Serie de historias de fantasmas 10

Capítulo 17

The child stared at Chu Xunfeng, then hesitated before glancing at the man in blue, before stopping in his tracks. He had assumed Chu Xunfeng was nearby after seeing Saviel, and thus had come from his world to find him.

“He also wants to hear the story about Newton’s black box,” the man in blue said. “Like all children, he loves to hear stories.”

“Then I’ll tell you,” Jin Dun said, smiling slightly at the child.

"Newton was a famous rationalist who taught humanity to think along the path of calm and pure reason. Newton's name has always been synonymous with science. However, there are two mysteries that humanity has never been able to solve. One is why Newton devoted himself to theological research in his later years. The other is that he put many of his unpublished manuscripts in a box—this box is called Newton's black box. What secrets does this box contain?"

The black box contains millions of words of Newton's unpublished works. These are secrets that Newton painstakingly kept hidden throughout his life, secrets that once occupied his passionate and intellectual mind.

After Newton's death, many tried to uncover this long-forgotten memory. The homosexual Bishophorst was commissioned to examine the box, hoping to publish its vast collection of works; however, after reading its contents, he panicked and slammed the lid shut. A century later, David Brewster examined the box again, but he chose to carefully transcribe it and completely conceal all clues with a few serious little lies.

Later research revealed that the massive work of over a million words in Newton's black box was almost entirely meaningless to reality and science. Newton was then engrossed in researching the elixir of immortality, the variability of base metals in their transformation into gold, and speculating on the secrets of the universe—the power of Solomon's Temple. The materials also revealed Newton's obsession with alchemy and even concealed some of his notes about his homosexuality. To many, this is a disgrace to one of the greatest scientists in human history; he paved the way for modern science with one foot, advancing the world's scientific progress by centuries with his unparalleled genius, but his other foot remained in the Middle Ages, making him the last of the magicians…

Jin Dun glanced at the man in blue deliberately, then sighed, "Even the greatest figures have flaws; no one can be perfect."

The man in blue raised his hand, interrupting Jin Dun: "Have you finished talking about Newton's black box?"

“That’s all,” Jin Dun said.

“Lying,” the man in blue said coldly. “Professor Nie has taken detailed notes on Newton’s black box, and his personal computer also contains his thoughts on Newton’s black box. You hacked into his computer, how could you not know?”

Jin Dun's expression turned awkward; he had been hiding something.

“Since you dare not speak, then I will. I don’t want my children to hear those false stories.” The man in blue’s voice grew firmer, and his dark, bright eyes seemed to gleam. “Newton’s black box still contains his distrust of his own theories. He attributed the ultimate driving force of the universe to God, and at the end of his *Opticks*, he stated that God must participate in the creation of the universe. Furthermore, a unified human theory is difficult to establish, and the ultimate goal of science will forever remain unattainable for humanity…”

Jin Dun was pale and trembling all over, his strength waning with each sentence he heard. In the end, he seemed about to collapse, as if suddenly struck by a serious illness. This was the strongest man on earth, a detective who had almost never encountered a worthy opponent in his life. When he learned that his lifelong beliefs, the very foundation upon which he based his investigations, were nothing but empty words, he utterly broke down.

"Stop burying your head in the sand, Detective Golden Shield. Even your world's Encyclopedia records that Newton gradually distanced himself from the science that had brought him such great achievements, and occasionally expressed his disgust for the field he represented. Do you know why? Because he himself realized that the entire macroscopic system was not rigorous enough." The man in blue's smugness grew more and more obvious, and his voice became louder and louder.

"Why did Professor Nie convert to the Leibnizian world? Because we used computation to show him that the proof of the Four Color Theorem had a flaw, using the power of computation to help him unlock the door to truth. And Professor Cole, who had been stuck in mathematical logic for decades, understood the three great unsolved problems that had plagued him his entire life with just a reminder from me. Do you know why they laughed so wildly? Because they found the ultimate truth they had pursued throughout their lives, saw a perfect theory they had never seen before, and understood the mysteries hidden in the depths of the galaxy and the darkness. Do you know how much a scientist yearns for a unified, perfect, ultimate theory? It is the ultimate goal that all human sages dream of. And you scientists, bound by Newtonian theory, will never receive such a gift." The man in blue seemed to be intoxicated by the music.

“But even if you can convince some professors, you can’t necessarily convince all of humanity. They’ve lived under Newton’s theories for hundreds of years; they won’t accept yours,” Hermann said. “I won’t listen to you.” Her large eyes flashed with anger; no matter how perfect her father’s theories were, they were still cold-blooded.

"You will be convinced. We will achieve our goal step by step. We will make the Newtonian world kneel before the perfect theory of our ancestor. If you remain stubborn, we will use the power of black holes we have acquired to convince you through the law of the jungle." The man in blue let out another triumphant laugh. "We will surely rule this world."

Chu Xunfeng's dark, bright eyes suddenly flashed with a piercing light. He could no longer allow the other party to humiliate the wise man of humanity like this: "No matter how much he boasts, Leibniz was still defeated by Newton back then."

“No!” The man in blue’s face contorted with rage, his eyes blazing with fury. A metallic hum resonated, like the notes released from a taut string, making the coffee table in the room seem to tremble. “The Emperor didn’t lose to Newton; he only lost to history.” The usually calm and ruthless man in blue erupted in fury. It seemed this was the greatest hidden pain in Leibniz’s world. “I’ll show you what history was like back then. We’ll use the power of calculation to turn back time and show you what history was like then!”

The man in blue's hands trembled slightly as he quickly took out his PDA-like computer and gently tapped the 26 letters on it, as if guiding the generation of some kind of power.

He stared quietly at the Turing computer in the Golden Shield. In an instant, a scene of time reversal appeared on the screen, like a surging river being swept into a whirlpool and then suddenly becoming quiet, as if a classic HCD had been inserted into the Turing computer.

At the same time, the colorful images became clearer.

The man in blue said coldly, "Time has reversed. I'll show you the most authentic history from back then! Show you the contest between Emperor Shizu and Newton."

Note:

①Reference: Wang Xiaoping, The Second Declaration, Modern Press.

② The Encyclopedia of China's introduction to Newton states: As his scientific reputation grew, Newton's political standing also improved. In 1689, he was elected as a university representative to Parliament. As a member of Parliament, Newton gradually began to distance himself from the science that had brought him such great achievements. He frequently expressed his aversion to the field he represented.

Mrs. Sophie (Part 1)

To the esteemed Ambassador of the French Empire from afar:

It is a great honor to have received your letter from last winter. I am also grateful for the priceless Eastern classics you sent; they will be among the most precious gifts I have ever received. Once again, I extend my heartfelt greetings to you, wishing you peace, health, and great success in that great Eastern country, and for building a bridge of friendship between the French Empire and the Qing Empire. Furthermore, please convey my sincere greetings on behalf of this humble citizen from afar to the wise and enlightened Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty.

There is another matter I would like to ask of Mr. Bouvet, who is very busy. When I was studying at Leipzig University, I had a very interesting idea: to use computation to replace the logical reasoning process in thinking, and to create a "universal scientific language" that allows reasoning to be calculated using formulas, just like mathematics. In this way, the whole world could communicate using a unified method of computation.

I once read Mr. Bai Yingli's translation of "The Sixty-Four Hexagrams of the Book of Changes and Their Meanings," and saw the "Fuxi Eight Trigrams Directional Diagram" originating from the ancient East. This diagram is profound and unfathomable. I gained some inspiration from this ancient Eastern diagram and conceived the idea of creating binary numbers. Mathematics represented by "0" and "1" is closer to perfection than the past (positional method) and has incredible effects. If we replace the currently used decimal number system with binary numbers, then we can perform both algebraic and logical operations in the calculation process. We can use calculation methods to replace logical reasoning. Following this line of thought, we will understand the "secret of God's creation." (For details, see the appendix "An Explanation of Binary Arithmetic - On Using Only 0 and 1 and Discussing Their Uses and the Meaning of the Numbers Used by Fuxi").

Unfortunately, the image I saw was not the original *I Ching*. It was created by Shao Yong, a master of the Ming Dynasty in China. Therefore, many questions still trouble my ignorant mind. If Mr. Bouvet could find a copy of the original *I Ching* in an Eastern archive and send it to me, I would be eternally grateful. If I could understand the Eastern mysteries that have been misunderstood for thousands of years, please ask the Eastern emperor for me: would it be possible to grant Chinese citizenship to a Westerner who so greatly admires his culture?

Although this calculator, which I present to the wise Eastern Emperor, is merely a simple model, it is the culmination of my years of hard work. How I wish to have the opportunity to personally visit the enlightened monarch you speak of and demonstrate my newly invented device to him!

As Leibniz wrote this, he raised his large, curly head, secretly pleased with himself for writing such a humble, reasonable, and fluent letter. The East was a land of etiquette, after all; it was always good to be humble and cautious.

With his eyes slightly closed, he signed his name with the nearly bald quill pen:

Your sincere friend William Leibni from afar...

He hadn't even finished writing the last letter. A girl jumped up and snatched the letter from his hand: "Mr. Leibniz, I need to use Aristotle to solve math problems."

She is Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Duke of Augustus.

"My dear Queen!" Leibniz exclaimed, stamping his foot, "Watch out, watch out for my letter!" Leibniz had long eyebrows, a straight nose, and a commanding presence. To outsiders, he was impeccably dressed, handsome, and exuded an air of righteousness! But to his students, he was merely her playmate.

Leibniz was known for his dry writing style. Although he could write mathematical proofs of tens of thousands of words a day and write half a book in one night while arguing with Isaac of the Lüneburg family, the affectionate and ornate greetings in his letters to Joachim Bouvet completely drained his inspiration.

“I can return the letter to you, but you must ask Aristotle to help me with my math problems.” Princess Charlotte playfully shook the letter in her hand.

"If Lady Sophie finds out, things will get really bad! Your delicate little bottom will probably get a few more scratches." Leibniz pretended to be nonchalant, squinting as he mocked the mischievous princess.

"I'm not afraid!" Charlotte held the letter into the purple incense burner where sandalwood incense was burning. She didn't want to suffer at the hands of her teacher again.

"No!" Leibniz almost screamed. "I promise you."

"Open the door to the secret room first. I don't want to go back on my word like last time after returning the things to you." Charlotte pouted. "No wonder Mr. Leibniz has such a bad reputation. Some people even say you're a lecher..." The little princess realized she had let something slip and quickly shut up.

Leibniz's grey, bright eyes dimmed in an instant. He didn't care what the world thought of him, but he did care about the Brunswick family's opinion of him.

"Charlotte, what did you just say?" Madame Sophie appeared, wearing a long, pleated, deep blue dress. Her slender figure and mature curves exuded charm, and her elegant and beautiful face was filled with intense anger. "Apologize to Mr. Leibniz right now!"

“Madam, it’s nothing. Children say the darndest things, as long as they don’t lie,” Leibniz said listlessly.

“Mom, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Princess Charlotte said with genuine remorse. “My brother explained it to me, I just wanted… just wanted Aristotle to help me with a math problem.” She suddenly realized that she had also said the wrong thing, and her face turned red as she said, “I just wanted to verify whether Mr. Leibniz’s calculator was really accurate.”

"Did Mr. Leibniz spend half a year designing this calculator for you to do math problems?" Mrs. Sophie's face was tense, but seeing Charlotte's face flushed red with shame, her anger subsided. "Apologize to Mr. Leibniz now."

"Alright, Mrs. Sophie, I'll take this opportunity to test the accuracy of my machine. I'll leave the little princess's math problems to Aristotle!"

"Great!" Princess Charlotte jumped up with joy. "Aristotle will help me with my math problems!"

“Weijian, you’ll spoil them like this,” Mrs. Sophie said, but there was no blame in her tone. Mrs. Sophie knew better than anyone that this Privy Councilor and tutor was one of the most outstanding figures of the time, though many didn’t understand his eccentric behavior. Sophie had never treated him as an ordinary person to be protected.

Aristotle was the name W.W. Williamson gave to his newly invented calculator. He greatly admired Aristotle, so he named his beloved calculator after him.

"Can this clumsy, dark-skinned creature really solve math problems?" Princess Charlotte looked at the big, clumsy creature with its jagged teeth and a little disbelieving. "Does it have a head? But it doesn't have any limbs."

While adjusting the machine, Leibniz said to Sophie, "Madam, Aristotle used a total of 81 Swiss springs and 360 Austrian gears. Each spring and gear was connected by an Archimedes screw, a Galilean pneumatic linkage, and an English pulley system... I think this time it will definitely outshine the petty tricks of Assack, shock the entire Hanover, and bring glory to the Brunswick family."

Isaac was a newly arrived British clergyman in Hanover, a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge. He was said to have achieved great success in the British mathematical and physics communities and had gained considerable renown in continental Europe. The Brunswick family's rival, the Lüneburg family, another prominent Hanoverian family, had specifically hired him as a tutor for a year. Besides expressing their thirst for knowledge, the most important reason was to curb the Brunswick family's arrogance stemming from their possession of Leibniz. Upon arriving in Hanover, Isaac proposed many unusual theories, such as the theory of "non-Isaac fluids" in fluid mechanics, surpassing even Leibniz, Hanover's most famous scientist.

Leibniz devoted tremendous effort to this project, drawing upon almost all his knowledge of physics and mechanics, and spent nearly six months designing this unprecedented calculator. This was all in an effort to redeem himself and restore the reputation of the Brunswick family.

“Mr. Leibniz, I’ve entered the numbers as you instructed, but I can’t move this damn clumsy handle,” Princess Charlotte cried out.

Leibniz patted Charlotte's head: "Aristotle needs 10 horsepower to start, and even calling your brother for help won't work! I'll call Wulff over to help you later. Of course, it would be even better if Isaac, who comes from a peasant background, could come and help." Leibniz didn't forget to make a sarcastic remark about Isaac, and Mrs. Sophie couldn't help but smile like a lake.

"What are your orders, sir?" Speak of the devil, and he appears. The loud-voiced Wulff followed behind the steady-step Duke August, with several servants also staying close to the Duke, and together they walked to Aristotle's side.

“Rudolph!” Mrs. Sophie gracefully walked up to August. “This is William’s newly developed calculator. Our princess will be the first to verify its accuracy.”

Seeing August enter, Charlotte deliberately gripped Aristotle's large handle with exaggerated gestures, her little face turning bright red, and she huffed and puffed, making "ee-ah-ee-ah" cheering noises. After struggling for a while, she shouted to August, "Daddy, come help me!"

August, with his gentle, square face and thick, hooked nose exuding boundless authority, said, "William, you say this stupid fellow can do calculations?"

Leibniz's blue eyes gleamed, deeply proud of the machine he had created: "Yes, Your Grace, it's far more effective than the abacus of the East. You don't need to memorize the multiplication table; just input the numbers you want to calculate into the scale, turn Aristotle's handle, and you'll get the correct answer. Of course, it's also far more impartial than the accountants in your manor; they won't shortchange you by a single penny because someone added an extra liter of lubricant."

Charlotte jumped up and down, saying, "Dad, quickly call them up to help!"

Two servants went up and turned the round handle of Aristotle. The Aristotle made a whirring sound, mixed with the creaking of gears.

After Aristotle had "eaten" all the data on the input disc, Princess Charlotte stood in front of the output disc, jumping for joy: "It's out! It's out! It's 7776! Mom, is 108x72 7776?"

The answer was correct, and Charlotte quickly entered her own math problems into Aristotle. Each result drew gasps of amazement from those present. Charlotte was overjoyed; with Aristotle, her most feared subject, math, was no longer daunting. At that moment, in her eyes, her beloved Leibniz was far more intelligent than Isaac.

After personally demonstrating it with a belly full of doubts, August couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration. His orange-red hair, which was characteristic of the Brunswick family, looked even redder: "William, in order to ensure that Aristotle's accuracy is absolutely foolproof, in the future, in addition to using Aristotle to check whether Charlotte and George's calculations are accurate, also help me to re-check the accounts compiled by the accountants of the manor this year."

“No, Father!” Charlotte cried, her face contorted with grief. The gentle and virtuous Mrs. Sophie smiled and embraced Charlotte.

"Rest assured, Your Grace, Aristotle will finish checking the estate accountant's books in the shortest time possible. He is even more loyal than William. There is only one small request: the lubricant for repairing the machines must be doubled at the market price. Aristotle is a fellow who loves to dress up in a slicked-back manner."

Soon, after all the ledgers of the Orbis Manor owned by Duke August were checked, it was discovered that there were omissions, bad debts, false accounts, and unrecoverable accounts totaling more than 800 taels of silver.

The Duke stood in the center of the marble hall, his face ashen, gritting his teeth: "Starting tomorrow, lay off 20 accountants at Orbis Estate. Those old gentlemen who usually stroke their beards and spout Pythagorean theorem—fire them all!" He turned to Leibniz, who remained silent with his head bowed, and his expression softened: "William, do you think we should also have Aristotle check how much debt the Lüneburg family still owes me?" With a treasure like Aristotle, Duke August seemed eager to declare war on Lüneburg. "However, this time we must ensure the machinery is flawless; we can't let it be like last time when a gear broke off halfway through." Remembering his defeat at the hands of Lüneburg, August gritted his teeth in hatred.

Leibniz, with a smug grin and half-drooping head, said, “Duke, I have already sent Isaac’s admirer, our Elector George③, to ask Isaac for his opinion on Aristotle. If I don’t expect it, he will be back at his birthplace, the Orbis Manor, in half an hour.” Leibniz was already somewhat annoyed by his student George’s repeated boasting about how amazing Isaac was.

But George did not return to Orbis Manor half an hour later; he must have been fooled again by Isaac's shallow "magical performances."

Mrs. Sophie's deep eyes held a hint of apology: "George is just a child, he was only interested in playing, William, please don't mind him!" She chatted with Leibniz while watching Charlotte do her homework.

"No, it's never a bad thing to learn more!" Leibniz said listlessly. "I don't care about that self-important young man," Leibniz thought to himself.

"I heard the Secret Order of Sion is going to cause you trouble, William. You'd better be careful. They're a very powerful secret society; even the Pope can't do anything about them." Madame Sophie wasn't entirely at ease with the bodyguards August had assigned to Leibniz.

"The Secret Order of Xunshan? Is it the legendary secret religious organization that guards the Holy Grail?" Leibniz was very surprised.

"Yes, they will stop at nothing to kill you. You'd better be careful."

"I really don't understand why they're making trouble for me. Is it because I'm not a religious believer?" Leibniz shook his head, feeling puzzled.

“According to Queen Anne of the Stuart family, Isaac is very likely the leader of the Sionburg Monastery,” Sophie revealed to Leibniz the secret she had heard from high society.

“Ah!…” Leibniz was speechless.

"Professor Leibniz, what do you mean by this problem you asked me to solve? My teachers at school only told me that distance is the product of speed and time, but I've never heard of using infinitesimal ratios to write an equation. Isn't an infinitesimal just nothing? What's the use of it, Mr. Leibniz..." Charlotte pouted coquettishly.

"My Queen, the infinitesimal has infinite uses. We can use it to calculate the trajectory of falling leaves, to calculate the harmonious vibrations of the harp on the banks of the Rhine, to calculate the degree by which your shadow bends in the sunset..." Leibniz's writing was originally obscure, but as soon as he talked about those wonderful theorems, he became very imaginative, and even the Duchess was attracted by his colorful words.

“What fallen leaves, what music, what does this have to do with calculating distance!” Princess Charlotte buried her face in Mrs. Sophie’s arms. “Mommy, no more, no more.”

"Charlotte, stop fooling around. Finding the maximum and minimum values was Leibniz's innovation." Mrs. Sophie raised her long, arched eyebrows and scolded Charlotte.

"What innovation? My brother said he plagiarized Isaac's work," Charlotte said, stamping her foot.

"Nonsense! Mr. Leibniz would assault someone else. Do you think he's like your classmate Ye Beili?" Mrs. Sophie's long eyelashes stood on end in anger. Seeing the situation was turning sour, Charlotte slipped on her shoes and ran straight to the backyard. "Mom, I need to use the toilet."

Watching Charlotte's unsteady figure disappear into the distance, Madame Sophie was both amused and exasperated. She turned back gently and said apologetically to Leibniz, "You two children have really troubled you." She paused, "There's something a little strange. Your article 'A Wonderful Type of Calculation for Maximals and Minimums,' published in the *Journal of Teachers*, is almost identical to Isaac's discussion of 'The Problem of Finding Maximals and Minimums of Functions' in his *Metacalatium*, except for the symbols."

Fearing she might hurt Leibniz's pride, Mrs. Sophie quickly added in a soft voice, "Of course I believe you, I'm just asking you about this."

"Madam, no two leaves are the same in the world, and the calculus I and Isaac founded are different. Isaac started from physics, used set theory to study calculus, and combined it more with kinematics in its applications. I, on the other hand, started from geometric problems, used analysis to introduce the concept of calculus and derive its operational rules."

Mrs. Sophie pondered for a moment and smiled: "No two leaves in the world are the same, William, your answer is excellent. Since you believe that they were created independently, do you think Isaac's leaf is more rigorous, or your leaf is more ingenious?"

Leibniz pursed his lips and said, "To be fair, madam, Isaac is a genius. You could even say he has done almost half the work that mankind has done since God created the world. In the field of calculus, his expertise surpasses mine. But in terms of mathematical rigor and systematicity, Isaac is somewhat inferior to me."

"So do you think it's your theory that will be passed down to future generations, or his numerology that will be remembered for eternity?" Mrs. Sophie pressed on with a smile.

Leibniz's face flushed. He was usually a cynical man, but he always seemed a little reserved and shy around Mrs. Sophie: "If, if nothing unexpected happens, it should be my leaf."

"Why? Is it because the veins in your leaves are clearer?" Mrs. Sophie was also delighted to hear this answer, but she refrained from laughing out loud out of pride as a noblewoman.

"Not only that, but also the mathematical notation I created saves mental effort. Sometimes, the skill of using symbols is the key to mathematical success. Humans are rather lazy..."