Jack was wandering by the Ravenclaw common room as usual in the hopes of running into someone he knew and having a drink or two. Spotting his diminutive erstwhile Charms partner, he waved cheerily. "I say - hello, Mr. Elric. How are you this evening?"
"Oh - is there a party? It seems like there's always a party going on here. I don't know how you intellectual coves get any studying done. But I shall certainly stay for it. I do like a party." Jack smiled.
"Your brother is here? I had no idea. Give you joy, Mr. Elric." Jack looked around so he could pay Al his respects. He was looking for someone even shorter than Ed, however, and so missed Al entirely.
"Is your brother an alchemist too, then?" Jack asked, wondering if the ability ran in families. He eyed the birthday cake hungrily, not realizing its significance, as birthday cakes were not a tradition at his end of the 19th century. "That looks like a damned tasty cake," he observed. "The house-elves are certainly excellent cooks. Though I see no reason for candles - it is perfectly well-lit in here."
"Yeah, he is." Ed glanced over at the cake as well and laughed a bit at Jack's remark. "They're birthday candles- the guest of honor blows them out and then you cut the cake."
"I see," said Jack, hiding his disappointment. Hopefully Al would get around to blowing out the candles soon. "Now, this alchemist business - where d'you learn it, then? Does it involve mathematics?" He recalled that Ed was Professor Homsar's assistant.
Jack poured himself a tot of rum, still eyeing the cake. "I should like to discuss mathematics with you some time, Mr. Elric. None of the intellectual chaps around here seem to know much about it, and Professor Homsar... well." He glanced over at the blibbling creature and shook his head pityingly. "I do not think he is much for rational conversation."
"I am quite interested in calculus and conic sections - very useful in astronomy and navigation, you see. I have been working on a way to determine longitude by observing the moons of Jupiter, but I have not yet worked out the calculations. Pray, what sort of mathematics is used in alchemy?"
"Mostly the kind used in chemistry- calculating boiling points, density, balancing equations. Not much calculus in alchemy, really, but I did study it later at university. I don't know why you'd want to calculate longitude by Jupiter's moons though- seems pretty impractical, considering that you need a pretty high powered telescope to even see them."
"The moons of Jupiter make an effective clock, should you not have a good chronometer at sea," Jack explained, warming to his subject. "One does not need an especially powerful telescope to see them - in fact, Ganymede is visible to the naked eye, on a clear night. But the calculations are damned difficult, and a chronometer is really more practical. Unless some jackass breaks it, that is," he added, thinking of the incident aboard the Ariel which ultimately resulted in the ship being wrecked.
"Now, you explained once that you cannot turn lead into gold, but I do not recall why. Is it something to do with the chemical process?"
"No, no, it's entirely possible, just illegal. Just think about what it would do to the economy if every third rate alchemist just started turning lead into gold."
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
"Now, you explained once that you cannot turn lead into gold, but I do not recall why. Is it something to do with the chemical process?"
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment