Chapter 120

Chapter 120

Royal Durand Technology Institute

Now really can't reverse.

Since they discovered even the possibility of the computer following the refrigerator, further future prediction was meaningless.

The world war with high possibility of occurring 10 years, or 15 years later.

Numerous people will die, but ironically there were clearly aspects the lessons obtained from that developed the world.

Rapid globalization for post-war economic reconstruction, tremendous anti-war public opinion the tragedy of the great war created, the fall of imperialism and the status system, and the wind of colony liberation that blew worldwide.

Might be turning points one would have reached one by one even if leaving still.

But if due to the butterfly effect I caused Britain becomes tremendously strong, soloing and blocking the world war and making all that history bypass...

Believing all results of the butterfly effect will be positive is an excessively pure illusion.

So rather there was the option of interfering so the computer can't be made, but I didn't choose.

No, rather gave hints and shortened the suspension stage infinitely.

Not just because of the childish emotion of wanting to see the computer developed quickly.

Just curious. How much positive influence the changed world line will have on the world.

So I was thinking of taking a bit of responsibility for the changes I caused.

Exactly up to the degree my power reaches. More than that unreasonable.

From that point the current chairman hat was quite sweet.

The next morning, I lifted the telephone and politely asked to connect to Whitehall.

Then a middle-aged man really politely received my call.

- Haa, C-chairman! Hello! This is Archibald!

"Ah, yes, Director. Is the call okay?"

- Naturally okay! What matter...?!

He was the technology bureau director belonging to the Whitehall Board of Trade.

Technology bureau director and technology development review chairman.

I was a temporary position, but with this one position could become his superior.

Don't know the reason he always comes out low to me. Maybe because my investiture became that much of a topic.

Anyway now I'm also a baronet.

Quasi noble, but in the meaning that promotion to baron is scheduled late or early the treatment was already no different from formal nobles.

Just can't enter the House of Lords.

"Hmm, Director, this is really me not knowing and trying to confirm. Okay to ask a few?"

- Yes, speak comfortably!

"That... By any chance are there some young mathematicians with spare hands in London?"

- Yes?!

"No, well, even undergraduates okay. Anyway want to receive some dispatch from the university most excellent in mathematics...?"

Origin being origin, thorough in social current affairs but a bit weak in such professional parts.

Roughly know all university names. But didn't know well up to which university is excellent in what.

Couldn't use modern knowledge either. That is well don't know if the difference of a hundred years fits as is.

If the most famous university in modern Britain would pick Oxford, but no guarantee the same even in the current era, right?

- Chairman, not words because my alma mater, if mathematics and science, astronomy Cambridge is the best. Associate members and formal members of the Royal Society also mostly Cambridge origin. Ashamed but I also graduated as optime in the Mathematical Tripos.

As expected not Oxford. Local person's official, Cambridge is 1st that words.

But Tripos? Optime? What's that?

Hearing the talk Cambridge holds an extremely difficult degree exam called Tripos, among them mathematics boasts a notorious difficulty called the world's most difficult exam.

What have to solve hundreds of ultra-high difficulty math problems staying up all night for a few days?!

Among them 1st is called Top Wrangler and receives the highest honor, upper ranks Wrangler, middle ranks Optime.

Even becoming Optime was treated as super elite the British academia, education, industry anxious to take.

Wrangler or above just monster, super genius or psycho crazy about mathematics. Such a feeling that seemed.

Worth boasting.

"Then can you gather some mathematicians of Wrangler grade or above among Cambridge personnel the director's hands reach? I'll sufficiently compensate."

- Chairman, gathering a few scholars in the name of the Board of Trade not difficult. But still justification is needed.

Justification?! Indeed justification should be there. A matter of calling people.

I willingly decided to borrow Teacher William Thomson's statement.

"Teacher William Thomson said people who want to solve Hilbert's 23 problems and receive the Nobel Prize must run?"

- Yes?! Chairman, now what... N-Nobel Prize?!

Of course, never actually said such words.

Hilbert's problems also just slightly threw something remaining somewhere in my memory.

The first Nobel Prize winners not yet announced. Because not December yet.

But academia and media already all knew who the winners.

Physics prize Wilhelm Röntgen of Germany who discovered X-rays, chemistry prize Jacobus van 't Hoff of the Netherlands who analyzed osmotic pressure phenomenon, medicine prize Emil von Behring of Germany who developed the diphtheria vaccine, literature prize French poet Sully Prudhomme, and peace prize Jean Henri Dunant of France who founded the Red Cross.

No Briton here at all.

What swept the prizes all European mainland. So current British science community a bit 'scratched' state.

Even statements of ignoring saying an award without authority but that well a matter history will inform later.

If technology bureau director, not hard to guess such atmosphere would be quite uncomfortable.

My expectation immediately matched.

- Please wait! W-will send right away! Will contact Cambridge immediately now! Let's gather mathematicians with excellent skills of Wrangler or above! Next Nobel Prize! Oh my!

The call ended with this.

What to use gathering young mathematicians?

Naturally have to send to computer research! Not completely a lie. If only having the computer those problems, somehow will be, right?!

No matter how much an outsider in science, know that calculation algorithms are all based on mathematics.

Knew Teacher Thomson is healthy compared to the age, but honestly seeing the appearance of burning passion yesterday rather became worried.

Mr. Edison already over middle-aged, Mr. Tesla also middle-aged.

At least Mr. Fleming looked young, but similarly mid-40s.

No people to do miscellaneous work, right?!

So the calculation that if adding young hands and fresh ideas much more efficient.

Well, not a bad condition for them either.

That is computer, right? If doing well the name is engraved in history together?

I was thinking of gathering people like that, and once forming 'Team Durand'.

Honestly because attaching my name here and there so much, now entered the resignation stage.

If later establishing a research institute, a name like 'Royal Durand Institute' also seemed okay.

Research place? The lodging building next to the restaurant. Still 20 empty rooms remain.

Detach a few rooms and say research there. If anything the wooden warehouse on the backyard side also empty.

The refrigerator research team already using that like that.

Like that while looking at various miscellaneous tasks and waiting, right before 11 o'clock tea time, the mathematicians Director Archibald sent arrived at my restaurant.

They were a total of four, and the composition was quite unique from the start.

First the one standing at the very front one young professor. At a glance seemed around late 30s.

"Hello, chairman. I'm Francis Macaulay teaching mathematics at Cambridge."

"Ah, nice to meet you."

"And these two friends are Russell and Hardy who are in charge of lectures in the mathematics department together with me."

"Hello, respected Chairman Durand!"

"Chairman! Received the call and hurried! We're not late, right...?!"

The remaining two people seemed around early to mid-20s.

One professor and two lecturers.

The appearance looked exactly like doctoral course graduate students who stayed up all night for about a week at graduate school, but said not doctors.

In current era Britain no need for doctoral degrees necessarily. Meaning even obtaining only master's can sufficiently eat and live in academia.

Russell and Hardy, both promising mathematicians who achieved high grades of 10th or above in the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos.

Godfrey Harold Hardy and Bertrand Arthur William Russell.

Names why so long?!

One tall and skinny like me, one made a friendly smile but looked like would make a time machine car appearing in British SF dramas.

Really won't later, right...? That really the world line twisted very severely?!

"Hmm, but who is that friend?"

I pointed at the quiet boy standing behind the three people.

I said even undergraduates no relation, but no matter how well giving not looking 20s?!

Age too young!

"Ah, this friend isn't a university student but a disciple I'm separately teaching mathematics. Will be helpful. Made him solve Tripos problems and continuously put out 1st place answers."

The boy's name is John Edensor Littlewood.

So, the words of a mathematics prodigy.

The 'real' only heard by rumor appeared in front of my eyes.

Ah, repeatedly emphasizing but I'm a fake genius.

Burdensome, the genius title.

"Well anyway nice to meet you. Would have been sudden."

"Not at all! The friends here are people crazy about mathematics if able to find even a bit of clue to Hilbert's problems, prepared to pitch a tent on the Thames River and sleep rough for a month. Hahaha!"

Clearly so.

Usually overwhelmed by the splendid interior of this restaurant and first lose spirit, but these seemed not caring about such at all.

Eyes sparkling, already the heart went to the bean field.

A bit pricked this.

"By the way where is Teacher Thomson? Said help needed so hurriedly rode the carriage and ran."

"Ah, if that..."

Pretending not, this person also clearly showing some anxiety symptoms, seemed I threw too big a bait.

Well, that will know if seeing ahead.

I quickly took these math addicts to Teacher Thomson who was passionately designing algorithms.

The old professor also very brightened as soon as seeing the preliminary research slaves.

"Who is this! Macaulay! Sir Durand said will attach a few people to help and you came!"

"Teacher Thomson!"

No need to transfer all the matters that occurred after that.

Even though only one day passed, drawings completed up to results seeming something possible if only solving the vacuum tube material, seeing Teacher Thomson's eyes bloodshot clearly stayed up all night.

Wish someone stopped that. Really will damage health?!

Anyway the added 3 mathematicians and 1 mathematics prodigy, heard the old professor's passionate explanation and were moved and pledged to become fervent believers of 'Team Durand'.

An calculation machine turning with electricity.

In fact even if not these any mathematician in London an achievement one can't endure.

So I repaid them by detaching one room each of the lodging.

Say research grinding all night on their own.

The rest a matter time will solve.

* * *

I willingly decided to detach the Board of Trade's research and development fund for Team Durand's computer research.

Initially thought have to report all this somewhere and receive confirmation, but no need.

Looking turned out the top decision maker was me.

Although a budget limited to the international cooking exposition, if planning the plan myself and stamping myself ends.

Computer also just bringing a plausible prototype by next June, right?!

So I decided to firmly believe Baron Kelvin and the newly added four research colleagues. There adding Mr. Fleming six people will do on their own well.

About that budget source I also have a bit to say.

In just 2 weeks after my investiture ended, ultimately the government caused a matter.

As Chairman Balfour guaranteed, the British army really concluded a ceasefire agreement with the Orange Free State and decided to withdraw from South Africa.

Thought the country would flip, but the wave wasn't that big more than thought.

Rather because those claiming an absurd causal relationship that all this is due to the person called 'Jean-Paul Durand' conducting a wounded soldiers welfare campaign and the tragedy of the Boer War being exposed and the government kneeling appeared!

No, no matter how looking doesn't make sense, right?! Why does the government kneel for just that reason?!

Anyway thanks to that the government gave me the Knight Grand Cross to soothe me, and even the tremendous image of me being a war hero who ended the Boer War was overlaid.

This can't help but suspect the result of Chairman Balfour's public opinion manipulation.

At the investiture said share only half the criticism public opinion with me, right?!

No matter what anyone says this time there was a clear culprit!

As the chairman guaranteed, I was packaged as a war hero, and received all kinds of spotlights alone.

Is this a flow that makes sense?!

Thanks to that I couldn't even do the walk I enjoyed and almost fixed as a fixture on Lombard Street here.

Lombard Street residents know me well so the newspaper article first came out and briefly wow! and passed, but in other regions still a situation of turning the head and looking even if only the name 'Jean-Paul Durand' comes out.

If a budget obtained like that, executing as I wish is a natural right.

The fields I'll take responsibility and fill besides cooking at this exposition are four. Technology, culture, inventions, art.

Inventions if only having the refrigerator and grinder, and early type computer sufficient I thought.

The rest bring from other countries. Contact American Kodak company and bring the latest film camera too.

Now the turn to ponder the remaining fields.

Unfortunately I was an outsider in such places.

Sighed, and lifted the telephone again.