IQ Showdown: Everyone Thinks I'm the Idiot

I've just recently found out that I was switched at birth. Anthony Jefferson, the person who was raised in my place, and I end up joining an academic game show together—but he encourages everyone to ostracize me. "Sorry, Noah, but everyone on our team has a postgraduate degree. I don't think you'll fit in with us," Anthony says. Immediately, all the other contestants refuse to form a team with me. In fact, scathing remarks about me flood the internet, making me go viral. "Why did a brainless pretty boy like Noah Jefferson join an academic game show? He's obviously going to drag his teammates down!" "I heard he just returned to the family after spending his entire life in the countryside and didn't even graduate from high school." "You've got that right. Even though they're both sons of the Jefferson family, Anthony has already been hired by the National Institute of Physics! Meanwhile, Noah is nothing more than a total slacker." The comments going around online make me pause. Are they referring to me, the guy who was guaranteed a spot in the top universities in the country at just 14 years old? And what's this about Anthony getting hired by the National Institute of Physics? How is it that I, the director of the institute, am only now learning of that? Chapter 1 Just one month after being recognized as the biological son of the Jefferson family, my wealthy parents signed me up for The Clash of Minds, an academic game show. They tried to paint it in a positive light by claiming it was a chance for Anthony Jefferson, the son they had raised in my place, and I to get to know each other better. I knew that in reality, they just wanted me to be the foil to Anthony to make him look good. Sure enough, the moment the director pushed me onto the stage, a wave of undisguised snickering erupted from the audience. Anthony laughed so hard he nearly doubled over. He turned to Charlotte Sullivan, a contestant with a PhD in physics, and remarked, "You're going to have to take it easy during the debate round later, Dr. Sullivan. A certain someone here didn't even graduate from high school, but he's expected to discuss graviton models with us. Isn't that asking a little too much of him?" Charlotte adjusted her glasses, her eyes filled with the arrogance of a career academic. "Don't worry. I won't bother debating with amateurs. It's beneath me." All the cameras immediately swiveled toward me. The close-up camera seemed determined to capture even the slightest hint of embarrassment on my face, then broadcast it to the entire internet for everyone to laugh at. Meanwhile, the chat for the livestream was already running wild. "Why did a high school dropout join an academic game show? Is he so desperate to get famous that he can't even think straight anymore?" "I heard he's the biological son of the Jefferson family. He was raised in the countryside and has only just been brought back to the city. Well, you have to admit that money makes the world go round. All the other contestants have some kind of postgraduate degree." "Noah Jefferson needs to get off the show!" I ignored the comments. My focus was entirely on something the production crew had placed on stage—the reproduction of an ancient manuscript that was said to have been found in an ancient tomb. That was the sole reason why I joined this game show. Ryan Green, the host, did his best to smooth things over by asking Anthony to share a recent update from his life. Anthony flicked back his carefully styled hair. With just the right amount of restrained pride in his expression, he declared to the camera, "Oh, I've got nothing much going on in my life. I've only been a bit busy lately, since I'm balancing my time between participating in this game show and preparing for my new job." He paused, seemingly quite pleased that everyone's attention was focused on him, before slowly continuing, "Oh, I forgot to share some good news with all of you. I've already received my offer letter from the National Institute of Physics and will be officially starting my position with them very soon." "Whoa!" A wave of envious exclamations swept through the studio. Ryan's voice was visibly heightened by the excitement. "The National Institute of Physics? That's the most prestigious authority in physics in our country! This speaks to your exceptional talent, Anthony." The arrogance on Charlotte's face turned into surprise and admiration. She even led the crowd in a round of applause as she said, "My apologies. I underestimated you." Sitting under the spotlight, Anthony basked in everyone's praise and envy. His gaze seemed to wander toward me, filled with undisguised gloating and contempt. But I simply watched him in silence, though my eyes flashed with puzzlement. As the director of the National Institute of Physics, I couldn't seem to remember seeing his name on the list of new recruits for this year. Ryan studied me for a few seconds before swiftly going back to his cue cards to move the show along. "Well, it seems to me that Anthony has a bright future ahead of him! Now, let's move on to the segment everyone has been waiting for. We shall begin the first challenge!" Chapter 2 The giant screen in the center of the stage lit up, displaying a fragmented ancient star chart covered in strange symbols, along with a series of complicated physics equations listed beside it. "Our first challenge is to use this reproduction of an ancient star chart unearthed from an ancient tomb to calculate the exact coordinates of the legendary lost city of Louveire! Contestants, you have two hours to complete this challenge. You're now free to form your own groups." The moment Ryan finished speaking, almost everyone rushed toward Anthony. Apart from Charlotte, Eugenie Lockwood, who had a master's degree in astronomy, and Alicia Hudson, who had a master's degree in history, had been considered the three favorites of the game show with the highest chance of being crowned the winner. But now, all three of them stood behind Anthony without any hesitation. Several of the weaker contestants also flocked to him, hoping to throw their lot in with the strongest team. In the blink of an eye, Anthony had assembled the strongest lineup on the show, one that could practically start a research institute. Meanwhile, I was all alone, and the camera zoomed in right at that moment for a close-up on me. "Oh, dear. What are we going to do?" Anthony pretended to be surprised, covering his mouth as he gasped. However, he couldn't hide the scorn in his eyes. "Why don't you join me, Noah? "Although you can't be of much help with the challenge, I guess it also counts if you did some odd tasks for us, like fetching us water and whatever supplies we need." Behind him, Charlotte snorted before turning her attention back onto the challenge, as if she didn't want to waste any more of her time looking at me. "That won't be necessary," I said evenly before sitting down at an empty table. "What an ingrate." Anthony curled his lips and imperiously began issuing orders to his teammates. "Let's begin!" His team immediately sprang into action with remarkable efficiency. Before long, their whiteboard was covered in densely packed calculations. The bustle of discussions and heated arguments swiftly filled the air. Everyone in the studio focused their attention on Anthony's star-studded team, eagerly anticipating their solution to this centuries-old mystery. As for me, I simply sat quietly in the corner, picked up a pen, and wrote a formula on the paper provided by the production crew. I heard the discussion all around me, and the contestants were only about half correct. A crucial piece of information was hidden in this star chart, and that information was precisely why I joined the game show in the first place. My pen moved swiftly across the paper without the slightest pause. Five minutes later, while Anthony's team was still arguing over the value of the first variable, I put down my pen. No one noticed me. I calmly raised my hand and pressed the buzzer, which was a red button on the table. In an instant, everyone in the studio stared at me in shock. Ryan froze for a moment before stammering, "Y-Yes, Noah? Did you… need something?" With everyone staring at me, I looked at him and said crisply, "I've completed the calculations." I handed over the sheet of paper containing my answer to a member of the production crew. Then I called out a string of numbers—the latitude and longitude of the location, accurate to six decimal places. Everyone looked at me like I'd lost my head. A few seconds later, Anthony's team howled with laughter. "Has he lost his mind? How long has it even been? Is he saying he completed the calculations in just five minutes?" "And did he give up to six decimal places in his answer? Does he even know what that implies? He might as well be naming a specific street in the lost city!" "Look at him, putting on an act. He couldn't even find a more realistic answer to copy and fake as his own!" Charlotte pushed up her glasses, the derision in her eyes almost spilling out. She turned back toward the whiteboard, as though even saying a word to me was completely beneath her. "Ignore him. Let's continue. The gravitational parameter..." Anthony folded his arms and walked over to me. With a victorious smile on his face, he eyed me condescendingly and commented, "Noah, I know you're dying to show off somehow, but you're not even worthy of being here. Making up a bunch of numbers as an answer to get attention will only make you look even more like a clown." Chapter 3 I looked right past Anthony, fixing my eyes on the director and the panel of experts seated among the audience. "Go ahead and verify my answer." Unsure of what to do, the director turned to the experts for help. One of them was Dawn Clark, an elderly woman with graying hair and reading glasses perched on her nose. She was a leading authority in the world of physics and the one who'd designed this challenge. Clearly, she hadn't expected this situation either. After being briefly caught off guard, she quietly whispered something to her assistant, who immediately began the verification process. Less than five minutes later, the assistant's face turned pale. He stumbled over to Dawn, his lips trembling as he exclaimed, "D-Dr. Clark! The coordinates… are right, with the margin of error being on the order of millimeters!" All at once, every camera turned toward me yet again. The marker Charlotte was holding fell onto the floor with a loud clack while she mumbled, "No… That's impossible! How can someone do the calculations in such a short time without the computing power of a supercomputer…" The smile on Anthony's face had frozen stiff. He abruptly screamed, "He cheated! He must have cheated! He got the answer in advance!" "That's right! It has to be rigged!" "We've been working our asses off here, and he, a high school dropout, solves it in five minutes? Who does he think he's fooling?" Thanks to Anthony's outburst, everyone in the livestream chat also turned against me. Pointing at me, Anthony protested in front of the cameras, "The production team owes us all an explanation! He has to prove his innocence! Make him write out his calculations. If he can't, then it means he stole the work of everyone here. He has made a mockery of the integrity of science!" Pressure from all sides came bearing down on me. The director, who was sweating profusely, ran up on stage to calm everyone down, but to little effect. Under the stress of knowing that the game show was being broadcast live nationwide, the director turned to me with a pleading look in his eyes, his expression torn. "Well, Noah… For the sake of proving the fairness of the game show and addressing everyone's doubts, do you think you could show us how you arrived at the answer?" But Anthony seized this opportunity to shout toward the cameras, "What's the use of letting him show us how he got the answer? Who knows if he memorized it beforehand? "If he wants to prove his innocence, let him solve a new challenge from Dr. Clark on the spot! Give him something no one could've possibly prepared for in advance." Everyone's eyes turned toward Dawn. She sighed, rose from her seat, and slowly walked up to the whiteboard in the center of the stage. She picked up a marker and stood with her back to everyone. After a moment of silence, she asked without looking back, "Are you ready, young man?" "I am," I calmly replied. After a nod, she began scribbling on the whiteboard, her hand moving rapidly. A dizzyingly complicated string of symbols and equations appeared. At first, Charlotte stood there with her arms crossed, studying the whiteboard with a scrutinizing gaze. But before long, her indifferent expression morphed into a frown. She even stepped toward the whiteboard without realizing it. "The graviton turbulence model?" she mumbled to herself, her voice barely audible and her face going pale. "Dr. Clark is actually using it as the challenge?" Anthony didn't understand what was on the whiteboard, but he understood Charlotte's expression. His smug grin widened as he eyed me with malicious delight. "The solution for this model has eluded the international physics community for a full decade now." Dawn put down her marker and turned to address the entire studio. "To this day, no one in the world has been able to produce a complete mathematical model for it. The person who can solve it today will be the winner." Once she finished speaking, she eyed me thoughtfully before returning to her seat. Meanwhile, the crowd was abuzz. Did she seriously just use a problem that stumped the entire world of physics as a game show challenge? Chapter 4 This was no longer just a challenge on a game show. It felt more like an attempt to humiliate someone. Anthony laughed so hard he nearly doubled over, as if he could already picture me standing in front of the whiteboard, unable to write a single word, before ultimately being ridiculed by the entire internet. With everyone's eyes fixed on me, I walked up to the whiteboard. After glancing briefly at the problem, I picked up the marker and started writing without any hesitation. Charlotte's expression was contemptuous at first, but soon, her jaw dropped. Her eyes filled with shock. Dawn abruptly shot to her feet as well. She shoved her chair aside and rushed to the edge of the stage. She had to grip the side for support, her entire body trembling from excitement. Once I completed the answer, I turned around and saw Dawn staring at me intensely. Charlotte was also staring in stunned disbelief. "He actually solved it..." Every single person present was completely thunderstruck. "Are you telling me a high school dropout actually solved one of the toughest physics problems known to man?" "What the hell? Just who is Noah Jefferson?" "No! There's no way! He must've gotten the answer beforehand. He orchestrated this entire thing!" Anthony pointed at me furiously, his face twisted in a gruesome way. "That's enough! No one has ever solved this problem before. There's no way he could have gotten the answer in advance!" Dawn was still shaking, her face red from anger. She shoved the table in front of her aside and, ignoring the staff trying to stop her, staggered onto the stage. Alarmed, the director tried to stop her with a few of the production crew. "Dr. Clark! Please calm down, Dr. Clark." But she couldn't be stopped. She pushed right past everyone and came up to me. Then, with all eyes on us, she bowed and said, "Greetings, director!" Everyone, both the audience in the studio and the viewers watching the livestream, was dumbfounded. "Director?" "Who is she calling a director?" "Who else could it be? The only director Dr. Clark would show this much respect to is the director of the National Institute of Physics!" "What? Are you telling me that Noah Jefferson is the director of the National Institute of Physics?" The smug smile on Anthony's face went stiff. He stared at me blankly, his mind going completely empty. For a moment, he couldn't say a word. Charlotte, Eugenie, Alicia… All of these proud contestants who considered themselves among the brightest minds in the country looked completely gobsmacked. I looked at Dawn and, with a helpless sigh, I smiled at her. "I wanted to surprise you, Dr. Clark. I didn't expect you to recognize me." My voice was soft, but the microphone clipped to Dawn's collar carried it clearly throughout the entire studio. Her excitement was palpable as she met my eyes. "I can't believe I had the honor of seeing you solve the problem that has stumped the world of physics for years now! It is truly the honor of a lifetime." I chuckled. "I was originally hoping to keep a low profile. Looks like that's no longer possible." With that, I turned around. Ignoring the stunned faces of the audience, I walked straight over to the dumbstruck Ryan, took the microphone from his hands, and slowly approached Anthony, who was now pale as a sheet. Stopping in front of him, I noticed the fear in his quivering eyes and smirked coldly. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Noah Jefferson. At 14, I was offered a guaranteed spot at the top universities in the country. I'm also currently the director of the National Institute of Physics. You might know me by my codename, X," I said to the audience before turning back to Anthony. Smirking, I continued, "Now, tell me again which institute of physics was it that hired you."