104: Exceptional "Insights" and Ethical Dilemmas

As time quietly passed, the neural pathways in Excellence's brain—fractured and chaotic due to trauma—were undergoing repair and remodeling at a speed far exceeding conventional medical predictions, driven by meticulous treatment and his own tenacious vitality. This repair was not a simple restoration; it was more like a deep system upgrade and integration. He was no longer satisfied with those "hand-crafted" little projects filled with childish wonder and an exploratory spirit, or basic science learning. A deeper, more primal thirst for knowledge, like a dormant volcano beginning to awaken, pushed him to re-enter those profound fields that had once obsessed him—and indirectly led to his predicament: theoretical physics, the nature of information, and the frontiers of cosmology.

However, unlike the exploration before his injury, which relied on incredible intuition and a bit of recklessness, Excellence's way of thinking had undergone a subtle yet profound metamorphosis. That imaginative, leaping quality was still there, but it was now infused with an ineffable insight that struck directly at the heart of problems. His thinking process was no longer just a flash of inspiration; it felt more like being able to pierce through layers of appearances and directly touch the fundamental logical skeleton hidden behind mathematical formulas and physical laws.

On a quiet afternoon, sunlight filtered through the windows of the rehabilitation room, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Excellence sat cross-legged on the carpet, brow slightly furrowed, fully concentrated on reading a review article on quantum gravity theory. The article had been strictly vetted by the base's academic committee, with all content that might trigger excessive associations or risks removed. It covered various frontier hypotheses attempting to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics, such as loop quantum gravity and string theory; the content was profound and the mathematics abstract.

Su Mu and Evelyn sat on a sofa not far away, talking in low voices about daily trivialities, occasionally looking up with concern at Excellence, who was immersed in his own world. They saw him maintain the same posture for a long time, eyes focused intently on the page while his fingers unconsciously traced something in the air. Thinking he had entered one of those common, wandering dazes, they did not disturb him, simply preserving a quiet space for his thoughts.

Time passed minute by minute, the only sounds in the rehabilitation room being the occasional rustle of turning pages and the faint chirping of birds from outside. Suddenly, Excellence's body gave an imperceptible tremor, as if he had received a signal from the depths of the universe. He snapped his head up, his previously somewhat vacant gaze instantly focusing, and an excited light, like a star being ignited, burst from the depths of his pupils! Without the slightest hesitation, he practically lunged toward the low table nearby, grabbed a pencil, and began to write rapidly on a stack of blank scratch paper.

The pencil tip swept across the paper, making a rapid and continuous "shasha" sound, incredibly fluid. Lines of complex and beautiful mathematical symbols, differential equations, and tensor expressions poured from his pencil as if they possessed a life of their own. These symbols were not a disorganized pile; they were interconnected and logically rigorous, forming a highly self-consistent and aesthetically pleasing mathematical structure.

"I've got it!" Excellence's voice trembled slightly with excitement. He looked up, his eyes shining brightly at Su Mu and Evelyn, who had been drawn over by his actions. His face beamed with the wild joy of discovering a new continent. "Space-time! Space-time isn't fundamental! It's not a fixed stage background for our universal drama! It's derivative! It's an emergent phenomenon!"

He waved the pencil in his hand excitedly, trying to explain his earth-shattering realization in the most intuitive way to the two women, who clearly did not have backgrounds in theoretical physics. "It's like... like how you knit a sweater, Class Monitor!" He pointed to a colorful scarf Su Mu had been knitting to pass the time. "Those beautiful patterns on the scarf don't exist independently on it; they are overall patterns that emerge from the yarn being tangled, looped, and interacting according to specific rules! Our universe, space-time itself, is like that giant 'cosmic fabric.' Its continuity and geometric structure are the macroscopic emergent phenomena of the entanglement network between countless quantum information units at a deeper level! Space-time is the 'pattern' of our universe!"

Su Mu was completely lost. Looking at Excellence's cheeks, flushed with excitement, and his draft paper covered in symbols that looked like a heavenly script, she blinked subconsciously and muttered to herself, "Thanks for the compliment... but I'm knitting a scarf, not a sweater..." Of course, she didn't say it out loud. She was caught between laughter and tears by Excellence's analogy, but mostly, she felt heartfelt joy for the renewed vitality of his thinking.

However, Evelyn, standing to the side, had a completely different reaction. Her gaze was locked onto the formulas Excellence had just written, and her breathing involuntarily quickened. Although she couldn't fully understand the entire meaning of these profound mathematical expressions, her top-tier scientific training from The Foundation and her sharp intuition allowed her to clearly feel the profound ideas and the shocking mathematical self-consistency and minimalist beauty contained within those symbols! This was by no means a conclusion an ordinary physics PhD student could easily reach; it was more like the prototype of a theoretical breakthrough, a bold conjecture that could overturn existing concepts of space-time! Excellence seemed to have inadvertently touched upon one of the core mysteries of modern physics—the nature of space-time.

What came next was even more shocking. Excellence seemed to feel that words and formulas weren't intuitive enough, so he casually sketched an extremely concise yet meaningful diagram next to those complex equations. It was a multi-dimensional network structure with Nodes connected by complex lines. He used this network to visually represent what he called the "quantum information entanglement network," while the smooth space-time we perceive was the average effect of this network on a macroscopic scale.

Then, he lightly tapped several key Nodes in the network with his pencil tip, a light that was almost mischievous yet incredibly serious flashing in his eyes as he continued, "Look, here, and here... these Nodes can be seen as key hubs in the entanglement network. I was thinking, if... if we had powerful and precise enough means of energy intervention, maybe we could... briefly 'pinch' or 'flick' a network Node, just like flicking a spider web with a finger..."

As he spoke, he imitated a flicking motion with his finger. "...Then, perhaps locally, it could cause a tiny but controllable distortion in the structure of space-time? This distortion might allow information to achieve non-local transmission in some way... or maybe even let us catch a glimpse of a time flow different from the conventional linear passage? Like... like creating a brief vortex in a current?"

This seemingly casual, imaginative addition was like throwing a giant boulder into a calm lake! A senior theoretical physicist from the base, Professor Chen, who had been standing at the door drawn by Excellence's unusual behavior and observing silently, almost jumped in shock upon hearing this! He strode to the table, practically snatching the draft paper, and peered closely at the formulas and diagrams through his reading glasses, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement.

"This... this idea... is incredible! And too dangerous!" Professor Chen's voice carried an unbelievable tremor. "Child, do you know that what you just described so nonchalantly is the most frontier and sensitive subject in current physics—the active manipulation of the space-time metric, the possibility of faster-than-light communication, and even the theoretical prototype of a time machine! These are areas that touch the very foundations of physical laws and ethical red lines!"

Professor Chen's exclamation caused the atmosphere in the rehabilitation room to instantly become heavy. Su Mu and Evelyn also realized the gravity of the situation. In the eyes they turned toward Excellence, amidst the joy, there was now an added layer of worry.

Wang Jianguo received the detailed report immediately, including copies of Excellence's manuscripts, Professor Chen's emergency assessment, and the on-site surveillance footage. Sitting behind his desk, he repeatedly scrutinized those mathematical symbols—symbols he didn't quite understand but felt contained immense energy—as waves of shock surged through his heart.

On one hand, he was incredibly delighted and heartened by Excellence's rapid recovery and the display of a startling talent that far surpassed anything from before. This proved their protection and efforts had not been in vain; Excellence had not only survived but was growing toward an unpredictable height. This was undoubtedly a precious asset for the base and even the nation.

On the other hand, an unprecedented pressure and ethical dilemma weighed heavily on his mind. The wings of Excellence's thoughts were no longer satisfied with soaring in the skies of known knowledge; he had begun trying to fly toward the boundaries of human cognition, even attempting to touch the unknown realms beyond those boundaries—realms that were both full of temptation and extremely dangerous. The "intellectual fruits" he produced were no longer just academic curiosity; they could point toward directions with immense potential risks—whether it was the cognitive crisis potentially triggered by theoretical paradoxes, or the application risks after future technologization that could be enough to subvert the existing international strategic balance or even endanger The Foundations of human survival (for example, uncontrollable space-time rifts, the ultimate form of information weapons, etc.).

"We can no longer treat him merely as a genius youth in need of protection like before." Wang Jianguo took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the decision. "His thinking itself has become a 'strategic resource' that needs to be carefully evaluated and guided, and even a potential 'source of risk.'"

He immediately summoned the core team along with the base's top scientists, philosophers, ethicists, and security experts for a highly confidential emergency meeting.

"Immediately establish a top-level, interdisciplinary Academic Ethics Review Group," Wang Jianguo instructed solemnly, his gaze sweeping across every attendee. "The mission of this group is specifically to be responsible for dynamically assessing the risk level of any breakthrough 'intellectual fruits' Excellence may produce next. We need to set clear red lines: which fields of knowledge can he be encouraged to explore further? Which directions require gentle guidance or temporary restrictions? What 'safety valves' and 'firewalls' need to be set during the exploration process?"

The meeting quickly turned to a more thorny issue: how to handle these works of "epiphany" from Excellence? Should they be kept as top secrets, strictly locked within the base and limited to a very small range of research, or could they be shared with the global scientific community in a limited and selective manner to promote the cognitive progress of all mankind?

A heated debate broke out at the meeting.

A highly respected old scientist, who had dedicated his life to theoretical physics research, turned red with excitement and slapped the table, saying, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! It could be a breakthrough on the level of Einstein founding relativity! The spirit of science lies in openness and sharing! We cannot close this door that might lead to a new revolution in physics just because we fear unknown risks! This is a betrayal of the scientific spirit!"

Meanwhile, the consultant responsible for base security maintained a calm, even somewhat cold attitude, countering, "The scientific spirit is certainly important, but safety and responsibility always come first! We cannot predict whether what flies out after opening this door will be an angel bringing gospels or a demon destroying everything! Once these ideas spread, they could be acquired by any force and used for unpredictable purposes! Until we can ensure absolute controllability, we must be cautious! It's better to be a bit slower than to risk the destruction of civilization!"

Su Mu and Evelyn, as the personnel closest to Excellence, were also invited to attend the meeting. Su Mu was more concerned about Excellence's individual state, saying worriedly, "Chief, teachers, Excellence is like a child who has just discovered a novel toy, full of passion for exploration. If we forcibly restrict his thinking because we're worried about risks, will it cause psychological harm to him? Will it stifle his most precious creativity?"

Evelyn proposed a relatively compromise solution from a technical perspective: "Perhaps... we could try to establish a 'Digital Sandbox' or 'Virtual Laboratory' model? Using our most powerful supercomputers, we can build a completely controlled, highly simulated virtual universe environment for Excellence. Let him carry out his theoretical deductions and thought experiments to his heart's content in this 'sandbox' to verify his conjectures. This can satisfy his desire for exploration and keep his mind active to the greatest extent, while also strictly controlling all deduction processes and possible 'intellectual by-products' within the virtual environment, avoiding real-world risks. It's like providing an absolutely fireproof playground for a child who might play with fire."

This proposal sparked widespread interest and in-depth discussion among the attendees.

Wang Jianguo's Decision: Walking a Tightrope Between Safety and Exploration

After hearing all the opinions, Wang Jianguo fell into a long silence. He knew the weight of this decision; it concerned Excellence's future, the mission of the base, and perhaps even broader interests.

Ultimately, he made a decision that sought balance but was also like walking on thin ice:

"First, under the premise of ensuring absolute safety and absolute controllability, we will support and protect Excellence's spirit of exploration. His talent is our most precious asset; we must not stop eating for fear of choking.

Second, immediately begin establishing the 'Supercomputing Sandbox' system suggested by Evelyn. Concentrate resources to build a virtual research environment supported by top-tier computing power that is completely isolated from the external physical world as quickly as possible. In principle, all of Excellence's thought experiments and theoretical deductions involving high-risk areas must be conducted within this sandbox.

Third, establish a multi-layered review and isolation mechanism. All results produced from the 'sandbox' must undergo strict assessment by the ethics review group to determine their classification level. At this stage, all high-risk or potentially high-yield results will not be made public for the time being, and will be prioritized for enhancing our own technological strength and our ability to deal with potential threats like the Prophet Foundation. We need to make ourselves strong first.

Fourth, strengthen the humanistic care and ideological guidance for Excellence. Su Mu, Evelyn, your work is vital. You must not only care for his life but also pay attention to his ideological trends, nourishing him with positive and healthy values to ensure his exploration direction always points toward the constructive side."

The decision was made, and the entire base, like a precision instrument, began to operate at high speed around the new policy.

As for Excellence, who was at the very center of this storm regarding future scientific directions and ethical controversies triggered by him, he remained completely unaware of the huge waves caused by his thoughts. He was still immersed in his incredibly beautiful mental paradise composed of formulas, imagination, and intuition. To him, it was just an interesting afternoon where he had figured out a difficult problem.

Occasionally, he would put down his pen and paper, walk to the window, and daze at the flocks of birds flying freely in the sky, murmuring to himself in words that still sounded somewhat childish to others: "Their flight paths... those beautiful curves... it seems they can be calculated with my new formula too... If only I could really chat with them and ask how they know to fly like that, it would be great..."

His world was expanding its boundaries in a pure and rapid manner. No one could predict where these boundaries would extend or what impact they would bring to the real world. The only certainty was that the path of guarding him had become more complex and more burdened with responsibility.