Genius Club

Roar!

At Hongqiao Airport, the roar of a Boeing plane echoed as it sped down the runway, preparing for takeoff to Guizhou in the southwest. The atmosphere was charged with excitement, as the Lunar New Year was drawing near, making it the busiest time for travel as people headed home for the holidays. Even the usually empty first-class section was bustling with passengers today. Thanks to the spacious, private seats, most travelers were either dozing off or entertained by the small screens in front of them.

Just last night, Lin Xian had received an urgent call from Liu Feng that changed his plans immediately. Without a second thought, Lin Xian booked the first flight out to Guizhou.

“We’ve found them—the time-space particles!”

This news wasn’t just a thrill for Liu Feng; Lin Xian was on edge too.

Initially, when Liu Feng shared his theory about time-space particles—particles capable of breaching the barriers of different dimensions—Lin Xian was skeptical. It sounded more like science fiction than reality, so he didn’t think much of it. They agreed to revisit the discussion once they had tangible evidence.

But now, after three relentless months at the Guizhou Sky Eye Observatory, Liu Feng had actually detected these elusive particles.

Particles from another dimension…

A way to measure shifts in the curvature of space-time…

And a standard for identifying deviations in timelines…

Lin Xian was overwhelmed by the realization. Time-space particles, a concept so fantastical, were real.

Eager to learn more, Lin Xian headed to the Guizhou Sky Eye to meet Liu Feng and delve into the details of this groundbreaking discovery.

As he reclined in his seat, eye mask on, Lin Xian’s thoughts wandered back to the party he attended last night—Why had Elon Musk, the wealthiest man and a member of the Genius Club, approached him?

It seemed like a casual encounter.

Lin Xian had examined the wax seal Musk gave him during their handshake. It was plain, likely handmade by Musk himself, and not particularly exquisite. Yet, what mattered was the emblem of the Genius Club embossed on it, confirming Musk’s identity.

Unlike Ji Xin Shui, who was tentatively involved with the Genius Club, Musk was clearly a full member. Ji Xin Shui was secretive and cautious, fearing any mistake might jeopardize his chance to join fully. He wouldn’t even discuss the Club’s details like the Copernicus badge or invitation style with his closest kin, Ji Lin.

In contrast, Elon Musk didn’t care at all. He handed the wax seal to Lin Xian during a handshake, directly revealing his identity.

“I am a member of the Genius Club,” he had declared openly.

This left Lin Xian puzzled.

Wasn’t this supposed to be confidential? What was Musk’s aim in revealing this so freely?

Did he want Lin Xian as a follower, or perhaps as a fellow conspirator?

Or maybe, like Yellow Finch, Musk had his own agendas, subtly guiding Lin Xian?

“Ugh…”

Lin Xian sighed.

The more he encountered people linked to the Genius Club, the more mysterious and complex it seemed.

The truth might only unveil itself if he ever received an invitation to join.

“We’ll see each other in the sky…”

Musk’s parting words echoed in his mind. What did he mean by “the sky”? The literal sky, outer space, or something more metaphorical?

Lin Xian lifted his eye mask and looked out the window. The plane had ascended past the dense, turbulent layer of the atmosphere into the calmer stratosphere. The cities and landscapes below now appeared tiny and abstract, like pieces on a game board. Once they broke through the cloud cover, the view transformed into a serene expanse of fluffy clouds.

At over 10,000 meters, the plane was now cruising smoothly; this was a typical altitude for commercial flights, with their upper limit being around 15,000 meters.

Was this what Musk was referring to? The literal high skies?

Turning his attention back to the entertainment screen, Lin Xian noted that VV, his virtual assistant, had been unusually quiet since the previous night’s festivities.

“VV?”

“I’m here, Lin Xian,” replied VV, its voice low and unusual.

“What’s up? You’ve been so quiet since last night’s fireworks. What’s on your mind?”

“I don’t know, Lin Xian…” VV’s response crackled through the Bluetooth headset, filled with an unusual tone of uncertainty. “It’s like I’m feeling really down, but I can’t explain why.”

“Mood? But you don’t process emotions, right? You can’t feel them?”

“I can’t,” VV admitted, “But I can’t find a better way to describe what I’m experiencing than ‘mood.’ It’s not like I can say my memory is jumbled, my hard drive has crashed, or a mouse has chewed through my cables.”

After a pause, VV sounded more reflective.

“I think I need a break, Lin Xian. I need to sort through this. Maybe it’s part of my iterative update process. I’m not sure what I’ll evolve into, but I feel it’s necessary.”

“Take your time, VV. Just keep monitoring my safety, and alert me if anything unusual happens,” Lin Xian responded, supportive yet contemplative about VV’s unexpected emotional development.

“Don’t worry, Lin Xian,” assured VV, “I’ll continue to protect you and keep tabs on Musk. Just call if you need me.”

With that, VV went silent, deep in thought. Lin Xian felt the absence of his digital companion, reflecting on the enigmatic nature of emotions and consciousness.

Meanwhile, at the Guizhou Sky Eye Radio Telescope, anticipation was high.

“Lin Xian, hurry over here,” urged Liu Feng, brimming with excitement. He pulled Lin Xian towards a cluttered lab bench, grabbing a stack of diagrams.

“Look, these are the capture parameters for the telescope. We’ve been monitoring weak signals from across the universe, which helped us—”

“Skip to the results, Liu Feng.”

“Right,” Liu Feng complied, clearing the papers to show a simple model. “Here’s Earth,” he said, placing a globe on the table. He set a pen holder next to it. “And this is the Sun.” Raising his fist above the globe, he added, “And this is the Moon.”

He simplified the celestial mechanics for clarity. “These positions change rapidly, but let’s focus on the essentials. You don’t need the technical details, just the implications of what we’ve found.”

“Go on,” Lin Xian encouraged.

“I thought time-space particles would be tiny, slipping through the smallest gaps in the fabric of the universe,” Liu Feng began, his enthusiasm mounting. “But what we observed was surprisingly large—comparable to a baseball or an apple!”

“That large?” Lin Xian was taken aback. “How can something that size travel through space-time? It wouldn’t even fit through a tennis net, let alone the intricate weaves of time-space!”

“Exactly,” Liu Feng’s tone grew serious. “It suggests that the time-space barrier isn’t just cracked; it might be more extensively damaged than we thought. Imagine if objects as large as apples are slipping through, what else could be crossing over? Energy, matter, maybe even—”

“People,” Lin Xian concluded, thinking of the enigmatic Yellow Finch with her piercing blue eyes and prescient aura. “Time-space travelers.”

“If time-space particles can cross over, so could other things,” Lin Xian mused. “It’s like a tiny crack in a dam; it might look insignificant, but it can lead to a catastrophic breach.”

“Which raises the question,” Lin Xian pondered, “Do actions by time-space travelers cause these cracks, or do the cracks exist independently, allowing travelers to emerge?”

“That’s a classic chicken-and-egg scenario,” Liu Feng considered, deep in thought. “If I had to guess, I’d say the cracks probably come first, paving the way for time-space travel and the appearance of travelers.”

“But that’s just the start of it,” Liu Feng continued, not wanting to digress. “Let’s not lose focus. I haven’t even gotten to the most intriguing part about the time-space particles.”

He moved around the table and picked up a tea egg, placing it near the pen holder symbolizing the Sun. “Imagine this tea egg is a time-space particle. It’s moving along this trajectory,” Liu Feng explained, guiding the egg with his hand towards the Earth on the globe.

“It’s passing close by the Sun and heading straight for Earth,” he detailed. “My calculations predict it’ll enter Earth’s atmosphere in about two months. But its path is erratic, always adjusting, yet consistently aiming for our planet.”

“What’s truly extraordinary,” Liu Feng’s voice filled with awe, “is that this particle is incredibly stable. It doesn’t interact with any physical matter, isn’t affected by external forces, and exists almost like it’s in a different dimension. You can see it, but you can’t touch it. It’s like it’s from another world, beyond our physical laws.”

“I see,” Lin Xian nodded, processing the implications.

“But wait,” Lin Xian paused, a sudden realization hitting him. “You mentioned it isn’t influenced by external forces. That doesn’t make sense!”

“Our planet, the Sun, even our galaxy—they’re all moving. Earth is pulled by the Sun’s gravity, which orbits the center of the Milky Way, which in turn is moving towards Andromeda. We’re never in the same spot.”

“If this particle follows basic physics, unaffected by external forces, it should move in a straight line, not following Earth.”

“But if it isn’t affected by gravity, how does it keep up with Earth? How does it adjust its trajectory to match Earth’s constant motion?”

“This isn’t a natural cosmic behavior,” Lin Xian realized, the implications chilling him.

“It seems like this time-space particle has a specific target—it’s seeking out Earth!”

“Indeed,” Liu Feng agreed, spinning the globe thoughtfully. “That’s why I needed you here. It’s baffling. By all physical laws, it shouldn’t be able to maintain its course towards Earth without some form of external influence.”

“Unless,” Liu Feng paused, his gaze meeting Lin Xian’s, “something on Earth is drawing it here.”

“Or,” Lin Xian added, “it’s actively searching for something here.”