Mr. Pok had initially believed he could easily persuade Professor Carl to de-escalate the situation.
However, to his surprise, Professor Carl proved to be obstinate, insisting on keeping the crucial research specimen. Mr. Pok found himself unable to do anything about Professor Carl, as the entire research center was under the jurisdiction of the European Union. Any major personnel changes within the research center would require approval from the entire EU Parliament, a process that was bound to be lengthy, and Mr. Pok couldn't guarantee the replacement of the person in charge.
Regardless of the circumstances, Mr. Pok was currently helpless against Professor Carl. With reporters continuously gathering outside, Pok could only try to find a way to convince Professor Carl.
Taking a deep breath, Mr. Pok said, "Professor Carl, I can tell you very clearly, if you insist on keeping him, I might suffer some damage, but you will definitely suffer more. Everything you said to the deceased's family has been posted online by them, and countless people are now attacking you."
"Furthermore, as far as I know, they actually paid 50 million US dollars for a week's access, but in the end, it was reduced to three days, and this extra time was all allocated to those Israelis. If we were to investigate thoroughly, do you think that with your ability to block information yet not even know how to cut off Wi-Fi, you could withstand our investigation?"
"If you insist on continuing, your future reputation will likely be ruined, and you will become a devil."
“……” Professor Carl's face changed dramatically. This was indeed what he feared and cared about the most.
"There's no point in you telling me this. It's not something I can decide alone. The entire research center, hundreds of researchers, all have high expectations for this research specimen. If I were to declare here that I could let him go, the others wouldn't let me leave!" Professor Carl sighed.
"Moreover, since starting work in '08, this research center has not produced any world-shattering scientific research achievements, nor have we found the God Particle, the Higgs Boson, that we've been looking for. This has always put considerable pressure on our research center," Professor Carl said.
"That's true!" Pok nodded. This was perhaps the most apparent point of the high-energy particle collider's existence in his work. Almost every meeting, someone would question him why the EU was investing heavily in such a device that couldn't produce any results.
And this so-called achievement was the God Particle. The purpose of creating the high-energy particle collider was to find the God Particle, which would then generate immense energy in the field of high-energy physics, thereby driving the progress of human physics and even human technological advancement.
After all, it was almost impossible for humanity to achieve a breakthrough in macroscopic physics comparable to the Industrial Revolution. The only way to promote further development for humanity lay in the world of subatomic particles.
"However, after the accident, our staff immediately received the equipment and checked the data. They found data resembling the Higgs field at the very moment the accident occurred."
"And with the appearance of the Higgs field and the Higgs Boson, there was an energy field. This indicates that at the moment of impact, the channel might have already generated the Higgs Boson that we've been painstakingly searching for!" Professor Carl said with a serious expression.
"Is that true?" Mr. Pok's eyes widened. If the Higgs Boson had indeed been found, this would be world-changing news.
"We don't know, so we need that specimen!" Professor Carl said sternly. "The traces in the pipeline disappeared very quickly, existing for only a nanosecond, much faster than we expected. This is unscientific."
"So we believe that the God Particle might have been generated within the specimen, meaning there should be more traces inside the specimen, and these traces cannot be erased and will remain in the body. If we can find these traces, we can immediately announce to the world that the God Particle truly exists, and humanity has also found a way to impart mass to objects."
"So Mr. Pok, I actually don't care about my personal reputation. If it's ruined, so be it. But this specimen must be secured. It concerns the technological development and dominance of the next few centuries. We absolutely cannot lose it!" Professor Carl said decisively.
"I understand!" Mr. Pok also felt the weight behind this corpse and began to seriously consider the matter from Professor Carl's perspective.
Before long, a smile appeared on Pok's face. "Professor Carl, please order them to release the person and let those people take the corpse out of the research center!"
"Don't you understand what I mean?" Professor Carl said irritably, thinking he had persuaded this ordinary official.
"Of course, I understand what you mean, but I never said they could take the corpse back to their country, nor did I say I wouldn't give the corpse to you!" Pok smiled.
"What do you mean?" Professor Carl asked confusedly.
"Professor Carl, you are a great scientist, and you always think from the perspective of an expert scholar. But I am different. I am a professional politician, so I always think and solve problems from a politician's perspective. From this perspective, it is actually very simple and easy to meet your needs."
"How is it simple and easy?" Professor Carl asked excitedly.
"First, you need to understand one thing: neither France nor Sweden legally allows a corpse to leave the country. Unless the corpse has diplomatic immunity, it must remain in the country until it is cremated into ashes before it can be allowed to leave!"
"Second, these people are foreigners, not our citizens, so they cannot have homes or places to store the body here. Also, according to the law, without special circumstances or religious rituals, the corpse must be kept in the hospital morgue."
"So even if the corpse is taken away, the future path is foreseeable: it will first be stored in the hospital morgue, and after the cremation procedures are completed, it will be sent directly to the crematorium for cremation, and then handed over to the family to be taken back to their own country."
"In this process, there is too much room for us to operate."
"First, the corpse must be sent to the hospital, and outsiders are not allowed to stay in the hospital morgue. So, once the corpse enters the morgue, their family will no longer be able to stay with the corpse. The control of the corpse will actually fall to the hospital, and thus to us."
"Then, during the processing of procedures, we can interfere with them, making it impossible for them to cremate it for several months. The corpse will have to remain in the morgue. During this period, you can lead your team into the hospital and conduct research on these corpses at any time."
"By the time their cremation permit is issued, our research will be long finished. The entire process will be completely legal, and no one can criticize it. At the same time, we can conduct research peacefully. Isn't that the best outcome?"
"What you're saying is indeed good!" Professor Carl nodded, clearly appreciating the answer. However, he hesitated for a moment and then said, "But the research process is not that simple. A few months might not be enough time to complete the work. This research might take several years or even decades, and conducting research in a hospital is always not very convenient. We also cannot move the research center's equipment to the hospital. This is not the best method! Are there any other ways?"
"There really is!" Mr. Pok pondered for a moment and then immediately had another idea. "In that case, we can intervene during the cremation process."
"At that time, the corpse can be directly put into the cremator. No one can see the face inside through the cremator. And when the ashes come out at the end, who can know what the original appearance of these ashes was?"
"We just need to perform a switcheroo during this process, replace the corpse that was put in with another person's corpse, and then we can secretly keep this corpse and provide it to you for research!"
"This is a good idea!" Hearing this suggestion, Professor Carl's face finally showed a satisfied expression. This was indeed a win-win solution.
With Professor Carl's nod, all the subsequent work became much smoother.
Mr. Pok quickly met with the reporters, answered some questions in an official capacity, and then invited four or five reporters to enter the research center with him to film the entire process of him meeting with the family.
During the process, Mr. Pok first expressed his regret, stating that the reason for the seven days being reduced to three was due to a major equipment malfunction at the time, which forced the postponement.
As for keeping it as a specimen, it was something Professor Zhao had said to Professor Carl before his death, but Professor Zhao might have forgotten to entrust these words to his family.
However, it was fine. If the family disagreed, they would absolutely not force them. And his appearance this time was to send them home.
Thus, Mr. Pok personally accompanied the family and researchers to carry Professor Zhao out of the research center. No one obstructed them at all during the entire process. The entire process was filmed by the French media themselves and broadcast on television that evening, barely managing to clear the research center's name.