Chapter 236: No One Should Treat You So Specially, Beautiful Woman in an Oil Painting! Little Sheldon Even Woke Up Laughing in His Sleep!
"Could Chuck be right?"
Monica asked curiously.
"Of course I'm right."
Chuck glanced at her.
Monica just looked at Beverly.
"Dr. Wolfe is right."
Beverly nodded, her brows furrowed.
"Why?"
Monica asked, puzzled.
"You really don't know the reason?"
Chuck looked at Monica.
"..."
Monica was speechless. If she knew, why would she ask? But following Chuck's gaze, she looked at the web address on her phone and suddenly realized.
Dante's Questionnaire, its full name is the Depravity and Brutality Measurement Test... The US and Australia both started with criminal colonies, the UK was once the world's biggest colonial power, Japan's brutality is well-known, and Canada... well, it's right there next to the US.
Thinking about it this way, it doesn't seem strange at all.
"I don't deny the possibility of your theory, but do you really think any organization would use this questionnaire as a tool to recruit psychopaths?"
Beverly was still somewhat skeptical about the possibility of such an organization.
"Do you really think this questionnaire is suitable as a social media survey?"
Chuck pointed out the key issue incisively.
"..."
Beverly fell silent.
In her view, this Dante Questionnaire, which she had developed after years of theoretical and practical research, was a culmination of theory and practice. Its effectiveness was undeniable, and it was also incredibly engaging, making it perfectly suitable as a viral survey—at least no less effective than Jungian personality types.
Jung was a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist, a prominent figure who had collaborated with the psychology giant Freud, and a senior colleague of Beverly's.
He combined two attitudes and four functions to create eight personality types: extroverted thinking, introverted thinking, extroverted feeling, introverted feeling, extroverted sensing, introverted sensing, extroverted intuitive, and introverted intuitive.
As for the MBTI, created by the American mother-daughter team based on Jungian personality types, which went viral on social media, Beverly didn't care at all.
A homeschooled mother and daughter with only a college education, creating something akin to astrology—pseudoscience that anyone could relate to without offending anyone—was utterly worthless.
Beverly wouldn't even deign to compare her work to that.
She held a high position in the psychology hierarchy, but she didn't deny that most people lacked her scientific literacy and sense of objectivity; therefore, after her Dante Questionnaire was released, very few were willing to fill it out.
After Chuck's comment, she thought about it carefully. While her Dante Questionnaire was the best vehicle for combining science and engagement, ordinary people preferred to hear about their strengths and then use these 'acknowledged strengths' in social interactions. They were unwilling to admit even the personality flaws described by Jungian personality types, let alone let others know their capacity for depravity and cruelty.
Her Dante Questionnaire was destined from the beginning to follow a valuable academic path, not as social currency.
Its sudden popularity in these countries must be driven by some powerful force.
"I will withdraw the questionnaire,"
Beverly nodded.
"Is it still useful to withdraw it now?"
Monica asked worriedly. "The questionnaire is already out. Since there's a force pushing it, won't suppressing it only make it more tempting?"
"I will contact the FBI's BAU and have them send people to scrub these messages online,"
Chuck said. "As long as this questionnaire cannot appear openly, its audience will be extremely limited, and the harm caused by its use by malicious organizations will be smaller."
As for eliminating it completely?
Chuck had never considered that possibility.
Once something is spread online, even with active removal, it cannot be completely eliminated, let alone in 'free' America.
"It's such a pity,"
Beverly adjusted her glasses. "Years of research have resulted in this."
"The starting point was good,"
Chuck said, "but it was destined to fail and even be distorted from your original intention, so there's nothing to regret about giving up now."
Under the existing legal and institutional framework, it is impossible to restrict the discretionary power of American judges or the privileges of a wealthy and powerful minority.
Discovering it now and stopping in time is definitely the best outcome. Otherwise, if Beverly pushes it too hard in the future, she might inevitably face 'suicide due to depression' or 'suicide by two shots to the back of the head.'
Or, more ironically, some forces might use her Dante Questionnaire to recruit psychopaths to send her to hell.
No sooner said than done.
Beverly immediately called her assistant to shut down the website.
"Dr. Hofstadter, why?"
Her assistant, Warren, was shocked. "The Dante Questionnaire is the culmination of your research, and things are going very well right now. Are you sure you want to shut down the website?"
"Dr. Wolfe reminded me that this website and this questionnaire could be used by bad actors..."
Beverly explained briefly.
"...Yes."
Assistant Warren stopped trying to persuade her, agreed, and hung up the phone.
Chuck also called BAU's chief agent, Hotchner, asking him to use the FBI's resources to investigate the forces behind the Dante Questionnaire and eliminate any further spread.
Princeton University.
Faculty housing.
After hanging up the phone, Warren, the female assistant, composed herself and dialed another number. "Agent Babbage, Dr. Hofstadter wants to shut down the website and terminate the project. I think your agency should talk to Dr. Hofstadter and eliminate Dr. Wolfe's influence..."
"Understood."
The man on the other end of the line, referred to as Agent Babbage, paused for a moment before saying. "For now, follow Dr. Hofstadter's instructions and shut down the website. When the time is right, persuade Dr. Hofstadter to continue the research and optimize the questionnaire."
"When is the right time?"
Warren asked.
"You'll know then,"
Agent Babbage said calmly. "Don't worry, it won't be long, and you won't lose your share of the compensation."
"I'm looking forward to it."
Warren, the female assistant, smiled and hung up the phone.
She was originally Beverly's graduate student, and to become Beverly's student and capable assistant, she was certainly no ordinary person.
Because ordinary people simply couldn't tolerate someone like Beverly—a female version of Sheldon!
Just look at Sheldon and the people around him.
Sheldon was often challenged by Leonard; even in cartoons, while others saw the lovable protagonists, he consistently identified with the villains, clearly exhibiting antisocial personality tendencies.
His best friend and roommate, Leonard, was a super 'doormat.' Putting aside the comedic elements, think about it carefully—is someone who can tolerate that normal?
Actually, it's concerning! If he doesn't snap, it's fine, but once he does, it's absolutely catastrophic!
And Sheldon's future partner, Amy, is clearly obsessive, frequently using unconventional methods, hundreds of times. She actually spent seven or eight years trying to win Sheldon over, and in the future, she can still tolerate the extremely low frequency of once a year. Putting aside the comedic elements, isn't that concerning?!
This isn't an isolated case.
Paige often warns Monica that all super geniuses have their quirks, and that the people around them are all unusual.
In the world of American TV series, this is not hyperbole, but a profound truth.
These characters, blessed with protagonist luck or comedic elements, haven't yet revealed their darker side. But what kind of extraordinary person would tolerate Beverly and be appreciated by her, without the protagonist's aura and comedic buffer?
That's right!
Beverly's assistant, Warren, is a pure antisocial personality!
In other words, Beverly, as the lead researcher on the project, forbade her from taking the Dante Questionnaire, lest her developer's perspective interfere with the data's reliability. Otherwise, her Dante Questionnaire results would definitely be... well, extremely high in depravity and brutality!
Originally, this wasn't a major problem.
After all, in the world of American TV series, in a country like America—former colonial power and current global superpower—antisocial personalities are far too common, threatening to become mainstream.
As long as such people aren't given the environment and opportunity to develop, it's not actually that scary.
However, Beverly's research attracted the attention of someone with ulterior motives. Warren, the female assistant, was approached by an agent claiming to be Babbage, who showed her CIA credentials.
Warren didn't care about the authenticity; when she heard she would be paid well, she agreed without hesitation, without needing any further persuasion. This surprised the Babbage agent, who was prepared to persuade her with patriotic rhetoric.
After all, what he asked her to do was recruit psychopaths; without justification, most people wouldn't have the courage or the psychological capacity to do such a thing.
Who would have thought Warren would be so decisive?
At that moment, the Babbage agent realized that Warren was a kindred spirit.
The connection was established. With Warren's help, things proceeded very smoothly. The survey website was set up, and he reported it to the organization, mobilizing resources to cast a wide net globally, with promising progress.
But who knew that Chuck would suddenly expose him, leading Beverly to decide to shut down the survey website? This unexpected turn of events greatly displeased him, who also had antisocial personality disorder.
For people like them, dealing with such incidents was simple: eliminate the person who caused the incident, and it wouldn't happen again.
However, as an organized individual, these matters naturally needed to be reported.
So, after hanging up the phone, he immediately called his superior.
He, like his female assistant Warren, didn't know whether the credentials his superior had given him were genuine or not, and he didn't care.
Besides, the CIA was notoriously murky; what was the point of worrying about identity?
If something really happened, would the CIA protect him anyway?
"Chuck Wolfe?"
Upon hearing this, his superior's British-accented voice turned somber.
"Yes!"
Agent Babbage said. "I request his elimination so that the plan can get back on track."
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"Is there a problem?"
Agent Babbage was surprised by his superior's silence.
Previously, his superior had always been decisive and ruthless, never hesitating to give orders. Now, his attitude was unusually hesitant.
"Prepare yourself, wait for my call,"
the superior instructed after a long silence.
"Okay."
Agent Babbage understood this was a sign that his superior hadn't fully made up his mind, but he didn't ask further. He prepared to complete the preliminary preparations, and when the time came, he would eliminate this troublesome Chuck Wolfe with a single order!
"Preparations must be kept secret!"
Before he could hang up, his superior spoke again. "From now on, you are only responsible for this one matter, and only to me. Do not use the organization's network again. Maintain radio silence, and do not mention the target's name. I will contact you again."
"Yes, sir!"
Agent Babbage was even more curious, but he assumed it was because Chuck was a high-profile figure, and indicated he understood what to do.
Columbia University.
A middle-aged man with auburn hair and a light beard put away his phone, gazed at the night, and muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear. "He has thwarted our plans multiple times. You not only gave orders not to touch him, but also used resources within the organization to eliminate other people's assassination plans against him. This is too much. No one should treat you so specially... at least not him."
"Professor!"
Several clear female voices called out from afar.
The man looked up, smiled, and waved to the students who greeted him. After the female students left, his face returned to its expressionless state in the darkness, perfectly blending into the night...
The next day.
The Hofstadter family home.
Leonard was awakened by a very discordant laugh. He was about to get angry because the laugh came from his roommate, Sheldon.
That's right!
In this world of fusion with American TV series, Sheldon met Beverly early, was introduced to Princeton University by her, and after living at her house, Leonard not only enjoyed Sheldon's 'friendship' early, but also became Sheldon's roommate early.
His room had been converted into a double room.
The nightmarish Sheldon moved in.
Luckily, he had Chuck, his good friend, who often challenged the nightmarish Sheldon, making him act more human; otherwise, he felt he might not have been able to handle it.
Thinking this, Leonard got up and stared wide-eyed. Not only was Sheldon, who had been driven to tears by Chuck's challenges, laughing, but he was still asleep.
What kind of sweet dream was this?
Leonard picked up his glasses, got up, and walked over to Sheldon's bedside. He scrutinized the sleeping Sheldon with a strange look, staring until Sheldon, even in his dream, sensed something was wrong and woke up with a start.
"What are you doing?"
Sheldon asked, startled.
"I should be asking you that!"
Leonard teased. "What were you dreaming about? You were laughing so happily in your dream?"
"Did I?"
Sheldon paused, then his eidetic memory activated, clearly recalling the dream. A smile immediately appeared on his lips. "I remember now—it wasn't a dream. Chuck got embarrassed, and he was frustrated!"
He raised his chin higher and higher as he spoke.
Leonard immediately understood.
Last night, Chuck and his friends came over. While Chuck and Monica were talking to Beverly downstairs, Howard Jr. came up to play with them, mentioning some inside information he'd heard about Chuck and astronaut Wernher von Braun.
Sheldon, who had been devastated after saying, "You're facing death, but I'm facing Chuck Wolfe," immediately perked up upon hearing this gossip.
Having been constantly challenged by Chuck since their first encounter, Sheldon was now thrilled to discover that Chuck wasn't invincible and could also face setbacks.
"Are you serious?"
Leonard Jr., siding with Chuck, glared at Sheldon, clearly annoyed. Realizing he couldn't win the argument, he called Chuck to tell him the news.
"Got it,"
Chuck said calmly. "That's good. Keep him in this state."
"Yeah!"
Leonard Jr., understanding Chuck's mindset, readily agreed.
He knew that young Sheldon would cry again, and might even have nightmares...
(End of Chapter)
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