Jessica followed behind Vau as they exited the forest. The narrow trail then turned into a wide dirt road, lined with wooden fence posts that separated the dirt road from the surrounding fields of colorful wildflowers. Jessica watched as chickens darted across the dirt road, flapping their wings in a futile attempt to catch flight. “Welcome to the Archer’s Point,” Vau said. “But everyone here just calls it the Point.” Every so often the dirt road split off, leading to homes in the distance.
“Where does the name come from?” Jessica asked.
“This place was going to be called the Point at Sagittarius A.” Vau grinned and shook his head. “But who wants to say all that?” He continued walking. “The Point is much cooler.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Jessica said.
“We’re coming up to the center of town.” A cluster of magnificent adobe and stone homes, in a variety of colors, appeared. Vau stopped in front of one red adobe home that seemed older than the rest. The window frames and door were made of wood. A small flower garden lined the walkways and the entrance to the house. “Professor Raziel asked that we stop by here before we head to where you’ll be staying.”
As they got within a few steps of the entrance, the front door swung open. “Jessica,” an older gentleman with olive skin and a thick gray beard greeted her. “I’m glad you made it safely. I’m Professor Raziel,” he said.
“Nice to meet you,” she replied.
“Please come inside.” The professor moved to the side, allowing Jessica and Vau to enter. The inside of the house was pristine. The floor appeared to be of polished pink stone or granite. The furnishings were simple—a couch, an armchair, a small table, and bookshelves. The large bookshelves were made of a dense wood and lined every wall. It’s like a library in here.
“We take a lot of pride in seeking knowledge, everywhere,” the professor said.
“We figured that it made sense for you two to meet each other. Jessica has a lot of unanswered questions, and we need to get her caught up quickly.” Vau turned to Jessica. “Professor Raziel knows everything, about everything.”
“Well, that sounds promising,” Jessica said. “Is this your house?”
“No,” a familiar voice answered, “it’s mine.”
Jessica turned to see a tall, strong, yet delicately built woman with braids down past her shoulders. She was wearing a beautifully colored dress that flowed down to the floor and beaded bracelets halfway up to her elbows.
“My name is Aja,” the woman said. “My house is on the way to where Evelyn and the team are, so I asked Vau to bring you by so I could greet you.”
“Have we met before?” Jessica asked.
“We have,” Aja said. “How is your head?”
Jessica remembered. “You were there, by the pond that night.”
“I was,” Aja said. “You were in bad shape the last time we saw each other. Are you feeling better?”
“I am,” Jessica said. “However, I’m having trouble remembering things.”
“So I’ve been told. Well, I hope that spending some time here will help you recover what you’ve lost.” Aja looked at Jessica with an expression somewhere between concern and kindness. “Jessica, you have had quite a long day already. Can I offer you some tea and something to eat?”
“That would be great.”
“Today is so pleasant. Why don’t we have tea on the back patio?” the professor said. He extended his arm, pointing to the door at the back of the house.
“Sounds lovely,” Jessica said.
“Excuse me.” Aja vanished further inside the house.
The professor addressed Vau, “Could you help her with the tea and honey?”
“Sure,” Vau said before disappearing around the corner.
The patio was covered by a large pergola draped with orange flowers. Surrounding the courtyard was a larger flower garden than was in the front of the house.
“Oh my,” Jessica said.
“Is everything all right, dear?” the professor asked.
“This is—it’s breathtaking.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
Aja came back with a silver platter full of rice and bowls with different vegetables.
“How did you decide what to plant?” Jessica asked her.
“Oh, I can’t take too much credit for any of it. The flower garden was already here. I just built the home around it,” she said. “Now, my role is to maintain the garden for the birds and the bees.” She smiled. “I also get to enjoy the honey.”
As Jessica ate, the professor asked, “So you probably need a re-introduction to how it works?”
“How what works?” Jessica asked.
“How it all works,” the professor said with a sly smile.
Jessica felt anxiety rise in her chest. What am I doing here? I have no clue what I’m even supposed to be understanding. Jessica gave a helpless expression. “You know, I’m still not quite sure what I need. Every time I think I know something, I learn something new, and I just get more confused.”
“Wisdom is a funny thing like that,” the professor said. “As you learn more things, you come to realize that there’s so much that you truly don’t know or understand. But, it’s fantastic that you are here.”
“Thank you.” Jessica smiled as a warm feeling came over her body. It was a feeling of comfort.
“Have you seen Ori yet?” the professor asked.
“No, not yet.”
Jessica’s attention was drawn back to the vibrant flowers that surrounded the back patio. Her eyes caught sight of a bee flying from flower to flower. She imagined the bee at peace while it collected the sweet nectar.
“Do you teach somewhere here?” Jessica asked, turning back to the professor.
“Something like that,” the professor said. “You can say that I’m retired. I just mentor people now.”
“What was your area of expertise?”
“Why limit myself to one area of expertise?” The professor grinned.
“I like that.” Jessica laughed. “Well, is there an area of study that draws you more than the others? I mean if you had to choose.”
“Hmmm.” The professor pondered this while he tapped his index finger between his upper lip and the bottom of his nose. “If I had to choose,” Professor Raziel glanced back to Jessica, “then today I would say physics.”
“Why physics?”
“It’s the closest mankind has come, in these times, to understanding how the universe around them works. Don’t you find it fascinating that mankind uses its relatively finite sets of symbols, numbers, and rules to try and explain that which is infinite? That’s a great task, and I admire those who endeavor in it.”
Jessica admitted, “My brain doesn’t work that way.”
“Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself. You could understand some principles if you were introduced to them the proper way.” The professor looked around like he was searching for something. “Ah,” he said, “do you mind a quick lesson?”
“In physics?” Jessica laughed again, not sure she was up for this.
“It will be fun, and you’ll learn how capable you are at learning,” the professor said confidently. “Isn’t that part of why you are here?”
He does have a point. “I mean, you are the professor, right?”
“Excellent,” he said.
Just then, Vau returned, holding a shining silver tray. On the dish was a white porcelain teapot, decorated with a single line of small red flowers circling the pot’s base. Jessica could see the steam coming out of the spout. There were four porcelain teacups with matching red floral patterns. Each cup also had a golden ring lining the rim. There was a small bowl filled with brown sugar cubes and a cup with milk. The tray also held a glass jar filled with amber-colored honey that shined in the sunlight.
“Perfect timing, Vau,” the professor said.
“Are you about to teach a lesson?” Vau’s eyes grew wide.
“I get the honor of teaching Jessica something new,” the professor said.
“Don’t let me interrupt,” Vau replied, sounding eager.
“Okay, Jessica, I’m going to teach you two things, systems and state-space. They may seem simple, but they are incredibly complex. If you can understand the basics of these things, then you are that much closer to understanding how the universe works.”
“Okay…” Jessica said.
“The first term is system. A system is a collection of things that work together for a common purpose. An example of a system could be your car. It’s a collection of parts, energy, and other features that have a common goal of transporting riders from one place to another in relative comfort. Does that make sense so far?”
Jessica nodded.
“The next term is state-space or state of space. The state of space refers to all the possible states of the system. Think about the car example again and all the possible states. Is your car driving smoothly? Does it have gas? Does it have a flat tire? You get it.”
Jessica nodded again.
“Okay, I’m going to use a different example of a system, one that’s a bit more complex.” Professor Raziel picked up the jar of honey from the table and held it up. “There is a system in place to create honey. A collection of bees, flowers, micro-organisms that all come together, and the result is honey. They all work in synergy to create something greater in combination.”
“Working together,” Jessica said.
“That’s right. You can only have synergy when you have a system of things bringing their diverse characteristics together, and the sum is greater than the parts. The opposite of this is called interference,” the professor continued.
Jessica’s ears perked up at this. It rang a bell.
“Interference occurs when there is a lack of diversity in the system, and everything in the system is after the same goal. It results in crowding out, overpopulation, and destruction.”
“Wait,” Jessica said, “didn’t you say that with honey, the bees, the flowers, and the micro-organisms all come together to make honey?”
“No.” The professor smiled. “I said that their combined efforts result in honey. The flower wants to be pollinated, the bee wants to collect the nectar, the micro-organisms want to spread. Each member in this system does exactly what it was put on this earth to do. As a result, we get this delicious honey to enjoy.”
“Okay, I think I understand what you are saying.”
“Wonderful!” the professor said as he clasped his hands together. “And you questioned your ability to understand a little bit of classical physics. The challenge is to get people to understand that they are part of a complex system, and each one has a part to play. But these days, most people don’t understand or seek to understand how they fit into their system.”
Jessica let that sit with her, as she wondered what her part was in the system.
“Are we ready for some tea?” Vau asked, offering the steaming cups.
Aja offered more food as well. After a quick, delicious meal, Aja addressed Vau, “It’s getting late. You should get her to the house.”
All four of them stood up. Aja turned to Jessica and grabbed her hands. “We are so glad to have you here. Thank you for all that you have done for us. We truly appreciate it.”