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

President Biden paused for a moment, studying me, and then asked, "And who are you? Where are you from?"

"I’m Maximillian Sullivan," I replied.

Before I could introduce the others, President Biden interrupted, "Professor Sullivan? I thought you’re from the USA."

I gave a slightly awkward smile. "I am from the USA, Mr. President, but I’ve gotten myself into some stuff."

He nodded slowly, prompting me to continue.

I pointed to Scholar Goran and Leonard and said, "These two gentlemen with me are experts from Coelus."

Then I asked President Biden, "Is there a place where we could sit down and talk?"

President Biden thought for a while before saying, "Yes, yes. Follow me." and he led us to the main room of the White House.

Once we were comfortable, I began sharing the urgent information.

I told President Biden, "There is a war going on between clusters, and some people can be taken over. This means that people will not act the way they want to because someone else will be controlling them. Today, one man killed 11 people while they were just walking on the sidewalk. I am pretty sure that the man was not in control of his body."

President Biden listened attentively, and with a solemn expression, he said, "I understand."

"If they start taking over people who run trains, planes, chemical factories, and other important infrastructure, the death toll could be catastrophic," I said.

Biden looked serious and asked, "If that is possible, why have they not already taken over everyone? This seems like it cannot be stopped."

"Right now, they can only take over one person at a time," I said.

President Biden leaned back in his chair, contemplating the situation.

"Informing the public is not going to help; this will cause great panic. We will not be able to make sure that everything is safe in time, though, so there will definitely be deaths," I said.

President Biden leaned back in his chair and thought about what I said. "You are right, Maximillian. Panic will not help anyone. What do you suggest?"

"We should start by quietly reaching out to key decision-makers in key areas like manufacturing, energy, and transportation," I replied. "Leonard here can help with the logistics of hiring more people in these areas. At the same time, we can work on a comprehensive plan to gradually inform the public, with a focus on openness and reassurance."

"So you want to give these companies incentives to hire more people and set up checks and balances to make sure that one person does not make important decisions all by themselves?"

I nodded. "Yes, Mr. President. Give them financial incentives, and make sure they know what could happen. With more staff and a change in how decisions are made, we might be able to lower the risk and stop big disasters."

President Biden took a moment to absorb the information, then nodded thoughtfully. "I see the logic in that. It’s a delicate balance between maintaining security and avoiding unnecessary panic. We’ll need to strategize and work with these corporations discreetly."

I agreed and said, "Exactly. If they understand how bad things are and how many innocent lives could be lost, they should be willing to work with us. Their reputations could get ruined quite quickly if they don’t listen to us."

The president turned to Leonard and said, "Sir. Leonard, may I know what your specialization is?"

Leonard nodded. "I am a logistic expert. My expertise lies in optimizing logistical processes to achieve efficient outcomes."

Biden acknowledged, "Excellent. We can use all the expertise we can get in this situation. Welcome to the team, Leonard. Let’s get to work."

I turned to Leonard and said, "Leonard, I’ll leave you with the government. Also, try to discreetly contact other countries’ governments and assist them too. We need a global effort."

Then, turning to face President Biden, I said, "Mr. President, I think a simple warning about possible terrorist attacks in the US should be enough for now. We need to keep people from panicking until we have a better plan in place."

With that, I bid my farewells to President Biden, then walked away with Scholar Goran in his distinctive blue cloak.

We entered the wardrobe, and with a brief exchange of glances, we were transported back to Boston.

...

Back home in Boston, we reappeared in the living room. I gathered my thoughts and approached my parents.

"Get ready; we’re going to the new NeuralDream facility in Chelsea. I want to show you something," I said.

After I told them, my parents looked at me from where they were sitting on the couch, then got up at the same time and started getting dressed.

Oliv came out of her room, wearing a green pajama, looking surprised at my quick return. "You’re back already?" she asked.

"Yes, Oliv. You’re coming with us to Chelsea. No? I’m not leaving you here, unless you don’t want to go," I replied.

"No, no, I do want to. Just wait a second," she said, rushing back into her room.

Five minutes later, we were ready to go. I asked Scholar Goran to enter the front seat, but he said that he has his own transprot and will just follow us.

On the way, there was a heavy traffic jam, but 40 minutes later, we finally arrived at a sleek skyscraper.

As we stepped out of the car, the towering structure loomed above us. I led my parents and Oliv through the entrance, the lobby exuding a modern and professional atmosphere.

We entered a sleek elevator and ascended to the 12th floor, where the NeuralDream facility was situated.

The lab had only been set up a short time ago, but I could already show my parents something.

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped into the lab on the 12th floor. It was full of fancy machines and busy scientists doing experiments. The lab mainly focused on studying the optic nerve, especially using mice for tests.

In one part, mice were in clear cages, doing different trials. Two scientists in white coats carefully worked with stem cells, injecting and taking them out of the mice.

The lab had a clean smell, and you could hear machines softly buzzing.

The laboratory workers noticed me when we entered, and we got special gloves and masks to keep everything super clean.

Behind me entered my parents, Oliv and Scholar Gorna. Scholar Goran didn’t seem too impressed, though.

I went up to a lab worker and asked where the successful tests were kept. The worker led us further into the lab, where we saw different mice in different cages.

Then, I found the cage with a mouse that seemed to be behaving normally. It zooms around, climbing ramps, and zips through tunnels. Sometimes it took a break to groom itself or make a cozy nest or run on the wheel, going round and round.

I pulled up a video on my phone and showed it to my parents and Oliv.

The video displayed the same mouse, but before the experiment, it was blind and acted strangely.

It moved cautiously, feeling its way with tiny whiskers. Without sight, it relies on touch and smell. It spend extra time exploring.

I explained that we used stem cells and psychotropes in a special treatment to help the mouse see again. We got stem cells from different parts of the mouse’s body, including the retina, and put them to work to fix its vision.

I made it clear that a lot of money went into getting the lab the best tools.

As I explained, my mom, trying to look me in the eyes, asked, "So, Max, do you think this could help people with CRVO, like me?"

"Mom, the thing is, while an eye transplant might be a possibility, regenerating the optic nerve has never been achieved in humans. That’s precisely what I’m working on here. We aim to rescue damaged axons."

"In this experiment, we showed moving bars on a screen to mice and gave them stem cells, psychotrops, and nerve growth factors. The result was an amazing 2000-fold increase in axon renewal, with 99% of the axons sprouting again and growing back into the brain."

My dad asked, "Is that enough? Also, these are just mice. People are much more complicated than that."

"That is right, dad. That is why we are starting our tests right now on monkeys—marmosets to be exact. So far, on mice, the success rate has been hundreds of times higher than in any other experiments conducted so far."

"Do you have monkeys here?" Oliv asked from the side.

I looked at her, chuckled, and smiled.

I led everyone to another big room. Behind thick glass, two large spaces showed two monkeys in one and a single baboon in the other.

Oliv yelled, "Wooo! They are so cute!" as she got close to the Monkey House and saw two cute grey marmosets sitting on a branch.