episode_0016

Episode 16: The PC Bang Back Then (2)

The site called arXiv, from Cornell University in the United States.

It’s a site where the most papers in the world are uploaded and collected.

Based on what I heard when I was in my 20s, the number of uploaded papers was well over 500,000.

Naturally, it’s not a formal published paper site.

It’s a method where the paper author directly uploads in a preprint format before publication, after undergoing automated review within the site.

Perhaps because of that, there are many truly good papers.

Conversely, there are countless truly strange and nonsensical papers.

“Something about how human perception can quantum-mechanically influence reality and change natural phenomena… There were also papers that sounded like something from a school city where someone’s about to fire a railgun.”

Instead, there was no other place like this archive that reflected the latest trends in academia as much.

“First, I need to figure out how research is currently proceeding in 2008.”

* * *

I roughly know how things will turn out.

But for me, having regressed at age 37, the year 2008 now…

…was practically like the very old past, much more than 20 years ago.

Since I’ve actually regressed like this, it would be good to get a proper grasp of things.

“Hmm, hmm… Around the time when single photon entanglement experimental papers were just starting to come out… It looks like it’ll take a few more years to get to Quantum Teleportation experiments… Huh? I haven’t seen this before? What is it?”

While doing that, I also looked at papers I hadn’t gotten to read before.

It also softens my brain and makes some wrinkles.

The probability is low, but if my intelligence stat also goes up like that, it’ll be beneficial in many ways.

As I was looking through the abstracts of various papers to grasp the trends…

“Oh.”

I suddenly discovered a paper that caught my eye.

It wasn’t because it was a paper I was seeing for the first time, one I hadn’t seen before.

“So this person’s paper was uploaded around this time?”

Rather, it was incredibly, excessively familiar.

『Delayed “Choice” Quantum Eraser YunHo Choi Pohang University of Science and Technology』

Choi YunHo.

Currently a professor in the Department of Physics at POSTECH.

In the future, doctoral students who graduated from this person’s lab will become professors in numerous domestic physics departments, including Korea University and KAIST.

One of them was my advisor during my graduate school days at KAIST.

My first master’s thesis was also an advancement of research done in this lab.

“What was the title? I’m sure it was something about doing Bell’s Non-locality Test using Weak Measurement…”

I roughly remember what it was about.

Only the core comes to mind.

I only remember the details about calculating meticulously, writing control code for experimental equipment, and such, very sporadically.

Indeed, it was 20 years ago, and are humans truly creatures of forgetfulness?

“My old… How good would it be if I could bring all those future materials here.”

My decades of accumulated research and study materials, saved and backed up on various clouds and hard drives during my first life.

That’s why I was so hungry and desperate for these now.

But no matter that I am a being who has defied causality.

There’s no way to bring things from a different future into the past.

“What can I do? I’m a middle school student anyway and have plenty of time, so I’ll have to do it all myself.”

The task of bringing things from the future back to the present, perhaps.

I thought it was the first thing I, who returned as a middle school student, needed to do.

“And, I’ll also do all the things I couldn’t do when I was young.”

Studying math properly again, and so getting at least a bronze medal in the KMO.

This was also something I greatly regretted after becoming an adult, so I actually studied and achieved it after regressing.

But these are merely a tiny part of my lingering regrets.

“This life, I’m definitely going to a science high school. Seoul Science High.”

Seoul Science High School.

A public science gifted high school located in Myeongnyun 1-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

They say a staggering 70% of the entire student body goes to Seoul National University.

It is such the best prestigious high school in South Korea.

Tadadak.

Typing that sacred school’s name into Googol.

Tak.

Pressing Enter.

And then clicking the mouse to enter.

『Seoul Science High School Admissions Guide』

『1st Stage: Document Screening』

『2nd Stage: Exam』

『3rd Stage: Essay Exam』

『4th Stage: Interview』

The path to the top, visible on the PC bang computer monitor screen.

I, during my first life, once.

Had stepped foot onto the beginning of that path.

“If they were going to pass the 1st stage, they could at least pass the 2nd stage too, or just ruthlessly eliminate me right away, tsk.”

Although I said that, I still think it was natural for me to fail.

Compared to the geniuses there, I was truly nothing.

My current intelligence stat is 16?

KMO Middle School Bronze Medal?

It’s truly nothing.

To begin with, they aren’t from the Korean Mathematical Olympiad.

They’re guys who pick up bronze, silver, and gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad as if they were filling their plates at a buffet.

They are definitely guys whose intelligence stats would be squared, not just doubled, compared to mine.

Of course, I might have more knowledge.

But in the end, it’s just simple memory.

No matter how much the hard disk or SSD capacity overflows.

If the CPU, which can be called the main part of the computer, is bad, it’s all useless.

If I belong to the best computer among household computers.

They would definitely be comparable to supercomputers managed by corporations and the state.

“To them, something like a professor at a Korean university is truly nothing.”

The professor position at KAIST that I barely achieved by pouring my life into it.

Their reaction upon seeing that is just “Oh, you worked hard.” That’s it.

To begin with, they don’t do research unless it’s at the Ivy League level, places like MIT, Caltech, Harvard, Stanford, Yale.

They won’t even glance at a salary of hundreds of millions or billions won at large corporations like Googol and IDM unless it’s that high.

They’d rather start their own companies.

Moreover, most of them come from wealthy families, so it’s common for them to simply inherit their father’s company.

Naturally, among them are plenty of people who passed national exams, law school, etc., at the youngest age.

They enter Seoul National University College of Medicine and naturally establish themselves at the very top.

If you dig into the people who proudly inherit hospitals, most of them come from that background.

The world they live in is completely different.

Based on my experience of watching them over my shoulder when I attended KAIST, it’s like this.

“…Monster guys who already took all the basic university courses through AP in high school, immediately got first place in 3rd and 4th year major courses upon entering university as freshmen, and took graduate-level courses starting from their sophomore year, also getting first place there.”

They graduate from university in just 3 years like that.

And then they immediately go to the military and either go abroad for study.

Or they fulfill alternative service as specialized research personnel in Korea.

They go abroad for doctoral or postdoctoral studies and enter the golden road that only the top 0.01% in the world can walk.

And here’s the final nail in the coffin.

The fact that these crazy guys were actually ‘lower-ranked’ at Seoul Science High School.

And that they came to 『KAIST』, reluctantly, as if forced to cry and eat mustard.

And perhaps fueled by that resentment.

They mercilessly slaughter the other students from lower-ranked science high schools and gifted schools who entered KAIST after studying hard.

And the regular high school students who entered proudly boasting about being the top student in their school.

Of course, this slaughter doesn’t last long.

After all, after 1~2 years, they are already preparing for graduation.

By the time we are preparing for graduation, they will likely have already graduated and left overseas.

We, from the very beginning.

Couldn’t even stand in the same ring as them.

I just mistakenly thought we were in the same school, on the same line.

When in fact, I wasn’t even a subject for comparison.

“Alright, I admit it all. To begin with, I have no intention of competing with you guys.”

The ability of the status window.

And the knowledge gained from regressing in the first life.

I have absolutely no intention of investing this incredible cheat ability just into 『beating these great geniuses』.

“I will provide you with a field where you can unleash your great and sacred genius as much as you want.”

That’s right.

To begin with, I wasn’t trying to get into Seoul Science High School to compete with and beat those geniuses.

“You will use those incredible brains to work for me.”

I’ll give you the best treatment and service.

But as my ’employees’.

『A message has arrived from the counter.』

“Huh?”

『Counter: Student. Don’t watch porn.』

“???”

I couldn’t help but be flustered.

* * *

That time, that era, PC bang specialty.

Sometimes there are people who go into strange English websites and watch porn at the PC bang.

And at the counter, they can see what game you’re playing and what program is running.

I understand.

I understand, but…

I never imagined I’d be the one singled out.

“Look. It’s not that kind of site.”

In the end, I had to go all the way to the counter myself and explain, even showing them the site.

“Oh, it’s real?”

I didn’t know because I’d never worked at a PC bang before.

Looking at it, you can only see what program is running.

You can’t actually see the game screen, so it was understandable to be mistaken.

“Haha, unnie didn’t know. There are so many people like that.”

“…Yeah, well, I guess so.”

But still, no matter how you look at it.

『arXiv.org』

Does THIS look like a porn site?

What on earth is in that part-timer’s head that they could mistake such a wholesome site for a porn site?

Don’t they know what ‘archive’ means?

I asked something similar to this.

“This unnie thought it was one of those sites that collects all the porn in the world.”

Surprisingly, she seemed to have studied English a bit and knew the meaning.

On the contrary, that’s why she was even more mistaken.

“…That actually makes sense.”

“Right?”

Awkward silence.

Of course, only I was like that.

The part-timer unnie was smiling gently, perhaps finding this situation simply amusing.

Ah, this is uncomfortable.

This person must be an insa.

Usually, girls who play Sudden Attack at PC bangs were mostly the ‘playing around’ types.

It’s certain when you see how terrible her aim was.

“You’re not trying to trick me with a similar site, are you?”

Without replying, I just roughly nodded my head and returned to my seat.

Talking any more would only tire me out.

As I sat back down in my seat.

『Remaining Time: 00 hours 00 minutes』

Pat!

『Remaining Time: 01 hours 00 minutes』

『Remaining Time: 00 hours 59 minutes』

It should have shown no time remaining because it was post-paid, but suddenly time was charged.

A message from the counter also arrived simultaneously right after.

『Counter: Sorry for being suspicious^^;; I charged you bonus time instead, so come again next time haha』

As expected, my intuition was right.

This unnie is a super insa belonging to a very high tier among insas.

It’s certain seeing this consideration, even thinking that a young assa like me might be too embarrassed by this incident to ever come back to this PC bang.

Thinking that, I felt even more indignant.

『Me: Thank you.』

『Counter: ㅋㅋOkay』

First, since the free time was something to be thankful for, I politely expressed my thanks.

I then wrote down and sent the site from back in those days that popped into my head thanks to her.

『Me: meatspin.com』

『Counter: ? What is it?』

『Me: ㅋㅋ』

Well.

What could it be?