Chapter 395

The symposium commenced after Camille Hartwell and Gabriel Ashcroft exchanged greetings with Dorian Hartwell and his colleagues.

Camille and Gabriel occupied prime front-row seats near the center stage, while Selene Lancaster sat directly behind them in the second row. As rising stars in their field, both Camille and Gabriel 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 Camille and Gabriel. These were distinguished figures in their respective specialties - from convolutional neural networks to embodied cognition systems and multimodal interfaces. Camille 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 Camille that others grew impatient.

"Roland, 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, Selene engaged in distracted conversation nearby.

"Selene," Helena Lancaster nudged her daughter, "Mr. Dunmore asked you a question."

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

"Apologies, Mr. Dunmore," Selene offered a strained smile. "I was fascinated by Mr. Royce's discussion with the others."

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

Emmett Dunmore smiled understandingly. "No trouble at all."

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

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

After Emmett departed, Helena subtly gestured toward Camille and asked, "What's troubling you?"

Selene finally looked away. "Now I understand why Hugh and Dorian spoke so highly of Camille. Her knowledge appears... substantial."

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

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

If Camille had merely been parroting Gabriel or Graham Bellamy during their previous meeting at Harrington Group, how could she now hold such sophisticated discussions with Professor Royce and others?

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

Helena hesitated, observing the crowd around Camille. The scene did suggest genuine ability.

"Of course she's knowledgeable," Helena said calmly. "She's spent years at Gabriel's side, regularly meeting with Graham. 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 Gabriel in the first place. Had you been in her position, you'd undoubtedly surpass her achievements."