Tech Hammer

CERN.

If anyone is interested and observes this large laboratory, which is called the core of the world's particle and high-energy physics research, they will find that the physicists working here have much more solemn expressions when they walk around these days.

Everyone seems busier than usual.

The canteens in two different areas often hear various discussions and debates during meal times, and then everyone hurries back to their laboratories or offices. The machine is still on, and the traffic throughput of the entire grid system begins to increase...

The atmosphere was a little different from usual. Everyone seemed to have a sense of urgency that forced them to seize the time and move forward. Even sightseeing projects that used to directly cater to tourists have been suspended recently.

It is not that the research center is happy to do this, but many scientists are not worried about it and feel that the visitors coming in during the open day will affect their very important recent work.

Important work indeed.

After the joint paper was published on the homepage of the official website of the Science Journal in March, the mainstream physics academic community did not start a large-scale debate as Angus thought. On the contrary, while being deeply shocked, various laboratories began to After the intense verification work, there is no time for bickering...

Of course, some people started to have other thoughts.

Edwin George, the current director of CERN, probably feels this most deeply.

for example……

"Mr. George, do you have time? I hope to chat with you..."

"Of course Professor Hopkin, I am here to serve you at any time. Tea or coffee?"

"Thank you, let's have a cup of coffee."

"OK! Wait a minute." Edwin George pressed the button on the desk and ordered. The two chatted about various topics, and soon the secretary brought in a cup of American iced coffee.

When the beautiful secretary walked out of the office with brisk steps, Edwin George withdrew his gaze from the woman's back and looked gently at the professor from the Berkeley School of Physics opposite.

"Okay, Professor Hopkins, are you asking me for any suggestions here?" Edwin George asked gently.

"No, no, no, Mr. George, in fact, I have always thought that you have managed this place very well since you became the supervisor. You are a manager with very strong administrative capabilities."

Professor Hopkin smiled and shook his head slightly, and handed over a tall hat. Then he thought for a moment and then said: "Actually, I am looking for you this time because of some personal matters. The discovery of the China Basic Physics Laboratory is very disappointing. It's shocking. Ronny is one of the authors of this paper, and he is also a good friend of mine, a very good friend. I am proud and happy for him..."

"Um……"

Edwin George's expression gradually became serious. When the other party was still hesitating how to word it, he simply asked: "Of course I know this. In fact, many scholars here have good relationships with each other. Why don't we be more honest? Professor Hopkin, what exactly do you want to say?”

"Well, I heard Ronny say that you introduced him to Huaxia, and you have a very good personal relationship with Professor Ning. So I came here this time hoping that you can help me recommend..." After all, he is engaged in academics. , not very good at making requests tactfully, so he directly stated the purpose of this visit.

…

This also made Edwin George a little stunned.

In fact, ever since Lucy Roan began to bombard those schools on social media for restricting academic exchanges between professors, Edwin George became dissatisfied with a series of things that happened in Ning Wei's basic laboratory.

He was especially offended by the recruitment notices posted globally. Of course, the most important thing is the damage to economic interests.

There began to blatantly rob people, making his operation at CERN much more difficult. This also made him silent for a long time. I even stopped to contact some scientists with ideas in private. This obvious momentum means to him that the role of middlemen is really reduced and the risks are increased.

Of course, money is never too much, but in this environment, he has to be cautious and wait and see which way the wind blows.

Of course, as a smart man, Edwin George did not call Ning Wei to argue with him no matter how dissatisfied he was. He knew this very well. In fact, he has the leverage in Ning Wei's hands.

In theory, both sides give each other leverage. After all, Ning Wei asked Chi Guoguo to poach people at CERN. If it was exposed, it would be a blow to Ning Wei's reputation. But the crux of the matter is that Edwin George knows very well that if the two of them break up and something is exposed, he will be the only one unlucky.

Ning Wei is too powerful, especially when this guy is in China. Until there is no absolute certainty that people like Ning Wei can be crucified, those big shots will no longer try to specifically target this kind of scientist who will protect the country with all their strength. But he, the director of CERN, is different. He doesn't even need to confront Ning Wei. If some of his actions are really exposed, people watching his position will not make it easy for him.

So even though he was resentful of Ning Wei's lack of martial ethics, he not only had no complaints, but also maintained a relatively good relationship with Ning Wei. For example, if nothing happens, I will send an email to praise the results of the last cooperation between the two parties, express the hope that the two parties can cooperate again, and finally express the everlasting friendship between the two from a personal perspective.

This kind of email is not afraid of being monitored. It is no different from a senior account manager maintaining a big customer. After all, CERN made real money from the last cooperation. The engineers' bonuses are at least 10% more than in previous years. It can be said that everyone benefited from it.

Of course, there is always slander in private.

If you haven't seen some life, you may think it is very simple, but if you really take a look, you will find that it is difficult for everyone.

Maintaining the life of a rich man is not an easy thing. Just like buying a cruise ship at one time is not particularly difficult, but the annual maintenance cost of a cruise ship is like a joke...

Of course, it's not that he can't afford it at all now, but the future has become uncertain, and he has no choice but to reluctantly name the cruise ship under the name of a travel company, so that he can still have some money when it is idle. Maybe if you rent it out, you can at least earn back some of the maintenance costs.

Life is already so tight. If he can't find a way to open source, Edwin George feels that his life will be over...

It would be fine if you had never seen some things in your life, but now that you have seen them, it is difficult to go back to the life you once had. This feeling is probably that it is better to die than to live frugally.

He has been troubled by this these days.

The salary at CERN is no longer in his eyes. If possible, he even wants to tie up these scientists, pack them and send them to China, make enough money at once, and then everyone will forget about each other in the world. .

Unfortunately this obviously doesn't work.

After all, life is not a movie. If a certain thief can stay safe in a corner of the world, it must be because the real bosses have not set their sights on him.

If you do a big job, the opponent may be fine, but if you get angry, he will definitely die, and you don't have a choice of posture.

At this time, he saw someone coming to the door again, and he suddenly felt that there might be a turning point...

…

"Professor Hopkin...well, do you have any doubts? I have seen that the China Basic Physics Laboratory has offered many job recruitments before. I don't quite understand. If you really want to jump to China, of course, before you Why are you still asking for my opinion after you have already considered it clearly? You know, the recent loss of talent here has caused dissatisfaction among many people. From my perspective, I hope to retain everyone as much as possible."

Edwin George frowned and spoke carefully.

The professor opposite pushed up his glasses and started talking. He seemed to become more relaxed. When he spoke again, he became much more fluent: "The situation is different, Mr. George. You may be worried about Ronnie and his colleagues." The published results, or papers, don’t have many ideas, but in fact, their research is about to change the world.”

At this point, Hope King paused again, as if he was considering an analogy: "If when Professor Ning proposed the theories, we felt that these theories were a century ahead of this era, then the success they announced this time, It should be enough to make the world's academic community realize that the era of technological breakthrough has arrived. No one thought before that when we can unify the micro and macro, we will make such great discoveries."

"Before this, we all regarded the strong artificial intelligence platform as too simple. It is not only able to imitate language and emotions, but is more fundamentally different from programs such as AlphaGo. In theory, I believe that it can be used for information. There is no upper limit to the leap in processing speed. At present, I don’t know much information, so I can only be conservative about whether it is creative, but through daily communication, one thing I can be sure of is that March is the future and the foundation of China. The laboratory is the future."

"We were in constant contact with Ronnie when he first went there. He told me some about his life in China. Although there was less contact after that, there is no doubt that he had a good life in China and met many new friends. Of course, in the end The important thing is that he has achieved achievements that he could not achieve in his lifetime at CERN. This paper has established his position in the physics academic community."

"Mr. George, I think he is no worse than Ronnie, so I hope to go to a more promising platform. And I also read the China Basic Physics Laboratory global recruitment brochure you mentioned, and there are indeed projects suitable for me. But I hope to be able to take on this project, not just be an unknown person there. If I were just an ordinary researcher, I would not be able to make up my mind to give up everything now and go to the other side of the ocean."

"Ronnie is not a suitable lobbyist. According to him, he has no personal relationship with Professor Ning and rarely even sees him in the laboratory. And he is already at a very critical moment now. If It wasn't a big problem just to recommend me in the past, but if he could let me take charge of that project, he wasn't sure. But I need some certainty, and that's the purpose of my visit this time."

"Mr. George, I hope you can speak for me. According to Ronny, you have a good personal relationship with Professor Ning. Maybe your introduction can help me achieve what I want. Of course, I also know that nothing can help you. , but I will remember this friendship..."

Speaking of this, Hope King seemed a little embarrassed. To be honest, he was not very familiar with Edwin George, so it was unreasonable to come to him rashly and make a request. But what should I say? He felt that the CERN director would help him because he knew something. Even if he just wanted to silence him, he might agree?

Of course, he didn't know that the mood of the supervisor opposite him was more complicated than his, and he didn't even care about the slightest hint of threat.

So, there is no preparation at all...the transformation of the other side has just begun?

This is not only a change in the psychological history of a scientist, but also a change in status.

You must know that China's Higgs particle factory has not officially started testing, but it already has an influence beyond CERN in the field of high-energy physics. At least there are smart people who hope to jump into the opposite pit as soon as possible.

The position of a project director allows a scientist to put aside his dignity and reserve to stand opposite him and make such "unreasonable" demands. He is worthy of being a physicist...

Of course, on the surface, Edwin George still behaves extremely calmly. Years of administrative experience allow him to have a deeper understanding of the city than a relatively pure scientist.

"Well... Professor Hopkin, yes, I maintain a relatively good personal relationship with Ning, and I roughly understand what you mean. But I still want to ask, if, of course, just if, there is such an opportunity If so, are you really willing to put down everything you have now and go to China to start a new journey? Yes, Ronnie is very successful, but sometimes success may not be so easy to be copied."

"Yes, Edwin, I have already thought about it. I may not be able to replicate it if I succeed, but at least I tried."

This answer made Edwin George frown and asked: "So the current CERN makes you feel that you may never achieve the same achievements?"

"How should I put it? Sometimes it is difficult to admit that we have fallen behind, especially when we were so far ahead... We have a proverb, when you feel that a hat suits you well, then, wear it." Hopkins said with a shrug.

Edwin George was silent for a moment, then smiled and said: "Okay, Professor Hopkin, as a colleague, I can't find a reason to refuse your request. Of course, the invitation may take some time, and I can't guarantee it." I can help you get that position, but I’ll try my best. Okay?”

"Thank you, Mr. George, of course I understand. If you can't help me, maybe this is the wrong choice? Then I won't bother you."

"Well, you go ahead!"

Watching Hopkins leave, Edwin George thought for a moment, then picked up the phone: "HI, Mr. Houdini, yes, I think you have heard some news, and I think it is necessary to report to him now. You give a report... Yes, about China's latest achievements... Okay..."

After hanging up the phone, the CERN director shook his head, and then began to think about how he should change his mind...