Chapter 60: Shock
Alex was looking suspiciously at me from the passenger seat. I glanced briefly at her, then back to the road. "What is it, Alex?"
"It's strange, us going out together, especially with such a big push from my parents," she remarked.
I thought for a moment. "Yeah, sorry. I've only been giving attention to the Powerpuff Girls."
That made Alex crack a smile and stifle a laugh.
I continued, "I told your parents I wanted to talk to you, since you'd be the one most directly affected. And maybe the only one in the family who could understand even a fraction of it."
"Okay... now you're getting even weirder," she said, making a face.
"I'm a genius, Alex. On the same level as Newton or Gauss," I revealed, repeating the phrase I've been saying a few times lately.
But well, if I mentioned Landau and Thurston, even Alex might not know who they were.
She burst out laughing.
"I'm not really joking, Alex, or making a prank," I went on, unfazed, "I told your parents I wanted to have a conversation with you about it."
"And you want me to believe that ??" she looked completely incredulous
"Not believing per se," I shrugged. "I'm just making a simple statement. Just as I can say I've basically guaranteed myself a Nobel, an Abel, and a Fields Medal, aside from the smaller ones," I revealed everything.
And then we arrived at the Pritchett-Moore Complex.
-----------------------------
(Alex POV)
My cousin stopped the car in front of what looked like a small university.
Since the beginning, he had been somewhat of a mystery - a cousin I had never seen before.
I thought he was like Haley at first, but he was always nice to me, and somehow everyone in the family treats him more like an adult, despite his childish behavior sometimes (but well, my dad is way worse).
"Do you even know what Nobel means??" I said, outraged by his early statement. It was already incredible that he knew about the Abel and Fields Medals; most of our family wouldn't even have a clue.
He simply ignored me and stepped out of the car. I huffed and followed him.
"Pritchett-Moore?" I murmured, seeing the sign right at the entrance.
Pritchett? Doesn't seem like a place related to grampa
He nodded. "It's a mathematical and physical complex. Gordon is the main investor, and I'm the leader."
He walked in, not waiting for me to ask more questions.
Right at the entrance, he greeted an old man. "Mr. Anthony Leggett, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine. I must say you're quite different from what I expected," Anthony replied.
Another elder approached. "Don't let appearances fool you."
"Mr. Moore, good to see you again," Leggett greeted him.
Jake turned and introduced me, "This is my little cousin, Alex Dunphy, and these gentlemen are Anthony Leggett and Gordon Moore."
I gave a slight nod to both of them. I had the faint impression that I had read one of their names before.
Then two more people appeared, this time much younger. We were introduced as well, and one of them was also named Alex.
Leonard, the younger man, handed some papers to Anthony. "These were our latest findings on 2D, NbSe₂ (Niobium Diselenide) and TaS₂ (Tantalum Disulfide)."
"It's still unbelievable, this whole story about 2D materials," Leggett commented. "If I hadn't conducted one experiment myself, I'd still be skeptical, even with all this data," he smiled.
My namesake approached me. "Dr. Pritchett told me to explain what's going on."
"Dr. Pritchett??" I interrupted her.
She explained, "Caltech, Harvard, and Princeton have already granted him an honorary PhD."
"What???" I screamed, making everyone look at me.
Jake was smirking. He totally did it on purpose!
And they went back to reviewing reports, with Leonard and my cousin explaining a few things to the gentlemen.
I murmured to Jensen, "You're saying my cousin is really a genius? A PhD at sixteen??? How could that even be possible????" I was almost hyperventilating
"He is," Alex Jensen replied, her eyes sparkling.
I went back to that crazy conversation from earlier, "He talked about Nobels and the Fields Medal!?"
"He certainly will win!" Jensen agreed, almost fanatical. "You know those two older men over there?" she murmured. "Mr. Leggett is the current Nobel Prize winner in Physics, and Mr. Moore is a billionaire highly respected in the academic field."
I was left speechless. That's where I had heard of Anthony Leggett - he had won the Nobel Prize two months ago.
After a moment, we went into one of the rooms, which looked like a giant laboratory.
"Who are all these people?" I asked, seeing several people working.
Jensen explained, "They're Intel engineers, one of our sponsors. In the other labs we have IBM and others from DARPA," she whispered. "For that last one, you'll need to ask your cousin for permission to enter."
"DARPA? Isn't that part of government funding?? The one who created the internet?"
And even more unbelievable things happened when I found out that several Fields Medal winners were waiting for another 'chat' with my cousin.
-----------------------------
(Back to MC POV)
I handed a small cup of ice cream to Alex. "Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked.
She took it but didn't show much of a reaction.
"I know it's a lot to take in," I said, sitting beside her and speaking while eating my own ice cream. "I thought of many ways to tell you, but I couldn't find a good one."
"And you decided to dump everything at once?" she turned to me, with a dripping sarcasm.
"You wouldn't have rested until I told you everything, once you knew a part of it," I explained.
Then I spoke softly, "It's normal to feel frustrated, overwhelmed, and a bit of an inferiority complex. Even feel like your place in the family as the smart one is being threatened." And I finished, "But you'll see, I can open an entire new world to you."
We stayed quiet for a moment.
"Ahh, I asked another assistant to film all your reactions. Your parents are going to love it!" I gave a mischievous grin.
Alex looked at me astonished. "No wonder Mom wants to kill you from time to time," she said, as dry as the Sahara.
-----------------------------
If you enjoy it, please leave a Review and Power Stones
You can also support me on patreon and read up to 30 chapters ahead: https://[email protected]/Japa_Madrid