It didn’t matter if Professor Whittle had guessed Lu Zhou’s intentions correctly.
The entire physics community was exploding because of this incident.
On the Physics Stack Exchange forum.
As an internationally renowned physics forum, when the news of Lu Zhou’s resignation from the board of directors spread, discussions immediately popped up on the forum.
Whether it was the chat section or the academic section, almost everyone was discussing this matter.
They were stunned by the huge amount of information.
“Professor Lu actually intends to withdraw from the ILHCRC?”
“Does he think that the ILHCRC can’t keep up with his rhythm?”
“Impossible. ILHCRC is already the strongest physics research institution. After he leaves the ILHCRC, is he planning to do scientific research with aliens?”
“Could it be… he plans to retreat from physics?”
“This is impossible! He is only thirty years old! He is in the golden age of scientific research! There is no reason to quit at this time!”
“But what if… he is tired of physics?”
“Damn it! He should explain why he wants to leave!”
“Then this will definitely be the darkest moment in the history of physics!”
…
Less than ten hours after the closing ceremony, the entire physics community was stunned by Lu Zhou’s behavior. The incredible outrage even began to spread outside the academic world.
A letter signed by more than one hundred physicists appeared on the secretary-general’s desk.
The physicists group led by Professor Wilczek hoped that the ILHCRC Council could retain Professor Lu. Even if he did not serve as the chairman of the board, he should at least remain on the board.
Luo Wenxuan looked at this petition letter with a headache. He felt a trace of pressure from the long string of famous physicist signatures.
He had considered many possibilities before.
Including how to stabilize the representatives of other countries after Lu Zhou left the ILHCRC and how to deal with the restless voices that might come from other physics research institutions after Lu Zhou left.
After all, this was the center of the world of physics.
Everyone wanted to have a right to speak here and gain benefits for the academic community of their own country and culture.
However, Luo Wenxuan still did not expect that the greatest pressure would not come from opponents, but rather from the entire ILHCRC.
“… What a hassle.”
Luo Wenxuan pinched his eyebrows. He glanced at the petition, then threw it aside.
It seemed that he had underestimated Lu Zhou’s popularity at the ILHCRC.
He didn’t expect that Lu Zhou’s announcement would have such a large impact on the ILHCRC!
…
In fact, Luo Wenxuan wasn’t alone.
Even Lu Zhou himself did not expect that things would develop like this.
In addition to the physicists who were reluctant to leave the International Convention and Exhibition Center, at least five people he knew had written letters or come to him and persuade him. They hoped that he could stay on the ILHCRC board and continue to lead the physics community to more miracles.
Lu Zhou was baffled.
He just wanted to change his field and continue to climb the peak of academia. He did not expect that his resignation would cause such a huge wave in the physics world.
Inside the cafe at the ILHCRC headquarters.
Professor Witten stared at Lu Zhou for a while before saying with a strange look on his face, “Your decision was beyond my expectation… I didn’t expect you to make such a choice.”
“Really?” After taking a sip of coffee, Lu Zhou said casually, “But I decided on this a long time ago… If you intend to persuade me otherwise, please don’t waste your time.”
When the ILHCRC was first established, he actually didn’t intend to serve as the chairman of the ILHCRC. He just hoped to use the power of the ILHCRC to use the Lunar Hadron Collider to clarify the 750 GeV characteristic peak signal.
Director Li was the one who tried to persuade him, with reasons such as “the first three chairmen have to be Chinese scholars” and “other people may not be able to persuade the public” and so on. Thus, Director Li successfully persuaded him into the position.
At that time, Lu Zhou had actually decided to serve as the chairman for at most one term.
And this was exactly the reason why he started training Luo Wenxuan as his successor right after he took office.
“I’m not going to persuade you, I know you are a person who cannot be convinced.” Witten shrugged and said, “However, I want to give you a suggestion… Or rather, I hope you consider my advice.”
Lu Zhou: “What advice?”
Witten: “The entire physics community is speculating on whether you have given up physics—”
“There is no such thing.” Lu Zhou said, “If you read my interview with Nature, you should know that. I just want to use this opportunity to branch out and spend more time to do more meaningful things.”
“Yes, you’re giving the opportunity to others, but you also took away hope.”
Witten looked at Lu Zhou and continued, “I don’t know if you have considered this, but so far, the scale of the ILHCRC has surpassed CERN. It has become an unprecedented giant in physics. No one can unite this many people together, for them to work on the same thing… Except you.”
“Even though a group of outstanding young scholars has been created in the past two years, are you sure they can take over this heavy burden from your hands? You know, not everyone grows as fast as you.”
Lu Zhou: “I am very confident in them.”
“But the problem is, obviously they don’t have much confidence in themselves.” Professor Witten shook his head and said, “I have been at CERN for many years, and CERN wasn’t built in one or two years. In four years, or even eight years, when the ILHCRC has grown to be able to operate stably… At that time, you can leave without any problems.
“But now, unless the next chairman is a very capable person, this behemoth is likely to fall apart as soon as you leave… Like a sandcastle on the seashore.”
Lu Zhou was silent for a while. He looked at Professor Witten and asked seriously, “Can you tell me your suggestion?”
“It’s actually very simple, you don’t need to do too many things.” Professor Witten said, “As a compromise, you set up a Chief Consultant position on the board of directors. If you want to get rid of the mundane work, I can understand, but I still sincerely hope that you can at least reserve a board seat. If you plan to release your hand from the steering wheel, at least hit the brake before the next driver becomes reliable enough. And maybe be in charge when the situation becomes critical.”
Lu Zhou said seriously, “Actually, even if I don’t have the position of Chief Consultant, I can still do this.”
Professor Witten blinked and spoke with a smile.
“I know, of course you can.
“But sometimes, the key is not whether you can control the situation or not, but whether you can convince everyone else that everything is under control.”
