Rust - Chapter 159



Only Krnovel

RUST -159

Maru went downstairs slowly.

‘Is this a request to go to Japan?’

I clearly said it last time, but repeating the same thing over and over again is just tiring.

‘First. Listen.’

Maru, who had been pressing down on the sensation of raising his head slightly with his sheath, entered the lobby.

“This way.”

Dan Brown, the director of the Department of Homeland Security, stood up. Were the people sitting next to him agents? Aside from those two, there were quite a few people who were standing up sharply.

At first glance, they looked like just regular customers, but there was no way that customers who hide their presence like that would suddenly pop out. So even if that wasn’t the case…

Hoo- Maru let out a long breath.

I told Kim Yang to be nice, but I almost got angry before I could even listen to her story. Hesitant – I changed my emotions to laughter and felt more relaxed.

“I’m sorry for coming so suddenly.”

“I wish you had let me know in advance. Is this important?”

After shaking hands and sitting down, Maru got straight to the point.

“Actually, the story got a bit complicated.”

“What are you talking about? Did the military ask you to send me away?”

“That’s not it. First, let’s talk about the supercomputer you requested.”

The situation became a bit strange because the supercomputer that Hood ordered was one that had to be built by slapping all the latest and greatest parts into it.

After listening to the explanation, I was told that there is a compatibility between parts. Even if you put in all the good parts, the expected performance may not come out.

“So, are you saying that if I make it just as you ordered it?”

“I don’t know. That’s true, but it’s actually a bit difficult to make it using the parts you requested.”

It was a request that was difficult for both the Department of Homeland Security and Virginia to make, even including small-scale parts produced for research purposes. The very act of using such parts created a security problem.

“For example, it’s like reading an article about the success of producing a 1nm process chip and asking to assemble a supercomputer with a 1nm process chip. I think there’s some misunderstanding about supercomputers, so let me explain…”

So, even supercomputers for mass production and corporate use are in short supply to the point where there is a backlog due to reasons such as preparation for the 4th industrial revolution, artificial intelligence research, and metaverse preparation, and suddenly there is a demand for supercomputers with performance that can be used only by government agencies or research complexes.

“Was it that much?”

Maru didn’t know much about that. He thought it had high specs, but he couldn’t have imagined that it would be so high that the Department of Homeland Security would come to check it out. Above all, it was hard to think that buying a supercomputer would have anything to do with security.

“Yes. In the past, supercomputers were important assets, but now they are no different from strategic materials. Above all, the development of simulation programs has made it possible to drastically shorten research and development time. That is what has become dangerous.”

Wouldn’t it be great if we could shorten the research and development time with a supercomputer? Maru was curious, but he didn’t ask and just waited quietly.

“What if you think about hacking using a supercomputer? What if you try to reverse engineer using a supercomputer? What if you use a supercomputer to use strong artificial intelligence? It’s not just a problem with one supercomputer. It’s a situation where you don’t know what kind of problem could occur.”

“···I understand.”

I didn’t want a supercomputer to do something grandiose, but from the perspective of a national intelligence agency, it was a bit of a worrying situation.

Besides, isn’t the hood that’s been active recently a hacker? He’s a hacker who was on a leash and running around until recently, using legal deals.

“Thank you for your understanding. But I thought it would be a waste of time to just apologize after saying I’ll give you what you want, so I brought you another offer.”

“?”

“You can listen to the expert’s explanation first and then decide.”

The balding man sitting next to me placed his tablet on the table. On the tablet screen stood something like a tombstone made of onyx, the size of which could not be guessed.

It looked like it was made of a large, smooth black jewel. After a while, something like a long, vertical string began to glow, and red LEDs flashed downwards like flowing blood.

Not even one. One, two, three? Three onyx-like steles, each standing at the corner of a triangle.

“What is this?”

“It’s a supercomputer codenamed Tria. It was used at the Metaphysics Research Institute, but it was recently replaced with a new model and has been judged to be dismantled.”

“Metaphysics Institute? Disassembly and disposal?”

Metaphysics? Did I misinterpret it? There’s been a lot of talk about meta these days, but what about metaphysics? Even so, why are you disassembling a working computer? You’re not even selling it used?

‘Did you decide that it was dangerous?’

Even though it was used, it seemed like they chose to disassemble it rather than just dispose of it. Still, it was questionable. Considering that they said there was a shortage of stock, there must have been a use for it somewhere, so why did they disassemble it? It felt like they were going to get rid of it.

“Yes. It’s heartbreaking. It’s a child that was created by concentrating all the technology at the time.”

I thought he was old, but he didn’t have any wrinkles. So, um- that’s too bad. He expressed the emotions he had been hiding inside, not knowing how to take Maru’s pitiful gaze.

“Tria, our Tria isn’t that kind of person. Those who don’t know anything are our Tria…”

The head of the Department of Homeland Security calmed down the unfortunate hair that suddenly exploded. It seemed to calm down for a moment, but it was no use. Maru, who had been listening to the long, long anger and screams, organized the content.

“···So, you’re saying that the supercomputer that has performance issues has been decided to be dismantled, so you want to move it to another location and slowly extract the locked data inside over time?”

The director of the Department of Homeland Security nodded with a slightly weary look on his face.

“I don’t know what happened, but the data inside got locked and errors kept occurring.”

“Our Tria did nothing wrong. What kind of evil could Tria have done to make her do this? Are you blaming Tria for making a mistake?”

So, they want to hand over the supercomputer that has become a burden to us… Perhaps the rival research team wanted to get rid of the supercomputer called Tria. They say that because the country is big, competition is fierce and things that go against common sense happen. This side seems complicated in its own way.

“··· First of all, I think the building Mr. Kalin is working on has perfect emergency measures and security facilities, so I was thinking about moving there.”

Hmm- Maru glanced at the man with the sad hair. ‘Please.’ His face looked like it was saying, ‘Please save our Tria.’

Since I decided to give the hacker a supercomputer, I guess it would be better to throw it away even if it’s used. It’s not made with the parts I wanted, but it was used in the lab… Oh. Did you say it was broken?

“It’s not broken! It’s definitely not broken!”

“So does that mean I can use it?”

“Yes, of course. There are some errors, but they are all due to program conflicts.”

“Can’t you just erase it and reinstall it?”

The research data was locked and at the same time, an error occurred, and it was said that it could not be formatted. When I listened to it, it was such an unusual computer that I wondered what kind of computer it was.

Anyway, there were occasional errors, but other than those minor? problems, it was said that there was no problem using it. Maru decided to accept the offer as a way to roughly keep his promise with Hood.

“Good idea.”

The manager had a face that looked like he had put down a burden. The person with the sad hair seemed like a capable person.

“Next, in the emergency power supply plan section···.”

Power generation was being prepared for power generation through solar film. However, it was true that it was difficult to meet the power required for smart farms and other maintenance power.

“Huh? Supercomputers consume that much electricity?”

“Yes.”

What kind of computer consumes that much electricity? Is that true? Aren’t these days energy-saving and eco-friendly? I couldn’t use a computer that consumed that much electricity.

While I was wondering if the supercomputer should be stored away for decoration, the manager changed the subject from talking about computer power to talking about server centers in case of an emergency.

“···So we plan to create an emergency server center in Michigan as well.”

Electronic warfare and cyber warfare were intensifying. As a result, we did not know what problems would occur in the event of an emergency. Therefore, it became important to build a server center that could prepare for this. Michigan also wanted to build an emergency server center, but it was postponed due to budgetary issues.

“When we bring in the supercomputer, let’s bring in the server center as well? Is that what you’re talking about?”

“Security is important for both supercomputers and emergency server centers, but it takes a long time and money to build new facilities that meet the standards.”

He said that he would add two spoons to the table. But supercomputers are power-hungry hippos, so aren’t server centers the same? Solar power generation won’t be enough. Shouldn’t we be worried about that?

“Okay, then.”

Maru readily agreed. What would happen if something like that happened?

“Both supercomputers and server centers are important assets and are directly related to security. Thank you for your willingness to allow us to do so.”

Wasn’t it originally a give and take? If you don’t cross the line between giving and receiving, you can continue to be kind, good, and long-lasting. Maru nodded.

“That’s why.”

The already dull voice of the manager became a little more heavy.

“Power supply problem. What do you think about SMR?”

SMR? What is that?

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A small modular reactor (SMR) is a small reactor with an electrical output of 300 MWe. Its main use was as a small reactor in nuclear-powered submarines or aircraft carriers.

It is said that small nuclear power plants using the latest technology have a service life of up to 40 years with a single fuel supply.

‘Will you do something like that?’

Maru handed over the documents. It was a lease for five floors of a building currently under construction. One floor would be for a supercomputer and a research lab. One floor would be for a server center, and one floor would be for accommodations and amenities.

And there was a plan to build experimental production facilities such as a small nuclear power plant facility room, a laboratory, a machine room, and a workshop on the third basement level and the newly constructed basement level.

It wasn’t a good feeling, but it wasn’t bad either. It felt more like it was going to be tied to the Department of Homeland Security, but considering that it was going to probably end up rubbing shoulders with the FBI and the DEA, including Virginia, it wasn’t a bad thing.

However, supercomputers were important, and emergency server centers were also important facilities. And a small modular nuclear power plant? Isn’t it just a waste to build a well-built building? Since it’s being promoted by the Department of Homeland Security, it’s unlikely that they’ll be kicked out for security reasons…

“what do you think about it?”

“It’s okay.”

Kim Yang nodded. Isn’t that free? Even with the small nuclear power plant, we could use as much electricity as we wanted. Even if we ran the heating and cooling system at full blast, there was still electricity left over.

“There are more things I can do.”

“That’s true.”

“If it’s different, just think about it.”

“······.”

That was the case too. The words, ‘Think before you shoot.’ Maru agreed. So, they were really talking about becoming close friends, but the words at the end telling them to think were a bit meaningful.

‘The unit isolated in Japan. The military is trying to get at least a small number of them to escape first. In the worst case scenario, they’re trying to get at least some information back.’

‘We are trying to secure it from Virginia as well, but the situation does not seem to be easy.’

So, what I was saying was, if possible, go and get at least some information. Nothing to do with the military, nothing to do with Virginia.

“Do I have to go?”

“That’s not it.”

It wasn’t my nature to just receive and wipe my mouth.

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The space created by digging a hole in the snow was bustling.

“Take care not to let the gun freeze.”

“Change your shoes often to avoid frostbite.”

“Even if it’s annoying, change your clothes if you’re sweaty!”

This place was a white hell. It was minus 15 degrees, and the wind chill was close to minus 20. When the sun went down, the temperature really dropped like crazy.

First came a pack of rats, then a pack of dogs. Dealing with them was no problem, but ammunition was a problem. The new rifle was 6.8mm caliber. It had better stopping power than the 5.56mm, but it carried less ammunition.

“Check the ammo. Check the remaining bullets and redistribute the ammo.”

The platoon leader added a scolding to keep a close watch even during break time.

“What is that? Why are you taking it off and making a fuss? I told the kids not to take their HUDs off.”

As soon as the platoon leader finished speaking, something popped out of the snow hole.

Kwaaaa …

Something rushing towards a soldier who was crouching on the floor saying he was going to change his socks.

Wheeeeeeeeing!

With a strong mechanical sound.

A heavy hammer was swung at something that was rushing toward the soldier.

Phew!