Chapter 60: Nothing is impossible, only unexpected
As Chuck and his friends were enjoying a pleasant evening, Professor John Harper, who had once again argued with his wife and fled the house, arrived on campus as usual.
Princeton University.
In the northeast corner, a fenced-off building.
Rumors circulated that it was abandoned, but few believed it.
Any such place on a university campus would have long been a hangout for broke college couples. Its absence of such activity was telling, not to mention the security guards at the entrance, preventing anyone from entering.
Professor John Harper stumbled forward.
Seeing him raise his hand showing his ID, the guard opened the door and let him in. He entered the building unimpeded, and inside, a bustling scene unfolded.
Various electronic equipment blinked with lights, and researchers in white lab coats moved about. As Professor John Harper passed, they stopped and respectfully called out, "Professor!"
Professor Harper nodded, enjoying the treatment. He went up to the second floor, approached the office marked "Director," and knocked on the door.
"Come in,"
a stern voice echoed from within.
Professor John Harper pushed open the door and saw a middle-aged, balding white man sitting behind his desk, wearing glasses and writing something. Without looking up, he said, "John, didn't you have dinner plans with three geniuses tonight? Why are you here at this hour?"
"William, they don't understand the importance of our work,"
Professor John Harper said, looking at his superior with a grieved expression. "Just like Alicia."
"I told you before, being single and unattached is your advantage in this line of work,"
William, the middle-aged, balding director, put down his pen and looked up, narrowing his eyes. "When you chose to marry Alicia, I advised you that having personal ties wasn't the right path for our kind of work."
"I've done excellent work!"
Professor John Harper retorted defensively. "I've contributed greatly to the impending collapse of the Soviet Union."
"Yes,"
William nodded in acknowledgment, but then changed the subject. "But you could have done better, made a greater contribution, couldn't you?"
Professor John Harper lowered his head and fell silent.
He was extremely confident in his abilities and naturally couldn't deny that he could have played a greater role.
"I want you to recruit these three,"
Professor John Harper said, his head still bowed. "They're all true mathematical geniuses. With them, we can accomplish even greater things."
"I know,"
William nodded, then shook his head. "But it's not feasible. Sheldon Cooper and Paige Swanson are both young prodigies, two of the current stars of Princeton and Columbia universities. We can't move on them rashly. Besides, they're still young. Even the most gifted need time to accumulate knowledge. As for Dr. Chuck Wolfe... we tried to recruit him a long time ago, but he refused."
"Why?"
Professor John Harper looked at William in confusion.
In his opinion, as someone with special government authority, William could achieve anything he wanted.
"Not everyone has your level of... patriotic dedication, John,"
William shook his head. "A genius without genuine commitment isn't worth the investment."
Even so, his mind drifted back to seven years ago, when he'd approached a 15-year-old prodigy after hearing about him emerging in the mathematics world.
The young man had calmly analyzed the nature of America's foreign interventions, each word striking directly at uncomfortable truths. William knew the answer then and there.
Such a genius could not be fooled, nor could he be motivated with honors and challenges. Coincidentally, he had just met Professor John Harper, who was there to work on Pentagon cryptography projects, at a conference. He approached and recruited Professor John Harper instead.
"And John, things are different now. The Soviet Union is about to collapse, and our department will be downsized,"
William warned, noticing Professor John Harper's growing agitation.
"Downsized?"
Professor John Harper, immediately alarmed, exclaimed, "How can that be? Our work has only just begun. The collapse of the USSR is only the first step. We still have greater objectives to accomplish. Have you forgotten the bigger picture?"
"I know."
William soothed him, "Downsizing doesn't mean complete elimination. You're still the most crucial asset in our department, and the implementation of subsequent major operations depends entirely on your expertise. The role played by the rest of us is already minimal, isn't it?"
Upon hearing this, Professor John Harper calmed down somewhat.
This was indeed the truth: he had always been the primary operative, and the others were just expendable support staff.
"I have an idea..."
Professor John Harper suddenly said.
William nodded and said, "Let's explore it. I'll assign someone to assist you."
Time quickly arrived before Thanksgiving.
On campus,
Chuck, who had just finished class, was stopped by his classmate Cheryl. "Chuck, it's vacation time. How are you planning to spend Thanksgiving?"
"I don't celebrate holidays,"
Chuck shook his head.
"You don't celebrate Thanksgiving?"
Cheryl was stunned, then, as if understanding something, stopped herself and smiled, "Then you're just like Justine."
"Don't make fun of me."
Her best friend Justine, standing nearby with books in her arms, smiled good-naturedly. "I want to go home and spend the holiday with my mom and sisters, but plane tickets are always so expensive before holidays. I can't afford it, and I refuse to pay those inflated prices."
"I have to go back. I can't spend the holidays here, or my dad and stepmom will have a fit."
Cheryl looked at her best friend apologetically, then at Chuck. "Chuck, do you have plans that day? How about you two spend it together? It'd be nice to have some company."
"If Chuck doesn't mind washing dishes with me,"
Justine said, smiling as she declined politely.
"I don't mind,"
Chuck nodded at Justine, "but I do have an appointment that day."
He only admired Justine, who was working part-time while on scholarship, and didn't see anything shameful about her dishwashing job.
Hard work is honorable!
Furthermore, his obsessive-compulsive tendencies and need for cleanliness, inherited from his predecessor, actually made him appreciate the satisfaction of cleaning up messy situations.
Justine smiled warmly at Chuck.
Strong-willed as she was, she didn't see any shame in washing dishes, even though her high school boyfriend's mother had always looked down on her restaurant job as beneath their family's social status.
While her boyfriend and best friend didn't mind her work, they'd never expressed the same genuine respect and appreciation that Chuck just had.
"The campus will be pretty empty during the break. Be safe and call me if you need anything."
Chuck pulled out a business card and handed it to Justine.
"Don't worry, I'm not Cheryl. I can take care of myself out there,"
Justine said with self-deprecating humor, glancing at her best friend before accepting the card.
"Justine, I wouldn't say that. You're beautiful, okay?"
Cheryl hugged her best friend and complimented her affectionately.
Chuck nodded in agreement.
While Justine's appearance might be understated, her real strength came from within, along with her remarkable character. She possessed a dignified and resilient demeanor that was quite striking. Furthermore, there's no such thing as an unattractive young woman. Even with her natural youthful energy, she wasn't as safe out there as she'd joked.
Besides, having spent several years abroad, he deeply understood one fundamental truth: you can't use common sense to anticipate the malice that exists in this world.
Nothing is impossible, only unexpected.
(End of Chapter)
join patreon for update and advance 40+ chapters
https://www.p-atreon.com/c/Soulforger
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
"If you're enjoying this story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and Review! Your support keeps me motivated and helps the novel reach more readers."
"100 Power Stones this week = 1 extra chapter release!"
"500 Power Stones = 2 extra chapter release ."