“Hmm…”
Dr. Fuller was spinning the chair on the podium with his foot, wringing his hands as he thought.
Emily entered his field of view once every second.
“Dr. Fuller, how was it? Does it really seem like a proper proof?”
Even realizing the shocking fact that ‘ㅁㅊㄱㅈㄹ’ was ‘WLOG’, Robert Fuller continued to throw additional questions he had memorized beforehand.
Every time, Name handled her answers without hesitation, leaving Dr. Fuller struggling to interpret what she said.
He only learned that what she had been explaining, the ‘Proxima Conjecture,’ was about the ‘zeros of the Dirichlet L-function’ after she had left.
Moreover, other unknown proper nouns like ‘Asaphite Alpha Group’ and ‘Kaizen K Function’ did not come up even when he searched online.
There seemed to be too many theories that appeared as though they didn’t exist at all, judging by their shapes and forms.
“If Fermat truly proved the last theorem using only 17th-century mathematics, wouldn’t it look something like this?”
Fermat’s Last Theorem was only solved after modern mathematics, with elliptic curves and the modularity theorem, had been established.
But what if it could have been solved in some other way?
Surely, there would be groundbreaking theories hidden beneath that no one could even imagine.
Dr. Robert Fuller snapped his fingers.
After much contemplation, he finally had a lead.
It didn’t matter whether the proof was true or false, because just the content contained within Name’s proof painted a clear future that would shake the mathematical community.
He was not someone who would cut open the goose that laid golden eggs—in other words, he had great patience.
“We need someone with knowledge in more diverse fields.”
After the development of artificial intelligence, society began to demand specialization from intellectuals once again.
They say that in a bachelor’s program, one learns about the elephant, in a master’s program, the elephant’s foot, and by the doctorate, they study the scraps under the elephant’s toenails.
Human time is finite and specialized knowledge is endless, so one inevitably has to narrow their field continually.
Thus, even among elephant experts, there was a tendency for some to know nothing about the fields others researched.
“I wish there were people like John von Neumann or Terence Tao around.”
“Well, they’re both dead. Plus, von Neumann wasn’t even a mathematician but a theorist of magic from a hundred years ago. Why are we looking for him here?”
What was needed was a deus ex machina-type figure who could encompass the entire field of ‘mathematics.’
Only then could Name’s theory be cross-verified as either something already existing or something entirely new.
Eventually, Dr. Fuller searched for another way.
“Only collective intelligence is left.”
If a hundred experts came together, they could sketch out the form of an elephant, right?
“Good call on renting a large lecture room, just as you said, doctor.”
“Yeah. Maybe I should bring some snacks next time.”
The bald professor began searching for what kind of treats Name might like.
Looking on, Emily muttered under her breath without realizing it.
“Takoyaki?”
“?”
“Oh, I’m sorry! It just smelled like takoyaki from somewhere. It’s definitely not because of your head, doctor…”
“As I keep saying, I didn’t lose my hair; I shaved it!”
“Right, I know that… Sorry…”
He deeply sighed.
Such difficult problems were being solved, yet there was no sign of a hair loss treatment until 2051.
Dr. Fuller absentmindedly patted his smooth head, taking in the faint smell of takoyaki floating in the air.
It was disorienting having spun around for so long.
*
[Name! Have you completely forgotten all the bonds we had? We met at the career experience fair, not to mention just the other day in your professor’s lab! We had such a good time! Please, come back!]
Woo Da-yeon’s cries were desperately ignored.
Six pieces of cheese-flavored takoyaki.
I chose present happiness over past friendship.
Naturally, I was more attracted to those showing genuine interest.
We moved to the studio where the ‘Bark’ channel was first born.
As expected, Da-yeon, who followed me all the way, was turned away at the entrance.
“Do you know Da-yeon?”
“Huh?”
“I heard you were having a somewhat rough conversation even before I left the lecture room.”
“Did you catch that? Name really has sharp ears! Here’s another bite – ahh-”
“Nom. Mmm. Thanks, Daniel.”
Daniel, who was a 1st-year music major at Korea University.
“But it’s a bit embarrassing, so could you call me Ni-el or Daniel in front of the seniors later?”
“Hmm, no way.”
“Uh… Okay, got it.”
“This takoyaki is delicious. The cheese sprinkle on top is refreshing and I like it.”
“Really? I’m glad you like it!”
She didn’t particularly like the name her parents gave her. I thought it sounded pretty.
“That girl is in the same group for our general studies subject.”
“Oh, that’s why you all know each other. I thought there had to be some connection, but if it’s linked through a general studies class, it makes sense.”
The subject is called ‘Psychology of Human Relationships.’
In an instant, my ears perked up; I asked what they learned in class and what kind of practical exercises they did.
Do they teach about the psychological mechanisms that occur when human relationships break down?
If they teach how to manage emotions when dealing with someone you hate, I’d be willing to attend and observe.
“It’s not that kind of class at all! Honestly, I really don’t know what we learn… It’s more like we just get together and have fun…?”
“You play? But it’s a class?”
“Yeah! Like going bowling, playing VR games, drinking…”
“Is that really all? No way.”
“Yep! Why?”
This wasn’t the college class I imagined!
This was no different than that trashy academy from my past life!
Classes were just a facade, and Kaizen Central Academy had turned into a social space for nobles.
Commoners trampled others by any means necessary, trying to connect with the elite, while aristocrats brought wine to class and threw parties, completely losing their identity as an educational institution.
“Hehe, as long as we have fun and get good grades, that’s all that matters, right?”
“Uh… no.”
“Do you want to come to class later, Name? The professor will surely be happy!”
My past-life trauma reared its head, and things began to spin before my eyes.
If I had known Daniel was like this, I would have just followed Da-yeon.
It’s already spilled milk, I guess.
In Bark Studio, just as she said, there were several college students and a much older woman.
With an aura similar to Professor Cheon, it was clear this person was a university professor.
“Hello there.”
“Ah, Name! You’re so cute! Hi, I’m really glad to meet you!”
The professor’s voice went up an octave.
They say your voice automatically gets higher when talking to babies, and being on the receiving end made it feel incredibly burdensome.
I greeted each of the other Bark members in turn.
It was challenging to find a commonality; everyone had such distinct personalities.
If there was one thing to point out, their fingers were long and delicate?
“Do you know our Bark? Bark?”
“Yeah, I’ve seen it on recommendation videos before.”
“Whoa!”
“See, Name said she knows us!”
“This is real?”
At that time, a channel with 1 million subscribers was something you couldn’t avoid seeing no matter what.
Especially since I often searched for classical music, it would come up on my feed from time to time.
The students all cheered, excitement bubbling up. I wasn’t sure how that became such a big deal.
“When did you watch it? Can you tell us which video?”
“I’ve seen quite a few videos. I think I watched most of them about two years ago.”
“Ah, I see! Wow, two years ago, that means Name was really tiny then! At six years old, that’s super young… um… wait a minute…”
The girl quickly clasped her hands together and hastily covered her mouth.
“Ah… ahh… sorry…”
Her eyebrows drew down like a frown, and her eyes were trembling uncontrollably.
It looked like her legs gave out as she plopped down onto the cold marble floor.
Why? What did I say?
“It’s not that I only saw it while I was trapped in the capsule. I thought of it sometimes and looked it up after I was rescued.”
It must have been misunderstood that I was left with nothing to watch while stuck in virtual reality.
That wasn’t the case. I realized there were videos that even had tens of millions of views.
I patted her shoulder a couple of times, encouraging her.
Then, this time, Daniel, who was behind her, showed the whites of his eyes and collapsed sideways.
Why is everyone dropping like this? Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?
*
Daniel thought. There couldn’t possibly be two such adorable beings in the world.
Even on Korea University’s Everytime, photos of a child’s face perfectly cropped were continuously posted. Everyone seemed to be restraining themselves out of respect for privacy rights.
Thus, after Name finished playing and they parted ways, Ni-el planned to meet her again.
Ni-el went down to the school’s main gate to buy takoyaki.
And then, under the sweltering sun, it was worth the run back to the Natural Sciences building.
Thanks to that, he managed to hold hands with the cute girl and, most importantly, to defeat what had been his competitor, Hicks Studio.
The seniors must also be in high spirits.
Despite appearances, ‘Bark’ was a gloomy and depressed group constantly struggling between the realities faced by the PDs and their content creation obligations.
What Name brought was a different kind of vitality.
Everyone was so excited that one senior accidentally slipped up.
Daniel, who had a constant smile, suddenly changed his expression.
[I didn’t only watch it while I was trapped in the capsule. I sometimes thought of it and looked it up after I was rescued.]
It seemed like the poor child was trying hard to smile so she’d not feel embarrassed.
Everyone had completely forgotten behind her striking features that the child named NoName had been trapped in the capsule for a whole seven years.
The senior immediately realized the mistake he made.
But once those words were out, there was no taking them back.
Daniel suddenly felt a suffocating feeling rise within him.
How much pain has Name endured being stuck in that capsule for seven years?
And how could she remain so nonchalant when facing her ‘trauma’?
He felt overwhelmingly sorry for calling her to this place.
As a swirl of complex emotions took over, his head began to spin, and Daniel eventually lost consciousness.
After some time had passed, Daniel woke up again on the studio mattress.
“Ni-el, are you okay?”
“Name… What about Name?”
Ni-el was more concerned about Name’s well-being than his own.
“She’s currently doing ‘Maestro’ with the professor!”
“What? That virtual reality thing? So Name is still in the capsule?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I have to see her!”
“Hey, don’t overdo it, Ni-el!”
Ni-el rushed into the next room.
His legs felt heavier by the moment, but he couldn’t stop.
Like NoName before him, who had lived childhood trapped in a capsule.
Even if confronting his own trauma made him faint again, it was urgent to confirm whether Name was okay.
