The news that the surgery was progressing smoothly flowed through their anxious and hardened emotions like a warm stream, melting away many seemingly urgent matters.
Jie Yong had already fallen asleep beside them; Min Jianzhong and the others had gone out for a quick meal since staying here only meant frequently answering phone calls.
Only Li Zheng and Lin Yujing remained, leaning on the chairs in front of the operating area, naturally opening the briefcase.
Inside the briefcase were just three envelopes; Li Zheng first opened the small envelope marked ’To be opened by Li Zheng in person.’ The letter inside was short, and compared to the careless scribbles Jie Qifen used on the whiteboard, this letter was overly neat. Every character was a separate, regular script, without any joining strokes between them, not even within a single character.
However, the beauty of the handwriting did not necessarily correspond to the level of seriousness...
"So ugly," Li Zheng chuckled as he spread the paper out. "It’s like a little schoolchild struggling to finish an assignment in a square-writing grid."
Next to him, Lin Yujing, leaning on his shoulder, touched the characters on the letter and sighed, "When he lectured, he was always complaining it wasn’t fast enough, skipping whenever he could. But when he wrote this... he probably just feared being too fast and missing something."
In this gentle atmosphere, they could almost see a Jie Qifen sitting upright in his study, unusually serious—
Li Zheng:
When you read this letter, I probably won’t be able to speak anymore.
Even if I could, my mind would not be clear.
That’s pretty much the same as being dead, I guess.
Don’t be sad, for I died twenty years ago already.
It was you, Lin Yujing, and Gu Jianfeng who pulled me from the decaying coffin.
Listening to my lectures, accompanying me in research, and even hearing my impractical fantasies.
For the first time in my life, you allowed me to confirm that I had value.
Thank you for granting me this brief life.
Um, that sounds a bit sappy, I’m even disgusted with myself...
Hey, since it’s this kind of time, allow me to ramble a bit more.
Let’s start with the most important thing.
My mother, Zhao Yujie, was the only person who supported and trusted me all these years besides you all.
She was my only support and the sole reason I have lived.
She is greater than Newton and Einstein, more deserving of respect than truth and the universe.
She sacrificed her life, bearing several times the slander and pressure I did, allowing a life never meant for this world to come into being.
But that life did not fulfill his sole duty.
To my shame, I have achieved nothing in my life and haven’t even made a single good friend.
So, I must entrust you.
If you have time during the holidays, please bring a few people to pretend to be the university leaders and visit my old mother. Just tell her I am engaged in closed national key scientific research and can’t come back for the time being.
I have laid the groundwork for this; she will believe it.
As for the research content, if she asks, just say it is something like the ’Two Bombs, One Satellite’ project, with only top-notch scientists involved in the research; she probably won’t ask further questions.
If possible, when meeting her, make those "leaders" praise me more, just say I’m smart, capable, promising, and sure to be elected as an academician in the future.
These words may seem vain, but my mother has been looked down upon because of me for so many years, so even a proud lie would be enough to make her happy for an entire year. I only wish for her to be healthier, to live longer, and not to suffer from depression like I did from this disease.
Also, make sure to remind her that these are state secrets and can’t be shared.
That way, she won’t give herself away when chatting with neighbors.
When you go to my house, it would also be a hassle to rent a more impressive car and dress in decent suits to arrive with pomp and grandeur. It would make the neighbors really believe it and not mock her.
The expenses for these matters, I’ve placed them in the bank card in the second envelope. The password will be sent to your email later.
Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.
It contains about half of my savings; if my mother is not in good health, please also find a caregiver for her.
I have entrusted you with a lot, and I am truly sorry.
Thank you for your trouble.
Huh...
I feel more relieved having said all this.
The rest is not that important.
In my nearly thirty-year career, I’ve only done three things.
First, the Observer Equation.
Second, Evolutionary Physics.
Third, teaching you.
I know that the third thing sounds a bit cheesy, but it indeed is the most important thing I’ve done.
Back to the first and second points.
The naming of these two does carry a whiff of the amateur scientist, but if a smart student really gets into them, they will indeed become obsessed and unable to extricate themselves.
Then, they will think this is the most correct theory in the world and that all quantum research after the 1990s has strayed into a misguided frenzy.
Latter, they will argue with others, and because their mathematics is really too terrible, they are unwilling to spend time on deep calculations, the arguments quickly devolve into a shouting match.
The more they are shouted down, the more people will be against them, the more they’ll be bullied, and the more firmly they will believe they are right, even if they are wrong.
That’s the growth trajectory of an amateur scientist; I was no exception.
That’s why, when I first saw you, I resolved not to pursue those ideas but to focus solely on teaching you solid mathematics fundamentals, while incidental teaching you the classical parts of orthodox theories that I could accept. After you had your moments of pride and despair, ups and downs, and when you matured more, then I would reveal deeper content.
Unfortunately, time was not enough.
For now, I will only speak of some most basic concepts. The specific content is all in the envelope labeled ’three.’
Before the ’Magic Angle Theory’ takes shape and is empirically validated, please do not open that envelope. Doing so may very well waste your lifetime.
```
If you find it confirmed, you may decide on your own.
Here, I will only explain the most fundamental concepts.
Let’s start with the Observer Equation.
In quantum mechanics, the most fundamental basis, the most unfathomable fact is nothing but the idea that "observation changes the outcome".
We conducted a series of experiments, trying to find a reason or refute it, and we lost every time.
We had no choice but to accept this fact, to define this phenomenon as an axiom for use, and we cobbled together a series of bizarre theories to explain it, from Copenhagen to multiple universes.
To me, the later development of quantum mechanics is built on such absurdity; those theories that seem profound and mysterious are nothing but a "scientific" destination for this set of "metaphysics".
In my world, science is only related to mathematics.
Any phenomenon, I mean any phenomenon.
If it exists, there must be a mathematical explanation for it.
If mathematics cannot explain a phenomenon, it can only mean that the phenomenon simply does not exist.
Do you think I am saying that the "observer phenomenon" doesn’t exist?
Relax, I haven’t gone crazy enough to deny experimental results.
It must exist, it’s just that those people are too stupid to have found a mathematical explanation.
Hear me clearly, a mathematical explanation.
Mainstream doctrine holds that "observation" will "cause" a collapse, turning a photon from a "wave of probability" into a "definite particle".
That’s a physical explanation, and it’s nothing; it’s just hot air.
I only want a mathematical explanation.
This issue troubled me for a long time, until I saw the logical thinking of another amateur scientist.
Mitchell was a chemistry amateur scientist who discovered the chemical permeation that left all the old professors at a loss.
His logical thinking is quite exaggerated and very fundamental—
[When all other possibilities have been eliminated.]
[Then the remaining possibility, no matter how improbable it may seem, must be the correct answer.]
Embracing this belief, when I ruled out all other possibilities.
There was only one least likely possibility left.
The act of "observation" truly has an effect on "photons".
Just like in the little man pushing the cart, the little man’s hands are really pushing on the cart.
This means that the act of micro-observation must, with some kind of force, like a big hand, permanently pin the photon down there.
This is, after eliminating all possibilities, the only way to turn probability into certainty.
It’s just that the devices of modern man are still unable to capture this process.
It may be electromagnetic force, it may be strong interaction, or it may be some force that we have not yet discovered.
It may go through our three-dimensional space, or through spaces we cannot perceive.
But this does not prevent me from describing this process in mathematics.
This is the Observer Equation.
Find it.
Get physics back on track.
This was my only thought at the time.
But soon, I found that finding such an equation was not difficult.
Far from being difficult, it was too simple; any model I came up with could make it self-consistent.
It’s like if someone asks you, how do you get from the initial number 2 to 4?
The answers are infinite.
Therefore, I needed more knowledge and experimental data to enrich my model.
"Quantum tunneling path" was a hypothesis established during this process, and I myself never expected that years later, it would perfectly explain the "Magic Angle Theory".
I also realized that I’m getting old, that I can no longer keep up with the times, and if it weren’t for you, I probably would never be able to get such confirmation from superconductivity research.
Hey, these are not that important, but once I start talking, I’ve written so much.
Anyway, 15 sets of my most cherished "Observer Equations" and their accompanying thoughts and models are in the third envelope.
Take it.
There’s a good chance none of them is the correct answer.
But at least they might help you rule out some wrong answers; they should be of some value.
As for more calculations and derivations, I’ve already packaged them up, they are in my bedroom; when you visit my mother, you can take them with you, just say the nation needs them.
She’ll probably be happy to see the drafts I’ve wasted night after night actually being taken away by impressive people, by grand cars...
Alas... Although I’m supposed to be clear-headed while settling affairs, I’m already starting to get confused.
Perk up!
About "Evolutionary Physics", this is actually much more important than the "Observer Equation", and here I can only make a long story short.
Evolutionary Physics is an idea born out of frustration with my research into the Observer Equation.
I am very confident that each of my equations is self-consistent.
But I am also clear that there is no experiment right now that could prove even a single symbol of any of them.
```
```
"How exactly does ’observation’ cause ’collapse’?"
I could describe ten thousand ways in mathematics, yet our microscopes can’t perceive the slightest trace of it.
In the end, my achievements were limited to conjecture.
We are all clear that the so-called string theory is nothing more than a self-consistent speculation.
Allow me the presumption here.
In my mathematical models, at least three sets are far more elegant than string theory.
But I am a homegrown Ph.D. who has never set foot out of the country and finds reading English papers very difficult.
The final result is that my work is incomprehensible to people within my country and invisible to those abroad.
Maybe they could see it, but due to translation and origin issues, it’s mostly difficult to understand and unlikely to be taken seriously.
In such an environment, I could only proceed by myself.
I was very aware that it was not my place to make experimental breakthroughs—the resources were too far out of reach.
Theoretical breakthroughs were my only direction.
If the "Observer Equation" is the key to the ultimate mystery,
then "Evolutionary Physics" is the only lock that key can open.
I needed it to determine which key was the correct one, which equation was truly real.
To this day, some evidence has been hinting at something—the laws of physics are not uniform.
Across different parts of the universe, physical laws are likely very different, from the speed of light to the gravitational constant.
Just like your competition experience, physics simply cannot explain physics, only mathematics can.
The "singularity" of the universe exploded and expanded to the present, these conclusions, and processes are not revealed by physics, but by mathematics.
So, what about physical laws?
If we accept the theory of the Big Bang, then physical laws must also have a "singularity" that evolved to the present.
From a most fundamental unit, a simplest algorithm, step by step, iterated to the present.
Just like the evolution of life.
Evolutionary Physics aims to restore this process using mathematical means.
It tells everyone that physics is not a solid mass, but a dynamic existence, fluid like a liquid.
Amongst it, the most fundamental quantum unit, just like the cells in your body, has existed for over a billion years.
I had to find it.
Here it is necessary to introduce the concepts of "Game of Life" and "Cellular Automaton," both are very interesting mathematical games; you could find plenty of information with a casual search.
Within these, a simplest mathematical rule is the "singularity" of the universe, and then repeating calculations trillions of times yields various fascinating outcomes.
This is what I became obsessed with after using up half of Ji University’s computing power.
Most results soon return to nothingness or an endless loop.
But there are many results that bring forth new life, forming a myriad of unbelievable patterns.
Do you know what the most magical thing is?
At some point, during an uncountable calculation, I randomly changed a 0 to a 1.
The subsequent unfolding was completely different from the original pattern, bearing no resemblance whatsoever.
I became addicted to this, hoping to find a set of patterns that matched our universe in these endless calculations...
Just as I felt I was about to evolve a Theory of Relativity, the supporting old principal retired...
The project was immediately stopped, resources retracted overnight, and many were not even backed up.
I descended into madness, cursing the entire quantum physics community.
I of course knew they were innocent; I was just angry at their mediocrity.
Why did no one understand the greatness of what I was doing?
This crowd, consumed by frivolity and greed for sensory pleasure, power, and money!
Of course, upon reflection, I was wrong.
In my subsequent manual calculations, I confirmed that even if granted a hundred thousand times more computing power, it would take me at least a hundred thousand years to evolve a reasonable model of the universe, and that’s if I struck it right on the first try.
I sincerely apologize to the people I hurt back then.
Ah, I’ve said so much again...
Anyway, the specific ideas, various initial rules corresponding to intermediate patterns, they’re all in the third envelope.
There might be some data left in the school’s database, probably stored on small square floppy disks, which you may have never even seen.
By now, you should have realized.
The first two things in my life that I focused on, whether it be the "Observer Equation" or "Evolutionary Physics," were both destined-to-fail computations.
They were restricted by the technology and computational power of my era, and even with the school’s full support from start to finish, there would have been no significant results—at best, a domestically produced "string theory."
It could be said that these two things were almost worthless.
But I am quite certain.
At the end of my life, I did the most important thing right.
I made you understand mathematics, gave Gu Jianfeng an understanding of physics, and showed Lin Yujing how to appreciate cat food.
Hehe, Lin Yujing is different from you two; she requires bait, needs a person or event to excite her into action. You are the person who excited her, and Magic Angle provided the event.
That’s why I described it as cat food; she’ll probably snort with laughter when she sees this.
```
("Tss...")
Anyway, I ran out of time and didn’t have the conditions to get close to the answer.
Good luck to all of you.
That’s my life, above.
If you need an epitaph for me, please write—
[Lecturer, Jie Qifen.]
Yeah, that’s it.
No more melodrama, I need to smoke a cigarette...
Got to smoke one last one, anyway.
The next page is my will, which you can show when needed.
[The following is the will of me, Jie Qifen.]
[After my death, all academic research materials, achievements, copyright, and the right to reputation shall belong to Li Zheng.]
[After my death, the assets in the bank card number 43XXXXXXXX shall belong to my student Li Zheng, all other assets shall belong to my mother Zhao Yujie.]
After reading all this, neither Li Zheng nor Lin Yujing could utter half a word.
Even though their minds were still echoing with "Observer Equation" and "Evolutionary Physics."
But at this moment, they felt utterly empty.
As if without Jie Qifen, the universe no longer had anything in it.
...
White.
I saw it.
White.
I must be close to death...
Old lady...
Mom...
I’m going...
...
That white...
It’s not white.
It’s the ceiling...
I’m not dead...
Jie Qifen hazily opened his eyes, his vision gradually clearing from the blur.
"You’re awake," a voice that must belong to a nurse came through, "Leaders... don’t disturb him too much, three minutes at most."
Following the nurse’s voice, Jie Qifen made an effort to twist his neck, looking toward the head of the bed.
He saw Li Zheng, he saw Lin Yujing.
He saw Min Jianzhong, he saw Zhong Ping.
And many other people he did not recognize...
"Teacher Jie!" Min Jianzhong’s eyes were brimming with tears.
Perhaps moved, or perhaps joyous that Ji University was saved.
But it was right to have eyes brimming with tears.
Min Jianzhong nodded emphatically with emotion: "Your ’Magic Angle Theory’ has been successfully published. As of today, you are the greatest physicist of our time both domestically and internationally. Countless scientists and research institutions are contacting us nonstop, just to attend one of your lectures."
"Please make sure you recover!"
"Teacher Jie Qifen!"
"..." Jie Qifen smiled.
This damn thing...
I’m not dead yet???
Fucking hell, after all this, you still play me like a fool...
To others, this smile seemed divine.
It was a great smile, a content smile, a holy smile.
However, this smile that should have been captured in an oil painting was understood by Li Zheng.
"Not dead, still alive," Li Zheng said with a dopey smile, "By the way, just to let you know, Ms. Zhao Yujie is now the most badass old lady in the neighborhood. The line of people trying to set you up on blind dates has formed until next year; the old lady can’t even get free."
"..." Jie Qifen’s face twisted, turning towards Lin Yujing.
"Hmm..." Lin Yujing covered her mouth with a laugh: "The cat food metaphor was terrible, really crappy writing."
Jie Qifen glared for a long time before he smiled again.
Waving his hand casually, he then laid back and drifted off to sleep with a smile.
Old lady...
You should be even happier than the day I got recommended to Ji University...