September 15, 2023
The world had been rocked by a great news early morning. Even the White House of the USA, Sōri Daijin Kantei of Japan (the equivalent of the WH), and other government houses, regardless of their own time zones, had trouble comprehending the news since it was so ludicrous.
China suddenly made the decision to reform its policies. The great Firewall of China which had control over the internet, used to monitor everything that people expressed over the internet and the flow of information from outside was out of nowhere dissolved. This was a big deal for China since throughout the years, the Firewall had severely restricted free expression and kept many people from accessing accurate information.
The recently put in place social credit system was also removed along with the Firewall. To give the Chinese government additional control over the populace, this system was added. With a good rating in the system one could enjoy many benefits like discounts on energy bills, being able to rent bikes and hotels without payment of a deposit, better interest rates at banks, tax breaks, free use of gyms and preference at hospitals while a bad score would amount to flight ban, exclusion from private schools, slow internet connection, exclusion from high prestige work, exclusion from hotels and registration on a public blacklist. Not because the system itself was awful, but because the laws that governed it were so arbitrary.
Due to this and the fact that China had invested more money in internal security than it had in external security, the people were unable to even express their opinions to their neighbors. All of a sudden, this was lifted. The events that had occurred baffled the leaders of the world. For the businesses with operations and factories in China, this was very terrible news. It implied that members of the lower class would have the ability to voice their opinions, post recordings of their workplaces, and do other things.
The major companies from around the world like Tesla, Apple and others were alarmed and phoned the main office directly to know what had happened. All they heard in response was that the Premier had changed his mind and that further information will be released shortly.
---
Few hours prior
The officials had to tale flights immediately when the call came. The 5-hour deadline felt like a guillotine hanging over their heads. To get to Beijing before five hours, some of them had to pay out of pocket and fly on a private jet. When the conference had begun, it had been late at night.
"I have called this meeting to administer new change in the system and for implementing it I would need your votes." Those were Premier's first words when everybody sat at the Great Hall. They were confused about was so important to change that they didn't have much time.
The documents outlining the necessary adjustments were soon served to everyone, and they were all given time to read them. They found it to be increasingly absurd as they read more. The social credit system came first, followed by the Great Firewall.
The SCS could be dissolved as it only started in 2020 but the Great Firewall had been in commission for such a long time. Its breakup would have a significant impact on the nation's politics, economy, and population. Due to outside knowledge, the government would progressively lose control over the populace.
This was unacceptable.
"Leader, are you really serious about this?" One of the vice premiers had to inquire. Even though everyone in the Great Hall was the Premier's staunchest supporter and had unanimously elected him to office without casting a single disapproving vote, they were unable to accept the new modification when it was introduced.
"I am dead serious about it. And the reason behind it is this..." The Great Hall's lights were promptly turned off once the Premier finished speaking, and a white screen was placed in front of the podium so that everyone could see it.
The projector started playing a video. The individuals observing soon understood that it was related to the recent trip to North Korea. They waited patiently even though they didn't comprehend why their Premier was showing them the film of his trip. Everyone's jaws hit the floor as the film played and events were shown, starting with the killings of his security and ending with a view of their capital.
They simply could not accept it.
"It's not possible. No other nation could possess such advanced technology. It's untrue."
"No, I don't think that's true."
"This is absurd,"
The most of the officials spoke up, but the Premier merely sat there and observed them. After an hour of video, the lights were back in the Hall and everyone then looked at the Premier for explanation of this science fiction movie. The Premier then started calling the reporters who had accompanied him on this trip.
"Tell them what we saw." The journalists were sent by the Premier. The most of the journalists were a little frightened, but one man stood up and spoke into the microphone.
"Everything you see in the video is real; it's not just science fiction or computer-generated imagery. The DPRK is now a different country. A new ruler has been introduced, which you have already seen. From what we have gathered and could find out with the maximum exposure we got their current society is based on a combination of human and some kind of alien technology which is based on machines. Something like the movie Transfomers. I know this sounds hilarious and ridiculous but that is my personal observation."
The other reporters then followed him and made essentially the same statement. The officials were shocked as they gradually realized they had not been duped and that the events depicted in the video had indeed taken place.
"You heard what that man with the mask stated at the conclusion. He wants to transform the world and needs exposure. The technology which he showed, including our trip to space, are not something which we could ever get our hands by ourselves in the nearest future. If we want our country to be in forefront and in the coming space exploration, we will have to dance by his tunes until we are self sufficient. Our country can't fall behind in outer space. Imagine the resources we can get once we get sufficient technology." said the Premier.
Everyone was filled with hope and trepidation after hearing those remarks about the future. They had seen both the other enormous space ship and the opulent spacecraft that they had taken to space. It was sufficient to demonstrate that conquest of other planets would be simple with those spacecraft.
But they were also aware of the reality on the ground. If they implement those modifications to their policies, there will be significant social unrest and many of them will be killed as a result. They wanted to resist because they were afraid for this reason.
But here came the problem. They couldn't fight back. Because the Premier had his most trusted men in the military and security since the start. The police and military would intervene quickly to disperse any opposition. They would be jailed till death if their luck was good or just be hanged to death.
"I want you all to vote for the changes if we as a nation want to progress and be on the good side of his. They already have multiple AI looking at us from all directions so I would recommend to act on your best." The Premier issued a fresh warning about North Korea's current power.
Some of the officials had contact with the Premier during his visit to the DPRK, and because they had been tricked, they knew why the Premier had warned about the AI's pervasiveness.
The polls went up and everyone very reluctantly voted for the change of policies. This resulted in the shocking news from China. And it wasn't just that news that frightened the leaders of the world.
Next came the news of borders of North Korea be opened to the public and also how the current North Korea looks like. Different videos from various North Korean locations started to appear on social media. At first the people thought it was all just a bluff because in no way Kim Jong Un would ever do such kind of insanity of opening the borders nor would invest in CGI.
But when China's official website confirmed that what North Korea had released was accurate, everything started to go south. The world leaders thought it was all a gimmick that China had started to attract attention to something else.
However, when they personally inquired, they learned that the Premier was the one who sent the news and that North Korea had also requested that journalists from all over the world be allowed to visit and see North Korea for themselves.
---
Read 26 more chapters ahead on my p@treon.com/thelightedghost