Chapter 18 - Ever Heard of a Shared Fate?

True to my calling as a magician, I pointed out that the most important part was missing. My fellow magicians ignored me.

They all stared at me as if wondering what the hell was wrong with me, then turned back to the colonel. The only person who responded was the exhausted-looking colonel himself.

"We'll discuss localized penetrative alteration activity later. Any other questions?"

As the colonel looked us over, Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun raised his hand. Of all the magicians, he seemed the most likely to know something about the military.

Becoming an Operator ought to have made him a civilian, but perhaps he hadn't shaken off military habits yet. I caught his lips twitching as he started to announce his rank and name. With a superhuman determination to get discharged, however, he held himself back and asked a pointed question instead.

"Where are all the Republic of Korea's artillery and air assets? Aside from that one helicopter at Suwon Station, I didn't even see any tanks."

Right. Wasn't ours the country that neglected infantry equipment and went all in on artillery firepower, to the point that people called our defense ministry the Ministry of Artillery?

Only after hearing Staff Sergeant Lee Se-jun's question did it hit me. No wonder this hadn't felt like our country. Part of me wondered whether shelling the place earlier would have settled the whole thing.

The colonel's expression, though, was complicated beyond description.

"Most of the artillery, air assets, and tanks currently available to the Republic of Korea are deployed along the Seoul cordon. With the declaration of emergency martial law in Gyeonggi, units still stationed elsewhere in the country will also be redeployed. Approximately 120,000 troops are deployed along the Seoul cordon, and the Armed Forces' logistical resources are prioritizing the supplies and equipment they require."

Well aware that we were practically civilians, the colonel used the screen to explain the most dangerous aspects of this crisis.

Actually, come to think of it, we were civilians, legally speaking. Fuck...

"The greatest concern in this crisis, however, is that visual observation is almost impossible. As of January 18, Seoul is concealed beneath an enormous, dense fog cloud several hundred meters thick, making it impossible to distinguish anything inside. The same applies near the cordon. Artillery has already been calibrated and is firing to flatten the outlying urban districts near the Seoul cordon."

At that moment, I remembered an article I'd skimmed without thinking much of it.

There had been reports of artillery fire. If the colonel's explanation was anything to go by, shelling of Seoul's outskirts had begun days ago. That was when he showed us a weather map dated January 10.

"On January 10, however, the civilian evacuation conducted by the Armed Forces and government with domestic approval and international opinion in mind ended in failure when Amalgams attempted to infiltrate. At the same time, fog swept over the area around the cordon, forcing the Armed Forces to devote their utmost efforts to assessing and rescuing the units on the ground. With the help of reconnaissance assets provided by the United States, we were using low-altitude aircraft and fighter jets to rescue frontline cordon units stranded in the field. During the Amalgam incursion at Suwon Station as well, the Air Force prioritized maintaining the cordon."

"So when they said the helicopter was out of ammunition..."

"According to testimony from Major Kang Min-su, who was commanding Suwon Station at the time, he urgently requested support from a nearby helicopter pilot returning to their parent unit. The actual reports corroborated this."

With that, the colonel showed us footage and images from the time.

The frontline cordon units had been on the verge of disintegrating. Apparently, the Armed Forces had concentrated on holding the cordon first, rather than stopping the breakthrough at Suwon Station.

Sure enough, the cordon troops in the photos wore chemical, biological, and radiological protective suits we hadn't had at Suwon Station. Working in pairs, they even wielded flamethrowers—things we'd never have had any occasion to touch—to keep the monsters back.

The soldiers stood behind hastily laid barbed wire, pouring flame relentlessly at monsters with melted faces. They looked less valiant than desperate.

Some images captured flashes amid fog roiling under artillery bombardment. It looked as though they were determined to blast the place back into the Stone Age; the fog itself seemed to glow.

"Naturally, the cordon operation of the past twelve days is imposing tremendous fatigue on troops who had already spent roughly a month holding off Amalgams. Wear on equipment from the fog and repeated fierce engagements cannot be ignored either. Moreover, once artillery and air assets sealed off the surface, the attempted breakthrough via the subway using refugees put headquarters on high alert. Most of our tanks are being used to maintain this cordon or positioned in reserve for that purpose. The remainder will stay at their posts to protect rear-area strongpoints and prepare for civil unrest."

"If I understand correctly... you soldiers seem to believe these monsters called Amalgams learn human tactics."

"That is correct."

The colonel nodded to monk Cheong-hwi, who had spoken in place of Lee Se-jun, now silent.

Then he used the pointer to bring up the next slide. There was the rib-bone monster I'd seen while escaping Suwon Station.

That grotesque creature with a human head and milky eyes, its spine trailing beneath it like a long centipede, using ribs for legs. The colonel tapped its photograph as he explained.

"Identified Species No. 2. Autonomously mobile extracted spine. In field slang, it is called a predatory spine."

That name had also appeared in the timeline file I held.

Saying he would explain it only verbally, the colonel sternly warned us not to disclose anything: the creature's very existence and ecology were classified as Level 3 secrets.

Only then did I realize there was nobody outside this conference room except the two soldiers standing guard.

"At the tip of the spine that serves as its tail, this creature has a pointed reproductive organ that functions as both a blade and a needle. It normally lies in ambush out of sight, on ceilings or pipes. It reproduces by severing the lower portion of a victim's spine to incapacitate the lower body, then inserting its needle into the spine and injecting its own bodily fluids."

"..."

I smacked my lips for no particular reason.

Wondering whether I'd misheard, I looked around. Everyone wore the same dumbfounded expression I did.

"The infected victim's spine and skull are then reborn as an organism possessing a will or instinct independent of the victim. It eats away at the host's internal organs and manipulates nerve signals to control the host. Once the host's body wears out, it tears its way free and lies in ambush, continuing its life cycle."

The colonel switched the screen to an innocuous map of the Korean Peninsula, as though afraid someone might see, then added a few words.

"Thanks to its photosensitivity, effective sweep operations have eliminated the three specimens discovered since power was restored to Suwon Station, as of the 18th. The current policy is to seal off the underground sections of Suwon Station and monitor the situation."

I was almost afraid to think how they'd learned all that, but I didn't ask.

A person shouldn't try to know too much. Brains had a storage limit too, and I didn't want mine stuffed with that kind of horrifying backstory.

The colonel didn't try to cram it into our heads either.

To summarize the discussions that followed:

1. Lee Se-jun asked: Why aren't we using our flamethrowers or liquid nitrogen or something?

A. They had already all been sent to the frontline cordon units. Fuel-based flamethrowers with meaningful stopping power and firepower had long since been retired from the Armed Forces' arsenal. When they went through old stockpiles to put them back into service, they mobilized 30,000 usable weapons. Every one went to the frontline cordon units.

Every specialized chemical, biological, and radiological warfare unit and engineering unit was either deployed to the Seoul cordon or on its way there. Lightweight infantry equipment capable of keeping liquid nitrogen at ultralow temperatures wasn't part of the Armed Forces' standard inventory, so they were busy designing it from scratch. Besides, its limitations in open areas were clear, so combat doctrine had settled on making maximum use of existing weapons that could be employed immediately.

He said he'd explain later why the use of incendiary and white phosphorus munitions was restricted.

2. Pastor Park Yo-han asked: How the hell did you manage to control information so damn well?

A. The AI technology whose stock had been soaring finally shone.

While carefully relocating Seoul's base stations and data centers to the rear, they cut connections under the pretext of network instability to keep Seoul residents from panicking. They deployed trained AIs to participate in online communities and news comment sections so people wouldn't suspect their contact with the outside world was being interfered with, preventing a mass exodus from Seoul.

And finally, Shin Na-in voiced what everyone had been thinking but hadn't dared say.

"They're all in thrall to Satan's power anyway. Can't we just nuke them? People in Seoul didn't seem particularly devout either. This is divine punishment too."

Horrified, Pastor Park Yo-han tried to stop him.

"No... Brother Shin Na-in, how can you say such a thing..."

"Jesus told us to save the lambs. He never told us to save the goats."

Only then did the colonel who had been briefing us step aside and another colonel appear.

He had pronounced smile lines and wore elegant glasses. His name was Min Beom-jun.

"A pleasure to meet you, civilian Operators. I am Colonel Min Beom-jun of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Nuclear Response Center. I have also trained with a U.S. chemical unit."

Colonel Min Beom-jun quietly exchanged a glance and a nod with the colonel who had removed his name tag, took the pointer, and advanced the screen.

"I will explain the scenarios currently anticipated to you civilian Operators..."

* * *

Colonel Min Beom-jun gave us three main reasons why a nuclear strike on Seoul would be difficult.

First.

"The Republic of Korea has no nuclear weapons. We would have to persuade a nuclear-armed state to launch them, and few countries would be willing to accept the international condemnation and public backlash that would follow."

Hearing that, Shin Na-in took out his earphones, thumped his chest in frustration, and let out an anguished groan.

"This is why our country needs nukes... If we had them, we'd have nuked Seoul already!"

He wasn't wrong, but the way he put it was kind of fucking awful...

Ignoring Shin Na-in's wailing that we should have had nuclear sovereignty so we could nuke Seoul, Colonel Min Beom-jun explained the second reason.

"Second. Now that the discovered Identified Species No. 3, the degenerative cellular colony, has been confirmed to have infiltrated even the sewer network, we assess that striking only Seoul's surface would not meaningfully eliminate these anomalous organism colonies. Therefore, eliminating the anomalous organism colonies in Seoul would require a strike capable of reaching underground cavities and the sewer network."

CLICK CLICK.

After clicking the pointer several times, Colonel Min Beom-jun presented a truly shocking calculation.

"To achieve that, we would have to divide Seoul into three zones and completely vitrify it by detonating three one-megaton hydrogen bombs at ground level. Naturally, the consequences would be enormous."

The next screen showed a map of the Korean Peninsula.

The only slight difference was that wind directions had been drawn on it. Colonel Min Beom-jun pointed his laser at the arrows indicating the wind and continued.

"If three hydrogen bombs explode at ground level, they will generate a powerful electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, temporarily disabling all medical and electronic equipment along the cordon and nearby. The most important issue, however, is fallout. The estimated radiation dose rate emitted from central Seoul after the three hydrogen bombs detonate would reach a maximum of 300 sieverts per hour. That is far beyond the threshold for immediate death. Moreover..."

By then, everyone understood without him having to say it.

The arrows indicating the wind ran diagonally from northwest to southeast.

"January is a period of strong northwesterly winds under the influence of the northwest monsoon. In fact, we are exercising extreme caution with incendiary and white phosphorus munitions to prevent secondary fires from spreading on these seasonal winds. If fallout from three hydrogen bombs spread on those winds, it would reach as far as Busan within twelve hours at the earliest. The Gyeonggi region would face immediate death, the Chungcheong region lethal exposure, and even the Gyeongsang region would be unable to avoid moderate radiation injuries and their lasting effects."

Standing at parade rest, Colonel Min Beom-jun spoke calmly.

"Consequently, the United States, which has been informed of the truth behind the Seoul unrest, and China, which has figured it out, are advancing different positions and mobilizing the international community."

First, this was the position of the Republic of Korea's ally, the United States.

Are we sure nuking those things will get rid of them? What if a nuke makes them stronger like Godzilla, or gives them resistance? More importantly, is there any guarantee blowing up Seoul will stop them appearing elsewhere? And the fallout will rain down on Japan. Is this really the right move?

Let's do the research first. Conduct reconnaissance. We'll support you.

And this was the position of our not-so-friendly neighbor, China.

Cut the bullshit. America, are you going to take responsibility if those things pour out? There are plenty of islands off the west coast, so cram everyone you can evacuate onto those and just nuke it. Then the things have nowhere to go but North Korea. Its mountains are all bare anyway, so there's nowhere to hide. Use them as a buffer zone and shell the place. Wouldn't that contain the outbreak?

Sorry, Korea, that's how it is. Those who can live have to live. Your birth rate's already low anyway. For humanity's sake, let's speed that decline up a little.

"The government is currently seeking to use reconnaissance findings from inside the fog, information on the magic script, and the knowledge acquired about localized penetrative alteration activity as bargaining assets to secure support between these two great powers and preserve its continued existence."

I doubt I imagined the slight tremor at the end of Colonel Min Beom-jun's otherwise impassive words.

It was enough to wreck my dopamine receptors all over again after they'd finally returned to normal. The shock everyone else must have felt went without saying.

Before I knew it, I was tapping my dry lips with my index finger.

"So that's why you're desperate to hold the Seoul cordon. If containment fails..."

"Yes. Regardless of Korea's position, nuclear weapons will be dropped according to the interests of the surrounding countries."

* * *

Once we left the conference room, everyone headed off in different directions, looking as though their souls had left their bodies.

Seeing First Lieutenant Shin Han-gi preparing to take me back to the hospital, I couldn't help asking.

"Did you know?"

"Haha..."

He gave me a tired smile as he helped me back into the van.

"I told you. Everyone who was going to leave has left. All that's left now..."

He motioned for the thoughtful driver to leave us alone for a moment, then took a cigarette from inside his clothes and flicked his lighter. Both his hand and his face were deathly pale.

"Are the people who'll either die with this country or survive with it."