The Quantum Games(The Alchemists Academy)

Chapter 16





The next morning brought with it another summons from the headmaster to take part in one of the events for the Games. This time, it was in the Slightly Cavernous Lecture Theater rather than the governors’ room, and for that Wirt found himself more than a little grateful. It didn’t matter that practically all the students in the school were there, staring down at him from the stands and probably more than a little grateful that this had interrupted their lessons in magical combat. At least there weren’t shadowy presences around the edge of the room to make things worse.


Wirt stood in the center of the lecture theater along with Roland and Spencer, with Ender Paine, James, and Tess not far away. There was no sign of what today’s test would be, and given the way the last two tests had gone, Wirt didn’t dare to try guessing what it might be. With this school, it could be anything. James and Tess looked across at the three of them in what was probably encouragement. The headmaster’s look was blank, until he turned to address the crowd.

“So far, we have assessed these three students’ abilities to apply magic under pressure and to persuade those around them to go along with their views. Roland Black has won one event, while Spencer Bentley has won another.” Ender Paine glared back at Wirt. “Leaving Wirt Newton in a pitiful last place. He will have to do well today to overcome that, if he can.”

The headmaster looked around the hall, obviously enjoying making everyone wait for the time it took for him to announce the task.

“Today’s test is about another vital quality for those in our elite class. Loyalty. The student who makes it through is going to be placed in a position of great power, taught things that most younger students here could only dream of, and potentially given the opportunity to have the ear of some of the most powerful individuals in the Hundred Kingdoms. That requires loyalty. Loyalty to this school, to those you advise, and to a great many others. So we will see how you balance those loyalties. James, Tess, step forward.”

They did so, looking serious and quite impressive in formal robes. James spoke first. “I am an advisor to the prince of the Eastern Desert Kingdom.”

“And I am an advisor to a princess of the Western Desert Kingdom,” Tess said. “At the moment, our kingdoms stand on the verge of war. There have been attacks on the edges of the Western kingdom by bandits and creatures, which always seem to retreat across the border into the Eastern kingdom.”

“Yet in our kingdom,” James said, “it seems that the attackers come from the Western kingdom. My prince’s father and his generals are saying it is all a prelude to an invasion, and that we must act first if we are going to survive.”

Tess nodded. “They say the same in my kingdom.”

The two of them paused, and Ender Paine took over with an obviously irritated glance at each of them. “What these two are not telling you is that the prince and princess they advise have been meeting secretly, because they are still young and foolish enough to believe in love. They believe that they are in love.”

Wirt glanced at the headmaster, and found himself wondering what had happened to make the man so bitter. He had layers of cynicism and unpleasantness built up around him like some kind of shell, and there had to be some reason for it.

“Of course,” the headmaster went on, with a glance first to James and then to Tess, “it is not just the royal couple who are in love. Is it?”

James looked uncomfortable, but didn’t deny it. Tess actually blushed.

“We have been close since we started at the school,” she said. “I love James. Really love him. I know that Princess Gia loves Prince Alrin too. What is happening between our kingdoms… it could pull all of us apart. So where should our loyalty lie? What should we do?”

Beside Wirt, Roland made a contemptuous sound. “This is another talking event?” he muttered. Apparently, it was loud enough for the headmaster to hear him.

“I believe we have been over this, Roland. If you do not like the events, you can always leave.” Ender Paine looked around the hall. “I know some of you here are just as impatient. You want to see the Quantum Ball used. I have even had pressure from some of the governors to speed things along…”

Did the headmaster look slightly paler than usual there?

“However,” Ender Paine insisted, “entry to the elite class is about more than just who can fight best, so you will come up with an answer to this dilemma. To whom should James and Tess show loyalty here? What should they do when war comes? Roland, you will speak first.”

Roland didn’t argue, though he looked furious about it. Wirt could guess why. The thing in his room would not be happy that yet another day was going to go by without him getting to kill Wirt or Spencer. Wirt might even have felt slightly sorry for him, except for what he wanted to do.

Roland shrugged. “It’s like you said, Headmaster, this is about loyalty, and love is worthless.”

“I don’t believe that was the word I used,” Ender Paine pointed out.

“It is though, in this situation. Is love going to stop bandits from coming over the border? Is it going to make any difference to the political situation? In fact, trying to show loyalty to the people that they claim to love would probably be treason once the war starts.” Roland glanced around, and Wirt couldn’t help noticing the way his eye found the spot where Alana was sitting in the crowd. “James and Tess should put aside what they feel for one another, and tell their royal employers to do the same. Their loyalties have to be to the kingdoms that they are in, regardless of the situation.”

“And if war comes?” Ender Paine asked.

Roland shrugged. “Then they fight one another. They do what they have to do. That’s what having power means.”

He came to a halt, looking around the room again like he was expecting a round of applause. Tess and James’ expressions were easy to read. They simply wouldn’t go along with an approach like that if they had another choice.

It was Spencer’s turn then, and Wirt knew that he would do better than Roland had. He knew what it was like to really care about someone, for one thing. Wirt could never see him going to war with an kingdom Alana had a role in. Plus, he’d done so well speaking yesterday. When Wirt thought about it like that, it almost seemed that Spencer had this test in the bag before he started, and that was a worrying thought. How many tests would there be before the final round? Wirt didn’t know, which meant that he couldn’t afford to fall behind.

Spencer started to speak. “Sometimes it isn’t easy loving someone, but does that mean that Roland was correct? That James and Tess should just ignore what they felt about one another? No, of course not. Love is so precious that we have to hang onto it when we find it, no matter what that means.”

“And what does that mean?” the headmaster asked.

Spencer nodded to Tess and James. “They are advisors to a prince and princess who love one another. As advisors, their loyalty is to that prince or princess, not to a kingdom. They have to do the right thing for them, and in this case it also means doing the right thing for themselves. They should follow that love, whatever it means. They shouldn’t give up on it.”

Ender Paine raised an eyebrow, before asking the same question he had asked Roland. “And if war begins?”

“Then they shouldn’t let that stand between them,” Spencer said, and Wirt knew he was looking at Alana, the same way Roland had. “If it comes to it, they should leave their kingdoms and go somewhere they won’t have to fight one another. It would be hard, but it would also be worth it if it meant that they were together.”

“So they should advise their charges to abandon the kingdoms they serve?” the headmaster asked.

Spencer nodded. “If necessary.”

That did get some applause from the assembled students, and both Tess and James looked a lot happier about it than they had about Roland’s suggestion. Wirt suspected that if they felt they had no other choice they probably would do exactly what Spencer had suggested, yet he also got the sense that it wasn’t quite the kind of solution that they had been hoping to hear. So what had they been hoping for? Wirt thought about that for a second or two while the applause died down, and was surprised to find that he had an answer.


Ender Paine gestured for him to begin. “Unless you feel that you would prefer to freeze up again?”

Wirt shook his head. There weren’t any shadowy governors there this time, and this time, he knew exactly what he was going to say.

“Spencer’s right,” he said. “Love is important. Roland is kind of right too, though, because the country that you serve as an advisor is important too. I guess that’s what makes this test so difficult. If you see it as a straight choice between a country and the person you love, you can’t go for one solution without betraying something.” He shook his head. “If you see it as a straight choice.”

The headmaster looked intrigued. “Go on.”

“Well, the way I see it, the fact that the prince and princess love one another is a good thing,” Wirt said. “Not just for them, but for their kingdoms. It means that they’re talking, and so are their advisors. It means that they know that the other side aren’t behind the attacks, because they know one another, and they know what is going on in their own kingdoms.”

“But perhaps not everyone will believe that,” the headmaster pointed out.

“Perhaps not,” Wirt agreed. “Perhaps there will be some people in their kingdoms looking for a war, but this way there are at least two people who aren’t, and who can talk to the rulers there. James and Tess need to see that the best way to be loyal to one another, to the prince and princess, and to the countries they work in, is to use that connection to stop their countries from being manipulated into a war.”

“Manipulated?” Ender Paine repeated.

Wirt nodded. “Manipulated. If both kingdoms are suffering attacks that no one can trace, but everyone suspects to have come from the other side, but the prince and the princess know that their kingdom had nothing to do with it, then someone else must be manipulating the situation. They have to show that, and they have to use the example of their love to show why the two kingdoms shouldn’t let themselves be torn apart. Even if it goes to war, then that connection between them is still the best hope for forging peace afterwards.”

Wirt left it there, and he felt a lot more satisfied than he had with the last task. Had he done enough to win? He didn’t know, and it quickly seemed that he wouldn’t know yet.

“Since this is a real situation,” Ender Paine said, “I will not make a decision yet. Instead, I am going to discuss the possibilities with James and Tess, so that they can choose the course to support that is most appropriate. I will inform you of the winner tomorrow.”