https://pixabay.com/es/photos/albert-einstein-retrato-1933340/
He was an elderly man of about 65. He had grizzled fair hair that dropped to his low-lying shoulders and he looked sort of shrunken, but with a handsome face. President Marklin saw intelligence in his amber-colored eyes.
The professor took the seat offered him by the President.
"You are Professor Sigstein, who wrote the letter, right?" The President asked.
The professor nodded. Obviously, the professor wasn't the talking type. The president was the one who drove the conversation, yet whenever the professor spoke his speech radiated wisdom and grace.
"It is a race, Mr. President," he replied to a question the President just asked. "I mean all the five heads of states of our enemies, led by Germany, are scurrying like insects searching for an all-powerful weapon. With that alone they hope to subdue the rest of the world and create a sort of one-world government headed by the Germans.
The professor was gazing intently at the President, that was his way of emphasizing the importance of anything he was saying.
"Not much time left for us. We can only hope to catch up depending on the number of scientists we commit to the cause--before professor Hans-Werner Sinn returns from Japan."
"Professor Hans-Werner?"
"Oh. He's the German scientist in charge of the project for the all-powerful weapon. We've got approximately a month."
Hours later, The President had a meeting with his cabinet and the general consensus was to get an army of scientists searching to discover the said all-powerful weapon, to stop all the pro-Nazi nations from becoming super-powerful.
The massive group of intelligent minds worked for months at this project but with little success. Then something happened that was to change the course of the war, and indeed that of humanity for the better.
A professor, Amos Vaidman by name, who had languished in prison for 15 years, struck an unusual deal with the US government in exchange for a presidential pardon.
All his life as a physics professor, he had dedicated himself to making a discovery that would positively affect a large part of the world. He had made many useful scientific discoveries but none had helped the world on a large scale. He hoped to achieve this before his retirement.
But he became caught up in a very nasty scandal. He knew his enemies had set him up, those who were jealous of his success. But while in prison he continued to nurse his dream of helping humanity through his research efforts. The deal he struck with the government involved his discovering that weapon in exchange for freedom.
https://pixabay.com/es/photos/laboratory-medical-medicine-mano-3827745/
He worked day and night in his lab, ate only once a day, slept for days in the same clothes without a proper bath. He had just enough motivation to keep him going at this impossible task.
Soon it was four days to the deadline, still he had no tangible results to show for all his hardwork. He was already imagining himself back in jail, having to endure all sorts of nauseating and unbearable things in prison, and also his reputation would remain damaged forever, and he would be suffering for a crime he didn't commit.
A day to the deadline, he came out of the lab, and came to his private study. He got a book from the library and sat reading with a cup of chocolate drink. The door was open and the gentle evening breeze played with his old and grizzled hair, and he looked very frustrated, and miserable.
So this was the end. Failure was laughing in his face, and he regretted ever making that deal with the government. He read for a few hours, some poetry, from a book of poetry his mother had gifted him on his 22nd birthday.
He was feeling sleepy and tried to close the book when an envelope fell out. He picked it with shaky hands and opened it. It was nothing unique, looked like a recipe for a drink, a chocolate drink. He loved chocolate drinks but he wasn't in the mood at the present time.
Some scribbling in tiny handwriting at the bottom of the note caught his attention. It read: To Amos with love. Your grandad, a physics professor, gave me this to give to you, our first child. I saw nothing in it but he persuaded me to. It's a recipe he believes is the best if it's type, and he claims it was used by Russian Czars and Romans Emperors because of how good it is.. He says it is now rare, few know about it. He says you would know what to do with it. Love, Mum.
This made no meaning to the professor and he put the note back and retired for the night. He was awoken at midnight and motivated to return to that little piece of paper, and he did.
He was beginning to notice a consistency that resonated with physics. He picked up a few names. Uranium enrichment. Burning plasma. Cooling water system. He hurriedly returned to the lab and tried getting his thoughts on paper. He had a few of the substances and materials he noticed in the note in his lab and so he continued experimenting and writing till morning.
By morning he had on paper what he believed was the weapon Nazi Germany was after, a weapon that could end the ongoing world war.
The weapon was successfully utilized in neutralizing the pro-communist and pro-nazi nations, bringing to an end a war that had cost a staggering amount of lives and resources.
The poor, humble professor, retired to a countryside where he lived out the rest of his life peacefully till his death some 35 years later.
He later tried out the recipe and it turned out with a really incredibly marvellous taste. It was a lost ancient chocolate recipe that had been the craze of the world in ancient times. As it stood he was the only one who knew it, but he didn't care to monetize it, he had it published in the papers the next day.
https://pixabay.com/es/photos/taza-chocolate-bebida-invierno-4755773/
Several million-dollar industries were born from this recipe. He would have made a lot of money from it himself, but he didn't care. He only wanted a cool space to carry on with his physics research to discover things that would change human lives for the better.
That chocolate recipe had, in part, helped him accomplish that goal. It helped end a war that threatened the very existence of mankind on the planet, and he had given society a means of wealth by sprouting various million-dollar industries. It had also helped him reedem his damaged reputation as he was cleared of all charges and declared innocent by the court.
He was grateful to his grandad for passing it on to his mum and his mum for giving it to him. He often wondered what his life and the world would have been had he not by extraordinary chance discovered that note that contained that recipe that fateful night.
Thanks for reading.