I had hoped to have at least a small break before I went into another project, but unfortunately I didn't have the luxury to laze around.
After narrowly escaping the paparazzi by using | Celerity | to escape, I went back to my apartment and read through a pamphlet that Sam gave me before I left. The pamphlet detailed everything I needed to know about Welcome Week at New Ragna, including move-in days and when the first day of classes started. If the dates in the pamphlet were correct, I had about a month to to fully learn the curriculum so I could, you know, teach the class without sounding like an idiot.
To be honest, I wasn't very confident.
I sighed and dropped my pencil onto the kitchen table. In front of me laid a mountain of textbooks provided by Katalina, and a half-used notebook with various equations and theories scribbled onto the pages.
"Hey Kat, what are the odds that I get fired if I show up and teach them Geometry instead?"
"You'd probably get kicked from the screening alone if you pulled that, but probably 100% unless you can somehow connect it to some facet of augmentation," I heard Katalina holler from the living room. "Like saying that geometric shapes are the foundation of augmentation or something stupid like that."
I glanced towards the living room and saw Katalina lounged onto my leather couch, her eyes glued to the hologram screen projected onto the wall.
The screen was showing a rerun of a famous TV show from the late 2000's; something about a bald guy mastering the elements? I don't really know anything about the show except for the flying bison which I thought had a cool design.
"You know, I only agreed because I thought I'd be getting your help on this."
"And I helped, did I not," her eyes remained glued to the screen. "I provided you with all of the necessary resources needed for you to learn."
"Yeah yeah, I gotcha. In order to learn, you must persuade yourself that you are simultaneously the stupidest and smartest person in the room." I recited in a loud voice.
"That sounded like a quote, you're too unimaginative to have come up with something so profound."
"I read it from one of Dr. Angela Wilsons biographies, it was a pretty enjoyable read."
"Oh? A biography from the New Ragna Director?" she instantly turned off the hologram screen and leaned onto the couch's arm rest so she could look at me. "And what did you find the most interesting?"
"Well, I found her views on the theory of augmentation to be pretty interesting. What I took away from it was that augmentation in itself is rooted in science, but it feels more akin to mage craft."
"Magic you say," Katalina scoffed. "To even mention the word 'magic' to a scholar at the institute would be akin to telling to their face that their research is blasphemous."
"But can Virantium be classified as a root of science if its historical origins are still unknown?" I rebutted.
"Scientists know how Virantium affects the causality of nature's natural course so it can still be classified under the umbrella of science."
"But do we know why Virantium affects nature at all?"
"It could be a chemical response or a molecular response, but scientists do not know a definitive answer as of now."
"But, you do."
I stared at Katalina awaiting an answer. Her iridescent eyes were glued onto mine, but she refused to speak up.
Was she debating on telling me the answer, or was she just simply waiting for me to cave in?
Silence prevailed in the room for a few moments before Katalina's mouth broke into a small smile.
"I do, but it would be no fun if I just told you."
Yep, of course she couldn't just tell me straight up. Though I knew it was coming, I was still a bit disappointed.
She must have seen I was a bit gloomy, because she got up from the couch and patted me on the back.
"If you're that disappointed, I can show you the answer."
"Is this your way of consoling me?" I brushed off her hand.
"Possibly, though the answer might be a bit closer than you think," she motioned towards the stack of books I pushed to the side. "If you know what I mean."
"Oh no, you don't mean..."
She let out a chuckle and went back to the couch to continue watching TV, and I reluctantly reached for the top of the book pile and grabbed a book to take notes on.
I opened the book and flipped to the first page.
'The Theory of Augmentation: the theory that by using Virantium as an initiator instead of a reactant, it will fully assimilate the blood of its host and grant its host the ability to manipulate nature, via kinetic particles, based on what is bestowed by the Augment.'
I scribbled onto my notebook and drew the diagram displayed on the top of the page.
'While the definitive reason behind this process is still unknown, what researchers believe is the cause of the phenomena is the subatomic particle change that occurs when the blood and liquidated Virantium come into contact with each other.'
'The fusion of the two's elemental components distort and change the chemical makeup of the blood itself: essentially creating a new chemical compound inside the body that attracts and creates kinetic particles. Once the kinetic particles are fully acclimated within its host, the host gains the ability to utilize kinetic abilities. The host's ability to create and attract these kinetic particles is purely genetic, but those who attract more kinetic particles will be bestowed with a more powerful kinetic ability.
I groaned aloud as I furiously wrote down what I thought was important from the passage, which so happened to be everything.
"So basically, Augmentation "augments" our body by creating a chemical compound in our body that attracts and creates Kinetic Particles that in turn bestow upon its host a kinetic-related ability. That ability is catered to the person's individuality and its power is dictated by how many kinetic particles your body creates and attracts." I mumbled to myself.
I reached over the table and procured the pamphlet that Sam gave me. I flipped through the pages until I came across the class schedule and agenda for the semester.
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"The Basics of Augmentation and Creation Schedule,"
Introduction to Augmentation: Units 1-5
---Test Due August 30th.
Augmentation and Real-World Applicability: Units 5-10
--Test due September 30th.
Augmentation Creation: Units 10-16
--Test Due October 30th.
Augment Training & Testing: Units 16-21
--Tests Due November 30th.
Projects & Student Exercises: Units 21-30
--Project Due December 30th.
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I leaned back in my chair and stretched my arms. For about 2 months I'll be the de facto leader of my classroom based on ability alone, but once my students get their augments it'll be a lot harder to control them.
'So that means I'll have to get my classes respect in 2 months, or I get killed. Or worse, fired.'
I shivered at the thought of such a disaster and continued studying, and I kept on studying until the warm embrace of sleep overwhelmed me, and by the the sun had already risen for the next day.
By the end of Week 1 my body had given up on me.
By the end of Week 2 I nearly passed out every day because of my lack of sleep.
And by the end of Week 3 I had resigned myself to my fate.
It was a grueling month of work but it was necessary. I needed to be the most knowledgeable person in the classroom to give my students a chance at life. The things I would be teaching them would determine the fate of this planet, and I couldn't afford to let this planet down.
I've already done so much in servitude to this Earth, another month wouldn't hurt in the slightest right? That's what I wanted to think, but it was naive thinking.
Looking back on it now, I think I should've stayed home. Would've been a lot less troublesome that way.