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That’s great, now I can calmly disappear – he won’t even notice.

The back rows, as I thought, were packed to capacity. I didn’t look for empty chairs, but went to the last ones near the exit.

– Gentlemen, these two places were occupied by Professor Norwood.

There was no need to scare me with anything else, the name was enough. Not even two, but three guys in this row and the two in front of them jumped up and disappeared into space, as if they had never existed. This is the authority Norwood has! They are afraid to show themselves once again.

Meanwhile, through the high door intended for the lecturer, Volger floated in, surrounded by beautiful and not so beautiful maidens. The one with the buttons undone was clutching a notebook to her high chest. Did you ask for an autograph in your notes, or what?

– Is everyone here? – he asked. – Can everyone see me, can everyone hear me?

“We hear you, O Kaa,” someone muttered from the side.

– It’s your luck that the bandarlogs from the first row don’t hear this.

I glanced sideways at the voice, looking at the students with a sense of humor that seemed to be stolen from Norwood. It's probably worth remembering them.

Meanwhile, Volger went on about his role in science, the epoch-making nature of his discoveries, and the importance of every person “both in this room and outside it” (honestly, he said so!) to be imbued with the historical significance of the moment. All this was not much like a scientific report, as I had imagined it. I wonder if Norwood will even come? He probably knew what to expect from this, so to speak, “colleague.”

– And so, when I asked myself a question, a very important question about what kind of subtle influences such an intractable and ossified material as metal can perceive… – no, I am not able to listen to it. Even if in fact this is not a heresy, but a topic that is really important for local science – not in the same presentation!

Norwood’s appearance could easily have been missed, because he entered absolutely silently and silently sat down in the chair next to me. But he was noticed. A lively whisper swept through the back rows, someone even whistled quietly, and now that was interesting. It seems that Herr Volger and Professor Norwood in the same hall are a reason to expect something more entertaining than a lecture on metals and tides. Volger Norwood also noticed and grinned smugly, without interrupting his next florid remark.

“It’s strange that you’re not in the front row, Miss Blair,” Norwood said quietly. – Didn’t the shine of the diamond from alchemy reach your heart and enslave your brain? Marvelous.

“I value my brain not being enslaved,” I joked.

– Enviable rationalism.

Norwood crossed his legs, placed a clipboard with blank sheets of paper on his knee, and pulled a pen out of his pocket. Was he going to take notes on this nonsense? Can't be.

“Even the ancient alchemists knew about the secret connection of metals with the planets,” Volger said, “but what, I ask you, are the roots of this connection hidden? What? Has anyone, anyone, taken the trouble to think about this exciting topic? Are you, miss? Or you? Or maybe you, colleague Norwood?

– Only you, colleague Volger, are capable of thinking about exciting things. Please continue, I have your full attention.

I wonder if Volger didn’t appreciate the irony or managed to let it fall on deaf ears? But the students definitely appreciated it; restrained and not very laughter rang through the back rows.

“You shouldn’t be laughing, gentlemen,” Volger remarked with gentle reproach. – Science, all science, all progress, and not just our beloved alchemy, rests precisely on such reflections. For where does it begin, how does any discovery begin? With thoughts! Since the mind thirsting for activity asks itself: “What trace can I leave in the centuries? What seeds should be planted in the tremulous minds of young talents?” Do you agree, colleague Norwood?

“Oh yes, colleague Volger, of course,” with spare strokes Norwood depicted on the sheet of paper a lady in a short laboratory coat, hip and busty, with a mane of hair suspiciously similar to Charlotte’s, with a test tube in one hand and a cauldron in the other. Something like overgrown hailstones with the inscription “grains of a thirsty mind” were poured into the cauldron. Below it read: “Beloved Alchemy. The key word is beloved.”

I snorted, barely holding back my laughter.

“For the ancients said that reflection is the mother of understanding,” Volger raised his finger to the ceiling. – So, what can the affinities of planets and metals tell a thoughtful mind?

A giant brain appeared on the sheet with one convolution, for some reason across it, and covered in lace. “The thoughtful mind of Herr Wolger, eager for action. Scary".

Below, Norwood wrote: “Miss Blair, come to your senses, you are not in an art lesson. Listen! I can. I am already a professor.”