I preferred physics to chemistry, a medieval forerunner of alchemy. At least, I thought I did. I wasn’t like the others I observed; I was never sloppily or irresponsibly drunk. The worst I managed was being caught with a shady snack while the other fools were at the bar guzzling drinks. I wasn’t a clod. 

My trajectory was to hit pay dirt or, at the very least, to cash in with current decisions on the gold in my future. Maybe I’d sometimes have to accept silver, but that was better than what my fellow students had decided to do now.