Two Worlds at a Time

Since the time Aric had become rich, Avni felt like he had lost all respect for his elders, except for his own parents. Avni could tell that he harbored some kind of hatred for many of their relatives and was neutral toward others.

This was inexplicable, and Avni even asked him if he had faced any kind of aggression or anything of that sort, but Aric just denied it and continued with his cold attitude toward many of his relatives. His aunt wanted to speak up more when the doorbell rang.

Aric was glad that his father had arrived and went straight to greet him and talk with him. He had gone to Mumbai to finalize the passport for everyone. As soon as Aric opened the door, what welcomed his eyes was not the sight of his father but rather two white men standing in front, wearing proper suits and pants.

"Mira, who are they?" Aric was confused, as he wasn't sure he had any kind of appointment with anyone from a foreign country. At least, they looked like Europeans.

"I am sorry, but is this the house of Mr. Aric More?" The man, who had a head full of white hair and looked quite old and mature, asked in an accent that was definitely European.

"This is Dr. Archim Walter, Head of the Department of Agricultural Sciences, ETH, Zurich. Yup, your seed has borne fruit, literally," Mira replied while the man asked him if he was Aric. Mira's words really put a smile on Aric's face. He had been waiting for a call from one of these universities, the ones he had sent his letters to.

Now one was finally here.

"Yes, I am Aric More, and you are?" Aric asked. He already knew the answer, but he needed to act casual. Soon both of them were introduced, and the other man was an assistant of Dr. Walter. Aric didn't want to be rude and invited them in. Avni was in the back when she heard a different voice and immediately called Aric's aunt to a different room so that Aric could talk with the new visitors.

Avni didn't know who they were, but since her son had accomplished so many things, it was only natural for her to pave the way for him. Aric's aunt was confused, and Avni straight up lied to her. Though Aric's aunt was bewildered by what was going on, she still followed Avni to another room, leaving Aric alone.

"It must have been tough coming from such a long way," Aric said as he offered them a glass of water. Both of them hesitated to take the glass. These professors had been warned about trying water from an unconfirmed source. Aric could already sense their thoughts and said,

"The water is boiled and double-purified, so it is safe to drink, even for Westerners who are not acclimatized to the weather and biomes of Indian food and water." This made the two of them ashamed and embarrassed.

"I... I am sorry if we are being a bit rude..." Dr. Walter faltered in his words.

"You need not be sorry. It's just the difference in gut biomes that makes healthy water become poisonous or something of that sort for others. And, of course, there is the fear of contamination," Aric replied.

"For a person of your age, you are terribly... I mean... rather greatly informed," Dr. Walter said as he drank the water. It was hot, and he was thirsty from the journey.

"Thank you for the praise. I do my research, or at least try to know more. Since you both are from ETH, I presume you read my paper and even tried the seeds that I sent," Aric asked.

"Yes, and we are here from ETH to invite you to join our university and add yourself as one of the students of Agricultural Sciences..." Dr. Walter looked excited as he finally got to talk about the topic he had traveled so far for. Aric had sent a paper explaining how to grow crops and fruits in the most extreme conditions.

For example, genetically modifying apple seeds so they would be able to grow in warmer tropical climates instead of the mountains they were known for, and the same went for mangoes, which included any variant of mango that could be grown in harsh winter. When the paper and seeds arrived at the Department, many thought it was some kind of prank, but Mathew, who was an intern at the time, took the paper and tried the seeds that Aric had sent.

What shocked him was that the seeds were not tended to at all by Mathew or anyone from the Department, but they grew on their own and produced a quality of fruits and vegetables that nobody in their wildest dreams thought possible.

Dr. Walter refused to believe Mathew at first and asked him to follow the notes exactly, then come to him. The new genetically modified seeds were planted again, and although those crops weren't as healthy or tough as the seeds Aric had sent, they still performed 10 times better than normal fruits and vegetables.

In total, Aric had sent notes on eight different kinds of crops, and each of them performed at least 10 times better than the current agricultural products the world was able to produce. And the methods were all so cheap that they were sure to change the agricultural industry for good.

Dr. Walter wasn't short-sighted, so he soon asked for help from the Department of Mathematics. Why mathematics, you ask? It was simple. Every head of department was asked by the government to notify them of any major discoveries or inventions that could change the economy.

And Walter wanted to know if these seeds could actually change the economy of the country. After lots of calculation factoring the cost of production of these seeds, transportation and others related arguments, both of the Departments came to the conclusion that the genetically enhanced seeds would impact a country's wealth by a significant amount.

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