Chapter 436: Progression
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Douglas School, in a mansion for the teachers.
Rock, who went to drink at his friend’s home during the New Year holiday, was shouting with Arcana in his hand.
“How’s that even possible?!””Great job!” Surprised and excited, he exclaimed from time to time.
“Damn, I’m gonna be late!” Rock saw the time on the clock in the living room while cheering, and he suddenly bounced up. He realized that he just made a big mistake and quickly put on his soft hat. He said goodbye to his friend and opened the door in a hurry.
On the street in the school, the falling autumn leaves created a peculiar romantic atmosphere. But Rock had no time to enjoy the beautiful view as he was rushing towards the carriage rental center.
“Isn’t this Rock? An important member of the Atom Institution just returned to the school?” A mocking voice came from the side.
As heard the deep and hoarse voice, Rock paused abruptly. He turned his head to the other side of the street and noticed that Beate and several other people with innocent looks were standing under the tree.
“Beate?” Rock’s expression became excited. He did not mind Beate’s hostility and said with a laugh, “have you read today’s Arcana?”
Beate was stunned. He and Rock would argue every time they met. He wondered why the situation changed this time.
“No, what’s up?” A teacher from the Electromagnetics Faculty asked curiously.
Rock tried his best not to just tell Beate everything. Instead, he smiled mischievously and asked, “do you remember the bright star from around half a month ago? The star was created and launched by the President! The first paper is about the details of the experiment!”
“What? H-how’s that even possible?” Beate did not connect this news with other things. He was just surprised as he did not know that it was something that human beings could accomplish.
The other teachers around him had the same surprised look on their faces.
Rock patiently guided them. “It proves that the President’s theory is correct, and it has successfully answered the questions of the past several hundred years.”
“You’re right.” Beate agreed. Douglas’s theory system left a deep impression in people’s mind and he nodded without thinking much.
Rock suddenly laughed. “Do you remember the last time we talked about the President’s lightspeed experiment? You didn’t agree because you thought the President’s theory system was wrong, right? What about now? Do you believe it or have you found another reason?”
“Rock!” Beate raised his right hand and pointed at Rock, his fingers shaking violently.
He was just a level-two arcanist and he could not think of another theory to argue back.
“Wait, one more thing, the two theories that were proposed in the last issue of Arcana and Magic have been rejected by the Lord of Storm. The first theory was rejected based on the errors in it; the other one required experimental proof. However, I’m certain that the one who suggested the theory would have attached the result of the experiment if he had it. If he didn’t, it means that the result his experiment was against the theory.” Rock was not giving Beate any chance.
The furious and threatened Beate had a hard time accepting this, and he yelled, “Then you explain the Double-Slit lines and Brook Spot with the particle theory!”
“This is not the point that we are discussing right now. Come on, give me another explanation regarding the President’s lightspeed experiment so you can prove that Ether exists! If Ether doesn’t exist, the wave theory will be pointless. Also, in Arcana, Artil offered 50000 arcana points for similar theories. He wants the Arcanists who support the wave theory like you to use their imagination! IMAGINATION!” Rock dodged Beate’s question and emphasized on the term “imagination”.
Beate’s mind would have already changed without the support from the classic light image theory and he now kept his end.
“Even if we can’t come up with any theories now, it doesn’t mean we can’t in the future! Why don’t you explain the experiments like the double-split diffraction experiment with the particle theory first! It’s been over 100 years!”
“Stubborn. You should just accept the reality!” Rock mocked in a loud voice.
“You too. You should take the classic experiments more seriously!” Beate raged.
The long debate between Rock and the teachers started like this. But they were just talking about what they considered correct and no one was trying to answer the opponent’s questions. It seemed like they could not reach an agreement even until the end of the world.
“Damn, I’m late!” Rock finally panicked when he felt the warmth of the winter sun. His heart ached at the thought of his arcana points that were about to be deducted.
Rock stared at Beate and the others after realizing he was getting late. “Stop playing around. You can go and claim the reward if you can refute the President’s lightspeed experiment! I’m waiting for you to claim the 50000 arcana points, exchange them for bronze coins, and throw them all over my body!”
“Don’t promote the wave theory if you can’t do this!”
He turned around and left after finishing the sentence, leaving no chance for Beate to reply. Obviously, he knew very well how to end an argument with an advantage.
Beate wanted to argue back with the classic experiments but he noticed that Rock was already gone. The anger of unable to vent was like a flame burning his mind. “That damn fool! Dumbass! Stupid!”
Similar events were happening all over Allyn. However, it was only a small group of arcanists who support the particle theory that was arguing with the many supporters of the wave theory. Yet with the evidence from the lightspeed experiment, they somehow gained the advantage over the wave theory supporters, who were furious but had no way to argue back.
The only good news was that the arcanists whose cognitive world was based on the wave theory did not endure any serious injuries, thanks to the existence of the classic light experiments. They believed there will be other theories that included the Ether to explain Douglas’s lightspeed experiment.
…
In the Electromagnetic Kingdom, Brook was reading the latest issue of Arcana.
Rubbing his wig, Brook sighed slightly, “I didn’t expect teacher to prove it in this way… He’s incredible…”
He turned the magazine to the last page and read Artil’s “War Declaration” carefully. He shook his head, then stood up and walked to the window. Staring at the twisted magnetic filed, running electrical current, jumping electrical arcs, and the invisible electrical waves, he muttered,
“What is the problem with the lightspeed experiment?”
“The result is correct, but Ether might still exist. Maybe Ether is all over the sky in a way that we can’t imagine.
“We should thank teacher for the experiment. It helped us filter out many thoughts we had about Ether. We are getting closer to the truth.
“In what way will the existence of Ether fit in the result of this experiment?” Brook immersed himself in thoughts.
Unless faced with irrefutable evidence, every Grand Arcanist extremely persistent in their theories.
…
In the Theatre of Destruction.
Oliver Constantine was lying leisurely in a chair in his pajamas. His wife, Florencia, was feeding him grapes while he read Arcana.
“Heh, Artil is challenging us?” Oliver smiled and looked at Florencia.
Only about a dozen years after Brook became Douglas’s student, Artil also became Douglas’ student. He thus had a deep background and was familiar with every Grand Arcanist and legendary archmage.
Florencia raised her brow. “Challenge? What challenge?” Her magazine was taken away by her husband after she just finished reading the first article by Douglas.
Oliver spoke after murmuring two lines of opera, “he offered a reward for a theory that could explain the lightspeed experiment, but the theory must include the Ether.”
“Hehe, it’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Florencia had a charming smile on her face. As a high-level arcanist, she quickly understood the relationship between Douglas’ artificial star and the lightspeed experiment. As a sorcerer specializing in Element, she supported the particle theory, which contradicted the wave theory that Oliver supported.
Oliver smiled. He raised his hand and squeezed Florencia’s nose tip.
“Why? Are you going to argue with me again? Regarding the wave theory and the particle theory?”
“Of course, I think you can’t explain the lightspeed experiment.” Florencia was very firm when it came to arcana theories.
“If I can explain it, you’ll have to do one thing for me.” Oliver chuckled.
“No problem, if you can’t explain it, you must do one thing for me too.” Florencia helped Oliver turn the theory argument into some fun bet between a couple. That was how they stayed peaceful when they had different opinions on various theories.
Olive straightened his back and smiled. “I think I’m filled with motivation now!”
…
Lauren, the winner of the Silver Moon Medal and authority in the Electromagnetics, stared at the journal in front of him gloomily.
“Damn Artil!” He shouted in a low voice.
He did not only support the Energy Essentialism but also promoted the wave theory. The two theories had no contradiction as the energy theory was about the materials, while the other one was about light and spiritual power. He even believed that wave was the only way to represent energy other than the materials.
“Damn Norman, damn Luciana, damn Lucien!” He dare not to say anything bad to Douglas and Fernando, but he cursed everyone else that was on Douglas’ appreciation list.
He finished swearing and started to focus on the paper again. He paced around in the room and tried to find a way to explain everything.
Every arcanist who believed in the wave theory and who was above the mid-level was doing everything they could to find a way to explain the experiment after they calmed down.
…
However, Lucien remained silent this time, which was rare as in everyone’s eyes he loved to cause arguments and solve difficult problems. He did not make any valuable comment on the wave theory and the particle theory.
When the Congress of Magic was once again lost in a debate war between the wave theory supporters and the particle theory supporters, the second artificial star successfully revolved once around the world, and the third communication star entered its track secretly. The Allyn Telephone and Telegraph company was founded.
The theory war became more and more intense as the end of January approached, when Lucien received an invitation from Tower. Levski and Lucien would be awarded the Arcana Staff at the Tower’s headquarter in Allyn.
The carriage carrying Lucien, Lazar, and several other people from the Atoms Laboratory stopped at the entrance, encountering Levski, who arrived at almost the same time.
“Good evening, Levski.” Lucien greeted Levski as he got off the carriage.
Levski had a bitter smile on his face.
“Not good at all. The new geometric system was hard to analyze and my friends were always arguing about the wave theory and the particle theory. I’m in dire need of some peaceful time.”
Lucien was also a bit speechless as he did not expect to hear about the debate war here.
