Professor Felix had been feeling rather high-spirited lately.
Not only had he recently been nominated for the American Physical Society Award for his research on the origin of neutrino mass, but he had also received an invitation from IMCRC's "Century Physics" conference some time ago.
That invitation was not merely asking him to attend a conference.
Six physicists had recommended his name to IMCRC, hoping that he would summarize the most prominent—or rather, the most crucial—questions surrounding the origin of neutrino mass.
In a sense, this invitation carried even more weight than an ordinary award presented by a physics association.
Because it meant that the subject he had been researching had earned the recognition of his peers.
It meant that his influence in that field of research had been acknowledged by mainstream academic opinion!
Even at a place packed with talents like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that was something worth boasting about.
Although raising a question was not as impressive as solving one, the thought that, over the next century, tens or even hundreds of thousands of people would regard the question he had raised as a classic and study it filled him with excitement.
It could even be said that this thrilled him more than receiving a medal from the American Physical Society! During the period after submitting his paper, he practically had a spring in his step wherever he went.
One afternoon.
After finishing his class, Professor Felix returned to his office. Just as he was about to have his assistant pour him a cup of coffee, the phone at the corner of his desk suddenly rang.
He picked up the receiver, cleared his throat, and spoke.
"Hello?"
"Hello, this is the IMCRC Conference Organization Department office."
Upon hearing that it was a call from IMCRC, Felix's