What does Charlie mean by "Suddenly, time has become very important to me."

They've been feeding Algernon, who now refuses to work the shift-
ing-lock problem. Everyone identifies me with Algernon. In a way we're both

the first of our kind. They're all pretending that Algernon's behavior is not
necessarily significant for me. But it's hard to hide the fact that some of the

other animals who were used in this experiment are showing strange behav-
ior.

Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur have asked me not to come to the lab any
more. I know what they're thinking but I can't accept it. I am going ahead with
my plans to carry their research forward. With all due respect to both of these
fine scientists, I am well aware of their limitations. If there is an answer, I'll
have to find it out for myself. Suddenly, time has become very important to
me.