Hearing this, Mary froze for a moment, then fell into silence, seemingly searching for the right words.
After a while, she finally spoke up.
"Um... I was thinking, assuming we don't damage the main load-bearing structure, is it possible to utilize the inherent, non-load-bearing redundant space within the building—such as the closets of adjacent units—to achieve a kind of dynamic spatial connection?"
The young girl asked with great seriousness.
Hearing this, Professor Fields' interest was immediately piqued.
"Dynamic spatial connection..." He chewed over Mary's question, not answering immediately.
Professor Fields picked up a piece of chalk and pulled down an empty blackboard. The gaze of the entire lecture hall fell upon him.
"A very interesting idea, Miss Morstan."
As he spoke, he began sketching on the blackboard.
"This question has already transcended the scope of conventional structural mechanics. It is more like an architectural trick, a... magic trick, magic concerning space."
In less than a minute, two adjacent squares appeared on the blackboard, just like the ones Mary had drawn in her notebook.
"In certain buildings from the early Victorian era, especially those mansions customized for the nobility, such designs did indeed exist. Their main function was not load-bearing, but to achieve some... rather special functions.
"For example, a rotating bookshelf with a passage to a secret room behind it. Or perhaps, wardrobes in two adjacent rooms where the back panel is movable, allowing someone to move from one bedroom to another without anyone knowing."
The professor spoke with immense dedication, chalk dust showering down with the movements of his arm, his entire being seemingly immersed in a world of his own, oblivious to his surroundings.
"Of course, those are relatively low-level magic tricks. And Miss Morstan, what you just mentioned is a far more ingenious design.
"Imagine a massive wardrobe. When it slides forward, the space behind it doesn't become empty; instead, it is synchronously filled by another cabinet panel disguised as a wall. The entire process is like a tightly fitted drawer: you pull one out, and the other gets pushed in.
"From the outside, the total volume of space hasn't changed at all, but in reality, a passage has been quietly opened."
The lecture hall was silent.
Most of the students were completely lost in the fog, only feeling that the professor was exceptionally excited today and that his lecture was becoming increasingly incomprehensible. Only Russell, while listening, looked at the simple sketch in Mary's notebook, his brows furrowing slightly.
Although Professor Fields proposed a feasible methodology, when it came to actual implementation, something seemed to be missing. Thinking of this, Russell stood up once again.
"Uh... Professor, I have a question."
"Of course, please speak, Mr. Watson." Professor Fields stopped his pen and turned his head to look at Russell expectantly.
"Does the design you just mentioned have basic requirements for the space?" Russell asked. "What I mean is... if this space consists of a living room and a bedroom, where the living room is about ten square meters and the bedroom is about nine square meters, could the design you just described possibly work?"
Hearing this, Professor Fields narrowed his eyes.
"Ten square meters and nine square meters..."
He put down the chalk in his hand and began pacing back and forth in the classroom, muttering constantly as he calculated.
"Assuming the wall thickness follows the standard brick and stone structure, it requires at least 240 millimeters. If it's to be made into a movable structure, additional mechanical parts and reinforcement frames must be added. This would encroach upon at least half a meter of thickness.
"Too thick. For a small unit with a total area of less than twenty square meters, doing so would make the space extremely oppressive and unreasonable."
As he spoke, he quickly drew cross-sectional views on the blackboard, reciting various professional terms. The blackboard, which had been relatively clear, was soon filled with all sorts of lines and formulas, thoroughly turning into a brainstorm that only he could understand.
Most students had already given up thinking and were drowsy. In fact, even Russell couldn't understand it at this point. He was now just waiting for Professor Fields to give him a precise answer. Yes, or no.
Mary's brows also furrowed, the fountain pen in her hand tapping lightly on her notebook.
Too complex, too high a cost, unreasonable.
This was her thought at the moment.
"Logically, it is feasible," Professor Fields said. "However, this is only logically feasible. To achieve this in reality, the cost required is not a small figure."
"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Professor—"
Russell nodded. Just as he was about to sit down, Mary beside him suddenly stood up again.
"Then what if we double the existing conditions?"
"Double them?" Russell turned his head to look at the young girl who had stood up.
Professor Fields also looked at Mary, asking uncertainly, "Do you mean doubling the existing volume?"
"No, I mean using the data Student Russell just mentioned as the standard, and then adding an identical sample." Mary shook her head. "In other words, if two apartments with the same layout and size are closely adjacent, would it be feasible, Professor?"
Hearing this, Professor Fields raised his eyebrows. He then turned around, picked up the chalk, and drew another identical square.
"If it is like this, there seems to be a possibility," he said.
"Mr. Watson, your question just now limited my imagination. You only provided a closed system, but if..."
His chalk tapped heavily on the shared wall between the two squares.
"If this system itself is composed of two units?"
"Wha... What do you mean?" Russell blinked blankly.
Could you say something I can actually understand? Otherwise, how am I supposed to explain this to Charlotte when I get back?
"Simply put," Professor Fields cleared his throat, threw away the short chalk in his hand, and took a new one.
"The condition you just proposed is theoretically feasible but practically unfeasible because the space is too small. But if we supplement it with the condition Miss Morstan just mentioned, then we can disperse the design that originally needed to be compressed into one space into two spaces.
"The original logic was to hide a passage inside the wall, but now it becomes making the wall itself the passage."
It wasn't about playing tricks inside the wall. It was about turning the wall into the trick.
"But... the wall isn't hollow," Russell said.
Hearing this, Professor Fields smiled, seemingly having anticipated this.
He did not give Russell too much time to think; the chalk moved rapidly across the blackboard, outlining a rough structural diagram.
"You only need to move the bookshelf wall on your side, and the one on the other side will move in sync, yielding a gap sufficient for passage between them. And after the movement ends, the gap closes, and everything returns to its original state."
Professor Fields put down the chalk in his hand.
"So, rather than saying the wall isn't hollow, it is better to say that the part of the wall you see isn't hollow. The part that is truly hollow has been concealed from your field of view by the massive bookshelf."
____
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉