POV: RENATA SILVEIRA
Those first days of school were simple and the same routine as always.
There were no assignments yet, and everything was just a big review of the last topics and some brief comments about the base material for future tests.
Eventually, the first week passed quickly, and then the second would have something useful to help us organize our ideas.
One of Professor Francisco's classes, one of the most repeated topics in the entire school….
'If you can believe it, it is even more repeated than the damned verb 'to be'... Public school is complicated'
The first class on domination reviews was about to start.
The professor was known not only for teaching but for turning every explanation into a veritable conference, always filled with historical comparisons and examples that made even the driest content come alive.
On that day, he intended to review the aspects of magical energy, the so-called QP.
"The QP," began Professor Francisco, with the firmness of someone carrying decades of study,
"is the abbreviation for 'Quantity of Papyri.' It is an ancient measure, originally conceived to quantify a user's magical energy, a kind of personal collection that can be consumed throughout a lifetime"
As he spoke, I thought about how that definition seemed simple, but at the same time, carried a frightening depth.
Magical energy was extremely important, and its definition was strangely simple.
"This energy," he continued, walking slowly in front of the board, "is estimated based on the number of pages or books read by an individual. At first glance, it's a simple calculation, but when delving into its biomechanical nature, it reveals itself to be infinitely more complex"
It was impossible not to reflect.
How many books had I read? How many literary marks had I missed the chance to get?
I tried to do mental calculations but soon gave up.
The feeling was that it accumulated chaotically; the numbers were never easy to tally.
"There are two ways to measure QPs," Francisco explained, raising two fingers to emphasize the difference.
"Active represents temporary QPs, those that the user currently carries. They are linked to short- and medium-term memory, functioning as an immediate reflection of recent readings"
I thought of my last readings. Some works were still vivid to me, their words, concepts, and ideas still clear in my mind…
My memory, along with my oneiric reservoir, always gave me a base quantity of these QPs.
"Passive, on the other hand," he continued,
"It's something much more profound. It relates to long-term memory, accounting for all readings done since the beginning of a person's life. Measuring this amount is difficult, almost always imprecise, because the storage occurs in areas of the brain nearly inaccessible to consciousness"
The room remained in absolute silence.
I felt that everyone shared the same doubt: how many passive QPs did we carry within us without knowing?
"The center of this energy is the human brain" he clarified.
"More specifically, the endocrine system. This system, in addition to controlling hormones and feelings, also regulates and stores permanent QPs"
It was strange to think that something so physical and biological sustained something as ethereal as magic.
"For centuries, it was believed in the existence of a subconscious, understood as a secondary instance of the mind, formed by repressed experiences and memories. It was thought to indirectly influence our decisions. But…" the professor paused, looking at the whole class.
"Today we know that this subconscious is, in fact, the energy core that enables the materialization of thoughts, feelings, and reflections into enchantments"
I felt a shiver.
'So every book read is a seed… And every seed can germinate into magical power'
"When we read," he explained, resuming his walk in front of the board
"We are directly feeding our subconscious. This energy core charges with QPs, formed between brain synapses, which release intense electrical discharges. These discharges interact with the Higgs field"
The mention of the Higgs boson made some classmates shift in their chairs, uncomfortable.
Every high school student was afraid of these different scientist names.
I myself felt a knot in my head, trying to reconcile quantum physics with magic; good thing Helena always helped me in these more abstract areas.
"Through the Higgs field" he continued, sketching symbols on the board that mixed subatomic particles and magical circuits.
"A part of the electrical energy is converted into QP. It's a transformation process. A true tug-of-war between energies. But, invariably, magical energy triumphs and fixes itself in the brain"
He then paused. His silence echoed louder than any word.
"This is what feeds the subconscious and ensures we can cast enchantments without suffering collapses"
That explanation always fascinated me; understanding the level of complexity of something like this was what always made these things interesting….
It was incredible to know that every line read was converted into power, but also disturbing to imagine how much this happened without our control.
"It's important to highlight"
Francisco resumed, once again with a professorial tone.
"During this energy clash, some photons are released. This explains the feeling of heat and the headaches after acquiring a literary mark"
He raised the chalk and drew the shape of a flame on the board.
"It is also the reason why we see the characteristic light that accompanies the invocation. Blue, generally, for secondary dominators. Purple, for primary dominators"
A slight smile crossed the faces of some classmates. I couldn't help but remember the first time I invoked my mark.
That glow now seemed much more intimate, as if it carried the physical proof of every reading I had done.
Francisco, satisfied with the class's attention, expanded the explanation.
"From the moment we understood this process, our civilization advanced. Tesla, for example, refined his alternating current engineering precisely thanks to the new understanding of the interactions between electrical and magical energy"
He leaned on the desk, tilting his body forward.
"This knowledge didn't just allow us to better understand technology. It expanded the frontiers of magic. It led us to uses that were previously unimaginable"
I found myself thinking about how much we took this for granted.
The electricity that lit the room, the magic that circulated through the academy's corridors... all of it was connected, all had a common root.
Then the professor took a deep breath and changed the direction of his speech:
"But now, we need to discuss access to enchantments"
The class leaned forward, attentive.
"The first records date back to the Greeks. But it was only in the zeroth century, the so-called century of the book, that we had the real leap. For us, on the Gregorian calendar, this corresponds to the 15th century"
As he spoke, my mind visualized the described scenario: monks copying manuscripts, presses in full operation, books circulating like never before.
From then on, magical power had spread along with literacy, creating an inseparable connection between reading and enchantments.
"In the modern era," Francisco continued, "we have a diverse literary and magical landscape. Each country has developed its own narrative styles and, consequently, its own magical schools".
He then listed some examples:
"The British have a strong tradition in poetry and economics, which explains the emergence of authorial dominators in these areas, like Shakespeare and Adam Smith. The Japanese, on the other hand, became authorial dominators in the field of manga, whose powers derive from hundreds of works"
As soon as I heard these examples, my brain seemed to automatically complete it with an example from my own knowledge.
'Koreans and Chinese… generally have powers from novels and manhwas'
However, the professor didn't stop. His voice, always firm, filled the room.
"The most substantial enchantments require dedication. The more complex the book, the greater the difficulty in mastering it. But, at the same time, the greater the rewards as well"
At that moment, a student interrupted the explanation, raising his hand but speaking immediately without waiting for the professor's signal.
"But what about trashy books? The ones written by nobodies, you know?"
The tone, laden with literary contempt, made some classmates turn to him, annoyed, while others chuckled lightly.
Silence hung in the air for a moment, until Francisco raised his eyes to face him.
"You have paper and a pen," he said slowly, each word heavy with restrained irony. "As well as technology and information thousands of times more advanced than Shakespeare's"
The student's eyes widened, surprised by the comparison.
"Why haven't you written tragedies as iconic as his?"
The question hung in the air like a sentence.
The student hesitated, opened his mouth, but couldn't answer. The professor then concluded, his voice low but piercing:
"Should we judge everything you write as trash based on this simple comparison?"
The entire class remained silent.
Some looked away, others nodded discreetly, as if the lesson had hit everyone, not just the imprudent student.
"That's what I thought..." the professor said ironically.
"Answering your question, think about this: If a book doesn't have an impact on someone, it's probably because it wasn't made for you. It was made for other people"
I found myself reflecting on those words.
How many times had I judged a work before even understanding it?
How many times had I dismissed a text that, for someone else, could be a source of power and enchantment?
The question echoed in my mind, firm, as if it had been directed at me.
The professor, satisfied with the impact of his words, turned back to the board and resumed writing, but the atmosphere in the room remained dense.
"Carry this sentence with you for life..." the professor said, writing a quote on the board.
With good books, you learn what to do; with bad books, you learn what not to do. But, one thing is always true, all books teach you something.
"This is a quote of unknown authorship, which elaborates very well why your statement is mistaken... It's simple, the value of a reading or a book is based on a matter of perspective"
Hearing the professor's conclusion on the subject made me realize that this was not just a class about magical energy and QPs, but about something even more important….