Chapter 193: A Belated Achievement
Once he'd finished reading, Evan noticed Jessica watching him and said, "It's sound reasoning — logically airtight, at the very least. But there's no room left in it for our own magical elements at all."
"That's only one angle on it. It's hardly a theory of everything — it just explains how matter transforms from one substance to another. Still, it matters a great deal for alchemy's development," Jessica said.
"True enough. But he's proposed something interesting — a dozen or so pure substances, with everything else forming through their combination. He calls these basic substances elements, borrowing the term, which means we now have a dozen-odd fundamental elements instead of the usual handful, and the number could well keep growing. He even measured atomic mass, using one-sixteenth of an oxygen atom as his baseline — remarkably precise, and genuinely inventive," Evan said, studying the paper.
"That approach is worth borrowing on its own — everything needs some fixed reference point. Good thinking, that," Jessica said, considering it. Evan felt a flicker of self-consciousness at that — Jessica's own instincts ran genuinely sharp here; if he hadn't come from a world with such a considerable scientific head start, he doubted he'd measure up to her at all.
While they talked, two figures appeared at the door — Mikoyan and Jenny. Spotting Evan, Mikoyan smiled. "You went through a great deal of trouble for us this time, Professor Wang."
"It was nothing — happened to be along the way. Seeing Jenny had some magical talent, I asked Jessica to take her on. Thought it was worth the chance," Evan said with a smile.
Mikoyan smiled as well, turning to Jessica. "My thanks to you. If you hadn't taken Jenny on as your student, her talent alone would never have gotten her into Hollingburton. With you as her teacher, admission's no longer even a question."
His gratitude was plain and genuine. "Her talent isn't especially strong, but that doesn't mean she can't accomplish something," Jessica said. "No need to thank me — I'm curious how far she can actually go."
"Jenny, study hard under Teacher Jessica, and don't hesitate to ask Professor Wang for guidance too," Mikoyan said, turning to remind her.
They stayed two more days, but Ortlando's group still hadn't returned, so the three of them didn't wait any longer, heading back to Hollingburton through the transport array.
The whole trip had taken nearly a month. Xiaoshuang vanished the moment they got back, off to see her beast friends at once. Jessica had nothing else pressing, so she and Jenny came to help Evan with his experiments — he'd started work on Ohm's Law, which meant not just running the experiment itself but building every piece of equipment from scratch. Fortunately, his earlier paper on electromagnetism had already laid the groundwork, letting him measure current and voltage through established methods, while resistance he approximated using metal wire of uniform thickness, its resistance scaling with length.
After several days' work, the setup was finally ready. Jessica and Evan talked as they worked, and she found herself turning over a question of her own — how to properly demonstrate the mechanics of heredity.
"Plants would work better for this than animals — easier to control," Evan said. He already knew, of course, of Mendel's pea experiments from his old life, though he had to be careful not to let that knowledge show too plainly.
"Which plant would work best, then? A magical plant, or an ordinary one?" Jessica asked, genuinely curious, then went on without waiting for an answer. "Ordinary's probably better, actually — I'd want clearly distinct traits, natural self-pollination, but also something I could cross-pollinate by hand under controlled conditions. So many plants to choose from — which one fits best?"
Evan couldn't help a private, admiring thought — a true researcher through and through. "What about peas? Plenty of varieties, stable traits, and they self-pollinate naturally on their own. You could control the conditions and study each trait individually."
Jessica's eyes lit up. Peas, then — perfect. "Jenny, come on, let's go run some experiments," she called out at once.
Evan smiled, watching her hurry off with characteristic energy. His own experiment was nearly finished, the data collected and ready to be worked through.
He spent several more days processing the results, planning to submit them for the September issue of Magic. The August issue was due to arrive the next day. He checked the time — well past midnight — though the lamp in Jessica's room, several dozen cubits off, still burned. He smiled to himself and put out his own light, settling into his usual meditation.
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The next day, the owl delivered the latest issue of Magic. Evan read through it as he always did, examining every paper carefully these days — he knew his own knowledge, however far ahead it seemed, still rested on a fairly shallow foundation, and reading others' work was, in its own way, a chance to learn alongside the rest of this world's progress, whatever the subject. It was rounding out his understanding across the board — his grasp of mathematics especially. Back in his old life, he'd barely touched calculus in high school, but here, with Newton developing it out of sheer necessity for his own research, Evan had studied it seriously enough that he could now fairly call himself a minor mathematician in his own right.
One paper, though, left him with nothing but a rueful smile. Titled The Relationship of Current Within a Closed Circuit, its experimental method differed somewhat from his own, but it arrived at the same relationship between current, voltage, and resistance. In short — the same content as his own paper, except this one had beaten him to publication by a step.
Evan let out a long sigh and set the journal down. All that careful work, and someone had gotten there first. Genuinely frustrating. He set the journal aside and decided to go for a walk.
He'd only just reached Jessica and Emma's door when Jessica spotted him. She'd been reading the same issue under the tree outside, and set it down, unsure at first how to broach it, before speaking up anyway. "Evan, don't let it get you down. If you hadn't gone to the mainland this time, that paper would surely have been yours. Your experimental method was genuinely clever — more elegant than his, I think."
"No need to console me. It's only natural someone else gets there first sometimes — I won't hold a grudge over it. Just a bit deflated, that's all," Evan said. Something struck him then — what was he even doing, feeling this way? He'd only known the answer beforehand; the other man had done the genuine pioneering work. Here he was, jealous of someone else's achievement, his own head turned by fame and credit. In truth, of all his papers, only the one on fantasy-born creatures had been genuinely, entirely his own. Spreading knowledge mattered, certainly — but keeping a clear grip on his own heart mattered more.
"Anyone would feel a little sour over something like this. Still, I believe in you," Jessica said, encouraging.
"I'm fine. When someone else makes a real contribution, I should only feel glad for them. It's just one paper. I've already thought up another experiment — something on electromagnetic fields. How's your own work coming along?" Evan asked.
"I've already begun. I've chosen twenty-two varieties with distinct traits, kept in an enclosed space. It's slow going, though — I expect it'll take several years to complete," Jessica said.
"Couldn't you speed the plants' growth along with magic?" Evan suggested.
"That's true, actually. For the sake of comparison, why not split them into two groups entirely — one accelerated by magic, one left to grow naturally. If both groups produce the same results, that would prove magical acceleration doesn't skew the data at all, and everything I collect would hold up properly," Jessica said, growing animated.
Evan hadn't expected his own suggestion to be refined so neatly, and found his admiration for her only deepening.
"I've had some free time lately, so I finished crafting the soul gems — six of them in total. Here, two for you. Though I'll admit, my conscience hasn't sat quite easy about it — probably best to do less of this going forward," Evan said, pulling out two soul gems. Both glowed a deep, ghostly blue, as though holding some profound secret within — faintly visible inside each, a figure seemed to cry out silently.
Jessica accepted them without hesitation. "I do need these. I haven't much to trade you in return — I owe you a favor, and I'll pay it back sometime."
"Don't worry about it. Just two gems. Be careful how you use one, though," Evan said flatly. Soul gems served many purposes, but misused, the consequences could run severe — Evan had no idea what she meant to do with hers, but felt obligated to warn her regardless, given how questionable the whole business of acquiring them really was.
They sat a while on the chairs beneath the tree, talking, and when Jenny came out, Evan smiled. "How's Jenny been lately?"
"She's a diligent student. Lately I've had her working on meditation, and I've been walking her through some fundamentals besides. Once term starts, she'll be placed with the new students — I've chosen Aspola College for her. Oh, and one more thing — her older brother turns out to be enrolled here as well," Jessica said.
"Her brother? What's his name, and when did he arrive at Hollingburton?" Evan asked, not especially surprised.
"Reinhardt von Rosenkram. Also newly enrolled — he applied as an auditing student last term, and this term he's officially matriculated. Who'd have thought the two siblings would end up at the same school," Jessica said.
"Reinhardt von Rosenkram. I remember him — met him during the Plowing Festival last term. Solid grounding in magic already. Why enroll here at all?" Evan's brow furrowed slightly.
"Jenny ran into him. He said he'd never studied magic systematically before and wanted to fill in the gaps, so he enrolled as a first-year and audited classes for half a term. He decided it was worth the time, and plans to spend several years properly. He's already a mage in his own right, apparently — just missing the theoretical foundation," Jessica said.
"Diligent, at least," Evan said, nodding.
"Not just him — I hear the school's brought on a new demonology teacher too, an Arcanist, apparently a necromancer himself, though I haven't met him. Emma mentioned it — she's seen him," Jessica said.
"Good — someone for Roland's camp, then. I've been avoiding him myself. He's always had his eye on Xiaoshuang," Evan said with a laugh.
"That's just Professor Roland's way. His grounding in demonology runs deep — he's dissected no shortage of devils, and I hear he makes regular trips out to the Gael Mountains to collect them," Jessica said, laughing along with him.