Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
On the last Friday of April in 827, the thirty-first floor of the Allyn magic tower was crowded with noisy people.
“This is probably the place with the highest density of official sorcerers…” In the crowd, Heidi spoke to her friends, including Katrina and Annick, jokingly.
Lucien ‘Atom Controller’ Evans was about to have an open class about the microscopic world this morning. Most of the sorcerers had been captivated and searched for every opportunity to attend it. As a result, the leadership of the Holt Magic College had to issue a restraint: the teachers and students of the college were free to choose whether or not to attend it, but for the external sorcerers, it all depended on the time of their application whether or not they had the privilege to attend it whatever rank they were at.
Sprint frowned at Heidi. “Why did you drag us here? If you have any questions, you can ask our teacher in private.”
Heidi chuckled. “It’s been a long time since we saw our teacher on the podium. How could we miss the opportunity?”
With her as the example, most of the arcanists in the Atom Institution had a part-time job in the Holt Magic College, returning the ‘privileges’ they enjoyed from their teacher to society.
“That’s right. How I miss the carefree life when I studied in the magic school.” Layria followed Heidi into the classroom.
Prospell, the tower guard, had temporarily turned on a space-folding magic circle, allowing the classroom to accommodate thousands of people.
Unable to consider questions in such an environment, Annick defended Heidi’s sudden idea. “It’s indeed a rare opportunity. Our teacher wouldn’t hold the lecture systematically from the beginning on other occasions. This will help us pick up what we missed and what we were wrong about. Look. Mr. Gaston, Ms. Isabella, Mr. Larry, Mr. Dieppe, Mr. K, Mr. Samantha and Ms. Rachel… They’re all here.”
He intended to speak the names of all the sorcerers he knew, but he soon discovered that it was even more troublesome than the studies of the microscopic world.
“Yes, exactly. What Annick said is my key point.” Heidi borrowed Annick’s theory unashamed and led everybody to their spots.
Katrina took a breath. “What is our teacher going to lecture on today?”
Even Layria and she were almost dazzled by the development in the microscopic world today and had to work very hard to keep up with the trend. Had it not been for the solid mathematical foundation that Lucien laid for them, they would’ve been left behind by the best arcanists in the microscopic domain.
“This is an open class towards all teachers and students. Mr. Evans certainly won’t dive too deeply. It will probably be an overall analysis for everybody’s understanding.” Alfalia had made remarkable progress after staying in the Atom Institution for four years, but she was still rather ignorant about the microworld and needed such a general review to help herself understand it.
Sprint, on the other hand, said hopefully. “Will our teacher propose a new theory that answers why the microscopic particles have uncertainties?”
“Probably not… That’s the greatest puzzle in the microscopic domain and perhaps represents the truth of the world.” Annick shook his head. “According to the idea that our teacher persisted in, probabilities and uncertainties are the intrinsic qualities of the microscopic particles, not the unavoidable interferences caused by observation. So, if we find why the microscopic particles have such intrinsic qualities, it will mean that we have a full understanding about the microscopic domain.”
Heidi sniffed. “Our teacher’s explanation is at loggerheads with determinism. No wonder the arcanists of the school of astrology such as Isabella and Samantha have come.”
In everybody’s whispers, Thompson, the vice principal of the Holt Magic College and a member of the Affair Committee, walked in. Pushing the gold-edged glasses on his nose, he said, “Silence.”
Under the assistance of the broadcast rune array, the crowded classroom immediately fell quiet.
“The rest of the time will be given to Mr. Lucien Evans, who will interpret the mysteries of the microworld for us.” Knowing that he would be barraged with any further ado, he finished the introduction quickly.
Then, Lucien, in a double-breasted suit and wearing a bow-tie of the same color, walked in from a side door. He dropped the top hat on the desk.
“Everybody’s time is precious. Let’s get down to our business right now. The studies on the microworld dated back to the War between Wave and Particle about light. That’s how we began to understand the specialty of the microscopic particles…” Lucien peacefully began with the classic wave experiment of the light and continued with the confirmation of the particle nature of light.
It was the information that the sorcerers were very familiar with. They understood it very well and soon submerged in Lucien’s pace.
…The discovery of the cathode ray, the confirmation of electrons, the revelation of the internal structure of atoms, the verification of protons, the proposition of the new alchemy… The wave-particle duality that was extrapolated from light to all the microscopic particles, the disagreement between many experiments in the microscopic domain with reality, the design of matrix mechanics, the explanation of the wave function, and the debate caused by the explanation and the wave-particle duality, as well as the opinions that different grand arcanists and senior-rank arcanists held. All the information was introduced to the attendees clearly by Lucien.
There wasn’t any difficult calculation or knowledge. Having a general understanding about the microscopic domain, they were fascinated and forgot the passage of time.
“Mr. Evans has introduced all the explanations unbiasedly. He even analyzes why there is disagreement. He never says that his theory is absolutely correct and the other theories are worthless.” Dieppe nodded in admiration. Mr. Evans’ arcana attitude was absolutely healthy, considering that he had accomplished so many achievements at such a young age.
Very soon, Lucien finished the general introduction. He smiled at everyone. “This concludes the first part of my lecture. Here, I would like to remind you that, although I tried to avoid the intricate mathematics in my previous narration, what we can and only can depend on is mathematics and experiments in the microscopic domain.”
Heidi and her friends of the Atom Institution were not surprised at Lucien’s speech, because it was what their teacher had repetitively told them. As for the arcanists who were not taught by Lucien, they understood the importance of mathematics, but they did not understand why it was so important.
Looking around, Lucien said solemnly, “The microscopic domain is a world that we cannot directly observe with the naked eye. All methods of observation we have so far will inevitably influence it and result in the most peculiar phenomena, which will be answered by different explanations and theoretical models. At first look, all of them seem to make sense.”
“However, I’d like to point out that, in the microscopic domain, where our experience in the past is no longer applicable and where the methodology we are used to errs, all the explanations and theoretical models must be strictly built on mathematics. Otherwise, there will be no explanations or hypotheses, but illusions and fantasies!”
“Math doesn’t lie…” Neeshka said in a low voice. Lucien’s confidence and his words at that time left him an unforgettable impression.
Lucien’s solemn attitude woke up most of the arcanists, who gained a deeper understanding about the importance of mathematics in the microscopic domain.
“I believe that you are all somewhat suspicious about the wave-particle duality of the electron, about the cloud of probabilities that is ubiquitous in space, and about whether or not the electron can pass two slits simultaneously…” Lucien suddenly brought up the question.
Most of the arcanists nodded their heads quickly. It was the most difficult and controversial problem so far. Annick and Lucien’s other students, however, all widened their eyes. They knew their teacher too well. Things were certainly not as simple as that!
“Has our teacher finished the preparation of the double-slit experiment with electrons?” After a brief silence, Heidi quickly recalled the project that their teacher had been busy with. It would be an important confirmation of the electron’s wave-particle duality!
Annick and Sprint had lost interest in talking with her. They focused their eyes on the podium, waiting for their teacher’s next sentence with pounding hearts.
After a long pause, Lucien said, “We will have a five-minute break. Then, I will present to you the double-slit experiment with electrons.”
“What”? Exclamations of shock echoed in the classroom. Such an important experiment was to be presented on such an occasion?
After the initial shock, they soon grew excited. Would they be witnesses of history and miracles?
Lucien did not talk to them anymore. He simply brought out a common metal plate which did not seem to have any slit. Or rather, the slits were too small to be observed.
“Such tiny slits need months of engraving even with legendary magic.” The arcanists whispered to each other. Some of them hurried to inform their teachers to join the gala. They believed that archmages wouldn’t be stopped.
Alchemical devices were brought out by Lucien one after another. Very soon, a platform to confirm the double-slit interference of electrons was established. In the meantime, Lucien extracted the image of the sensor screen with other magic circles and projected it to a wall after magnification.
At this moment, Brook and Oliver, two grand arcanists, arrived. They were not surprised that Lucien had completed the metal plate that the double-slit experiment needed earlier than they did. After all, he was an expert close to level three of legendary himself and the unquestionable No. 1 authority in the microscopic domain.
They could’ve waited for the final result of the experiment, but the pursuit for arcana and truth had prompted them to stand in the classroom to witness it in person without bothering about their own identity.
After a minute, Douglas was there, Fernando was there, Hellen was there, Hathaway was there, and so were the other legendary sorcerers and archmages.
Lowering his head and hiding his eyes, Lucien let out an inaudible bitter chuckle. Then, he opened his eyes and walked to the experiment device. “In the next, we are going to have the double-slit experiment with electrons.”