Chapter 395

The symposium commenced after Isabella Sinclair and Nathaniel Graves exchanged greetings with Theodore Sinclair and his colleagues.

Isabella and Nathaniel occupied prime front-row seats near the center stage, while Victoria Kensington sat directly behind them in the second row. As rising stars in their field, both Isabella and Nathaniel were invited to share their unique approaches to research and learning, offering valuable insights to the attending students.

When the discussion segment began, renowned experts immediately flocked to Isabella and Nathaniel. These were distinguished figures in their respective specialties - from convolutional neural networks to embodied cognition systems and multimodal interfaces. Isabella handled every technical query with remarkable ease.

She even provided groundbreaking solutions to longstanding problems that had troubled these experts - from missing data modalities to computational bottlenecks. Their faces lit up with excitement as they absorbed her innovative suggestions.

Several professors became so engrossed in their conversations with Isabella that others grew impatient.

"Arthur, you've monopolized her long enough. Give others a chance!"

"Exactly! At least share her time fairly."

"Just one more question about practical scaling issues..."

"That could take hours! Move aside already."

Meanwhile, Victoria engaged in distracted conversation nearby.

"Victoria," Eleanor Kensington nudged her daughter, "Mr. Pembroke asked you a question."

Victoria had been intently observing Isabella's interactions with the experts, barely registering her own conversation. Her mother's prompt snapped her back to reality.

"Apologies, Mr. Pembroke," Victoria offered a strained smile. "I was fascinated by Mr. Langford's discussion with the others."

As an AI researcher herself, Victoria's interest in the technical exchanges seemed natural.

Gregory Pembroke smiled understandingly. "No trouble at all."

Victoria attempted to refocus on their conversation, but Eleanor knew her daughter too well. She'd noticed Victoria's unusual behavior for over thirty minutes now - all stemming from whatever was happening around Isabella.

Eleanor had observed how the experts clamored for Isabella's attention, their expressions filled with professional admiration.

After Gregory departed, Eleanor subtly gestured toward Isabella and asked, "What's troubling you?"

Victoria finally looked away. "Now I understand why Walter and Theodore spoke so highly of Isabella. Her knowledge appears... substantial."

Victoria recognized several of the experts consulting Isabella - all respected authorities in their fields. For such accomplished researchers to seek Isabella's advice spoke volumes about her capabilities.

Victoria had been carefully analyzing Isabella's responses. The breadth and depth of her technical knowledge was undeniable - much of it beyond Victoria's own understanding. No wonder people called Isabella a polymath in AI research.

If Isabella had merely been parroting Nathaniel or Frederick Aldridge during their previous meeting at Whitmore Group, how could she now hold such sophisticated discussions with Professor Langford and others?

As a fellow researcher, Victoria knew no one could fake this level of expertise through mere repetition.

Eleanor hesitated, observing the crowd around Isabella. The scene did suggest genuine ability.

"Of course she's knowledgeable," Eleanor said calmly. "She's spent years at Nathaniel's side, regularly meeting with Frederick. With two of the nation's top AI minds mentoring her, what else would you expect?" She added pointedly, "This is exactly why she worked so hard to keep you away from Nathaniel in the first place. Had you been in her position, you'd undoubtedly surpass her achievements."