"Is there even a difference? I assume you mean whether technology will one day surpass gifts?"

"Well, textbook states that science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Whereas magic is the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces."

"F*ck textbook, tell me what YOU think."

Dr. Angello responded seemingly getting angry over Liam not forming his own opinions, and relying on some book that he must have memorized.

"I suppose the difference between science and magic is that science endeavors to understand phenomena and reproduce them, but magic is the manipulation of forces that are not fully understood. Hence science is a sword; magic is a sword without a hilt."

"But as magic is considered to be supernatural which is attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature, I would say magic would win between the two."

"NONSENSE!"

"Science is a language that crosses borders, traverses languages, and brings together cultures."

"For example, take the earliest form of the development of human civilization; fire. It can be seen as the major factor in the agrarian revolution."

"Making fire to generate heat and light made it possible for people to cook food, simultaneously increasing the variety and availability of nutrients and reducing disease by killing organisms in the food. The heat produced would also help people stay warm in cold weather, enabling them to live in cooler climates."

"Yes, one could make a case that there are abilities that dwarf what we are capable of understanding, but most gifted don't even know how to use their abilities properly; leaving their potential untapped for the remainder of their life."

"Take the most common elemental ability; to create fire. If you ask most of them how their ability works, they can hardly give you a coherent sentence. They just create fire, and that's about it. That is probably what most would say."

"But the real smarter ones utilise their knowledge of science, asking the real questions; what is fire? Why does it burn? As a result, they not only think of the outcome but grasp the mechanisms to give rise to a stronger power. One can't become stronger if they can't even understand the principles behind their ability."

"Thus, science can be said to be a refined form of magic. As you said, if science is a sword then magic is a sword without a hilt. But I would rather have a complete weapon over a dud."

"What I'm trying to say is that which we can comprehend is far more useful than that which we can not." Dr. Angello said with his arms spread out, reaffirming his belief.

"Even though you got the answer wrong, I like your thinking kid, are you really in D-class?"

"...Yes"

"No matter, I accept you into our ranks. I'm expecting big things from you."

"...Are you sure you're not just accepting me because you need to fill the quota?"

"..."

"I have no idea what you mean." Dr. Angello said and started whistling.

"I heard that due to a lack of members there's a chance for your club to get shut down."

"Belay that remark! They just don't appreciate the beauty of science! But they will understand when we win this year's academic decathlon! They'll have no choice but to increase our budget and give me my well-deserved pay raise."

"OI, YOU MEAT-HEAD PUT THAT DOWN! Mr Holdsworth, feel free to take a look around while I deal with this student."

"YOU'RE ON THIN ICE DELAROSA, DON'T MAKE ME TAKE OFF MY SANDAL!"

"..."

'What did I get myself into?' Liam thought starting to regret his decision a little.

"Is your name Liam?"

A voice interrupted Liam from his thoughts.

He turned his head to notice a short tan girl with prominent cheekbones and glossy black hair, most likely of Asian descent, but could not make out exactly where she was from.

"Apologies for eavesdropping, but I was impressed with what you said. The analogy could have used some work, but overall it was very impressive."

"Also, don't mind our instructor, he asks everyone that question. As you can see, he's sort of biased."

"And a bit coocoo for science it seems." Liam retorted raising an eyebrow.

"Can't blame him really... he's worked hard his entire life to prove himself, just to be overshadowed by gifted in each corner."

"Oh right, I'm Alexa Primintel, final year student, A-class. Pleasure to meet you."

"Liam Holdsworth, final year student, D-class. Nice to meet you too. If you don't mind my asking, where are you from?"

"I was born in district 8, but my family relocated to this district shortly after."

"...I mean what's your background."

"Ah, I'm Filipino, my great great great grandparents were originally from a country called the Philippines before... you know."

"Sorry to hear that, my mom's great great grandparents were from South Africa before it was overrun by beasts. And my dad's great great grandparents were from France before the bombings."

"Ok... it's not a competition. Anyway, would you like a tour?"

"Why not."

"We're always working on something new, or trying to improve upon something. For example, over here we have this device here which is redesigned from the phoropter, which is the device used to determine eyeglass prescriptions. A design that hasn't changed in the last few centuries."

"We've miniaturized the design to be portable so people don't have to go all the way to an ophthalmologist just to get a prescription. It's one of the several inventions we have to submit in the academic decathlon at the end of the school year. I'm voting for the portable geodesic dome, but that's still a work in progress."

"Over there you can see some of our fellow students dissecting that Callidryas Oxus, a cross between a frog, beetle, and some other breeds. It's mainly so our junior students learn more about the anatomy of complex organisms."

"Woah, and what's this? Some cool object that prints out snacks?"

"No, that's the vending machine."

"..."

"Over here we have our past and failed inventions, pay them no mind. Some I can't even believe they were given the green light. I mean who the hell needs a toilet that tells you a joke every time you flush."

"We've tried our best recruit a lot of talented students this year. It's humiliating always losing back to back."

"No matter what, this year we have to win. We'll show that preppy private school that they aren't better than us."

"Oh right, you mentioned you were from A-class. You're not what I expected. Usually they would be the stuck up snobs thinking that they are better than everyone.

"You read too much novels."

"Last but not least on our tour is my personal favorite, and what we like to call, "The War Room". Here we build and improve upon gadgets that can even give most of the gifted in the school a run for their money."

"You've probably seen a few of them being used in rank wars."

"And this baby right here is our greatest invention so far."

"What in the Tony Stark is that?"

___________________

UnpaidAuthor:

Double digit chapters! Apology for late uploads, dealing with last exams before the Christmas Holiday.

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