"What are you looking at? A piece of paper?" She moved her hands in front, waving it around.
Ivan was startled, and then realized that the director of the Nano Research Center was not talking about him, but a young engineer, who was also looking at the figure blankly like him. Ivan returned to reality from art and found that the woman was not an ordinary staff member, because the chief engineer was accompanying her and introducing something to her, looking very respectful.
"Who is she?" Ivan asked the director.
"You should know her," the director said, making a big circle with his hand. "After the completion of this 77 billion-invested supercollider, the first run may be to verify a superstring model she proposed. Speaking of seniority, She was originally not in the theoretical research circle, but those old guys didn't dare to come first for fear of embarrassment, so they let her take advantage." "
What? She is...a woman?!"
"Yes. We only found out when we saw her the day before yesterday," the director said.
The engineer asked: "Does she have any mental disorder? Otherwise, why would she never appear in the media? Don't be like that female weatherman. No one has even seen her on TV until her death."
" But it's not like we don't know her gender, right? I think she must have had some unusual experiences in childhood that led to her autism." Ivan said, feeling somewhat sour grapes.
Natashe and the chief engineer came over. She smiled and nodded to them as they passed by without saying a word, but Ivan remembered her clear eyes.
That night, Ivan was sitting in his study, admiring some of his most proud landscape photography hanging on the wall. His eyes fell on a scene outside the Castle Wall in Florida - it was a desolate valley, with snow-capped mountains emerging from the end of the valley. A touch of white with a perfect taint of black; at this end of the valley, half of the vicissitudes of dead trees occupy almost a third of the picture. In his imagination, Ivan overprinted the figure that was lingering in his mind onto the picture, making her located deep in the valley and looking very small. At this time, Ivan was surprised to find that the whole picture came to life, as if in the photo. The world recognized that figure, as if all this originally existed for her. He overprinted that figure onto several other works in his imagination, and sometimes used her eyes as the background of the empty sky in the photos. Those pictures also came to life, showing a kind of thing that Ivan had never imagined. beautiful. In the past, Ivan always felt that his photography works lacked a certain soul; now he knew that what was missing was her.
"These physicists on the list committed suicide one after another in less than two months." Nguyen said.
Suddenly, Ivan's mind went blank. Later, images gradually appeared in this blank space, which were his black and white landscape photos. The earth in the photos disappeared, her eyes were wiped out from the sky, and those worlds were dead.
"When...when?" Ivan asked blankly.
"In less than two months." General Nguyen repeated.
"You mean the last one," Captain, who was sitting next to Ivan, said proudly, and then lowered his voice, "She was the last person to commit suicide. She took an overdose of sleeping pills the night before yesterday. She died smoothly and without pain. ."
In an instant, Ivan actually felt a little grateful to Captain.
"Why?" Ivan asked. The dead landscapes in those photos were still circulating in his mind like a magic lantern.
Nguyen replied: "The only thing that is certain now is that the reasons that prompted them to commit suicide are the same. But the reason itself is difficult to explain here, and it may not be clear to us non-professionals at all. Attached to the document is You can take a closer look at some of the contents of their suicide notes after the meeting."
Ivan looked through the copies of those suicide notes, and they were all long speeches.
"Dr. Winchester, can you show Professor Ivan, Natashe's suicide note? Hers is the shortest and most general." A soldier beside Winchester, took a small envelope full of money, giving it to Dr. Winchester and quickly stuffed it in his pocket.
The man who had been keeping his head down and silent took a long time to react, feeling his pocket weight and estimating the amount of money that was given and took out a white thin envelope handed to Ivan across the table, and Captain whispered beside him: "He is Natashe's Fiance." Ivan then remembered that he had also met Winchester at the high-energy accelerator construction site in Waxahachie. He was a member of the theoretical team A member of the physicist, the physicist is best known for his discovery of macro atoms in his studies of Magnetic Acceleration. Ivan took out a piece of something that exuded a fragrance from the envelope. It was irregular in shape. It was not paper, but a piece of birch bark. There was a line of beautiful words on it:
Everything leads to this result: Physics has never existed, not even once will it exist in the future. I know it was irresponsible of me to do this, but I had no choice to not draw attention..
She left without even signing.
"Physics...doesn't exist?" Ivan looked around blankly. "What does she mean by drawing attention?"
General Nguyen closed the folder, "There is some relevant specific information related to the experimental results obtained after the completion of the seven new high-energy accelerators in the world. It is very professional and we will not discuss it here. The first thing we need to investigate is the 'Profession's Frontiers of Science' Society. UNESCO designated 2012 as the Year of Physics. This organization was gradually born from the frequent academic conferences and exchange activities in the international physics community during this year. It is a loose international academic organization. Dr. Winchester, you major in theoretical physics. Can you tell me more about it?"
Winchester nodded and said, "I don't have any direct connection with the 'Profession's Frontiers of Science', but this organization is well-known in the academic world. Its purpose is: from above Since the second half of the century, the simplicity and power of classical physics theories have gradually disappeared. The theoretical images have become more and more complex, vague and uncertain, and experimental verification has become more and more difficult. This marks that the frontier exploration of physics seems to have encountered difficulties. There are great obstacles and difficulties. 'Profession's Frontiers of Science' attempts to open up a new way of thinking. Simply put, it is trying to use scientific methods to find out the limitations of science, trying to determine whether science's understanding of the natural world is in depth and accurate. There is a bottom line - science cannot enter below the bottom line. The development of modern physics seems to have vaguely touched this bottom line."
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"Very good." Nguyen said, "As far as we know, these suicides Most of the academics have had contact with the 'Profession's Frontiers of Science', and some are still members of it. However, no criminal behavior such as cult brainwashing or the use of illegal drugs has been found. In other words, even if the 'Profession's Frontiers of Science' has had an impact on those scholars , also through legal academic communication channels. Professor Ivan, they have been in contact with you recently, and we would like to know some information. We even speculate an external object that can temporarily control minds."
Captain said in a rough voice: "Including the name of the contact person, the place and time of the meeting, and the content of the conversation, if text materials or emails have been exchanged..."
"Captain!" Nguyen stopped him sternly.
"If you don't say anything, no one will treat you as a mute!" A police officer next to him leaned over and whispered to Captain. The latter picked up the tea cup on the table and put it down again after seeing the cigarette butt inside. .
Captain made Ivan feel as uncomfortable as eating a fly again, and the trace of gratitude just now disappeared without a trace. But he still restrained himself in answering the question: "My contact with the 'Profession's Frontiers of Science' began when I met Yuna. She is a British-Japanese physicist who now works for a Japanese company and lives in this city. She used to work on a strong interaction force project in a laboratory of Jilly Electric's. We met at a technical seminar at the beginning of this year. Through her, I met several friends majoring in physics, all of whom are members of 'Profession's Frontiers of Science' , both at home and abroad. When I interacted with them, we talked about some very...how should I put it, very ultimate issues, mainly the bottom line of science mentioned by Dr. Winchester just now." "
I was very concerned about these at the beginning. The questions are not of great interest, just for entertainment. I am engaged in applied research, and my level in this area is not high. I mainly listen to their discussions and arguments. These people have profound thoughts and novel opinions. I feel that communicating with them has enriched my thoughts. It broadened a lot, and I gradually became very involved. But the topics discussed were limited to this, they were all pure theory, nothing special. They once invited me to join the 'Profession's Frontiers of Science', but in that case, participating in such a seminar became an obligation, and I declined because of my limited energy."
"Professor Ivan, we hope you will accept the invitation and join the Profession's Frontiers of Science. This is also the main purpose of inviting you here today." General Nguyen said, "We hope to get some internal information about this organization through your channel."
"Are you asking me to go undercover?" Ivan asked uneasily.
"Wahaha, undercover!" Captain laughed backwards, falling off his chair.
Nguyen glanced at Captain reproachfully and said to Ivan: "It's just to provide some information, we have no other channels."
Ivan shook his head, "I'm sorry, Chief. I can't do this."
"Professor Ivan,'Profession's Frontiers of Science' is an organization composed of top international scholars. Its investigation is an extremely complex and sensitive matter. We are really walking on thin ice. Without the help of the intellectual community, we can't move forward, so we made this abrupt request. I hope you can understand. But we also respect your wishes, and if you don't agree, we can understand." "
I... am very busy at work and don't have time." Ivan declined.
Nguyen nodded, "Okay, Professor Ivan, then we won't waste your time anymore. Thank you for coming to this meeting."
Ivan was stunned for a few seconds before he realized that he should leave.
When Nguyen politely sent Ivan to the door of the conference room, Captain said loudly from behind: "This is good. I don't agree with this plan at all. There are already so many nerds who have committed suicide, so let him go." 'Meat buns beating dogs'?"
Ivan turned back, walked to Captain's side, and tried hard to control his anger, "You really don't sound like a qualified police officer when you talk like that."
"I'm not one in the first place."
"The reasons why those scholars committed suicide are not yet clear. You should not talk about them in such a contemptuous tone. The contribution they made to human society with their wisdom is irreplaceable by anyone."
"You are saying that they are better than others. Am I strong?" Captain looked up at Ivan from his chair, "I won't commit suicide just because someone cheats me."
"Then you mean I will?"
"I have to be responsible for your safety." Captain looked at Ivan and showed his signature silly smile.
"In that case, I'm much safer than you. You should know that a person's ability to identify is directly proportional to his knowledge."
"That's not necessarily true. Someone like you..."
"Captain, you If you have to say one more thing, get out of here!" Nguyen scolded sternly.
"It doesn't matter, let him say it," Ivan turned to General Nguyen, "I changed my mind and decided to join the 'Profession's Frontiers of Science' according to your wishes." "I hope you pay for this." Pointed his finger at the general.
"Very good," Captain nodded repeatedly, "Be smart when you go in, some You can do things easily, such as taking a look at their computer, writing down an email address or website, etc..."
"That's enough! That's enough! You misunderstood, I'm not going undercover, I just want to prove your ignorance and stupidity!"
"If you are still alive after a while, it will naturally prove it. But I'm afraid...hehe." Captain raised his head and his silly smile turned into a sinister smile.
"Of course I will live, but I really don't want to see people like you again!"
Nguyen sent Ivan down the stairs and arranged a car to take him off to the airport. When saying goodbye, he said, "Captain Alex has that kind of temper." In fact, he is a very experienced criminal policeman and anti-terrorism expert. He was a soldier in my company more than 20 years ago."
Walking to the car, Nguyen said again: "Professor Ivan, you must know. There are many questions to ask."
"What do you just mentioned have to do with the military?"
"Of course the war has something to do with the military."
Ivan looked at everything in the bright spring scenery around him in confusion, "But where is the war? There is no war except for the middle east in the world now. It should be the most peaceful era in history."
Nguyen showed an enigmatic smile: "You will know everything soon, everyone will know. Professor Ivan, are there any major changes in your life? This change suddenly completely changed your life. For you, the world became completely different overnight."
"No."
"Then your life is an accident. There are so many unpredictable factors, but there are no changes in your life."
Ivan thought for a long time and still didn't understand, "Most people are like this."
"Then most people's lives are accidental."
"But ...How many generations have come here in this ordinary way?"
"It's all accidental."
Ivan shook his head and laughed, "I have to admit that my understanding is very poor today. Are you saying..."
"Yes, the entire human history is also accidental. From the Cavemen era, Bronze Age to today, there have been no major changes. How lucky. But since it is lucky, it will end one day; now I tell you, it is over, so be mentally prepared."
Ivan wanted to ask more, but the general shook hands with him and stopped him from asking further questions.
After getting on the vehicle, the driver asked Ivan for his home address. After Ivan told him, he casually asked: "Oh, it's not you who picked me up? I think the car is the same."
"It's not me, he went to pick up Dr. Winchester."
Ivan was moved and asked the driver about Winchester's residence, and the driver told him. That night, he went to find Winchester.