Reversal

Chapter 54 Mathematics

Pulling his mother's hand, Christian speaks "Mom, come with me to that store, I want to watch something"

With hesitation, Eva followed her son, arriving in front of a TV store, where different news channels or documentaries were displayed on the counter.

"Today January 26th in Haiti, a strong earthquake hit your country, leaving a figure of approximately 280,000 dead and at least 400,000 thousand injured, the tragedy raised alarms around the world, where numerous countries have pledged support and humanitarian aid"

Opening his eyes wide, Christian felt his hands trembling 'This... also happened in my world, also in January, but a few days ago... the dead were less than in my world, but the disaster is the same'

"In other news, the mathematical community is still looking for people who can solve the 7 mathematical problems of the millennium, where each resolution is rewarded by 1 million dollars."

Momentarily forgetting the earthquake issue, Christian shifted his gaze to the TV in the corner, where they were showing the 7-millennium problems, causing Christian to widen his eyes even more 'How could I forget this shit!'

'In my time 3 exercises had already been solved, each one was so important that it was published everywhere... although I know the answers, I have to explain the theory of them... I didn't read the theories, but a summary, I trust I could write the theories without problems, I would only have to use the computer to gather more information about mathematics and its terms... I also have to publish them in a scientific journal that is world-renowned and then be accepted by the mathematical community... after that, it would have to be reviewed by 2 independent committees of the community... it is a lot of work, at least two years to be accepted.... will it be worth it? It's 3 million dollars'

After some thought, Christian turns to his mother and points to the screen "Did you hear that mom?"

"Yeah... how hard do those shits have to be for them to award millions of dollars..."

"I know the answer to 3 of those 7 problems, Mom."

Eyes widening, Eva looked at her son with a complicated expression for a few seconds, then sighed and smiled bitterly "Of course, you would know... my boy is a genius after all"

"Do you think I should publish them?"

"...do you want to?"

"I don't know... I guess I'll think about it in the future" Shrugging, Christian compared the good and the bad, ending with the decision that, for now, he didn't want to get into such complicated shit 'but still when I get home I'll get around to drafting the 3 answers, it wouldn't hurt...'

...

Saturday, February 27, 2010.

"NOOOO!!!"

On the couch in front of the TV, a blonde girl was firming her hair in frustration, staring vacantly at the bloody screen in front of her.

"I told you, sis, you can't take me~" Smiling mischievously, Christian leaned back in his seat.

Things had started going well, money started flowing in, receiving 8700 dollars 4 days ago from the publisher, while Evelyn already informed him that they were printing the Game of Thrones saga, The lady of the rings, and Lovecraft.

Harriet Potter is gaining more and more popularity every day, being constantly mentioned in various literary forums, while the publisher, little by little, is recovering from its bad years.

Since he met Sarah, Christian has kept in touch with her almost every week, constantly seeing her at the publishing house to the frustration of Eva, who can't even bear to hear the woman's name anymore.

Speaking of Sarah, 7 days ago she released her new book, naming on the first page that the story was based on the future book by her 'friend' C. L. Grey, causing many of her writers to become interested in it, while dozens of letters arrived to the publisher asking for the publication of the book that inspired this famous author.

Watching the children at play, Eva just shook her head with a smile and walked to the second floor with broom in hand, ready to clean her children's rooms.

Looking at the 3 doors, Eva goes straight to Christian's room, being hit with a unique and refreshing fragrance the moment she enters, causing a strange smile to show on her face "I still don't understand how my boy has a jasmine scent, he never wears perfume, let alone has flowers..."

Shaking her head, Eva observes the room, finding it as always, clean.

"The bed laid out, floor without trash, books, and clothes tidy" Nodding, Eva looks at the bed and with a jump, lie down on it "As usual I don't have to do anything here."

Looking calmly at the ceiling, Eva turns slightly and picks up a pillow holding it directly to her nose "*Sniff*

"*Sigh* What a soothing smell" With a smile, Eva speaks, then turns her gaze to the boy's small desk and notices some new notebooks with dozens of sheets of paper taped to the wall in front of the desk.

Curious, Eva stands up and walks over to the desk, then looks at the sheets and finds hundreds of mathematical calculations on them.

Frowning slightly, Eva picks up one of the notebooks, reading directly the title "Millennium Problems: The Poincaré Conjecture, redacted and finished"

Quickly flipping through the pages, Eva comes across many more mathematical equations and many words she doesn't even fully understand, but knowing what it's about from the title, Eva's face became complicated.

"I just want my child to have a normal life... but he wants that?" looking at the pages and the hanging sheets, Eva reaches into her pocket and pulls out the business card Jordan gave her, still not knowing if it's the right thing to do or not.

But after a few seconds, Eva sighs with resignation "My child was not born to normalcy..."

With that decision, Eva picks up her cell phone and dials Jordan's number.

"Hello, this is Jordan Smith."

"Jordan, this is Eva, Christian's mother"

"..."

"Hello?"

"Yes, sorry... I remember them, I didn't think they would call"

"Something happened that made me realize that I can't limit my child"

"May I know what happened?"

"Have you heard about the millennium math problems?"

"Sure we have, we have members who work every day to solve them"

"Christian solved 3... all by himself"

"..."

"..."

"You're kidding right?"

"No, it's not... I just watch the problems on a TV and he told me 'I know the answer to 3 problems' now I check his room and I find notebooks arrived of formulas where he describes the answer"

"..."

"Hello?"

"*Sigh* Miss Eva, I'll be honest, I recommend you not to enroll Christian in Mensa"

Frowning, Eva asks "Why? Aren't they dedicated to helping children like my son?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid not for your son's level, not to mention that he won't be able to take all the courses until he turns 14"

"..."

"I keep in mind that Mensa is a society of 'geniuses', the ideal is that geniuses live together so they can avoid loneliness... but the problem I want to avoid is that Christian will be influenced by these people... I don't want to speak badly about the people I work with, but there are many stupid people who think they are superior, even many extremists of different things... that he won't be a good influence on someone like Christian"

"..."

"That is my recommendation and my point of view Miss Eva... your son's intelligence is something I never saw or heard of, I would hate to see it lost or misguided, it would be a loss for all mankind... but if you still want to enroll him, I will do it right now... do you still want to continue?"

"No... thank you very much for your sincerity"

"*Sigh* Don't worry... I saw that Christian is not a bad kid, despite his intelligence he can still communicate well, but let me recommend you something... it is known worldwide that the more intelligent a person is, the more lonely he feels... many geniuses around the world can't stand loneliness and end up very bad... please, make sure your son doesn't have to go through things like that"

"Thank you for the concern, I would never leave my child alone" Smiling faintly, Eva asks with concern "But now... what do I do? Christian has the answers to these millennial questions or something..."

"..." Thinking for a few seconds, Jordan speaks "You should go to the University of Michigan and explain your son's subject since to see if Christian's answer is correct you must publish it in a world-renowned scientific journal, something difficult for a child without a degree accrediting mathematical studies, and that's exactly what universities are for..."

"..."

"You know what? Leave it, I will help you in this case, because, if Christian's answers are correct, they will be a great advance for the whole scientific world, I myself will contact you with a mathematician, just give me 10 minutes"

"Well..."

Looking at the cell phone, Eva replied groggily "*sigh* Why does everything have to be so hard?"

Laying back down on the bed, Eva takes the pillow and inhales its scent, relaxing quickly "I should take one for my room, it would help me sleep..."

But when that idea crossed her mind, a strange smile spread on her face "I'm stupid, why take the pillow if I have the source of the smell"

But just as she was acting like a child, her cell phone rang, causing her expression to quickly change to a serious one, as she picked up the cell phone "Hello?"

"Is this Eva Grey?"

"Yes?"

"This is Professor Andrew Tyson, a research mathematician at Harvard University."

Eyes widening, Eva sits up in bed quickly and speaks with a more formal "Good morning"

"Good morning Eva, I heard from a friend and he told me something quite interesting, so I didn't wait and called directly"

"I'm listening"

"Jordan told me that apparently, your son solved 3-millennium problems? And not only that, but the kid is a 450 IQ genius according to the Mensa kids scale?"

"Mensa Kids Scale?"

"It's a scale that looks at different domains, but if I get 450 there, that's the maximum, it's the same as 300 on almost all the logic scales"

"Oh... yes, he said he got 450"

"Could you tell me about your son?

"About what exactly?"

"About what he's like"

"He... he used to be quite quiet and introverted, but lately he's kind of strange, sometimes he acts introverted, not talking to anyone or interacting with anyone, but from one moment to the next he acts active, playing, laughing, chatting... I couldn't tell you what he's like, because I can't figure him out"

"I see...do you know when Christian started getting into math?"

"Honestly, I never knew he knew so much in math... as I told Jordan, a few days ago he saw on TV where they were talking about the 7 math questions, he only saw it for a few seconds and turned to me saying he knew the answers to 3.... now that I check his room I find that it is full of formulas and he has already written whole books talking about theories or something similar"

"So no one ever taught him?"

"Other than the school he goes to, no one taught him anything that advanced"

"So he taught himself..."

"Yes, I think so"

"..."

"..."

"Mrs. Eva, I'd like to visit Christian, would you mind?"

"Y-you want to visit my son?"

"Yes, I'd like to check out your son's work, by the way, meet a promising genius, do you mind if I stop by your house?"

"C-of course not"

"Could you give me your address? I'll take a flight right now"

"Pilgrim St & Patton St, Detroit, Michigan, 48223"

"Thank you very much, tomorrow I would be stopping by your home at approximately 10 am, is that possible?"

"Yes, prepare Christian for that time..."

"Thank you for the opportunity, Mrs. Eva, see you tomorrow, see you later."

"..." Staring at the cell phone in a daze, Eva processes everything she just heard, only to open her eyes wide and exclaim "Oh shit!"

"A fucking Harvard professor is coming to see my son!" shouted Eva in a daze, then pacing restlessly around the room "Shit, shit, shit!"