[Cyber Police]
As a result of nuclear weapons being used during the Third World War, half of the world was contaminated by radiation. People migrated underground or to uncontaminated regions, striving to rebuild the world.
The defeated nations were judged by the victorious powers, and many countries became puppets of those who had won the war.
Once the United Nations had restored order and stability, it constructed an artificial island in the Pacific Ocean as a new living zone for humanity.
Centuries had passed since then.
It was an age when people connected their brains wirelessly to the network, their bodies were converted into cyborgs, and the boundary between androids and human beings had become almost impossible to distinguish.
The Cyber Police were responsible for cracking down on cybercrime, particularly crimes committed through the electronic brain network.
On this day, John and Lee had been summoned by their chief.
His cybernetic eyeballs glowed in rainbow colors as he projected data onto a CRT monitor. The screen showed several heavily congested ring lines.
"As you two already know, it's been like this since this morning. The monorail lines have completely stopped, and the entire city is in chaos. The island's control system is completely down. The Information Bureau is working desperately to restore it, but they have no idea when it will be back online."
John folded his arms, his expression grim.
"So this is terrorism."
The chief pointed a thick finger at John.
"Good instincts. We found traces of someone infiltrating the system behind this incident. I want you two to investigate and arrest the culprit. What their objective is, who they are, whether they acted alone or as part of a group, whether they belong to a terrorist organization—I don't care. Just drag whoever caused this chaos in front of me."
The chief tapped his desk with his finger as he spoke.
The two men drove through the back streets in Lee's Mercedes-Benz 190S, avoiding the chaotic ring roads that were jammed that morning.
"Of all the damn times to be this busy, we have to chase a hacker."
John smoked irritably, letting the smoke trail into the wind.
John had served in the Cyber Police for many years and was trusted as a veteran detective.
In his private life, however, he was in the middle of divorce negotiations with his wife.
"You still haven't quit smoking? You should really give it up."
Lee kept his hands on the steering wheel. He was a mid-level detective who had worked with John as his partner for years.
"You haven't quit the herb either, have you? Keep using that stuff forever and you'll boil your cyberbrain."
Lee regularly used illegal herbs. John knew about it, but deliberately chose not to force him to stop.
Lee changed the subject.
"So where do we start?"
"Where else? The Information Bureau. We need to understand the situation."
John threw his cigarette onto the roadside and closed the window.
The Information Bureau was in complete chaos, as if someone had overturned a bucket. Employees rushed through the corridors, while inside the enormous server room, workers wearing goggles and inserting needles into their temples processed information through their cyberbrains.
The two detectives questioned the chief of the Bureau's Control Division.
The chief had his goggles embedded over his face and was permanently connected to the network.
"When did this start?"
Lee asked the question while John looked around at the commotion surrounding them.
"After midnight this morning. The records clearly show it. It's as though the reins of control have simply slipped from our hands. The systems are completely unresponsive. We've managed to restore part of the programming, but most of it is still outside our control."
John, who had been surveying the room, immediately interrupted.
"Isn't the system controlled by an AI?"
The chief nodded.
"That's correct. The entire system is managed by AI. However, relying solely on AI would be too great a risk, so we also participate in distributed management. But the AI's control became unavailable at midnight as well, just like the rest of the system."
"Any signs of an external intrusion?"
"As you know, the artificial island's system is standalone. Access from outside the island is impossible. To infiltrate it from within, someone would need the access privileges of an Information Bureau employee. And only a very limited number of employees have access to the AI."
With that, the chief transmitted a list of employees with AI access privileges directly into the two detectives' cyberbrains.
Lee contacted headquarters through his cyberbrain.
"Confirm the whereabouts of everyone on this list."
An operator immediately responded.
"We've confirmed everyone except Miraldo Gaiman, the Director of Human Resources. Mr. Gaiman has been missing since last night, and his family has already filed a missing-person report."
"Send investigators to Gaiman's home. We'll search his office."
John gave the order and turned toward the chief.
"We're going to search Mr. Miraldo Gaiman's office."
The large-built John stood up, followed by Lee.
Gaiman's office was located on the third floor of the Information Bureau, a rectangular steel structure.
When they stepped out of the elevator, they entered the Human Resources Department. The Director of Human Resources' office was at the back.
A secretary led them inside.
The room was an ordinary office containing a sofa, a desk, and a CRT computer. Nothing appeared suspicious.
While Lee questioned the employees, John inserted a needle into his cyberbrain and used his electronic brain as a sensor to scan the room.
There was nothing unusual in the drawers, and the computer contained nothing but personnel records.
Then his cyberbrain reacted to a single folder.
At first glance, it appeared to be empty. But when he analyzed it using the internal software, an enormous amount of data suddenly poured out.
What appeared was almost like a history textbook—a dossier about one particular man.
Mark Coleman.
He had been one of the leading figures behind the reconstruction of the world devastated by the Third World War and the original advocate and builder of this enormous artificial island.
He had already been dead for several centuries.
John remembered hearing his name during history lectures at the police academy.
It was not admiration.
It was an obsession so extreme, so close to madness, that it sent a chill down the spine.
"John. Apparently, last night Gaiman told his subordinates, 'History will change tomorrow. A new god will be born.'"
It was him.
John was certain.
But the question was where he was.
"Where are you…? Where the hell are you hiding?"
As John searched through the data with his cyberbrain, a strange sensation suddenly overtook him.
Someone was watching him.
"Lee, access my cyberbrain!"
For a moment, Lee thought he had misheard him.
Accessing someone's personal cyberbrain meant exposing everything within it, and was strictly prohibited on ethical grounds.
"Hurry! Someone's inside my cyberbrain!"
Lee immediately connected through the wireless system.
There were indeed traces of an intrusion.
"Trace it… Gaiman is there."
Lee followed the complicated network routes and finally located the source.
At that instant, his connection to John was severed.
"Underground… He's inside the island's mainframe."
The two men ran.
The culprit was hiding inside the artificial island's gigantic computer—the mainframe.
Even with police authority, entering the facility was difficult, but through the chief's connections, they somehow managed to gain access.
The mainframe was a fortress boasting the most advanced computing power in the world, controlling the entire island's network.
The two detectives advanced through the vast chamber filled with cables, Beretta 92 pistols in their hands.
Then they saw a body.
It was Gaiman.
His temple had been burned through, and his cyberbrain had been completely short-circuited.
"The culprit… is dead?"
The moment Lee said it, John pointed his gun at the mainframe.
"A man who bragged about becoming a god wouldn't make a mistake this stupid. You transferred your consciousness, didn't you, Gaiman?"
A voice suddenly echoed from the speakers.
"That's right, Detective. I became a god through my own power. Just like Coleman."
"You call yourself a god? Causing chaos on the ring roads and shutting down the monorail—that's what a god does?"
John sneered.
"You don't understand. I have taken control of everything on this island. Even now, I am demanding that the United Nations transfer political authority to me in exchange for the lives of every resident on this island."
"What good is owning an island like this?"
Lee raised his gun again.
"This island is magnificent. The only problem is that the government is incompetent. If I take control and eliminate the lawless elements, this island can become the center of the world. Coleman dreamed of doing exactly that. So I will realize his dream as his successor."
John burst out laughing.
"His successor? This island is fine just the way it is. Filthy, chaotic, and with human instincts exposed for all to see."
"And you call yourself a police officer!"
The voice rang out in fury.
"That's exactly why I'm saying it. Because I'm a cop. This is my job. And I'd hate to see it disappear."
John pulled the trigger of his Beretta 92.
Again.
And again.
[Cyber Police] — The End