“Back then, it really was like a war.”
Hugo adjusted the collar of his coat, his expression growing distant as he looked back on the past.
A young mathematician who had won the New Horizon Prize.
He was currently an assistant professor, a promising scholar all but guaranteed to receive tenure in the future, but the achievement he was truly proud of was having been called up twice.
Kevin’s shoulders trembled.
“If I hear this one more time, my ears are going to grow calluses.”
“But this is where it gets really fun. Do you know about that hellish forty-two-day march? Nature put us on the cover again, and everyone who took part bought ten copies each. Of course, I bought more. How about it? Want me to give you one?”
MIT’s mathematics department had recently been producing unprecedented results.
MIT was also the university most favored by Silicon Valley companies. Naturally, the competition rate was shooting through the roof. Even he, who had graduated from Caltech with top marks, had barely managed to secure a spot in the doctoral program here.
But life at MIT was difficult in a way he had not expected.
“Ah! You’re from Caltech? Then you wouldn’t have been here during the general mobilization.”
“The officer call-up was the real deal. Wow! I thought I was going insane. Questions were pouring in from universities all over the world, and I was afraid to fall asleep. Because after a few hours of sleep, I’d wake up and have to start all over again.”
It was a sense of alienation.
Even now, whenever there was an important event, they showed up wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the number “512.”
‘It’s not like they proved it themselves.’
Of course, it was not that he couldn’t understand.
After all, they had helped resolve the Riemann Hypothesis. Even in his view, having defended that legendary paper was quite an impressive credential. He had come here expecting to do something cool like that himself, and yet—
‘Why, of all times, are they not here now?’
Unfortunately, he had rotten luck.
Seoha and Team Apex were currently away in Korea for a while.
Thanks to that, he had not even gotten the chance to submit an application to Apex Lab. By the time they returned, he would already have settled into another research lab. It was the part new students felt most aggrieved about.
“There might be another chance. When that time comes, you should definitely join us.”
“No thanks. I’m already dying from how busy my own research is.”
At Hugo’s sympathetic consolation, Kevin flared up and shook his head.
‘And this guy is a New Horizon winner?’
He gave off a frivolous impression, but when he did mathematics, he became a different person.
Looking at the proof he had published in his last paper, one could see just how remarkable a mathematician Hugo was.
The trend at MIT these days was hunting hard problems. Every lab competitively laid out lists of unsolved problems and searched for targets to hunt.
From the perspective of someone who had come from another school, it was absurd.
Hard problems?
It would be good if they solved them, but if they failed, they would waste years for nothing. Yet these people were throwing themselves into unsolved problems without fear, as if there were no tomorrow.
“It’s Seoha’s influence. We learned that we can do it too. If you ever get called up for a mobilization, you’ll understand.”
Kevin shook his head.
MIT had no shortage of people who had won Nobel Prizes or one of the three major mathematics prizes. Walking down the hall, it was common to brush shoulders with people whose names anyone would recognize.
Yet even they held deep affection and pride for Seoha. How could he not become curious in such an environment? Whenever he had time, he repeatedly read Seoha’s paper proving the Riemann Hypothesis and the Thirteen-Step Conjecture.
Bzzzt—
At the sound of vibration, Kevin’s gaze turned toward the desk.
Beep-beep-beep—
Bzzzt—
Phone notifications began ringing simultaneously. He could feel everyone’s faces stiffen.
A silence descended over the lab, as if it had become a vacuum.
Kevin, not knowing what was going on, picked up his phone. An urgent message from MIT’s campus-wide notification system was displayed on the screen.
[General Notice - MIT Mathematics Department]
-Regarding the formation of a joint TF.
-This TF is intended to verify “Seoha’s Thirteen-Step Conjecture” and will be operated jointly with the Harvard Mathematics Department. The number of participants is limited, and final selection will be made with the approval of the department chair.
-Members who wish to participate should gather in the auditorium by 4 p.m. Applications are open regardless of whether one is in a master’s or doctoral program or is a postdoc. However, obtain the consent of your advisor before submitting an application.
Crash—
Kevin turned his head toward the sound.
It was the sound of the lab door being flung open roughly.
Hugo was sprinting at full speed like a track athlete. Then the other researchers also shot up from their chairs as if on cue. It was a speed one could hardly believe from mathematicians who were usually relaxed and static by nature.
“What’s going on?”
Kevin sprang to his feet and shouted.
But no answer came back. He bit down hard on his lip, then began running after Hugo, who had left first.
‘Desk-bound nerds.’
It was the moment Kevin’s physical ability, honed as a football running back until high school, shone. Dodging this way and that around the nerds blocking the hallway, he caught up to Hugo in an instant.
“Hugo! You have to at least explain what’s going on!”
“Hah! Hah! Just run for now! I heard once that someone got cut because they arrived late!”
‘Were there always this many people?’
Even as they ran, researchers continued bursting out of labs.
“Move! During the last officer call-up, I was back home! I absolutely have to take part in this allied force!”
“Shut up! I’m returning to my country next year, so this is my last chance!”
It was a sight too absurd to laugh at.
Now that he thought about it, all the research currently drawing attention was being led by those who had participated in the last two call-ups. From that experience, they had brought back a hefty share of spoils. Namely, ideas.
The saying that one had to play in big waters applied in academia as well.
Having exercised for the first time in a long while, he was soon out of breath.
But he never slowed his running pace.
* * *
1 Oxford Street, Harvard Science Center.
Kevin looked around.
Even on the Harvard campus, lined with red-brick buildings, this one stood out in particular. Perhaps because it had been built relatively recently, it had a different feel from the old-fashioned architecture around it.
“So this is the headquarters of Harvard mathematics?”
Ellie, who had begun her master’s program, caught her breath as she looked around.
She was wearing a T-shirt with “Joint Task Forcr 13” printed across the chest. It was not just her. All thirty people who had come here were dressed the same.
“I’m sure I heard this was a joint TF, but it feels like we’ve come into enemy territory.”
Hugo shook his head and quickened his steps.
The looks they received from those around them were not friendly.
Harvard seemed to have had its pride badly wounded lately. In terms of the history of its mathematics department alone, it was two hundred years ahead of MIT. It had produced more Nobel Prize winners and recipients of the three major mathematics prizes, but recently MIT had been catching up at a steep pace.
“Maybe it’s because we even came wearing matching clothes?”
Kevin awkwardly used the collar of his coat to slightly cover the words on his T-shirt.
512.
The number of people who had participated in the general mobilization.
After someone had custom-made T-shirts to commemorate that event, it had become a tradition. Wearing one was, so to speak, like a declaration that said, “I was there.”
They had not tattooed themselves like actual special forces soldiers, but Kevin guessed it carried a similar meaning.
“Are you ashamed of that shirt? If you are, it’s probably because we haven’t accomplished anything yet. Once the work is all over, you’ll be able to wear it more proudly than anyone.”
Step, step.
As he walked across the lobby, Kevin scanned the walls with his eyes.
Photographs of past award winners from the Harvard Mathematics Department. The history that had continued since 1727 filled the frames densely.
Fields Medal, Abel Prize, Wolf Prize. A distinguished tradition passed down over three centuries. He felt his body shrink under the pressure.
“Straighten your shoulders! Our university has a mathematician who proved the Riemann Hypothesis.”
When he thought of Seoha, confidence welled up in him.
Everyone nodded firmly once, then walked up the stairs.
The fourth-floor hallway.
Their destination, Lab 406, came into view. Hugo opened the door without hesitation.
Someone looked at them and shouted loudly.
“The MIT team has arrived.”
Inside the spacious seminar room, Harvard’s elites were already seated.
At the center, Dennis, the young representative figure of the Harvard Mathematics Department, stood with his arms crossed, glaring at them. He read the words on their T-shirts and laughed aloud.
“Welcome, uninvited guests.”
A winner of the Cole Prize, which stood shoulder to shoulder with the New Horizon Prize. His paper on continuity functions was so famous that it was cited in several MIT studies as well. He was also competing with Hugo for the Fields Medal.
“How strange. I’m fairly sure we came after receiving a request for rescue.”
Hugo tilted his head and stepped forward.
“Your tongue is still as slick as ever, Hugo.”
“This is your home ground, is that it? If you come to MIT, we’ll treat you well, so let’s cut the power games short. We’re all busy people.”
“I’ll say this in advance. This collaboration wasn’t something we requested. The higher-ups decided it on their own. Since we weren’t certain yet, I didn’t tell the professor, but we were in the middle of finding a clue.”
Hugo put on an exaggeratedly surprised expression.
“What a coincidence! We also have a direction in mind.”
Dennis snorted.
“Don’t bluff. We’ve been working on this research for a month already. If you ask politely, I might even share it with you.”
“Only a month? I’ve been digging into this since Seoha appeared on the live broadcast. Not just me—probably everyone on our side.”
He turned around.
As if wondering why he was asking something so obvious, everyone nodded in unison.
Seoha was like a symbol of MIT. They knew every paper Seoha had published inside and out.
“Then there’s no need to worry. How about we proceed separately so we don’t hold each other back? We can compile and organize everything later. But let’s make the contributions clear.”
“Deal!”
The representatives finished negotiating.
As if dividing territory after a war, a movable whiteboard was placed in the center. Even the front door and back door—the entrances they used—were different.
So much for collaboration.
* * *
A week passed after that.
The atmosphere on the MIT side was nothing but lively.
Whenever someone stood in front of the board, two or three people would cling to them and look together. If they got stuck, they asked each other questions and searched for the cause. If something seemed wrong, they erased it without hesitation and wrote again.
They did not share their results, but it was visible that their accomplishments were piling up one by one.
By contrast, the Harvard side remained quiet.
Dennis sat on a bench in front of the campus, lost in thought.
“Why?”
The eyes of his team members, like patients suffering from lethargy, weighed on his mind.
“May I sit?”
When he raised his head, Hugo was standing there with two cans of coffee.
Dennis shrugged.
Click—
“Drink.”
“Our school’s food is still better than MIT’s, right?”
He took the can and tossed out a joke.
Both schools were famous for having dining hall food that tasted terrible compared to their reputations. MIT in particular had ranked last in the Best Campus Food list published by The Princeton Review.
“It supplies enough nutrition to keep the brain running, so it’s fine. More importantly, you seem to have a problem. Are you going to be okay?”
Dennis let out a sigh.
“After failing for over a month, I suppose no one has any energy left.”
“Didn’t you say you found something?”
“It was a trap. What on earth is that formula? The deeper we go, the harder it becomes to prove. If we just had one tiny breakthrough…”
Hugo stared at him quietly, then tossed out a remark.
“What if you change your thinking?”
“What?”
“Don’t try to find a counterexample. Assume that the expression Seoha wrote is absolutely, one hundred percent correct.”
Dennis shook his head with a look that said Hugo was being ridiculous.
“Don’t say absurd things. A human like that can’t exist. Even when writing a single paper, you revise it who knows how many times. There are countless errors even in the notes Newton and Euler left behind.”
Hugo spoke in a low voice.
“There’s something strange about Seoha.”
“What is it?”
“At MIT, the Infinite Corridor is the shortest route, right? But when Seoha is busy, he never takes that way.”
“Is there a special reason?”
Hugo nodded.
“There is. Even when he’s in a hurry, if an equation on the wall is wrong, he can’t just pass it by. He always stops and fixes it.”
“Huh?”
“Seoha can’t let an error go by. I suspect it’s a kind of compulsion. But you’re telling me he wrote a wrong equation with his own hand?”
Dennis’s eyes widened.
“…”
“Believe it or don’t. That’s your choice. But that’s how we’re doing it.”
“Then right now, you guys are…”
Hugo grinned.
“Obviously, we’re looking for the basis that makes the equation hold. If you assume there are no wrong parts in the book, you’ll be able to find it too.”
Left alone, Dennis remained unable to shake off the shock.
After agonizing over it for a long while, he rose from his seat.
Once he turned his thinking around, the path became visible.
All the failures in which they had been unable to find a counterexample until now were also strong evidence that the conjecture held true.