IWSF – Ch 195

“I called Ellie.”

After a while without a connection and just as I was about to hang up, the call connected.

Ellie responded with a cheery voice.

[Hey, Jinhoo.]

“Are you at work?”

[I just got off work and was in the shower. I heard the ringtone and somehow thought you’d be the one calling, so I ran over.]

“Should I call you back later?”

[No, it’s fine. I’m all done.]

You’re answering the phone after coming out of the shower?

So, you’re not wearing anything right now…

[Hmm, you’re not imagining things, are you?]

“……Of course not.”

I quickly changed the subject.

“You’re working late again today. Are you very busy?”

[Yes. I’ve been working overtime for several days. Jessica hasn’t left the office at all; she’s practically living here.]

The Big One changed not only the geography of the U.S. West Coast but also the landscape of finance. Almost every investment bank took a hit, big or small.

However, Golden Gate believed in the potential of the Big One, and thanks to their overall adjustment of positions, they made quite a nice profit.

As a result, they made a huge donation for this fundraising as well.

By the way, OTK Company hasn’t donated a cent, but nobody is complaining about it.

This is understandable, as the U.S. government has already requisitioned billions of dollars’ worth of relief supplies. They’ll settle it later, though.

[I’ve been keeping up with your news on the media. Today, I saw you with Ronald touring the rescue site.]

“That’s right. Ronald went to the rescue site to meet and encourage the Korean troops deployed there.”

Ellie said in a whiny voice.

[Hehe, hearing your voice makes me miss you even more.]

“I really miss you so much too.”

I never expected to experience this kind of separation right after we decided to date.

[When will you be back?]

“I’ll be back soon, so just wait a little longer.”

There are a few things I need to do before I return.

***

I got into a car with the security guards and headed to Pasadena near LA.

California Institute of Technology was not only the best engineering school in the U.S. (MIT wouldn’t agree), but also California’s pride.

However, after Professor Mohan claimed that the Big One was coming, it became a subject of ridicule.

For a while, Caltech students couldn’t lift their heads in shame, and demands to dismiss Professor Mohan surged.

In academia, prominent scholars pointed out his mistakes one by one. Nevertheless, Professor Mohan did not waver in his assertions.

Later, when Ronald declared a national emergency in the San Francisco Bay Area, the criticism spread uncontrollably.

Protesters flocked onto the campus, demanding the dismissal of Professor Mohan, threatening to carry out a school shooting if their demands weren’t met.

When it became difficult to conduct classes normally, Dean Charles Ball stepped in and said,

“I also believe that Professor Mohan is speaking nonsense. However, diversity in academia must be respected. At one time, claims that the continents moved or that the Earth orbited the sun were all considered nonsense. If we stop scholars from saying nonsense, who will be able to say anything? To protect Caltech’s honor, we will absolutely not dismiss Professor Mohan.”

Some acknowledged the validity of his words, but the majority directed their criticism at the Dean as well.

In the end, this judgment proved correct. If they had succumbed to public pressure and dismissed Professor Mohan, Caltech would have become a global laughingstock.

The Big One had enough power to devastate San Francisco, and nearby cities like LA suffered some damage.

Buildings shook violently, shelves collapsed, fluorescent lights fell, and there were various injuries. Fortunately, there were no road fractures or building collapses, and Caltech appeared fine.

The campus was quiet, perhaps because classes were in session, and I entered the building discreetly so no one would recognize me.

Around the seismology center and laboratories, men and women in suits with earpieces stood. After the Big One event, this place was designated as a key facility, and that’s why FBI agents were dispatched.

I greeted them casually and entered the laboratory.

The box of books that had been piled up on one side was gone. The first edition of “The Big One is Coming,” which was destined for the recycling center, had become a rare book that was hard to obtain even for ten times its original price.

If I had known this would happen, I should have taken a box back then.

Professor Mohan was almost burying his face in the computer monitor.

I cleared my throat deliberately. He then spoke without looking up.

“I’ll be declining interview requests for a while.”

Considering he must have done hundreds of media interviews by now, it’s understandable that he would be tired of them.

“How about coffee then?”

At the sound of my voice, Professor Mohan looked up and smiled.

“Who is this?”

I raised the coffee I was holding.

“Have you been well?”

***

The coffee I had when I first visited the lab was disgustingly bad. So, I stopped by a café before coming.

As I looked around the lab, I said, “I don’t see Carrie.”

“She went to organize some data; she’ll be back shortly.”

“She’s still busy, huh.”

After a few aftershocks had passed, Professor Mohan reassured everyone that the seismic activity had calmed down, but he remained alert for any possible occurrences.

While sipping his coffee, he said, “There won’t be a major earthquake for a while. Minor quakes will keep happening, but they won’t be felt by the general public.”

“Is the major earthquake of 1906, 1989, and this year completely over now?”

He shook his head at my question. “That’s unlikely. The fact that California lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire hasn’t changed. Earthquakes are like a fate for people living here. Whether the next major quake is decades or hundreds of years away is uncertain, but I believe they will find a way to cope by then.”

I smiled. “That’s true.”

That’s something for the people of that era to handle.

I then told him about the rescue site I visited a few days ago with Ronald.

The media shows only a small portion of what truly happens. The actual rescue site was vastly different from what you see on TV.

Rather than rescue, it was more like body retrieval. It was a relief to find an intact body. Many were torn, broken, or crushed. Identifying some bodies was quite challenging.

Hearing this, Professor Mohan wore a bitter expression. “So many lives have been lost. More could have been saved.”

I, too, had thought this countless times.

Why could we not save everyone despite knowing? Could we have done better? If only one more chance were given…

I said calmly,

“The professor did his best. Everyone will think that way.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

The number of deceased and missing was just under 70,000. This number fluctuated, sometimes decreasing as survivors were rescued and sometimes increasing as more missing persons were reported.

A person can survive for about fifteen days without food. If there is food in the place where they are trapped, the survival period extends even more.

Fortunately, as the threat of earthquakes increased, each household and public facility had stored emergency food and water supplies. Thus, rescue news continued to come in.

However, the number of rescues wasn’t very high, and it was highly likely that most missing persons had died.

Until now, the worst disaster in mainland America was the 9/11 attacks.

At that time, the death toll was around 3,000. Yet, the Big One caused over twenty times that number of deaths. The sheer numbers clearly showed how horrific the disaster was.

I changed the subject.

“How is the atmosphere in academia these days?”

Before the Big One struck, the top scholars all insisted that it would never happen.

But when the Big One really did come, everyone was in shock.

Some apologized, some made excuses, and some completely cut off contact and disappeared.

“Just recently, Professor Josh Brown came to apologize.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s an MIT professor, a leading authority in the field of seismology.”

“Oh! I think I’ve seen him on TV.”

Professor Mohan said with satisfaction, “Haha, you should have seen his expression.”

It seemed he had a lot bottled up. After all, for a long time, he’d been called “the Indian” and considered a heretic or oddball in academia. But now he had become the highest authority in seismology.

Is this how unpredictable human affairs can be?

Professor Mohan had a cup of coffee.

“A few days ago, my grandmother appeared in my dream.”

“What did she say?”

At my question, he seemed a bit shy and replied.

“She praised me for doing well and caressed my head. Perhaps it’s because of her words that I’ve dedicated my life to research.”

“Thanks to that, you’ve saved many people.”

Professor Mohan stroked his thick beard with his fingers.

“However, no matter how much I think about it, there’s one thing I can’t comprehend.”

“What is it?”

Professor Mohan paused contemplatively before speaking.

“How could she have known about events in the future?”

I was taken aback by that statement.

“Excuse me? What do you mean…?”

Could he have figured it out?

Professor Mohan smiled and said,

“Oh! It’s about my grandmother. I’m wondering how she could tell me what would happen decades later.”

“Oh, I see.”

I sighed in relief inwardly.

Thinking back, the beginning of all this was his grandmother.

If she hadn’t warned him about the impending earthquake, he might have chosen a different path, not becoming a seismologist.

In that case, I would have faced significant difficulties in warning about Big One’s dangers or failed to persuade Ronald.

In predicting the future, the key concern is the changes that arise because of it.

Like the butterfly effect, even the most trivial actions can drastically change the future. Predictions manifest as self-fulfilling or self-denying prophecies.

Let’s assume a famous economist predicted a financial crisis in a year.

Upon hearing this, businesses would defer investments to prepare for the crisis, and households would reduce consumption. Consequently, the financial crisis could actually occur. Conversely, if the government proactively responded to the crisis by increasing fiscal spending and encouraging investment, the crisis might not happen at all.

In either case, the act of making predictions itself influences the future.

Suddenly, a question arose in my mind.

What future did she see?

Did she, like me, witness everything collapsing due to the big one, or did she see the reversed situation we have now?

If it’s the latter, she might have intentionally told her grandson the prophecy to create the current circumstances. And she probably knew I would act this way.

Since she passed away long ago, there’s no way to confirm which is correct.

“As I mentioned before, my grandmother’s ancestors were shamanic Indians. Does that mean there’s really such power in a shaman’s lineage?”

I said to him.

“You’re her grandson, Professor. That means you’re also a descendant of the shamanic Indians.”

“Really?”

Professor Mohan looked at me in surprise.

“Think about it; isn’t it a bit strange? To spend your entire life researching earthquakes in California just based on your grandmother’s words. Moreover, despite numerous criticisms and counterarguments from the academic community, you stubbornly pushed your own claim.”

In hindsight, it’s clear that his argument had many flaws. If the research results were certain, there wouldn’t have been any disputes.

Yet, Mohan remained completely confident in his claims, without a hint of doubt.

Perhaps the reason is…

“Maybe, unconsciously, you knew that the big one was coming, Professor?”

“…….”

Professor Mohan had a look of great shock on his face.

Lost in thought for a long time, he stammered as he spoke.

“Well, I’ve never really thought about it that way, so I’m not sure. I’ve lived my whole life as a scientist. Therefore, it’s hard for me to accept things that aren’t scientifically proven.”

I felt the same way. Until a few years ago, I believed that powers like telekinesis existed only in stories or movies.

“There are still countless things in the world that haven’t been scientifically proven.”

“That’s true. Modern science hasn’t even accurately identified the causes of earthquakes yet. Just because we can’t explain something doesn’t mean we can deny it. So, did Grandma really see the future?”

I smiled slightly.

“Who knows? There might really be a power to see the future.”