Sadie struggled for a moment to find an excuse that would satisfy the austere teacher. She was tempted to try and turn invisible right then and there, but she didn't think of bringing eucalyptus leaves with her.
After remaining silent for a few seconds, Sadie said. "I apologize for my tardiness, I am late because... I've been researching how sloths turn invisible?"
Miss Catherine eyed her skeptically for a moment before responding, "How surprising, a physics problem intrigues our usually lazy student. How did that come to be?"
Sadie shrugged, and Miss Catherine explained after a hefty sigh. "Technically, sloths don't actually turn invisible, they make use of camouflage like in our military."
"How does that work exactly?" Sadie asked, humoring her teacher.
"Very well, I'll answer you since your biology teacher is not available." Miss Catherine responded. "Sloth hairs have a unique structure that involves microcracks, these microcracks allow them to have a mutualistic ectosymbiotic relationship with the ecosystem growing on their backs, promoting the growth of fungi and algae.
As a result, the sloth's fur takes on a green tinge, allowing them to blend seamlessly into the rainforest canopy. This, combined with the sloth's slow movement and their musty forest scent, means that sloths usually go undetected by predators who rely on sight."
Sadie nodded automatically during the entire explanation while hugging her books, relieved that her impromptu excuse held up to scrutiny. "Yes, that's exactly what I've read." She said, trying to seem agreeable.
"Go sit down, Miss Sadie," the teacher scolded before continuing her lecture. " The fungi are not alone in colonizing this dense fur - small Cryptoses moths, too, dwell between the matted strands in great profusion. Run your hand down the sloth's back and more than a hundred moths might erupt into sudden flight, in an explosion of dull colors and erratic motion as they burst forth from the stillness of the sloth."
Sadie moved cautiously towards her corner, her eyes scanning the crowd for any sign of Cynthia, but she was nowhere to be seen. Concerned for her friend's well-being, she speculated that Cynthia might be recovering from the beating they've taken, which seemed like the most likely explanation for her absence. Part of her felt relieved not to have to face her today, especially after their last awkward interaction.
Settling into her desk, Sadie rested her legs, still feeling the residual tension from last night. Her desk was positioned right under the coat hanger, and she felt an intense urge to latch onto something, so she reached with both her arms and grabbed onto the hanger as she sprawled in her chair like a woman in labor.
She felt squeezed inside, finding the desk too small for her, as if she had outgrown its confines.
As she shifted her attention to the rest of the room, she noticed students turning around and giving her nasty looks, and she began to question herself, wondering about the cause of their stares. "Did I thoroughly wash my arms or is there still residue of eucalyptus in some crevice, blotching my skin with invisible patches?"
She found it hard to check her arms under their constant gaze so she decided instead to reach for her ultra-long-sleeved sweater, which she always left behind as a backup on the hanger.
However, the true reason for their annoyance became evident as Sadie looked at the blackboard which had been empty before her entrance and which now was filled entirely with concepts and equations relating to the means of achieving true invisibility:
Here are the basic equations we'll consider:
1. Gauss's Law for Electricity:
∇ · E = ρ / ε₀
2. Gauss's Law for Magnetism:
∇ · B = 0
3. Faraday's Law of Electromagnetic Induction:
∇ × E = - ∂B / ∂t
4. Ampere's Law with Maxwell's Addition:
∇ × B = μ₀(J + ε₀∂E / ∂t)
In these equations:
- E represents the electric field vector.
- B represents the magnetic field vector.
- ρ is the electric charge density.
- J is the current density.
- ε₀ is the vacuum permittivity (electric constant).
- μ₀ is the vacuum permeability (magnetic constant).
As Sadie gazed at the equations, they seemed utterly alien to her. Doubts crept in her mind, "Perhaps the watch was right in rating my intelligence a 3." She reluctantly admitted to herself as her confidence wavered.
Miss Catherine was in her drill sergeant mode, delving into the theoretical basis and the physics behind newly researched military technology which was known as cloak camouflage. She seemed to be adamant in asserting the supremacy of physics over biology.
"The goal of the martial physicists, the best minds in our district, was to manipulate electric and magnetic fields around an object to prevent light scattering and reflection, rendering the object invisible to external observers. This is achieved by creating metamaterials that bend light around the object, effectively creating a cloaking effect.
Such metamaterials with negative refractive indexes are not found in nature. They are artificially engineered by manipulating their internal structures on a subwavelength scale.
The concept of metamaterials negative refractive index which leads to the bending of light in unusual ways can be understood through the application of Maxwell's equations which I've inscribed on the board. They are a set of four fundamental equations describing the behavior of electromagnetic fields."
The bell rang, interrupting the fired-up teacher with such a loud ringing that she almost scolded the audible round steel. But she came to her senses soon enough, declaring to students rushing towards the exit:
"Study hard! In our following periods we will learn the use of advanced mathematical methods used to optimize the structure of the metamaterial for the desired invisibility effect, such as partial differential equations, transformation optics, and numerical simulations."
Her intense passion for the subject made Sadie nervous, "yet another reason to make sure I do not reveal my powers, I don't want to end up confined under a loop as a test subject for Miss Catherine." Then suddenly, Sadie felt a vibration on her wrist.
**level up
Time Manipulation: Level 3 (Experience: 10/50)
- Passive skill that enhances the effectiveness and duration of time disruption ability.**
"One period with Miss Catherine was enough to level up! Boredom can be very rewarding," Sadie thought. She did not even need to understand a single equation to get benefits, all she had to do was resist falling asleep.
When Sadie noticed Jessica coming towards her, she hurried in burying her hands in her sleeves to hide the watch.
"You look greener than usual today, Sadie" commented Jessica.
"I become green with envy every time I look at you Jess." Sadie responded as she closed her notebook and flipped it inside her bag."
"You might want to reconsider walking home alone from now on."
Sadie's eyebrow shot up with intrigue. "Yeah? Why is that?" she asked.
"A woman was murdered in the 13th alley, just a few blocks away from our bakery, around the same time you were with us," revealed Jessica.
Sadie felt a chill run down her spine. "How was she killed?" Sadie asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"With a dagger straight to the heart, in front of her kid." replied Jessica, her tone grim.
"The kid in the blue hat," Sadie thought to herself, the information affirming her suspicions, her heart sank as she imagined the horror the child must be going through.
"It seems like a crime of passion." Jessica continued. "The victim, Ophelia, was known to live in poverty, and the suspect is believed to be the unknown father of her child, a man she never married."
"Are there search efforts for the kid?"
Jessica looked a bit dumbfounded by Sadie's innocence, "I doubt the police will investigate any further," she finally answered. "Since the child has no relatives of worth, there won't be much pressure on them to resume the case."
Sadie felt a surge of fury and frustration. "That is not just," she muttered, clenching her fists until the knuckles whitened. She could feel her veins coursing like molten lava, as if every tendon and ligament in her body was straining against the tension of her bones, and suddenly her finger bones and toe bones jutted forth from her hands and feet, forming appalling claws.
The transformation took hold of her in an instant, painless and sudden, and left her gasping, stunned by what had just come over her. Her hands were covered from sight by the sleeves, but she felt her toe claws ripping through her boots, making a clinking sound on the floor.
"I think you dropped something." Jessica said as she bent under Sadie's desk.
Sadie froze in place, incapable of response. Crouching beneath the table, Jessica found no fallen object, but something else caught her eye. Gazing at Sadie's boots, she saw three curved blades attached on each, ending in a collective sharp tip.
The blades glinted dully in the half-light of the room. A tremor ran through Sadie's stiff frame as Jessica studied the curious contraptions strapped to her feet.
Finally Jessica rose, meeting Sadie's rigid stare. Wordlessly she reached out and grasped Sadie's arm, feeling the panicked thrum of her pulse beneath cold skin. "Nice Boots!" She commented, "Where did you get them from?"
Sadie exhaled, finally able to breathe again. "From my closet," She answered hastily, "and I doubt they'd fit you."
"Such audacity!" Jessica reacted as she felt snobbed by the class freak. But Sadie was already halfway out of the door.
Sadie knew the claws would eventually retract, leaving her with ruined boots. Fury propelled her forward as she rushed to her house. If she was forced to live, then the world would have to change.
She vowed her claws would leave their marks, disrupt the complacency that allowed such injustice to persist. One mark, then another, until the filth was banished and a world worth living in emerged.
As she passed by the alley where the crime had taken place, she noticed crumbs of discarded pastries forming a trail. She followed it, pausing at the backdoor of a butcher's shop disturbingly close to her own home.
She imagined what could be behind the door. Blood flooding the bare concrete floor, thickening in slaughter spots. Flies congregating on raw meat hanging from hooks. Is the kid locked inside? Is he being abused behind the white steel door? She was afraid that if she focused enough, she would be able to hear his screaming.
So she listened, and a cry for rescue was heard, but it didn't come from the location of the butchery.
Sadie heard a faint squeaking coming from Miss Josephine's bathroom. Curiosity getting the better of her, she decided to peek through the window. To her horror, she saw Big Mac writhing in a bucket of water!
Without a moment's hesitation, she shoved against the blurry window with all her might, feeling the dull ache as shards of glass embedded in her outstretched arm.
Still she attempted to lunge through the gap, desperately trying to reach the struggling rat, but the iron bars prevented her, forcing her to watch in mute horror as her dear friend started to take his last gasps of air.
The feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her as she remained trapped behind the imprisoning panes of glass.
But then, a sudden peace affected her mind, and everything started to slow down.