The Humans

Andrew resolves to convince the doctor to discharge him. He calmly assures the doctor that he’s not mad or sad, just under a lot of pressure at work. He talks about memories of his past to show the doctor his grip on reality. The doctor takes some brain scans and decides that Andrew is not permanently ill and will recover from his momentary lapse of mental health. Andrew is reminded by his home planet to avoid the temptation to trust humans. Human beings have led their planet to destruction, and Andrew must remember that every individual human, no matter how kind or smart they seem, is a contributor to the problem.

Professor Andrew Martin’s home is large and white. Andrew spends some time sleeping, mostly trying to avoid Isobel lest he feel connected to her, a distinct possibility that could compromise his mission. He sees photographs of the family, some radiating with happiness, others portraying a false happiness. 

Isobel brings the television set into the bedroom so Andrew can watch the news. While watching the news, Andrew learns three important lessons about life on Earth. The first is that the news refers to news that only directly affects humans, without mention of the other lifeforms on Earth. The second is that the news is mostly about politics, war, and money. Third, humans care more about the news that is closest to them geographically. When Andrew sees a story of his mental breakdown on the local news station, he realizes why the telephone in the house is constantly ringing. Isobel tries to keep people away from Andrew and cooks for him. He asks her why she helps him so much, and she says that that is the true question of their marriage. Andrew asks Isobel if their marriage has been a bad one, but she avoids answering the question.

Andrew wonders about their child and why he and Isobel only have one. Isobel leaves the house to go to the grocery store, so Andrew searches the house. He finds a sleeping dog and a computer that seems primitive to him. He searches the computer for evidence of the Riemann hypothesis but finds nothing. He does, however, find directions to Andrew’s office at Fitzwilliam College, memorizes the directions, then leaves the house against Isobel’s clear instructions to stay in bed. 

At the university, Andrew asks a cleaning lady who seems to recognize him for directions to his office. He runs into another woman who asks him how he is, then enters his office. He turns on the computer and finds what he’s been sent to look for: Professor Andrew Martin’s write-up of the Riemann hypothesis. The file is title “Zeta.”

In reading “Zeta,” Andrew finds out that human beings who have been close to mathematical genius have often suffered from breakdowns because the complex nature of math has a strong effect on their nervous systems. The theory of prime numbers is particularly difficult for human beings because there are rules to the theory but also exceptions to the rules. Math, therefore, allows humans to understand more about their world while also revealing how little is knowable about that world. Andrew deletes the file, satisfied that he has erased evidence of the truth of his species’ existence. 

Andrew is horrified to discover that there are other copies of this file. He finds an email sent by Andrew to Professor Daniel Russell, the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University. Andrew had attached his report about the Riemann hypothesis to this email, and in the body of the message he told Daniel Russell that for now, the report was for his eyes only. Andrew deletes the email and the attachment, then creates a virus on the computer so that nothing can be accessed again. He does everything quickly so he can get back home before Isobel. His home planet reminds him that erasing a file is not the same thing as getting rid of the threat, so Andrew has more work ahead of him.

Andrew finds Isobel’s book on the Dark Ages in the house and inspects it closer. He realizes that Isobel is a well-respected and well-reviewed historian. When she comes back from her grocery shopping, he asks her about Daniel Russell. She reminds him that he and Daniel are colleagues, not friends—though that second fact has more to do with Andrew being intimidated by Daniel. Andrew asks her if he had told her about proving the Riemann hypothesis before his hospitalization. She confirms that he did not, but that if he did, they would be millionaires. As it turns out, there is a huge amount of money being offered as a prize for discovering the truth of the Riemann hypothesis. He asks her if she thinks money is what motivates him, and she replies that money and most importantly glory are what inspires Andrew. She tells him, coolly, that his attention stems from a complex with his mother, and he wonders if this is always the way they speak to each other—with frank, almost bitter directness. 

Gulliver, Andrew’s son, comes back home but goes directly to his room. While Gulliver and Isobel are both out of sight, Andrew telephones the number he finds on a slip of paper in his pants pocket, hoping that it will lead him closer to Daniel Russell. A woman answers but doesn’t identify herself; she teases him about his new reputation as The Naked Professor thanks to the footage on YouTube. Andrew must end the conversation when Gulliver comes into his bedroom. Gulliver is tall with aggressively expressed slogans on his clothes. Gulliver tells Andrew that he’s ruined his life at school and accuses him of never caring about his life. Gulliver yells that the only time Andrew has spoken to him recently was the night before his hospitalization, then storms out to his own room.

Andrew, desperate for more answers about what human Andrew has or has not revealed about the Riemann hypothesis, follows Gulliver. Gulliver begrudgingly concedes that the night before Andrew’s “breakdown,” he told Gulliver that he solved the Riemann hypothesis. Gulliver didn’t tell Isobel, in part because he claims not to care about his father’s career. Gulliver accuses Andrew of hurting the family with his career and proclaims that the money from the prize is inconsequential. Gulliver doesn’t know how to communicate to this version of his father, who is using vulgar language in an effort to relate to Gulliver’s adolescent language. Gulliver has been expelled from school in the past, but it doesn’t seem that the human Andrew spent much time trying to understand him.  

Andrew finds a phone book downstairs and looks for Daniel Russell’s number. The woman who answers the phone tells Andrew that Daniel will call him back. Andrew peruses the books on the shelves. He speed-reads through history books to learn more about humans. What he learns is bleak: Human history is rife with violence and oppression. Then he finds a book of American poetry. Though he finds the poets’ observations obvious, he sees the beauty behind the words and images they evoke. Isobel returns home and tries to cook dinner, but Andrew is put off by the chicken breast she attempts to include in her stir fry. Exasperated and confused, Isobel hands Andrew his medication, and he takes a diazepam pill. His home society warns him to be careful.