International Congress of Mathematicians (1)

After eating all my breakfast, I came back up to my room.

I fiddled with a kids' phone configured for roaming so I could make calls locally.

I was checking the ICM schedule.

The ICM—the International Congress of Mathematicians.

This wasn't an event that ended after a single awards ceremony; it was more like an international conference where mathematicians from around the world gathered for over a week to present their research, meet one another, and hold discussions.

That's why it was important to know what happened on which day before heading there.

I'd already exchanged emails with the organizers about arrangements for the awardees, but they had asked me to contact them directly after I arrived.

I called the number they'd provided.

Brrring- Brrring-.

After several rings, a woman's voice came through...