Read Online Killing Pythagoras (Mediterranean Prize Winner 2015) by Marcos Chicot - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Marcos Chicot
Ads: Link
joy.
Hours later, as the sun was setting, Pythagoras repeated the warning he had already given her on a number of occasions.
“Remember, no one must know what you’re learning. I should be exemplary in my conduct, and with you I’ve broken quite a few rules.” He became more serious. “And now I’m about to break another very important one.”
Ariadne nodded solemnly. Pythagoras was inflexible with the rules governing the brotherhood, but with Ariadne he couldn’t avoid making exceptions. She, of all people, needed to keep her mind occupied with the doctrine.
“I’m setting the same conditions for you as for everyone else who has taken this test. You have twenty-four hours to solve the problem outlined on this parchment. You mustn’t speak to anyone, and no one must see what you’re working on. The time starts now,” he handed her the folded parchment, “and ends tomorrow, the moment the sun sets.”
Ariadne unfolded the document and scanned it nervously for a moment. Then she ran to her room without uttering a word.
That night she didn’t sleep. By the light of two oil lamps, she analyzed the contents of the parchment until she knew it from memory. She had to solve the geometry problem of inscribing a dodecahedron [2] in a sphere. When the shapes began to dance before her eyes, she closed them and continued working in her mind. It was a very difficult problem, much more so than anything she had encountered up to then. She tried to use her previous knowledge of the tetrahedron, to no effect. The dodecahedron was a much more complex shape.
By dawn, she was tired and losing heart. She didn’t leave her room even for breakfast, but half way through the morning she realized that fatigue and hunger were undermining her ability to concentrate. She hurried to the kitchens, took some fruit, and ran back.
Even though the food did her good, she continued to make no progress. Half of the parchment was blank so that she could solve the problem on it, but she had hardly even made any notes. The possibility that she might not be able to solve it occurred to her. How was she going to come up with a solution that only a handful of men, the most competent of all the masters, had managed to discover? The doubt grew and grew until it blocked her thought process. The images stopped flowing in her mind, and she was alone with a parchment full of flat shapes that said nothing to her. Panic froze her inside. The sun was at its zenith, about to begin its descent toward the horizon. She had only a few hours left. Her breathing quickened, and she felt as if she were drowning. Finally, she decided to abandon the parchment and went outside.
She walked toward the Temple of the Muses. From the corner of her eye she could see her father observing her at a distance, but she didn’t want to look at him. The somber tranquility of the temple and the statues of the muses were refuge.
Send me inspiration , she pleaded with them.
She closed her eyes and banished all thoughts from her mind, waiting for images to come to her. After a while, she gave up. It wasn’t a problem she would solve by relying on enlightenment. She bowed her head and filled her lungs with the peaceful atmosphere of the temple. At least now she felt more relaxed. She should return to her room and continue working on the problem, as intensively as she could, until sundown.
Seated once more in front of the parchment, she reviewed her work. The best course of action now would be to divide the problem into parts, and tackle each one separately. An hour later, she had the impression she had achieved some results for the first part of the problem, but there was no time to check them. She continued with the different elements, writing down everything she could think of. The light coming through the window was growing fainter by the minute.
For hours, she worked at a frantic pace, without reviewing anything, until she reached the end.
Now I have to check which
Hours later, as the sun was setting, Pythagoras repeated the warning he had already given her on a number of occasions.
“Remember, no one must know what you’re learning. I should be exemplary in my conduct, and with you I’ve broken quite a few rules.” He became more serious. “And now I’m about to break another very important one.”
Ariadne nodded solemnly. Pythagoras was inflexible with the rules governing the brotherhood, but with Ariadne he couldn’t avoid making exceptions. She, of all people, needed to keep her mind occupied with the doctrine.
“I’m setting the same conditions for you as for everyone else who has taken this test. You have twenty-four hours to solve the problem outlined on this parchment. You mustn’t speak to anyone, and no one must see what you’re working on. The time starts now,” he handed her the folded parchment, “and ends tomorrow, the moment the sun sets.”
Ariadne unfolded the document and scanned it nervously for a moment. Then she ran to her room without uttering a word.
That night she didn’t sleep. By the light of two oil lamps, she analyzed the contents of the parchment until she knew it from memory. She had to solve the geometry problem of inscribing a dodecahedron [2] in a sphere. When the shapes began to dance before her eyes, she closed them and continued working in her mind. It was a very difficult problem, much more so than anything she had encountered up to then. She tried to use her previous knowledge of the tetrahedron, to no effect. The dodecahedron was a much more complex shape.
By dawn, she was tired and losing heart. She didn’t leave her room even for breakfast, but half way through the morning she realized that fatigue and hunger were undermining her ability to concentrate. She hurried to the kitchens, took some fruit, and ran back.
Even though the food did her good, she continued to make no progress. Half of the parchment was blank so that she could solve the problem on it, but she had hardly even made any notes. The possibility that she might not be able to solve it occurred to her. How was she going to come up with a solution that only a handful of men, the most competent of all the masters, had managed to discover? The doubt grew and grew until it blocked her thought process. The images stopped flowing in her mind, and she was alone with a parchment full of flat shapes that said nothing to her. Panic froze her inside. The sun was at its zenith, about to begin its descent toward the horizon. She had only a few hours left. Her breathing quickened, and she felt as if she were drowning. Finally, she decided to abandon the parchment and went outside.
She walked toward the Temple of the Muses. From the corner of her eye she could see her father observing her at a distance, but she didn’t want to look at him. The somber tranquility of the temple and the statues of the muses were refuge.
Send me inspiration , she pleaded with them.
She closed her eyes and banished all thoughts from her mind, waiting for images to come to her. After a while, she gave up. It wasn’t a problem she would solve by relying on enlightenment. She bowed her head and filled her lungs with the peaceful atmosphere of the temple. At least now she felt more relaxed. She should return to her room and continue working on the problem, as intensively as she could, until sundown.
Seated once more in front of the parchment, she reviewed her work. The best course of action now would be to divide the problem into parts, and tackle each one separately. An hour later, she had the impression she had achieved some results for the first part of the problem, but there was no time to check them. She continued with the different elements, writing down everything she could think of. The light coming through the window was growing fainter by the minute.
For hours, she worked at a frantic pace, without reviewing anything, until she reached the end.
Now I have to check which
Similar Books
