American: Native Empire

[END] Chapter 200: The Final Chapter (Complete)

After the international conference, nuclear weapons became widely known to the world.

The leaders of various countries were stunned by the power of nuclear weapons, and by the cunning of the empire that secretly produced a large number of nuclear weapons.

“How could they mass-produce and deploy such a terrifying weapon without a word to us, their allies? This is too much.”

“That’s right. They could have at least given us a hint…”

“What are they trying to do with such a powerful weapon?”

Even at this moment, the allies were receiving financial support from the empire and benefited from many subsidies. 

Therefore, they did not rebel against them for trivial matters.

However, the issue of nuclear weapons was not something they could ignore. 

It was directly related to their national security.

But the empire was also very firm and tough on this matter.

The foreign minister gathered the ambassadors of the allies and announced the position of the empire.

“Nuclear weapons are very dangerous weapons. What if these weapons fall into the hands of other countries, especially neighboring countries, other than the empire? Of course, those countries would also want to have them. To prepare for any contingencies. If nuclear weapons spread like this, a small conflict could turn the whole world into a nuclear explosion. There is a high possibility of a nuclear war.”

“Nuclear war…”

It was an unfamiliar word. 

But it was a word that they could understand its meaning with a little thought.

“His Majesty the Emperor is very concerned about this situation. He is afraid that the civilization that humanity has achieved so far may collapse due to a nuclear war. Do you want that?”

However, as soon as the foreign minister finished speaking, a rebuttal came out immediately.

“If that was the case, then the empire should not have produced nuclear weapons either. It is hard to trust you when you say that after you have already deployed them in the field.”

“That’s right. If you want to ban them globally, then you should also dispose of your nuclear weapons.”

To this, the foreign minister shook his head firmly.

“We can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“To deter some countries or groups that have bad intentions. Do you think there is a law that says these ignorant people will not appear if we dispose of all our nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons that can destroy a city in an instant would be very attractive to them. We need nuclear weapons to deter these people.”

“That’s…!”

In fact, this logic was full of flaws. 

Even if they completely banned nuclear weapons, all the allies could join forces and punish the groups that make nuclear weapons.

Even if that was true, why did only the empire have to do that role?

What if the empire had other intentions with nuclear weapons?

But the foreign minister did not care about these suspicious eyes. Rather, he went further.

“His Majesty wishes that no more nuclear proliferation will be prohibited. I hope you understand his sincere intentions.”

“What if we refuse?”

“…We will take that as an answer that you do not share our will. Well, you may be able to get along well without us, but that’s up to each country’s judgment.”

“…”

The ambassadors became speechless at his answer.

This was a clear threat. 

If they did not join the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, they would be hostile to their country.

Of course, a red light went on in their heads.

‘Damn it. That’s why they mass-produced and deployed nuclear weapons in advance. The imperial army was already overwhelming, but now they are unbeatable.’

‘If we lose the support of the empire now, our economy will collapse. We still need time…’

In the end, due to the power of the empire and its capital that was eroding the world, the allies had no choice but to join the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

And so, except for the empire, none of the allies were allowed to have nuclear weapons. 

It was the moment when Wakan Tanka Empire put reins on all countries in the world.

Kim Ki-woo was very satisfied with this result.

‘If we maintain this state, we can protect human civilization from asteroid collision more easily.’

As his goal came into sight, Kim Ki-woo smiled brightly.

***

Time passed relentlessly.

Since Kim Ki-woo changed history, human civilization developed faster than ever before. 

This was much faster than compared to original history.

But its speed accelerated even more.

Semiconductors developed rapidly, analog turned into digital. 

Computers evolved into personal computers and then smartphones.

Society became more advanced and people enjoyed living with their amazing civilization.

The one who led this process was also Wakan Tanka Empire.

Some countries including Joseon rose as advanced countries and threatened the glory of the empire, and several economic crises hit the world, but the empire overcame all these crises.

The population of the empire exceeded 2 billion and about one-fourth of the world’s population were Wakan Tanka Empire citizens.

And finally.

They reached the level of science that they had achieved in original history.

Humanity finally conquered aging.

***

“Hmm…”

“Are you awake?”

Kim Ki-woo smiled kindly at the young man who slowly opened his eyes.

The young man stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, then looked at Kim Ki-woo as if he had regained his senses.

And then he spoke to Kim Ki-woo in a hoarse voice.

“Father…”

“Yes. I’m your father.”

“…It’s over, I guess.”

“Yes. Didn’t I tell you not to worry? Chamberlain, hand him a hand mirror.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

At Kim Ki-woo’s order, the chamberlain handed a hand mirror to the young man, Wide Sky.

The crown prince touched his face reflected in the hand mirror.

“Huh… I really went back to my youthful appearance.”

“That’s right. Soon, many of our citizens and people around the world will receive this benefit. At least there will be fewer people dying of old age on Earth.”

“Is that so…”

The crown prince was lost in thought for a moment, then spoke up.

“Father. I have something to ask you.”

“Hmm… Well, chamberlain, you can go out for a while.”

“I understand.”

After the chamberlain left, only Kim Ki-woo and the crown prince remained in the sickroom.

Soon, the crown prince opened his mouth.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Is my guess correct?”

The voice of the crown prince was very cautious.

Kim Ki-woo chuckled at this. 

It couldn’t be helped, because the topic of this conversation could be considered as blasphemy against Kim Ki-woo, who was known as a divine spirit.

But Kim Ki-woo nodded calmly. He didn’t need to hide it from his son anymore.

“Probably what you’re thinking is right.”

“Huh, then…!”

“I’m not a divine spirit. I’m just a future person who fell into the past with a time machine.”

“Uh…”

He stared blankly at the ceiling after hearing those words.

After a while, he opened his mouth again.

“Now I understand. Why you advanced the empire, and even human civilization, so fast.”

“There have been rumors that I came from the future since a long time ago. Well, they were just conspiracy theories. But those rumors were true.”

“…So you came from a world where science was more developed than now, since you could use a time machine?”

“No. It was just at this level.”

“Really? But a time machine would be a far-fetched idea at this level.”

“That’s right. The time machine I used was also just an experiment. It was not even sure where or when it would work, let alone whether it would work at all.”

“Huh… Then you succeeded in a gamble.”

“Yes. It was a miracle that I landed on Wakan Tanka continent. I thought I would just die until then.”

Wide Sky was fascinated by Kim Ki-woo’s story. But he still had some questions.

So he continued to ask.

“Why did you take such an absurd gamble? What happened in the future?”

“There was something that could wipe out humanity.”

“Was it… a nuclear war?”

“What? Hahaha! I guess you would think that from your perspective.”

Kim Ki-woo nodded as if he understood. 

In the past, when he made the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, he acted so strongly that it was understandable.

“It wasn’t because of human disasters like nuclear wars. It was a natural disaster that humanity couldn’t stop.”

Kim Ki-woo told him the story of the asteroid Narvas.

After hearing the whole story, the crown prince exclaimed.

“Oh! So that’s why…”

“Yes. I had to make human civilization develop faster before Narvas came to Earth. But we still have plenty of time left, so I think humanity will be able to overcome it.”

At his words, tears streamed down the crown prince’s eyes.

“You have been working hard to save humanity…”

“Haha. Don’t cry. Why are you crying on this good day?”

Kim Ki-woo gently held the crown prince’s hand that was trembling and wiped his tears with his other hand.

But Wide Sky’s emotions did not subside. 

He felt how much Kim Ki-woo had worked for the survival of humanity.

That’s why he got up, even though his body was not fully recovered from the surgery.

And then he knelt before Kim Ki-woo.

“I thank you on behalf of all the people in the world. You are the benefactor of humanity. You have suffered a lot…”

Without knowing it, tears flowed from Kim Ki-woo’s eyes as well, as he remembered all the hardships he had gone through.

At the same time, a strong sense of accomplishment filled his chest.

***

The crown prince was just the beginning.

Kim Ki-woo also received the new anti-aging treatment, and so did all the members of the royal family, including his children.

And then the citizens of the empire, and even people around the world, gradually received anti-aging treatment.

From then on, humanity was somewhat freed from the fear of death.

But this caused another problem. 

That was population explosion.

People didn’t die and kept having children, so the population increased very fast. 

This was a future that Kim Ki-woo had never experienced. 

He had already taken the time machine before then.

From then on, methods were used to prevent people from having children easily. 

But people kept looking for a fundamental solution.

And there was already an answer to this problem.

It was space exploration.

Moving to other planets was the only solution. 

For this, humanity developed science endlessly.

And finally, singularity came.

From then on, science developed at an incomparable speed to before, and finally succeeded in space jump, and humanity settled on planets similar to Earth.

In this process, they encountered other alien intelligent life forms and found many traces of extinct alien civilizations.

This marked the beginning of the real space exploration era. 

And Wakan Tanka Empire became a great empire that ruled over many space planets, not just one continent on Earth.

Later, as expected, asteroid Narvas approached Earth, but it was destroyed by advanced space battleships before it came near.

It was the moment when humanity’s last gamble with a time machine succeeded perfectly.