Episode 25

“Energy is supplied to the bulb by a field.”

“Field?”

“Yes, an electromagnetic field.”

I scribbled a formula on the blackboard.

“This is the Poynting vector.”

“…Poynting vector?”

“It’s a vector related to the transport of energy in an electromagnetic field.”

The two interviewers exchanged glances and shrugged.

Neither looked particularly impressed.

Except for one.

“Can you explain what a vector is?”

The interviewer on the far right, nodding with interest, asked.

“Of course.”

I replied confidently.

“A vector is a physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction. But that’s not the precise definition. More mathematically, one could say that elements of a vector space are vectors.”

“Uh….”

“However, our interest lies elsewhere. In physics, a vector is defined as a physical quantity that undergoes the same coordinate transformation as position.”

“Oh my.”

As my explanation lengthened, the interviewers’ frowns deepened.

But it was too late to stop.

My explanation had gained momentum and was unstoppable.

“Returning to the main point, electric and magnetic fields are types of fields. A field is a function that takes a position vector as its domain. At each position, it uniquely correlates information about electric and magnetic forces. From this, we can determine the direction in which electromagnetic energy is transported at every point. This introduces the concept of the Poynting vector.”

I explained calmly, then continued to draw the figure, sketching electric field lines and overlaying the changing magnetic field lines accordingly.

The electronic blackboard, initially bearing only a few lines of equations, now displayed a complex and subtle field.

Drawing it quickly and accurately was challenging, but it didn’t take me long.

Why?

“Ah, no, that…”

Because I used both hands.

After finishing the drawing, I turned around and announced,

“This diagram represents the magnitude and direction of the field.”

The interviewers’ expressions were grim, like children needing the restroom.

What is wrong? Was my drawing incorrect?

No, that wasn’t the case. The drawing was accurate.

“Hehehe.”

Only the interviewer on the right was smiling.

I sensed it.

This person was different.

At least, his aura was the complete opposite of the other two interviewers.

Not the demeanor of a teacher, but that of a professor.

Having spent half my life as a professor’s assistant, my radar was quite accurate. I could distinguish a scholar from a non-scholar at a glance.

So, even without seeing his face, I knew.

This person was the one I was looking for.

“….”

I needed to make a good impression on this person.

I took a deep breath.

After finishing the notes, I put down the electronic pen and continued the explanation.

Let’s see, where did I leave off?

“Poynting vector…”

That’s where.

“The direction perpendicular to the electromagnetic field is precisely the direction of the Poynting vector. Energy is transmitted in this direction. The method to determine this is simple. It involves using the right-hand rule.”

“St-student.”

“What is the right-hand rule, you might ask? Well, it’s a system based on how you wrap your right hand like this.”

“Ha, student. That’s enough for now, let’s stop here….”

“Wrap your four fingers from the electric field towards the magnetic field, and point your thumb in the direction of the Poynting vector. Now, no matter where you calculate, the direction of energy will be focused on the light bulb. And….”

“Excuse me, student?”

“…the transmission speed of this electromagnetic field is the same as light. Let’s say I place both the battery and the switch here in the Stellarium, and the light bulb in the northern Adelwein star system. Ignoring the existence of a black hole in between, the straight-line distance is 80,000 light years, so if I turn on the switch here, the light bulb will only light up 80,000 years later….”

“Student-!!”

“Uh, yes?”

As I was deeply immersed in my explanation, I stopped speaking upon hearing the interviewer’s voice.

I still had more to explain.

“That’s enough. More than enough!”

“But I haven’t….”

“It’s fine!!”

The interviewer waved his hand desperately. It seemed the interview time was almost over.

“Didn’t you say you hadn’t done any preparatory work just a moment ago?”

“Right, I didn’t.”

Since there’s no record of it, it’s correct that I didn’t.

“What you just explained seems to be beyond the academia course?”

Ah.

Right.

This wasn’t a grad school.

In an attempt to impress the interviewer on the far right, I had unnecessarily elongated my explanation.

“…I was just curious and looked it up on my own.”

I concocted a suitable excuse.

The two interviewers were now wiping their foreheads with handkerchiefs, sweat pouring down like rain.

Strange, it didn’t seem like the heater was turned up that high.

Anyway, I returned to my original state and prepared for the next question. Probably, they would ask about future plans or motivation for applying.

It was when I was rehearsing the prepared lines in my head.

The interviewer seated at the far right pointed at the blackboard and asked,

“Do you know how this Poynting vector is derived?”

“Of course.”

I couldn’t stand not knowing the derivation process.

Looking at the message in the air, I let out a hollow laugh.

“Damn it.”

I had botched my interview.

I had talked too much in front of the interviewers, surely leaving a negative impression.

It was obvious without even seeing it.

I had failed.

Even if I received a huge amount of Pron now, there was nowhere to use it.

If I were to fail the Stellarium test like this, there was no other option but to give birth to an Outer God’s child.

Could it be, did Cartesia give me dowry just now?

Should I really prepare my mind?

“….”

No, I still didn’t know.

All was left to the hands of heaven, since I had done everything I could, all that I could do was wait.

As I waited in the interview waiting room with an anxious heart, the other students began to enter.

“How was the interview?”

Among them was Zelnya.

Seeing my bitter face, Zelnya sat next to me with a seductive smile.

“I can tell just by your face.”

“…”

“See, didn’t I tell you?”

Everything can change in an instant.

Upon hearing those words, I momentarily wanted to turn this place upside down. I felt like I understood why the lineage of Adelwein was described as having a vile character in the novel.

“It is unfortunate.”

Zelnya smiled. She seemed certain of my failure.

“Thank you for your hard work. Please pack your belongings and head home.”

The examiner’s clichéd farewell didn’t feel welcoming because I was uncertain about the outcome. I had thought that, at the very least, I would feel happy once the entrance tests were over, but all I was left with was a sense of emptiness.

Eh, whatever. Let it be what it will be.

I grabbed my bag and left in a hurry. Then, feeling the urgent need, I made my way to the washroom.

“Oh my,”

There, I encountered an unexpected figure.

“Hehe.”

It was the interviewer who had bombarded me with questions about my major during the interview.

“It’s that student from before.”

I awkwardly smiled and bowed my head.

“Such an interesting time. Well, it didn’t feel like an interview at all. Hahaha.”

He tidied up his shirt while looking in the mirror. His casually dressed appearance seemed more like that of an enlightened immortal who had transcended worldly affairs than a teacher or professor.

“The evaluation itself ended right there. Probably, the student’s pass or fail was decided on the spot.”

“Yes….”

“If there’s something I still want to say out of concern… It’s that you explained the Poynting vector in a way that was too complex earlier.”

“…was it?”

“Yes. Try to cultivate intuition before diving into the formulas.”

The interviewer methodically pointed out the areas that were lacking.

The level was astounding. Insight that could never come from academia’s teachers who have only skimmed the surface of science.

The eloquence of an expert.

“If you had understood just the physical meaning, I wouldn’t have asked about the derivation process. Hehe. It was quite a sight when the other interviewers gasped and tried to flee….”

“…hahaha.”

It meant that I should have spoken briefly and concisely to keep them from getting bored.

Tak. Tak.

The interviewer, having washed his hands, lightly shook off the water and continued speaking.

“You, student, your name is Aidel, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why we didn’t talk about your motivation for applying or your future aspirations during the interview?”

Asking about motivation and the future is a given.

Knowing this, I had prepared for it too, but it turned out that I only went through the major-specific question, skipping the character interview.

I thought it was because ‘there wasn’t enough time for the interview’.

“You are wrong.”

But it turns out that wasn’t the case.

“There was no need to ask, so I didn’t.”

After the long and grueling entrance test schedule came to an end, I collapsed as if possessed by a ghost.

“I am dying.”

“Didn’t you push yourself during this time? It’s natural to feel sick now that the tension has been released.”

Despite advancements in the era, the human body has hardly changed. It seems the author didn’t consider concepts like transhumanism, which could have been interesting. The genetic level of humanity remains the same here as it is in reality.

Therefore, the mechanism by which humans contract diseases was the same, and the methods of rest were not much different either.

Sonia, changing the wet towel on my forehead as I lay in bed, said,

“Please recover quickly.”

“What’s there to recover from…”

“Excuse me, it seems it’s about time for me to replace my vocal cords as well. Hope you get better soon.”

The fever wasn’t an ordinary one. Even if a wet towel was placed on the forehead for just 10 minutes, it quickly turned hot.

Sonia put down the wet towel again. She wrung out the moisture and touched my forehead with her hand.

How embarrassing.

“It’s difficult to measure accurately.”

With a heave, Sonia got up.

She pressed her forehead against mine. It felt cool, yet warmer than steel.

“A robot taking the liberty to put its forehead on a human’s head.”

“Are you demeaning your own care, being a human?”

Sonia still looked down at me with our foreheads pressed together. We were so close that our noses could almost touch.

“Move.”

“…”

“You are heavy, so move…”

“39.8 degrees.”

Only then did Sonia tilt her forehead back and grab the wet towel.

Slap! Unlike before, she carelessly placed the towel on my head.

“Both of you are something.”

And there was someone who had been watching us from the beginning to the end.

“When did you two become so close?”

It was Ceti. Ceti approached us with a look of displeasure.

Tuk.

She extended a crude letter towards me.

“This was lying at the door.”

“What is that?”

“I don’t know. It just had your name on it. Who sends a handwritten letter in this day and age?

“Maybe a love letter?”

“What? A love letter? Pfft, damn. Cough, pfft. Cough…. Ahahahaha!!!”

Ignoring her laugh, I opened the letter.

And there, it contained something unexpected.

[There is an additional interview. It is not mandatory, but should you be interested, you are welcome to visit the address below at your convenience.]

[A professor of physics interested in you.]

Now, I could be sure of who I had met at the interview that day.

Yes….

There couldn’t be anyone else who would play such a prank.