Parahan, 2nd Edition Page 8

  It was about that time when Daekhan began to yearn for the reasonable adult world. He wanted to be a supreme leader of the leadership, the highest decision-making organization of Hoon. He wanted to realize justice in the society at large. He wanted to teach those who defeated and suppressed the right by force, that righteousness always wins in the end. He also wanted to imprint on people that the justice in this world is still alive.

  Daekhan eventually became a supreme leader of the leadership. He finally stepped into the leadership, which he had longed for since he was young. He had never forgotten the deeply touching moment when he became one of Hoon’s leaders.

  But his deep affection was completely shattered in less than a year, for the shameful conduct of the supreme leaders was revealed to him one-by-one as time progressed. The selfish greed of leaders often overrode their rationality, while wrong thoughts often overruled right opinions by force. Numerous things which occurred in the leadership were neither righteous nor reasonable. Daekhan’s disappointment deepened day-by-day as much as his initial happiness had.

  This leadership is the worst ever. But who can we blame for the wrongdoings?

  His moan of despair did not stop after that. The selfishness of the leaders never diminished, even when the entire planet of Hoon faced the critical situation at hand. All of them were busy seeking satisfaction of their interests; nobody truly cared about the future of Hoon.

  But finally people were fed up with the selfishness of the leadership and gathered around Daekhan. Today, they were up for the revolution.

  But what will happen if I fail today? What will the consequences be? Will I be remembered as an unfortunate person who failed while trying to do the right thing?

  The leadership that defended against a rebellion would not allow it. They would interpret the meaning of the rebellion at their convenience and inform the public in the way they liked.

  The leader of rebels who tried to take over the leadership for the personal desire to gain power…

  Daekhan felt fear when his thoughts entertained this idea; then the fear washed over him, flooding his mind and shaking him to the core. He was more afraid of appearing like a failure than the act of failure itself. Right now, it wasn’t about the right thing winning, or virtue coming out on top. Rather, the winner would be right.

  There would be no difference between the children’s world of fantasy and the world of adults if the strong were always right.

  He sighed from someplace deep in his heart.

  “The next thing on the agenda is a petition to increase the military force.”

  Calan pulled out a sensitive agenda. It awakened Daekhan, who was indulging himself in his own thoughts. Now he quickly returned to reality and listened to Calan’s remarks.

  “Taebakun has not made any unusual movements since occupying Koman two years ago. Some are concerned that their movements are suspicious, but we have come to a conclusion after carefully examining various facts that this is a groundless fear. Even if war breaks out, Hoon’s military power is superior and Hanbau, whom we have had a good relationship with for a long time, will not overlook the situation either. They will not sit by and watch our troubles. They will not tolerate the oppression of their brothers. Please tell me if you disagree!”

  Calan was chief of the five supreme leaders. He asked the other four supreme leaders and other deputy leaders in turn while he was trying to conclude the agenda for increasing the military strength. Daekhan had proposed the same agenda multiple times and Calan had ignored the proposal every time. The five supreme leaders were supposed to be equal. In such a situation, they should be able to exchange their opinions on the agenda freely and come to an optimal conclusion. That would be a normal leadership and a fundamental reason for composing the leadership with five supreme leaders. One leader had to be the moderator, and Calan was given that role. He was not given more authority than that from the beginning. But he had obviously been dominating the other supreme leaders for a long time.

  It was hard to say that the discussion of supreme leaders in this chamber followed normal procedure. Open dialogue had long been spoiled in such a way that Calan presented his thoughts first and then listened to opposing opinions. When Daekhan was elected as a supreme leader, this meeting procedure had already been fixed for a considerable period.

  It was true that Calan’s usual smile portrayed only friendliness and kindness to others, but anyone who knew even a little bit of his true identity quivered at the thought of his cruelty. Calan was very talented in both attracting and subduing others at the same time. He hid incredible cunning and deep deceit behind his kindly smile. He often retaliated against anyone who opposed his plans or conclusions, although never was the retaliation openly carried out. No, all evidence of his revenge was hidden, sealed with his smile. A few brave people had attempted to unleash the real truth about him but their efforts came to nothing, even as his cruelty increased. People were becoming more and more afraid of Calan and most people knew all he cared about was his safety, comfort and power.

  Daekhan was the only person who contested Calan’s self-righteousness from time to time. One person was not able to make a change, however, when five people were discussing a topic. And even though the other supreme leaders knew about Calan’s self-absorption, they never spoke of it. It was natural that the other three supreme leaders desired to maintain their power and privilege to some degree, regardless of the future of Hoon. So Calan exploited their hidden selfishness, revealing it and appropriately manipulating it to suit his taste.

  Daekhan listened to Calan’s remarks and noted the silence of the rest of supreme leaders. It was time to give up any expectations he’d had of them.

  Calan continued to speak, breaking the silence in the chamber.

  “Then I will move on to the next agenda item which is about raising the rates of Tan paid to professionals. Recent results from research institutes reveals that the percentage of professionals who were replaced by dorans hit a record high recently. Data also shows that the number of professionals has dropped sharply compared to a decade ago. Of course, we can interpret these statistics as a positive sign that dorans are doing a lot of things on behalf of humans. However, I am concerned that, in the long run, this trend may critically decrease the number of people who want to be professionals. There are roles that must be filled by a human, regardless of the doran’s possibly superior capabilities in some things. Even if dorans advance for another several hundred years, they cannot do these jobs for us. Therefore, current professionals must show they are proud of the work they do so young talent will consistently volunteer to be professionals and devote themselves to the future of Hoon. In light of this, I think it is very reasonable to raise the Tan payment rate. What do you think of my opinion?”

  “I agree with the intention of Mr. Calan regarding the benefits of professionals,” Daekhan said, “however, I am concerned that some may criticize us if the Tan is raised solely to benefit the leadership.” Daekhan continued. “Moreover, the overall atmosphere of Hoon has not been good since Koman was occupied by the Taebakun.” He looked around at the leadership. “I believe we have to approach this issue very carefully since it is such a delicate matter.”

  Calan frowned and glared at Daekhan fiercely after hearing his rebuttal. Other supreme leaders and deputy leaders kept silent after reading Calan’s countenance. The atmosphere in the room became hostile. Just then Daekhan heard shallow beeps in his ear. He’d hidden the bandan in his clothing for security reasons and nestled a micro transceiver in his ear to receive the signal from his colleagues indicating they had arrived and were near the leadership building. The revolutionary army was beneath the very nose of the leadership!

  The clock indicated the meeting was about half over. Daekhan gently pressed the button of his transceiver in his ear, instructing them to enter the leadership building.

  Out into the World 10

  AT the sound of the beep, Taehan looked at Hanmoo who was scouting t
he semi-circular headquarters building trying to find any weak points. The building did not seem to have any; it was like a beast protecting her cubs. Two layers of tall barriers surrounded the whole building, making it a good defense facility in case of an emergency. Dozens of soldiers were guarding the second floor balcony which also protruded in a curved shape. Numerous soldiers were on the blue square in front of the leadership building while other soldiers guarded the front gate and the front doors of the building. Stand-by troops were everywhere. There were more than two hundred in all, as expected.

  The Capital Defense Unit troops were already deployed and waiting for an order: 100 on the left, 100 on the right, and 300 soldiers in the headquarters. The members of the organization, Shunda, and Shunda’s men were waiting with the troops in the headquarters. The leadership seemed unaware of the ambush by the Capital Defense Unit.

  Taehan’s first task was to move eighty men into proximity of the leadership building. It was not too difficult to achieve, considering that the Capital Defense Unit was a friendly force in appearance. When Taehan received a report that the communication between the leadership and the outside was disconnected, he led the eighty soldiers of the Capital Defense Unit to the main entrance of the leadership building. The rest of the main troop was in a standby state in the rear with Hanmoo. The soldiers in the right and left corners of the leadership building were in a rush formation just waiting for the order to begin moving in.

  These men would suddenly be turned into hostile forces. It would a successful initial operation if they entered the leadership building. At this moment, the troops ambushed in the right and left sides would join the attack as well. The main defense system would be knocked down at once, putting the leadership into disorder.

  Afterward, the main troop at the back led by Hanmoo would raid the building at the right moment and defeat the enemy. It would give them a win, and end the battle.

  Taehan continued to lead the soldiers of the Capital Defense Unit across the well-manicured lawn of the square in front of the leadership building. He ordered his soldiers to stop advancing when they were about 100 steps away from the main gate. Someone who seemed like a squad leader of the guard was approaching him carefully.

  “Is there a problem?” the man asked as he drew closer.

  “We are here under the order of supreme leader Calan,” Taehan said.

  The man lifted his face shield to speak to Taehan. “Mr. Calan? I have not been notified of such an order from him.”

  “That is not possible. Why don’t you check again?”

  The squad leader took out a bandan from the waist of his pants and tried to contact the office. Taehan signaled to a soldier standing behind him who had already been given the order to put a tranquilizer gun in the squad leader’s face at the appropriate moment.

  “Puk! Puk!” Two tranquilizer shots landed on the squad leader’s cheek almost before the look of fear registered on his face. He fell to the ground.

  “Charge!” Taehan shouted.

  Eighty soldiers of the Capital Defense Unit rushed the front gate of the leadership building at once. The guards at the front gate saw them and hastily pulled up their guns

  “Bang! Rattat!”

  Taehan hear the gunfire of the Guard of Leadership. Bullets flew around him, some pinging against his armor before dropping to the ground. He lifted his shield to block the barrage of bullets and ordered his men to fire back at the front gate of the leadership building.

  “Rat-tattoo! Whiz!”

  Soldiers on both sides were heavily protected by armor, helmets, and shields covered with Pan. Both parties knew that gunfire at a distance couldn’t kill. It was just used to threaten and to move forces forward. The real battle would start at close distances when a soldier became vulnerable by repeatedly being hit in the same part of their armor – or when they took of their helmets or armor for some reason. Then they could be shot and killed.

  The Guard of Leadership continued to shoot meaninglessly and unceasingly. Taehan looked at the soldiers of Guard of Leadership who were fiercely attacking the friendly force. They were all soldiers of Hoon, and even though they were fighting each other, they were all innocent. The supreme leaders of the leadership had committed wrongdoings; the soldiers were only doing their duty…

  Taehan was sad that the people of Hoon had to fight each other, albeit for the right reason. Facing this situation in person, he felt guilty and burdened by the action even though he expected it and had even tried to prepare for this feeling.

  When they entered the leadership building in a moment he would have to see people shedding blood and dying right in front of him. There was no way to avoid it.

  Taehan tightly shut one of his eyes. and deliberately raised his voice as the bitterness grew inside of him. He commanded his men to charge forward. The Capital Defense Unit took the incoming bullets with shields and armor, continuing to move forward one step at a time. When they were thirty steps from the front gate they began to fire again at the Guard of Leadership. Taehan kept encouraging his men to keep shooting and keep advancing.

  He could see new soldiers appearing on the barrier, surrounding the leadership building. Moreover, the balcony on the second floor was also reinforced by soldiers. The new soldiers pointed guns at them. The guns looked strange, even if they were far away.

  “Bang! Bang! Bang!"

  The sound of the guns thundered loudly and bullets tore through the air hitting their shields and armor without mercy. The power of the bullets these guns spewed was very different from ordinary bullets. Shields were shaken so hard at impact they were difficult to hold. Violent spasms shot through the shields and vibrated through bones of hands and arms before tearing deeply and powerfully into the soldiers’ shoulders. Taehan only had a second to wonder if this was the compressed gas gun, the secret weapon of the leadership which was a hot topic even just one day before the revolution.

  The gun was invented and developed with military science. The early ones used round stones or metal as bullets. The machinery inside the gun struck a primer at the base of the cartridge which detonated a charge which expelled the bullet at great velocity. The fundamental principle of the gun had not changed, but the shooting mechanism and the composition and shape of the bullet had evolved and could now rain fatal damage down on the enemy.

  Currently used firearms hadn’t deviated much from the latest development. The mechanical operation method, striking a bullet’s explosive primer to send it out, was still the favored method. The only difference was that now the stored energy in the gun could be used to increase the velocity of the bullet. However, a new type of weapon gave the organization pause. The culprit was a compressed gas gun that had been newly issued to the leadership after being developed and tested by the Institute of Military Science under the auspice of the leadership. It fired bullets by using the explosive force of compressed gas.

  The compressed gas gun had superior destructive power compared to existing guns. However, the recoil and noise generated during the gas explosion were enormous. It was almost impossible to use it as a normal weapon. Therefore, the majority of people predicted it would end up being an experimental weapon. This was all officially revealed to the outside.

  Some guards of Guard of the Leadership were issued compressed gas guns as a demonstration. Nobody knew why. Therefore, this made many interested people curious at that time. Nothing else was known about the compressed gas gun, for thereafter, the tests conducted on the gun were secret. Some rumors said that its destructive power was as powerful as the gun installed on a parantan. Some said the bullets could penetrate armor covered by Pan. Still, only a few people believed it.

  The final judgment of the organization before the revolution was as follows.

  Gas compressed guns may offer tremendous power, but it is not enough to overturn the result of a battle.

  Out into the World 11

  “Rattat! Bang! Bang!”

  The attacks by the leadership’s soldier
s using compressed gas guns became more intense. Taehan and the soldiers of the Capital Defense Unit lifted their shields further up to give themselves more protection, but the bullets continued to pound them. It was as if the other soldiers thought they could penetrate their shields with a certain level of noise. Even with the barrage of bullets coming at them, Taehan and his men advanced. They couldn’t pull back now, but they did pause every few feet to regroup. Some of the soldiers were frightened, and kept checking to see if their armor was damaged. The closer they drew to the front gate, the more flustered the Capital Defense Unit became; some hesitated to move forward any further.

  Maybe it was a natural reaction, for they had certainly encountered unexpectedly strong resistance for which their training had not prepared them. Taehan thought the opponent wasn’t unfazed either. Hoon hadn’t been in a real battle for a long time, so this was a first for both sides. Feeling fear in one’s first combat experience was unavoidable.

  Two soldiers in the front slumped down on the ground only twenty steps from the front gate of the leadership building. The soldiers around them became frightened and confused.

  “Halt!” Taehan shouted loudly and hastily approached the soldiers who had fallen.

  One had died when the transparent shield covering his face was penetrated. A bullet had found its way through the side of the other man’s armor. Both men had been shot in the weakest part of the armor’s defense system, and died.

  Taehan was stunned.

  The enemy’s compressed gas gun is able to penetrate the weak parts of the armor such as the front of the helmet. So it is possible within a certain distance…

  He could not think of a countermeasure.