Chapter 94: The Adler Family
"Hey, where did everyone go?"
Rachel returned from the bedroom, properly dressed, only to find the living room nearly empty.
"They all left,"
Monica replied absentmindedly, her attention focused on searching the area where Phoebe had been sitting.
"What were you screaming about earlier?"
Rachel asked, puzzled.
"Nothing."
Monica felt a wave of anxiety, not wanting to share this troubling matter with Rachel right now, fearing it would cause problems if Rachel accidentally let it slip.
Rachel didn't press the issue. Seeing Paige still staring at her chest area, she asked uncomfortably, "What are you still looking at?"
"Nothing."
Paige's gaze remained unchanged, her lips curled up in a mischievous smile. "You're so pretty."
"..."
Rachel suddenly felt self-conscious. She tried shifting positions several times, unable to escape Paige's stare. Finally, she stood up, crossed her arms over her chest, and headed for the door. "I'm going to check on Chandler and Joey."
Monica waved her away dismissively, continuing to examine the sofa cushions and carpet on her hands and knees.
She couldn't help herself.
She was also dealing with obsessive-compulsive tendencies and germaphobia.
Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.
There was a rhythmic knock on the door.
"Coming!"
Monica jumped up suddenly, straightened the sofa and carpet, tidied herself up, gave Paige a pleading look asking for cooperation, and went to open the door.
"Chuck, you're here."
"I'm here."
Chuck nodded and walked in.
"Chuck, good to see you again."
Paige smiled and waved.
"Paige."
Chuck nodded at Paige.
"You two sit and chat for a while, I need to finish dinner."
Monica suddenly remembered she was still cooking, so she called out and hurried back to the kitchen.
"Sit here."
Paige gestured for Chuck to join her at the dining table: "What level are you on?"
"Fourth level."
Chuck replied after sitting down.
"Me too."
Paige smiled: "I'm two days ahead of Sheldon. How about you? When did you reach the fourth level?"
Chuck told her the timeframe.
Paige calculated and looked even happier: "So we're at about the same pace. Too bad I didn't run into you there."
In this mathematical treasure hunt, each level was located at a specific place. Only after solving a problem could you get the coordinates for the next level, and then you could see the next problem.
The two of them discussed the solutions to the math problems from the first four levels for a while. Paige suddenly asked, "Chuck, do you have a major mathematical research focus?"
Chuck asked back, "Do you have one?"
"Yes."
Paige nodded. "Do you know Diane Adler?"
Chuck looked at her intently.
"I can see that you know her."
Paige smiled and said, "She was a very famous female mathematician. Over twenty years ago, she was hailed as a genius comparable to Newton and Einstein, and the mathematician with the greatest potential to solve the Navier-Stokes equations."
The Navier-Stokes equations are partial differential equations describing the motion of viscous fluid substances, established by French engineer Claude-Louis Navier and British mathematician George Gabriel Stokes in the 1820s and 1840s respectively.
Like the P versus NP problem being studied by Professor John Harper, they are among the seven Millennium Prize Problems, unsolved by countless brilliant minds for over a century.
"And then what happened?"
Chuck asked.
"But tragically, she took her own life seventeen years ago."
Paige shook her head sadly.
Chuck was silent for a moment. "So you're planning to focus on the Navier-Stokes equations?"
He knew about Diane Adler, of course.
He was just a little surprised that Paige brought her up. Although Diane Adler had been a renowned figure in the mathematical community over twenty years ago, hailed as the mathematician with the greatest potential to solve the Navier-Stokes equations that had puzzled the world for over a century, hope is just hope.
Without an actual solution, there's no way to achieve the historical status that would place someone alongside scientific giants like Newton and Einstein. A once-famous mathematician will ultimately become a footnote in history, fading into obscurity like countless other brilliant minds.
The fact that Paige, at such a young age, knew about someone who died 17 years ago suggested she had set a mathematical goal, targeted the Navier-Stokes equations, and learned about Diane Adler through that research.
But Chuck knew Diane Adler for different reasons—not through mathematical connections.
"Did you know?"
Paige smiled. "My mother's maiden name is Adler."
"Is your mother related to Diane Adler?"
Chuck finally couldn't hide his surprise.
"Is that so strange?"
Paige looked at Chuck with curiosity.
It was the first time she'd seen any expression beyond his usual stoic demeanor, and she couldn't help but feel intrigued.
Chuck studied her for a long moment, then nodded, "Not strange at all."
Upon closer inspection, he could see some resemblance to the Adler family features, but it was so subtle that no one, not even Chuck, had made the connection before.
Paige was still a little puzzled by Chuck's unusual reaction, but she couldn't quite figure out why. She set aside her curiosity for now and explained, "Diane Adler was a distant cousin on my mother's side—very distant. Because it was a suicide, my mother never told me about it. It was only when I kept hearing people call me a math prodigy and learned there had been another remarkable mathematician in the Adler family that I discovered I was related to the brilliant Diane Adler."
"So you researched Diane Adler's background,"
Chuck said, regaining his composure. "Learning she was once the most promising person to solve the Navier-Stokes equations, are you planning to make that your main focus?"
"That would make for quite a story, don't you think?"
Paige smiled confidently.
Clearly, she was certain she would one day be the first to solve the Navier-Stokes equations.
"Maybe."
Chuck remained noncommittal: "That's assuming you can actually solve it. I'd suggest not rushing into it."
He was right.
Choosing any of the Millennium Prize Problems as your personal research direction was like jumping into a massive pit that was easy to fall into but nearly impossible to climb out of.
Too many genius mathematicians had entered with complete confidence only to spend their entire careers trapped without making meaningful progress.
"Is that why you haven't chosen any specific mathematical problem as your focus?"
Paige looked at him with confusion.
She really couldn't believe that a genius like Chuck hadn't chosen any research direction.
"I've explored a bit of everything."
Chuck said calmly: "I haven't settled on any major research direction yet."
"..."
Paige's mouth fell open, then she laughed in amazement.
She had wondered how Chuck could be less ambitious than Sheldon, who lacked confidence in making revolutionary breakthroughs in mathematics and had switched to studying physics, preparing to develop in theoretical physics instead.
She had still underestimated Chuck's ambition.
He hadn't decided on a major research direction, but the reason wasn't lack of confidence—it was that every direction was his main focus!
(End of chapter)
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Power Stone or Review!
P@atreon/Soulforger (45+ advanced chapters)