Third and fourth period proceed uneventfully, and following the fourth bell, I rejoin Chloe for lunch. I don’t exactly enjoy my al of overcooked hamburgers and apple slices. Both are far too sanitized and devoid of taste, comparable to the MRE’s we ate back in the wilderness. But there is a certain nostalgia to just eating the sa crappy, sanitized, corporate slop that I grew up with.
I have co to one important realization in just the few hours we’ve been here. Chloe is easing back into school life. She talks with her other friends. She’s scrolling through her social dia feed, even posted a video just after we got our food and sat down. She’s happy and cheery and… More than that, she’s at peace. She looks like she belongs here, wants to be here, living her life as it maybe should have always been.
But I can’t adjust. I just can’t go back to living a quiet life anymore. That doesn’t an I can’t enjoy the comforts of modern civilization. Heaven help
if I have to endure sumr without the benefit of that most divine and vaunted of inventions. But the idea of a quiet life, of going off to college, studying hard for four years, and then spending the next thirty-five years in so office cubicle is… I couldn’t do it. Not now, not knowing what’s out there and knowing what I have to accomplish.
Not have to. I an, yes, it is sothing I need to do, and probably sothing only I can do. But I want to. Like a goal or life purpose so tied to my very soul that any and every other life trajectory feels shallow and aningless by comparison. Now that I know beyond all doubt that there are other worlds to explore, and that my class will help
build the ships that will allow
to reach those worlds, how can I possibly remain confined to this blue marble that is the third planet in the Sol system?
I… cannot.
After lunch, Chloe and I again separate as we head off to our fifth and sixth period classes. In my case, Calculus and European History. I pay attention as best I can as we discuss trigonotric integrals and then the causes and build up before the First World War. Intellectually, I know both of these things will be important as I proceed onward toward my destiny. Especially the forr. Math is the study of formal logic, after all. And glyph construction has a certain mathematical logic buried deep within it.
I had described individual runes as the accents and letters that form words before, but now that I think about it, it could also be like the variables in a mathematical equation. When exposed to different coefficients— runes, in this case— the overall shape and properties of the function change dramatically. Even very small changes in a single number can cause wildly different outcos.
Then combining two functions together would be like… Addition? Composition? Or maybe a completely different operation entirely. Combining two glyphs in sequence produced an effect that was stronger than the sum of the two individual effects. But at a cost of [Ether] that was comnsurately higher.
I should definitely ask around if there is soone with a specific [Glyphcrafter] class.
Finally we make it to physics class at the end of the day. Chloe sits beside
in our usual seats as Mr. Morris stands up and begins his lecture. Strangely, his words carry with them a cadence that helps
maintain my attention as he discusses the interrelation between forces, work, and power.
His lectures cause
to take more notes as I realize how applicable this can all be to my study of glyphs and Ethertech. In chanics, there are constants and invariants. Mass-energy, montum, and angular montum. Electrical charge is likewise conserved when studying the properties of electromagnetism. So then, what are the fundantal conservation principles governing [Ether], if we start looking at Ether as its own fundantal type of energy?
No, wait, that’s not true. It is a type of energy, but it can be converted to other forms. My [Ether Bullet] condenses it into a small particle with nonzero mass. My [Flash of Insight] creates light energy. The glyphs of [Lightning] and [Heat] create electrical energy and heat energy, respectively. But what about a reversed heat glyph? It ‘creates’ cold, which shouldn’t be possible. The sensation of ‘cold’ is just the absence of heat. Which is to say that the glyph expends [Ether] to remove energy from the local area.
By itself that would violate the laws of conservation of energy.
I look at my Status.
[Unique Trait: [Touched by the Multiverse]. Your mind has been touched by the vastness beyond space and ti, and you’ve gained a glimpse at what lies at the outer edge of possibility.]
Beyond space and ti? That makes sense. Then [Ether] is the energy that allows us to tap into so parallel dinsion? The interplanar void? The vastness beyond space and ti? Whatever it is, that makes a lot more sense. My [Unheat] effect is really just transferring heat energy into an alternate dinsion. Then my [Barrier] is blunting montum into that sa dinsion? It seems so different to think about it in this regard than when I assud it was just like an ordinary wall.
I jot more notes down in my sketchbook. [Heat] draws energy into this world, while reversing the glyph reverses the flow of energy, drawing it out. The laws of conservation of energy are preserved. But now I question what happens if I reverse [Barrier]. This seems to just create an elastic collision on its own. What does it an to… shunt montum into another dinsion? Do the mathematical properties of physics even allow
to try to answer this question.
I raise my hand.
“Yes, Sera?” Mr. Morris asks.
“Last ti, before Spring Break, we were discussing elastic collisions and how to calculate the shifts in motion for each object involved. Obviously, perfectly elastic collisions don’t exist in the real world. So fraction of the energy involved gets converted to light, heat, sound, and other forms of energy that dissipate into the environnt. But what, hypothetically, would happen if the elasticity of the collision were to go negative?”
He pauses for a mont. “I think that discussion will have to wait until after class.” He gives
an eye, almost as though he realizes that my question isn’t as hypothetical as I’ve made it out to be. None of the other students seem to pay my question any notice, with the exception of Yulia, whose green eyes briefly look
over before returning to her daydreams. How is she so… unconcerned about everything? If anything, she seems almost more at ease now than she ever was before. Is she another otherworlder?
The rest of the class proceeds smoothly. I continue to take notes on the lecture right up until the bell rings, but the back of my mind continues to think about all of these different possibilities. About how I’ve been too ad hoc in my study of glyphs and should have been looking at more general principles of Ethertech. Not just ones that apply to how to combine glyphs, but how their functions interact with the laws of physics.
I erred. I expected them to be wholly separate from the laws of physics as I knew them before the System. But that wouldn’t make sense, when I think about it more clearly. All forces interact with one another to so extent. Why would the principal [Ether] energy work any differently than the fundantal forces that already existed before the System’s arrival?
I continue jotting notes down until the end of class. One by one, the students up and leave, until it’s just Chloe, , and Yulia, surprisingly enough. Also, her hair is blowing with the wind. Inside, with the windows closed, and no fans or air conditioning running. [Wind Mage] class?
“Alright, Miss Sera,” Mr. Morris says. “What new technique have you co to show off?”
I’m briefly taken aback. But I did tip my hand earlier.
“I have a [Barrier] technique that I crafted onto my gloves. However, I don’t think it works the way I thought it did. I thought it was just a simple obstruction, like a wall that bounces back attacks in accordance with the laws of physics as we’ve been discussing them in class. However, after thinking about it so more, I think it’s actually working by creating a rift in dinsions and shunting raw positive montum from a different dinsion.”
“So like how light has montum, despite its lack of mass.” He pauses at my bemusent. “The principle behind solar sails.”
“I’ll have to check that out later. I was wondering what happens when I invert the glyph. At first, I was trying to wrap my head around what happens when a collision has negative elasticity. But then during your lecture, it all hit . These glyphs need to obey the laws of physics more broadly, even if the laws themselves might now be different than they were twenty days ago. After all, it wouldn’t make sense to be able to convert [Ether] into cold. But displacing heat soplace else should create the effect just the sa.”
Mr. Morris nods. “That makes sense. Would you like to demonstrate this [Barrier]?”
I raise my hands and activate my [Barrier]. He throws a punch just above my head, only to stagger backward as his hand collides with my shield.
“Alright, now you said you can ‘invert a glyph’. I admit I don’t quite know what that ans, but please, proceed.”
I take my gloves off, flip them inside out, then stick them back on. A rather crude way to do the inversion, but my [Basic Glyph Manipulation] doesn’t give any evidence that my doing so was unsuccessful. I again activate the [Barrier], now inverted, and give a nod of readiness.
[Your [Basic Glyph Manipulation (Rank IV)] has upgraded to [Basic Glyph Manipulation (Rank V).]
Mr. Morris throws another lackadaisical punch. This ti, instead of staggering backwards, his entire body gets pulled forward, like a powerful static electricity effect is causing his entire body to stick to the technique. He grimaces and growls, and I imdiately cease my [Barrier], using my enhanced [Strength] to help catch him before he falls on his face.
“Ow!” he says.
“Apologies,” I respond.
“Well, science is never easy. And I guess sotis it’s not painless either. I think your conjecture about being sucked into another dinsion isn’t completely wrong. Now, that’s not the whole story of what’s going on, since no part of
was actually pulled inside the barrier. And I didn’t notice the sort of lensing that would occur when light is exposed to the heavy gravity of stars, black holes, or other objects on that scale of mass.”
“You’re on the right track with your ideas,” Yulia says. “Another fundantal physical force like gravity or electromagnetism. That’s not a bad way to think about how Ether interacts with the world.”
“How would you reach such a conclusion?” Chloe asks.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for
to talk about my classes or Skills,” Yulia says. “I’m sure you two an well, but we all have secrets we don’t want to share with the broader population.” She looks at . “Are you not the sa?”
I smile, realizing the subtext behind her words. “Though it is difficult to believe, yes." And she opens
up to another possibility I can’t overlook either, that there are others who were transmigrated from other worlds as well. "Were you waiting on Mr. Morris as well?”
Yulia smiles. “Amari said she was going to be a few minutes late after seventh period. I was going to wait by her locker, but the conversation sounded interesting. I… should be going though. It was nice to speak with you all… I have a feeling that we may see each other again by the ti this is all said and done.”
Yulia walks off, but… Unless my eyes deceive , her feet aren’t quite touching the ground. An incredibly powerful [Wind Mage] class? [Gravity Evoker]? Sothing else entirely? Just what level is she? And she implied that she wasn’t from this world either.
How odd. I don’t think she’s an enemy, but… I don’t know if she’s an ally, either. I can’t expect everyone to use their power toward my goals but… I really don’t want to fight her if I can help it. Not that I’m confident I can.
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