Meteorite Hunter Yuha Jin Aqua Planet Edition

By EUNJOLEE and Jeongbin Park

In the year 20XX in Korea, Yuha Jin is a ‘meteorite hunter’ who collects and sells meteorites. One day, after hearing a signal that a meteorite had fallen, Yuha and his AI assistant, Frimal, headed to the Uyut Desert. Despite their search, they find nothing—not even a trace of the meteorite. What could have possibly happened there? This is a science fiction novel that incorporates a hypothesis to solve Earth's environmental issues.

• Language: English
• Publisher: 이즈그리민(izgrimean)
• Release date: May 8, 2024
• ISBN: 9791198708014

Book preview

Creative Commons

Meteorite Hunter Yuha Jin: Aqua Planet Edition

Author ｜ EUNJOLEE, Jeongbin Park

Editor ｜ EUNJOLEE, Jeongbin Park

Cover Design ｜ EUNJOLEE

Illustrations ｜ EUNJOLEE

Published by ｜ 이즈그리민(izgrimean)

Publisher ｜ EUNJOLEE

Date of Publication ｜ May 27, 2024

Publisher Registration ｜ May 24, 2023, No. 2023-000052

EMAIL ｜ [e-mail]

First Edition eBook Published ｜ May 27, 2024

Price ｜

ISBN ｜ 979-11-987080-1-4(05810)

© 2024, 이즈그리민(izgrimean). All rights reserved. Reproduction or distribution of this work, in whole or in part, without explicit permission from 이즈그리민(izgrimean) is prohibited by law.

For reuse of any part of this book, permission must be obtained from both the copyright holder and 이즈그리민(izgrimean).

This content uses the fonts ‘나눔바른고딕(NanumBarunGothic)’, and ‘나눔스퀘어(NanumSquare ExtraBold)’ distributed by Naver, ‘속초바다 돋움(Sokcho-Bada Dotum)’ distributed by Sokcho city hall, and ‘학교안심 마법사 R(School Safety Wizard R)’ distributed by the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS) for the cover design and illustrations.

Getting Started

This novel includes proposals on educational materials and hypotheses for solving environmental pollution issues. However, all other content, including characters, institutions, events, and places, is fictitious and has no relation to reality.

Comments from Jeongbin Park

What do you think about the Earth? I often think about the future of our planet, which is the foundation of our lives and our origins. The Earth has given everything to humanity, but in our quest for a comfortable life, we have excessively processed and used its resources. This has led to the problems of environmental pollution and destruction, challenges we have brought upon ourselves. While it's impossible to completely stop using resources as humans, I believe we still need to continuously consider better directions for the future.

One of the major environmental issues I wanted to address in this book is the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch.’ This mass of plastic waste has accumulated in the ocean currents, forming what resembles an island. It's evidence of the vast amount of garbage discarded on our planet and a tragedy for our future.

How can we solve the problem of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? I believe using microbes could potentially transform this tragedy into a happy ending. Although it's just a theoretical solution within the confines of this novel right now, I hope this theory could ultimately provide a clue to solving the issue in the future.

Comments from EUNJOLEE

I wanted to create various meanings through words and pictures, which led me to establish a publishing company called ’이즈그리민(izgrimean).’ This book marks the beginning of 이즈그리민(izgrimean).

In this story, I not only participated in the illustration but also in the writing, crafting a message, and developing a worldview of public interest. I wanted to lead the characters within this world and the readers to conclude together.

I write stories to believe in myself and move forward. Everyone may have different perspectives on the world, but through this book, I wish to share my view of the world with you. Why not start this journey through this unexpected world?

Ch. 1: Meteorite Hunter

A colossal sound that I had never encountered before was heard. The sound implied a falling meteorite from the sky. I barely woke up and half-raised myself from a beanbag chair.

The alarm has sounded with the greatest intensity ever since I started this work. I abruptly came to myself and told my AI secretary, Frimal, to investigate the location of the meteorite. I was wrapped in a hopeful expectation of a fortunate discovery.

My name is Yuha Jin. However, people call me ‘a meteorite hunter’ instead of my name. Some of those who criticize me even describe me as ‘dumb as a rock’... Specifically, I am in the business of locating where meteorites have fallen, collecting the meteorites from these locations, and selling them to governments or research institutions. To some, I may simply appear as one peddling ‘rocks.’ However, meteorites have always been of paramount importance as fundamental research material, and their value has skyrocketed manifold in just a few years since the discovery of a new energy source, ‘dark energy¹,’ within them.

▲ ¹If the universe contained only ordinary matter and dark matter, it would only contract. However, the universe is currently undergoing accelerated expansion, and dark energy is being pointed to as the energy driving this expansion. The quantum vacuum is proposed as a candidate for dark energy, but much of it remains an unknown territory.

I live and work as a meteorite hunter from my base, which is also my home and office, located in a secluded area about two hours away by car from Seoul. This place is truly hidden, with not even a single signpost nearby. Except for the unavoidable interactions with people at work, I mostly stay concealed within my base. In the yard of this base, there are several airplanes that I bought cheaply and refurbished stylishly. So, I pride myself on the fact that, when viewed from about 100 meters away, my base looks quite well-equipped.

South Korea, starting in the year 20XX, began experiencing an infrastructure collapse outside of Seoul, the capital city. I remember my grandfather explaining to me when I was young that, except for major cities, it became difficult to even see people if you drove a bit out of Seoul. He also mentioned that it was becoming rare to find young people who spoke in dialects. Since this is also not a metropolitan city, I rarely meet people here unless they are long for nature and give up city life or customers who come to meet me. Ever since I was young, I've heard the media and officials from government agencies or futurists say that we need to devise strategies for the phenomenon where the population resides only in certain areas. However, even after I became an adult, not much seems to have changed. This place too, I've heard, once had what they called a ‘commercial district.’ But now, the trees have grown so straight and tall, forming forests everywhere, showing that nature has been well-preserved. At night, the sounds of insects are gently heard, and I like to fall asleep to this natural lullaby. This place has value to me as a foundation to cherish and settle in. And here, using cutting-edge technologies, I've been doing things that others can't even imagine.

The meteorite that had surprised me ensnared my thoughts. The recent fall seemed to be of considerable size, leading me to speculate about the high likelihood of finding dark energy within it once again. Confident in my meteorite detection technology as being among the world's elite, I doubted anyone else on Earth had noticed its descent. Yet the worry that it might have landed near human habitation and someone might discover it before I crept into my mind. With a sense of urgency, I summoned Frimal. My capable AI assistant, with the charming appearance of a puppy, approached me.

Frimal calmed me with a serene voice. I've been monitoring the majority of meteorites that fall to Earth, utilizing tens of thousands of satellites orbiting our planet and hundreds of thousands of celestial telescopes, all for the job of a meteorite hunter. Although I haven't been in this line of work for very long, the fluctuation in signals today was unprecedented. The size of the meteorite must surely be beyond imagination.

About three years ago, I suddenly remembered a moment from when I was hunting for meteorites. It was when I caught the biggest signal ever, although it's nothing compared to what we catch now. The expected site of the meteorite was in Greenland, a place where hardly anyone lives. The average temperature there is around -30 °C (-22 ℉), and it was winter at the time, making it extremely cold. To avoid the risk of freezing to death, I spent a lot of money on a winter coat. Thanks to this coat, I was prepared to withstand the extreme cold.

When meteorites first enter the Earth's atmosphere, they are often of considerable size. However, as they journey through the thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere, the frictional heat significantly reduces their size. For this reason, although a considerable amount of signals are detected when monitoring meteorites, most of them disintegrate before reaching the Earth's surface. In the early days of my meteorite hunting, there were numerous instances of rushing out at the slightest signal. Over time, with accumulated experience, it became possible to discern the threshold of signals indicating a meteorite's arrival on the ground. After several attempts, I was even able to distinguish the signals in such detail that I could decide whether to dispatch based on the economic costs involved. Due to the significant costs involved in activating expensive equipment, the process of deciding whether to deploy became increasingly cautious. However, the Greenland meteorite presented a signal so significant that it warranted immediate action, bypassing the usual review process.

Back then, as it is now, my main mode of transport was my airplane. In particular, as a meteorite hunter, my job often involves unusual tasks that require me to carry specially designed equipment and devices. These items were mostly inventions of my own. Also, airplanes that could carry all this gear were expensive, which meant I felt the need to make every meteorite hunt a success to justify the cost. On top of that, since meteorites can be considered hazardous by many countries and have strict rules for their transport and handling, using my airplane has been a way to make everything much safer and less of a hassle.

However, a strong storm often surrounded the Greenland destination, so I might expect a possible airplane accident if anything went slightly wrong. By providing a whole air pressure chart and satellite photos of clouds to Frimal with a built-in weather forecast function, I tried to determine times when there was little wind in that area. However, the weather prediction was still unpredictable even if modern technologies were used, so I would determine the period quite carefully.

After several simulations, I finally decided on the aviation date. As international aviation can be a sensitive problem for many countries, I needed to get permission for flights by contacting the relevant flight governments of the countries. Thus, I got permission from the Ministry of Air and Space Defense for the North Atlantic Ocean, which is related to the flight to Greenland. Fortunately, I have several important licenses, so I was able to get the flight permit request approved in about a week. In the process, abruptly, I could think of the role of licenses as a barrier to entry into a meteorite hunter’s work. This work is not one anyone can easily start. This license was acquired, luckily, through the previous company where I traded various inventions.

After the permit, I tested the required equipment and reviewed various scenarios. When it was the flight date after a week’s preparation, Frimal and I took an automatic flight. I had to fly for 24 hours. Because the network was not working on this old-fashioned airplane I took, I just decided to get some sleep without a reservation. I fell asleep so quickly, presumably because I got tired while preparing many processes for this flight.

When I slowly opened my eyes, I immediately found that Frimal’s expected point and his weather prediction were greatly accurate. Indeed, the meteorite on white snow was within 500 meters of his prediction. Frimal and I got off the airplane after landing. However, it was so challenging to proceed step-by-step due to the heavy winter clothes. Frimal seemed to be sluggish and often fell into the snow, unlike normal smart robots. Even if so, we managed to arrive at the meteorite location by depending on each other.

Upon facing the meteorite in the Greenland area, it turned out to be quite large, as expected. The snow around the area where the meteorite was found did not seem to have accumulated for long, and there were signs of thermal erosion in the ground where the meteorite had been placed. After reaching the meteorite, Frimal carefully brushed off the snow adhered to it with a brush-like tool, as discussed before departure, much like dusting off soil when excavating fossils. Essentially, meteorites can provide important information about the birth of the universe and extraterrestrial materials, so it is crucial to collect them as intact as possible. Moreover, since the meteorite may contain radioactive isotopes, it was necessary to proceed with caution for the excavator's safety. For this reason, during the excavation process, it was imperative to continuously use a dosimeter to avoid radiation exposure, wear protective clothing made of special material, and use a small lead safe for transporting the meteorite. Performing such meticulous work while carrying the heavy lead safe was quite challenging in winter clothing. However, tasks that would not be easy for a team composed only of humans could proceed relatively smoothly since Frimal, a robot, took on those tasks instead.

When I ran the radiation dosimeter in my chest, I found radiation far exceeding the natural levels. We carefully lifted the meteorite, stored it in the safe, and loaded it on the plane. As the meteorite can be eroded by inappropriate temperature and humidity, I connected the load with the proper apparatus, followed by a quality control process. And I watched a clock. Soon I realized it was less than two hours for the whole process after taking off the plane.

After the lift-off of the plane, I threw away the winter clothes. Even though the air was too cold, my sweat fell like rain.

I was so exhausted that I fell asleep quickly, and when I opened my eyes, I had arrived at the base. After taking some rest at the base, we searched for potential customers to sell the meteorite to. A significant part of a meteorite hunter's job involved such administrative tasks. Eventually, I decided to contact a laboratory located at CERN², Switzerland. The reason behind choosing CERN's researchers was due to a recent report from CERN about discovering dark energy from a radioactive meteorite. According to the confidential information I had obtained, they were searching for a future energy source that could replace electricity or oil, based on some undisclosed research, and that was precisely dark energy. Therefore, they seemed like the most ideal potential buyers for the meteorite I had discovered.

▲ ²CERN, or the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world's biggest particle physics research center. This institute is located at the border between Switzerland and France and has revolutionized the areas of high-energy physics, quantum mechanics, and particle physics.

I sent them a message expressing my desire to meet with some of the meteorite data I have. Their response came surprisingly quickly. They showed a lot of interest in my data. After three online meetings with scientists at CERN, it seemed that the scientists became more interested in the meteorite I had discovered. They sent an email saying they wanted to see the meteorite directly. Consequently, together with Frimal, we headed to Switzerland on a flight we had prepared in advance to meet those scientists in person.

The day after I arrived at a research complex situated in a quiet region of Switzerland, I had a long conversation with CERN researchers. The task they were responsible for was the exact analysis of the meteorite. They proceeded with diverse examinations after taking the meteorite out of the vault.

The scientists asked about the initial circumstances, the environment, and all the detailed specifics of how the meteorite was discovered. I answered their questions diligently and handed them an analysis report about the meteorite I had collected myself. They began to derive results through experiments and analyses designed concerning my answers and reports. We engaged in discussions based on these outcomes, and as time passed, interesting conclusions began to emerge.

After much debate and discussion, it seemed the moment the researchers at CERN had secretly hoped for had finally arrived. They announced that the dark energy they had long sought was discovered within this very meteorite. Moreover, they shared the astonishing