Chapter 38: Academics
Ariel’s view
I ended up sending a second clone to the Academy, after a while, because I realized that it’d be easier to do everything I wanted to do there if two of me were there. Not only do I wish to work on developing technologies of my world in this one, but I also hope to learn what I can about this world as well. This Academy is a great place for both activities. This means I’m going to start attending some classes…
Well, it seems by “attend” it’s actually gonna be: Act as a teacher aid.
While attending classes, I can’t help but want to try and improve the lessons. With all the power I have access to, the idea that I can’t improve things just sounds like nonsense. Figuring out how though? That’s a bit trickier.
First improvement: Scanning. I needed to be able to quickly record and store information. Proper memory upgrades are expensive. Databases are cheaper. The difference? Proper memory allows instant recall of relevant information as needed (it’s actually higher performance than human standard). Databases are more like carrying a computer around full of all the files. I can search for data I need, but it takes much longer than proper memory recall would, and is less efficient for data processing in general. As a result, making sense of all that I’ve “learned” through recording information can take a while, even if the recording of information is fast.
Second improvement: Image screens. At first I was just making a whiteboard to draw on, but then realized, I could go much further and start displaying images straight from memory. This way it became possible to display any image I’d recorded from the files the Teachers gave me. It was a very popular feature, as it made it far easier for students and faster for teachers, to have me copy whatever image or text they desired onto a large white board for the whole class to see. I ended up creating a board that if an image was held up to it, it’d copy the image and scale it up to fill the board, so that all teachers would have the ability to make use of this without needing me present. I really didn’t want to play teacher’s aid in every room.
Thinking back on my memories of my old life, I think what I’ve provided is better than anything available when I was in school before. Occasionally, the teacher then would bring up a projector for things like this, but it wasn’t as good as what I’ve made. Though, with how fast technology was advancing, perhaps a giant flat video screen would be seen in schools before long… I have no idea how much time has passed there since I died. That may be ancient history by now.
Maybe I can take inspiration from my old life for more ways to improve education here. Text books perhaps? People here mainly rely upon lectures and the library. Books exist in only limited amounts. It is tempting to make copies of books available as much as needed, but I worry about discouraging efforts to improve book making. Perhaps I can work on developing better printing methods… except really, the cost right now is paper. There’s no good cheap paper.
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Ariel:
“Hey, Esmer, how does the Academy decide who to accept as students?”
Esmer:
“Any willing and able to pay the fees may attend. The Kingdom provides some funds to help keep the costs low, since having capable mages is important for security and prosperity. Unfortunately, we lack the ability to identify who is best suited to learning magic, and just have to let people try and find out for themselves. Back in the old land, the church would inform people of what their strengths and weaknesses were.”
Ariel:
“So, if students could see their aptitudes early, it’d be useful?”
Esmer:
“Oh, quite. Plenty of students eventually drop out after realizing they have no talent for magic. If they could learn that earlier, they’d be able to spend that time on something better for their ability. Additionally, if we had a way to test people, we could find the best suited for magic and help them attend classes.”
The next day…
Ariel:
“I got something for you to try using.”
Esmer:
“What is it?”
Ariel:
*Taking out a small clear ball on a white stand* “Place your hand on this”
Esmer places his hand on the ball, and the ball emits a white glow for a while, then fades, and a small card emerges from the white stand.
Ariel:
*Takes the card* “Thank you.” *examines the card* “... Hey! You’re even stronger than me! You’re at the top of Rank 4!”
Esmer:
“Well, I am 642 years old, and have been practicing magic since my 30s.”
Ariel:
“... I’m only 5 years old according to my status.”
