《Finding Stardust》Chapter 64 - Professor Ren Hanenberg
Advertisement
Emma followed each session with interest. All the topics discussed were very interesting to her. Allan was amazed at how much the girl looked so engrossed in each speaker's discussion. He watched as Emma noted several things in her notebook whenever there was something that she thought was important.
The final session before lunch with Professor Ren Hanenberg was one of the most popular sessions of the day. When the honorary speaker got on the stage and began his presentation, all the attendees really concentrated on paying attention to every word that came out of his lips.
Emma was stunned when she saw a very impressive young man. Even though Ren Hanenberg was 25 years old, his extremely handsome face looked younger than his actual age. Emma could imagine if the man wore casual clothes, people might think he was still a teenager. Nobody would ever think he was a director in SpaceLab and that he was a genius.
Professor Ren Hanenberg was tall and slim, and his appearance was very formal and neat. Emma suspected that the man deliberately always chose to wear dark-colored formal attire so that he would look older. His brown hair was cut short neatly, and his bright brown eyes looked cold and imposing. All in all, he was an impressive sight to behold.
No one made a sound when he appeared on the podium and started with his presentation. His voice sounded very confident and firm. The delivery was also interesting and clear.
Emma could imagine him teaching in the hall like when he was still a lecturer at the university. He must make astrophysics interesting in class, she thought.
"Hello everyone, my name is Renald Harenberg and currently I am leading one of the busiest divisions in SpaceLab, namely Space Exploration. Previously I was a lecturer and researcher at the European Technical Institute and became an honorary lecturer at MIT.
Advertisement
I am passionate about everything related to space and dedicate so much of my life to the field of science that will bring us one step closer to space. I finally accepted the job at SpaceLab because we shared the same vision and I have led the Space Exploration division since last year.
In addition to standard everyday challenges in research and technology that we continue to develop, we also face many cyberattacks that threaten our operations. Threats of data theft, threats of sabotage, and many more. Therefore, SpaceLab embraces the world's best white hat hackers to work with us in developing the best cybersecurity system."
He explained in more detail about the various examples of attacks that SpaceLab had faced and how they had handled it. His presentation was fascinating and impressed Emma greatly. Inwardly, she felt that the way Prof. Hanenberg spoke and thought really reminded Emma of herself.
Prof. Hanenberg seemed highly respected, and the attendees all watched his presentation with an expression of awe. After he finished speaking, dozens of hands were immediately raised to ask him questions.
Emma only paid attention to the Q&A session and didn't ask any questions herself. She was afraid to attract attention. It would be better if she met Professor Hanenberg in person and talked to him, she thought.
"You don't want to ask anything?" asked Allan, who sat beside her.
Emma shook her head. "I'll ask him directly at the luncheon later."
"Oh .. that is a good idea. You can get acquainted and chat more closely." Allan nodded in agreement.
Emma continued to pay attention to the stage during which Prof. Hanenberg answered questions from the enthusiastic audience. The man explained many things straightforwardly. His intelligence impressed so many people that they all waived his cold and unfriendly demeanor.
Advertisement
After the Q&A session was over, the moderator immediately took over and made a conclusion before then ending the session and invited the participants to have lunch that had been provided for them in the next hall.
Allan immediately pulled Emma's hand to chase Prof. Hanenberg before the man moved toward the speaker's special lunchroom.
"Professor, good afternoon!" Once they arrived in front of Prof. Hanenberg who was about to walk into the next room, Allan hurriedly greeted the man by mentioning his father's name. "Hello, Prof. My father sends his regards. He is Charles Wu, director at Lee Industries. He said you met in the SpaceLab presentation last month."
The young man stopped in his tracks and looked at Allan with a deadpan expression. His face looked like he was remembering something. Not long after, he nodded. "I know your father."
"Oh .. hello, my name is Allan and this is my friend, Emma. Emma really admires you," Allan said quickly. He glanced at Emma with a smile, happy because he thought he had scored a point by bringing her to see Prof. Hanenberg.
Emma reached out and greeted Prof. Hanenberg. The man responded to her handshake while staring at Emma with a complicated look. He then nodded.
"Oh ... I'm sorry if I am presumptuous. I really admire you and hope to chat with Professor during lunch ..." Emma looked at Prof. Hanenberg deeply. "I hope you don't mind."
Prof. Hanenberg nodded weakly. He could not refuse Emma's request, she had exerted all her telemancy power to influence the Professor's mind.
"Come with me," the man said after letting go of Emma's handshake. He put his hands in his pockets and walked to the VIP banquet room. With light steps, Emma followed along. Allan trailed behind them.
The three sat at a table of honor, and the waiter immediately served them by serving a variety of sumptuous dishes. Allan and Prof. Hanenberg each enjoyed a glass of wine with their food, while Emma drank orange juice.
Although she liked wine, Emma was well aware that she must not drink in public because of her underage status. They had lunch together and talked about Prof. Hanenberg's presentation during the session.
Advertisement
- In Serial36 Chapters
UnFamiliar
Lily Arvensdaughter is a teenager with a lot of problems. The only commoner in an academy normally reserved for royalty and nobility, she's spent six months being tormented by student and staff alike. When despair drives her to make a foolish decision, her life is saved by Rine, a mysterious entity who offers to teach her how to be a powerful wizard, in exchange for signing a familiar contract with the promise of helping him escape from the prison that holds him. Rine quickly proves to be a generous friend and an effective tutor, being as knowledgable as he claims and providing training that rapidly provides incredible results. However, as time passes, it quickly becomes clear that he is far more powerful than she imagined possible, even imprisoned. As his power and influence increase with each step they take towards his liberation, Lily learns that Rine has far greater designs than simply regaining his freedom. Meanwhile, dark and dangerous forces strike from the shadows, attempting to topple the kingdom and imperil everyone that Lily loves. Can Lily afford to trust Rine, especially once she learns what he truly is? Can she afford not to as she becomes the focus of events that could doom thousands, if not millions, of lives without his aid?
8 101 - In Serial26 Chapters
The Middle Child of the Fire
The Fire Nation family had three children, two of those were well known; the infamous Zuko who had been banished by his father and the powerful Azula who utilised blue fire. But what of Tadashi, the middle child of this strange family who is not known by many and why? Will continue into the Avatar Korra Era. Slight AU but consistent with the source material.
8 110 - In Serial6 Chapters
Tales From Mirthland: Rorik's Quest
Rorik Stormcoast, a wizard of some regard, has embarked upon a new quest. He's dared to climb a perilous mountain and seek out a legendary dragon to learn his secrets. But as Rorik makes for the summit, he is joined by a strange companion, and soon finds his quest more challenging and dangerous than he ever anticapated.
8 288 - In Serial10 Chapters
The Empire That Blocked the Sun
Zeke Wilson, a man who just quit his job at a company that takes advantage of charities to fund their own wants and needs, finds that wishing for the fall of a company can come with harsh consequences. As his world comes tumbling down, both figuratively and literally, he is once again buried underneath the lies and corporations he sought to leave, as Empire Rize takes him underground. Battered and bleeding, Zeke must find a way out of the rubble. [Participant in the Royal Road Community Magazine Contest January 2022 - "And Then The Sun Went Out"] Completed, in the Novella region of 10,000 to 40,000 words. Cover image is edited by me from free images found online.
8 66 - In Serial31 Chapters
Sector 27
It wasn't until June 3, 2101 that World War 4 ended. This was not a war that ended in peace treaties or truces; this war ended with disease. The atomic war caused plague and disease that crippled major countries. The generals and great leaders of the countries at war died from the radiation that penetrated every part of the globe. It was only then that humanity realized what they had done- what they had created. The first ever mutant was publicly executed the very day the war ended, and a new war began: the war against mutants. The surviving nation of Japan quickly rebuilt their country by dividing it into safe zones, or Sectors. There are currently 26 livable sectors in Japan; Sector 1 is the richest sector and the only sector that has completely rid itself of all radiation left over from the war. In fear against the threat of mutants, the once small section of the police force grew until it became the main police force in Japan. After all, humans shouldn't be blamed for crimes when the real threat to society is mutants. This police force that goes by their motto: Special Treatment Against Mutants (STAM) is comprised of agents that go about their work to capture and detain all mutants. Sector 26 is the poorest sector that humans can barely survive in; but there is one more part of Japan. This "dead zone" has such a high concentration of radiation that if a human were to step inside the barrier, they would die in mere moments. But within this dead zone, this 27th Sector, there lies a secret organization of mutants that fight against STAM and protect all mutants from their grasp. The Mutant Recovery and Protection Agency (MRPA) operates to hide mutants in society and allow them to live human lives. The only thing that stands in MRPA's way is STAM and its agents who hunt them down ruthlessly, so MRPA has their own set of skilled agents. And the battle rages on...
8 145 - In Serial24 Chapters
Homeland
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER -- In Cory Doctorow’s wildly successful Little Brother, young Marcus Yallow was arbitrarily detained and brutalized by the government in the wake of a terrorist attack on San Francisco—an experience that led him to become a leader of the whole movement of technologically clued-in teenagers, fighting back against the tyrannical security state.A few years later, California's economy collapses, but Marcus’s hacktivist past lands him a job as webmaster for a crusading politician who promises reform. Soon his former nemesis Masha emerges from the political underground to gift him with a thumbdrive containing a Wikileaks-style cable-dump of hard evidence of corporate and governmental perfidy. It’s incendiary stuff—and if Masha goes missing, Marcus is supposed to release it to the world. Then Marcus sees Masha being kidnapped by the same government agents who detained and tortured Marcus years earlier.Marcus can leak the archive Masha gave him—but he can’t admit to being the leaker, because that will cost his employer the election. He’s surrounded by friends who remember what he did a few years ago and regard him as a hacker hero. He can’t even attend a demonstration without being dragged onstage and handed a mike. He’s not at all sure that just dumping the archive onto the Internet, before he’s gone through its millions of words, is the right thing to do.Meanwhile, people are beginning to shadow him, people who look like they’re used to inflicting pain until they get the answers they want. Fast-moving, passionate, and as current as next week, Homeland is every bit the equal of Little Brother—a paean to activism, to courage, to the drive to make the world a better place.
8 124

