The Evolution of Genius: Every Night, I Get Smarter!

I continued, "Aspiring Professors and Guests,

I’m thrilled to stand here, launching our University of Excellence with all of you. Your trust and belief in this vision mean the world to me. Today, we’re not just starting a university; we’re building a place where learning knows no bounds.

At our university, we’re doing things differently. Our professors won’t be stuck between teaching and research. They’ll have the freedom to explore what they’re passionate about.

The professors will be the sole owners of their work.

We’re shaking up the way we reward our teachers. Not only for their research but also for the impact they have on students. We want our classrooms to be places of inspiration and connection, where great teachers are valued not just intellectually but financially too.

And for our students, we’re taking scholarships to a whole new level. We want an atmosphere where everyone is competitive, but we also want to ensure that everyone has fun. Achievements need to be not only awarded but also celebrated.

To all the professors and educators joining us, a big thank you. Your commitment shows your belief in the power of education to transform lives.

I hope that everyone can be as excited about learning as I am. I believe that through great education, we can push humanity to the next stage. Whatever that might be,

Once again, welcome to the University of Excellence!"

As I wrapped up my speech, I opened the floor for questions.

Almost immediately, hands shot up, and among the eager participants were media personnel and professors.

I motioned to a staff member to grant one of the professors the right to speak.

A microphone was placed close to his mouth, and he asked, "Do you also plan on building dormitories for the students or teachers, or do you want to use the existing infrastructure more toward the center of Boston?"

I responded, "We plan to do both of those. There are a few buildings not too far from here that could be used, but of course, they are mostly rented out. That’s why we are already in the process of building the first dormitory not too far away from here."

Then, I gave the right to speak to a woman from the local media. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

She asked, "How are you funding all of this? Is the country paying for this?"

I replied, "The money comes from my other ventures. I am paying for everything from my own pocket. We do plan to ask for some financing later on. At the moment, it’s impossible, as we are not a part of the Ministry of Education."

After addressing several questions about the infrastructure, I decided to entertain one more.

A young woman with a Ph.D., who appeared serious and eager to be a part of the endeavor, raised her hand. I gave her the floor, and she asked, "Is there a reason why professor is doing this? There seems to be no benefit for you. You don’t even want to own any of the research."

I appreciated the sincerity of her question and replied, "As you might know I’m approaching my 21st birthday, so it might seem like I have ample time ahead. However, I’ve come to realize that I can’t accomplish everything alone. Money holds little significance to me. What truly matters is the impact I can make on society, the legacy I leave for humanity. Ensuring that after I’m gone, there are passionate educators and students who will continue to contribute and build upon my discoveries is the most important thing to me."

After sharing this sentiment, the hall fell into a momentary hush. The hands that were previously raised dropped, seemingly contemplating my words.

The idea that I didn’t prioritize wealth puzzled them. In a world where everyone seemed to chase after money, they were likely searching for the catch, questioning the sincerity behind my motivations.

As the audience raised more questions about how teaching abilities would be measured and tested, I reassured them that, given the innovative nature of this approach, the evaluation methods would evolve over time.

But I stressed that teachers’ basic salaries would stay high, giving us a rock-solid footing as we explored these uncharted educational waters.

As the last question was addressed, I concluded the meeting by expressing gratitude, "Thank you, everyone, for coming, and let’s all spread our knowledge to the new generation."

With that, I left the stage.

There was no time to linger; I had something I needed to take care of, and it was quite far away. In fact, it was an infinite distance away—I needed to Jump.

I drove back to my house, knowing that Oliv was at the university and that my father had accompanied my mother back to Chicago for a check-up.

It had been a month since the successful treatment, and my mother could now clearly see shapes. Everything was still somewhat obscured, like a view behind a fog, but it was a world of difference from the time before the treatment—a transformation akin to heaven and earth.

I went straight through the wardrobe to Coelus.

As always, I made my way into the bubble elevator, and as the bubble descended, entering the bubble highway, I was slightly surprised.

There were significantly more bubbles than usual, creating a crowded scene with people rushing about. Puzzled, I wondered what was happening.

I proceeded to the Science Tower and entered the Separation Division, but The Lord was nowhere to be found.

Although his delayed arrival wasn’t unusual, after waiting for a minute, he still hadn’t appeared.

Finally, a man in white clothes rushed into the hall.

He approached me and said, "The Lord will be here soon. He told me to come here and inform you."

I replied, "Well, it’s okay, but what’s happening?"

The man responded, "Well... we had a problem on one of the planets under our jurisdiction."

I inquired, "What kind of problem?"

The man hesitated before saying, "I think it will be better if The Lord explains it to you. Have you ever heard about the Quantum Pathogen?"

My eyes widened. Quantum Pathogen, again. It must be the Architects, but they had urged me to be more aggressive, and that’s exactly what I did.

I questioned why I had listened to them in the first place, but it was too late now.

I would finish my plan in the Ulthar’s Cluster and hope that they would be satisfied.

Not too long after, The Lord in his pink suit entered the hall, looking a bit tired.

He went straight into the Jumping Chamber. I approached him and asked, "I heard something about the Quantum Pathogen."

He prepared the Jumping Equipment and said, "It is not looking good, Max. Plants die. Water evaporates. The contents of air molecules change... You must have seen people rushing around. I ordered a natural disaster state. I’m not sure if this was a warning or if they are going all the way, but you need to quickly join our team. As soon as you come back, Scholar Emanuel is gonna teach you the 6th Layer, and you are going to start working with him."

I replied, "That was the plan."

Right after, I sat down in the chair and faded away.

...

I opened my eyes and found myself in what looked like a bar, but it was the basement of my father’s company office.

I wasn’t alone; two girls lay on each side of me.

I quickly got up. I wouldn’t be that bad, but they weren’t my type.

One of the girls with short brown hair woke up and looked at me, "Where are you going, Maxi? Stay..."

I replied, "No. I have something important to do." I dressed in all black and ascended the stairs into the headquarters, where workers bowed their heads to me.

I was now the boss of the largest drug cartel in the history of this planet and likely the most expansive one in the entire cluster.

About 40% of the citizens had taken the pills at least once.

Everything was going according to my plan, with even my father moving to the background.

I was the king of this cartel.

People departing from this planet, whether visiting relatives or heading to war, took my drugs with them.

To ensure success, I paid thousands of people to carry the drugs to other planets this week.

For the last two months, I have been working on something for the final step of my plan.

If The Architects wanted aggression, I would be aggressive.

I experimented with rabies, a disease causing madness and usually death in animals.

Humans could get infected on Earth by dog bites, but the death was too swift. I needed something delayed, causing prolonged madness and aggression.

I also needed enough of it to put into new batches of the drug.

This was the last step, and I had to ensure it went smoothly. Production of the special batch had already begun, but I hadn’t released it.

I wanted to distribute it all at once after spending a significant amount on sending batches to many planets.

The largest ones with the highest populations were my main targets. Today, I planned to schedule everything, and once it started, I would never return.