Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Jonathan & Physics Engine
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Jonathan Roberts.
He wasn't a scholar whose name alone rang bells for everyone, but anyone working in the IT industry would have heard of him at least once.
Nicknamed the "Father of Expert Systems," Jonathan was hailed as a pioneer in the field of AI.
He had gained fame for developing systems that embedded human knowledge into computers, enabling expert-level judgments in specific domains.
In particular, his chemical structure analysis system and medical diagnosis system had caused a massive stir in their respective fields, shocking the world.
As a result, Jonathan was a talent that major corporations—especially IT companies—were desperate to recruit.
However...
"What? Are you asking me to join a company right now?"
"Yes, Professor Jonathan. We'll match whatever salary you desire, along with equipment and personnel."
"Nonsense! I'm a scholar who researches for the public good! The only thing I want is for my work to contribute to the advancement of the world."
Countless prestigious companies that coveted his abilities had all been turned away by Jonathan's stubborn personality.
"You've arrived, Professor."
"Of course I had to. It's the moment my successor is born—I couldn't skip it, no matter how bothersome."
"Your successor?"
"Something like that."
Professor Jonathan, who normally considered even academic conferences a waste of precious research time and avoided external activities otherwise.
So when he announced his attendance at the CES expo, the organizers had naturally prepared a VIP seat and a welcome team for him.
"I heard he's got a really picky and sensitive personality, but he seems surprisingly straightforward?"
Cameron, the CES staff handling today's escort duties, felt relieved seeing the cheerful-looking Professor Jonathan.
"Don't mess this up! His influence in the IT industry is beyond imagination. If you upset him even a little, we're done for!"
Cameron had been repeatedly warned by his superiors to serve Jonathan without ruffling a single feather.
"Plasma TV?"
"Ah, this is a TV using the newly announced plasma display technology. As you can see, it has no afterimage and no color distortion based on viewing angle."
There was still time before the expo's highlight exhibition, so Jonathan decided to tour the venue in the meantime.
What caught Jonathan's eye was the plasma TV exhibit.
"Plus, it's advantageous for scaling up, making it the next-generation display to replace current CRTs."
"Nonsense."
"Pardon?"
Cameron, who had answered Jonathan's question with utmost sincerity, was taken aback by the response.
This plasma TV was revolutionary tech that CES was pushing hard this year—calling it nonsense?
He was dumbfounded but couldn't argue back against such an opponent.
"The low-intensity color reproduction is terrible. Raising resolution is incredibly difficult with this structure. It generates a lot of heat and consumes massive power, so scaling up will only create more problems."
"How do you..."
"Researching computers means accessing technologies across all fields of the world. We've already reached a point where feeding display expertise into a computer gets you an analysis."
After hearing Jonathan's casual explanation, Cameron finally started to understand why so many giant corporations were clamoring to recruit this unassuming middle-aged man.
"Chasing money is why we get these half-baked products."
"...But don't these technologies have their roles to play?"
"That's the excuse of those trying to sell them. True technology for humanity moves hearts without any flowery words."
"It'd be great if you found such technology at this expo, Professor."
Jonathan responded to Cameron's words with a snort.
In his view, such technology wouldn't emerge from a commercial event like this.
For example, take Jonas Salk, who freed all of humanity from the terror of polio.
After countless trials and errors developing the polio vaccine, the press swarmed Salk with one question.
How much did he plan to sell the patent for?
But Salk told those reporters:
"Would you patent the sun?"
Thanks to Salk, humanity escaped that horrific disease and advanced further.
'That's what technology is. Making everyone happier, turning the world into a better place.'
As Jonathan reflected briefly on technology once more, the face of his disciple who had stormed out of the university two years ago suddenly came to mind.
Genius.
Jonathan didn't call just anyone a genius.
To him, a genius was someone capable of creating something that could upend the world.
He didn't even consider himself one, so during his tenure as a Caltech professor, he had yet to meet anyone who met that bar.
But six years ago, Jonathan met his first "genius."
He had been shocked by the paper written by Seon Woo-hyuk, who was still in high school at the time.
Unlike other students' papers, which were superficially plausible, Woo-hyuk's was rigorously practical and efficient in discussing computer systems.
So Jonathan had gone straight to his house after reading it, offering a full scholarship to bring him to Caltech.
At the time, Jonathan believed Woo-hyuk would be a beacon for humanity, like Jonas Salk.
And rightly so—Woo-hyuk's talents after enrolling at Caltech were dazzling, to the point where Jonathan wanted to hand everything over to him right then.
But two years ago, Woo-hyuk abruptly declared a leave of absence, started a company, and said he was making games. It was a massive shock to Jonathan.
And recently, the invitation that arrived.
— Come confirm the results of our bet.
Woo-hyuk had sent a short message to his email—no frills—with a CES pass attached.
'Influence the world with games? Ridiculous. This time, I'll dissect whatever he brings and drag him back without excuses.'
Jonathan was fully prepared to analyze, dismantle, and sharply criticize whatever Woo-hyuk presented at this expo.
"There are a ton of people here."
"Well, it's an expo that every company from the US and around the world is watching."
I checked my outfit again while listening to Scarlett's reply.
Casual as possible without looking sloppy.
White t-shirt, jeans, sneakers—felt like I could pass for a college student.
'Right. I'm still on leave from Caltech, so technically a student?'
Come to think of it, they hadn't expelled me yet, so yeah, student status.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Thanks for the concern, but I'm good, Scarlett."
As I spaced out with random thoughts, Scarlett—looking tense—offered to take my place even now.
But far from nervous, I was buzzing with anticipation, my body practically trembling.
'No live audience back then, but I did a stream with 100k viewers. This is nothing.'
Above all, this presentation had to be me.
To intuitively demonstrate the physics engine's utility, the developer explaining directly was best.
Of course, many devs talented at "building" bombed presentations.
But I'd been tempered through countless live streams as Forgarden's director—no issue.
No way the people here would try to kill me over a bad presentation, right?
Back at the Forgarden showcase, someone even got caught sneaking in a BB gun.
Community later dubbed him the "Pobongil Doctor." After surviving that, this expo demo was a walk in the park.
"You can go up now."
While chatting with Scarlett, my turn arrived.
Following the staff's guidance to the exhibition stage, I saw the seats packed full at a glance.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Seon Woo-hyuk, CEO of Savior. Most call me 'Huck' as a nickname."
People started murmuring at my greeting.
"Savior? The Byte Office guys?"
"Nah, I heard it's a game dev studio."
"Hmm... They wouldn't bring a game to CES's main slot. New Byte series maybe?"
The prior presenters were top global giants. Savior following them was bound to surprise.
Even with Byte Office's rapid growth boosting our weight class, we were still mid-tier at best.
"Savior is probably familiar to you as the makers of the Byte line and Office productivity suites."
Tap.
With a gesture, Scarlett timed the slides perfectly from backstage.
The Byte series appeared on the main screen.
Selected as the US government's official software, it had skyrocketed into a staple office program—everyone here recognized it.
"But Savior's core business is games. That's why I'm here today to introduce a new game to you all."
Game?
The audience buzzed at my words.
CES was the most prestigious tech expo, showcasing future products and tech.
Announcing a game out of nowhere? I'd look insane.
I signaled nonchalantly amid the reactions.
Savior support team members hustled in, setting up the screen-connected laptop on my podium.
"This game is simply about dropping apples."
I launched the installed game program, and as I spoke, it started projecting on screen.
A crudely simple screen that screamed "This is what you brought to CES?"
Poor graphics, no characters—just one apple on screen.
"Shall we drop one?"
I moved the mouse to touch the apple.
And then—
Roll...
Like I'd pushed it by hand, the apple fell, hit the ground, and started rolling.
After rolling a bit, it naturally reached the corner and stopped.
"Wait, is this pre-recorded? Or real-time?!"
Most people barely reacted, but one man's eyes bulged as he shouted.
"Curious? Come up and try."
At my invitation, he bolted from his seat onto the stage.
Snatching the mouse impatiently, he tapped another ready apple.
Just like mine, it fell, hit the ground, rolled toward the first apple.
And—
Clink.
The second apple collided with the first, rebounding into motion—projected live on screen.
"What the—!"
This time, not apathy, but stunned screams erupted from the audience like a chorus.
"Now for introductions. The program making this apple behave with real-world physics—Savior created it."
The moment the physics engine was unveiled to the world.