27 The Metric Series (II)
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Once Adrien had a preliminary understanding of magical energy and the way wizards were able to interact with it, he asked himself two main questions whose answers were essential for the creation of The Metric Series.
What specific parameters was he trying to measure and how was he going to go about it?
To answer these questions he reflected on the idea he envisioned when he first drafted the base outline of The Metric Series:
Determining the power level of a wizard.
The idea begged the question, what exactly made one wizard powerful than the other? Was it solely their magical energy capacity? It seemed like a crude hypothesis and Adrien knew that it probably wasn't that simple. There was no way a wizard's power level was that one-faceted.
He suspected that the Magic gene – the biological determinant of a wizard – played a significant role in the overall power level of a wizard. He hypothesized that the gene not only determined the limits on a wizard's magical energy capacity, but also specified the affinity a wizard had with magical energy particles, and subsequently the rate at which they could manipulate them.
It was a reasonable line of thought because 'talent' was a significant differentiator of wizards in the Harry Potter series. Voldemort as a kid could control magic to a highly unnatural degree. He had the ability to move objects with his mind, communicate with and control animals, and inflict harm on people.
No one else in the entire series besides Dumbledore could do such things as children. The two were completely in a league of their own.
Additionally, if there was no biological limit on the growth of a wizard's magical energy channels, then theoretically, any wizard would be able to reach their power levels if they practice for a long enough time – an utter impossibility, realistically speaking.
Adrien was pretty confident that the biological limiter to speak of was the magic gene. It was the only plausible possibility.
With this deduction, Adrien decided on the most straightforward way to measure a wizard's strength. He took inspiration from his knowledge on physics and applied the concept of power for his parameter.
In physics, power is defined as the amount of energy transferred per unit time. Adrien tweaked this and created a new parameter as a result.
The new parameter, Magical Power (MP), is defined as the number of magical energy particles a wizard is able to conduct per unit time.
Adrien decided that it was the best metric to measure a wizard's strength. The more magical energy particles a wizard could conduct per unit time, the more powerful and precise their spells were. It also meant the greater the control the wizard had over their own spells.
Thus, Magical Power can be mathematically expressed as,
MP = Nm / t
Where Nm is the number of magical energy particles channeled and t is the time interval taken . Nm is always an integer and depends on a wizard's magical energy capacity (MC) as well as their Affinity Index (AI), which is just a measure of the ease with which a wizard can control magical energy.
Adrien had no way of measuring a wizard's Affinity Index accurately since he couldn't decode the universal runes inscribed on the magic gene, so its existence as a variable was purely theoretical.
Adrien's mathematical expression for Magical Power was a function, which simply means it is an equation that only has one answer for Magical Power for every Number of magical energy particles channeled.
This meant that if one could not channel a specific amount of magical energy particles in a specific time interval, it would be impossible to have a certain Magical Power value.
Like that, Adrien deduced the parameter he was going to measure.
Next, he had to think of how exactly he was going to measure it and convert it into a spell.
To kick start this process, he first decided on the units of measure he would be employing for all of the theories in The Magic Series Codex. This metric system would serve as the standard measuring system for the wizarding world.
He designated a single magical energy particle as representing 1 magical unit, munit (mt) for short. So, 1 magical energy particle is 1 munit, 2 magical energy particles are 2 munits, and so on.
Therefore, Magical Power has its units in munits per second or (mt/s). Adrien set Magical Power's units as the Flamel. So 1 munit per second was the same thing as 1 Flamel.
He was ecstatic when he drafted the metric system. As a kid, he had always dreamed of getting a mathematical quantity named after him similar to famous scientists in the past. Isaac Newton got Force measured in his name, and James Watt had Power measured in his name…to name a few examples.
Since the opportunity had been presented before Adrien's iridescent eyes, he capitalized on it unhesitatingly.
After deciding on his units, he then investigated something he had delayed for quite some time,
The magical properties of mathematical operators.
The function he was using to determine Magical Power utilized the Obelus mathematical operator (÷ or /) so if he was ever going to proceed with his research, he needed to characterize the properties of the basic mathematical operators (+, -, ÷, ×, and = ).
He couldn't investigate every single operator at the time given his current level with The Magic Series Codex.
Initially, he carried out his investigation in a similar fashion to the way he did with numerals. He wrote them on parchment and observed the magical energy fluctuations they caused using his Truth Eyes.
When he did this, he wasn't able to observe anything and left him slightly befuddled. Did the operators possess no intrinsic magical properties?
To confirm his guess, he decided to take a different approach and wrote 1 + 1 and observed what happened. He predicted that the operator's magical properties would activate and combine the magical energy fluctuations of the number 1, and transform into fluctuations representing the number 2.
His observation was right on the money as once he wrote 1 + 1, he observed the magical energy fluctuations of the number 1s superpose and rearranged themselves to represent fluctuations of number 2.
In that fashion, he characterized the rest of the operators.
The Minus operator displaced magical energy particles from their initial positions, reducing the fluctuations to represent that of a lower number.
When Adrien tried 1-1, all the magical energy particles fluctuated at first, before becoming still and dormant, reverting to their original states and positions.
The Obelus operator performed as one would expect, and divided the magical energy fluctuations into fluctuations representing smaller numbers. When Adrien tried 1/0, he recorded no observable phenomenon, the particles just stopped fluctuating.
He thought it was especially interesting and wondered whether it simply caused something he could not observe. In Mathematics, 1/0 had an undefined value, which simply meant it had no meaning.
So, what he had observed was within his expectations. However, he couldn't help but be more inquisitive. After all, this was the wizarding world, a world with different universal laws than Earth's. He merely noted it for further investigation.
The times/dimension sign, like the other operators, performed as expected and multiplied magical energy fluctuations to represent larger numbers than those inputted. Any number multiplied by zero caused them to revert to their neutral state and positions.
Lastly, the equality sign (=) ensured that both its sides were equal. For example, when Adrien tried 1=6, the magical energy fluctuations that represented 6 swiftly reorganized themselves to match that of the number 1.
With that, he had defined the metric system The Metric Series would employ.
Thus, all that was left was formulating the process by which he was going to measure his parameters. On paper, the answer seemed obvious,
A Spell
And Adrien knew this. However, upon deeper thought, he realized that it would prove to be quite the onerous endeavor. Creating a spell was no joke. It requires tremendous magic know-how, a vivid imagination, and immense talent.
It was a very difficult and hazardous process that if gone wrong, had fatal consequences that deterred most wizards from even trying it to begin with.
It was even more so for the spell as complex as the one Adrien was trying to invent. It was a relatively large-scale spell that had to take into account something as precise as the number of magical energy particles flowing at any given point in time.
Initially, he was afraid of developing the spell, lest he end up like Pandora Lovegood, Luna Lovegood's mother. The woman had died by her own hands.
She had intrepidly dabbled with one of her spells and caused it to go horribly wrong, claiming her life and bestowing Luna with the ability to see Thestrals in the process. The poor girl had witnessed the entire debacle first hand.
If there was one thing Adrien would say he was afraid of, he would undoubtedly say death. He was completely terrified of the prospect of existing one moment and fading into obscurity in the next.
He found it hard to wrap his head around the concept. So far, he and death had already crossed paths twice – his death from alcohol poisoning as Laurent Blanc, and witnessing the death of his parents, Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel - and he wasn't looking for more encounters.
However, he knew that without risks, there would be no great rewards so he pushed his fear of death to the back of his mind, most of the time using Occlumency. The art was truly invaluable.
For The Metric Series to be completed, Adrien needed to create 3 spells. One to measure ambient magical energy, one to measure a wizard's power level, and the last one to measure a wizard's magical energy capacity.
In order to prepare for the endeavor, he decided to seek publications about the art of Spell Creation and with his wealth, this would prove to be a rather effortless endeavor.
He bought private research articles, books, journals and other publications detailing the experiences of past wizards in the art of Spell Creation. They also contained theoretical knowledge on the art as well as various auxiliary techniques that could be used during spell creation.
Most of the publications he bought were from Europe, though a considerable amount of them came from other regions around the globe like Africa and Asia. With his connections, acquiring them was as easy as snapping a finger.
Additionally, the Dumbledore Family Home's library also had books on creating spells, so he made sure to add them to his book pile. It took him about a year to fully digest everything he had read from the publications, and even then he still didn't feel prepared.
Seeing no other way to deepen his preparations, he was about to delve into the art when he realized that there was still one way he could prepare himself. One which probably trounced all the preparations he had made prior to his realization.
He had smacked himself in the head for forgetting the most obvious source of aid. The person in question himself had extensive experience with developing spells.
It was the same person who had devised a way to use Patronus Charms as a means of communication.
It was none other than the revered one, Albus Dumbledore.
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A/N: Had to make quite a few revisions writing this chapter. The initial process I wrote was complex for no reason. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
