Chapter 213: The Physical Bowl
The Director came quietly...
...and left just as quietly.
She left behind a pile of gold coins—and another favor owed.
From her, Ethan learned that John had gone to Africa, venturing deep into the desert to seek out the mysterious Elder.
He looked genuinely puzzled.
"Why does the Elder have to live in the middle of the desert?"
Natasha glanced at him, her tone calm and matter-of-fact.
"Because the desert symbolizes the edge of the world."
"It lies beyond the center of civilization."
"It belongs to no nation's sovereignty."
"And falls under no legal system."
She paused before continuing.
"The High Table is the governing structure of the global underworld."
"But the Elder stands above the High Table."
"The High Table maintains order."
"The Elder is the source of that order."
"By residing in the desert, he symbolizes one thing."
"That true authority exists at the world's end."
Ethan stared at her in astonishment.
For a brief moment...
He actually felt a sense of admiration for the High Table.
"Someone with that much power..."
"...chooses to live without worldly desires?"
"In the middle of a desert where not even birds bother to fly—"
He stopped himself.
"Actually, there probably aren't even any birds there."
"Living like some ascetic monk?"
"That's... unbelievably noble."
In Ethan's mind, the Elder's image instantly rose several notches.
Natasha looked at him expressionlessly.
"When did I ever say he lived like an ascetic?"
Ethan blinked.
"Didn't you just say he lives at the edge of the world? In the desert? What else could he possibly enjoy out there?"
Natasha sighed.
"A desert can have palaces."
"Servants."
"Caravans."
"Private armies."
"Whatever he desires."
Her voice remained perfectly level.
"The High Table controls global financial networks."
"It controls the assassin system."
"It controls the Continental Hotel network."
"It controls the blood-marker system."
"And the Elder stands above the High Table."
"If he wants money, the High Table provides it."
"If he wants people, the High Table delivers them."
"If he wants women..."
"...he'll never lack for company."
She paused.
"He simply has no need to flaunt it."
"Those who possess true power don't prove their status through displays of wealth."
Ethan was silent for several seconds.
"...Alright."
"I was being naïve."
So...
The Elder wasn't some desert hermit.
He was simply an introvert who happened to enjoy the finest luxuries imaginable.
Now that he'd wrapped his head around it...
John's current trip wasn't all that different from what had happened in Rome.
The bounty was just larger.
The hunt was more widespread.
And there were a lot more people trying to kill him.
Fundamentally...
Nothing had changed.
Ethan felt much better.
Life went on.
---
Thursday.
Pizza Night.
The four resident geeks, along with Ethan, sat around the coffee table enjoying dinner.
Howard was scrolling through his phone when his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Whoa! Breaking Star Trek rumor!"
"The new movie is supposedly going to show Spock's birth."
He looked up excitedly.
Raj immediately chimed in.
"I'm more interested in how Spock was conceived."
Sheldon slowly turned toward him with a look of utter disbelief.
"Oh, please."
"For Vulcans, the mating ritual is an intensely private matter."
Leonard joined the discussion.
"Still, I kind of want to know the details."
"His mother was human."
"His father was Vulcan."
"That couldn't have been an easy pregnancy."
Howard looked toward Ethan.
"Maybe they would've needed a fertility clinic."
He grinned.
"Hey, Ethan."
"If Spock's parents came to your clinic..."
"...how would you handle it?"
Ethan fell silent for a moment.
"...Hold on."
He looked around the room.
"So we're seriously discussing..."
"...the medical feasibility of interspecies reproduction now?"
Sheldon immediately nodded.
"Yes. You're a doctor. This is your field."
Ethan took a deep breath and sat up straighter.
"Alright. From a medical perspective..."
"According to official canon, Vulcans are humanoids with two hearts, copper-based blood, stronger neural conductivity, and much longer lifespans."
"Humans, on the other hand, have an iron-based hemoglobin system."
He raised a finger.
"And that's where the problem begins."
Gesturing in the air, he continued,
"Copper-based and iron-based blood rely on completely different metabolic pathways."
"Their cell membrane protein recognition systems are different."
"Their immune systems identify foreign tissue differently."
"So..."
He spread his hands.
"The probability of natural conception is effectively zero."
Raj nodded thoughtfully.
"So they wouldn't even need birth control."
"..."
After a moment's silence, Ethan reluctantly nodded.
"Unless..."
"Unless what?" Howard asked eagerly.
Ethan cleared his throat.
"Highly advanced genetic engineering."
"Or assisted reproductive technology."
"In other words..."
He shrugged.
"They really would have to visit a clinic."
The room fell silent.
Just like that, Ethan had successfully killed the conversation.
At that moment, the apartment door swung open.
Penny walked in carrying her laptop.
"Hey, can someone help me?"
"I was writing an email, and now the A key is broken."
She held up the laptop.
"Actually... now every key just types 'A.'"
Before anyone else could react, Leonard was already on his feet.
"Of course!"
He took the laptop from her.
"Did you spill something on it?"
Penny answered as if it were no big deal.
"Diet Coke."
"Yogurt."
"And a little nail polish."
Carrying the laptop back to the couch, Leonard sighed.
"Let me take a look."
Howard was still scrolling through his phone.
"Gentlemen, breaking nerd news."
"This year's Physics Bowl just got interesting."
"Fisher, Chen, Chaudhary, and McNair have decided not to compete."
Leonard's head shot up.
"You're kidding! Why?"
Howard kept reading.
"They've formed a barbershop quartet and will be performing at Knott's Berry Farm next week."
Silence.
Penny looked around the room.
"So... in your little physics world, that officially makes you guys the cool kids."
Howard spread his arms proudly.
"You finally figured it out!"
Leonard grinned.
"Then we've got this in the bag!"
"If they're not competing, this year's Physics Bowl championship is ours!"
Sheldon calmly took another bite of pizza.
"I'm not participating."
Leonard froze.
"...What? Why?"
"You expect to exploit my extraordinary intellect in a crude competition based on buzzer speed?"
"Would you ask Picasso to play Pictionary?"
"Would you send Newton to a science trivia contest?"
"Would you make a Wikipedia editor play Who's the Impostor?"
Leonard sighed.
"Come on, Sheldon. The Physics Bowl requires a four-person team."
"There are exactly four of us."
"Or would you rather we drag Ethan into it?"
Ethan, caught in the crossfire, looked up innocently.
Sheldon turned toward him.
"Don't be ridiculous."
"He's only a medical doctor."
"He'd be even less useful in the Physics Bowl than Howard."
Howard immediately bristled.
"Hey!"
Ethan quietly returned to eating his pizza.
As long as nobody expected him to compete, they could say whatever they wanted.
Sheldon continued,
"And besides, this 'we have exactly four people' logic is the same trick Ethan used to rope us into playing Texas Hold'em."
"Following that logic, we'd also have to play bridge, learn mahjong, and form an Olympic bobsled team."
Penny raised a hand.
"Don't forget to get me a ticket."
Leonard looked at Sheldon seriously.
"Do I need to quote Spock's final words?"
Sheldon's expression instantly turned grave.
"...Don't."
Leonard recited solemnly,
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few... or the one."
Sheldon remained silent for a long moment.
Finally, he raised his hand in surrender.
"Damn it."
"I'm in."