I thought about what had just happened. It was a fantasy co true. It was so hot.
The mont we were holding each other tight was such a wonderful feeling.
After lounging for an hour or so, we dressed and settled on the sofa to watch a horror movie. Midway through, I turned to Oliv.
"Thinking about joining in Norway this May?" I asked.
Oliv responded with a puzzled look, asking, "Norway, for what?"
I grinned and replied, "I need to receive the Able Prize."
Her eyes widened in surprise, "You need to? Or you want to?"
I chuckled, replying, "Well, I want to."
She smiled, reassured, "Sure, I should be able to find ti."
"Cool," I said, and we resud watching the movie.
As the morning sunlight filled the room, Oliv and I enjoyed a shared breakfast after her overnight stay. As she prepared to leave, a sudden realization hit . "Oh! What do you want for your birthday?" I asked.
She smiled, a playful glint in her eyes, and put her finger to her lips, deep in thought. "Hmm, think about it yourself. I have no idea," she replied, and left, leaving the door open.
After our pleasant morning and Oliv’s departure, I began the task of packing my belongings into a suitcase.
I planned to be away for the next week or two, and there was sothing specific on my agenda while I would stay in Boston.
I had contemplated it for quite so ti, yet always felt like it would be too big of a challenge.
Just two hours later, I found myself en route to the airport. Opting not to drive my car, because I sensed there might still be so alcohol left in my system.
After landing in Chicago, I hailed a taxi to take directly to my family’s apartnt.
My sister was away at her dorm, so eting her would have to wait. However, I anticipated the rest of my family to be at the apartnt, considering it was late in the afternoon.
I wasn’t mistaken; my brother Mike opened the door, and I couldn’t help but notice how much he had grown in the past few months. He now stood almost 6 feet tall.
"Hey, co on in!" he exclaid, giving a friendly pat on the back. "As soon as I heard you were coming, I invited my girlfriend over."
I raised an eyebrow, surprised. "What?"
He grinned mischievously. "What? She wanted to et you." Then, he extended his hand, making the okay sign and added, "Thanks, brother. Because of you, I’m more popular at school."
He laughed, and I responded with a sarcastic chuckle, remarking, "I hope they’re not just talking to you because you’re my brother."
He quickly reassured , "Don’t worry, I’m doing really well academically, too. You inspired , you know?"
His words caught off guard, and a genuine smile spread across my face.
After our conversation, I made my way to the living room. There, I found my mother with her eyes closed, engrossed in an audiobook, wearing headphones that concealed the subtle lines of experience on her face.
As I entered, my father walked in and warmly embraced .
After my father’s warm embrace, my mother took off her headphones and asked, "Is Max back?" I smiled and replied, "Yes, Mom. I’m going to stay for so ti." Her face lit up with joy.
My father said, "Go unpack yourself, Max. I’m making dinner—nothing special.’"
I had been sending money to my family for so ti, ensuring they faced no financial difficulties. However, I was acutely aware that my mother’s illness couldn’t be solved with money.
That was precisely why I had co here.
During my stay, I wanted to focus on bio and neuroscience. Try to co up with sothing. Or at least get the hang of the field.
Due to the complex nature of the visual system and the optic nerve, a transplant of the entire eye was currently impossible.
So far, corneal transplants were most of what could be done.
Administering a regenerative pill could worsen the situation due to the sudden flow of blood, which might adversely affect the areas with dead cells.
Not too long after, we gathered to share a family dinner.
As we were engrossed in our own food, the doorbell rang. Mike swiftly rose from the table and walked to the door, and I assud it was his girlfriend arriving.
To my slight surprise, when the door opened, his girlfriend appeared to be of Korean descent. She was a gorgeous girl, and it was evident that my brother knew what he was doing when it ca to relationships.
Mike graciously invited her to the table, and as she approached, she greeted us with a polite "Good evening."
My father and mother responded in kind, "Good evening, Hana."
I offered a smile and nodded.
She settled into a chair and joined us for dinner in comfortable silence. It beca apparent that she had visited a few tis before, as my family seed accustod to her presence.
Post-dinner, the silence dissipated quickly as Hana directed a series of questions my way
Interestingly, her inquiries weren’t centered on but on MIT specifically—how she could get in and improve her learning.
While I struggled to provide a concrete explanation for the latter, it was evident that she was genuinely striving to excel academically.
Amidst our conversation, Mike interjected with a question, "So, Max, when are you heading back to Germany?"
I considered for a mont before responding, "Most likely right after my visit to Norway in May."
Seizing the opportunity, Mike grinned mischievously and asked, "Hey, could you buy a limited edition BWG Bavarian Watch? It’s exclusive to Germany. I’ve been collecting watches. I would like it in my collection."
"Sure, I will buy it for you as a birthday present."
"Max, my birthday is next month. May cos after April, you know." He responded with a playful grin.
"Well then, consider it as a late birthday present."
Excusing myself, I made my way to my room. I sifted through various docunts and resources, focusing on the fundantals of neuroscience, ard with a cup of coffee.
Starting with "Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain," I gained a comprehensive introduction to the nervous system’s, neurons to neural networks.
Moving to "Principles of Neural Science," I delved into molecular and cellular aspects, grasping synaptic transmission and biochemical chanisms.
I blasted through the books in no ti. I felt like. However, it was already 3 AM. Thankfully, I didn’t need much sleep. So I opened up another book called "Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases".
The book connected the theory that I have learned with gripping ripping cases like the phantom limb phenonon.
The book explored the neural chanisms behind sensory perceptions and the impact of vascular disruptions on the brain in cases of stroke.
It spoke about cranial nerve disorders, describing vital nerves and their role in sensory and motor functions. As well as about traumatic brain injuries. About how physical trauma can affect different brain areas and disrupt normal neurological function.
My days were a blend of learning and family ti.
I had the ti for both as an hour or two of sleep sufficed to keep refreshed.
Amidst this, I also read "Neuroscience: Purves et al.," which gave the idea of a potential direction I should explore to make eye transplant a possibility.
As Therion has said before, learning based on examples is the best way to learn.
So I went on to read books about eye banking and corneal transplantation procedures, as well as retinal transplantations.
Whenever I found myself stuck, I would go back to introductory books on neuroscience as well as bioscience. With ti, I began to explore so surgical topics and their practical implications.
At the end of the two-week period, I found myself browsing through recent research articles and docuntation on recent surgeries.
With all that research, I still couldn’t even think about how it could be possible to regenerate the optical nerve.
A full eye transplant wasn’t impossible.
It could be done.
However, that would accomplish nothing. It could not restore vision.
I made significant progress during my ti in Boston, but there was still more to learn.
I Bid my family farewell at the beginning of April, and I headed back to my ho in Boston.
The plan was to pay another visit to Therion and The Lord, before going to Norway in May.
As soon as I was back in my cozy ho, I packed a stack of paper into my bag.
An intrusive thought crossed my mind, suggesting I should take a gun to threaten The Lord, but I quickly dismissed it. I wasn’t foolish enough to believe it would accomplish anything.
Instead, I entered the wardrobe, and within a second, I disappeared into the folds of ti.
In no ti later, I appeared in the lab. It looked the sa as before. And The Lord appeared to already know that I arrived as he stood clad in the sa pink suit, right in front of .
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