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Davos said indifferently, “Marigi, I wonder if you ever heard this old saying in the orient?”

“What is it?”

“Those whom the gods wish to destroy, he first makes them mad.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nicostratos, Strasippus, and Lycasis were standing in front of the gate of Theonia’s School Park.

This is an unusual gate, a large white arch, with a huge stone sphere on the top, and a thick sword-shaped stone tablet extending straight from the middle of the arch, supporting the arch and dividing it into two.

There is a sentence engraved on the stone tablet, ‘All things have their own rules, and the mystery can only be obtained by unremitting exploration.’

Nicostratos repeated these words and couldn’t help but nod his head. Then when he looks further down, he saw the signature of – Davos.

“Davos? Which Davos?” Asked Nicostratos in astonishment.

“Who else?! It’s naturally the archon of Theonia!” Strasippus replied.

“This is the place where scholars gather, a sacred place! What qualification does he have?!” Nicostratos’ complexion changed as he uttered these words.

Strasippus was shocked and hurriedly discouraged him, “Don’t speak rubbish. Davos is not just an archon. He is also the respected teacher of the physicians of Theonia. Even those scholars who are studying mathematics also respect him. It is even rumoured that they have gotten enlightenment from him, which is why the whole Akademia respect him very much. Besides, last year I heard the lecture given by Davos, and his medical knowledge is truly unique and thought-provoking. It is no wonder why many people called him the ‘messenger sent by the gods’. If these people hear you insulting him here, they will definitely beat you up!”

“I am not afraid of the Theonians.” Nicostratos muttered. He then stopped talking and walked into the gate of the Akademia with Strasippus.

Lycasis had been staring at the sphere all this time. Even after stepping over the gate and walking a few steps, he still could not stop himself from looking back and saying, “What’s the point of placing such a heavy stone ball on the top? Are they not afraid of it falling down?”

“Little guy, you don’t understand.” Inside the gate stood a young man in his twenties and explained loudly, “This sphere symbolises the world where we live-”

“Wait, you meant that the land under our feet is round?!” Lycasis interrupted in surprise.

“Of course, otherwise, why do you always see the ship’s sails first when looking at the ships sailing in the distance. You should know that as early as many years ago, Thales of Miletus had left it as…anyway, this problem is hard to explain within a short time. You just need to remember that the land we live on is a big ball!” The young man said impatiently. Then he pointed to the arch and said, “What do you think this arch looks like?”

Lycasis, after the reminder, looked attentively, “Oh, it’s a pair of arms!”

“Yes, the arms holding up the sphere signifies that humans can transform Gaia!” The young man said excitedly, “But what can we do to transform the earth and overcome the terrible disaster?”

“How would I know?” Lycasis angrily exclaimed while glaring at the young man who was forcing himself on him.

“Read the inscription on that stone tablet.” The young man pointed to the sword-shaped stone tablet and said in high spirit, “Only through diligently studying and exploration could we scholars obtain knowledge! Lord Davos had designed this gate with such profound meaning!”

Lycasis sneered at his boasting.

The young man had apparently not paid attention to the expression of Lycasis, as he continued to pull his hand and said, “Now I will tell you why the stone sphere will not break the arch and fall down. It is because the round arch spreads the weight to both ends.” Then he picked up a branch and drew the logic of gravity, “Of course, it could not completely disperse the gravity of the stone sphere, and the pressure on the arch still exist, that is why the support of the sword-shaped stone tablet is the key.”

The poor Lycasis was utterly at a loss by the young man’s professional explanation. It is as if he was listening to a sacred book.

Nicostratos, who had been listening due to curiosity, was now completely impatient and exclaimed, “Lycasis, it’s time for us to go! It’s already getting dark, and we must not miss the registration!”

“Yes!” Lycasis was so frightened that he pulled his hand hard, nearly causing the young man to fall.

“Sign up? What’s your name?” The young man looked at them with suspicion.

“We are here for the medical symposium.” Strasippus said.

“You are here for those who are dealing with corpses and skeletons!” It dawned on the young man.

“You…go away! go away!” He suddenly lost his interest in teaching him, slapping and pushing Lycasis’ hand, as if he was afraid of getting infected with some bad luck.

“Could this man be ill? Crazy.” Muttered Lycasis while following Strasippus.

In the park, the trees are flourishing and greenish, and a gravel paved path is covered among the trees with green shade and intertwining branches.

The three continued to walk when they suddenly heard a cry, “Be careful, don’t step on it!”

Strasippus quickly stopped, only to find a man crouching on the ground beside him, holding a piece of limestone and scribbling some words and symbols on the flat paved stone in front of him.

The man then protected the stone with his body as he glanced at them and urged, “Go! Go away!”

“These people are probably all scholars from the Institute of Mathematics in the Akademia of Theonia. I heard that most of them are from the Pythagorean School of Taranto.” Strasippus explained to the dissatisfied Nicostratos.

‘So it is those lunatics!’ Nicostratos suddenly dawned on him. The Pythagorean School worshipped “mathematics as gods”, and they also often held some strange rituals and are secretive. In the early years, they had close ties with the nobles of the city-states in Magna Graecia and opposed democracy, which is why many people regarded them as heretics and avoid them like the plague.

‘Theonia unexpected accepted them!’ Nicostratos felt a hint of disgust.

They then saw someone clinging on the trunk of a tree, looking up at the sky and muttering to themselves. Some were walking like puppets, not knowing what they are thinking, and some were lying on the mud, suddenly jumping up, ecstatic, and other strange behaviours, but the group of three no longer found them odd.

After passing several tall trees, a small gazebo appeared in front of them, where a crowd of people formed a circle, and something seemed to be placed in the centre.

They fiddled with the object while arguing fiercely.

Finally, the curious Lycasis approached the gazebo, only to hear them saying something like, “How long should the bridge span be?”

“Where should it be built to ensure the bridge to be levelled?”

“How many columns it would need to support the bridge?”

“How far apart they should be?”

“Are you here for the medical symposium?” A man came out of the crowd and asked as he looked at the medicine box that Lycasis was carrying.

Before Lycasis could answer, Strasippus bowed and said with respect, “Greetings, Stesichodas!”

“You are?” Stesichodas looked at him with suspicion, trying hard to recall his name from his memory.

“I am Strasippus, a physician from Crotone. And this is Nicostratos and Lycasis, both of them are also from Crotone.” Strasippus immediately introduce themselves.

“Oh, look at my memory. Apologies! I remember that last year, you gave a lecture on the application of aloe vera in the treatment of sports injuries!” Stesichodas patted his forehead and said apologetically.

“Yes, that’s the little experience that I shared last year. Some time has already passed, and yet you still remember it.” Strasippus said with delight.

“Naturally. Inspired by your lecture, some physicians in our medical school have conducted a more in-depth study of aloe vera this year and have made some new advances, which will be mentioned at this symposium.” Stesichodas said seriously.

“That’s great!” Strasippus couldn’t help but cheer, forgetting the somewhat awkward Nicostratos beside him.

Fortunately, Stesichodas did not forget him, so he took the initiative to greet him, “Welcome, physician Nicostratos!”

Nicostratos’ return his greetings reservedly.

“You as well, Lycasis! Welcome to the Akademia of Theonia!” Said Stesichodas enthusiastically while leading them to the direction of the medical school.

Then Stesichodas embarrassedly said as they walked, “Apologies. Today is my turn to meet the physicians coming for the symposium at the Akademia’s gate. But after standing there for most of the day, I felt a bit tired. Thus I took a rest in the gazebo while listening to the discussion of the Institute of Mathematics regarding the construction of a stone bridge that I did not expect that I have almost missed you.”

Strasippus was astounded, “You mean to build a bridge made of stone?”

“Yes, Theonia’s Department of Road and Bridge Management is going to build a bridge made of stone on the Saraceno River to replace the former wooden bridge. After the Senate gave their approval, they handed the design and measurement of the stone bridge to the Institute of Mathematics. Marticoris, the vice-president of the Institute of Mathematics, and a group of people have been arguing about this matter for more than ten days already, however, they have basically completed the plan. If they successfully build the stone bridge on the Saraceno River this time, then several more bridges will follow. Then after accumulating enough experience, Heracleides the Younger can then start the construction of the bridge on the Crati River!” Stesichodas smiled. Obviously, he is full of expectation because once there is a direct connection between the main city of Thurii and the southern part, the pedestrians from the south going to the north will instead pass through the stone bridge rather than the wooden bridge passing through the Delta, which would make the environment around Theonia’s School Park to be much quieter.

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