Chapter 35: Fear my name, YLTH
“We do not teach academics.” Callas stated flatly. “Instead, we help you gain wisdom. All the symbols within the college, including the six-faced clock, aid in the growth of wisdom. Surely you wouldn’t argue against protecting innocent people from invisible threats?”
He interrupted me as if he already knew my objections. Then, turning to the student standing beside me, he continued. “You might think I’m fabricating this, so I’ll ask her directly. She’s an Oldcourt student who has attended my lectures.”
Suddenly thrust into the spotlight, she flinched and hunched her shoulders. This was a side of her I hadn’t witnessed when we were alone. More accurately, she had only shown her eccentric behavior to me.
“Student, what did you learn is the essence of wisdom?” “The essence of wisdom is, um…” She mumbled in a low voice, clearly hesitant. Since I remembered what she had told me, I answered in her place. “The essence of wisdom is the invisible enemy. I heard it from her.”
“Excellent.” Callas smiled with satisfaction. “It might sound suspicious, but the origin of the word ‘invisible’ runs quite deep. It certainly didn’t originate at Oldcourt. In 1645, English scientists were all tormented by a common problem. They discovered several elements that completely contradicted existing scientific laws. As they exchanged letters and spoke with one another, they realized they were all confronting the same issue, and gathered to solve it.”
“Did you just say 1645?” I frowned at the mention of that familiar year. Callas clapped his hands like a professor delighted by a sharp student’s insight.
“Precisely. 1645, the landmark year when the Invisible College, considered the precursor to the Royal Society, first convened.”
The Royal Society. That name appeared here too. ■■■ ■■ ■■■ Chancellor, Royal Society—I had believed them to be one and the same, but Callas showed no indication of this. He seemed to genuinely revere the Chancellor as an individual, while remaining oddly indifferent toward the Royal Society.
“Robert Boyle led that research. He pioneered Invisibology. You’ve likely never heard that name, as it’s been kept secret for nearly 150 years since Isaac Newton’s death. It’s knowledge passed down only by word of mouth among select scholars of the Royal Society and within Oldcourt.”