Chapter 296: An Ordinary Scientist (10)

A few hours before Young-Joon’s arrest, a temporary board meeting was held at A-GenBio. The meeting was called by Tate Lofair of Chenover Bank. A total of ten executives were present: the seven lab directors, the vice president of management, Kim Young-Hoon, and Tate Lofair.

“I don’t see Mr. Ryu,” Tate said.

“Mr. Ryu is in Japan right now,” replied Kim Young-Hoon.

“Wasn’t he supposed to return home today?”

“...”

Tate was right; Young-Joon was supposed to return to Korea today, but he wasn’t back and couldn’t be reached. Kim Young-Hoon was a little worried because he wasn’t the kind of person who would break a promise like this.

“The head of this company can’t even show up for a board meeting on time?” Tate said.

“But didn’t you postpone the board meeting twice in the first place because of all the problems in the Lofair household?” Kim Young-Hoon shot back.

“...”

“And the overview and debriefing of the project in Nicaragua, which is the main item on the agenda today—are they really necessary?”

As the CEO, Kim Young-Hoon needed to proceed with the board meeting so that people didn’t feel Young-Joon’s absence.

“Everyone should know how much operating profit A-GenBio made from this. Revealing and bringing justice to a horrendous act committed in the United States greatly boosted our company image as well.”

The directors chuckled as Kim Young-Hoon spoke.

“... I’m not here to fight,” Tate said with a dejected look.

As the current head of the family, he had to rebuild the Chenover Bank and the Lofair family back up from the shattered pieces.

Alphonse Lofair had passed away in an unfortunate accident, and all rights to the Federal Bank had been taken by Campbell. Chenover Bank’s stock prices had plummeted, leading to a severe financial crisis.

Despite losing everything, there was still an opportunity: the stocks of A-GenBio. The plan was to take the straightforward approach—from now on, Tate was going to actively support Young-Joon and invest heavily in A-GenBio. Considering A-GenBio’s growth potential, the future looked promising. Though it was quite late, getting on this bandwagon even now was an excellent choice for turning things around.

“Chenover Bank plans to put all its efforts into ensuring A-GenBio’s future growth. So please, don’t be too sarcastic...”

“Of course. That wasn’t my intention,” Kim Young-Hoon said with a smile.

Knock knock!

Someone knocked on the door. Kim Young-Hoon’s secretary opened the door and walked in, even when no one told him to. He quickly approached Kim Young-Hoon and whispered in his ear, “We have a problem.”

“What is it?”

“Mr. Ryu warned the Japanese media of a possible explosion at the Tohoku nuclear plant a few hours ago.”

“An explosion?”

“I wasn’t able to tell you earlier because you seemed busy preparing for the board meeting.”

“You still should have mentioned it earlier... Wait a minute. But bringing it up suddenly now, instead of back then...”

“He was originally supposed to return after that, but it got delayed, so we checked. It turns out that Mr. Ryu has been arrested.”

“What?”

Shocked, Kim Young-Hoon stood up abruptly.

“Arrested?”

“Yes. The Japanese media doesn’t seem to know yet, but it’s not something that can be hidden for long. The rest of the world will find out soon.”

“... I will discuss this at this board meeting right now. Please explain it in detail. And, Director Lofair,” Kim Young-Hoon turned his head towards Tate. “Your family can sway major American media outlets, right?”

“Swaying... Why would you put it like that...” Tate replied, looking embarrassed.

“It’s alright. This is your opportunity to work for A-GenBio, Director Lofair.”

*

[Doctor Ryu Young-Joon has spoken about the possibility of an explosion at the Tohoku nuclear power plant in the Japanese media. This caused chaos, such as the Japanese stock market fluctuating dramatically and lots of people near the plant moving to other parts of the country. The Japanese government has arrested Doctor Ryu for causing this issue.]

[Some say that Doctor Ryu made these incitements to promote the anti-nuclear movement in order to commercialize solar power plants. However, Doctor Ryu did not make this claim without any evidence, and he has made his statements on reports from technicians at the Tohoku nuclear plant.]

[Furthermore, there is little to no benefit to Doctor Ryu from predicting a nuclear explosion. Solar cells are a future that will come without his encouragement, and the core of A-GenBio’s revenue is from pharmaceuticals. As such, this is a case of Doctor Ryu predicting the risk of a national disaster, something the government should be doing instead...]

Media around the world, led by the U.S., began to unleash a wave of criticism. Sensitive reactions emerged from every corner where Young-Joon had made his mark: India and Congo, Sweden, China, Israel, Nicaragua, and, of course, the United States—every place touched by A-GenBio’s treatments and the advanced medical treatments of their next-generation hospitals.

The first to speak out was the White House. President Capbell, who had achieved the monumental feat of monetary independence, understood just how much the American people loved Young-Joon, and how sensitive they were to the possibility of a nuclear explosion, especially after Fukushima.

“The United States is currently monitoring the situation at the Tohoku nuclear plant in Japan. Japan has already experienced an explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant that released radiation and caused significant damage to the global environment. If the Japanese government has learnt anything from the past, another explosion at the Tohoku nuclear plant should easily be prevented.”

Campbell began to press the Japanese government, publicly throwing out messages that would favor his re-election.

“Furthermore, freedom of expression that foreshadows such a national disaster must not be suppressed under any circumstances. The reports of technicians should be allowed to be quoted freely, and righteous people like Doctor Ryu should be able to speak to the media without difficulty. We express our deep regret at the decision to arrest Doctor Ryu.”

In Sweden, Princess Desideria spoke on behalf of the royal family.

“It is deeply undemocratic to be arrested for predicting a disaster like a nuclear explosion. The Swedish Royal Family will use all means at its disposal to protect the rights of Doctor Ryu Young-Joon, an honorary citizen of Sweden.”

In China, Governor Yang Gunyu spoke up.

“The Japanese government has already experienced a radiation leak once. In a situation like this, it is necessary to listen to the conscientious voices of scientists who point out the dangers. We express our strong concern that the Japanese government has made the decision to arrest Doctor Ryu.”

Public opinion was leaning in Young-Joon’s favor, and this sentiment was no different in Japan. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s website was flooded with posts condemning the arrest, and the website even crashed briefly due to excessive traffic.

“Public opinion is much worse than we expected,” said the chief of staff to Prime Minister Atabe. “Sir, why don’t we release Doctor Ryu for now?”

“No.”

Atabe shook his head.

“It’s just this once. We just need to get through this one crisis. No matter how great Doctor Ryu is, nuclear power is not his specialty. Masumoto said the Tohoku plant is safe, and I believe him.”

“Sir! You know they are overdoing it, right?”

“You have to take a little risk to protect something important. They said that even in the worst case scenario, it won’t explode if they put in the control rod. But until then, we have to do everything that we can. We’ve come this far, so we have to be right. We must successfully complete the repairs in secret, the nuclear plant must be fine, and Doctor Ryu must be seen as someone who spread false rumors,” said Atabe.

And at the same time, Masumoto was saying something similar to Atabe in Chiyoda City, a ten minute drive from the Prime Minister’s official residence.

“We can take on the risk until the end; we can control it. If we succeed, the solar plant will be delayed, TEPCO will live, and so will Prime Minister Atabe. Then, we will be able to deal a blow to Ryu Young-Joon.”

“What are you talking about? What are you going to fight Doctor Ryu for?” Hishijima said in frustration.

“Director, he’s not some great savior of medicine. I know him for what he is now: a cold-hearted man who does clinical trials without FDA approval when he needs to, and when he doesn’t, he flat-out refuses no matter how much they beg.”

Mastumoto gritted his teeth.

“Sir, what are you talking about...”

“No. Director, do not try to convince me. Just listen. We’re going to get the reactors back up and running as if nothing ever went wrong without ever shutting it down. The issue of the broken pressurizers will go away, and Doctor Ryu will become the evil prophet who messed up the Japanese economy.”

“Did something happen with Doctor Ryu?” Hishijima asked.

“You also thought it was wrong for Japan to be trailing behind Korean science, Director!”

“It’s true that A-GenBio’s rapid growth was regrettable in that aspect. But this is not the same thing. Are we really going to do this, risking the lives of our people?”

“... They are not just citizens unrelated to me,” Masumoto said through his teeth. “In any case, there will be no shutdown of the nuclear plant, Director. You can go back now.”

*

There was a small town just one kilometer from the Tohoku nuclear power plant. It was a peaceful neighborhood where most of the residents were working in agriculture. Many people had already packed up and moved towards Tokyo, planning to stay there for at least a month until the issue was resolved.

However, there were people who stayed—the elderly, who were weak and had trouble getting around. They stayed there, where their lives were rooted, for different reasons: some had nowhere to go, some didn’t have the energy to move, and some didn’t have enough motivation to live. As the government had not yet issued an evacuation order, they could not request help from the fire department either.

“Grandma! Aren’t you going to evacuate? They say the Tohoku nuclear plant might explode,” asked a middle-aged man in his forties.

A white-haired grandma looked back at him. The man’s name was Kyohei, Masumoto’s son.

“Honey, I can’t go,” said Harumi, Masumoto’s mother.

“Because of Dad?”

“Yes. Your father said the plant won’t explode,” Harumi said. “You know how much your father loves me. He said that old age and mobility problems can be cured nowadays. He said he’s going to get me in a clinical trial for that now that I’m old and can’t get around well.”

Harumi squeezed her grandson’s hand on the wooden bench.

“... Grandma, I think Dad is wrong this time. You have to leave. Come to Tokyo with me and stay for a month.”

“Ah, no,” Harumi said, shaking her head. “My dear, I’m over ninety years old. I’m sick and tired of it all now. What desires would I have left in this life to betray my son and trouble you in Tokyo?”

“...”

“There’s been a lot of reporters here lately. People know that I’m Masumoto’s mother. How embarrassing would it be for your father if I ran away?”

“

Sigh

...”

Kyohei let out a sigh.

“If anything goes wrong, I’ll come get you, so stay safe. And if the government decides to order an evacuation, don’t be stubborn and follow the firefighters, okay?”

“Alright, alright,” Harumi replied, trying to reassure Kyohei.

*

Kim Chul-Kwon, the head of Young-Joon’s security team, and Park Joo-Hyuk arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department while the rest of Japan was in a frenzy.

“Hey, don’t worry. This isn’t something they should have arrested you for... These crazy bastards,” Park Joo-Hyuk said. “A-GenBio will also file a claim against the Japanese government for this, so don’t worry, we’ll beat the shit out of them.”

“Joo-Hyuk,” Young-Joon said.

“Yeah?”

“I think we’re going to have to sign a contract with the Japanese government.”

“A contract?”

“The nuclear plant is going to explode,” said Young-Joon.

‘It’s not just the pressurizer.’

Technicians couldn’t check tens of thousands of pipes in such a short time, but Rosaline could. After Young-Joon met with Hideo, the head of nuclear safety, Rosaline blasted out tens of thousands of cells to check everything inside the plant.

The main coolant pump was already broken, and they were using an auxiliary pump. Worse, the safety rods were likely to not work either. Maybe it was already too late. The situation at Tohoku was more serious than Masumoto realized. Soon, the coolant pipes wouldn’t be able to maintain pressure, causing the coolant to boil, and the pipe joints would burst in various places. Then, the situation would spiral out of control.

“The plant is going to explode?” Park Joo-Hyuk asked.

“Yeah. And by then, the engineers fixing the pressurizers inside the plant, and the residents who couldn’t evacuate, will be exposed to radiation. I’ve talked to the police here, but it’s no use. Even if they believe me now, it may be too late.”

Young-Joon pointed his chin at the officers working.

“Exposure to radiation shatters the DNA in the cells. There will be tissue necrosis all over the body, and the victims will die in great pain. We need to treat them.”

“... You’re going to treat radiation exposure?”

Confusion flashed across Park Joo-Hyuk’s face.

“I spoke to the Life Creation Team earlier. I’ll leave the technology development to them, and you get ready to write a clinical trial contract with the Japanese government, just in case.”

Thud!

The door to the detective division opened. Three men burst inside. Running straight toward Young-Joon with a stern face was Hishijima, a director of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. He was followed by the Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare and the Director of the National Institute of Health Sciences, a private agency under the Ministry.

“Doctor Ryu... I apologize for everything that has happened,” Hishijima said. “Please help us.”