600 Darkness Before Dawn (2/2)
Seeing that Lucien was about to leave, Norman led him to the door and remarked somewhat gloomily, ”Can the problems in the new alchemy only be resolved if electrons are regarded as waves? It makes me feel that the new alchemy has reached the most difficult moment. There's barely any hope. The only dawn that can be seen is unacceptable under the system.”
The existence of materials was real. Even Norman, an arcanist who was more inclined to the wave theory, found it more or less unacceptable to introduce the concept of waves to matter. He felt helpless and frustrated about the dilemma surrounding new alchemy.
”You forgot again. It is just a mysterious material that shows the features of waves.” Lucien bid him farewell. It was impossible to change one's mindset overnight.
After seeing Lucien off, Norman rubbed his cheeks. ”They feel so real. I find it hard to believe that they are waves…”
...
As the chairman of 'Will of Elements', Morris soon got the heuristic paper after it was published. Browsing through it, he put on a self-mocking smile. ”The new alchemy on one side, and electrons as waves on the other side. This is really a tough choice.”
”Master, this is the third time that you have made the same remark, during the one hour that I discussed questions with you.” Florencia said, more or less complaining. ”Why are you so concerned about the problem? Just because it can be explained from the perspective of waves doesn't mean that it can't be explained from the perspective of particles. Instead of worrying about that, you should devote more of your attention to your research. However, you sound less hesitant than the previous two times.”
She was a member of the Affair Committee who was better at doing things than research.
Morris smiled. ”You are very keen. Lucien explained electrons from a new perspective. It's not unacceptable even if they behave as waves.”
”Is that so?” Florencia asked for the paper and read it carefully. In the end, she smiled and said, ”The early discussion was truly intense, but Lucien does have a special way of thinking. That must be the reason why he has presented so many revolutionary achievements… I rarely see anybody simplifying the question with only one metaphor.”
”Perhaps, this is the true nature of the wave-particle duality.” Morris heaved a sigh. ”However, judging from Lucien's meaning between the lines, he is more inclined to resolve the problems in the new alchemy with waves, too.”
”The cornerstone of elements and the fundamental code to describe particles have to address its problem with waves. What irony.” Florencia chuckled but looked rather gloomy.
Morris rose and walked to the window. Looking at the grey sky and the depressing, overwhelming snow that blocked his vision, he remarked, ”The new alchemy is exactly experiencing such weather right now. There are huge snowflakes in every direction, and nobody can see a way out. We can only grope while we step forward. Even the unacceptable and nonnegotiable things in the past must be clutched as long as they indicate the way out.”
”This is a dilemma for Lucien as well as all the other elements in the field of elements and alchemy. We are like trapped beasts that have to resort to all means possible in order to break out of the siege and see the dawn again.”
Florencia also walked to the window and sighed. ”I hope that such confusion, depression, coldness and loss end as soon as possible, so that we can pass through the infinite dark night and reach the dawn where everything is dyed red by the sun.”
”The darkness before the dawn is the deepest and thickest.” Morris observed. It was also the last obstacle before the half-solidification of his cognitive world.
...
Raventi, Gaston, LockLynn, Marcus and other senior-rank arcanists felt more or less the same when they read the heuristic paper. On one hand, Lucien's example made them more open-minded towards particles, allowing for a shift of their mindset; on the other hand, they were all frustrated by the bottleneck of new alchemy.
Were they going to ask for the wave theory's reinforcement after their endeavors in particles proved in vain?
If even waves could not address all the problems, would the model of new alchemy be completely wrong since the very beginning?
In the unknown world of pure darkness, the new alchemy seemed to have reached an intersection that would decide its own fate!
”Perhaps, we are already approaching success, except that there is only one correct way in the darkness around us. If we walk on the correct way, we will ascend to the throne of magic and arcana after one step and master the mysteries of matter, but if we go the wrong way, we will fall into a bottomless abyss and crash into pieces.” Looking at the depressing blizzard out of the window, Raventi suddenly had a feeling: The most critical moment for the new alchemy has come. Would it rise and illuminate everything like the sun, or would it fall like the moon and let the darkness re-embrace the world?
...
At night, having replied to plenty of letters, Lucien re-entered his library and sat on his chair. Then, he brought out the tremendous experiment data.
Plans could never keep up with changes. Lucien shook his head and picked up his quill, starting to write: On Quantum Mechanics.
Outside of the window, snowflakes were dancing in the coldness and darkness.