“Mica? No, I’ve never heard of it,” Graste said. “But I do know somethin’ that sounds an awful lot like it—you’re talking about peralite. It doesn’t melt well, and it’s not tough enough for me to use, or anyone else for that matter. Hang on a sec—I knew a guy who mined the stuff.”
Graste went into the back of his store, then reappeared holding a white and yellowish mineral. I’d only ever seen mica in illustrated encyclopedias back in the day, but I was pretty sure that was it.
Well, how about that? Mica exists in this world, too, I thought.
“Is this it? It’s got an interesting shape and it’s right pretty, so I took it off his hands. It’s not rare by any means, it’s just something nice to look at.”
“May I see it?”
“Be my guest.”
I took the mica from him and examined it closely. The more I looked, the more I felt certain that it looked like the real thing. Of course, I didn’t know that. Most of the materials that this world and Earth shared in common had the same names—hemp, cloth, iron, copper, and so on. It was possible that this peralite had the same properties as mica from Earth. If I was going to use it as an insulator against this thundercite, I’d need to be really careful until this theory had been proven.
The real question was how could the mica be made into an effective insulator? All I knew to do on my own would be to strip off the layers and press them back together again. Since mica was thin enough to peel apart, you could paste those layers together into a single sheet. On Earth, I’d read that people used that as an insulator, and they figured out how to make sheets of it like paper. This gave it a lot more toughness and tension, making it harder to break. In other words, you could mold and shape it without depending on advanced technology.
However, I was at a complete loss as to what to use for an adhesive. I also assumed the mica would require some kind of processing in order to break it apart into sheets. I didn’t know what other materials or tools I would need. Maybe some sort of slatted drainboard?
I needed to acquire a huge quantity of mica, break it apart, soak it in water, then ladle it out. This wouldn’t be even close to enough mica. Hang on, I remember hearing that mica floated? Even though it’s ore… Assuming that a mineral would be dense and heavy was just a preconceived notion of mine. They were all assumptions, and I didn’t know which were applicable in this world.
I doubted that I was correctly remembering my science, anyway. As an adult, you forget a lot of what you’d learned in school, especially if it doesn’t pertain to daily life. What if I had mica confused with some other insulating mineral?
This is no good, I thought. I was chasing myself in circles.
As I grumbled to myself, Graste turned to Dad.
“What are you up to with all this?” he asked.
“Who knows? It’s all in that head of his.”
“Shion’s? Man, kids have the weirdest thoughts.”
“Well, I think it’s different in Shion’s case. He thinks well beyond the scope of a child.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.”
Dad and Graste waited patiently while I thought everything through.
“Yeah, it’s not worth making it like that.” I looked up at them. “That’s not my goal, after all. Mr. Graste, do they sell any bigger pieces of this ore?”
“Oh, yeah. I saw one that was this big.” He gestured with his hands, indicating that it was about seven inches wide. That was big. I didn’t know pieces that big even existed, or maybe that was just here. It would be big enough for my purposes.
“But it’s quite pricey, especially since it’s only for show. It was on sale for four thousand lirum.”
Was that a lot? I didn’t have an allowance, and I always had to ask Dad to buy me stuff. Four thousand sounded beyond the scope of what a seven-year-old should ask for. What to do?
A lirum was this world’s unit of currency. I’d heard the expression “fifty lirum for one potato.” Potatoes grew even during poor harvests, so their prices were fairly stable. Hence the adage that they served as a reliable standard for prices. That meant that four thousand lirum was the cost of eighty potatoes. That sounded expensive…maybe?
“Where were they selling it?” Dad asked Graste before I could say a word.
“At the general market, I think. It’s always there, so I doubt the price has changed. Nobody’s buying it. It’s unpopular even for a showpiece.”
Feeling flustered, I tugged at Dad’s shirt. “Uh, Dad? Are you going to buy it for me?”
“Of course,” he said. “Don’t you need it for your research?”
“Well, yes, but it sounds expensive.”
“Don’t worry about that. You’re just a kid. Besides, you’ve never asked me for anything before. I’ve bought Marie her fair share of stuff, so it’s only fair.” Dad put his hands on my shoulders and smiled. “Shion, you can be more selfish around your old man. If you go too far, I’ll just tell you no. If it’s fine, I’ll tell you yes. Don’t hold back for my sake.”
I was lucky to have this man as my father. If I ever become a father, I hope I will be like him.
Graste snorted. “Always the doting dad.”
“Yes, and proud to be one, Graste! Come on, Shion. Let’s go to the general market.”
“Oh, but before we do that, I need to test it out.”
“Test?” Dad asked. “What you’re planning to do with this mineral?”
I couldn’t believe he offered to buy it for me without even knowing what I was going to use it for.
I winced, then answered. “This mineral has insulating properties. That means that electricity—or, I mean, lightning—can’t get through it? Basically, I think we might be able to use it to transport thundercite.”
I could achieve my research goals immediately if I went to a thundercite mine and used mana on the ore. That would draw unwanted attention on me, and break my promise to Dad. I couldn’t do that. I had to keep the research a secret. That was fine by me so long as I could use magic!
Dad and Graste exchanged a long look.
“Is that really true, Shion?” Dad asked.
“I dunno,” I said. “But I want to try.”
“There’s no point in me asking why you know all this, right?”
I paused. “Uhh…yeah.”