Chapter Twelve
Hadrian’s Curse II
Claudius navigated the flow of students in pursuit of Hadrian, but lost sight of him after he’d entered one of the nearby buildings. He was left adrift in a sea of navy and gold uniforms, many of whom were rushing to get to their next class; at least that was the reason he chose to believe they ignored him. It took a few minutes to find a student who both answered him and knew where Hadrian’s class was being held, in room 6 – 7.
By the time he reached it, the halls had thinned out substantially and he could walk through them without feeling as though he’d been packed into a tube. He grabbed the doorknob, ready to open it, until he thought about it more deeply.
He really knew very little about Hadrian, they had only spoken a few words to each other. Was he the kind of person who would hold a grudge over being disrupted? Was he the sort of teacher who valued work ethic over the appearance of propriety?
Or was Claudius doomed from the start no matter what he said or did?
No, things would go differently this time. Even if Hadrian’s curse was real, he would be the one to break it.
He pressed onward.
Instantly the room was silent, and every eye turned to him. The rows of desks formed semi-circles on either side of the staircase that lead to Hadrian, standing at the lowest point of the room and next to a large mobile chalkboard. The entire wall to the left was lined with drawers and the right with shelves of books. Behind the professor were several apparatuses Claudius was unfamiliar with, one looked like a massive globe, covered in metal nodes, the other looked like an abacus built into the shape of a pyramid large enough for a man to stand in, another looked like a massive wooden channeled ball on a row of metal tracks, all of it was too far outside of the world of Animation for him to know form or function.
Hadrian had been in the middle of drawing a formula on the board, animating a piece of chalk high over his own head before turning to Claudius, face inscrutable. “Is there something you need, young man?”
Claudius cleared his throat. “Um, I was hoping I would be able to sit in on one of your lectures.”
“No.” Hadrian said and turned back to the board, continuing his formula.
“You remember me, right? It’s me, Claudius. From the Republics?” Claudius said.
“Yes, Claudius from the republics, I remember you.” Hadrian said, a few students in the class began to giggle, “But I am here to teach a class, not to remember students. And student or not you will refer to me as professor.”
This might have been the wrong choice, Claudius thought, but it was too soon to cut his losses and leave. “Professor Hadrian, I was really hoping to sit through one of your lectures. Everyone says you’re a good teacher and I would like to get as far ahead in my education as possible.”
“Until such time as you are in this class, I have no obligation to teach you anything, and I certainly have no intention of covering the basics for your sake.” Hadrian said.
“Please, professor.” Claudius said, “I just don’t want to waste your recommendation. I’d like to learn all I can.”
This grabbed the attention of the few students who hadn’t been paying attention, and now they focused on Claudius, one in particular, a boy sitting near the front looked at him with wide eyes.
Hadrian stopped writing and turned to Claudius. For the first time there was something besides indifference in his eyes; a hint of disdain. “Incredible. What dedication to learning, it would be cruel of me to turn away someone in such pursuit of knowledge. Please, sit and watch, learn all you can. Learn how this class will work.”
Claudius sat himself into an empty seat near the back, feeling now that he had certainly made a mistake.
“What is the Julinian Factor of corrugated steel?” Hadrian asked.
Everyone turned to see where he was looking, in this case it was Claudius.
“Well?” Hadrian asked. The entire class was waiting for his answer.
“What’s a Julinian Factor?” Claudius asked after some time.
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. “Class, who knows what a Julinian Factor is?” Every hand shot into the air. “This is the level of knowledge my students will leave my classroom with. It’s my profession to help you learn, not to spell everything out for you.” He waved a hand. One of the books on the shelf began glowing and levitated over to Claudius’ desk. “The section on Julianian Factor’s begins on page 67 and ends on page 125. Read it before you step into my class as a student.”
The massive textbook dropped onto the desk with a thud. “Claudius, imagine a perfectly round spherical wooden ball with a single channeling track around its circumference and one running through its core. Which channel would you manipulate to launch it through a windless room fastest?
Another silence, and another textbook placed on his table when every student was able to answer the question.
After the fifth book was placed on his desk, Hadrian simply said, “If you hear a question you’re able to answer, do so.”
Then the lecture began, again with every question first directed at him.
Claudius was out of his depth. He had not expected to breeze through this course, but it was all concepts far above him, applications of Animation that he could not even begin to grasp and the books just began to pile up on his desk, until it became impossible to even carry them out. The desk creaked under their weight, but it must have been his imagination.
The lecture continued for an hour or so, but Claudius almost began to tune it out halfway through. Thus far, there was nothing addressed to him that he had been able to answer, until he heard it.
“Can you repeat that, professor?” Claudius asked.
“If you were to try and create an aerodynamic disc, which material is best suited to continued rotation?”
“Hasforthian Clay, professor.” Claudius asked.
There was a long moment of silence. “Clay is inflexible and fragile. It would be a poor choice.”
“Most clay would, but Hasforthian clay is more durable while being as light as ordinary clay.” Claudius reached into his satchel and pulled out the bird, making it hover into the air. “Would you like to compare it?”
Hadrian was silent for a long moment and now there was no question. His eyes were full of outright disdain.
“No.” He said, “You are correct. There’s no need to prove it further. Such a rare material, I’m truly impressed that you were aware of it and its properties.” He waved a hand, but there’s enough theory for the day. The semester is almost over and I think it’s time I unveiled your final exam.”
This elicited a murmur of excitement.
Hadrian animated a shelf open and pulled something out of it, a construct that Claudius had never seen before.
It was a large slab that had three constructs on it. What looked to be a flat disc turned out to be several rings, each increasing in size and each channeled; interconnected by a rod running through them. There were stacks of channeled sheets of materials, metal and wood and stone, and there was a channeled pyramid with several metal balls inside.
Hadrian levitated the slab, in front of the class. “If you pass the written portion you will be testing your practical abilities with this.” Each item began glowing with vitality. The rings began spinning on the metal axis connecting them, some clockwise and counterclockwise but each a different speed. The complexity of that feat floored Claudius, moving items at different speeds in the same direction was difficult, but multiple items rotating at different speeds in different directions?
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“You will rotate each ring at my command at the speed I command.” Hadrian said.
The several sheets of material hovered into the air and began rearranging themselves. It formed a complete metal cube, then a cube with the top and bottom removed and the sides made of clay, then a top, bottom, and side panel contiguous with each other, “You will assemble these panels in the formation I request.”
The pyramid began to move, its point following Hadrian’s finger “And you will rotate this as I command, all at the same time. If you can complete this, or any task I deem to display equal proficiency in basic animation, and I do want to remind you that this is basic, you will be allowed to pass. You can request to try it at any time before the end of next week. Perhaps a demonstration. Gaius?”
A boy stepped forward with short cropped hair.
“Also, you must levitate the slab as well.”
All the apparatuses dimmed and the slab crashed to the floor with a massive thud. Gaius had to step back to avoid losing his toes. The class was gripped by the shock of their revelation.
Claudius wondered why Hadrian had even bothered to keep it a secret, it was not as though knowing made the feat any easier.
Except…Gaius was beginning to do it. The slab floated into the air and everything on it glowed with light.
“Rings seven, six, three and one clockwise. Five, two and four counterclockwise.” The rings began to spin, occasionally there was the sound of one or the other grinding against one, but Hadrian did not comment on it. “Ring 4 faster, 3 slower, 7 counterclockwise.”
Gaius strained to perform the tasks, but with much stopping and starting, he achieved it. Hadrian’s eyes betrayed nothing.
“Now, the panels. Top wood bottom stone encased on three sides by clay.”
The wood hovered into place and connected with one side of stone before the whole apparatus dropped to the ground, Gaius’s shoulders sagging from the strain. Claudius understood. Keeping that much going at once seemed impossible.
Another student attempted it, failing part way through the cube.
“Basil.” Hadrian said, with a glance up at Claudius, “Let's allow our current recommendation student to show our future one what he can expect.”
A nervous looking boy stepped forward. Before he could even levitate the slab, Hadrian was speaking. “Focus. Keep your focus, I can tell your concentration is flimsy.” Basil managed to barely get to the slab to levitate, the entire time Hadrian circled him, speaking corrections in his ear.
“The angle is off. Keep it level.”
None of the previous students had kept it level.
“Rings 7, 2, 1, and 5 clockwise, with 3, 4, 6, and 3 counterclockwise and in that order of speed. The rings started to a halt and had barely begun to move. “If you scratch them then you’re not spacing them out properly. Give each proper space, it can be done. No, 2 needs to move faster than that. Are you keeping an eye on your speed? How can you be expected to proceed further without care for the details? How can I pass you in good conscience?”
Basil’s eyes were bulging with the strain of keeping up with Hadrian’s orders and sweat was beginning to collect on his forehead. Claudius could see his chest rising and falling rapidly, and took his ability to see that as a very bad sign.
“Cube of steel on top, wood and stone on opposite sides, glass on top. Open forward. Now a cube of steel with iron on the bottom and left side.” Hadrian ordered
Basil was beginning to breathe heavily now, trying to keep up. But he made it to the final test, the pyramid. He followed Hadrian’s finger twice, thrice, “You have to keep a greater attention to detail. Your work is failing. I can’t imagine passing you at your current rate, I-”
The rings began to wobble violently before they scattered around the room, breaking and flying free of their structure. The stone slab dropped out of the air and all the sheets dropped with it. The pyramid began to spin wildly before it dropped.
Basil dropped to his knees, his chest shaking.
“Get back to your desk, Basil. You have a lot of work to do if you expect to pass.” Hadrian said, before looking up at Claudius, “Would the future recommendation student care to try?”
Claudius had loved being the center of attention in his home, and in his town, but for some reason this many eyes focused on him was unsettling, as though they all knew something that he did not.
Was this good or bad? His intuition and rationality told him it was bad, but nonetheless, he met Hadrian’s challenge and descended the stairs, still feeling a classroom of eyes following him.
He reached the bottom of the stairs; Hadrian appeared a lot taller than he had before, and his eyes far less kind. He pointed to the slab. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Start with the slab.
He guided his vitality towards the edges of the slab and filled it. It glowed and…
Instantly came up against a roadblock. The slab was far heavier than anything he had ever animated before. It refused to budge, then it jiggled up and down before he drew out more vitality than he’d ever had to for a single object and managed to raise it level with his knees, and not a hair higher.
Hadrian did not chastise, he spoke simply, clearly, and in a neutral tone. “Rings 7 clockwise and 1 counterclockwise.”
Claudius tried to fill ring 7 with vitality and one half of the stone slab dipped. He tuned out his surroundings, every sound and sight except the apparatus in front of him. He extended all the vitality he could spare from his body into all of the rings at once and split his focus to spinning one clockwise and the other counterclockwise and they spun.
The very limits of his ability were being strained here, but he could do it. Did the other students find it impressive or were they mocking him? He could not tell. All that existed was the rings. All that mattered was-
“Claudius!” Hadrian had raised his voice for the first time, “For the final time: rings 3 and 4 clockwise.”
The slab darkened and clattered to the ground. The rings dimmed and stopped spinning; Claudius’ vitality spent completely. Hadrian was speaking again but his head was pounding too loudly from the strain, it had really taken everything just to do as much as he’d managed.
His legs buckled under him and he nearly stumbled and he had to lean forward, grabbing onto Hadrian’s coat for support.
The pounding in his head ceased, but the silence that followed was even worse. For a long moment no one said or did anything, until Hadrian animated his chalk stick, and pressed it against Claudius until he stepped backwards with a circle of pain in the center of his forehead.
“This is not that sort of class and I am not that sort of professor.” Hadrian said. “You’ve taken enough of my time. Please leave.”
Claudius rubbed his forehead and looked around, to varying looks of amusement and boredom. It was clear from Hadrian’s eyes, that he had wrung any and all enjoyment out of humiliating him and it was clear from everyone else’s that it was not a rare occurrence.
Curiously, the current exchange student’s eyes betrayed something he could not describe.
Perhaps it was the look one victim of a curse gave to another.
“Thanks for your consideration, professor.” Claudius said, before turning and leaving the classroom and making his way through the halls, lamenting the massive mistake he’d made. Hadrian would start their semester off hating him, but it seemed to not matter. He had treated Basil worse than any other student even if his performance was middling at best, he had outright indulged in cruelty towards him. As a recommendation student, what could he do?
There had to be something, some way to ensure he would pass. Going home after a semester was no better than going home tomorrow if he returned empty handed. He needed to pass, he needed to.
As he was walking away from the campus building, something grabbed onto his shoulder. He craned his neck to find a stone monkey on his shoulder.
“Hummingbird!” A voice called, “How have you been?” It was the boy who he had been speaking to before signing up for his classes. The boy noticed his frown. “I see you met Hadrian.”
Almost in a daze, Claudius explained what had happened. The boy nodded along, seemingly unsurprised until he mentioned the one question he’d answered correctly.
The boy winced, “Hadrian hates wrong answers almost as much as he hates right answers from students he doesn’t like. And he doesn’t seem to like his recommendation students. No idea why. The next semester is gonna be…unpleasant. But it was nice meeting you.”
“You have to help me.” Claudius pleaded. “Please, I don’t want to fail.”
The boy’s eyebrows shot up, “What can I do to help you? Hadrian’s indifferent towards me at best.”
“His test. If I pass it, he won’t be able to fail me. If I can do it in front of everyone... Or maybe if I do too well in his class for him to ignore” Claudius said, hoping it was true. “You took it, maybe you can tutor me.”
“Did you not hear what I just said? He’s not going to give you a fair chance no matter what.”
“That’s fine!” Claudius said, “I don’t need to be fair, I just need to be too good to ignore or expel before the semester ends, I’ll figure something out.”
The boy’ disbelief was on full display but rather than reject the offer he shrugged, “Sure. I have some free time. Meet me tomorrow, and I’ll do it, as long as you have something to offer. Tutoring isn’t free.” He pointed to the satchel,
“My hummingbirds?” Claudius instinctively clutched the bag closer to him,
“Plural? Whatever. Just make me a construct or two, something out of that…what did you call it, Harforthian clay? We’ll call it even.”
“Deal.” Claudius said and stuck out his hand for a handshake which the boy returned firmly.
“Constantine.” The boy said.
“Claudius.” He said.