The Evolution of Genius: Every Night, I Get Smarter!-Chapter 65: Thirst For Knowledge and Olivia

When I got back to my place in Boston, it was the evening after they released me from custody. Time rolled on just the same in the lab as it did on Earth.

I took a seat on the sofa, gazing ahead at the balcony.

There was one crucial thing that had changed from the time I left Earth to the moment I arrived on it again.

I felt like there was a goal again. There was more to learn. More to explore. There was a challenge.

I also felt strangely normal again, more human. That’s when it hit me—I felt anger back in the lab, and I feel anger now. I’m furious about what The Lord did with Olivia.

How could he do this? He played games with people.

However, none of those emotions seemed to surface in my mind when I was back at the police station or when I first spoke with The Lord in the car.

And at that exact moment, I understood.

I understood the side effects of the Somnus Veri!

The thirst for knowledge overshadows my emotions in a way that I would never have expected.

The Somnus Veri craves an environment rich with things to learn. It compels me to concentrate on acquiring more knowledge and live my life efficiently.

The moment I felt like there was nothing captivating left to learn.

The moment I felt like pushing myself to prove something unnecessary made no sense.

It struck back.

It attacked my personality. It made me empty.

Did the Lord know about this? Was this why he created that environment for me?

Was this why he met with me in the first place?

’The more you know about it, and the more you focus on it, the worse the side effects become’ - ’It has to do with efficiency, and its not purely beneficial. That’s what my informant said, and these side-effects are precisely why I needed this meeting’

That’s what The Lord said...

I felt stupid...

Therion and The Lord merely toyed with me. I had a sense that nothing they said held any truth.

Now my thoughts wandered back to Oliv. I really wanted to speak to her again. I wanted to apologize. Try to get her back.

I retrieved my phone from my pocket and swiftly opened the chat with Oliv.

There were 3 messages from her.

’Max. Did they arrest you too??? How is that even legal? Shouldn’t we just be fined?’

’Max? Why aren’t you responding? They released me after just one day. Fuck is happening.’

’It says in the newspapers that they released you yesterday, why aren’t you writing back?’

I made a quick response, ’Olivia, I want to meet up with you. I have made a mistake. I know. I want to talk about it with you. I hope you’ll hear me out.’

Damn... I was getting emotional.

After sending the message I didn’t need to wait for long before I got a response, ’ok, Max. I can talk with you, but you better have a good explanation for this. Where are you now?’

’At my house. Back Bay Boston.’

’You bought a house? After you ditched me?’

’I’m sorry, Olivia. I will tell you exactly what happened, but know that mentally, I’m much better now.’

’You’re much better because you left me behind? Just give me the address... Genius’

’444 Marlborough St’

While waiting for Olivia to arrive, I pondered on how to address the newfound knowledge about the side-effects of the serum.

I realized the importance of maintaining a relentless thirst for knowledge. Just screwing around with business regulations, buying houses, or having fun with women wasn’t the way to accomplish that.

I was determined not to let the serum dominate my life. I aspired for something more meaningful.

’Ding Dong Bing Bang’, 20 minutes later I heard the sound of a bell. Oliv was at the front door.

I swiftly made my way downstairs and opened the door for her. She stood there, as beautiful as ever, with her blonde hair flowing longer than before.

Yet, she seemed a bit pale, as if she hadn’t eaten in a while. Her expression appeared empty, and I couldn’t discern what she was thinking.

"Come on in, Olivia," I said. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

"Okay..." she replied, stepping inside. "Where should I leave my shoes?"

"Just leave them here," I gestured. "Come upstairs, we can sit on the sofa, and I’ll tell you everything."

As we ascended the stairs, she added, "If it’s some stupid reason, I’m leaving right away."

We sat down, with about a meter of distance between us. It was evident that she didn’t want that distance to close any further.

I began by explaining that back then, during our conversation in New York, I was apathetic. My feelings were not what they were supposed to be.

However, she quickly refuted that it made no difference. I had sex with another woman without her consent. The fact that I was mentally ill did not help the case at all.

"Do you know why you were arrested, Olivia?", I asked.

"They said it was because of what we did on the plane, but I didn’t know they could just put me in jail, skipping the court case. I already contacted a lawyer about this. I will take this to court myself.", she answered.

That’s when I began to explain everything from the very beginning. Olivia was clearly aware that what was happening to me wasn’t natural.

I didn’t say everything, fearing for her safety, but I wanted to be as transparent as possible.

When I told her about the reason, they stopped me back at the airport. At first, she didn’t want to believe it, but luckily, I still had the picture of the protective order I took back at the police station.

I showed the picture to Olivia, and the reaction I witnessed was difficult to describe—a mix of disbelief, disgust, and even sadness.

Finally, I ended up explaining to her that the only way I could keep my emotions in check and remain the person I was when I first met her was to focus on constant learning.

Olivia looked at me for a while, her emotions surely in turmoil. She then asked, "Max...", her voice shaking, "Couldn’t you stop yourself? Tell me. How did it happen? With Ms. Brooks."

I answered, "Believe me or not, but she did it in a moment that I couldn’t stop it. She did it at the exact moment that the German politician I was supposed to meet with entered the office. She got under the desk and..."

"OK! Stop... ", Oliv interrupted, "Stop, Max...", she then looked at me for another minute or so, I could see her eyes getting red and moisty, "I missed you Max. I cried because of you... I even lost appetite because of you...", she pouted.

I could see a solitary tear rolling down her cheek, landing on her dark jeans and creating a small wet point. I decided to move a bit closer to her. The meter of distance was now cut in half.

She looked at me, tears streaming down her face. "I’m sorry, Oliv. I will never cheat on you again," I vowed. She fell onto me, hugging softly against me, as she gasped.

After holding her close and whispering, "I promise, I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right. And I will start right now,"

I took out my phone and called Mr. Reymond.

"What are you doing, Max?", Oliv asked, while she fanned her face. She clearly wasn’t crying out of sadness.

"You will see, Oliv", I answered as I caught the signal.

"Mr. Reymond?"

"Yes, sir! You just called me though, what happened?"

"The authority that I gave you... you still have it, right?"

"Yes, I do. I will give it away if you so desire, Max."

"No, you don’t need to. I need you to do something for me."

"Yes, Max? What is it?"

"I need you to fire someone for me. I need you to fire Ms. Brooks for her misconduct during work."

Oliv had wide eyes, tears still falling into her mouth. She asked, "Isn’t she your best employee?"

I winked at Oliv, and Mr. Reymond responded, "As you wish, Max."

The sky was getting dark. It was late in the evening. Oliv stayed at my home for the night, but we didn’t go as far as taking our clothes off.

We just sat there, hugging for a while, maybe bringing our lips together quietly every now and then.

She said that she didn’t believe that the affair was one-sided, but what she really wanted of me was to not do things behind her back.

After all, we already did it with Casi.

I did not disclose everything to Olivia. I said nothing about The Lord, the lab, or the many civilizations aside from ours.

There might come a time when I need to share that information, but that time wasn’t now.

For the moment, I wanted to put my life together, dominate this world, learn as much as I could in the meantime, and find people who are as bent on learning as I am.