“Sir, there are no forks on high-speed maglev tracks.” William Carter still did not answer the question directly, but instead pointed out a matter of common sense: “The premise of the question simply does not exist.”

“Very good.” The captain was not angry at William Carter for failing to answer directly twice in a row. “Then, suppose it’s an ordinary train—what would you choose?”

William Carter pondered for a while before replying, “Sir, I would choose to let the train pass normally.” His answer was very calm, and none of the three officers detected any sign of inner struggle in William Carter.

“You would choose to sacrifice those nine children to save one?” Finally, a lieutenant beside him spoke up. “What kind of logic is that?”

“Sir, playing on an active railway is not allowed.” William Carter naturally responded, “That one child did nothing wrong. He has no reason, nor should he be held responsible for the mistakes of the other nine children.”

“But children are still children. They lack the capacity for responsibility. Would you really rather let all of them die because of a moment’s mischief, instead of sacrificing one to save the majority?”

“Sir, everyone must be responsible for their own actions.” William Carter reiterated his point. “Even children. Otherwise, there would be no need to teach children to follow the rules and make the right choices. If, whenever too many people make mistakes, the innocent are sacrificed, then what’s the point of having laws at all?”

The three officers seemed to look at William Carter in a strange way, saying nothing. The silent pressure made William Carter quite uncomfortable.

“Also, sir.” William Carter had to say something to ease the pressure he was under. His words drew the three officers’ attention back to him.

“Everyone only sees that nine children are more than one, but no one ever thinks about the people on the train.” William Carter did not feel his choice was wrong at all. “The people on the entire train shouldn’t be sacrificed because of a few children’s mischief. Sir, on an abandoned track, it’s unimaginable what kind of disaster could happen!”

This time, the three officers truly had nothing to say. After a moment of silence, the captain asked again, “What if you received an order from your superior to switch the track?”

“I would carry out the order.” William Carter answered without hesitation. “But I reserve the right to file a complaint with the military arbitration committee afterward.”

“Excellent!” The captain praised him again, nodding. “You may leave.”

William Carter stood up, saluted the three officers with a not-so-standard military salute, and turned to leave. Although neither his salute nor his walk was very standard, the three officers showed no sign of dissatisfaction.

The captain lowered his head and wrote another note on William Carter’s evaluation: Meticulous thinker, calm under pressure, clear sense of responsibility, strong sense of justice. Then, after exchanging opinions with the other two lieutenants and finding no objections, the lieutenant by the display entered the evaluation results into the terminal on the desk.

“Next…” As the input was being made, the next evaluation had already begun.

By the time another recruit entered the evaluation room, William Carter’s assessment results had already appeared on the terminal display.

“Recommended for officer training.”

“Unsuitable positions: staff officer, special operations personnel, large-scale team commander.”

“Suitable positions: logistics management, front-line combat personnel, life support personnel.”

“Suitable military branches: all suitable.”

“Recommended training direction: high-security prison management.”

Chapter Two: Genius Treatment (Part 1)

William Carter had a secret he never dared to tell anyone. He was a genius! William Carter’s speed in practicing basic physical training was more than 3.5 times that of a normal person.

But this secret, not even his parents knew, let alone classmates or friends. The reason for this came from something his father once said while drunk.

William Carter’s father was a researcher, long engaged in human engineering studies. When William Carter was very young, his father came home drunk one rare occasion, hugged William Carter, and—whether from work stress or something else—seriously confided in his son with drunken honesty: “Son, you must live an ordinary, healthy life. Whatever you do, don’t become a genius.”

At the time, the naive William Carter curiously asked, “Dad, isn’t being a genius good? Geniuses are amazing, aren’t they?”

“I know. Your old man deals with geniuses every day—don’t you think I know?” Drunk people are especially prone to telling the truth, and William Carter’s father was no exception. He was also especially talkative.

William Carter can’t remember most of what was said that day. But the one thing that remains vivid in his memory is what his father said, reeking of alcohol and hiccuping: “Son, never be a genius. Geniuses are all lab rats.”