They’re all reborn, what’s wrong with being a little more almighty?

Chapter 193 A close friend!
Professor Gelman felt that he, a Nobel laureate, seemed to have no dignity in front of Zhang Wei.

Fortunately, the effect of the three heart stents was still very good. Although the old man was very excited, his heartbeat only accelerated a little, and then he worked hard to calm down.

After all, there is still business to be done!
He brought Zhang Wei to an old man, who looked to be in his seventies. He was sitting on the sofa with his hands on the armrests on both sides, looking very majestic.

Looking at the old man's appearance, he looked familiar. Except for his larger forehead and less hair, his whole face looked like a square-faced version of Lao Dengtou.

"No wonder my first impression was that this old man was quite majestic. It turns out he is the future number one brother in the United States."

Professor Gelman introduced: "Cormac, this is the young scholar I just mentioned to you who has achieved top results in physics, biology, computer science and cryptography. Oh, by the way, he is still there now. To add a field of mathematics.”

A smile appeared on the old man's face: "Hello, young man, I am Cormac McCarthy."

"Hello, Professor McCarthy, my name is Zhang Wei." Zhang Wei also introduced himself.

However, the old man opposite laughed and said somewhat self-deprecatingly: "It seems that I still don't have much fame. No one will know me after I leave the United States!"

Gell-Mann next to him explained, "This old friend of mine is not a professor, nor is he a scientist. He is a writer."

After hearing this story, McCarthy looked surprised and expectant, like a Labrador after seeing food, and the whole dog became nervous!
Just talking about tearing out graphene with tape is new enough, and there is no problem in writing a news report of several thousand words.

Take "Blood Meridian" for example. This novel tells the story of the massacre of Indians by "scalp hunters" in the early days of the founding of the United States. The novel contains various descriptions of blood spatters, massacres, scalpings, etc. It is full of blood and has also been cited as Readers call it "bloody aesthetics", which is quite appetizing.

"Sorry, your demeanor is very scholarly. I thought you were a scientist." Zhang Wei quickly made up for it.

"Tape? What kind of tape?"

But I didn’t expect that you would have such a twists and turns experience outside of the experiment. This is definitely the most exciting scientific research story I have ever heard! "McCarthy couldn't help but praise.

"It seems that you not only like to write stories, but also like to listen to them! Let me think about it, where should I start?" Zhang Wei pretended to be thoughtful, and then said: "Let's talk about graphene first. Have you heard of graphene? "?"

Speaking of his name, Zhang Wei still didn’t know who this old man was, but when it came to his works, Zhang Wei knew the name right away.

McCarthy's son happens to live in Santa Fe, Western Mexico, so McCarthy often comes to the Santa Fe Institute to chat with his scientist friends. If he meets any interested scholars, he will make friends.

If you are a scientist, you may not be interested in Zhang Wei's story. If you don't have time to listen to the story, you might as well read the data in the paper.

McCarthy showed a surprised expression. He had not read Zhang Wei's paper on making graphene, and of course he did not know that graphene was torn out by using tape.

"This story is just the beginning. Next, I will tell you the story of my research on nucleoside modification! This story begins when I went to the University of California, Berkeley, as an exchange student last summer."

"But except for our school, others didn't know that I became a biologist and thought I was a physicist. This incident almost caused a diplomatic dispute."

This is probably the case with McCarthy's son. A literary figure of the old man's level earns a large sum of money from royalties alone every year. Moreover, he is still writing and has new works coming out. This is a cash cow. He must work hard. Serve.

One of his most successful works is "The Road" published in 2006. The background of this novel is the story of a father and son who survived a nuclear war and struggled to survive. It was later adapted into a movie. This book also won him the 2007 Pulitzer Prize.

"It turns out it's him!" Zhang Wei showed an expression of sudden realization.

Zhang Wei continued: "There is also a twists and turns story. You will never guess that I was expelled from school because I successfully made graphene."

Gelman continued: "This old friend of mine has written many best-selling works, such as "The Horse", "Travel", "City on the Plain", and of course the most famous one is "Blood Meridian"! "

But it is a pity that Cormac McCarthy still did not withstand the invasion of time. He passed away in 2023, and ultimately did not wait for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

"I've heard people talk about it and it's said to be a very good new material."

"So you changed from a physicist to a biologist?"

"I thought that the process of your discovery of graphene was the same as other scientists doing research, that is, you spent day and night in the laboratory, repeated experiments, eliminated wrong results one after another, and finally achieved success.

After Zhang Wei sat down, McCarthy asked with a smile: "I heard Murray (Professor Gelman) say that you are a scientific all-rounder that is rare in a century. You have achieved top results in multiple disciplines at a young age. Scientific research results, can you tell me your story?”

In addition, the tortuous and bizarre process of conducting experiments privately, being expelled, shocking the whole school after the results were published, and then being invited back, is enough to write a novel.

Zhang Wei then talked about how he exposed the fraud of Huang Yuxi’s paper at Berkeley.

"Yes, in terms of physical properties, graphene may become the king of materials. Human beings have been trying to make graphene since the 1980s, but they have tried various methods without success. I have better luck and succeeded. Graphene was made using a very primitive method, using tape to tear it off!”

He is best at writing western novels and apocalyptic novels, in which violence, death and the dark side of human nature often appear. These elements explore the complexity and cruelty of human nature, leaving a deep impression on readers.

In 2005, McCarthy was 72 years old. He still looked strong and energetic. Writing words a day was not a dream!
After the two chatted for a while, Zhang Wei learned that although McCarthy was a writer, he was very interested in science, which is why he and Professor Gelman had become old friends for many years.

The son of a parent who has no money or power probably doesn't want to take care of himself in old age, but it's different if the parents have money and power. Hunter Xiao Deng is already in his fifties, but he still hangs around Lao Deng and pretends to be a good boy.

"It was also from that time that I became interested in biology. Then I read a lot of information and came up with the idea of ​​studying modified RNA." Zhang Wei said.

The most famous one is "Blood Meridian". This book was selected as one of the 100 best English-language works of the 20th century by the British Library, and was selected as the best American novel of the 1980s by the New York Times.

Zhang Wei, a scholar who is only twenty years old and has achieved many of the world's top achievements, obviously aroused McCarthy's interest, so this meeting took place.

After about 2010, Cormac McCarthy's fame has reached its peak. He is a popular candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year. It is no exaggeration to say that he is more popular than Haruki Murakami.

McCarthy is not in good health and suffers from a variety of elderly diseases, so he now lives with his son and has someone to take care of him.

The three works "All Horses", "The Crossing" and "City on the Plain" are called the "Border Trilogy". Among them, "All Horses" once won the National Book Award, the highest honor for American literary works.

Next, Zhang Wei elaborated on how he used the experimental equipment without authorization, was discovered by the professor, was expelled, and was invited back after the graphene results were published.

What's more, from the perspective of a scientist, using experimental equipment privately is a mistake. No scientist will allow this to happen. But in Zhang Wei's words, it became "Don't bully young people who are poor". This is definitely in conflict with their values.

"Just regular Scotch tape."

So don’t say that foreigners don’t support themselves in old age. Whether foreigners can support themselves in old age mainly depends on whether their parents are rich and powerful.

While the old man can still write, let him write a few more books. The royalties are inherited anyway. Even if the old man burps, as long as there are enough works, he can make a lot of money just by inheriting the royalties.

Cormac McCarthy is the top literary master in the United States and is known as the only successor to Hemingway and Faulkner.

But to the writer’s ears, this is a very exciting story, with novel discoveries, characters’ low points, story reversals, and strong returns. It sounds like it’s full of ups and downs, and almost all the necessary elements for a good story. elements.

"Diplomatic dispute?" McCarthy's curiosity was suddenly aroused.

"You still remember Huang Yuxi I mentioned just now, right? He is the one who I exposed as a falsifier of the paper. The matter started after he returned to South Korea."

Zhang Wei continued to tell the story, but this time, just halfway through the story, an assistant came in and interrupted Zhang Wei.

"Gentlemen, dinner is about to begin. Please go to the hall to eat!" the assistant said.

"Mr. McCarthy, it seems our story can only end here for the time being!" Zhang Wei decisively chose to break the chapter. McCarthy suddenly felt a little unhappy. Halfway through the story, he was enjoying the excitement, but suddenly he wanted to know what happened next. Let’s listen to the breakdown next time!
"Crap! I won't give you the monthly ticket!" McCarthy cursed in his mind.

But the reason that it was time to eat was reasonable and reasonable. McCarthy couldn't hold Zhang Wei back and not let him go to eat!

"Time flies so fast. I thought I could finish listening to this story, but I didn't expect it would be dinner time so soon. What a shame!" McCarthy sighed.

Zhang Wei said: "Mr. McCarthy, I may stay in Santa Fe for a few more days. If you are interested in my story, I can visit you and tell the story."

"Really? That's great! I welcome you very much!" McCarthy said.

The two left each other's contact information.

……

Early the next morning, Professor Shi took a flight back to Princeton.

Zhang Wei stayed in Santa Fe City.

According to the original plan, Zhang Wei planned to go to Los Angeles to discuss the publication of "Thirst Games" with Amazon's publisher, and then go to San Francisco to meet his old friends in Berkeley.

But the plan couldn't keep up with the changes. Now he met Cormac McCarthy, a literary master. If he didn't get some benefits from the master, wouldn't it be in vain?
So Zhang Wei went to the hotel's business center, took out the USB flash drive he carried with him, and printed out the manuscript of "The Thirst Game".

Then Zhang Wei contacted McCarthy and confirmed that he was at home. Then he bought some gifts and went straight to McCarthy's residence.

McCarthy is very famous in the United States, but he usually lives in isolation. He rarely accepts interviews from the media, rarely attends public events, and almost never talks about his works.

Even the top media in the United States, such as the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, find it difficult to interview him.

Zhang Wei was able to visit McCarthy at his residence thanks to him being a broken dog.

McCarthy invited Zhang Wei into his study room. The two drank coffee while Zhang Wei finished telling yesterday's story.

After hearing the story, McCarthy asked: "What happened to Hwang Woo-suk in the end? Wasn't he sanctioned?"

"The investigation of academic fraud cannot be concluded in a short time. It may take two or three years before we know whether Huang Yuxi has been sanctioned. Of course, the most important thing is to see whether his country is willing to protect him! " Zhang Wei replied.

"I see." McCarthy nodded: "Although I haven't seen the ending of the story, your experience is still very exciting! It's a pity that I don't write documentary literature, otherwise I would definitely put this part of your story Experience, write a book.”

"Speaking of writing books, Mr. McCarthy, have you written any new works recently?" Zhang Wei asked.

"I did write a novel recently. I have already negotiated with the publisher. It is expected to be published soon. Do you want to take a look?"

"Of course, it's my honor to be able to see your new work in advance!" Zhang Wei replied immediately.

McCarthy took out a stack of manuscripts from the drawer, handed it to Zhang Wei, and then said: "This book has not been published yet, so you can only read it here and cannot take it away."

Zhang Wei nodded in agreement, then took the manuscript, looked at the title, and was slightly surprised.

"It's not "The Road"!"

Zhang Wei originally thought that what McCarthy showed him was the Pulitzer Prize-winning apocalyptic novel "The Road."

However, what he saw was not "The Road". The title of the book was "no country for old men"!
The Chinese translation is "Nowhere for Old Men"!
"It's "No Country for Old Men", how could I forget this work!" Zhang Wei thought to himself.

The story of "No Country for Old Men" takes place in a border town on the U.S.-Mexico border in 1980. Hunter Moss accidentally discovered a gunfight scene while hunting, where a large amount of drugs and huge amounts of cash were left behind.

So he decided to take the money home, but this move led to the pursuit of a hired gang killer. At the same time, police Bell was also investigating the case, and a cat and mouse game began.

This novel is also a relatively excellent work, but it did not win any valuable awards.

However, this novel was spotted by the famous Hollywood directors Coen Brothers and adapted into a movie. At the 80th Academy Awards, it won the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Four awards for supporting actor, and nominations for four more.

Among them, the character of the mushroom-headed killer who won the Best Supporting Actor award was cruel, sinister, and unconventional, and has become a classic image in film history.

Seeing that this work turned out to be "No Country for Old Men", Zhang Wei immediately had new plans in mind.

He pretended to be serious and began to read the draft in his hand. From time to time he would show an anxious expression, as if he was really getting into the novel.

But he read very quickly, and he would turn to the next page in about ten seconds.

McCarthy was not surprised by this. In his view, genius scientists must have many extraordinary qualities, and it is natural for them to read faster than ordinary people.

Finally, Zhang Wei finished reading the last page, then sighed deeply, pretending to be unfinished, and said: "Mr. McCarthy, your work is really great. This is simply a classic case of chaotic narrative! You The depiction of objects and the narrative mode are all related to the essence of chaos theory. I have never seen such a wonderful butterfly effect!”

"Oh? It seems you like this work very much!" McCarthy smiled with satisfaction.

Zhang Wei secretly called the devil: "Brother Devil, please give me a review of "No Country for Old Men" in exchange for it!"

The devil didn't respond!

"Devil? Where are you? Is business coming?"

The devil still didn't respond.

"Hang up?"

"You just died!" The devil finally said: "You want to redeem a book review? I found a lot of this stuff online. Can you exchange it for something valuable?"

"Don't worry, I'll use up my life in the worst case!"

"Five minutes of life!" the devil directly quoted.

"Deal! I don't want the physical version, just read it to me." Zhang Wei said.

The devil began to read the book review, and in the real world, Zhang Wei repeated: "Hunter Moss got into trouble because of his greed for money. I think this character represents the universal desires of human beings, as well as the experiences experienced because of desires. Pain and fear.

Living in this world, no one can escape temptation, and everyone must face temptation head-on. The tragic ending of this character is an inspiration to people and a wake-up call for those who walk on the edge of desire!

And the killer seemed a little unreasonable. Killing people was as casual as tossing a coin. He was like a god of death, constantly chasing the hunter Moss who took the money and ran away, but at the same time he was expressing his opinions. Views of life and death.

I think this work, in addition to raising life and death to the level of philosophy of life, is also thinking about how humans should face huge temptations, their own greed, how to face external evil, and internal fear..."

Zhang Wei said it all, and McCarthy's expression on the opposite side gradually changed from an indifferent smile to a look of surprise!
“This young man’s literary literacy is so high and he is able to read such profound things.

More importantly, he really understood the connotation that my work wanted to express!
This is a close friend! "

(End of this chapter)