, who had earned his doctorate in planetary science and atmospheric science at MIT and now served as the chief researcher on NASA’s terraforming project.
After hearing of Suho’s interest in terraforming Mars, Dr. Choi Byeongcheol had arranged the meeting with him.
Apparently, they had shared a room while attending MIT.
According to him, if the terraforming method Suho had in mind could be used, then not only Mars but even the Moon would be possible, and there would be little difficulty with any planet.
NASA, as the frontrunner in Mars exploration, had successfully carried out a manned mission in the early 2030s and established a base there.
He said that China, Russia, the European Space Agency, and even India had already built joint research bases as well.
Not only that, but there were already many manned habitation bases built by various nations on the Moon, and even quite a few private bases had made their way there.
“If we follow the method you described, Ad Suho, building cities on the Moon and Mars does not seem difficult. It would likely move space development projects forward by fifty years—no, more than a hundred years.”
“Hmm... I didn’t expect both the Moon and Mars to be possible. From what I looked into, I thought the Moon would be difficult.”
“As you said, if one possesses transcendent resources, there’s nothing that cannot be done. The problem, however, lies elsewhere. Because many nations have already advanced into space, all manner of diplomatic issues are terribly tangled together—international space law, the Moon Agreement, territorial disputes between nations, planetary environmental protection agreements, space resource development treaties, and so on. We are, after all, in the age of expansion into space.”
“... In that case, what about making a planet?”
“Making one? A planet?”
“Yes. A planet like Earth.”
“It’s an interesting idea, but it sounds like the sort of concept only streamers who play celestial-body games would come up with. I don’t think it’s a subject worth carving time out of a busy schedule to seriously consider.”
“What if there really were an ability that made it possible?”
“Haha, if someone had such an omnipotent ability, what wouldn’t be possible? You might as well just create a galaxy, or even a universe.”
Dr. Barrett had assumed that Suho’s questions were merely born of curiosity about some possibility, never imagining in the slightest that Suho could actually realize them. He replied lightly and rose to his feet.
“I’m busy, so I should be going. Is that friend of mine Choi Byeongcheol doing well? Is he still absorbed in making strange androids?”
“The doctor is doing well. And what do you mean, strange androids? He’s conducting excellent research that will greatly aid the survival of humanity.”
“Haha, that friend of mine, Dr. Choi, really did latch onto one hell of a connection. Research with absolutely no worries about funding... For researchers like us, that’s the stuff of dreams.”
As Dr. Barrett laughed heartily, Suho stared at him.
He was a stylish middle-aged man in many ways, with a face full of wrinkles, silver hair, and a neatly trimmed beard.
He seemed around the same age as Dr. Choi Byeongcheol, but his eyes alone sparkled like those of a man in his twenties.
“By any chance... Dr. Barrett, would you be interested in a part-time job?”
“Pardon?”
He raised one eyebrow.
Offering a part-time job to NASA’s chief researcher—Suho himself thought it sounded insane.
But because he couldn’t guess how strong the man’s pride in belonging to NASA might be, it was hard to simply say, “Quit that place and come work for me.”
“Regarding the creation of a planet rather than terraforming... I’d like to make you a more serious proposal. Since you’re busy with your work at NASA, how about a part-time position as an advisor? I’ll set the hourly wage at around one hundred thousand dollars.”
“An... hourly wage... of one hundred...”
Dr. Barrett, who had been in the middle of standing up, awkwardly lowered himself back down.
Whatever mad scheme Suho was proposing, the money he possessed was real.
“I am not trying to waste your precious time with pointless jokes, Doctor. My S-rank ability is a special one even among S-ranks; I have a subspace that is nearly infinite in capacity. I’ve been using it to transport aetherium for aether power generation in various countries. The amount I’ve already carried all over the world exceeds one hundred million tons.”
“Huh...”
“But what if that were not merely a hundred million tons? What if I could move a given mass—trillions, even tens of quadrillions of tons—through subspace? Would creating a planet still be impossible?”
Dr. Barrett stared into Suho’s eyes for a long while, then let out a soft sigh.
“It truly does not seem like you’re joking.”
“I’m not joking in the least. Why would a busy man like me hold onto an even busier man like you to make such a joke? It isn’t even a particularly funny one.”
“Then... is there a specific reason you wish to create a planet?”
“I just want to make—and own—one more place suitable for habitation besides Earth...?”
“... For such a reason?”
“What do you mean, such? It’s an important reason to me. If I had to add one more, I could say it’s to prepare for some global catastrophe.”
“A global catastrophe?”
“Yes. There are plenty of those, aren’t there? As a simple example, if towers that cannot be cleared started springing up everywhere, wouldn’t Earth be finished? Then we’d have to flee beyond Earth.”
“Hmm...”
Only after Suho had laid things out this far did Dr. Barrett seem to start thinking seriously.
After pondering for quite some time, Dr. Barrett cautiously made a suggestion.
“If your goal is simply large-scale human habitation... I think it may be better to create an artificial structure that can serve as a substitute for a planet.”
An artificial structure that could substitute for a planet.
It was the first time Suho had heard of such a thing.
The doctor continued his explanation.
“Terraforming still has far too many unsolved problems. Solve one, and ten more remain. As for creating a planet, that goes without saying. But if we fully utilize your ability, I think creating an ‘artificial space habitat’ could be more than possible.”
“So what exactly is that?”
“They’re old ideas, such as the Bernal sphere, the Stanford torus, and the O’Neill cylinder. There are also relatively more recent ideas like the Bishop Ring and Kalpana One. You’ve likely heard of them at least once.”
“This is my first time hearing about them...”
“Ahem, in any case, the idea is to install a rotating structure in space, generate artificial gravity, and create a colony with a living environment similar to Earth’s.”
“Ah... like a ‘Ringworld’ that surrounds the sun...!?”
“Haha... So you have heard of Ringworld. Yes, that’s right. Something like that. Of course, Ringworld is an absurdly enormous megastructure, so it’s out of the question.”
“Mm... an artificial structure substituting for a planet... an artificial space habitat...”
Dr. Barrett waited as Suho stroked his chin and tilted his head.
“I think it’s good. It sounds good! Doctor. Then will you help me as an advisory part-timer?”
“A part-time job... Calling work of this scale a part-time job is a contradiction in itself.”
“Oh, then will you join me formally? I truly intend to invest a massive budget into this project.”
“How much...”
“For starters, I’m planning to pour in about ten trillion dollars. In reality, aside from that, I intend to spare none of the resources I possess that cannot be converted into money.”
“... Ten trillion...”
The color drained completely from Dr. Barrett’s face, and then he lifted his head.
“I will select researchers worth bringing in from NASA and from among space development researchers all over the world.”
“Huh... You can leave NASA right away?”
“I’ll have to, one way or another. The money is one thing, but... strangely enough, your plan, despite sounding utterly outrageous, feels more realistic than the projects that have been underway at NASA for a long time.”
A light of anticipation returned to Dr. Barrett’s eyes.
* * *
The elixir of anti-aging was expensive.
If someone were to offer money to buy it, Suho had no intention of selling it for anything less than the auction winning bid of thirty trillion won.
All the more so because he was not short on money.
But if someone brought him a small joy, a smile, or a touching moment, he could willingly give it away for free.
There was that saying, after all, that a single word could repay even a debt of thirty trillion won.
He had a lake’s worth of the elixir anyway; there was no reason he couldn’t give some out.
In that sense, Chairman Baek was teetering on the edge.
‘The power of a group, huh...’
He didn’t know how useful that power would actually be, but for now, it had entered his hands as something Suho could wield.
For the first time in a while, he joined the gathering of members holding a meeting on the founding of the clan.
“Have you chosen all the candidates?”
“Yes, the first-round candidates, at least. We picked three times the number for now. From here, after a practical test, we’ll drop two-thirds of them.”
Danbi smiled.
“By any chance, is there someone named Baek Yuri among those first-round candidates?”
“Baek Yuri? Never heard of her... One moment... Baek Yuri, Baek Yuri.”
Danbi searched the name in the tablet’s search bar and found Baek Yuri after a while.
“Oh, she is here. Baek Yuri. She was among the first applicants, but she got knocked out at light speed in the early screening... Why do you ask about her?”
“Hmm, so she already dropped.”
“Yes. She is S-rank, but she was originally A+ and only got judged as S-rank this time. She’s a newbie. Her amount of aether is low, too... But oh-ho, a paladin. Her class is good. It’s a rare class.”
“Is paladin a good class?”
“Yes. It can tank and heal, so in many ways it’s a hybrid class that strengthens the team.”
“Mm... Then... this might be overstepping, but could you include her among the first-round passers?”
“Pardon? Overstepping? What are you talking about? Of course we can. If you want, Suho-nim, we could skip the practical test and put her directly on the final list of successful applicants!”
“Haha, there’s no need to go that far. Just let her pass the first round.”
“Yes, sir!”
Suho expressed his thanks to Danbi and the others, then rose from his seat.
This was enough. From here on, she would have to break through with her own ability.
* * *
Baek Yuri felt as if her heart would burst.
Her grandfather, who had thundered at her to focus on creating the Cheonghwa Clan, had completely changed his mind after just a few days and told her she could apply to Ultimate Line if she wanted.
And then, despite the fact that there were so many formidable candidates that she had never even imagined passing the first round, she had abruptly made it through the first selection for Ultimate Line’s clan members.
‘Could it be... Grandfather used his influence...?’
As one of the top three corporations in Korea, Cheonghwa Group gave her grandfather enormous influence.
But Yuri soon shook her head fiercely.
It was too absurd a thought. Who on this Earth could apply external pressure to Jeong Suho?
She believed that would be impossible even for the head of any nation or the leader of any corporation.
And at last, the day arrived for the technical and practical assessment of the first-round passers.
Sixty-nine—no, including Yuri, seventy selected candidates gathered with tense expressions.
At the evaluation site set up in the wide park surrounding the Elysium Heights building, Yuri could not close her mouth.
The first reason was Elysium Heights.
Even the residence of her chaebol grandfather, one of the wealthiest men in the country, felt like a doghouse compared to Jeong Suho’s Elysium Heights.
The second thing that shocked her was the candidates.
Among the seventy S-rank Admittees chosen for the first round, there was not a single person Yuri did not know.
They were people anyone would recognize by name, as if they were the world’s greatest stars.
The place was packed with people who would be indignant to be called second-best in aether ability, skill, or fame.
During her school years, at university, and even while studying abroad, she had always lived in the most eye-catching position, receiving everyone’s attention and admiration. And yet, she had never felt so shabby.
She painfully realized that the stage on which she had been acknowledged until now had truly been nothing but a well.
It felt like being recognized as the best player in an amateur morning soccer club, then awakening an outstanding ability and becoming a semi-pro league player, only to suddenly stand on the stage of the FIFA World Cup through an opportunity she had never imagined.
Even the examiners gathered to select twenty-three out of those seventy seemed great.
The platform where the sixteen S-rank Admittees called the founding members of Ultimate Line sat as supervisors looked impossibly high.
The practical assessment was, in truth, nothing special.
They simply had to manifest their skills in front of the supervisors.
Then the supervisors, veterans of each class, comprehensively assessed and scored the type, power, casting speed, combination potential, and other aspects of each skill.
Baek Yuri unleashed every technique she possessed until not even a handful of aether remained in her body, but compared to the skills displayed by the other S-ranks, hers only seemed shabby.
After all the first-round passers had finished demonstrating their skills, they were informed that the results would be sent within two days.
And because Elysium allowed all seventy participants to stay there for one night, Yuri was able to tour the inside of the astonishing building.
The structure and facilities left her unable to close her mouth.
She had certainly never seen such a luxurious building in her life.
What a sight she must have made—a third-generation chaebol heiress wandering around the interior of Elysium Heights with a dazed expression, like a country girl who had just come up to Seoul.
Baek Yuri went to the floor where various buffets were located in search of a place to eat, and there she met the person of her dreams.
It was Jeong Suho.
Jeong Suho was entering the restaurant with a group of people.
Despite the authority he possessed, there was not a trace of authoritarian attitude in him.
Suho, who had been entering the buffet noisily as if he were mingling with close friends, met Yuri’s eyes.
Then, all of a sudden, he changed direction and walked straight toward her.
Yuri’s eyes grew wider and wider until they seemed about to pop out, and her cheeks turned bright red. Her heart pounded.
“You’re Ad Baek Yuri, right?”
“Yes? Yes! Yes, sir! Th-that’s right! That’s me!”
“Pfft.”
At her flustered reaction, the S-ranks beside Jeong Suho laughed, and Baek Yuri turned red all the way from her neck to her ears.
But at Jeong Suho’s following words, all of her embarrassment vanished.
“I was very impressed by the paladin skills you showed today. They were outstanding. It was a day that showed how important a paladin can be in team clears. I sincerely hope you receive good results.”
As soon as Suho’s group passed by with a light bow, Yuri sank to the floor.
Her legs had given out completely.
Praise from the supreme leader himself—if this wasn’t acceptance, then what was?
“This is insane. This is crazy...”
Hot tears streamed down Yuri’s cheeks.