Ch.25Interview (4)

“The energy that powers the light bulb is a field.”

“A field?”

“Yes. An electromagnetic field.”

I wrote an equation on the blackboard.

“This is the Poynting vector.”

“…Poynting vector?”

“It’s a vector related to energy transport in electromagnetic fields.”

The two interviewers looked at each other and shrugged.

Neither of them had a good expression on their face.

Except for one.

“Can you explain what a vector is?”

The interviewer sitting on the far right nodded with interest as he asked.

“Of course.”

I answered confidently.

“A vector is a physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction. But that’s not the precise definition. Mathematically speaking, a vector could be defined as an element in a vector space.”

“Uh…”

“But that’s not our concern here. In physics, a vector is defined like this: a physical quantity that transforms like position under coordinate transformations.”

“Oh boy.”

As my explanation grew longer, the two interviewers frowned.

But it was too late.

Nothing could stop my explanation now that it had gained momentum.

“To return to the main point, electric and magnetic fields are fields. A field is a function with position vectors as its domain. We can establish a one-to-one correspondence between positions and information about electric and magnetic forces. And from this fact, we can determine the direction in which electromagnetic energy is transported at every point. This is where the Poynting vector comes in.”

I explained calmly. Then I continued drawing.

I drew electric field lines.

And overlaid the changing magnetic field lines on top.

The electronic blackboard, which had only contained a few lines of equations, now displayed a complex and intricate field.

Drawing this quickly and accurately was a difficult process, but it didn’t take me that long.

Because…

“Ah, no, that…”

I was using both hands.

After finishing the drawing, I turned around and said:

“This is a diagram showing the strength and direction of the field.”

As I looked around, I noticed that two of the interviewers had rather unpleasant expressions. They were frowning like children who needed to use the bathroom.

What’s wrong? Did I draw it incorrectly?

No, that didn’t seem to be the case. The drawing was correct.

“Hahaha.”

Meanwhile, only the interviewer sitting on the right laughed.

I sensed it immediately.

This person is different.

At least, he gives off a completely opposite vibe compared to the other two interviewers.

The bearing of a professor, not a teacher.

My radar, honed from spending half my life as a professor’s assistant, is quite accurate. I can distinguish scholars from non-scholars at a glance.

So even without knowing his face, I could tell.

That person must be the one I’ve been looking for.

“……”

I need to make a good impression on him.

I took a deep breath.

After finishing writing, I put down the electronic pen and continued my explanation.

Let’s see, where was I?

“The Poynting vector…”

That’s where I left off.

“The direction perpendicular to the electromagnetic field is the direction of the Poynting vector. Energy is transmitted in this direction. The method to determine this is simple. We use the right-hand rule.”

“S-student.”

“What is the right-hand rule? Well, it’s a coordinate system based on curling your right hand like this.”

“S-student. That’s enough. Please stop…”

“You curl your four fingers from the electric field toward the magnetic field, and position your thumb in the direction of the Poynting vector. Now, no matter which point you calculate from, the energy direction focuses on the light bulb. And…”

“Excuse me, student?”

“…the transmission speed of this electromagnetic field is the same as light. If I place a battery and switch here in Stellarium, and put the light bulb in the northern Adelbein planetary system. Ignoring the black hole between them, the straight-line distance is 80,000 light-years, so if I flip the switch here, the light bulb would only turn on after 80,000 years…”

“STUDENT-!!”

“Yes, yes?”

Deeply immersed in my explanation, I closed my mouth at the interviewer’s shout.

I still had a bit more to explain.

“That’s enough! It’s more than sufficient!”

“But I haven’t finished…”

“It’s fine!!”

The interviewer waved his hands desperately. It seemed the interview time was almost up.

“Didn’t you say earlier that you hadn’t done any advanced studies?”

“Yes, I haven’t.”

Since there’s no record, that’s correct.

“What you just explained seems beyond the Academia curriculum?”

Ah.

Right.

This wasn’t a graduate school interview.

In my eagerness to impress the interviewer sitting on the far right, I ended up giving an unnecessarily long explanation.

“…I was curious and looked it up on my own.”

I made up a suitable excuse.

By now, the two interviewers were wiping their foreheads with handkerchiefs. Sweat was pouring down their foreheads like rain.

Strange. I didn’t think the heater was turned up that high.

Anyway, I returned to normal and prepared for the next question. They would probably ask about my future plans or motivation for applying.

While I was mentally rehearsing my prepared answers, the interviewer sitting on the far right pointed at the blackboard and asked:

“About that Poynting vector, do you know how it’s derived?”

“Of course.”

I can’t resist explaining the derivation process.

***

[“This one’s more impressive than I thought. Without even belonging to our forces, he managed to drive two humans crazy at once.”]

[— ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ applauds you.]

[— You have received a donation of 5500 Fron!]

Looking at the message floating in the air, I let out a hollow laugh.

“Damn it.”

I messed up the interview.

By becoming a chatterbox in front of the interviewers, I must have left a terrible impression.

I didn’t need to see it to know.

I failed.

Even receiving a huge amount of Fron now was useless.

If I got kicked out of Stellarium, the only option left would be to have a child with an outsider.

Could it be that Cartesia gave this as some kind of dowry?

[— ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ smiles slyly.]

Should I really prepare myself for that?

“……”

No, I still don’t know.

Do your best and leave the rest to fate. I’ve done all I could, so all that’s left is to wait.

As I waited anxiously in the post-interview waiting room, other students began to arrive.

“How was your interview?”

And among them was Zernya.

Seeing my dejected expression, Zernya sat down next to me with a seductive smile.

“I can tell just by looking at your face.”

“……”

“See, didn’t I tell you?”

That things can turn upside down in an instant.

Hearing those words, I momentarily wanted to flip this entire place upside down. I could understand why Adelbein bloodlines were described as having terrible personalities in novels.

“That’s unfortunate.”

Zernya grinned. She seemed confident about my rejection.

“Thank you all for your hard work. Please pack up and go home.”

Since I wasn’t sure, even the supervisor’s routine farewell didn’t sound pleasant. I thought I’d feel at least some joy when the entrance exams were over, but now I only felt emptiness.

Whatever. Let it be.

I grabbed my bag and left casually. Then, feeling an urgent need, I turned toward the bathroom.

“Oh my.”

There, I unexpectedly encountered a familiar figure.

“Haha.”

It was the interviewer who had asked me consecutive questions about my major during the interview.

“Ah, it’s you from earlier.”

I nodded awkwardly with an embarrassed smile.

“It was an interesting time. Well, it didn’t feel like an interview at all. Hahaha.”

He straightened his shirt while looking in the mirror. His disheveled appearance made him look more like a transcendent hermit than a teacher or professor.

“The evaluation itself ended right there. Your acceptance or rejection was probably decided on the spot.”

“Yes…”

“But if I may offer some advice… when you were explaining the Poynting vector, you made it too complicated.”

“…Did I?”

“Yes. Try to develop your intuition before diving into formulas.”

The interviewer pointed out the areas that needed improvement one by one.

His level of insight was profound. The kind of insight that could never come from Academia teachers who only had a superficial understanding of science.

The words of an expert.

“If you had just understood its physical meaning, I wouldn’t have asked about the derivation process. Haha. It was quite amusing to see the other interviewers panic and try to escape when you started talking about that…”

“…Haha.”

He meant I should have spoken briefly and concisely to keep those people from getting bored.

Tap, tap.

After washing his hands, the interviewer shook off the water lightly and continued.

“Your name is Eidel, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why we didn’t ask about your motivation for applying or your future plans during the interview?”

Questions about motivation and future plans are almost always asked.

I had prepared for them, but in the end, I only had a technical interview without any personality questions.

I thought the reason was “lack of time during the interview.”

“That’s wrong.”

But apparently not.

“We didn’t ask because there was no need to.”

***

As soon as the long entrance examination schedule ended, I collapsed like a ghost.

“I’m dying.”

“Haven’t you been pushing yourself too hard? It’s natural to feel sick when the tension is finally released.”

Even as times have advanced, the human body has barely changed. Concepts like transhumanism might have emerged, but it seems the author didn’t consider that. The genetic level of humanity was the same here as in reality.

Therefore, the mechanisms by which humans contract diseases were the same, and the methods of rest weren’t much different either.

Sonia said as she changed the wet towel on my forehead:

“Get better soon.”

“What do you mean ‘get better’…”

“Excuse me, it seems my vocal cords need replacement soon. Please recover quickly.”

The fever was extraordinary. Even if I placed a wet towel on my forehead for just 10 minutes, it would quickly become warm.

Sonia put down the wet towel again. She squeezed out the excess water and placed her hand on my forehead.

This is embarrassing.

“It’s difficult to get an accurate measurement.”

With a slight movement, Sonia raised herself.

She pressed her forehead against mine. I felt a cool, yet warmer than steel, temperature.

“A robot daring to put its forehead on a person’s head.”

“A human daring to belittle my nursing?”

Sonia looked down at me, still with her forehead against mine. We were so close that our noses almost touched.

“Move.”

“……”

“Move aside, you’re heavy…”

“39.8 degrees.”

Only then did Sonia pull back her forehead and grab the wet towel.

Splat! Unlike before, she carelessly placed the towel on my head.

“You two are something else.”

And there was someone who had been watching this scene from beginning to end.

“When did you two get so close?”

It was Seti. She approached us with a disapproving look.

Thud.

She handed me a rough letter.

“This was lying in front of the door.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. It just had your name as the recipient. Who sends handwritten letters in this day and age?”

“Could it be a love letter?”

“What? A love letter? Pfft, shit. Kup, pfft, khup…! Ahahaha!!”

Ignoring Seti’s hysterical laughter, I opened the letter.

And there, written inside, was something completely unexpected.

[Additional interview available. Not mandatory, but if you’re interested, come to the address below anytime.]

[— From a physics professor interested in you]

Now I could be certain about who that person was that I met at the interview that day.

I see…

No one else would play such a prank.