Wang Miao thought the four people who came to see him were a strange combination: two police officers and two military personnel. It would have been normal if the two military men were Armed Police, but these were two officers of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force.
Wang Miao took an immediate dislike to the police officers when he first saw them. Actually, the young man in police uniform was okay and behaved politely, but the plainclothes one was annoying. He was tall and sturdy with a face full of tough flesh, wearing a dirty leather jacket. He smelled of cigarettes all over and spoke in a loud, rough voice—exactly the type of person Wang Miao hated the most.
"Wang Miao?" the man asked. Being called by his given name directly made Wang Miao very uncomfortable, and what was worse, the man was lighting a cigarette without even lifting his head. Before Wang Miao could answer, he signaled to the young man next to him, who then showed Wang Miao his police ID. After lighting the cigarette, the man pushed his way straight into the house.
"Please don't smoke in my house," Wang Miao stopped him.
"Oh, sorry, Professor Wang. This is our Captain Shi Qiang," the young police officer said with a smile, and at the same time gave Shi a wink.
"All right, then let's talk in the corridor," Shi Qiang said. He took a deep, long drag, which burned nearly half of the cigarette, yet no smoke was seen coming out of his mouth. "You ask," he tilted his head slightly towards the young police officer.
"Professor Wang, we want to know if you have had any contact with members of the 'Science Boundary' society recently?"
"'Science Boundary' is an academically influential international organization, and all its members are renowned scholars. Why shouldn't I be allowed to contact such a legitimate academic group?"
"Look at you!" Shi Qiang snapped. "Did we say it's illegal? Did we say you can't contact it?" As he spoke, the smoke he had inhaled earlier was blown right into Wang Miao's face.
"Well then, this is personal privacy, and I have no obligation to answer your questions."
"Everything can't just be called privacy! As a famous scholar like you, you should take responsibility for public security, right?" Shi Qiang tossed his cigarette butt away and pulled another one from his crumpled pack.
"I have the right not to answer. Please do as you wish." Wang Miao turned to go back inside.
"Wait!" Shi Qiang shouted sharply, waving a hand at the young police officer beside him. "Give him the address and phone number. He has to go there this afternoon."
"What are you trying to do!" Wang Miao demanded angrily. Their argument had already made neighbors stick their heads out to see what was happening.
"Captain Shi! What are you—" The young officer pulled Shi Qiang aside in annoyance. Clearly, Shi's rudeness made more than just Wang Miao uncomfortable.
"Professor Wang, please don't misunderstand," a major quickly stepped forward. "There's an important meeting this afternoon that requires several scholars and experts to attend. Our superiors asked us to invite you."
"I'm very busy this afternoon."
"We are aware of that. Our superiors have already spoken to the leaders of the Superconductivity Research Center. This meeting can't go on without you; if it really comes down to it, we'll have to postpone the meeting until you're available."
Shi Qiang and his colleague said nothing more and turned to go downstairs. The two military officers watched them walk away, seemingly letting out a long sigh of relief.
"How can someone be like that?" the major whispered to his colleague.
"He has a long list of misdeeds. A few years ago, during a hostage-taking incident, he acted without authorization, disregarding the hostages' safety. As a result, a family of three was killed by the criminal. It's said he also has close ties to gangsters, using one gang to take down another. Last year, he even used torture to extract a confession, crippling a suspect—and was suspended from duty because of it..."
"How can someone like him be allowed into the Operations Center?"
"The superiors specifically asked for him—he must have some exceptional skills. But there are strict restrictions on him; apart from public security-related matters, he's kept in the dark about almost everything else."
Operations Center? What was that? Wang Miao looked at the two officers in front of him, confused.
The car picking up Wang Miao drove into a compound on the outskirts of the city. From the gate, which only had a house number and no sign indicating the unit, Wang Miao knew this was a military rather than a police facility.
The meeting was held in a large hall. As soon as Wang Miao entered, he was shocked by the chaos inside. A circle of haphazardly placed computer equipment surrounded the hall; some devices that couldn't fit on tables were placed directly on the floor, with power cables and network wires tangled and scattered across the ground.
A large stack of network switches wasn't installed in racks, but casually piled on top of servers; several large projector screens stood at random angles in the hall's corners, like Gypsy tents; a layer of smoke hung mid-air like morning mist… Wang Miao couldn't tell if this was the "Operations Center" the officer had mentioned, but one thing he was sure of: whatever matter was being handled here had made people too busy to care about anything else.
The makeshift conference table was also piled high with documents and clutter. Most attendees looked exhausted, their clothes wrinkled; those wearing ties had them loosened, as if they'd pulled an all-nighter. The meeting was chaired by Major General Chang Weisi of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, and half of the attendees were military personnel. After a brief introduction, Wang Miao learned that a small number were police officers, while the rest—like him—were expert scholars. Several of them were renowned scientists, specializing in basic sciences.
What surprised him even more was the presence of four foreigners, whose identities shocked him: two were also military officers—a U.S. Air Force Colonel and a British Army Colonel, serving as NATO liaison officers; the other two were actually CIA agents, with the title of "observer" here.
From everyone's faces, Wang Miao read a single thought: We've done all we can—for God's sake, let this end soon!
Wang Miao spotted Shi Qiang. Unlike his rudeness the previous day, Shi greeted Wang Miao, but his silly grin did nothing to make Wang Miao feel pleasant. He didn't want to sit next to Shi, but it was the only empty seat left, so he had to. The already thick smell of smoke in the room grew even stronger.
When documents were being distributed, Shi Qiang leaned in and said to Wang Miao: "Professor Wang, you're researching… some kind of new material, right?"
"Nanomaterial," Wang Miao replied briefly.
"I've heard of it—it's super strong. Could it be used for crimes?" From Shi Qiang's half-joking expression, Wang Miao couldn't tell if he was being serious.
"What do you mean?"
"Heh, I heard a strand as thick as a hair can lift a heavy truck. If criminals steal some to make a knife, one slash could cut a car in half, right?"
"Hmph, no need to make a knife at all. If you make a thread from that material—only one-hundredth the thickness of a hair—and stretch it across the road, it'd slice passing cars like cheese… What can't be used for crimes? Even a fish-scaling knife can!"
Shi Qiang pulled half the documents in front of him out of the bag, then stuffed them back—clearly losing interest. "You're right, even fish can be used to commit crimes! I handled a murder case once: a woman cut off her husband's… thing. You know what she used? A frozen tilapia from the fridge! When the fish freezes solid, the row of spines on its back is as sharp as a knife…"
"I'm not interested. Wait, is this what you called me to the meeting for?"
"Fish? Nanomaterials? No, no, none of that matters." Shi Qiang leaned close to Wang Miao's ear. "Don't be nice to these guys—they look down on us. They only want to pump us for info but won't tell us a thing. Me? I've been hanging around here for over a month, and I still know nothing, just like you."
"Comrades, the meeting begins," General Chang Weisi said. "Among all global war zones, our location is now the focus. First, let's brief everyone here on the current situation."
The unusual term "war zone" confused Wang Miao. He also noticed the general didn't seem ready to explain the background to new people like him—which only confirmed Shi Qiang's words. In the general's short opening remarks, he'd said "comrades" twice. Wang Miao glanced at the two NATO officers and two CIA agents across the room, thinking the general had seemingly forgotten to add "gentlemen."
"They're comrades too—everyone here calls them that anyway," Shi Qiang whispered to Wang Miao, nodding at the four foreigners with the cigarette in his hand.
While still confused, Wang Miao was somewhat impressed by Shi Qiang's powers of observation.
"Da Shi, put out that cigarette. The smoke here is thick enough already," Chang Weisi said, flipping through documents without looking up.
Shi Qiang looked around with the newly lit cigarette in hand. Finding no ashtray, he tossed it into a teacup with a sizzle. Seizing the chance, he raised his hand to speak, and before Chang Weisi could respond, he shouted: "Comrade Leader, I have a request—one I've made before: information parity!"
General Chang Weisi looked up. "No military operation achieves information parity. I ask the experts and scholars present to understand this; we cannot share more background information with you."
"But we're different," Shi Qiang said. "The police have been involved in the Operations Center since its founding, yet to this day, we still don't know what this organization actually does. Moreover, you're sidelining the police—you're gradually learning our work, then pushing us out one by one."
Several other police officers at the meeting whispered to stop Shi Qiang. Wang Miao was surprised that Shi dared to speak to a senior officer of Chang Weisi's rank like this, but the general's retort was even sharper.
"Da Shi, it seems your old bad habits from the military haven't changed. Can you represent the police? You've been suspended for months due to your misconduct, and you're about to be dismissed from the public security force. I transferred you here because I value your experience in urban policing—you need to cherish this opportunity."
Da Shi's voice boomed: "So I'm here to atone for my sins? Weren't you the ones who said all that experience was just underhanded tricks?"
"But it's useful," Chang Weisi nodded at him. "Useful is all that matters. We can't afford to be picky now—this is a time of war."
"We can't afford to cling to anything anymore," a CIA intelligence officer said in fluent Mandarin. "We can no longer think in conventional ways."
The British Army colonel, clearly understanding Chinese, nodded. "To be or not to be..."
"What'd he say?" Shi Qiang asked Wang Miao.
"Nothing," Wang Miao replied mechanically. These people seemed to be talking in their sleep. A time of war? Where was the war? He turned to the large French windows of the hall; through them, he could see the city beyond the compound in the distance: under the spring sun, streets teemed with traffic; people walked dogs on the lawn, and a few children played...
Which world was more real—inside here, or out there?
General Chang continued: "Recently, the enemy's attacks have intensified significantly. Their targets remain senior figures in the scientific community. Please first take a look at the list in your documents."
Wang Miao pulled out the top sheet of paper in the file, printed in large font. The list was clearly compiled in a hurry, with both Chinese and English names.
"Professor Wang, what's your impression of this list?" Chang Weisi asked, looking at him.
"I know three of them—all renowned scholars at the forefront of physics," Wang Miao replied, somewhat distracted. His gaze was fixed on the last name; in his subconscious, those two characters carried a different weight than the lines above. Why would he see her name here? What had happened to her?
"You know her?" Da Shi pointed at the name on the document with a thick, smoke-stained finger. When Wang Miao didn't respond, he reacted quickly: "Oh, not really. Want to get to know her?"
In that moment, Wang Miao understood why Chang Weisi had transferred this former soldier here. This rough-looking man had eyes as sharp as a knife. He might not be a good policeman, but he was definitely a tough character.
It had been a year earlier. Wang Miao was in charge of the nanomaterial components for the "China-2" High-Energy Accelerator Project. One afternoon at the construction site in Liangxiang, during a short break, he was suddenly drawn to
"What are you staring at? Get back to work!"
Wang Miao jumped, then realized the director of the Nanomaterial Research Center wasn't talking to him—he was scolding a young engineer, who, like Wang Miao himself, had been staring blankly at that figure. Wang Miao pulled himself back from the artistic reverie to reality, and noticed the woman wasn't an ordinary staff member: the chief engineer was accompanying her, explaining something with obvious deference.
"Who is she?" Wang Miao asked the director.
"You should know her," the director said, sweeping a hand to gesture at the site. "Once this 20-billion-yuan accelerator is completed, the first experiment it might run is to verify a superstring model she proposed. In the hierarchical world of theoretical research, she shouldn't have gotten this chance so soon—but those old scholars were afraid to go first, worried about making a fool of themselves. So she got lucky."
"What? Yang Dong is… a woman?!"
"Yes. We only found out when we met her the day before yesterday," the director replied.
The engineer asked, "Does she have some kind of mental issue? Why's she never on the media? It's not like Qian Zhongshu—people never even saw him on TV until he died."
"But at least we all knew Qian Zhongshu was male! I think she must've had some unusual experience as a kid, left her with autism," Wang Miao said, unable to hide a hint of sour grapes.
Yang Dong walked over with the chief engineer. As they passed, she smiled and nodded at them without a word—but Wang Miao remembered her clear, bright eyes.
That night, Wang Miao sat in his study, admiring his proudest landscape photos hanging on the wall. His gaze fell on a shot of the northern frontier: a desolate valley, with snow-capped mountains peeking white at the far end; at this end, a gnarled, weathered dead tree took up nearly a third of the frame. In his imagination, Wang Miao superimposed the figure lingering in his mind onto the scene, placing her deep in the valley, making her look tiny. To his surprise, the whole picture "came alive"—as if the world in the photo recognized her, as if all of it had existed for her. He went on to overlay that figure onto his other works one by one; sometimes he even used her eyes as the backdrop for the empty skies in the photos. Every image woke up, revealing a beauty Wang Miao had never imagined. Before, he'd always felt his photos lacked a "soul"; now he knew—they'd been missing her.
"All the physicists on this list have committed suicide one after another, within less than two months," Chang Weisi said.
It was like a bolt from the blue. Wang Miao's mind went blank. Gradually, images seeped into that blankness: his black-and-white landscape photos—without her figure on the land, without her eyes in the sky, those worlds were dead.
"W-when?" Wang Miao asked dazedly.
"Within less than two months," General Chang repeated.
"You mean the last one, right?" Da Shi, sitting next to Wang Miao, said with a hint of pride, then lowered his voice. "She was the last to kill herself—two nights ago, took an overdose of sleeping pills. She went quickly, no pain."
In that instant, Wang Miao felt a faint flicker of gratitude toward Da Shi.
"Why?" Wang Miao asked, the dead landscapes from his photos still flashing through his mind like a slideshow.
Chang Weisi replied, "Only one thing is certain now: the reason that drove them to suicide is the same. But explaining the reason itself is hard here—maybe even impossible to explain clearly to non-professionals like us. The documents include excerpts from their suicide notes; you can read them carefully after the meeting."
Wang Miao flipped through the copies of the notes—all long, rambling texts.
"Dr. Ding Yi, could you show Professor Wang Yang Dong's suicide note? Hers is the shortest, and the most concise," Chang said.
The man who had been sitting with his head down, silent, finally reacted after a moment. He pulled out a white envelope and passed it across the table to Wang Miao. Da Shi whispered beside him, "He was Yang Dong's boyfriend." Only then did Wang Miao remember meeting Ding Yi before—at the high-energy accelerator site in Liangxiang. He was part of the theoretical team, a physicist famous for discovering macro-atoms in his research on ball lightning[1]. Wang Miao pulled out a fragrant, irregularly shaped object from the envelope—it wasn't paper, but a piece of birch bark, with a line of delicate handwriting on it:
Everything, everything leads to this conclusion: Physics has never existed, and will never exist. I know what I'm doing is irresponsible.
She left without even signing her name.
"Physics… doesn't exist?" Wang Miao looked around in a daze.
General Chang closed his folder. "Some relevant details are tied to the experimental results from the three new high-energy accelerators worldwide—highly professional stuff, so we won't discuss it here. Our top priority is investigating the 'Science Boundary' society. UNESCO designated 2005 as the World Year of Physics, and this organization gradually took shape amid the frequent academic conferences and exchanges in the international physics community that year. It's a loose international academic group. Dr. Ding, as a theoretical physics specialist, could you elaborate on its background?"
Ding Yi nodded. "I have no direct ties to 'Science Boundary,' but it's well-known in academic circles. Its mission is this: Since the second half of the last century, the simplicity and power of classical physics theories have gradually faded. Theoretical models have become increasingly complex, vague, and uncertain, while experimental verification has grown ever harder. This suggests that cutting-edge physics research seems to have hit major obstacles. 'Science Boundary' aims to open a new line of thinking—put simply, to use scientific methods to identify the limits of science itself, and to determine if there's a bottom line to how deeply and precisely science can understand nature—a line beyond which science cannot reach. The development of modern physics seems to be faintly brushing up against this bottom line."
"Good," Chang Weisi said. "From our investigations, most of the scholars who committed suicide had connections to 'Science Boundary'; some were even members. But we found no criminal activity like cult mind control or illegal drug use. In other words, even if 'Science Boundary' influenced those scholars, it was through legitimate academic exchange. Professor Wang, they've been in contact with you recently—we'd like to hear about that."
Da Shi spoke up in his rough voice: "Including the names of contacts, meeting places and times, conversation content, and if you exchanged any written materials or emails…"
"Da Shi!" Chang Weisi cut him off sharply.
"Nobody'll think you're mute if you shut up!" a police officer beside Da Shi leaned over and whispered. Da Shi picked up the teacup on the table, saw the cigarette butt inside, and slammed it back down with a thud.
Da Shi made Wang Miao feel as disgusted as if he'd swallowed a fly. The faint gratitude he'd felt earlier vanished completely. Still, he restrained himself and answered: "My contact with 'Science Boundary' began with Shen Yufei. She's a Chinese-Japanese physicist, now working for a Japanese-funded company in this city. She used to research nanomaterials at a Mitsubishi Electric laboratory. We met at a technical seminar earlier this year. Through her, I got to know several physics friends—all 'Science Boundary' members, both domestic and foreign. When we talked, we focused on very… how to put it… ultimate questions. Mostly the 'science bottom line' issue Dr. Ding just mentioned.
"At first, I wasn't very interested—just chatted for fun. I do applied research, so I'm not strong in this area; I mostly listened to their discussions and debates. These people have profound thoughts and novel viewpoints. Talking to them broadened my mind, and gradually I got more involved. But our topics never went beyond that—just unconstrained, pure theory, nothing out of the ordinary. They invited me to join 'Science Boundary,' but that would've turned these seminars into an obligation. I declined because I didn't have the energy."
"Professor Wang, we hope you'll accept their invitation and join 'Science Boundary'—this is the main reason we asked you here today," General Chang said. "We hope to gain some inside information about this organization through your channel."
"You mean you want me to go undercover?" Wang Miao asked anxiously.
"Wahaha, undercover!" Da Shi burst out laughing.
Chang Weisi gave Da Shi a reproachful look, then turned to Wang Miao: "It's just providing some information. We have no other channels."
Wang Miao shook his head. "I'm sorry, Comrade Leader. I can't do this."
"Professor Wang, 'Science Boundary' is an organization of top international scholars. Investigating it is extremely complex and sensitive—we're truly treading on thin ice. Without help from the intellectual community, we can't take a single step. That's why we made this abrupt request, and we hope you'll understand. But we also respect your decision—if you disagree, we can accept that too."
Wang Miao thought about it for a long time but still didn't understand. "Most people live like this, don't they?"
"Then most people's lives are just accidents."
"But… generations of people have lived plain lives like this."
"All accidents."
Wang Miao shook his head and laughed. "I have to admit my comprehension is really off today. Are you saying that…"
"Yes. The entire history of humanity is also an accident. From the Stone Age to today, there have been no major upheavals—we've been really lucky. But luck always comes to an end. Now I'm telling you: it's over. Prepare yourself."
Wang Miao wanted to ask more, but the general shook his hand to say goodbye, cutting off his next question.
When he got in the car, the driver asked for Wang Miao's home address. After Wang Miao told him, he casually asked, "Oh, were you the one who picked me up earlier? The car looks the same."
"No, I was sent to pick up Dr. Ding," the driver replied.
A thought crossed Wang Miao's mind, so he asked the driver for Ding Yi's address. The driver told him. That night, Wang Miao went to find Ding Yi.
When Wang Miao pushed open the door to Ding Yi's brand-new three-bedroom apartment, he smelled alcohol. Ding Yi was lying on the sofa, the TV on, but his eyes were fixed on the ceiling. Wang Miao glanced around—he saw the apartment was barely decorated, with little furniture or furnishings. The spacious living room felt empty; the most prominent item was a pool table in one corner.
Ding Yi didn't seem annoyed by Wang Miao's uninvited visit. Clearly, he also wanted someone to talk to.
"I bought this apartment three months ago," Ding Yi said. "Why did I buy a house? Did I really think she'd step into a family life?" He shook his head with a drunken laugh.
"Did you two…?" Wang Miao wanted to know everything about Yang Dong's life, but didn't know how to ask.
"She was like a star—always so far away. The light that fell on me was always cold," Ding Yi walked to the window and looked at the night sky, as if searching for the star that had vanished.
Wang Miao fell silent too. Strangely enough, all he wanted now was to hear her voice. A year ago, at sunset, they had locked eyes for a moment, but she hadn't spoken. He had never heard her voice.
Ding Yi waved a hand, as if brushing something away, pulling himself out of those sorrowful thoughts. "Professor Wang, you're right—don't get tangled up with the military and police. They're a bunch of arrogant idiots. Those physicists' suicides have nothing to do with 'Science Boundary.' I tried to explain, but I couldn't get through to them."
"They seem to have done some investigations," Wang Miao said.
"They have—and it's a global investigation. So they should know that two of the suicides had no connection to 'Science Boundary' at all, including… Yang Dong." Ding Yi's voice faltered as he said the name.
"Ding Yi, you know I'm already wrapped up in this. So I really want to know what made Yang Dong make that choice. I think you must know something," Wang Miao said awkwardly, trying to hide his true feelings.
"If you knew, you'd only get more wrapped up. Right now, it's just your life and these events that are involved. Once you know, even your mind will be pulled in—and that'll be a whole lot more trouble."
"I do applied research. I'm not as sensitive as you theoretical physicists."
"All right, then. Ever played pool?" Ding Yi walked over to the pool table.
"Just messed around a bit back in school."
"She and I loved playing—it reminded us of particle collisions in accelerators," Ding Yi said, picking up the black and white cue balls. He placed the black ball next to a pocket, and the white ball about ten centimeters away from it, then asked Wang Miao, "Can you sink the black ball?"
"Anyone could at this distance."
"Try it."
Wang Miao picked up the cue, tapped the white ball lightly, and sent the black ball into the pocket.
"Good. Now, let's move the pool table," Ding Yi said, gesturing to Wang Miao, who looked confused.
They lifted the pool table and moved it to the corner of the living room by the window. Once it was steady, Ding Yi fished the black ball—now in the pocket—out, placed it back next to the pocket, then picked up the white ball again and set it roughly ten centimeters away from the black one. "Can you sink it this time?"
"Of course."
"Go on."
Wang Miao easily sent the black ball into the pocket once more.
"Move it," Ding Yi waved. The two lifted the table again and carried it to a third corner of the living room. Ding Yi rearranged the black and white balls in the same position. "Hit."
"Look, are we…?"
"Hit."
Wang Miao smiled helplessly and sank the black ball a third time.
They moved the table twice more—once to the corner by the door, and finally back to its original spot. Ding Yi reset the balls by the pocket both times, and Wang Miao sank the black ball both times. By then, both were breaking a sweat.
"All right, experiment over. Let's analyze the results," Ding Yi said, lighting a cigarette. "We did five tests total—four in different spatial positions and at different times, two in the same position but different times. Aren't you shocked by the results?" He spread his arms dramatically. "Five times! The outcome of the collision was exactly the same!"
"What are you trying to say, really?" Wang Miao asked, catching his breath.
"Now explain this incredible result—using physics terms."
"Well… in all five tests, the mass of the two balls didn't change; their positions—relative to the pool table's surface, of course—didn't change either; the velocity vector of the white ball hitting the black one was basically the same. So the momentum transfer between them didn't change. That's why the black ball went into the pocket every time."
Ding Yi picked up a bottle of brandy from the floor, filled two grubby glasses, and handed one to Wang Miao, who declined. "We should celebrate—we've discovered a great law: physical laws are uniform in time and space. Every physics theory in human history, from Archimedes' principle to string theory, every scientific discovery and intellectual achievement humanity has ever made—they're all byproducts of this great law. Compared to us, Einstein and Hawking were just mundane applied scientists."
"I still don't get what you're getting at."
"Imagine a different outcome: first time, the white ball sinks the black one; second, the black ball veers off; third, it flies up to the ceiling; fourth, it darts around the room like a scared sparrow and ends up in your pocket; fifth, it shoots off at near-light speed, smashes a chip in the pool table's edge, punches through the wall, then flies out of Earth, out of the solar system—just like Asimov described[2]. What would you think then?"
Ding Yi stared at Wang Miao. Wang Miao fell silent.
After a long silence, Wang Miao finally asked, "This actually happened, didn't it?"
Ding Yi tipped both glasses of brandy—his and Wang Miao's—down his throat, his eyes fixed on the pool table as if it were a demon. "Yes, it did. In recent years, the experimental conditions for fundamental theoretical research have finally matured. Three expensive 'pool tables' were built—one in North America, one in Europe, and the third… you know it well, in Liangxiang, China. Your nanomaterial center made a lot of money from it."
"These high-energy accelerators pushed the collision energy of particles in experiments up by an order of magnitude—something humanity had never achieved before. At this new collision energy level, the same particles, the same collision energy, identical experimental conditions… but the results were different. Not just different across different accelerators, but even different in tests conducted at the same accelerator at different times. Physicists panicked. They repeated these ultra-high-energy collision experiments under the same conditions over and over, but each result was different—with no pattern at all."
"What does that mean?" Wang Miao asked. When he saw Ding Yi just staring at him, he added, "I work on nanomaterials, so I have some contact with the microstructures of matter, but I'm far less deep into this than you are. Please explain."
"It means physical laws are not uniform in time and space."
"And what does that mean?"
"You should be able to deduce the rest, right? Even that general figured it out—he's a smart man."
Wang Miao stared out the window, lost in thought. The city below blazed with a sea of lights, drowning out the stars in the night sky.
"It means there are no universal physical laws in the universe. Which means… physics itself doesn't exist," Wang Miao said, tearing his gaze from the window.
"'I know what I'm doing is irresponsible, but I have no choice,'" Ding Yi said immediately. "That's the second half of her suicide note. Just now, you unwittingly said the first half. Now you can understand her a little, can't you?"
Wang Miao picked up the white cue ball he had hit five times, ran his fingers over it for a moment, then set it down gently. "For someone exploring the frontiers of theory, this is truly a catastrophe."
"To make achievements in theoretical physics, you need a religious level of devotion. It's all too easy to lead someone into the abyss."
As Wang Miao prepared to leave, Ding Yi gave him an address. "If you have time, please go see Yang Dong's mother. Yang Dong lived with her; her daughter was her whole life. Now she's alone… it's pitiful."
Wang Miao said, "Ding Yi, you clearly know more than you're telling me. Can't you say a little more? Do you really believe physical laws aren't uniform in time and space?"
"I don't know anything…"
Ding Yi locked eyes with Wang Miao for a long time, then finally said, "That is the question."
Wang Miao knew—he had simply picked up where the British colonel had left off: To be, or not to be—that is the question.