The journal Tony Snow was submitting to this time wasn't Mathematical Advances, where his last paper had appeared, but rather another one of the four major mathematical journals: the Annals of Mathematics.
Founded in 1874—originally under the name The Analyst—it wasn't until 1884 that the publication adopted the title it holds today. Annals of Mathematics is the oldest and arguably the most prestigious among the big four. Now jointly published by Princeton University and its Institute for Advanced Study, it releases one issue every two months and publishes fewer than a hundred papers per year.
"You done?" Clara Quinn finally broke her silence as Tony closed his laptop, ending a long day of nonstop writing.
"Almost. I still need to register an account and upload the paper. I'll do that once I get back to the dorm." The library was closing soon, and Tony figured there was no point rushing the upload now.
Grrrr…
Before he could finish, Tony's stomach rumbled loudly.
"You haven't eaten dinner?" Clara looked at him in alarm.
"I got so into writing I forgot," Tony admitted sheepishly. "I only had breakfast."
Clara's brows furrowed. "Wait… You didn't eat lunch either, did you? You didn't come with me."
Tony shook his head. "Yeah, I skipped lunch too."
As they walked out of the library, Clara didn't let him off the hook. She practically dragged him to grab food, buying whatever was still open at that hour.
"Don't ever do this again," she scolded as they neared the dorms. "Skipping meals like this is terrible for your health. I don't care how good your paper is—burnout will catch up with you."
Tony smiled. He wasn't used to being fussed over like this, but he appreciated it. "Got it. You'd better head up before your roommates start teasing you for being out late again."
Back in the dorm, Tony fired up his laptop and logged into the Annals of Mathematics submission portal.
Zack Landon, who'd been watching civil service prep videos at his desk, glanced over curiously. "Another English site? What is this one—more AI stuff?"
He leaned over and squinted at Tony's screen. After quickly copying the URL, Zack opened the same page in his browser and clicked Translate.
"…Wait a second. Annals of Mathematics? Isn't this one of the legendary big four journals?" Zack's voice grew loud enough that it caught the attention of their other two roommates, Leo Park and Nate Lin.
"You're submitting another math paper?" Zack asked, turning fully to face Tony.
"Yeah," Tony nodded, calm as ever. "I finished writing it today but didn't get a chance to submit it at the library."
"No freaking way," Leo said, leaning across the room. "You just published in Mathematical Advances, and now you're submitting to Annals? Are you human?"
Nate, pulling out one earbud, added, "I thought you ghosted Clara today. Turns out you were doing something even crazier."
"I'm gonna start calling you 'Professor Snow,'" Zack laughed. "Seriously, man, if I had even 1% of your brainpower, I'd breeze through these exams."
Of course, Zack wasn't done there.
He immediately opened up his favorite internet Q&A site and started crafting questions like:
"Is Annals of Mathematics the most prestigious math journal?"
"Could a third-year undergrad really publish in Annals?"
"Is Tony Snow the real deal or just overhyped?"
The first question drew a flurry of serious academic answers.
The second one… not so much.
Most users refused to believe it was even possible.
"A third-year undergrad? Publishing in Annals? LOL. Next, you'll tell me he's solving the Riemann Hypothesis in his dorm room."
"You think he's Terence Tao?"
Then someone made an observation that turned the tide.
"Wait, this guy Zack Landon has been posting all over about a Tony Snow. If his previous answers are true and he's Tony's roommate… is he implying that Tony is submitting to Annals?"
That comment gained traction quickly.
A thread of "No way," "Holy crap," and "Who is this guy?" soon followed.
Still, many remained skeptical. After all, Tony's Mathematical Advances paper had only just been published. Could another top-tier paper be ready so soon?
Back in the dorm, Zack didn't stop typing.
"What's the title of this one?" he asked while thumbing his phone.
Tony glanced over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Zack's bragging spree online.
"On the Proof of the Lower Bounds in the Dilashivili Conjecture and the Qiu Conjecture," Tony replied, purposely simplifying the real title. He didn't want to fan the flames.
Having completed the upload, Tony navigated to another site—this time the official webpage of Nankai University's School of Life Sciences.
For the past week, he'd been checking it daily, waiting for a specific announcement.
And today, it was finally there:
"Notice: 2015 Summer Biology Research Camp – Application Open"
Date Posted: April 16, 2015
Tony leaned back in his chair. "Good thing I checked."
The camp format and requirements were the same as last year. He copied the link and immediately messaged Clara.
Tony: The summer camp announcement is up. Just checked it. No changes from last year.
Tony: Let's apply tomorrow when we're at the library—it's already late tonight.
He smiled after sending it.
This time, with the simulator, Clara's application wouldn't be delayed.
And neither would his.