Chapter 572: Scientist’s Nationality
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The only difference between this year’s New Year’s Eve and previous years was that Lu Zhou ate a lot more dumplings and wasn’t able to visit as many relatives.
However, even though it wasn’t as lively as in previous years, he didn’t feel too lonely.
Lu Zhou’s grandparents from his dad’s side had already passed away, and he wasn’t that close with his other relatives. His relationships with his other relatives were drinking and eating together once-a-year but no contact during the year kind.
Everyone had their own things to work on, so they didn’t communicate a lot normally.
The only thing Lu Zhou helped them with, was for a cousin. Lu Zhou convinced the cousin, who was studying at Aurora, to switch majors.
Even though he had never been to Aurora University, he had been a reviewer for several well-known journals such as Annual Mathematics and Mathematics Chronicle. And he had communicated with several professors in the Department of Mathematics in Aurora. Not to mention, he also had the professors’ contact information.
Helping someone switch majors was a piece of cake; all it took was a phone call.
On the second day of Chinese New Year, Lu Zhou received a lot of emails in his mailbox.
Some were from Princeton, while some were from Columbia University. They were mainly his friends in the academic community.
He had to admit that his relationships with the people in the academic community were wonderful.
Even though his research had caused headaches for numerous country leaders, the overseas academic communities didn’t exclude him… At least, he would still occasionally receive manuscript review invitations from Annual Mathematics. However, since he was too busy with work, he would refuse to review any thesis that didn’t interest him.
At the end of the day, controllable fusion wasn’t some kind of monster. The STAR-2 demonstration reactor project was fundamentally different from the Manhattan Project. Even though it affected the global political landscape, it wasn’t a killing machine. Not to mention, the original intention of the project wasn’t for destruction.
Looking at it from the political and governance perspective, fusion energy would reduce global carbon emissions, create cleaner energy, and better the future of mankind… Maybe the United Nations would even grant him a “Protector of The Earth” prize?
Everyone’s opinion of Lu Zhou wouldn’t change. Other than the people affected by fusion energy, most people’s opinions would stay the same. At least, this would be the case until Lu Zhou entered the weapon design industry.
On the third day of Chinese New Year…
Lu Zhou was lying inside a CT machine, performing his first physical examination after the new year.
Academician Castin from the Royal Society looked at the intracranial CT picture and rubbed his stubble as he said, “Your physical condition is normal, and the rehabilitation process is going very smoothly… Honestly speaking, with what happened to your body, this is unbelievable.”
Lu Zhou: “Unbelievable?”
“Yes.” Academician Castin said, “Letting your brain rest for more than 20 days by sleeping… You might not think this is interesting, but this is a magical thing in the medical community.”
Lu Zhou: “I don’t think it’s interesting at all.”
“Anyway, I’m leaving tomorrow.” Academician Castin took out a business card from his pocket. He had a bright smile on his face as he handed the business card to Lu Zhou and said, “If you want to figure out the secrets of your brain, you can contact me at any time you wish. I am willing to bet that this is a Nobel Prize level discovery…”
Lu Zhou took the business card and said, “Oh, I already have one though.”
“…”
Academician Castin smiled awkwardly and coughed.
“But you don’t have a Nobel Prize in Medicine, right? We can co-sign the research on your brain…”
Lu Zhou said, “We’ll do it another day. For now, my brain is still awake.”
Castin: “…”
Even though Lu Zhou was also very curious as to what happened in his brain, with the current neuroscience technology, it would be impossible to understand the mystery behind his brain.
After Lu Zhou left the CT room, he threw Academician Castin’s business card into the trash can.
After that, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.
He unlocked the screen and saw Xiao Ai’s text bubble pop up on the screen.
[Master, you have mail ∇ (^∇^*)]
Lu Zhou clicked on the link, which opened his email directly.
As he read this email, he paused for a second and had a weird expression on his face.
[Dear Professor Lu, this is Keriber. After I heard the news regarding your coma, I felt downhearted. I wish you a safe recovery…
[… Even though this might be a little abrupt, but I am currently in Beijing. I don’t know if you’re available right now.
[If you are, there are some things I would like to talk to you about, face to face.]
…
Professor Keriber was sitting in a cafe near the Wukesong Subway station. He looked outside the window at the crowd walking by and glanced at his watch from time to time.
Suddenly, he heard a crisp bell sound from the cafe door.
Professor Keriber looked over and saw two people walking toward him.
Lu Zhou sat across from Professor Keriber and smiled as he said, “It’s nice to meet you, my dear friend.”
“It’s nice to meet you…” Keriber looked at Yan Yan, who was standing behind Lu Zhou. He then looked at Lu Zhou again.
Yan Yan noticed Keriber’s actions and said to Lu Zhou, “Do you need me to leave?”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “There’s no need for that, just sit next to us.”
Yan Yan hesitated for a bit and decided not to sit down. She continued to stand behind Lu Zhou.
Seeing that Lu Zhou didn’t want Yan Yan to leave, Keriber hesitated for a bit and slowly said, “Honestly… we’ve reached a bottleneck for the stellarator research.”
When Yan Yan heard the word “stellarator”, she suddenly became nervous.
However, Lu Zhou’s expression didn’t really change. He just smiled and said, “Yeah?”
Seeing that Lu Zhou didn’t take the initiative, Keriber went silent for a bit before saying, “I know this request might put you in a difficult position, but I can’t think of another way other than to ask for your help… I won’t let you provide us with any technical help, just a little bit of inspiration is enough. You know that fusion energy will benefit the entire mankind. I hope you can give me some research inspiration.”
Seeing that this German professor was desperate, Lu Zhou went silent for a while.
Finally, he sighed.
“I’m sorry, my dear friend, if you want to talk about the plasma mathematical model of turbulence or any other mathematical problem, I would be happy to help. But I can’t give you help regarding controllable fusion.
“As you said, this is a technology that will benefit mankind. Unfortunately, it was your arrogance and prejudice that led us to this situation. If the ITER conference didn’t end in such a bad note, I would have had the opportunity to share this victory with everyone in the world.”
Lu Zhou paused for a second and continued, “Not to mention, the STAR-2 demonstration reactor isn’t my own project. It’s the crystallized efforts of hundreds of research institutes. If I help you now, it would be disgraceful to those that have worked hard for me.”
Professor Keriber looked at Lu Zhou with a confused expression.
“I thought you would agree that scientific knowledge shouldn’t have borders…”
“Yes, I agree with that.” Lu Zhou looked at him and said, “But scientists have nationalities.”
The conversation fell silent.
Lu Zhou saw Professor Keriber went silent, so he continued to speak, “I understand what you’re feeling, but this is all I can say. However, if you guys are really desperate for this technology, I can give you a hint.”
Professor Keriber suddenly looked up.
“Tell me.”
Lu Zhou said, “Ask the politicians of your country to help you. Don’t ask them to find me, ask them to meet with Chinese politicians.
“Us scholars really have nothing to do with these things that are outside of research. You shouldn’t be the one to ask for help on behalf of your motherland.
“China is an open country. Whether it’s economy, cultural, or scientific, we have never avoided integrating with the international community. However, integration is based on the acceptance of both parties. One country shouldn’t compromise for another.
“I believe that as long as you are willing to let go of your prejudice and show us enough sincerity, there is the possibility of cooperation between us.”
