Bobby stared at the orange-tinted bottle, with a post-it note taped on1“An orally disintegrating tablet. Do not chew or swallow. FDA approved. Do not have tea or cola. May cause drowsiness. Do not keep in the bathroom or humid places. 2 mg (4 pills) a day; 2 pills a meal. keep a weight log. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one.”. He thought about the nightmare of a journey of getting these pills. Trying to find a pharmacy, but all the ones in the ecotype shut down, and leaving the city is impossible. Then they went to Amanda’s research clinic, and then she changed the type of pill, and told him to keep a weight log. When the adventure was over, it was nearly one in the morning.
Bobby leaned back in the chair. Class will start soon, and he was still not sure if he should take these pills. Magic is real, and his schizophrenia was real. But… “It doesn’t matter,” Bobby murmured, looking at the ‘people’ passing by. A person with three heads; a cobra, lion, and goat head, popping out of a suit with a white shirt. “I mean… there is no way that is real, right?” He remembered Amanda’s warning before he got out of her car: “it will take several weeks to see the full benefits, but its much safer than the other pill I originally prescribed.”
Bobby was speechless as he continued seeing more normal people take their seat. He soon noticed that he didn’t see the cobra-lion-goat “person.” “I mean… this whole school is just some illusion,” he murmured, eyeing everything. At least the seat under him was real. Real enough anyway.
He continued looking around. The people here seem decent enough, not people from the city. They didn’t seem mindless and hopeless. Nor were they loud and bustling like people from the city. The city is loud and dirty, unlike this clean and quiet classroom. It was silent. Silent enough to hear flipping papers and clicks mouses.
‘Oh shit,’ Bobby thought, scrambling to prepare his own notes. Bobby never took notes before, let alone on paper. ‘I barely remember how to write,’ he thought. Bobby sighed, ‘this would be so much easier if I had a laptop.’
“Now, if I may have your attention, please.” A loud voice boomed across the room, and soon, many heads popped up, as they stopped burrowing in their notes. “Much, much better,” Professor Dave said. He was wearing a navy suit and black shoes, and an equally tacky red cane, engraved with gold. “My name is Professor Dave, and I am the current acting dean,” he said tapping the cane on the floor. “I will also be your professor for this class. Yes, your permanent professor. I honestly don’t think America’s education is up to par with the rest of the world, but that’s for another time.”
He snapped his fingers, teleporting to the back of the classroom, drawing many heads. “Look forward, everything will be on the screen,” he said, lifting his cane. And soon, a large TV screen showed many names and pictures. “Granted, I am your permanent professor, but I will not be teaching all the subjects. I will only be teaching Magic Theory, Manifestation, Realization, and Cosmic Rune Studies. I will also overview all your testing. Which is just one. The other professors will teach the other useless subjects.” Professor Dave saw a bunch of students scribble down everything he said. “No need to take notes just yet. There will be a pamphlet that explains more than I’m saying.”
He snapped, again teleporting to the front of the room. “New students, yes, you are new students. I forgot that you need more help than the seniors.” He stared pitifully at the crowd. “Stop writing for a moment.” Seeing that no one was writing anymore, he snapped again. Multiple pamphlets popped out of thin air, landing squarely on top of the students desks. “Everything I just said is in it. Now are there any questions?”
“What do you mean by one test?” Bobby blurted out. Many heads snapped in his direction, making him feel uncomfortable. Bobby slightly sank into his seat, ‘it is a sin to ask a question in a lecture?’
Professor Dave stared at Bobby, “You are correct. This test is not for grading per a say. Nor is it meant to test your knowledge, test-taking skills, nor your creativity,” he said, pacing back and forth in front of the large-as-a-wall TV screen. He stopped, staring at the class, “it will sort the class into types and benefits. The pamphlet will explain more; therefore, you should read it in your own time. And I will inform the class about it when the time comes.”
“Next, on the agenda is the actual lecture. Now that the formalities are done, or rather the lack of, I will discuss and demonstrate magic. He tapped his cane against the floor, and the PowerPoint moved to the next slide- a slide titled, “Origins of Magic” and Professor Dave lift this cane, pointing to the screen, “now you should take notes. I will not give a pamphlet or notes explaining the subject matter from here on out.”
“Now, to use magic, magic must be defined. Is there anyone willing to guess the definition of magic?” The silent room was soon filled with scribbling pens and clattering keyboards. He gazed across the room, seeing only one student who stared into empty space. Ignoring him, he continued. “Magic is energy, just another form of energy. That is why some of you will take physics and thermodynamics in the second year, but that’s far off.” His cane tapped the TV screen, going to the next slide. “Now the origin of magic is more… Hmm what’s the word I am looking for, any volunteers?”
Several heads looked up and read the screen. A whisper escaped from the crowd, barely audible, but enough to wake up Bobby, who started to scribble down what he saw on the large screen. “Yes, mysterious,” Professor Dave said, nodding. “The origin of magic is more mysterious than its own uses and self-identity. Since this world is cause and effect, what causes magic? Currently there is no correct answer.”
“Granted,” he said with a smile, “I am only telling you this, so you won’t look like fools to the honor students. I taught them, yes, I am teaching them also, multiple theories where it can come from, like some think it come from the Nile in Egypt and how Jews took it and made Exodus, or how it spawned from the cosmos. Ancient Chinese Dynasties clearly had it but only have alchemy now.” He shook his head, “But I haven’t told them that the universe is cause and effect. Any guesses as for why I have not?”
The crowd’s scribbles and clicks soon stopped. “Any guess is a good guess, and I would prefer to hear something rather than nothing,” Professor Dave said, standing still as he stared at the crowd. Soon the room became completely silent.
“Because magic always comes from inside, to outside. Magic is energy, knowing that, the second and third rule of energy, or rather thermodynamics, can also be applied. The second law of thermodynamics states that heat flows from high temperatures to low temperatures. Magic flows from places with magic to places with no magic.”
Professor Dave saw people continue to scribble. “Alright people, I am trying to raise thinkers and innovative students. If I wanted robots who could only take notes about what I said, I would directly copy the American School system!” A low laugh escaped from the crowd, along with a smile that escaped Professor Dave’s lips. It was soon concealed, but it could not hide his crows foot at the corners of his eyes.
“Now, what should you actually take away from this question?”
“Review the laws of thermodynamics,” said the crowd.
Professor Dave nodded, “That, and that you should interact and talk with the honor students. Sadly, there is not enough time to teach everything you should know, and you won’t be receiving textbooks until second year.” He tapped his cane against the floor, “hopefully, this small amount of information will help you with discussions.” He turned to face the TV screen, but it was still blank. He tapped his cane again, and the next slide finally showed. “Sorry for that, there shouldn’t be IT issues,” he murmured.
The screen read, “Manifestation vs Realization,” and had several bullet blank bullet points. “And now for the real magic,” Professor Dave said, as he turned and faced the room. He placed his cane against the TV screen. He clapped, “Okay class, pay a bit more attention to me.” Professor Dave waited until everyone looked up. He walked towards one end of the room and faced the crowd.
“There are two get across this room, however they both use the same magic, the same rune. The rune is teleportation. I will show you two more runes, however you will not learn more about runes until second year.” Professor Dave snapped his fingers and stood at the opposite wall. He snapped again and returned to his original spot. “That just now was manifestation,” and he snapped again, but this time he didn’t fully teleport. His upper body was completely separated from his lower body, but he stood at the other side of the room. “And this is realization,” he smiled, waiting for a reaction. But there was none. He snapped again and again, switching between his upper and lower body. But the class was still silent. He snapped for the last time, returning to normal. “What an inert crowd. Regardless, it is possible to teleport your entire body with realization, and even more. But I wanted to show you a more… stocking difference than something tame.”
Professor Dave picked up his cane and tapped it against the floor. Soon something showed up on the screen. And people scribbled it down. Completely unaware of Professor Dave’s unamused face.
“Since you all love to take notes, why don’t you use your notes to answer this question,” he said turning off the screen by tapping it twice. A low groan meandered out of the crowd’s mouth. “When taking the entrance test, all of you had your memories erased. Explain how either manifestation or realization could have been used to erase your memories. Nowadays, we use alchemy to erase your memories, since its less harmful. Why should people avoid casting magic on other people’s minds?” Professor Dave tapped his cane on the floor.
And no one responded. “Alright,” Professor Dave said. “Give me the answer in the next class, the 22nd. The class schedule is in the pamphlet also. You will all have the same schedule for this year.” He snapped his fingers, “Bobby,” he said, as he stood right next to Bobby, who was taking notes. It was a clone identical to the one standing in front of the class. Bobby did a double check, and almost reached out to great to touch him. “I need to talk to you about something. Do you have time right now?”
Slide notes:
“Manifestation vs Realization” Difference between realization and manifestation?
-
- Manifestation is when you see the system of the world and you see yourself as a part of it.
- Realization is where you are the system, and you can create within this system.
- They both follow the saying, “I think and therefore I am,”
- What is “I”?
- Manifestation would not think “I” as an individual ego, personality, or character. They will think of themselves as the will of the world. They are a part of something that is much larger than themselves.
- Realization magic would think “I” as an individual ego, however, they would not think about any other ego. They are the system, and the system is themselves.
- What is “I”?
- Realization is a naturally biased human, while manifestation is a naturally selfless human.
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