Proof Page #5

It looks like a proof, It is a proof,

A very long proof,

I haven't read through it all yet or checked

it, I don't even know if I could check it,

But if it's a proof of what I think

it's a proof of, it's a very important proof,

What does it prove?

It looks like it proves a mathematical

theorem about prime numbers

which mathematicians have been trying

to prove since there were mathematicians,

You know about this?

- Is it any good?

- It's historic, if it checks out,

What does it mean?

It means that when everybody

thought your dad was crazy,

he did some of the most

important mathematics ever,

If it checks out, it means you publish

instantly, You hold press conferences,

It means that all newspapers

around the world

are gonna want to talk to the person

who found this notebook,

- Catherine,

- Catherine,

I didn't find it,

- Yes, you did,

- No, I didn't,

- Did you find it or did Hal find it?

- I didn't find it,

I didn't find it,

I wrote it,

- Hey, guys,

- Where you headed?

- I'm late for Bhandari,

- You know what he's like, Better get there,

Catch you later,

Yeah,

Ah, Catherine,

- So nice of you to drop by,

- Sorry I'm late,

- This work of yours...

- I know, I'm sorry,

- I mean, it's interesting,

- You think so?

In that it has nothing to do with

the problems I'd asked you to solve,

- It won't happen again,

- What happened?

You simply couldn't control yourself?

No, I just... I thought I should get all those

ideas down while they were in my head,

and then it was morning,

and I couldn't come in with nothing,

But this is the third time

that inspiration's overtaken you

just at the moment when

you had to submit to my idea

of what it is you should be learning,

- A third? Really,

- Differential equations don't interest you,

No, they do, I mean...

Yeah, they absolutely do,

Oh, but they didn't last night,

Not as much as usual,

I mean...

I'm worried that your work

is deteriorating,

There are some good ideas here, but...

it isn't a coherent mathematical argument,

- Well, I didn't get time to finish it,

- But mathematics isn't jazz,

Even the craziest mathematics

is working towards a proof,

Not all the mathematicians

in my family are crazy,

- I wasn't using the word in a clinical way,

- I know, I know, Just for the record,

How is your father?

I don't know, I haven't been able

to get in touch with him for a week,

He's fine,

Last time I talked to him, he was fine, He's

been fine for months now, Nine months,

He was a great man,

He still is,

You're gonna fail me, aren't you?

I'm giving you another chance

to redo the problem set,

You need an A,

You're quite capable of earning one,

Thank you,

- Professor Bhandari?

- Yeah,

Don't worry about me, OK?

I'm gonna write you a really nice fat set

of answers that you're really gonna like,

Hi. We're not here.

Please leave a message.

Claire? Hi, Listen,

When was the last time you spoke to Dad?

Tuesday? Oh, God,

It's fine, It's just that

I normally talk to him every day,

and I haven't been able

to get ahold of him,

Well, I'm glad that

you're sure everything's fine,

I feel much more comfortable,

Thank you,

What could have happened?

I mean, he could've had a car accident,

He could've fallen and broken his hip,

He could be running naked

down the Midway for all I know,

Yes, Claire, I know

that you care about Dad,

Yeah, as much as me, OK,

Now can I please get off the phone?

Dad?

Hello!

Dad?

Dad!

Dad?

Catherine, hi,

What a surprise,

- What are you doing out here?

- I'm thinking,

Writing,

It's 30 degrees,

It's the middle of the night,

- I know,

- Well, aren't you cold?

Of course I am,

I'm freezing my ass off.

So what are you doing out here?

It's too hot in the house, The radiators

clank and I couldn't concentrate,

I've been calling and calling,

Did you not get my messages?

It's a distraction,

I didn't know what was going on,

I had to drive all the way out here,

I can see that,

- Why don't you answer the phone?

- I'm sorry, Catherine,

But it's a question of priorities,

and work takes priority, You know that,

You're working?

Goddamn it!

I'm working!

I mean, I say "I,"

Machinery,

The machinery's working, Catherine,

It's on full blast,

All the cylinders are firing,

I'm on fire,

That's why I came out here to cool off,

I haven't felt like this for years,

- You're kidding,

- No,

- I don't believe it,

- I don't believe it either, but it's true,

It started about a week ago,

I woke up,

I came downstairs,

made a cup of coffee,

Before I could pour the milk in, it was like

someone turned the light on in my head,

- Really?

- Not the light, The whole grid, I lit up!

It's like no time has passed

since I was 21,

- You're kidding me,

- No, I'm back,

I'm back, In touch with the source!

Whatever the source of my creativity was

all those years ago, I'm in contact with it,

I'm sitting on it, It's a geyser,

and I'm shooting up in the air on top of it,

God,

I'm not talking about divine inspiration, It's

not funneling into my head, onto the page,

I'm not saying it won't be a lot of work,

It will be, a tremendous amount of work,

It's not gonna be easy,

But the raw material is there,

I see places for the work to go,

new techniques,

I'm gonna get whole branches

of the profession talking to each other,

I'm sorry,

I'm being rude,

- How's school?

- School's fine,

- You're working hard?

- Sure,

- Faculty treating you all right?

- Yes,

- Made any friends?

- Yes,

- You dating?

- Dad,

No details necessary

if you don't want to provide them,

School is fine, OK?

I want to talk about what you're doing,

Great, Let's talk,

- This work...

- Yes,

- It's here?

- Part of it, yes,

- Can I see it?

- It's all at a very early stage,

- I don't care,

- It's not complete,

To be honest, it's all in progress,

I think we're talking years,

Dad, it's OK,

Just let me see anything,

- You really want to?

- Yes,

- You're genuinely interested?

- Dad, of course,

Of course, It is your field,

Yes,

You know how happy that makes me?

Yes,

I think there's enough here to keep me

working the rest of my life, And not just me,

I was starting to imagine I was finished,

Catherine, Really finished,

I was terrified I'd never work again,

Did you know that?

- I wondered,

- I was absolutely bloody terrified,

Then I remembered something,

I remembered you,

Your creative years were just beginning,

You'd get your degree, do your own work,

If you hadn't gone into math,

that would've been all right,

Now, Claire's done well for herself,

I'm satisfied with her,

I'm proud of you!

I know you've got your own work,

and I don't want you to neglect that,

You mustn't neglect it,

But I could probably use some help,

To be honest, I'd like you to help me,

to work with me, if you want to,

If you can work it out with your class

schedule, I could help you with that,

Make some calls,

talk to your teachers,

I'm sorry,

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