Fans' Letters

The poem is titled "Whose Who," and it reads as follows:

I am the fine sand on the beach

You are the sea

Your fluctuations

I am still me

The next second, you will no longer be yourself.

Eternity, Moment, Moment, Eternity

Under the pale moonlight

The courtyard is full of blooming kapok flowers.

Blue stone well beside the fence

You set up the bamboo frame

I'm airing out my blue cloth clothes

--

The envelope contained only one page of paper, on which the author had written this modern poem.

Nothing else was written; whether this was a submission or a pen pal exchange, it's impossible to know.

"If you want to submit your work, you should submit it to a literary magazine or poetry society. If you're looking for pen pals, how did you end up with me, a science student?"

Shen Qi checked the envelope again. The sender's name was "Momo," the sender's address was "Nangang City No. 2 Middle School," and the contact information was a landline number.

The sender's name was clearly not his real name, but the sender's address was a real address. Shen Qi was very familiar with this address; Nangang Second High School was his alma mater.

Shen Qi checked the contact information left by the sender and found it to be the landline number of the security guard at the gate of Nangang Second High School Middle School.

Judging from the handwriting, it seems to be a girl's handwriting, but it's hard to say. Nowadays, many boys' handwriting is delicate and refined, while some girls' handwriting is strong and vigorous.

Judging from the content of the poem, this is a lyrical poem. The author metaphorically expresses a feeling of wanting to accept but also resisting, making it seem like a love poem.

Shen Qi roughly guessed that the poem might have been written by a female fan from his high school, or perhaps a male fan.

The fans might be students or language arts teachers.

It definitely wasn't Vice Principal Zhang Wanbang. Shen Qi recognized Old Zhang's handwriting; it wasn't in that artistic style.

If Shen Qi wanted to find out the poet's true identity, he certainly could, but he didn't.

Shen Qi handed the conference invitation and other official correspondence to his male secretary, instructing the secretary to politely reply to the sending organization that Professor Shen would not be attending any external academic conferences in the near future.

Shen Qi glanced at letters such as the self-recommendation letter from the deputy director of the job center, the solution to the BSD Conjecture, and the Navier-Stokes equation corresponding to the large-scale melting of Arctic ice, and laughed them off. These people were commendable for their courage, but what they wrote was nonsense.

Shen Qi put away the mysterious love poem. Of all the letters and official documents he received today, this modern poem was the most reliable. At least the poet had something to say, objectively and truthfully describing an event, a feeling, and the thoughts of a fan.

A few days later, Shen Qi received another letter from Momo of Nangang Second High School. It was also handwritten, but the style had changed to prose. It couldn't fit on one page, so he added another page.

The essay is titled "Luhu Lake". The author describes a lake in Nangang City, with willow trees planted on its banks. The willow trees protect the lake, and the lake nourishes the willow trees.

The writing is quite beautiful; the prose style is a typical example of expressing emotions through scenery.

Momo does have some literary talent. Besides writing poems and essays, Momo doesn't reveal any specific information about herself, nor does she leave any words like "hoping for a reply".

"An artsy fan." Shen Qi smiled and put away Momo's second letter.

Knock knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door of Director Shen Qi 'Director's Office.

"Come in," Shen Qi called out.

The visitor was Li Zhenqiang. He said, "Director Shen, the Mathematical Grand Unification and the Navier-Stokes equations were approved at the same time. You should give them both equal attention."

Li Zhenqiang is very career-minded. It's impossible for Li Zhenqiang to be indifferent to the rapid progress and increased popularity of Zhou Yu'an and Xiao Junlong due to the NS Equation project.

It's been almost a year, and the project to Mathematical Grand Unification hasn't published a single paper—in fact, it hasn't written a single paper at all.

This project is progressing slowly, so I can't write anything; there's no substantial content to write about.

"That's impressive. No need to rush. We'll definitely solve the Navier-Stokes equations first, then tackle the Mathematical Grand Unification." Shen Qi was speaking from the heart. Once the Navier-Stokes equations are solved, the conditions for advancing in mathematics will be met, and reaching level 15 will be just around the corner. Once we reach level 15 in mathematics, we'll be even more confident in conquering the Mathematical Grand Unification.

"No rush, no rush," Li Zhenqiang agreed, then asked, "I've systematically studied the Langlands Program and the SLW system again. What's the next step? Do we need to continue studying automorphic form theory?"

Shen Qi said, "Automorphic form theory is very important. The proofs of the Riemann Hypothesis and the Hodge conjecture have built new bridges from another path. Number theory, Harmonic Analysis, Algebraic Geometry, Complex Analysis, and topology must be connected. Or rather, our mission is to connect them."

Li Zhenqiang: "I understand all that, but our project team is short-handed."

Shen Qi: "I can do the actual work too."

"Then why don't you do it?"... Li Zhenqiang could only say this in his heart.

Shen Qi outlined his plan. "Algebraic Geometry will continue to be handled by Zhen Qiang. Topology, abstract Harmonic Analysis, and Complex Analysis will all be handled by me. Number theory will be handled by Ou Ye. It's not about quantity, but quality. After next year's Spring Festival, we'll focus our Mathematical Grand Unification."

"Oh, that's good." Li Zhenqiang nodded and asked, "How is Ou Ye recovering?"

"She should be able to return to work after next year's Spring Festival."

"Okay, Director Shen, you're busy. I'll go back and study the materials more thoroughly."

Not long after Li Zhenqiang left, Witten brought Sha Dongdong and Qu Yang to the Director's Office.

Qu Yang is a newly arrived physics researcher. He is Sha Dongdong's junior and specializes in Theoretical Physics.

Witten told Shen Qi that he accepted Yenching University's offer of a position as Visiting Professor. His initial intention was to work with Shen Qi to improve M-theory and Superstring Theory. However, almost a year has passed, and he has not done anything in terms of pure physics, but he has solved the Navier-Stokes equations.

"I've done all the work of a mathematician this year," Witten said.

Yes, Witten works as a mathematician and was recommended as a candidate for Nobel Prize in Physics along with Shen Qi.

"Edward's self-identity has never changed; he is a physicist," Sha Dongdong said.

"In the current environment, there's no need to separate mathematics and physics so clearly. Besides, mathematics and physics are inherently indistinguishable. Regardless of the method used, solving the problem is the most important thing." Shen Qi waved his hand and decided to formally launch the project to try to improve M-theory.

The initial members of the M-theory project team were Shen Qi, Witten, Sha Dongdong, and Qu Yang. More talented individuals will be added later, and experimental resources will be sought.

The idea of Mathematical Grand Unification is largely based on speculation. Even a fundamental theory like M-theory in physics requires experimental verification. Eleven-dimensional space can only be hypothesized as inaccessible to humans, but the Higgs Boson, also known as the "God particle," has been discovered in a laboratory by the LHC at CERN.

Princeton's PPL also has the conditions for operating in High Energy Physics, but in terms of capability, the LHC is slightly better.

China is also building a hadron collider, a project called the "China Giant Hadron Collider," which looks a bit more impressive than the LHC (Large Hadron Collider in Europe). It involves an investment of hundreds of billions of RMB and is expected to be completed and put into use in about 15-20 years.

As for where to go to study High Energy Physics, that's a matter for later; Shen Qi and Witten will make their own arrangements.

Let's get the project approved first and start with the groundwork.

Shen Qi participated in the preliminary research and project proposal writing for the "M-theory Research" project. With Christmas approaching, Witten went back to the United States for the holidays.

Momo hadn't written to Shen Qi for a while, and just when Shen Qi was about to forget about it, Momo sent her third letter.

This letter returned to the style of poetry, titled "Sleepless Tonight," and contained the following:

I am neither happy nor sad.

It's tomorrow after midnight.

Yesterday was always a little bit lacking in perfection.

If worldly wisdom meets purity

How should I deal with this?

In the days when my heart is empty

I am used to being alone.

Numbness

Sleepless tonight--

"The writing style has changed abruptly." Shen Qi noticed that his fans' third letter reflected a faint sadness and a slightly negative emotion.

Is it her or him?

Is it a student or a teacher?

These three letters couldn't possibly have been written by the security guard at the gate of Nangang Second High School, could they?

Shen Qi was still a little worried about this fan from his alma mater; being a literary youth is a disease that needs to be cured.