The Science Fiction World of Xueba

The tarmac was densely packed, with hundreds of people standing.

"How come there are so many people?"

Pang Xuelin looked at the crowd on the tarmac with some surprise.

Liu Tingbo also moved his head, looked at the scene outside the porthole, and said, "Professor Pang, they should all come to welcome you."

"Welcome me?!"

Pang Xuelin was a little unbelievable.

This ostentation was even higher than attending the Nobel Prize award ceremony last year.

Those nerds in the math world can do such a thing?

Liu Tingbo seemed to see what Pang Xuelin was thinking, and said with a smile: "Professor Pang, I am afraid you have underestimated your own influence in the mathematics world. Among other things, how many mathematicians in the world are studying Ponzi geometry? The Ponzi geometry seminar, the young scholars in the mathematics world want to come in, the number of places is only a dozen or so every year, and now many young mathematicians regard you as their idol..."

Pang Xuelin nodded thoughtfully.

Although in the outside world, after ordinary people hear Pang Xuelin's name, they will immediately associate this name with lithium-air batteries and the Nobel Prize.

But in the eyes of the mathematics community [UU Reading 00kxs], Pang Xuelin is not doing his job properly.

Many mathematicians believe that if Pang Xuelin does not develop lithium-air batteries or superconductors, with his talent, it is entirely possible to achieve greater achievements.

"Some people even said that if Pang Xuelin concentrates on mathematics, he is expected to become the God of mathematics."

This sentence was first circulated from Faltings. The old German man said in an interview with the media that Pang Xuelin is another great figure in mathematics after Pope Grothendieck in algebraic geometry in the 20th century. A super genius.

Then, he added another sentence: "It's a pity that this guy is not doing his job properly, otherwise, he could become the God of mathematics."

After hearing this comment, Pang Xuelin could only shake his head and smile wryly.

I don't know if I can see this old man at the International Congress of Mathematicians.

The passenger plane slowly stopped on the apron, the plane door opened, and the gangway truck slowly connected to the plane.

Afterwards, the accompanying flight attendant said, "Professor Pang, you can get off the plane now."

Pang Xuelin nodded, and under the leadership of the stewardess, got up and walked out of the plane first.

The crowd who greeted them on the tarmac burst into cheers.

Pang Xuelin walked down the gangway.

Two people walked towards them, one was tall and thin with bald hair, the other had a big belly and was only about 1.6 meters tall. They swayed and swayed as they walked, looking a little funny.

The bald old man first extended his hand and said, "Professor Pang, hello, welcome to St. Petersburg. I am Marcelo Viana, chairman of the Organizing Committee of the St. Petersburg International Mathematicians Conference."

"Mr. Chairman, hello."

Pang Xuelin smiled and shook hands with Marcelo Viana.

Immediately afterwards, he turned his gaze to another old man with a big belly, and said with a smile, "Hello, Chairman Kenny."

The pot-bellied old man smiled and said, "Professor Pang, I'm finally looking forward to you."

The old man with a big belly is Carlos Kenny, a professor at the University of Chicago, a member of the American Mathematical Society, and the current president of the International Mathematical Union.

Next, under the leadership of Marcelo Viana and Carlos Kenny, Pang Xuelin shook hands with the bigwigs who came to welcome them one by one.

Among them are some bigwigs from the International Union of Mathematicians, as well as political figures such as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia and the mayor of St. Petersburg.

At the same time, Perelman and Mochizuki Shinichi who followed Pang Xuelin,

I also shook hands with the people who greeted me one by one.

Even compared to Pang Xuelin, Perelman received more welcome when he returned to his home court.

After all, Perelman is also a long-established bigwig, and he is also a native of St. Petersburg. Not long ago, he cooperated with Pang Xuelin to solve Hodge's conjecture.

Especially in the recent mathematics circles, Perelman, in a sense, is second only to Pang Xuelin in the limelight.

If it was placed two years ago, Perelman might not be able to accept such an occasion at all, and would leave without paying attention.

However, after staying in Jiangcheng for two years, and contacting the scholars of Ponzi's geometry seminar from time to time, his withdrawn temperament has improved a lot.

In addition, here is St. Petersburg, Perelman's hometown, returning to a familiar environment, Perelman reluctantly accepted the welcome ceremony.

Afterwards, everyone boarded the convoy arranged by the Russian side and went straight to the hotel.

In the evening, the Organizing Committee of the International Congress of Mathematicians specially hosted a banquet for Pang Xuelin and his party.

After eating, there was nothing to do next, and everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

The International Congress of Mathematicians will not open until August 8th, and mathematicians from all over the world will continue to arrive in St. Petersburg during these two days.

Everyone rested in the hotel all night, and the next morning, after eating the hotel's buffet breakfast, Pang Xuelin had just returned to the room when there was a knock on the door.

Pang Xuelin ran to open the door, and saw Perelman and Mochizuki Shinichi standing at the door.

Mochizuki Shinichi spoke first, "Pang, Grigory is going to go home, do you want to go and have a look together?"

"Okay, wait for me."

Pang Xuelin laughed.

Soon, he finished packing and followed Perelman and Mochizuki downstairs.

As soon as he walked to the entrance of the hotel, Pang Xuelin saw Zuo Yiqiu and Ai Ai walking hand in hand, talking intimately while walking.

Pang Xuelin was a little curious, and didn't know how the two girls saw each other.

When Zuo Yiqiu was with Pang Xuelin, he rarely showed this state.

Most of the time she is more serious and a bit heavy-minded.

When she was in Jiangcheng, although her relationship with Yao Bingxia and Qi Xin was not bad, it was far from close.

On the contrary, when he was with Ai Ai, Pang Xuelin vaguely saw the deliberately suppressed nature in Zuo Yiqiu.

"Where are you going?"

Pang Xuelin asked curiously.

Hearing Pang Xuelin's voice, both of them raised their heads.

Ai Ai laughed first and said: "Master, Sister Zuo and I are going to go out for a stroll."

Zuo Yiqiu also followed suit and asked: "Professor Pang, are you guys planning to go out? Do you want me to follow?"

Pang Xuelin smiled and waved his hands and said: "It's okay, just go with Zhou Chen. I'll give you a day off today, you can go out with Ai Ai, remember not to come back too late."

"good."

Zuo Yiqiu nodded.

Ai Ai said with a smile: "Master, let's go first."

With that said, he pulled Zuo Yiqiu and walked out of the hotel.

Pang Xuelin shook his head with a smile, and said to Perelman and Mochizuki, "Let's go too."

Then, the three boarded the convoy waiting at the door.

When going abroad this time, Pang Xuelin's security level is fully equipped according to the specifications of high-level leaders, and even the bulletproof car he takes is airlifted from China.

Pang Xuelin was a little indifferent. With his current ability, ordinary assassinations did not pose a threat to him at all.

Soon, the car started and drove towards the neighborhood where Perelman lived before.

Twenty minutes later, the convoy stopped near an old community.

The architectural style of this community has a strong flavor of the Soviet era, and there are not many pedestrians around. Occasionally, someone passing by will look curiously at Pang Xuelin and his party.

The infrastructure near the community is limited, with cracked asphalt roads, fallen leaves all over the ground, and rusty bus stop signs, which look dilapidated.

"Grigory, is this the place where you grew up?"

Pang Xuelin asked curiously.

Perelman nodded, with a trace of nostalgia on his face.

"Let's go in."

Perelman said.

Pang Xuelin nodded, and said to Zhou Chen beside him: "You guys stay outside, I will go there with Professor Grigory and Mochizuki Shinichi."

"But Professor Pang..."

Zhou Chen hesitated.

Pang Xuelin smiled and said: "Don't worry, our itinerary was reported to the Russian authorities yesterday, the security inside must have been screened, and there are not your Russian counterparts around?"

Seeing Pang Xuelin's firm attitude, Zhou Chen could only nod helplessly.

Pang Xuelin entered this dilapidated neighborhood together with Perelman and Mochizuki.

To Pang Xuelin's surprise, Perelman did not take them home directly, but went to a small grocery store hidden in a corner first.

The shop owner was a bearded old man with a red nose, and he seemed a little surprised and surprised by Perelman's arrival.

"Grigory, I haven't seen you for a long time. I heard that you went to China. How are you?"

Perelman nodded and said, "I'm fine, old Wade, bring me a pack of black coffee, three pieces of rye bread, three red sausages, oh, yes, and a small bottle of vodka."

"Okay, 725 rubles in total."

Perelman touched his pocket, with a look of embarrassment on his face.

Pang Xuelin and Mochizuki Shinichi on the side also looked at each other in blank dismay, they also did not bring any money.

Old Wade seemed to see their predicament, and said with a smile: "Grigory, take the food first, and treat it as if I invited you great mathematicians to eat."

Pang Xuelin asked curiously, "Do you know us?"

Old Wade pointed to the TV in the corner, and said with a smile, "Why don't you know me? You are Professor Pang Xuelin, the famous inventor of lithium-air batteries. The person next to you should be Professor Mochizuki Shinichi from Japan. There are reports."

Pang Xuelin laughed loudly and said, "Mr. Wade, thank you very much."

"Oh, by the way, you don't have glasses for vodka, do you? I'll give you three more glasses."

Old Wade took out three more small wine glasses as if juggling, and handed them to Pang Xuelin.

Pang Xuelin took over.

Afterwards, Pang Xuelin and Mochizuki followed Perelman to the downstairs of an apartment with the food mentioned by Mochizuki.

When there were more than a hundred meters away from the apartment building, Perelman suddenly stopped and stared blankly ahead.

"What happened to Grigory?"

Mochizuki Shinichi asked curiously.

Perelman didn't speak, Pang Xuelin and Mochizuki Shinichi followed Perelman's gaze, and saw a woman in her forties hovering at the entrance of the corridor downstairs in the apartment building.

"Grigory, do you know that woman? Is it your lover?"

Shinichi Mochizuki asked curiously.

Perelman didn't answer, but Pang Xuelin helped Perelman explain: "Probably not, I think it might be Grigory's sister."

Pang Xuelin had investigated Perelman's information before, and knew a lot about his life.

Perelman was born in a Jewish family in St. Petersburg, Soviet Union on June 13, 1966. His father was an electronic engineer and his mother was an elementary school mathematics teacher.

Although ordinary parents could not provide him with superior material living conditions, they gave him a smart and studious mind.

Fascinated by numbers, Perelman began poring over elementary school math textbooks when he was four years old.

At the age of six, Perelman entered the elementary school taught by his mother.

At that time, he was already able to easily add, subtract, multiply and divide three-digit numbers in his mind, while his classmates had just learned to do pen calculations within two-digit numbers.

In 1982, Perelman entered St. Petersburg No. 239 Secondary School, which is a school with mathematics and physics teaching characteristics.

Only three months after entering school, he participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad and won the gold medal.

At that time, the 16-year-old boy genius got the highest score ever --- out of 42 points.

One month after winning the award, the mathematics prodigy received an invitation from an American university to provide him with a generous scholarship. However, he declined the invitation to study in the United States.

After graduating from high school, Perelman entered the Department of Mathematics of St. Petersburg University without examination.

In the second year of university, he chose the most complicated research direction in mathematics—differential geometry.

The students all unanimously described him like this: he is as smart as an alien, and he is proficient in all the majors he has studied.

But he is careless about his appearance, often carrying a tattered bag full of books, wearing a frayed dress with holes, and not cutting his long hair.

He doesn't smoke or drink alcohol. During his years in college, he has few friends except for mathematics.

In 1987, Perelman was admitted as a graduate student at the Steklov Institute of Mathematics of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, and stayed at the Institute after receiving his doctorate in 1989.

On weekends, he goes home to tutor his middle school younger sister Elena in mathematics. In the evening, he plays the violin, and his sister sings and dances. His parents are their audience, and the family of four enjoys themselves happily.

Later, his younger sister also became a mathematician and worked in biostatistics research at the famous Karolinska Institute in Sweden, which is not unrelated to Perelman's influence.

However, the originally peaceful family, with the changes in the political situation in the Soviet Union, the Perelman family also experienced major changes.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, many Jews living in the Soviet Union immigrated to Israel.

At the end of 1991, Perelman's father and sister also joined the ranks of immigrants, but his mother was determined not to leave Russia, and the two parties eventually parted ways.

The incident hit Perelman hard.

Since then he has shut himself up and is determined never to leave his mother.

Perelman's character would become so withdrawn and out of gregarious, the departure of her father and sister should have a lot to do with it.

In the past two years, after coming to Jiangcheng University. Perelman's personality has only slightly brightened.

"Professor Pang, Xinyi, I may have some personal matters that need to be dealt with. You can wait for me here."

Pang Xuelin nodded and said, "Go."

Perelman stepped forward, said a few words to the woman, and soon, the two entered the corridor.

"Pang, what shall we do next?"

Mochizuki is new.

Pang Xuelin laughed, pointing to the stone tables and chairs in the small garden not far away, and said, "Let's sit there and drink some wine, and wait for Grigory to come out."

"OK."

Mochizuki Shinichi said.

Then, the two went straight to the stone table and sat down, and placed the food they had just bought on it.

Pang Xuelin directly tore off the film of the red sausage with his fingernails, opened the vodka again, and poured a glass for himself and Mochizuki.

It was August in St. Petersburg, and the average temperature was only around 20 degrees, neither hot nor cold, very comfortable.

The two ate red sausage and chatted while drinking.

Vodka is an ultra-high-concentration liquor, basically an alcoholic smell, not as mellow as domestic liquor.

Wang Yuexin couldn't stand it after two sips, but it was Pang Xuelin who enjoyed the red sausage while drinking.

He is basically not picky eaters, and eats whatever he has, except potatoes, of course.

The Martian world has eaten potatoes for seven or eight years in a row, and Pang Xuelin still can't forget the taste.

After about two hours, Perelman and the woman finally came out of the house and came to Pang Xuelin and Mochizuki's house.

"Professor Pang, let me introduce you, this is my sister Elena."

"Ms. Elena, hello."

Pang Xuelin and Mochizuki Shinichi shook hands with Elena respectively.

Yi Lianna smiled and said: "Professor Pang, Professor Xinyi, hello, thank you two for taking care of my brother during this time."

Pang Xuelin smiled, but did not speak.

At this time, Elena turned her gaze to Perelman.

Perelman pondered for a moment and said, "Professor Pang, after the International Congress of Mathematicians, I would like to ask you for leave."

"What's wrong?"

Pang Xuelin was slightly taken aback, and said curiously.

Perelman said: "My father passed away. I discussed with my sister and planned to bring his ashes from Israel back to St. Petersburg to be buried with my mother."

Pang Xuelin said: "No problem, just let me know if there is anything I can help you with."

A faint smile appeared on Perelman's face, and he nodded.

At this time, Irina said: "Grigory, then I won't bother you. If you have anything to call, I will be in St. Petersburg during this time. I will call you after the International Congress of Mathematicians is over. , when the time comes, we will go to Israel together..."

Perelman nodded and said nothing more.

After Elena left, Pang Xuelin and Mochizuki went to Perelman's house to sit for a while.

Perelman's home is a two-bedroom house with only two rooms, one of which was converted into a study by Perelman. No one has lived in it for more than a year. Except for a little dust, the house is generally clean.

What left the deepest impression on Pang Xuelin was the bookshelves in the study. From the floor to the ceiling, there were densely packed with various books and manuscripts, and all kinds of formulas were written on them.

Pang Xuelin imagined the scene of Perelman proving the Poincaré conjecture in such an environment more than ten years ago, and gained a new understanding of this guy.

The outside world's evaluation of Perelman is mostly eccentric, withdrawn and autistic, and indifferent to fame and fortune.

When Perelman came to the United States as a visiting scholar in 1993, he solved many mathematical problems, including the famous "soul conjecture".

Its outstanding achievements soon attracted the attention of the American mathematics community.

A number of well-known universities such as California University, Stanford University, MIT, and Princeton University hired him to teach with high salaries, but he declined them all.

A year later, he returned to work at the Steklov Institute of Mathematics in St. Petersburg.

Because of his achievements in mathematics, the European Mathematical Society awarded him the "Outstanding Mathematician Award" in 1996, but he refused.

In 2002 and 2003, Perelman posted three papers on the website, successfully solving the Poincaré conjecture, one of the seven major problems in mathematics.

This incident shocked the entire mathematics world. In 2004, the Steklov Institute of Mathematics recommended him to be elected as an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but he also rejected it.

He resigned from the firm the following year.

At the International Mathematical Congress held in Madrid, Spain in August 2006, the International Mathematical Union (IMU) decided to award the Fields Medal to Perelman.

However, facing this great honor, he also chose to refuse.

In a sense, mathematics is all Perelman, and he will reject any behavior that affects his research.

This is why he agreed to give lectures at Harvard, Caltech, Princeton and other universities in the United States after he proved the Poincaré conjecture, but he had no time to attend the award ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians.

Because to him, it's a complete waste of time.

Even the reason why Perelman was willing to accept his invitation to work at Jiangcheng University was more because he valued his own Ponzi geometry than the environment that Jiangcheng University could provide him.

Of course, in the past two years at Jiangcheng University, both the academic environment of the Ponzi geometry seminar and the living environment in Jiangcheng obviously satisfied Perelman. Otherwise, with Perelman's temperament, I'm afraid he would have returned to St. Petersburg long ago and lived his solitary life again.

Moreover, Pang Xuelin could faintly feel that Perelman's attitude towards academics has also changed a lot during the two years of life in Jiangcheng University.

Otherwise, he would not have accepted the invitation to the International Congress of Mathematicians at all.

...

The three stayed in Perelman's house until the evening before returning to the hotel.

As a result, Pang Xuelin just returned to his room, and not long after, a bunch of old acquaintances came to the door.

The leader is Mochizuki Shinichi's teacher, Faltings, a big man from Germany.

In addition, there are old acquaintances such as Peter Schulz, Pierre Deligne, Qiu Chengtong.

When these old acquaintances arrived, Pang Xuelin naturally wanted to meet with them for a while, and Mochizuki Shinichi and Perelman were also pulled over.

In the evening, everyone held a small cold dinner in the conference room of the hotel.

While chatting, they were discussing the proof paper on Hodge's conjecture that Perelman and Pang Xuelin jointly published not long ago.

Pang Xuelin also specially found Ai Ai who had been wandering outside for a day, and introduced them to these big guys.

This can also be regarded as accumulating contacts for Ai Ai's future development in academia.

It wasn't until nine o'clock in the evening that the buffet feast ended smoothly.