Chapter 404
I can’t believe it’s actually Charlene!
Dalton, Maureen, and Leah-none of them are Al majors, so they don’t really grasp just how groundbreaking Charlene’s paper is. But there’s one thing they do know: Vesta’s PhD advisor, Dr. Kevin Smith, is a huge name in the Al world. The kind of person who gets invited to keynote at MIT and whose opinion can make or break a research trend.
So when a world-class figure like Dr. Smith pays special attention to a paper- going so far as to personally tell Vesta to study its innovations carefully-you know it’s a big deal. Plus, Professor Mack’s doctoral student just said that Charlene’s paper is causing a stir both in the US and abroad; top engineers in the industry have been staying up all night to read it.
Clearly, Charlene’s paper is pure gold.
But how could such a game-changing paper possibly have been written by… Charlene?
Professor Mack doesn’t know who Charlene is, much less the tangled history between her and the Hawkins or Spencer families.
He hasn’t actually read the paper yet, but he’s heard that it boosts large language model processing efficiency by over ten times. Just imagining the implications is enough to get him excited.
He turns eagerly to Stewart. “Is this engineer-Charlene-here with us now?”
“She sure is,” Stewart says with a smile, then gestures toward Charlene. “Professor Mack, meet Charlene.”
With a name like “Charlene Ross,” you wouldn’t immediately guess if she’s a guy or a girl. She’s always kept a low profile, whether at meetings at Henderson Tech or just now. She doesn’t seem like someone who demands the spotlight. But still, she’s strikingly beautiful-there’s something about her that people remember, even if they don’t know her.
They just never expected her to be… this brilliant.
When Professor Mack realizes the author of the paper that’s shaken the whole At world is none other than Charlene, his surprise quickly turns to enthusiasm. He stands, walks over, and introduces himself. “Hello, Ms. Ross. I’m Professor Mack from Evermore College-most of my work these days is in foundational Al theory and applied development. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you.”
Charlene stands to shake his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Professor Mack. Honestly, I should be the one honored here.”
Mack’s introduction is so polite and humble, you’d almost think he was the junior and Charlene was the seasoned expert.
Leah watches, her jaw clenched in frustration.
All this fuss for one paper? Seriously?
Maureen frowns, too.
Just then, Stewart glances at Vesta with a friendly smile. “Ms. Hawkins, you mentioned earlier you wanted to really dig into this paper. If you run into any tricky parts while you’re studying it, Charlene would be more than happy to help.”
Vesta presses her lips together, clearly annoyed.
To Leah, it’s almost
f
unbearable seeing a renowned American professor treat her younger peer with such respect. When Stewart actually has the nerve to suggest her own sister, a top Ivy League PhD, should go to Charlene for advice, she snaps.
She slams her hand down on the table, voice ringing out. “Are you out of your mind?”
She shoots Stewart a glare. “My sister is a PhD graduate from one of the world’s best universities. Charlene? She’s just an undergrad! And you think my sister should go to her for help? What kind of joke is this?”