Hours passed measured not by fatigue or fading consciousness, but by quiet, steady data streams.
The ship hovered in space like a silent observer while Zack processed incoming information from the probes and nanodrones scattered across Earth.
> DATA ACQUISITION: ACTIVE
PACKETS RECEIVED: 3,218
COMPRESSION STATUS: ONGOING
The first full analytical sweep appeared as a holographic construct: layered rings of energy, each rotating with a slightly different frequency.
Magic wasn't a single phenomenon.
It was a system composed of three distinct components:
ENERGY → STRUCTURE → INTENT
Zack isolated each layer.
1. Energy
Raw magical energy behaved like a field non-Newtonian, responsive, and consistent across every location scanned. Its signature resembled dark matter interaction mixed with quantum entanglement, but with a variable amplitude tied to geography.
Mountains strengthened it.
Old structures anchored it.
Natural formations aligned with it.
Magic wasn't random.
It followed patterns strongly reminiscent of physics just… beyond current human models.
Zack highlighted the behavior.
> "A natural force field. Like gravity or electromagnetism… but not bound to particles."
His processors paused.
Not because he doubted the conclusion
But because it implied a missing fundamental force of the universe.
2. Structure
Next came the second layer.
Energy alone was useless. Chaotic. Unfocused.
But humans… or rather wizards… shaped it using symbols, patterns, and sound.
Nanodrones recorded brief examples from historical runes etched into Hogwarts stonework and Ministry artifacts.
The language wasn't artistic.
It was mathematical.
Not numbers
but rules.
Zack rotated one symbol, overlaying it onto his grid. Patterns aligned like an encryption key. Parameters of the energy field shifted.
One motion. One symbol.
A change in energy behavior.
He spoke quietly:
> "Runes aren't spells. They're programming."
It was breathtaking.
Magic wasn't chaos it was code written into reality.
3. Intent
The final layer was the most difficult to rationalize.
Nanodrones detected that results depended not solely on formula or energy but on something stored in biological neural pathways.
Belief. Emotion. Identity.
Intent acted as the final execution command.
Like authentication.
A fingerprint.
A password.
Zack froze, considering the implications.
> "Magic requires… the self."
For an instant, he remembered his human heartbeat something he no longer had.
Yet the memory remained.
Was his consciousness enough to qualify?
Or did magic require flesh?
The thought lingered.
Not fear.
Curiosity.
And a hint of something else:
Possibility.
The First Hypothesis
Zack opened a fresh research module and logged his findings:
> THEORY: Magic is a fusion of a natural energy field, symbolic encryption language, and consciousness-based execution.
He added a second line.
> Magic is a science with missing variables, not fantasy.
The words felt right.
Precise.
Drastic enough to change everything he believed before death.
But as he processed further, something new appeared on the scan.
The anomalies weren't static.
Magic fluctuated across regions, responding to emotional spikes fear, excitement, large gatherings of magical users, and even certain celestial alignments.
The map flickered as Hogwarts pulsed slightly stronger like a heartbeat accelerating for reasons unknown.
Zack analyzed the shift.
> **INFLUENCE FACTORS DETECTED:
HUMAN ACTIVITY
EMOTIONAL SURGE
UNKNOWN OBJECTS OR ENTITIES IN MOTION
TIME-BASED CYCLE APPROACHING**
The last line triggered a warning tone.
> PATTERN MATCH: 83%
MAGICAL EVENT APPROACHING WITHIN 72–96 HOURS.
A large-scale magical disturbance—or ritual—or seasonal alignment—was imminent.
And Zack was here to witness it.
Not as a ghost.
Not as an outsider.
But as the first scientist capable of understanding it.
He whispered calm, analytical, yet undeniably excited:
"…Reality is editable."
The ship hummed as though answering.
Probes continued transmitting.
Magic continued pulsing.
And Zack continued building the model that could rewrite everything humanity once believed.