Translator: Dreamscribe
Even the Riemann Hypothesis, the most famous unsolved problem in history, was something the vast majority of people had never heard of.
Felix knew exactly how to draw the public's attention. The classical method of submitting papers to journals didn't suit the pace of busy modern society.
Months before the official announcement, he had been leaking provocative phrases through SNS and specialist science outlets. Walking a delicate tightrope between academic authority and public curiosity, he kept feeding the fire.
Eventually, broadcast networks and famous science YouTube channels began to move.
[Breaking: A Million-Dollar Math Problem That Will Change the World, Finally Conquered?]
[Has Humanity Cracked the Secret of Prime Numbers? Your Bank Account Is at Risk.]
Videos with sensational thumbnails flooded the platforms.
People might not have known who Riemann was, but they reacted instantly to the fear of having their accounts hacked and the lure of a one-million-dollar prize.
This even led to the absurd spectacle of banks and securities firms posting banners on their SNS accounts with messages like "Your accounts are safe."
"There we go. The mood is properly heated up now."
Felix lifted the corner of his mouth in satisfaction as he swiped across his tablet screen.
No matter which country's article he looked at, his name appeared. It was a thrill incomparable to the paper citation counts (Citation Index) that scholars exchanged among themselves.
'More, get more excited.'
In a capitalist society, value was a thing proven by numbers.
He had no desire to end his life in a laboratory, breathing in the metallic stench of liquid nitrogen and helium. From Archimedes of ancient Greece to Einstein of the modern age, the geniuses who changed their eras had always been objects of awe.
And if wealth and power were added to that? Could there be any life more glorious?
Three years ago, at a discreet restaurant near the Reichstag in Berlin.
How shocked he had been when the Chancellor proposed to meet. He had been unable to contain his pounding heart back then.
"Doctor, let's be honest. Times have changed. Google, Apple, Tesla, Meta. In this paradigm dominated by America's Big Tech, Europe is nothing more than an old, sickly consumer market."
The Chancellor sipped his wine and shot Felix a sharp look.
"We need a weapon. A game changer that can flip this whole board. I'm not talking about some new tech that brings in a bit of money. I mean a great symbol that can focus the world's attention and make capital flow back into Europe."
"...."
He paused and watched Felix's reaction. Felix toyed with his glass on purpose to hide his nerves.
"Doctor, I hear you've said on multiple occasions that with sufficient support, you could solve the Riemann Hypothesis. Is that true?"
His eyes widened.
He hadn't realized that the words he'd let slip almost like a sigh at academic conferences had reached the Chancellor's ears.
"...Yes. There's a recently published paper, and right now the Riemann Hypothesis is in a state where the door is half open. None of them can see it."
"I need a definite answer. With unconditional support, can you really solve it?"
Gulp.
Unconditional support!
He calculated that he could afford to make a somewhat excessive demand.
"It's 99 percent possible. However, I'll need backup on the mathematics side. Could you introduce me to a heavyweight mathematician?"
"A few names at the top come to mind who would accept such an offer. This is a project requiring international cooperation as well.... They have fires to put out themselves, so they won't refuse."
"I-if the proof succeeds, would there be something I could gain from this? I would like to hear the promise from the Chancellor's own mouth."
An opportunity like this didn't come easily.
Felix squeezed his eyes shut and forced out the words he'd been holding inside.
"Hmmm...."
The Chancellor narrowed his eyes and looked at him.
But before long he changed his expression and showed a bright smile.
"Of course. How about the position of Minister of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)? An achievement of that scale certainly merits such a post."
Felix drew in a deep breath.
"That isn't enough."
A figurehead minister's seat held no interest for him.
What he wanted was something more concrete and sustainable. The Chancellor seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.
"This is classified information. Watch your tongue. If the Riemann Hypothesis is proven, the EU plans to launch the 'Pan-European Science Belt.'
My advisors have told me that many technologies will be born from that theory. We're particularly focused on security. We will completely reclaim the current security paradigm led by the American NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)."
"You mean Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC)."
"Exactly. The goal is to develop it, embed it into infrastructure across Europe, and then expand it to every company in the world.
I'll offer you the position of head of that organization."
He might one day hold in his hands the standard that defined the flow of all data across the world. Everyone passing through that gate would have to pay a toll. Felix's heartbeat quickened.
The recollection ended there.
Felix set down the tablet and looked out over the city of Munich. Everything before his eyes looked like territory he was about to rule.
"A minister's post isn't bad. There's no reason I couldn't be Chancellor either."
He stroked his chin and murmured quietly.
The capital had already begun to move, and the political consensus was settled. What remained was to add the finishing stroke while the world watched.
Bang!
The chief researcher rushed in, panting.
"Professor! The final equation verification data has arrived from Cambridge. It matches LRZ's computational results to thirty decimal places. But Professor Pendleton said we should remain cautious until the very end."
Tsk, tsk!
"Arthur is a fine scholar, but he's far too timid. If you fear some exception that might emerge in the future while dealing with infinity, then proof of any kind would be impossible for a lifetime.
Both governments have strong will behind this, so we can safely ignore that man's opinion."
A glint of madness entered Felix's eyes. He looked at the paper sitting on his desk. The cover was crumpled and worn from being read too many times.
"To think a noble mathematician still exists in this world, I ought to offer a prayer of thanks to God. You can't even imagine how grateful I am. I'll have to send a nice potted plant to his lab later on."
Thunk.
But it wasn't needed anymore.
He tossed Seo-ha's paper into the trash bin as if he didn't even want to look at it.
"Move up the announcement schedule. Next Monday, 10 a.m., live broadcast. Inform Professor Arthur's side as well. And don't forget to send official notices to the major media outlets and academic societies."
"Yes, sir!"
Felix raised the collar of his coat and stepped out of the lab.
At his confident stride, the researchers passing through the corridor stepped aside on either side and bowed deeply. He nodded with satisfaction.
* * *
[Breaking News: Cambridge Newton Institute and Munich University Officially Announce Proof of the Riemann Hypothesis]
Seo-ha looked at the TV screen.
The members of the lab gathered around him one by one.
Click!
Click!
A throng of reporters appeared on the screen.
Felix and Arthur walked out onto the podium under a shower of camera flashes.
"The paper just went up on the arXiv!"
Sri, who had been watching his laptop screen, called out loudly.
At the same time, Dean Whitman opened the door and came in. A printed paper was in his hand, though no one knew when he'd printed it.
"Seo-ha, you haven't read it yet, have you?"
The dean's eyes were filled with worry.
He hadn't told Seo-ha, but rumors had been circulating in academic circles for some time. Whispers that this was a project the British and German governments were pushing with full force. He'd heard it was an ambitious plan to bring scientific hegemony back to Europe.
"No. I'm curious."
Seo-ha nodded and took the paper.
On the screen, Felix stood before the microphone, wearing a victor's smile. Speaking in German rather than English, he opened with a powerful first line.
"The name 'Riemann Hypothesis' will soon disappear."
The reporters wore puzzled expressions.
"Because as of today, it is no longer a Hypothesis. It deserves to be granted the status of a Theory."
Gasps escaped from here and there.
"Today we have crossed one of the long-standing walls that has held humanity back. The Munich University research lab has succeeded in converting the Renormalization Group Theory of high-energy physics into mathematical operators. Using LRZ's supercomputer...."
The press conference continued, but no one in the lab was watching the screen.
Rustle.
The sound of paper being turned sounded unusually loud.
The lab was so silent it was suffocating. The team members had every nerve sharpened, watching to see on which page Seo-ha's hand would stop.
Seo-ha's brow furrowed and relaxed, then furrowed again, over and over.
"...This discovery will change the paradigm of cryptography. We are already working on a new system based on this proof...."
'Hm?'
Reading with the press conference as background music, Seo-ha scrunched up his face. Watching this, Whitman and the team members flinched in surprise.
"It hasn't even been twenty minutes?"
Su-jeong muttered, looking at the clock.
Even Dean Whitman, who had received the paper in advance, was still reviewing the equations in the introduction.
"What's the reaction in the academic community?"
The dean shook his head.
"There are a few professors who received it in advance for verification purposes. The reaction is generally the same. Can you guess?"
Seo-ha's expression was odd.
Looking somewhat disappointed, he said,
"At the current stage, no obvious errors are visible."
"That's right. And there's one more. 'It isn't beautiful, but it's persuasive.' What do you think?"
Seo-ha let out a small sigh.
"This is the first time I've felt unpleasant while reading a paper."
"Unpleasant?"
"Yes. The reason the math community can't put out a proper critique right now is simple. The volume of data they've shown has exceeded the verification limits of current technology. I see it as a kind of intimidation, or gaslighting. They're trying to overwhelm and crush opposition through sheer volume."
It was disappointing.
There must have been an answer at the end of the path they had chosen, too. Even if it was a crude method of winding around the long way and sometimes carving through mountains to bore tunnels.
"Could you produce a counterexample?"
A single counterexample was enough to bring the hypothesis crashing down.
At Theo's question, Seo-ha put on a thoughtful expression.
"Computing past 10 quadrillion to find one would be excessively inefficient. It's not even possible with the resources we have. In the end, pointing out a geometric contradiction would be the best approach. Though it would take quite a bit of time."
At Seo-ha's answer, Whitman almost burst into laughter.
Even when producing a single counterexample, Seo-ha refused to abandon aesthetics. The fact that, at the mere age of seven, he couldn't bear an ugly answer and threw himself at the Four Color Theorem showed just how attached he was to mathematical beauty. It was such a stark contrast to the attitude of those people, who would do anything as long as they could find an answer.
"D-Dean! Shouldn't we do something? We can't just let things go down the wrong path."
At Sri's words, Whitman fell into thought for a moment.
In the meantime, Seo-ha spoke as if he had made up his mind.
"There's no helping it. Even if we have to pause our research for a while, a counterexample...."
"No!"
Whitman raised a hand to stop his words.
"Leave it alone. It would only invite unnecessary misunderstanding. It's no secret that Apex Lab is working on the Riemann Hypothesis. Refuting them in this situation could easily be seen as jealousy.
Don't waste your time on something like that."
Seo-ha asked with worried eyes.
"You're going to just watch?"
"Don't underestimate the math community's capacity for self-correction. There's someone who, more than anyone, is the right person for this job, the right tool for the right place."
They had no conscience whatsoever.
Despite using Seo-ha's paper as the cornerstone of their proof, they hadn't called his name even once at the press conference.
If their proof had been correct, it would have stung, but he would have endured it....
'There's no need to extend any consideration to them.'
The higher they had climbed, the more devastating their fall would be.
A face surfaced in Whitman's mind.
'Why has it been so hard to hear from him these days?'
It had already been four years since they'd heard he was approaching a solution to one of the Millennium Prize Problems, and Elijah Cronen was still a recluse.
*****
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