Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 157



Only Noblemtl

157.

The discourse on genetics was a mainstream keyword that dominated the Internet society of the distant future.

The story that everything, including physical development and appearance, as well as talent for studying and sports, is determined by genes.

Add to that climate change, economic recession, social problems, and personal failures, and the future world I remember has become increasingly pessimistic.

It created generations like ‘Doomer’ and ‘Incel’.

I used to argue that people became unhappy because they knew too much in the information age, but I didn’t think that all of that was just a delusion. There’s a reason for everything that happens in the world.

That is why I presented a world free from such worries through ‘Country of Losers’.

A novel in which everyone lives happily in their own place, free from all the worries of the world.

Up until this point, it was like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.

But I cleverly inserted the imperfect free will of humans into it, which made this novel seem very plausible at first glance.

‘Simon said, ‘The Book’ is not God.’

I thought that was somewhat true, but my opinion was a little different.

Isn’t it closer to religion in that it is something you lean on to escape from problems that exist but cannot be helped? If God is omnipotent, then the North is not.

It was a tool that preached the wisdom of God created by humans and led humans to happiness. The contrast with the past, when only human free will existed, was designed to make the fictional existence of The North very attractive.

But that’s it.

‘Is that really right?’

I wanted to ask this question:

Humans have become unhappy because they have been exposed to too much information.

I didn’t think there was much of a problem with this hypothesis itself. I thought that the reason humans endlessly compare themselves to others and show off is, paradoxically, because humans have become so smart.

So what if some being comes along and erases it?

What if you could avoid getting biased information and being unhappy because of it?

‘Can that world be considered a dystopia?’

I had come to my own conclusions about it, but it was up to the reader to decide.

At least Simon, who could be said to be the first reader of my novel, spoke highly of it and confirmed my belief that I wrote it with the expectation that it would win a decent science fiction award at the awards ceremony next year.

[This work is possible.]

I remember his face nodding with a trusting expression.

‘I hope it goes as expected.’

With a smile, I slowly moved the chess piece forward.

“Checkmate.”

And then he raised his head and looked at the person sitting across from him.

“······Frrrrrrrr.”

It had been a long time since I had heard that distinctive lip trembling sound.

Yes, that’s right.

After finishing all my work, I was hanging out with my friends.

It had been almost three months since we last saw each other, but we didn’t look much different than before.

We gathered at Doofy’s house for the first time in a long time, and Doofy and I were playing a game of Crusader vs. Tomb Viking chess. I was playing the Crusader and Doofy was playing the Tomb Viking, and the battle was fierce.

A scalp that looks deeply troubled.

Now that I had some free time, I listened to the voices of Jiwoo and Alexa coming from next to me.

“Isn’t this clothing design really nice?”

“I think it’s too flashy for me.”

“Hey, sometimes it’s okay to wear clothes like this, okay! Let’s go shopping together later! It’ll be really pretty!”

What on earth are those clothes?

I was curious and wanted to ask, but soon my scalp became numb.

‘huh?’

I countered that move. My Bishop Crusader caught the Warrior Tomb Viking of Doofy. Oh, that guy was giving me a headache, but it was solved. As I thought that, Doofy made his next move, and I realized that my King Crusader was surrounded.

A scalp that pushes up the bridge of the glasses by intertwining the middle and ring fingers.

“CHECKMATE.”

“Damn it!”

Me, momentarily flustered, trying to think of the best option.

However, as time ticked by, I concluded that no matter what I did, I could not overcome this situation, and I had no choice but to declare defeat.

“······I lost.”

“Wow, the Tomb Vikings are victorious.”

‘Why can’t I win against this guy?’

Even in college, I played chess with my classmates from time to time and won every time, but strangely, I couldn’t beat Doopi. It was the skill of a guy who had always played chess alone in this small room.

“It was a good match. God.”

“I learned a thing or two.”

“Your skills have improved quite a bit.”

“It feels like when I take one step forward, you take two steps back.”

“No way. It’s all skill.”

“······Isn’t it usually called luck?”

“What, what? Did God lose?”

Just then, I felt something heavy on my head.

I felt it was Alexa’s chin, but I couldn’t bear the gloomy feeling and just slumped my shoulders.

“Yeah. You went to college and only studied, so you became weak.”

Doofy nodded and arrogantly pushed up his glasses again. Today, he was Tomb Viking King Doofy.

“Damn it! It’s stuck again!”

“Brother Shin, did you really only study?”

“No, well, that wasn’t the case. I participated in various events and had a decent time.”

“They say college is a lot about studying. Is that true?”

“That’s not bad, though. It’s a place where I can learn what I want to study professionally.”

“Hmm.”

Our cute Jiwoo is lost in thought after listening to me.

It seemed like he was having a lot of trouble deciding on his future since he was a third-year student this year. I looked at my scalp, thinking that I should listen carefully to what other adults(?) had to say.

“Dupe, how are you doing these days? Is work okay?”

“I’m still learning. There’s a gap between what I thought and reality, but I’m doing my best.”

“In what areas did you feel disconnected?”

“I guess there’s the cost issue. Since toys are manufactured goods, we have to keep the quality while keeping the cost as low as possible. That’s why we sometimes face difficulties during the design process. Sometimes it’s inconvenient. Phew, why does Dad try to solve everything with synthetic resin······!”

The excited scalp shook its fist.

“Well, I’m trying to build my career in various ways while also working separately. There are many products in this field, not just toys sold for children.”

So, it seems that the ‘figure’ they are making is aimed at adults’ wallets by setting a high sales price while raising the production cost to the extreme. In addition, they are planning board games and are trying to branch out in the toy industry without any problems.

Alexa nodded in agreement after hearing that.

“I’m also learning how to act while working as a model, and I’m also learning voice and singing these days. I think it’s not a bad idea to pursue similar fields so that I can grab the opportunity when it comes.”

“······I’m just writing novels.”

“Hey, God? You already succeeded.”

“Ah, I’ve become completely established as a writer. But as we grow older and build our careers, there will come a day when we, like you, will become completely established in one field.”

“Well, I guess you could look at it that way.”

I looked at Jiwoo, elated at Alexa Ann Dupi’s compliments.

“I am also studying poetry, plays, and screenplays at school, along with novels. In addition, I am learning other languages ​​and exploring various possibilities.”

“You all are amazing. Oh, adults······.”

“What does Jiwoo want to do?”

Jiwoo’s eyes lit up at Alexa’s question.

“I want to be a musician!”

“Then I guess I should study music professionally or start a band or make an album and jump into the market.”

“What did your parents say?”

“Oh, that part is important too.”

“My parents, of course, want me to go to college and study something related to music. But I want to be in a metal band, so I’m not sure if going to college is the right thing to do.”

“Isn’t that okay? In terms of exploring various possibilities.”

“Whew, that’s true too······ Most rockers aren’t college graduates.”

“Oh, there’s that image.”

“······Rather, there is an atmosphere where you get teased after graduating from college. They say you are an intellectual.”

Scalp’s comment was accurate.

While listening to the story like that, I found myself chuckling.

“Huh? What’s wrong? God?”

“No······. After talking to you guys again, I realized that you all live happily.”

“Do you have any worries these days?”

“No, I’m fine.”

I had the feeling that college life itself wasn’t like that.

To be precise, I’m talking about freshmen like me.

‘I don’t know about the upperclassmen, but.’

We came here to explore and learn literature.

However, everyone seemed to be suffering as they struggled to meet the standards set by the university, struggling to complete assignments on time and engaging in soulless extracurricular activities rather than focusing on their studies, worrying about the number of credits they needed to earn or their future career path after graduation.

And some of that image was captured in ‘Country of Losers’.

But I felt like I didn’t want to spend the rest of my college life like that.

Even if it’s not like that yet, if the people around me continue to be like that, I might be affected by it too.

‘I think it would be good if there was an opportunity to let them go.’

College? It’s nothing special. Well, it’s a bit special, but it’s not so much that you feel a huge pressure like when someone like John Smith comes home drunk and does homework. The emptiness that Kate Moore occasionally feels is probably more like a burnout that comes after running so hard.

‘Shall we do something?’

Just then, an idea occurred to me that was perfect for college.

‘When it comes to college, it’s all about parties.’

Not a welcoming party like last time, but a ‘party’ where you can really go crazy and have fun.

***

This novel is definitely a hit.

Excellent work of art, and the solid setting and writing skills that support it.

It has no choice but to be eaten.

Simon has been reading a lot of science fiction novels up until now, but this was a really refreshing novel. It didn’t seem like a dystopian novel.

Usually, dystopian novels capture the spirit of the times and make you think, “Yes, this can’t be happening.” But this novel didn’t do that. No matter how you think about it, the world in Act 1 was so absurd that I thought the ending was better.

“You could say it’s another dystopia after the dystopia.”

That was the sentiment of Julia, Simon’s senior reporter.

She had also received and read ‘Country of Losers’ from the new writer.

But she didn’t make a fuss like Simon. She was deeply immersed in this unpleasant world, and she had come to her own logical conclusion, but she didn’t talk about it in detail. She wanted Simon, who had to publish this good work, to approach it with his own philosophy.

And just as he had hoped, Simon had been thinking hard since reading God’s new book.

“Another dystopia to destroy dystopia. It seems like a really refreshing setting.”

“Yeah. I think so too. But you said earlier, ‘Is this really a dystopia?’. Which means you like this world being optimized by the North, right?”

“Not Julia?”

“Not me. How can I affirm a world like this?”

“······T, give me a hint.”

“Because it’s a personal matter. Simon, you know that, right?”

“Oh, that’s it.”

Simon smiled awkwardly.

Simon and Julia knew a bit about each other’s personal lives, as they had often hung out together during their time at the company.

And Simon remembered Julia’s ‘circumstances’ and understood why she had said such things.

Simon turned his focus back to God’s new work, thought deeply, and then continued speaking.

“Is it because it interferes with the path that humans have chosen themselves?”

“well.”

“Oh, that’s not true. The North doesn’t block the choice. Then······ information control?”

“Have you forgotten what happened because of the overload of information?”

“They were just fucking around and swearing at each other on the ‘Internet.’ It’s a future I really don’t want to imagine.”

“But it seems pretty plausible. I can’t help but wonder if this could be the future if the Internet, which is now mainly used by public institutions, becomes commercially available to the general public.”

Julia nodded with deep insight.

“Anyway, since we both have high expectations for this work as much as the new author, finding a good publisher who can meet those expectations is a priority.”

“Well, that’s right. Do you know of any good publishers······?”

“Oh my, you. Have you forgotten all the places I told you about last time?”

“They were all good publishers, but what should I say?”

As a journalist, Simon Carver had a deep understanding of the publishing industry.

The current publishing market is largely divided into two categories.

On the genre side and the pure side.

And what is commonly required of publishers in each field is ‘how many good works do you have?’ and ‘how many places can you sell books to?’

There were cases where each state in the U.S. had different laws and standards, and the publishing business had a somewhat closed atmosphere, so it was difficult to enter other states unless a well-known publisher or author took action.

“Or was there a connection to each state?”

“······I think I told you about all those places.”

“They are all genre publishers. I think this work has great literary value. That’s why I want to publish the book through a place that is as ‘prejudiced’ as possible.”

“I think you are the one who is prejudiced when you say that.”

“That······I have nothing to say.”

“But that’s true. The genre is… It’s like a cheap magazine novel.”

Julia, who was chuckling at the cold reality, suddenly had a good idea.

In fact, the reason why publishers in each state wanted to block the entry of outside publishers was very simple. They did not want to see publishers other than themselves enter the market that had already been formed according to each power and exert influence.

But the problem could be solved in one way.

“Simon.”

“Yes, Julia.”

“Aren’t you thinking about quitting your job and starting your own publisher?”

“Yes. There isn’t any.”

It was a sharp answer from a man who loved his salary.

End

(157)