Low Profile
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of Portland.
Fortunately, by the time the earthquake and tsunami reached the Portland coast, the energy had greatly diminished, and the large waves turned into a small tide with a height of less than 2 meters, causing no destructive damage.
The Pacific Rim countries, including China, the United States, Russia, Japan, and Australia, remain on high alert, as earthquakes and tsunamis occurring in these regions account for 80% of the world's total annual earthquakes and tsunamis.
Of these, 60% of the earthquakes and tsunamis struck Japan, making it one of the countries most severely affected by earthquakes and tsunamis.
The earthquake that struck the western coast of Portland today could generate a destructive tsunami that could strike coastal nations in the Eastern Hemisphere months from now, taking into account aftershocks.
Tsunamis are difficult to prevent. The tsunami triggered by the massive earthquake in Chile in 1960 reached Hawaii and Japan on the other side of the world several months later, causing severe damage.
Shen Qi claimed that he truly did not anticipate the earthquake occurring in the waters near Portland, and that the blame should not be placed on him.
"That's right, it's a natural phenomenon and has nothing to do with any human being," said Rodney, the chairman of IRIS. He gave Shen Qi a meaningful look and said, "Professor Shen, I'd like to speak with you privately."
"Yes, Mr. Chairman." Shen Qi left with Rodney, but he also had something he wanted to say to the Chairman.
In the chairman's office, Rodney first told a story:
"During World War II, the Japanese Army hired a scientist named Arakawa Hidetoshi. This Arakawa Hidetoshi was very capable; he could even predict and alter air currents."
"At Arakawa Hidetoshi's suggestion, the Japanese Army manufactured a large number of hot air balloons and placed nearly 10,000 bombs inside them."
"In the spring and summer of 1944, Japanese Army hot air balloon bombs crossed the ocean, followed a stable and unpredictable high-altitude westerly wind belt to the western United States, and then automatically landed to bomb the American mainland."
"Americans were stunned by the hot air balloons that fell from the sky; shops in San Francisco closed, factories shut down, and wildfires raged in the Rocky Mountains and Nevada Mountains for months."
"The problem is, even in the 21st century, the Americans have never found a stable and precise air path that allows hot air balloons to travel smoothly with the air currents to the Eastern Hemisphere," the chairman said, finishing his story.
The scientist hired by the Japanese Army was too extraordinary; he was practically a WWII version of Kong Ming borrowing the east wind. Shen Qi asked, "You mean that the Japanese Army began using the power of nature to attack the enemy during WWII and succeeded?"
"We all know the theory that when a butterfly flaps its wings, a tornado strikes a continent thousands of kilometers away." Rodney stood in front of a wall with a huge world map hanging on it. He pointed to Brazil with his finger and then headed north, eventually reaching the central United States.
Shen Qi said, "Even if human scientists fully understand the Butterfly effect and build accurate models, the purpose should not be for war, but for improving the Earth's ecological environment and saving human lives."
Rodney gave a strange smile. "You predicted four earthquake points, two of which were confirmed by actual earthquakes. And just yesterday, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the west coast of Portland."
Shen Qi shook his head. "This has nothing to do with me, really nothing. Earthquakes are affected by many factors. You can't link all earthquakes in the world to me just because I predicted two earthquakes."
"I said it was a natural phenomenon." Rodney shrugged, then said seriously, "Professor Shen, there aren't many people who can truly understand your new earthquake model. I believe I'm one of them. You didn't simply build the earthquake model from a seismological perspective; you used a large number of complex and profound mathematical tools: chaos, turbulence, and variant partial differential equations of the Navier-Stokes equations. Professor Shen, you are that butterfly, or rather, you possess this kind of ambition."
"Hehe." Shen Qi chuckled calmly, then asked, "So?"
"So we can collaborate. You said your new earthquake model is still a work in progress, and it certainly seems so. Join us, Professor Shen. We will provide you with an unimaginable amount of resources to help you complete the rest of the work," Rodney said expectantly, shaking hands with her.
Some gifts are acceptable, but others should never be touched.
"If I join you, I might never be able to leave the United States in my lifetime..." Shen Qi refused on the spot, saying, "I'm sorry, Chairman Rodney, I should take my leave. There's still a lot of work waiting for me in the Princeton Mathematics Department."
"Alright, think it over again. We welcome you to join us anytime." Rodney wasn't annoyed. If he could easily persuade Shen Qi, he wouldn't be worthy of Shen Qi's status.
Shen Qi returned to Princeton and lived a low-key life.
The Research on a New Earthquake Model has been temporarily suspended. Firstly, given the current high level of public scrutiny, Shen Qi must be cautious, stay out of the public eye, and refrain from making public statements.
Secondly Shen Qi encountered a bottleneck, and it was difficult to achieve results even if he continued his theoretical research.
Shen Qi never forgot two key indicators: time and intensity.
We now need to add another indicator: a quantitative description of predictable chain reactions.
"Math Level 14 and level 12 in physics are a bit low; they're insufficient to unravel the true mysteries of nature."
Shen Qi is unwilling to engage deeply with foreign governments, military forces, or scientists with political leanings, but that doesn't mean he's afraid of them.
If I could truly become that butterfly, try and touch me!
However, at this stage, the butterfly is still in the form of a caterpillar, quietly wrapped in a cocoon.
The day it emerges from its cocoon will surely be a new world.
Shen Qi's math and physics levels are locked at 14 and 12 respectively. To level up further, he needs enough academic points and to complete relevant tasks.
Unimak Island and Nikolskoye Island remain peaceful, and Harry Manson and others remain in Princeton to protect Shen Qi.
Shen Qi summoned Yu Lei and Ralph to his office and said, "You two have successfully completed your postgraduate studies and are ready to enter the doctoral program."
The research paper by Yu Lei and Victoria University was published in the Annals of Mathematics, one of the Top Four Journals, as early as six months ago.
Ralph's collaborative research paper with Yale underwent some twists and turns during the peer review process, but was eventually published in another of the four major mathematics journals, the Journal of the American Mathematical Society.
The authors of "A Study of Linear Lie Algebra and Their Supergroups" are Ralph, Jimmy, Shen Qi, and Jack. The first two are graduate students and doctoral students, and the latter two are their advisors.
Because of this paper published in the Journal of the Journal of the American Mathematical Society, Shen Qi earned 355,800 academic points.
During their third semester of graduate studies, under the guidance of Shen Qi, both Yu Lei and Ralph published papers in the Top Four Journals.
Shen Qi believed they were ready to enter the doctoral program. "Of course, you can choose to continue as my doctoral supervisor, or you can choose not to."