Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 447 The Professor's Magic

As soon as Nixon finished speaking, the signal spread around the world.

A deathly silence fell over an office in Taipei.

Shen Changhuan's face turned deathly pale. He thought to himself, "He... he failed to persuade them, and instead became a special envoy?"

In the conference room, the coffee table was pressed against the cane, porcelain cups were shattered on the floor, and tea splashed everywhere, breaking the silence.

"Damn it! Nixon, that traitor!" A roar followed: "Betrayed us? Used us for their peace? Lin Ran, that Chinese lackey, we gave him Yan Zhenqing's authentic calligraphy, and he became their lapdog! Do the Americans think we're pawns? Let them know we will not yield!"

The staff fell silent, one whispering, "Calm down."

"Calm down? A twenty-year ally, just thrown away like that? From now on, increase vigilance! Contact the hawks in Congress, we'll make Nixon pay!"

"Also, do we have any way to assassinate Lin Ran? What professor? He is the biggest obstacle between us and Washington. I think he is a complete FD member!"

Help me devise a plan, a plan that will strike decisively and fatally!

His staff exchanged uneasy glances, sensing that he had gone mad.

Outside the room, the guards, hearing the roar, also felt uneasy.

No one knew that this would be the beginning of their isolation, the start of the term "orphans of Asia."

Frances, a historically little-known town.

It may not be considered a small city if it's ranked fifth in France, but on a global scale, it is undoubtedly a small city.

Its only advantage is its location on the Mediterranean coast, with beautiful scenery.

The sea breeze, carrying the salty scent of the Mediterranean, blows past the palm trees on both sides of the beach.

When Lin Ran arrived at Nice Airport after transiting through Paris, it was already the next day.

The transit in Paris was far more complicated than expected.

Lin Ran's private plane took off from Washington, D.C., and was originally scheduled to make a brief one-hour stopover at Charles de Gaulle Airport before transferring to a domestic flight in Nice.

However, as soon as he got off the plane, he realized something was wrong.

Outside the airport VIP lounge, a group of French diplomats and security personnel were waiting, led by a secretary from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Professor, welcome to Paris."

The President wishes to meet with you.

Lin Ran asked doubtfully, "I'm just a connecting point."

The secretary shrugged: "The French political circles have long admired your mathematical achievements."

President Pompidou personally extended the invitation; it won't take long.

You've been to 10 Downing Street, to West Berlin, to Göttingen, to the Göttingen miracle, and to West Berlin, but you've never been to Paris.

The political circles in Paris had been waiting for this for a long time.

The first stop was the Élysée Palace, the official residence of then-President Georges Pompidou.

Lin Ran was picked up by a Citroën and, despite the temporary traffic control, traversed the peak traffic flow along the Seine without hindrance.

Upon arrival, the palace gardens were dappled with sunlight.

Pompidou personally greeted him in his study.

He shook hands firmly: "Professor, mathematics is too complicated for me to understand, but I deeply agree with your theoretical explanation of systemic oppression."

"If it weren't for America's prohibition against high-ranking officials accepting medals from overseas, I would have been eager to present you with the Legion of Honour from France right here."

The pleasantries quickly came to an end, and Pompidou mentioned the legacy of the French mathematician Poincaré. Lin Ran responded politely, thinking to himself that he hadn't yet produced the proof of the Poincaré conjecture.

But soon the topic shifted to diplomacy: "America and China, this is a very difficult equation to solve, requiring a balanced solution."

If it were President Nixon, I don't think he could have solved this equation smoothly.

But with you, it's different. As a globally renowned figure of Chinese descent, you can play a crucial role.

Lin Ran nodded, but he knew perfectly well that Pompidou was testing the waters of the negotiations, and as a neutral party in Europe, France naturally hoped to benefit from it.

A market of 10 billion people is coveted not only by America, but also by France.

In the past, France and China had trade relations, but they were restricted by certain terms, which prevented them from selling or buying this or that.

Take computers as an example. France wanted to buy Crimson Computers, and America put a lot of pressure on them.

As a result, America bought them herself.

The meeting, which was supposed to last half an hour, dragged on for an hour, with Pompidou insisting on sharing a glass of champagne.

Pompidou wanted to discuss the multipolar balance during the Cold War with this White House stalwart, America, who is not only in power now but also seems likely to remain so for many years to come.

After leaving the Élysée Palace, Lin Ran intended to head to the airport, but instead received another invitation: former interim president Alain Boët wanted to have afternoon tea with him.

Boët, the transitional leader after de Gaulle's resignation in 1969 and the current Speaker of the Senate, waits in a classic tea room on the outskirts of Paris.

The car sped away, and Lin Ran looked at the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower outside the window and sighed, "This transfer is going to turn into a trip to Paris."

In the tea room, Boé had already prepared macarons and Earl Grey tea.

"Professor, I heard you're going to the Nice Congress. The French mathematical community is proud of you."

After the pleasantries, similar topics began again: "I'd like to know if America's Asia policy is about to shift, if Roosevelt's design is about to be reinstated, and what your views are on China?"

Afternoon tea, which was supposed to be a relaxed chat, turned into Boehme's "private consultation".

Here, Roosevelt's design refers to his vision for the United Nations.

Roosevelt's original design for the United Nations was that each permanent member state would manage matters within its own sphere of influence.

Unlike America later on, he wanted to manage everything.

This is somewhat similar to the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty, which is why Roosevelt insisted on bringing China to the Cairo Conference.

They stand up for China and hand over Asian affairs to China.

America only intervenes in the most critical issues, such as nuclear disarmament.

In fact, this was a very clever system, but unfortunately Roosevelt died too early and Churchill implanted the Cold War concept in him, leading the world to take different paths.

Boe's subtext was whether America was going to abandon Asia.

Restoring Roosevelt's vision would undoubtedly be a good thing for France.

If it were Lin Ran, who had just arrived in 1960, he certainly wouldn't understand what Bo Ai was saying.

But now, Lin Ran, a seasoned politician, immediately knew what the other person was talking about: "Sorry, I'm not aware of President Nixon's thoughts." Boehner shared his concerns about the Vietnam War, similarly implying that France could serve as a bridge between China and America.

Lin Ran politely avoided the topic, but Boe's enthusiasm made the time slip away. From three to five in the afternoon, the conversation went from Liman's conjecture to the differences between China and Soviet Russia, which took up a full two hours.

The most unexpected invitation was the last one: former President Charles de Gaulle wanted to invite him to the presidential residence.

Although de Gaulle has retired, his influence casts a long shadow over French politics.

He lived in a private residence on the outskirts of Paris, a classic stone building.

Lin Ran's car arrived in the sunset, and de Gaulle personally greeted him at the door. His tall figure was wrapped in a gray overcoat, and his voice was loud and clear: "Professor, come, come! I want to witness with my own eyes how mathematicians solve the mysteries of the world!"

De Gaulle was one of the first Western politicians to establish formal diplomatic relations with China, and 1964 was not an easy time to make such a decision.

Whether it's respect for Chinese history and culture, opposition to America's domineering style, or the pursuit of a multipolar world order in the Cold War, all of these are enough to make Lin Ran respect this elderly man who has entered the final stage of his life.

At 80 years old, like a candle flickering in the wind, perhaps Aldrin would say something like, "At my age, I could still go to the moon!"

In the living room of the official residence, de Gaulle offered a cigar and spoke of his memories of World War II: "I have seen China, that was the era of CHANG."

But now, Yanjing is the reality.

We in France acknowledge it; when will you, America, catch up?

Lin Ran intended to give a brief response, but was captivated by de Gaulle's eloquent speech: from the events of World War II to the strategies of the Cold War, the old man shared his vision and ideas for a "multipolar world".

The meeting, which was supposed to last fifteen minutes, was extended to dinner. De Gaulle insisted that he stay for dinner to discuss technological development, including Lin Ran's points about the technological singularity and diplomatic uncertainties.

Looking at the darkening sky outside the window, Lin Ran felt helpless: it seems we won't be able to reach Nice today.

The meeting of these important figures in Paris, like a series of unexpected variables, delayed Lin Ran for an entire day.

In his guest room at the Villa de Gaulle, Lin Ran thought to himself: The mathematics conference is indeed a pretext, but aren't the French politicians being a little too sensitive about the China-America transition?

It's not that they're being overly sensitive; it's because of the professor himself. If Kissinger were in charge, these French politicians would never have been so enthusiastic.

In addition to politicians, there were also some French business figures, including Jean-Jacques Jolin.

Lin Ran politely declined all of these offers, even though he wanted to experience the enthusiasm of French beauties.

The following morning, he finally boarded a plane bound for Nice.

Lin Ran checked into a seaside hotel in Nice, where the view from the room window was of the azure coastline.

他调整时差，翻开大会日程：从8月19日开幕，到8月30日闭幕，汇聚了来自50多个国家的2000多名数学家。

Pontryagin of Soviet Russia, Kunihiko Kodaira of Japan, Atiyah of England, Grothendieck of France, and so on.

This also includes America and Chinese mathematicians.

Even among the stars, Lin Ran sat at the very front, between Jean Lere and Grothendieck.

Jean Lere is a French mathematician who is the organizer of this conference and will be elected as the conference chairman at the beginning of the conference.

Lin Ran is the honorary chairman.

After Lin Ran took his seat, Jean Lere said with emotion, "Professor, we are all stars, and you are the sun. After you came to France, I saw that all the newspapers in Paris, big and small, were reporting on you."

"You're meeting with this person again and that person again. Those politicians who have the privilege of meeting you speak highly of the wisdom they've gained from you, while those who haven't had the chance to meet you also mention you."

Afterwards, every French political figure who had met Lin Ran would go on to tell the French media that they had discussed many meaningful topics with the professor, that they had a lot in common, and so on.

Lin Ran explained, "Wasn't I rated as the most intelligent person in the world?"

Of course, I don't think so myself.

These political figures I met may not necessarily think so.

But they felt the public would perceive it that way, so by meeting with the world's wisest men, they hoped to acquire an image of wisdom in the eyes of voters.

Before Jean Lere could answer, Grothendieck was already clapping: "Brilliant, Professor, you truly deserve to be considered the most intelligent man, and I agree."

The three chatted happily.

The mathematicians sitting in the back were very curious, especially those who could see the backs of the three men's heads. Everyone was eager to know what they were talking about.

Then Pierre went over first, and the circle around the three of them grew larger and larger.

Because of Lin Ran's arrival, Nice will serve as the venue for negotiations between China and America. This time, security in Nice is unprecedentedly tight, to the point that it doesn't seem like the level of security in France.

The FBI and NASA's offices responsible for forest fire safety arrived in Nice a week early to oversee security efforts.

This was to avoid the possibility that, at such a large gathering of hundreds or thousands of people, someone might suddenly appear from behind and shoot Lin Ran with a pistol—it would be impossible to defend against such an attack.

During the negotiations between China and America, there might be some fanatical individuals who want to stop it all from happening.

Jean-Pierre joked, "Professor, I've always felt that you don't take the International Congress of Mathematicians very seriously. Whether in New York or Göttingen, you've produced some heavyweight results."

Although the results were presented at the International Congress of Mathematicians, the paper would definitely be considered the pinnacle of a mathematician's career.

But for you, it's nothing more than a mediocre, perfunctory work.

Lin Ran pointed to his brain: "Mathematics, like creation, requires inspiration. I had prepared a paper, but I felt it was too ordinary, so I declined to give a presentation at the main venue."

Yesterday, when I was talking to President Pompidou, he mentioned Poincaré, which reminded me of the Poincaré conjecture. I thought about it all night and had a bit of inspiration.

I think I might find a solution at the International Congress of Mathematicians four years from now.

There was an uproar.

That's incredibly arrogant.

What does it mean to have an inspiration overnight? The Poincaré Conjecture is no ordinary conjecture; it is a problem of the century, no less significant than Goldbach's Conjecture.

The mathematicians in the back rows all pushed forward, wanting to know what had happened.

The news spread like wildfire, and in no time, all the mathematicians present knew what had happened.

At first, everyone was shocked, but then they realized that it was Lin Ran who said it, and they felt it was quite normal. Compared to the Göttingen miracle, solving the Poincaré conjecture in four years seemed rather low-key.

Many mathematicians working in related fields are already looking forward to it.

We look forward to seeing what new inspiration and breakthroughs Lin Ran's proof of the Poincaré conjecture might bring to their research.

The International Congress of Mathematicians held in France in 1970 did not begin in a peaceful atmosphere, but rather in a chaotic and noisy environment resembling a vegetable market.

Jean Lere, who was in charge of the organization, even had to maintain order in the venue and get everyone back to their seats.

That's the professor's magic, from America to France, from Paris to Nice.

(End of this chapter)