The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 441



Only Krnovel

441. Utilization of Regulations (1)

The city with the largest rental car market in Korea was Jeju Island.

There were over 25,000 rental cars on the road, as most tourists preferred rental cars over public transportation.

Young people in particular preferred rental cars.

There were countless rental car companies near Jeju Airport.

“If I return the rental car and go, I’ll be late for my flight.”

“I knew this would happen, so I rented a Cocoa rental car.”

“What’s different?”

“You can return it to any parking lot and they’ll pick it up automatically. There’s no need to return it to the rental car company. Don’t you know that since you travel a lot?”

A man in his mid-20s parked his car in a parking lot near the airport.

After that, we took pictures of the exterior and interior of the vehicle and then headed to the airport.

“Can you really leave it like that? It would take a lot of manpower if the rental car staff came and drove the cars away one by one.”

“I had this guy as a friend. How much does it cost to have someone move it every day? These days, it’s set up so that it can return to the company on its own through autonomous driving.”

“Autonomous driving? The car drives itself around?”

“Where have you been locked up? It’s been months since the self-driving system was applied to rental cars, and you still don’t know about it?”

When two young men were walking and grumbling.

Just then, a rental car started moving automatically without a driver.

A voice announcing autonomous driving came out of the speaker installed outside, and the car very skillfully left the parking line and moved onto the road.

“Is this really possible? Can the world change just because I stayed in a goshiwon for a few months preparing for the civil service exam?”

“Why are you going to a goshiwon to prepare for the civil service exam? Well, unless you’re in Jeju Island or a tourist destination, it’s hard to see self-driving cars. But at least you should read the news.”

“That’s because I only study and don’t even use my phone or the internet!”

“I heard that the autonomous driving technology that is currently only applied to rental cars will be expanded to logistics vehicles as well.”

But he was a young man who pretended to know everything.

What he said was half right and half wrong.

It was not autonomous driving, but a remote control system.

The company’s employees were driving the vehicle remotely, checking various information including the camera and navigation installed in the vehicle.

“But where did you make that technology?”

“Of course it’s Taewoo Group, right? I heard that the Taewoo Group Artificial Intelligence Center first applied it to Cocoa Rent-a-Car.”

“As expected from Taewoo Group! There is no other place in Korea that can create such innovative technology than Taewoo Group.”

“No matter how hard you praise, will Taewoo Group pick you?”

“You’ve even gotten a knight license, so this time there’s a chance! Didn’t you say that you also applied to Taewoo Group?”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to find someone from the graduating class who didn’t apply to Taewoo Group? Let’s stop talking nonsense and hurry up and go. If we keep going like this, we’ll really miss our flight.”

The young men quickly ran to the airport.

They were the ones who looked back and watched the car moving automatically even while running.

***

The Choi Jae-seok administration has taken office.

He was able to display bold moves because it was the first year of his term and the regime’s power was at its strongest.

“The remote control system applied to rental cars is operating stably.”

“Thanks to the relaxation of regulations.”

Captain Kang’s office, which I visited after a long time.

He was also the CEO of Cocoa Rent-a-Car and was in charge of managing the remote control system.

“Customer response has also been very good. Users have increased significantly as they can return the vehicle anywhere, saving time.”

“Won’t remote control cause accidents or something?”

“There has never been a single accident caused by inexperienced driving. All accidents have occurred due to inexperienced driving of the other vehicle. And the emergency braking system is also applied, so most accidents can be prevented.”

The remote control system was a revolution.

That’s because there was no comparison in terms of efficiency, as the driver could control all the vehicles from the office without having to go to the parking lot himself.

“Only when the stability of the remote control system is proven can autonomous driving be introduced smoothly.”

“The burden is already too heavy. We hire veteran drivers with at least 15 years of driving experience and at least 10 years of accident-free driving experience as pilots. And we provide training for more than a month before remote control.”

Remote control was a stepping stone to autonomous driving.

Taewoo Motors has already developed a conditionally automated autonomous vehicle.

“Wouldn’t more regulations need to be relaxed to make autonomous driving possible?”

“Deregulation is underway under government leadership. The People’s Economy Party is actively taking the lead, so we will soon be able to put self-driving cars on the road.”

“I think it would be very helpful if remote control or autonomous driving were applied to taxis as well.”

“That’s true, but it’s not easy. While autonomous driving can be applied to regular vehicles, it may be difficult to apply it to taxis or buses.”

Because it was a job that involved a rice bowl.

When autonomous taxis become available, taxi drivers’ jobs could disappear.

That’s why it had to be done very carefully and slowly.

“But shouldn’t we use the technology we’ve developed?”

“We should start applying it little by little, starting with private taxis.”

“Ah! If you buy a private taxi license plate and apply for it, there will be less complaints.

In the case of private taxis, they could be purchased through license sales.

The country has been limiting the number of private taxis, and has not issued any new licenses in the past three years.

“So, please buy individual taxi licenses little by little.”

“We have quite a few licenses at the company level. We will continue to increase the number.”

“First, buy them in the metropolitan area and tourist destinations, and when you have the means, try to increase the number nationwide.”

“I will secure as much as possible!”

It could be seen that the era of autonomous driving has arrived.

Not only Taewoo Group, but many automobile companies were challenging autonomous driving, and deregulation was necessary to become a leader.

***

Taewoo Group has continuously strived to lead new technologies.

Autonomous driving was one of them, and so was gene scissors technology.

That’s why I’ve been continuously working through David.

Finally, today, we have achieved the result of leading a large group of researchers in gene scissors technology to visit Korea.

They even mobilized two private jets.

This was to avoid overlapping the paths of the researchers at the University of Berkeley and the Broad Institute, who were in the process of litigating.

“Boss! First, we invited the Berkeley University researchers.”

“Thank you for your hard work. I will be the guide from now on.”

The research team that David brought along.

I volunteered to be their guide in front of the Sentryon headquarters.

“Thank you for visiting Korea.”

“Aren’t you Chairman Kim Min-jae of Taewoo Group? I heard that Sentryon has a close relationship with Taewoo Group, but I didn’t expect the Chairman to welcome us in person.”

I shook hands with Professor Janis.

I treated her very kindly, because she was someone who would later win the Nobel Prize for her gene-editing technology.

“First, please take a look at what kind of research Sentryon is doing. Dr. Kim Jang-woo will provide a related explanation.”

“I know Dr. Kim very well. He is someone I respect.”

“Hehe, thank you for your words. I will proceed with the explanation of the research.”

Dr. Kim Jang-woo was a well-known scholar in the industry.

Thanks to his efforts, the snobbish researchers obediently followed our lead.

“We are conducting various research based on mRNA technology. Centrian and Taewoo Group also hold many mRNA patents.”

“I understand that mRNA technology was also used to treat MERS.”

“We are using mRNA technology to treat coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS. We are also conducting research by broadly utilizing DNA technology.”

They were researchers who showed great interest in mRNA and DNA technology.

That is understandable, as it overlaps a lot with gene scissors technology, making it a technology that would be of great help to their research.

“You may think I’m arrogant when I say this, but when it comes to mRNA technology, I can confidently say that Sentryon is the world’s best.”

“I don’t think that level of confidence is arrogant at all, considering that Centron is the only pharmaceutical company that has developed a MERS treatment.”

Still, the media and financial circles continue to belittle the MERS treatment.

It was a business where the belly button was bigger than the stomach, and the treatment had very small sales compared to the astronomical research budget.

But the researchers’ reaction was different.

Since they were the type that valued research results more than profit structures, they were greatly concerned about the development of a MERS treatment.

“People ask why we do research that doesn’t make money, but isn’t it our calling to make medicine even if it means saving just one patient?”

“That’s why I’m conducting research at a university, not at a company. After all, if you’re part of a company, you have to be careful about those things.”

“Fortunately, Sentryon and Taewoo Group are very generous in that regard. Although it cost billions of dollars to develop a MERS treatment, they supported it unconditionally. The same goes for gene-editing technology. They value research results over profitability, so they can conduct as much research as they want.”

Dr. Kim Jang-woo is giving this kind of lip service.

I guess you really want to study gene scissors technology.

“Can I ask you one question? I know that coronaviruses mutate easily. How are you dealing with that?”

“It is difficult to respond quickly to virus mutations by conducting experiments and research by human hands. That is why Sentryon is responding to mutations using artificial intelligence technology developed by Taewoo Group.”

“If it’s artificial intelligence technology, is it the technology that was involved in the recent lawsuit against Robo Nordisk?”

“That’s right. Now, an agreement has been reached and the lawsuit has been successfully concluded.”

I added the last word.

Certainly, thanks to the lawsuit, not only has Sentryan’s reputation increased, but artificial intelligence has also become widely known.

“Can artificial intelligence be used in gene scissors technology?”

“Of course. It is possible to understand the structure of complex genes and simulate what changes will occur when applying gene scissors technology. It can dramatically shorten the research process.”

“Can you give me a detailed look at how it is being used now?”

“Dr. Kim Jang-woo and the staff at the Artificial Intelligence Center will be able to assist you.”

Researchers naturally infiltrated the lab.

From mRNA technology to artificial intelligence, the Centrian Lab was like an amusement park for researchers.

When you play, you don’t realize how time flies.

The researchers from Berkeley University toured the lab for a full six hours longer than scheduled.

And the next day was the same.

The next day was the Broad Institute’s turn.

They too were absorbed in Sentryan’s research and Taewoo Group’s technological prowess beyond the scheduled time.