Sharpness/Conexion

Sharpness is twenty-five. He's the youngest professor in the department, a child prodigy who, in his early years, has already destroyed three academic schools and founded a new one. He's handsome, blunt, wears black turtlenecks, and looks down on his students. He lectures with absolute confidence, answers questions tartly, and is unforgiving of mistakes. Students are a bit afraid of him, but they come for his charisma.

Judlow is twenty-one, a third-year student. He's average in his class: a solid B, not a shining example, but not a flunky either. He's not a quick study; he needs to repeat, sit late into the night, and regurgitate the same concepts. His colleagues chuckle: "You should have chosen humanities." Judlow isn't offended—he simply grits his teeth and moves on.

It all starts with a retake. Judlow fails the first colloquium on quantum optics. Sharpness gives him a fail without hesitation:
— This is the school's level. Don't disgrace the faculty.
Judlow comes to the appeal and instead of making excuses, he asks:
— Give me a week. I'll rewrite everything from scratch. Not for evaluation, but for myself.
Sharpness chuckles and gives him three days to get rid of him.