The Housekeeper and the Professor

He treated Root exactly as he treated prime numbers. For him, primes were the base on which all other natural numbers relied; and children were the foundation of everything worthwhile in the adult world.

Still, you refuse to give up

staggering on step by step, determined to continue the search ... until you see it at last, the oasis of another prime number, a place of rest and cool, clear water...."

We called him the Professor.

he believed that mistakes were often as revealing as the right answers. This gave us confidence even when our best efforts came to nothing.

they were almost off-putting.

The mention of money was probably nothing more than a smoke screen.

spill a great deal

"So you think that zero was there waiting for us when humans came into being, like the flowers and the stars? You should have more respect for human progress. We made the zero, through great pain and struggle."

"That's right. Eleven."
"An exquisite number. An especially beautiful prime among primes. And it was Murayama's number. Truly wonderful, don't you think?"