The Devil Who Dotes on Her Brother's Thesis (3)

Joseph wore an excited expression as he greeted them one by one. However, when facing Laplace, he couldn't help but clench his fist slightly, mentally giving him a sound thrashing—a common wish that science and engineering students of later generations would hastily make when staring at a difficult problem on an exam paper, only to look out the window in frustration and happen to see a shooting star streak across the sky.

Back then, Joseph had no chance to thrash Laplace, and now that the damned fellow was standing right before him, Joseph still couldn't do it. He could only greet him with immense enthusiasm: "Monsieur Laplace, I have read some of your works, and they have given me much inspiration. It is truly a great fortune to meet you!" As he spoke, he extended both hands to grasp the man's, much like a modern president shaking hands with Macron—first giving a forceful squeeze, then abruptly pulling the other party toward him, causing Laplace to stumble and nearly fall.

"Monsieur Laplace, it is such an honor to meet you. I have many questions I would like to consult you on, for instance..." Joseph said this with a smile while gritting his teeth, using all his strength to squeeze Laplace's hand with both of his.

"Ah... Monsieur Bonaparte... Monsieur Bonaparte... you are truly... perhaps we should sit down first, and then... then slowly... slowly discuss..." Laplace's right shoulder hunched high as he struggled to pull his hand back, speaking in broken sentences.

"Ah, Monsieur Bonaparte, let us sit down to talk. You are too enthusiastic; you might be hurting Pierre's hand." Seeing Joseph's fervor and noticing Laplace's face contorting in pain as his hand was gripped, Lavoisier couldn't help but want to laugh, though he still called out to Joseph.

"Ah?" Joseph feigned shock, quickly releasing Laplace's hand as if electrocuted, and apologized profusely: "Monsieur Laplace, I am truly sorry, truly sorry. I was just so excited to meet you... this is... you aren't injured, are you..."

Laplace flexed his right hand and said, "Monsieur Bonaparte, how do you possess such great strength?"

Pain and hatred gave me strength, Joseph thought, but he replied, "I often help Father Jean-Jacques with carpentry work, so my hands might be a bit stronger than average."

"That is not just a bit stronger," Laplace said. "But let us not discuss that now—you know, we have seen your paper. Monsieur Lavoisier and Monsieur Condorcet both appreciate it greatly, but you must realize that your paper attempts to overturn a theory that enjoys universal support and is backed by numerous experimental phenomena. This is a major matter, and everyone feels it is best to be cautious. Therefore, Monsieur Lavoisier, Monsieur Condorcet, and several other gentlemen hope to discuss the contents of this paper with you in person..."

"To be honest," Condorcet said with a gentle smile toward Joseph, "Monsieur Bonaparte, your paper is a rare high-level work in these years. If nothing else, the mathematical tools within it alone are enough to win you the competition. However, some people do not quite agree with your conclusions. Well, at least Coulomb and Monge are not very fond of your findings. They are on their way here, and they may have a mountain of questions for you. You should prepare yourself mentally."

"Monsieur Condorcet, please just call me Joseph," Joseph said. "Before writing this article, I had already considered this issue. To be honest, when I reached this conclusion, I was worried I might have made a mistake. My purpose in writing this paper was precisely to discuss this matter with others."

"Haha, the young people of today are truly impressive," Lavoisier said. "Joseph, do you mean you are already prepared? Well, you need not be nervous, actually..."

Before he could finish, the sound of the small parlor door being pushed open was heard.

Seeing several more people walk in, Joseph hurriedly stood up.

The others rose as well. Leading the group was the Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe Joseph, whom Joseph had once seen in a café. Following him were two men in military uniforms; one was older, appearing to be in his fifties, while the other was slightly shorter, with a bronze complexion and a pair of sharp, piercing eyes beneath thick eyebrows.

"Your Grace, why have you come as well?" Condorcet asked.

"Ah, Monsieur Condorcet, I was passing by today and originally intended to visit Monge. Hearing him mention the situation here and discovering that the Monsieur Bonaparte who sparked the controversy seemed to be a young friend of mine who shares the name Joseph, I decided to come and see. And indeed... Joseph, it really is you." Duke Charles said this as he walked over, extending his hand to grasp Joseph's. Laplace stared wide-eyed at their hands, yet...

"Ah, Joseph, when I met you last time, I thought France might gain another playwright, but I didn't expect a mathematician instead. However, Monsieur Monge does not seem to agree with some of your viewpoints and wishes to discuss them with you. Of course, I understand nothing of these things; I am just here to watch the excitement." The Duke of Orleans released Joseph's hand and added, "By the way, Joseph, let me introduce you to my two friends."

He pointed to the older man and said, "This is Monsieur Coulomb; he is an authority on electricity." Then he pointed to the shorter, younger man and introduced, "This is Monsieur Monge; he is an authority on geometry."

Joseph quickly stepped forward to greet Coulomb and Monge. Duke Charles found a chair and sat down, saying, "You know, I don't know much about science, but I am very interested in it. Monge, you have many questions for Joseph; you may begin now."

Monge was a straightforward man, and upon hearing this, he immediately spoke: "Monsieur Bonaparte, in your paper, you assert that light is a transverse wave, and your mathematical derivation is impressive. However, you should know that all waves propagate through a medium. If light is truly a wave, have you considered what characteristics this medium—this luminiferous aether—must possess?"

Joseph had been well-prepared for this question, as in the historical development of later generations, the various challenges to the "luminiferous aether" were the primary weapons used by supporters of the particle theory to oppose the wave theory.

"Regarding this question, this is how I think about it..." Joseph began.

Joseph knew that the so-called "luminiferous aether" was eventually abandoned by scientists in later generations. However, at this moment, he could not directly state that the aether did not exist, as that would require a vast foundation of scientific discoveries and experiments. Thus, he could only use the conjectures of previous supporters of the wave theory to handle Monge's question.

"Regarding the hardness of the aether, it also involves the actual speed of light. I have conceived an experiment that could be used to measure the speed of light more precisely. Considering that the Earth is in constant motion, it must also be in constant motion relative to the aether; therefore, the speed of light measured from different directions might vary..."

"A method for more precise measurement of the speed of light?" Condorcet became interested.

"We could use a rotating octagonal mirror..." Joseph said. The method he described was the Michelson rotating mirror method—a relatively simple technique with excellent measurement precision.

As Joseph introduced his experimental concept, he reached for a piece of paper and a pen to begin sketching the design of the necessary equipment.

Joseph habitually used the three-view projection method common in later generations to depict the equipment. But the moment Monge saw the drawings, his eyes widened sharply.

"Monsieur Bonaparte, where did you learn this method of drafting?" Monge asked.

"Ah?" Joseph was taken aback. He had originally assumed this drafting method was a very common technique. Hearing Monge's question and seeing the exceptionally serious expression on his face, he immediately realized that perhaps this drafting method had not yet appeared in this era.

"I just drew it haphazardly myself. I felt this way of drafting was more intuitive and easier to understand. Why, is there a problem with it?" Joseph said.

Monge thought for a moment and replied, "Monsieur Bonaparte, you may not—no, you certainly do not know that I began using a similar drafting method nearly twenty years ago. However, because this drafting method is of great significance in military affairs—I believe, with your intelligence, it is not hard to understand why—this method is strictly classified. It is only taught in military academies, and all officers who learn these contents must swear an oath not to disclose this technique. I once told my superiors that it might not be long before others independently researched similar techniques, just as Newton and Leibniz separately invented calculus. However, since your drawing method is so similar to the classified one, I fear this achievement of yours will also need to be kept secret. Monsieur Bonaparte, you haven't taught this drafting method to anyone else, have you?"

"I have only taught this technique to my brother, Napoleon, who is currently a first-year student at the Paris Military Academy. Well, his mathematics are also quite good."

"First-year students do not yet have access to descriptive geometry," Monge said. "Monsieur Bonaparte, you must warn him that this technique must not be disclosed."

"Is it really that serious?" Duke Charles became interested. "Monge, science should belong to all of humanity. Keeping it so secret is not very good."

"Your Grace, this is not my intention; it is the decision of the Kingdom's government. I can only obey," Monge replied. He turned back to Joseph: "Monsieur Bonaparte, this discovery should have brought you honor and status, but now, you must hide it. For the sake of France, this is a necessary sacrifice; I hope you can understand."

Joseph nodded and said, "I understand. Although science has no borders, scientists have nationalities."

"Just as there are still many differences between Leibniz's calculus and Newton's calculus. Monsieur Bonaparte, I believe there must be some differences between your drafting method and Monge's," Coulomb suddenly spoke up. "Could you explain your method to us?"