The First Paper (2)
Research labs in the sciences fall into two broad categories. One is the theory lab. The other is the experiment lab. In a theory lab, the focus is on developing theories—whether by deriving equations by hand or running computer simulations. In contrast, an experiment lab revolves around actual experiments: building things, mixing substances, and analyzing materials.
“As you already know, Idel, our lab is a theory lab.”
“Does that mean financial support will be difficult?”
“Now, now.” Professor Feynman rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “Black Spheres are being discovered one after another. Word is they’ve already found around twenty.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
“Exactly. In any case, analyzing the physical properties of those Black Spheres isn’t our job.”
The role of theoretical scientists was to identify data that existing theories couldn’t explain and construct new theories to encompass it.
“So there’s nothing for us to do until then?”
“Haha, my dear student. The analysis is already complete.”
Professor Feynman handed me a stack of papers bound together. “Read this.”
It was a report summarizing everything known about the Ether Belt and the Black Spheres—sixty pages in total. Thanks to my accelerated cognition, I finished it in an instant.
“Done already?”
“Yes.”
The professor smiled with satisfaction. “What stood out to you the most?”
I quickly ran the calculations. Among the theories that would have been useful in the latter half of Outer God Slayer, one clue appeared in this report.
“……The replication phenomenon.”
I spoke. “When Ether is fed into a Black Sphere, it absorbs everything and then re-emits it. But judging from the emission spectrum, it isn’t electromagnetic radiation. Something else is being radiated.”
“Good heavens. You can see that?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “The pattern indicates gravitational waves.”
“You figured that out too?”
“I’ve taken an interest.”
Enough to earn a doctorate in it.
“These aren’t ordinary gravitational waves. There’s noise mixed in.”
“And that noise is what we need to explain.”
Professor Feynman nodded at my words. What we had to do next was now crystal clear.
***
Four fundamental interactions exist in the universe: gravity, electromagnetism, the weak force, and the strong force. Electromagnetism and the weak force have been proven to unify into the electroweak force. In other words, contrary to popular belief, there are strictly speaking only three fundamental forces in nature. Subsequently, the strong force and the electroweak force were also unified. Now only two forces remain in nature.
The last one is gravity. This bastard refuses to mix with the other three. In short, it cannot be unified.
Gravity: Um, I think the unified field theory is wrong.
Gravity, what are you saying? Countless theories like string theory have been invented, yet no experimental evidence has been found. The reason? It’s obvious. To verify a grand unified theory that includes gravity, you’d need a particle accelerator at least the size of the solar system. In other words, they can’t run the experiment because they lack the money.
However, what humanity here can do is simply pick up the scraps that fall from the Outer Gods. The Black Sphere, a miniature version of a black hole, exhibited radiation similar to Hawking radiation yet fundamentally different. If we could determine why this radiation occurs, it would provide a groundbreaking breakthrough for developing the Graviton Bomb.
I had to make this known to the world. With that resolve, I stopped going to school and commuted to the lab for a week. (Of course, I sent Seti and Rustilla DMs to confirm I was still alive.)
I distinctly remember waking up in the morning, but before I knew it, evening had arrived.
“How does it look after plotting on the computer?”
We held a lab meeting without even eating. I sipped my coffee and answered.
“The radiation pressure drops sharply after a certain range. It’s completely different from the prediction.”
“What’s the pattern?”
“It decreases in inverse proportion to the sixth power of the distance.”
“Do you know what that means?”
“It means the Outer Gods live in seven dimensions.”
“Oh-ho.” Professor Feynman let out an admiring sound. “Your intuition is remarkable. The more I see, the more fascinating you are.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Even at Stellarium, I’ve never seen an Academia student this exceptional.”
Even as he said that, the professor didn’t seem as surprised as one might expect. Of course not. He was a genius himself. Only a genius would think of using a high school student as a lab intern. No—only a genius could.
Thanks to him, I was conducting research that should have begun in college while still in Academia. A high school student as first author on an SCI paper? At this rate, I might even receive a doctorate by the time others were graduating college.
The results came sooner than expected.
“Idel… I think this is correct.”
A month had passed since I stopped going to school. After the professor and I researched until our underwear practically rotted, we completed the Hamiltonian describing the gravity-ether entanglement of the Black Sphere. This theoretical model would later become the signal flare for the development of the Graviton Bomb.
The Feynman-Rheinland Model had arrived.
***
“That guy isn’t showing up?”
Zernya ground her teeth. Seti merely shrugged, while Rustilla only let out a sigh.
“Why? Do you miss our oppa?”
“Miss him, my ass.”
“Then why are you looking for him?”
“That’s……”
She was at a loss for words. Right. Why was she looking for him?
“You also skipped the week after midterms. Maybe it’s the same reason.”
At Seti’s blunt remark, Zernya’s eyes widened. Right after midterms ended, Zernya had skipped an entire week of classes out of sheer embarrassment. Since there was nothing new to learn in school classes anyway, skipping caused no real problems. That didn’t mean she had been lazing around. She had holed up in her room, devising plans to beat Idel. She reviewed her study methods. She examined how she allocated her time. The score gap wasn’t that large to begin with. If she did well, she could perfectly overturn the results on the final exam.
She had returned with her pride fully recharged, only to find him gone? Why?
It was clearly his way of messing with her.
“……”
Her gaze sharpened. Zernya shot a piercing glare at Rustilla. Without that girl, she might have taken first place. The points she lost at the end had been too significant.
“Haa.”
What was the point of getting angry at someone who wasn’t even first place? Zernya abandoned the idea of picking a fight with Rustilla. What mattered more was finding out where Idel was. Why wasn’t he coming to school? If she wanted to know, she had no choice but to ask Seti or Rustilla. The homeroom teacher only said he was on medical leave and didn’t know his whereabouts. But asking those two would require swallowing her pride, and she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
And it was fortunate she hadn’t asked.
“Everyone, starting today, Idel will be returning to school.”
At the single sentence from homeroom teacher Kendra, Zernya kicked her chair and shot to her feet.
“Adelbein, why are you standing?”
Ah, this damned situation.
“……I need to use the restroom.”
“O-oh. Go ahead.”
Several students, including Seti, snickered. Zernya fled the classroom as if escaping.
“Annoying, annoying, annoying……”
She clenched her teeth. Ever since meeting that guy, nothing had gone smoothly. If she ended the semester in second place, it would be a massive humiliation. She could still get into medical school, but that would be it. After all, the students who studied well all went to medical programs. Idel would surely enter the pre-med track too, and she would have to face him there again.
“Hmm, hmm.”
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Having someone trailing just behind her rather than running alone might help fuel her competitive spirit. She realized that having a rival could actually be enjoyable.
But the one who always took first place had to be herself. There was no need to feel discouraged over one or two losses. She just had to take it back.
While she was pacing the hallway, thinking of Idel’s face—
“What are you doing?”
Black bobbed hair. Golden eyes. Tall for his age. Idel himself had appeared.
Though momentarily flustered, Zernya calmly retorted.
“What are you doing here?”
“Coming to school.”
“Honestly, this is ridiculous. It’s morning assembly time right now. You’re late.”
“Class hasn’t started yet, has it?”
“So?”
“Then I’m not late.”
Zernya’s mouth fell open. Just who was this irresponsible guy? He wasn’t even wearing the school uniform—just a dress shirt and slacks. The plain sweatshirt didn’t give off a delinquent vibe, but the fact that his outfit was different was what mattered. It was more than enough to draw attention.
“Student, let’s go inside.”
“No, seriously, what the hell……”
Carrying only a lightweight laptop, Idel boldly flung open the back door. After greeting the stunned students and the homeroom teacher with a slight bow, he sat down next to Seti.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come to school until now, ma’am.”
“No, that’s not it…… Are you feeling better?”
“Yes. I’m all better now.”
While others might not notice, Kendra—who loved meddling in her students’ affairs—could tell. Idel’s eyes didn’t look good. There was a faint shadow beneath them. His illness hadn’t fully healed yet.
As soon as assembly ended, Kendra approached Idel’s desk and asked, “Idel, if you’re tired, why don’t you go home and rest today?”
“I’m fine.”
“Really? You don’t look well.”
Idel tapped away at his laptop and smiled faintly. It was a decadent smile.
“I’ll probably need to take medical leave again in the second semester. Since there are required courses, I have to come to school if I want to graduate properly.”
“Even so……”
Only then did Zernya begin to notice it too. Idel’s voice was quieter than usual. Even after Kendra left, Idel continued working on something, tapping away at his laptop screen.
Zernya pretended to go get water and secretly followed behind him.
[Stellarium Academia Homepage]
[Graduation – Early Graduation]
Wait a second. Just what was he looking at……?