1037 Time Machine
Inside the same ward.
A girl with a slim figure wearing a medical gown made of special materials lay inside the dormant cabin.
Lu Zhou was standing next to this “bed”. He handed over a stack of doc.u.ments to her.
“… This is a household registration doc.u.ment, we need your signature.”
Vera tilted her head and said, “Household registration?”
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Yeah, you’re a Fields Medalist. Even though we’re not an immigrant country, we have special policies for talented individuals. I’ve contacted Dean G.o.ddard from the Princeton Inst.i.tute for Advanced Study and explained the situation to him. You’re now technically employed by the Jin Ling University. You’re going to stay here for a long time, so I’m afraid a work visa won’t be enough.”
The visa wasn’t a big problem now, but a couple of decades down the line, it might be c.u.mbersome.
Also, with Lu Zhou’s political power, he could easily obtain a registered residence for Vera.
Not to mention that both Jin Ling University and the Jinling Inst.i.tute for Advanced Study had quotas for hiring foreign talents. For a Fields Medalist scholar like her, any domestic university would be glad to accept her.
There would be no problems for her to integrate into society in the future. The future society would become even more inclusive and tolerant of different races and cultures.
Even though Lu Zhou knew that plans often fell apart, and it was impossible to know what would happen in a century, this was better than nothing.
Vera blinked at Lu Zhou and didn’t say anything. She picked up the pen and signed her name.
Seeing that she didn’t resist, Lu Zhou sighed in relief and spoke.
“… You don’t need an ID now, you’ll get one when you wake up. This is the letter of consent for treatment, are you going to read it?”
Lu Zhou was surprised that Vera signed all of the doc.u.ments without reading them. Lu Zhou was prepared to explain to her one by one what each doc.u.ment meant.
Vera blinked and smiled gently.
“I trust you.”
She then returned the pen to Lu Zhou.
She said, “Okay then… That’s all right?”
Lu Zhou put the pen in his pocket and spoke.
“… Yeah, that’s it.”
“Oh yeah, my savings… It’s not much, but can you send it to my father for me? Do I need to write a will or something?”
Lu Zhou opened his mouth and was about to say something, but he resisted.
He was about to tell her that her father was the one who wanted to end her life when she was in a coma. But he decided against this.
There was no reason to add more sadness to the world.
In the future, her father would be long gone.
Lu Zhou nodded and spoke.
“Okay, I will… Anything else?”
They were running out of time.
The X-0172 bacterial pheromone extract took around half an hour to work. In order to prevent her from having to spend the last half hour waiting anxiously, the hospital nurses already injected the pheromone before she signed the doc.u.ments…
Lu Zhou didn’t want to look at the clock, but he knew he was running out of time.
Vera: “Actually… That’s it, I have one last request, but it’s a bit childish…”
Lu Zhou: “… Tell me.”
Her cheeks gradually started to blush.
“Remember that Christmas? The one in your Princeton home…”
Lu Zhou didn’t know why she suddenly brought up something from so long ago. He nodded and spoke.
“I remember, why?”
“That morning, before I put the wet towel on your head, I actually…”
She bit her lip and hesitated, as if she didn’t want to spill the secret.
But she thought that she wouldn’t have a chance to say this in the future, so she only hesitated for a bit before she spoke with courage.
“Actually… I kissed you.”
Lu Zhou: “???”
Vera secretly looked at Lu Zhou’s face, observing his reaction.
It seemed like Lu Zhou was taken back, so she quickly added.
“No, not there… On the forehead.”
Lu Zhou: “…”
No wonder…
That morning of the hangover, he felt something warm and moist touch his forehead, but the towel on his head was cold. At the time, he thought this was weird, but he didn’t think much of it.
Now that Vera suddenly mentioned this to him, he finally understood what happened…
“Maybe because, back then, I really admired and depended on you, that’s why I did such a thing…
“Sometimes I ask myself, am I in love? And what do I want to get out of this?
“So… Thank you for giving me s.p.a.ce to think about this, to differentiate between liking someone and being dependent on someone.”
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Then… is it clear now?”
Vera smiled.
“Yeah, it’s… the latter.”
Even though Lu Zhou already knew this, his heart still skipped a beat when he heard this.
She closed her eyes and lifted her chin.
“… I don’t want to say it.”
Lu Zhou looked at her trembling eyelashes, and he reached out and pecked her on the forehead.
The scent of jasmine made Lu Zhou feel a little dazed.
Vera had an even bigger reaction; her neck, earlobes, and face were as red as a tomato.
She opened her eyes.
She had a hint of excitement and shyness in her voice as she awkwardly spoke.
“I feel like I won’t be able to freeze.”
Lu Zhou stood up and said, “Freezing is the final step in physics. You’ll fall asleep first, then when you wake up…”
Lu Zhou gulped.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself for this, he still couldn’t finish his sentence.
Vera spoke for him.
“Then… I’ll be in a new world?”
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Yes… For you, it’ll happen in a blink of an eye.”
Regardless of how much time went by, for the person in dormancy, everything happened in an instant.
She wouldn’t have to wait long at all.
A century would have gone by without her knowing it.
Vera could feel her eyes getting tired. She looked at him, as if she wanted to remember this picture in her mind.
“But I don’t want to close my eyes, I don’t want to leave yet…”
“Don’t be silly…”
“I want to be silly… I’m not going to close my eyes.”
“Sorry…”
Slowly, Vera lost consciousness.
She began to sleep and breath peacefully.
Lu Zhou was standing next to the dormancy capsule. He stared at her face for a long time. Professor Liu Zuobing gave a gentle reminder.
“She’s already asleep.
“The pheromone released by the X-0172 bacteria is protecting the host cells in the dormant state… The procedure is very successful.
“You should be happy for her.”
w.a.n.g Peng, who was standing nearby, didn’t say anything. He only patted Lu Zhou on the shoulder.
Lu Zhou took a deep breath and spoke.
“… Let’s start then.”
Professor Liu Zuobing nodded and spoke.
“Okay.”
…
The hibernation process had already begun.
Lu Zhou looked at this “time machine” sitting inside the laboratory.
Academician Zhao Zhongji gently coughed and tried to comfort him.
“Think about the upside, we’re in an era of technological explosion, we even have controllable fusion energy now. Maybe we’ll cure cancer in 70 years… Sigh, but you’ll have aged quite a bit by then.”
The nurse, who has been taking care of Vera this whole time, wiped the corners of her eyes.
“Age is just a number for Vera… She really…”
“Don’t say anything!”
After being scolded by the academician, the nurse shut her mouth.
Even though age was just a number, they would never be together in the future.
Honestly, Academician Zhao Zhongji was more worried about Lu Zhou than the dormant patient.
The majority of top scholars were eccentric people; they were impetuous and often pessimistic.
Not to mention, Lu Zhou might not even be able to live for another 70 years…
Professor Liu Zuobing stood next to the control console. He commanded his subordinates to complete the dormant capsule start-up procedure. Professor Liu Zuobing suddenly thought about something.
“Oh yeah… Are we making this public?”
Lu Zhou took a deep breath and remembered what his father said, so he spoke.
“Make it public.
“She’s a Fields Medalist… We can’t hide this. If we do, people will wonder where she is.
“Also, there’s no reason to hide this.”