The origins

A pair of black shoes clicked rythmically against the polished, marble floor of the hallway. Students nearby immediately ushered themselves to the side, silence cutting through the once busy atmosphere. Irena strutted through the hall and mass of students, as if oblivious to the change. It was not a big mattter, after all, this had happened one too many times - especially in a hallway full of first years.

"Did you hear? I heard that she is one of the only female professors in this school!"

"I heard she was such a genius, that she entered the school by the age of eighteen and completed a doctorate in three years!"

"Hah, but did you hear? She's just an orphan with no family background, no nothing!"

"Then how can she get here like this?!"

"She probably slept her way through. Its not uncommon for women to do that!"

The gossips of the first years did not escape Irena's ears. Rather, it just came in through one and out the other. What they said was to some extent, true. While working in this university, she was always either praised for her geniusness and ingenuity, or shunned and gossipped about. In this era, it was more common for men to be educated and in the workforce, while women took on more feminine occupations or became homemakers. This made Irena a hot topic for gossip ever since she made the headlines for being the youngest woman to ever attend, teach, and research at a university. Some said she was a profound, once in a century genius. Others said she was a slut climbing into the beds of higher ups and cheating through tests and exams. This idea was further backed by the fact that she had never published new theories under her name, or proven anything groundbreaking after entering the university. It was as if her sole goal was to simply earn the tittle of achieving what few could.

Irena walked to the end of the hallway and turned right twice, eventually reaching her office. It was also her home where she felt most comfortable in, and it was fully furnished with a bed and bathtub hidden behind a screen. The walls were lined with shelves, filled to the brim with books. The room also had a medium size desk cluttered with retort stands, a pendulum and several test tubes and bottles as well as a variety of equipment.

Irena took a deep breath and sighed before she slumped into the chair before the desk. The day had already been hectic with teaching the first years different subjects. This was the part of the job she seriously hated, considering the fact she never really enjoyed socialising with others to begin with, and teaching just forced her to do that. She rubbed her temples to soothe her chaos of emotions, before a quick knock at the door interupted her.

"Come in," She called.

A tall, average looking man immediately clicked open the door knob and stepped foot into her room and office. He had well - defined facial features, and was wearing a dark blue suit to match his black pants. He looked clean and smart, just like a normal univerisity professor.

"Have you readied the new research materials?" He asked, his voice clearly showing impatience.

"Not yet, I apologise. I'm afraid at the current rate of things that this particular... experiment might take awhile more."

"You have promised it to me three months ago! Why are you extending it now?! Its supposed to be published in the papers today as a breakthrough!" The man slammed his fists onto Irene's desk with a loud thud, jumping some of the test tubes on it.

"I have detected an anomaly, Mr. Fernanz. It could be the result of a miscalculation, or it could be an imbalance of the ratios of chemicals inside. Either way, I will need time to figure out the root of the problem and solve it accordingly." Irena calmly retorted, standing over her desk with both her palms pressed firmly against it.

"Does it need really need to be fixed? If its small enough, it will not be noticed, and we can rush it in time for the publication! In fact, the journalists are waiting right outside the university right now!" Mr. Fernanz gritted his teeth as he glared at Irena.

"I wasn't the one who promised them it would be due so soon with a hundred percent guarantee it would work. You should really avoid making false promises like this, Mr. Fernanz. Sometimes, I do wonder how you get into university when you are so oblivious to obvious facts, such as the need to ensure reliability and establishing consistency," Irena replied cooly.

"When can you get it done?" Mr. Fernanz said through clenched jaws.

"Within a week at best, otherwise it could take another month or longer if unforseen circumstances arise." Irena answered. Mr. Fernanz simply banged his fist on the table once more before storming out of the room.

"Hah..." He sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration. If it wasn't the fact that his reputation hinged on that lowly, orphan woman, he would have kicked her out of this university a long time ago, or played around with her for a bit until he got bored. Either way, he wouldn't be suffering from humiliation now because of her and what she was going to put him through.

Irena slumped back in her chair and sighed. She massaged her temples with her fingers once again as she opened the notebook nearest to her on the desk. It was filled with complicated diagrams and incomprehensible scribbles that only she understood. Even Mr. Fernanz, a physics professor, had a difficult time comprehending. Irena tried to focus on her new problem, but her mind kept wondering to the incidents before. She knew Mr. Fernanz could not retrench her from her position as she was the sole ghost scientist working under him. She held too many secrets of him that could destroy his career if word ever got out. Seeing that she was terribly distracted, Irena went to take a nap.

As dusk approached, Irena roused herself and prepared to begin working on the machine. A few sparks from the solder flew here and there, along with the clinking of metal pieces and the gurgling of chemicals. Irena wiped some beads of sweat from her forhead after working long and hard on the machine. It now needed a final test run, and if it ran smoothly, it could be published under Mr. Fernanz's name. Although Irena did not like the idea of her work being credited to others, she had no choice. Mr. Fernanz had too much on her, that even if she exposed him, she would fall harder. As such, she had no other choice but to put up with his insane deadlines and rude attitude, much to her disdain. In a sense, they depended on each other, even though she never wanted to.

The machine whirred a few times to start up, before it chimed a few times, signalling it was ready. Irena smilled to herself as she turned the dark-coloured knob at the top, slowly watching the the effect. The machine chimed a few times more, before it buzzed in alarm.

"Huh?" Irena thought. However, before she had any time to react, the machine let off a few sparks, and everything turned dark...