Genius Club

The same trick never works twice. The first time someone makes a grand gesture, it’s brilliant. But when someone else tries the same thing, it just feels awkward.

“Well, it’s alright,” Musk said, smiling sheepishly. “After all, it’s just the four of us here. Let’s just pretend we didn’t hear that, okay?”

“Actually, it’s five,” came a voice as the double brown doors swung open again.

Newton walked in with an energetic stride. It was hard to tell if he did it on purpose or not, but even though Newton was clearly just as old as Copernicus, he had set his virtual avatar to look like a young man. Not only that, but he even spoke and moved like one.

“Glad to see you’re still alive, Elon,” the young-looking Newton said as he walked past Musk’s chair. He gave him a pointed look.

“From what I know about Copernicus, I’d have thought he’d kill you and then replace you with a double… But I’ve been following your Twitter. It’s hard to believe there’s an actor out there who could replicate you without a single slip-up.”

Musk chuckled. “Since we’re talking about Copernicus, I might as well announce something a bit early.” He raised both hands dramatically. “Everyone, quiet down and look this way!”

“W… wait… for me…” Another voice came from behind as the double doors opened yet again. The thin figure of Gauss, wearing his trademark mask, was running in, trying desperately not to miss anything. “Phew… just made it…”

“You won’t be seeing Copernicus ever again,” Musk interrupted Gauss’s stammering. He spoke loudly, his voice echoing in the room. “I’ve finally killed that annoying old man! For good!”

The room fell completely silent.

“Are you serious? How did you manage that?” Da Vinci asked, sounding genuinely amazed.

Newton had just taken his seat and now leaned forward with curiosity. “Oh? Are you sure you didn’t kill the wrong guy? I’ve been at odds with him for years and never managed to catch him… Did you really kill him? Can you tell me his real identity and address?”

Galileo, who was sitting across from them, snorted. “Elon, you’ve said plenty of things over the years. Like how you were gonna send people to Mars by 2026—heck, you even sold tickets… Now that that lie’s falling apart, you’re just coming to the club to tell tall tales, huh?”

Beside him, Gauss shakily sat down in his high-backed chair. He looked left and right, gulped a few times, and finally managed to whisper, “But Cop—”

“Einstein!” Da Vinci’s clear voice drowned out Gauss. Everyone turned their heads toward the black wooden high chair placed higher up on the platform.

An elderly man wearing an Einstein mask was slowly making his way down the steps.

Lin Xian, who had been watching all this unfold, finally understood—the president always had privileges. While everyone else entered through the main doors, Einstein alone was allowed to enter from the back.

Da Vinci had noticed Einstein arriving and called out, “Einstein, tell us if it’s true! Is Copernicus really dead? That would be such a relief!”

However, the old man with the Einstein mask simply shook his head. “The Genius Club charter states that we follow a lifelong membership policy. Whether a member is dead or alive, their seat in the club remains forever reserved for them.”

“Oftentimes, members may treat their own death as part of their future plans. For that reason, I will never publicly confirm or deny a member’s death—as that, too, is part of their privacy… even if they are truly gone.”

Da Vinci huffed. “But when Elon said Turing was dead back in June, you confirmed it! You even told us that Turing had become a digital entity. Then, during our July meeting, without us even asking, you mentioned that the digital Turing was also dead.”

Einstein finally reached his black wooden chair, sat down, and looked at Da Vinci. “Ms. Da Vinci, you were absent for two years. It was during that time that Turing joined the club. Regarding the matter of member deaths, Turing is a unique case. Everyone here, except for Rhine, should already understand that.”

Da Vinci tilted her head, glancing around at the others. “Why is Turing unique?”

“Now that you mention it,” Newton spoke up, “when Elon disappeared, we were all debating whether he was truly dead or not. But Einstein didn’t say anything back then—neither confirming nor denying it.”

“So why was Turing’s death publicly acknowledged? Can someone explain it to me, the absentee?”

Across from her, Gauss nodded slightly. “Because… Turing… he… knew too mu…”

“Turing was responsible for rebuilding the VR meeting system, so he knew everything about us,” Galileo interrupted, explaining patiently. “Einstein made it clear when Turing first joined that the reason for letting him rebuild the VR system and rewrite the authentication mechanism was to better protect our privacy—since Turing really did have that kind of advanced technology.”

“But because of that, Turing knew each of our identities, addresses, future plans… everything. So Einstein made two promises at the time:

Turing was forbidden from revealing any information about other Genius Club members and could not harm any member.

If Turing died, Einstein would immediately inform the club during a meeting, and all access permissions would revert to Einstein—as they have now. We no longer need to worry about anyone knowing our true identities.”

Lin Xian wanted to point out that Turing had indeed tried to kill him—in the most reckless manner, even dropping a space shuttle. But he stopped himself. He understood now. Whether it was Turing or Kevin Walker, they had tried to kill him when he was not yet a club member. Therefore, it didn’t break any rules. This also explained why Kevin Walker, who had every reason to hate Musk, never made a move against him—because of Einstein’s “ban.”

Thinking about it further, if Kevin Walker really wanted Musk dead, he could’ve just flown a space shuttle straight into the Observation Tower. Why only destroy Musk’s satellite and factories without harming him directly?

When it came to Lin Xian himself, at that time, he hadn’t been a member of the Genius Club, so Einstein’s ban didn’t protect him. Kevin Walker had been free to target him.

As for the mysterious events surrounding Yu Xi, it all made more sense now. Einstein was omniscient, so not even future Turing could defy the ban—even if he wanted to kill Musk, he had to find another way, using Yu Xi as a pawn.

This had even been confirmed in the Sixth Dream, where Turing had told Lin Xian that the mastermind behind the Great Catastrophe of 2400 was Galileo, but he couldn’t say anything more. If he tried to, Einstein’s restrictions would activate, reducing him to ashes.

One had to admit—Einstein, as president, really covered all the bases. He had prevented all possible catastrophes, restricted Turing’s abilities, and found a balance between information and privacy.

That was why he had said, if Turing died, he’d announce it in the meeting, relieving everyone of any fears.

However… why had Turing handed over Kevin Walker’s hiding place to Copernicus?

That had been permitted by Einstein’s ban. The ban only forbade Turing from revealing other people’s secrets—it didn’t prevent him from disclosing his own.

As Musk had said, in the club, you weren’t allowed to pry into others’ secrets, but you could reveal your own. If you were reckless enough, you could rip off your mask and shout out your plans for the future.

That was Elon Musk in a nutshell—overconfident, blinded by his own arrogance. It was a confidence that had nearly cost him his life. If Lin Xian hadn’t saved him, Musk would’ve been dead for two months now. Whether he regretted his earlier arrogance, Lin Xian could only guess—but he suspected Musk did.

Over the last while, Musk had been much more careful. He repeatedly warned Lin Xian to keep his identity secret, not to underestimate the other geniuses, and even offered to take the blame for him. Clearly, Musk had learned his lesson—once bitten, twice shy. His carefree attitude now was just bravado.

After Galileo finished his explanation, Miss Da Vinci nodded. “I see. Still, Einstein, shouldn’t you have filled me in on such an important matter once I returned to the meetings? And Rhine, who joined after Turing, also doesn’t know about this. Shouldn’t it have been explained again?”

Einstein shook his head. “Absence has consequences.”

“…”

Da Vinci fell silent.

Lin Xian didn’t have anything to add either. This was just how the club worked. If you missed meetings, you couldn’t expect to have the same information as everyone else.

It wasn’t just about Turing. During the two years Da Vinci was absent, each member had asked over twenty questions, which meant there had been at least a hundred questions in total. Was Einstein supposed to repeat all of them for her once she came back?

Lin Xian was, of course, all in favor of this policy. He had skipped hundreds of questions himself.

But unfortunately, Einstein wasn’t the type to make exceptions. The whole point of the club’s meetings was that fewer participants meant more exclusive questions—that was the rule. If you didn’t want to be left behind, you just couldn’t afford to skip.

“No problem,” Newton, who sat beside Da Vinci, smiled. “Einstein won’t tell us directly, but we can always ask the right questions, can’t we? The rules say our questions and their answers can’t concern other club members, but there’s an art to asking, you know. Rhine, you’re the newest here, so let me teach you how to ask cleverly.”

Newton snapped his fingers at Lin Xian. “Pay attention. I’ll only demonstrate this once.”

“Got it, big bro!” Lin Xian immediately folded his hands in respect.

What a great guy. Even though Lin Xian had already figured out some of the tricks, Newton’s willingness to ask whether Copernicus was really dead was a windfall—a free question!

He was a true old-timer, always looking out for the newcomers. Lin Xian’s respect for Newton increased by another point.

Newton looked up at Einstein. “Time’s up. Can we start the meeting now?”

Einstein nodded, officially starting the meeting. “Newton, it’s been a long time since you asked a question. You seem eager today.”

“Of course.” Newton chuckled. “I can’t wait to hear some good news, Einstein. My question is:

‘From now on, will there be any scientists or mathematicians dying for human-caused reasons at 12:42 a.m.?’”

Hearing this, Da Vinci and Gauss couldn’t help but smile.

It was indeed a “clever” question. They could already imagine various responses and realized that no matter what Einstein’s answer was—even if he refused to answer—they’d still be able to deduce whether Copernicus was truly dead.

Only Lin Xian and Musk didn’t smile. The two of them looked at each other in silence—a comical Rhine Cat and a solemn Tesla—but said nothing.

Great minds really do think alike.

These veterans knew exactly how to ask an all-encompassing question—it was impressive.

Einstein looked at Newton, waited a moment, and then shook his head. “From now on, there will be no more.”

Clap, clap, clap…

Newton started clapping. “If Turing were still around, we’d need him to add champagne-popping, firework, and confetti effects to our VR system—if not now, then when?”

“Well done, Elon. You ended a menace to humanity. Although I think even if you hadn’t killed him, he wouldn’t have lasted much longer. With his health, even with a cryo-pod, there’s no telling if he’d survive.”

“But still, I commend you. Not killing Copernicus back when our physical meeting ended has always been a regret of mine… Now, although it’s late, you’ve helped me make up for it.”

Da Vinci took a deep breath. “Unbelievable… Copernicus is really dead. Though I’ve long awaited this day, I thought it would never come. As the first to join the Genius Club, he had the most perfect, unfettered opportunities to ask questions… I thought he knew so many secrets that he’d be impossible to kill.”

“Everyone dies,” Galileo spoke softly. “Humans are imperfect—we all make mistakes, we all slip up, and our flesh and blood cannot withstand bullets or blades. When it comes to mortality, we’re all equal.”

…

Elon Musk joined Newton in applause, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He didn’t seem surprised by Einstein’s response at all.

Lin Xian, however, felt a mix of relief and confusion. Einstein’s answer suggested that Copernicus was really gone, for the most part. The old man he had killed… it had to be the one and only Copernicus.

Yet, doubts lingered in his mind. Could someone else have taken up Copernicus’s mantle to carry out his plans?

But there was a contradiction. Einstein had said there would be no more scientists or mathematicians dying because of human actions at 12:42 a.m. Didn’t that mean Copernicus’s plans had completely failed?

Unless…

Copernicus’s real plan was even more complicated than anyone imagined.

Three phrases popped into Lin Xian’s mind—the Temporal Police, the Temporal Court, and the Temporal Shuttle.

He was fairly sure of one thing now—the Copernicus who had caused Xu Yun, Tang Xin, and Ji Lin’s parents’ deaths had truly been killed by him. His and Angelica’s revenge was complete. That was something worth celebrating.

But what about the mysterious old man from the Fourth Dream? Was he Copernicus, or was that still unclear?

Even if he wasn’t Copernicus, he was definitely connected. Probably one of his accomplices—maybe someone like a “Second Copernicus.”

Honestly, what Lin Xian feared most was Copernicus stealing the Entangled Spacetime Particle. Now that Copernicus was dead, would that mean the particle was safe, and he wouldn’t be hunted by time-traveling assassins anymore?

Lin Xian decided that when it was his turn to ask a question, he would ask about time travel and temporal assassins to make sure there were no more threats.

Once the applause ended, Einstein looked over at Galileo. “Your turn, Galileo.”

Galileo spoke up. “I want to know if there’s a way to keep one’s memory intact after long-term cryosleep. And I don’t mean the crude way of waking up every few years, which just ends up hurting the body and cutting lifespan.”

“Look into neurobiology,” Einstein replied without hesitation. “When the next major breakthrough in neurobiology happens, humans will be able to overcome memory loss during cryosleep.”

No!

Lin Xian furrowed his brow, a chill creeping over him.

Einstein’s answer was too precise—it hit the mark exactly.

Lin Xian could already picture what would happen at the next meeting, which was scheduled for October 1st. Galileo would definitely ask about neurobiology, wanting to know when the breakthrough would happen and who the scientists involved would be.

And, without a doubt, Einstein would mention “Du Yao’s” name in front of everyone.

Everyone present knew just how significant it would be to solve the problem of cryosleep-induced memory loss. It would be a world-changing achievement.

If Galileo or anyone else found Du Yao, they might decide to support her, fund her, and provide a lab so she could focus on her research. That would be fine—Lin Xian had no intention of monopolizing the Brain Neural Electric Helmet technology. Such an important discovery should be shared with the world. He had no plans to use cryosleep anyway.

More importantly, he’d seen too many friends suffer from memory loss because of cryosleep—people like Xu Yi Yi, Wei Sheng Jin, and Zheng Xiang Yue.

If these geniuses genuinely wanted to help protect and support Du Yao so she could solve the memory loss problem, that would be ideal.

But Lin Xian had his doubts. He worried that Galileo’s interest in the topic was somehow twisted, that there was some dark reason behind it.

What if Galileo didn’t want humanity to keep its memories? What if he planned to kill Du Yao and destroy her research forever?

If Galileo learned Du Yao’s name, it would be too late to stop him.

Lin Xian had to act—now.

He narrowed his eyes. Galileo’s next question was a month away.

That gave him one month to find Du Yao.

…

Einstein turned to Da Vinci next. “Miss Da Vinci, what’s your question this time?”

Da Vinci paused, thinking. “Now that Copernicus is dead, there shouldn’t be anything in the way of humanity’s technological progress. The future should be bright. So my question is: what will be humanity’s next big breakthrough in energy?”

“The invention of the micro nuclear battery,” Einstein answered immediately.

Thud.

Lin Xian felt his heart skip a beat.

What is happening at this meeting?

Why do I feel like I’m about to be exposed?

Are these old guys conspiring against me? Come on, give me a break.

“Micro nuclear battery?” Da Vinci asked, looking puzzled. She turned to Elon Musk. “Elon, what’s a micro nuclear battery? I know about nuclear batteries, but why micro?”

“Probably like the ones used on moon rovers and space probes,” Musk said, stroking his chin. “Nuclear batteries have been used in aerospace since the last century, but they’re still too flawed. They’re just not fit for civilian use.

“So honestly, I’m stumped. I have no idea how a micro nuclear battery would work. Now I’m really curious… which brilliant scientist came up with such a revolutionary device?”

Lin Xian closed his eyes, keeping silent.

Please, less talking, buddy.

Einstein looked at Gauss next. “Gauss, your turn.”

The small man nodded slowly. “I… don’t… have… a question…”

Lin Xian’s eyes widened. Was Gauss out of questions?

During the last two meetings, Gauss had asked a question and received a “no” answer, but hadn’t asked anything else since.

Which meant…

He must have wanted a negative answer all along!

…

Einstein turned to Elon Musk. “No. 7, Tesla. You missed the last two meetings. What’s your question this time?”

Musk grinned. “This time, I want to ask something a bit more entertaining. It’s one of science’s great mysteries, and honestly, I don’t even know if you have the answer.

“My question is—where are the ashes of the famous 20th-century physicist, the proposer of the Theory of Relativity and Mass-Energy Equation, Albert Einstein, scattered?”

Everyone but Lin Xian looked at Musk, confused.

Why would he ask such a pointless question? Was it just because he admired Einstein?

But then again, Musk had always been a bit unpredictable. This wasn’t the first time he had asked a strange question at the meetings.

In fact, in a previous meeting, he had even asked Einstein who would win the next U.S. presidential election—it was impossible to guess what Musk would say.

So while the other members were momentarily puzzled, they didn’t dwell on it.

The only ones who really cared were Musk and Lin Xian.

The elderly man wearing the Einstein mask looked at Musk for a few seconds, then spoke slowly:

“Refused. Question voided.”