Chapter 117: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (4)

“Nice to meet you.”

Young-Joon shook hands with Jamie Anderson. There was a slight tension in the seminar room. From Oliver’s perspective, it felt like the transition from one generation to the next: the encounter of Jamie Anderson, the scientist who was the king of biology from the mid-twentieth century until now, and Young-Joon, the young and ambitious genius who was opening a new chapter in science.

Click!

Someone took a picture of them. It was a young research professor from MIT, a student of Jamie Anderson’s.

“It’s a nice shot,” he said as he walked toward them. “Doctor Ryu and Doctor Anderson together in one photo. I think this will be published in a biology textbook someday.”

Jamie Anderson laughed happily.

“Keep that photo safe,” he said.

Then, he turned to Young-Joon again.

“Doctor Ryu has been doing well recently, making a pancreatic cancer cure and a diabetes cure. To be honest, I think your achievements have already gone beyond all the other scientists in the room. Including me.”

“You flatter me,” Young-Joon replied humbly.

Ring!

With a ring, a message window popped up near Jamie Anderson’s head.

[Synchronization Mode: Observe the change in Jamie Anderson’s cerebral blood flow. Fitness consumption: 2.5]

—Quite an interesting emotion.

Rosaline suddenly popped out. She floated around in the air and landed on Jamie Anderson’s shoulder. Then, she looked into his head.

‘What’s interesting?’

—

The emotion is very complicated. I have never seen anything like this.

‘What is it?’

—

I have to use fitness to show you.

‘Use it.’

Young-Joon was so curious about the complicated emotion Jamie Anderson was feeling as he looked at Young-Joon. As he went into Synchronization Mode, a large map of a brain appeared in front of his eyes.

Swish. Swish.

The flow of his blood showed up. The points that were being activated appeared. A strong nerve reaction showed up in a few locations along with conditioned taste aversion. The emotions were delivered to Young-Joon completely raw. It wasn’t logical because he didn’t know why they were occurring, but he could experience the emotions that Jamie Anderson was feeling: astonishment, envy, anger, admiration, disgust, jealousy, emotional, thankful...

‘Can these emotions be felt simultaneously? How?’

As Young-Joon was about to feel a bit of confusion...

“Mr. Ryu,” Jamie Anderson said.

“Oh, yes?”

Young-Joon left Synchronization Mode. The emotions that were rising within him cooled down completely.

Jamie Anderson said, “Look around you. There are forty scientists here. Everyone here is a Nobel laureate, is a nominee, was a nominee, or will be a nominee soon enough.”

“...”

“And most of them are Caucasian, European people. The only people who aren’t are you, Professor Kakeguni, and Professor Lieping Chen.”

Lieping Chen was a Chinese-British professor at Yale University.

Young-Joon looked around. Just like Jamie Anderson said, the non-white person was himself, Kakeguni, and Lieping Chen.

“Do you know what this means?” Jamie Anderson asked. “I’m not sure.”

“I’m saying that cultural background has some influence on conducting scientific research, just like how Japan, which succeeded in modernization relatively quickly and started working on science, has quite a few Nobel Prize winners, but Korea doesn’t have anyone yet.”

“...”

“Just like how it’s difficult for Korea to study science compared to Japan, if you think of it on a wider scale, it’s difficult for Asia to study science compared to the West. However, all three of you are amazing people as you have come this far nonetheless,” Jamie Anderson said. “In particular, Doctor Ryu, you have shown results that would be a landslide victory compared to any scientist here in just a year. You did an amazing job in a comparably difficult environment. It’s incredible.”

It was a compliment, but Young-Joon felt a little uncomfortable for some reason.

‘Maybe it’s because he took Asia as a whole and treated it like some underdeveloped country in science.’

In fact, that was actually not the case. It wasn’t like the Anglo-American region represented the West, and there were a lot of research institutes in Asia that made significant achievements as well. However, it wasn’t something to be so offended by if Young-Joon took it euphemistically, and there were some parts to admit as well.

“Thank you for your praise,” Young-Joon replied.

As he was about to end the conversation, Jamie Anderson pulled something out from his coat.

“I will give you this, Doctor Ryu.”

It was a golden badge. Scientists who were near Young-Joon were surprised when they saw it.

“Sir!” the research professor from MIT shouted.

“It’s alright. He has the right to get this.”

“I’m sorry, but what is this?” Young-Joon asked.

“It’s a membership to the GSC, the Great Scientists Club.”

“GSC?”

“It’s a group of the best scientists in the world. There are a total of one hundred people from the scientific field including biology, medicine, chemistry, and space science.”

“...”

“You can think of it as the organization that leads mankind. GSC has its headquarters in the United States, and we provide various kinds of advice and counsel to the UN, governments in various countries, and large multinational corporations,” Jamie Anderson said. “I’m telling you in advance, Doctor Ryu, that this position cannot be filled by just anyone. I have offered this position to people only a few times. Even Nobel laureates can’t join easily. You can only join when a seat opens up when someone leaves or dies.”

“Who left?”

“Doctor Stephen Hawking passed away recently.”

“Ah...”

“It has been vacant since then, but I get to recommend someone for the position. I am giving it to you, Doctor Ryu.”

Young-Joon glanced around. All the scientists were frozen and in shock.

“What kind of obligations will I have if I take this?” Young-Joon asked. “There isn’t anything like that. This badge only comes with rights and honor. I guess the obligation is not to ruin the honor. You can return it right away if you don’t like it, haha.”

“... Then I will take it. Thank you.”

Young-Joon took the badge.

* * *

Kakeguni and Carpentier both said something similar to Young-Joon as they left the seminar room.

“It’s a good thing that you joined the GSC. There are a lot of amazing scientists there. But don’t keep Jamie Anderson close.”

Carpentier gave Young-Joon personal reasons, such as that Anderson had a crappy personality, but Kakeguni’s reasons were different.

“That person is a racist. He is also sexist.”

“Really?”

Young-Joon was shocked.

“He has all three aspects of being an American, white male supremacist. He was condescending to Asia back there, too. He can’t just lump Asia into one and belittle it like that.”

“...”

“You probably didn’t know because you haven’t been in the mainstream of science for long and you’ve done nothing but study; you haven’t socialized with scientists at all. But stories have spread among all the star scientists.”

“...”

“Doctor Ryu, do you know how Jamie Anderson discovered the double helix structure of DNA?”

“Professor Anderson, Professor Francis Crick, and Professor Michael analyzed the X-ray crystallography of DNA and discovered it, right?”

“That’s right. Then, do you know who took that X-ray crystallography?”

“It was... Oh!”

Young-Joon’s eyes widened. The name he heard a long time ago during his general biology class came to mind. And coincidentally, it was the same name he had been calling in the past year.

“Rosaline...”

Whoosh!

[Rosaline Lv. 17]

—Metastatic Status: Heart (9%), Liver (47%), Brain (9%), Kidney (15%), Spinal Cord (8%)

—Synchronization: 20%

—Cell Fitness: 9.4

The status window popped up. But Young-Joon wasn’t calling Rosaline.

“That’s right. Rosalind Franklin,” Kakeguni said. “She was the scientist who took a picture of a DNA crystal with X-rays and obtained an X-ray crystallography image.”

“...”

“Doctor Ryu, a grandpa like me can’t teach you science now, but I can tell you old stories. I was a young student who was burning with passion and curiosity back when the structure of DNA was revealed. You probably weren’t even born yet, haha,” Kakeguni said with a smile. “It was a pretty big issue at the time. Rosalind actually did most of the work to reveal the structure of DNA by herself. She was deserving of all the praise Jamie Anderson is receiving right now. However, she did not receive the Nobel Prize; she had already passed away when it was being awarded. The reason was because she was exposed to too much X-ray, and she died of ovarian cancer.”

“...”

“And before she died, Jamie Anderson took that X-ray crystallography photo and wrote a paper. Do you think he got Rosalind’s permission?”

“He didn’t...?”

“Yes. He stole it without permission.”

“...”

“Doctor Ryu, there was a huge star scientist who was said to be the best in the world in the mid-twentieth century when Jamie Anderson was revealing the structure of DNA. In chemistry. Do you know who it is?”

“Chemists back then... Linus Pauling?”

“That’s right.”

Kakeguni nodded.

“He was the top scientist in the world before Jamie Anderson appeared. And he also worked on analyzing the structure of DNA. He was ahead of him. But in the end, he lost his results to Jamie. Why do you think that is?”

“... I’m not sure.”

“Because he couldn’t participate in the conference Rosalind was at. He was invited, but he couldn’t go. If he met Rosalind, he might have looked at the X-ray and figured out the structure of DNA first. Then, why couldn’t he go? It was because he was at the forefront of the anti-nuclear and anti-war movements. He could not leave the country.”

“...”

“If Einstein dominated physics at the time, Pauling dominated chemistry. But he didn’t even participate in the Manhattan Project. He led the signature campaign and gave lectures that were against nuclear tests and making weapons like that,” Kakeguni said. “Because of that, Pauling lost the opportunity to see definitive evidence, the X-ray crystallography image of DNA. However...”

Kakeguni smiled.

“He received the Nobel Prize in Peace for his anti-war movements. And an intellectual like Pauling would have easily gotten the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. That’s why Pauling is a two-time winner: chemistry and peace.”

“...”

“Doctor Ryu, scientists are people who explore knowledge. But people who are at the top, the teachers of mankind who are called star scientists, have to do more than that. And you are one of them, Doctor Ryu.”

“...”

“As a professor who taught you briefly a long time ago, as a scientist living in the same time as you, and as a citizen living on this planet, I hope you become Linus Pauling, not Jamie Anderson.”

* * *

Park Dong-Hyun and Jung Hae-RIm were looking at the posters for the professors.

“Hae-Rim-ssi, do you want to make a bet?”

“About what?”

“Whether Kakeguni or Oliver gets the award.”

“Ha! Of course, it’s Oliver. Don’t you know he’s the one that developed the immune checkpoint inhibitor?” Jung Hae-Rim replied like she was wondering why he was asking her such an obvious question.

“But Professor Kakeguni isn’t an easy opponent, either. He discovered the tumor induction process of immune cells, and the treatment method of antigen-presenting cells...”

“Dong-Hyun-ssi!”

Someone suddenly called Park Dong-Hyun and ran towards him. It was Young-Joon.

“Oh, sir.

“Hello. Have you been enjoying the seminars?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Um, well... I’m sorry for asking you a question like this so out of the blue, but the artificial cell the Life Creation Department was working on was called Rosaline, right?” Young-Joon asked.

“Yes.”

“Was that from Rosalind Franklin?”