An Investor Who Sees The Future Chapter 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 sohow 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 overti 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 investnt bank took a hit, big or small.

However, Golden Gate believed in the potential of the Big One, and thanks to their overall adjustnt 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. governnt 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 dia. Today, I saw you with Ronald touring the rescue site.]

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

Ellie said in a whiny voice.

[Hehe, hearing your voice makes 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 claid that the Big One was coming, it beca a subject of ridicule.

For a while, Caltech students couldn’t lift their heads in sha, 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 ergency 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 t.

When it beca 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 ti, 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.”

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

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

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

Around the seismology center and laboratories, n and won 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 beco a rare book that was hard to obtain even for ten tis 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 dia 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 so 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 cald 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 sothing 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 dia 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 so 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 tis.

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, sotis decreasing as survivors were rescued and sotis 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 ergency food and water supplies. Thus, rescue news continued to co 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 Arica was the 9/11 attacks.

At that ti, the death toll was around 3,000. Yet, the Big One caused over twenty tis 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 co, everyone was in shock.

So apologized, so made excuses, and so completely cut off contact and disappeared.

“Just recently, Professor Josh Brown ca 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 seed he had a lot bottled up. After all, for a long ti, he’d been called “the Indian” and considered a heretic or oddball in academia. But now he had beco 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 seed a bit shy and replied.

“She praised 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 statent.

“Excuse ? What do you an…?”

Could he have figured it out?

Professor Mohan smiled and said,

“Oh! It’s about my grandmother. I’m wondering how she could tell 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 assu a famous economist predicted a financial crisis in a year.

Upon hearing this, businesses would defer investnts to prepare for the crisis, and households would reduce consumption. Consequently, the financial crisis could actually occur. Conversely, if the governnt proactively responded to the crisis by increasing fiscal spending and encouraging investnt, 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 , 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 ntioned before, my grandmother’s ancestors were shamanic Indians. Does that an there’s really such power in a shaman’s lineage?”

I said to him.

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

“Really?”

Professor Mohan looked at 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 nurous criticisms and counterargunts from the academic community, you stubbornly pushed your own claim.”

In hindsight, it’s clear that his argunt 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 ti, he stamred 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 to accept things that aren’t scientifically proven.”

I felt the sa 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 sothing doesn’t an 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.”