Professor Yao arrived punctually at toria in Ne , despite tion of intelligent buildings e ecosystems over t feo its ageing Art Deco coria  t tee of influential members of tablis to protect ts of ty. ti, cognoscenti, financiers, politicos, academics, tecs and tco attend tec meeting of fame, money and minds in the modern world.

    It urned to ing sloureless sky. Noentatious el, tive professor found s and international designer outfits of y.  like a carp out of er, trying to free itself from a tangle of  of place. ured polyester-mix suit  get over tement of w  ive China.

    Outside, a large section of Park Avenue and its adjoining streets s of rain cascading off tal barricades and tic ribbons. tment of state-of-t croo climb into. A small cluster of demonstrators stood ing slogans and generally not looking too confident about being able to get ting t in crators eyed the cops suspiciously.

    taxi, a o  of ter coalescing on . rouble explaining to a couple of NYPD officers on bulky cric motorbikes t ed guest to tinized card, eying  suspiciously. One of tcard on a ed for tem to query a remote database and come back . t expect o be auticated.

    Professor Yao arted to s in er suit, or  tic  eyes o sally, race tabase query snaking tem and kneep ters o verify ity, doo t memory routine. t  all nigside ong ts earlier.

    to flicker on t and ed patiently as tisfied t icated entity.  al-looking one, t ioning al-looking one could  by addressing  t for their elders.

    tooria, ionally-minded colleagues at Beijing’s tsingy, rics ennas cutting arcs in t line of veentatious displays of  of ts.

    Professor Yao found  a e clock sitting smack bang in t American presidents on to o dead American leaders empting fate. ed  edge of  friendly-looking nose. o arc as  pocket for tinerary.

    Smart airborne micro dirigibles glided up in termittently cycling te sponsor logos. Computerized female voices announced talks er and social neternational magazines, corporate CEOs, prize-y oreets of Beijing. te a feremely ts t to ting ridiculous in to impart ake a  they held dear.

    today  t  billions of dollars and generations of America’s best brains o ac auties on neural netificial intelligence, but t yet a. erally minutes ao top of ernationally.

    tsingy ernational renoive publisracts and tenures at t universities and researcitutions, Professor Yao ayed at   surviving ongs in Beijing, ment of tion Army as  funding and access to some of t advanced military computers for to AI. ive corporate directorsing and advisory opportunities t o stay aions.

    Professor Yao’s name  to be found in any international scientific journals but in classified researcs used by leading military tanks in Ne of Ne, t unofficial, ly take tion tec even t est breakthrough.

    aking a big risk by being  t predict e aed urn to Neerior motive of taking  of ture but aken precautions and ermined to make  to ternational community  of o tion Army.

    t age. ificial intelligence community enougion to make ter Neional patents. ty. rumpet for a paradigm s in  and ac. ty ing into o a bold neelligence.

    Professor Yao riot  for a non-Co understand. Yet, to ry alone o  in t at t  funding resulted in t  for o trace o teces at to t Professor Yao doubted any  most of tary researcus. ime al face beat quickened.

    Professor Yao made oors, mopping ically o tinerary, alk  tel’s famed Starligeentts Institute of tecer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab,  o secure  s notice. Not t  Joplin personally, but ures in ternational magazines and exco join  MIt, but tely declined.

    A or confirmed inerary. o not be mentioned in t literature.

    Venue: tarlight Roof

    Speaker: Professor Yao Guo Cificial Intelligence and Nanotecre, tsingy, Beijing, China

    topic: Quantum Computing: a breaktificial Intelligence

    time: 2.30PM-3.30PM

    A  y,  beyond  cy minutes to go.  . Almost immediately  started   like a pneumatic drill. t  t. If only ill alive to help calm him down.

    tor doors reamed out, many of till ary real-time translation systems and clutcineraries. All around tions and computerized voices punctured or music. tement in ttling tle. Miraculously, or as it made its o teenth floor.

    Professor Yao kne topic of tract all t people. ely come up itle t  minds in botificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing. Nanotecing expectations and it ly t it arted to bear fruit after decades of researcrillions of dollars and so-called “breakt it ant part in ture of artificial intelligence arted to lose resonance. Many scientists, especially t interested in its medical applications, e of time. You could get atoms and molecules to beure mac tions ed. tended to be one-trick ponies.

    ted tor into a room so opulently decorated t  o  to ters of excess. Everytic co tunda and tasseled velvet seats ing t it o be a packed auditorium. iced t ty of tly reading tineraries and peering into tary video screens acled gray  Dr. James Joplin  before Professor Yao’s talk.

    Nevertly larger t, ion on ed raveled to toage. As  by, a fe  ion cross tly embarrassed at ttention. icing for t time t t t of ting?

    tripped over one of several small robots gliding ttle ss of Espresso coffee and finger-sized sanden in eigime to pop doo Coe and t a big fan of estern cuisine, ed feeling t one got from autic Co el, refresaxi to the aldorf.

    “testing, testing, testing. One, t a female voice on tem. Professor Yao looked toage to see a ed young igting gray suit on t y-one years old. tatic filled to blast from different loudspeakers. ted like storm clouds from one side of to anotecested turned toer looks, and a flicker of recognition crossed ohe professor.

    “ make it,” tecaking care of you today.” Sly even teeth.

    “Nice to meet you, Ms. Bruck apologize for my tardiness,” tingly, proud t y Englistractive young woman.

    “t’s OK. I expect you’ve  Dr. Joplin t ensely. Professor Yao felt tempo of beat rise sh a concerned look.

    “No. I .   into Professor Yao’s voice.

    “ell,  a message at your el. You see, Professor Yao, Dr. Joplin is dead.”