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🕑 Added 2025-05-08 04:14:21 +0000 UTCThe Supreme State of Science
Chapter 52 - The Burke Family
“What’s your name?” Leslie approached the quiet Jimmy and asked him a question. Her sweet smile was almost contagious.
“Jimmy…”
“That’s great! I heard from my mom that you’re a boy genius who appeared on a TV show and now gets millions in investments for your inventions. Is that true?”
“Uh…” Jimmy froze. He couldn’t keep up with this girl who seemed no older than ten.
“By the way, Leslie Burke, nice to meet you.” Leslie glanced down just in time to see Goddard walking beside Jimmy and asked excitedly, “Is that a robot? That’s so cool! Did you build it?”
“Yes. Do you like it?”
“It’s amazing.”
Jimmy puffed out his chest and told Goddard to do a few tricks, to which Leslie responded with comments full of praise. Then she introduced him to her dog, who seemed hostile toward Goddard—something pretty common, since he was different.
“Your dog really loves getting compliments,” said Leslie as she petted Goddard’s metallic back. He wagged his tail with satisfaction. The sensors Jimmy had installed allowed Goddard to feel touch, making him even more like a real dog.
When Jimmy turned his head, he saw his robot dog doing things it had never done before—like rolling around on the ground. “Yeah, it looks like he likes you.”
“Yeah, I think so too.” Leslie noticed that Jimmy seemed a little annoyed. She didn’t know why, but still asked, “Don’t you like traveling?”
“I’d rather spend time in my lab than travel, but I don’t have much choice when my parents insist,” Jimmy replied, making it clear he’d rather be somewhere else.
Leslie understood. This wasn’t the kind of place everyone could easily get used to, but as the daughter of writers, she was very optimistic and could find happiness in the smallest things.
Now that she thought about it, Leslie noticed a few similarities between Jimmy and Oliver, though the big difference was the reason why they were always grumpy.
It was clear Jimmy wanted to create amazing things, but he was unconsciously sacrificing his childhood to do it.
That’s why Leslie wanted to show him how magical life could be outside of technology.
“Jimmy, these are Mr. and Mrs. Burke, both college friends of ours,” Judy introduced her friends.
Jimmy politely greeted them, introduced himself, and then let the adults dive into their long conversation.
This family was very modest—intellectual, of course—but being a writer was very different from inventing things that could change reality.
“What’s your greatest invention?” Leslie continued questioning Jimmy, who seemed more interested in looking around than talking.
“Besides my pet, I’d say Baymax, although I’m working on a game that will surpass anything that could ever be made in the future.” Jimmy didn’t want to talk about the network—after all, that would only leave Leslie with more questions than answers.
“That sounds awesome!”
“So tell me, what do you do around here for fun?” Jimmy asked, trying not to sound so bitter.
“Well... I go to a magical place.” Leslie didn’t want to reveal too much, hoping to spark his curiosity.
“There’s no such thing as magic,” Jimmy said with a frown.
“Hmm, I don’t agree with that.” Leslie wasn’t about to drop the subject—imagination was the gateway to magical worlds.
Of course, Jimmy didn’t believe in such things. But he understood that, being the daughter of writers, Leslie’s imagination might let her see things that weren’t really there.
“I’m not going to argue with you about that.”
“Then let me take you there.”
“Now? I don’t think so. We have to go to our house, which is a bit far from here… It’s getting late, but I’m sure we’ll see each other a lot in the coming days.” Jimmy and his family had only stopped by to say hello. It was late, so they had to head to the house they’d rented to settle in and get some rest.
Of course, the reason they were traveling to this place was to get to know this family better, so they were definitely going to see more of each other.
