The awakening of science

Adrian Tarper was walking through the narrow corridors of the university, his shoulders hunched under the heavy piles of paper he had just collected in the library. The air in the hall smelled of books and dust, a scent that for him always brought with it the promise of new knowledge. Outside, a cold March wind blew, but inside it was warm, filled with the sounds of
discussions between students and teachers.
His office was small, a modest room with only the essentials: a desk, a few bookcases and some equipment to help him with his neuroscience experiments. Yet for him it was all he needed. Ever since his studies, Adrian had been fascinated by the grey areas of science - the questions that were not easy to answer. It had become his calling to search beyond the obvious answers.
In the past few weeks, he had been delving into a special subject that had aroused his curiosity: the so-called Anima scanner. It was not a recent design, but a forgotten prototype of a device that had been presented hundreds of years ago by scientists and philosophers from the distant past. According to the old documents that had aroused his interest, the scanner
was intended to quantify the ’soul’ of a person through brain activity and emotional waves. 

Adrian had worked through several articles on the subject - works by philosophers who saw the scanner as a theoretical tool, but also by scientists who saw the device as a bridge to a new reality. He leaned back in his chair en stared at the piles of documents on his desk. The scanner has always been some form of myth, a forgotten dream that no scientist of the modern day took seriously. But what if there was more?
He rubbed his eyes, tired from the long nights he had spent studying the ancient scriptures. His latest idea was to create an improved version of the Anima Scanner, one that would go beyond the primitive technology of the old days. Instead of simply measuring brainwaves, he wanted to use AI and new, more advanced sensors that could record not only the electrical activity in the brain, but also the complexity of human emotions.

A slight shiver ran through him. What if the human mind was nothing more than a set of brain processes, measurable and predictable? What would that mean for everything we know about consciousness, free will and the soul?
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "Come in."
A man of similar age to Adrian came through the door with two mugs in
his hands. "Ah, Thymon, I see you brought coffee."
The man who knew how to start the morning confirmed his action with a big smile.
"Nothing can be researched without a good cup of coffee."
Adrian took the mug from Thymon without any effort.
"I know you wouldn’t tell me, but I can see it in your face - you worked through the night, didn’t you?"
Adrian smiled weakly. "Who says I spent the whole night?"
Thymon raised his eyebrows and took a sip of his own coffee. "Your eyes give you away, buddy. If you’re not careful, your mind will spin in circles and you’ll lose your grip on everything."
Adrian glanced at the piles of documents on his desk. 
"Maybe you’re right. But this... this is too important." 
His voice was filled with a mixture of excitement and concern. 
"I’m so close to something, Thymon. This subject, that Anima scanner, it has me in its grip. I don’t know how to do it other than keep working every day."
Thymon leaned back in his chair and looked at Adrian with a slight, but worried smile. 
"That old scanner you found in the university archives? Seriously, Adrian, that’s been a forgotten piece of history for centuries. Do you really think you can do anything with it?"
Adrian looked up, his eyes sparkling with determination. 
"I don’t believe in ’impossible’. There are indications that there is more than just the old theories. Look, brain activity can’t just follow mathematical patterns. Emotions, depth of consciousness, there is something in that human experience that we don’t understand yet. This device, it could be the key to something great."
Thymon was silent for a moment, sipped his coffee and put down his mug.
"I can’t tell you that you’re right, but I do know that you often get lost in
the details, Adrian. Maybe there’s a reason why this idea from history was never developed further."
Adrian nodded slowly, but his thoughts were already elsewhere. He felt the urge to do the experiment, to continue, even if it meant entering unknown territory. There was always something fascinating about the idea that man himself might be nothing more than a series of biological processes. What if it wasn’t a mystery, but just science in its purest sense?
"Maybe you’re right," he said finally, but his voice was determined. 
"But I can’t help it. This is what I have to do."
Adrian stared at the wall in front of him, his thoughts reeling. The idea of the Anima scanner and its possibilities held him captive. He thought of the old manuscripts, the passages he had read about the philosophers and scientists of centuries ago. If they suspected then that the soul was measurable, why wouldn’t it be possible now?
"I can’t just leave it there, Thymon. There’s something in that device, something that shouldn’t just be swept away by history," Adrian said determinedly. 
"There are still so many questions, so many uncertainties. But maybe... maybe we can find the answers now."
Thymon looked at him thoughtfully. "So what’s your plan? Do you already know how you’re going to modify that scanner? You have the technology and pretty much all the necessary qualities, but are you confident that you’re doing it right?"
Adrian swallowed slightly worriedly.
"I already have some ideas. We’re using AI to not only analyse brain activity data, but also to discover patterns that we wouldn’t normally see. It’s not just a matter of measuring instruments; it’s about understanding the depths of human experience."
Thymon stood up and glanced at the window, where the sun was now shining through the gray clouds of the morning. 
"And what if you’re right? What if you do discover something that will change the foundations of science and the world?"
Adrian shrugged. 

"Then we’ll see if the world, maybe even the universe, is ready for it."

The day that followed was like any ordinary day for Adrian until a discerning call came from the person who so gracefully brought him his coffee in the morning. All he had to say was for Adrian to hurry up to his office on the third floor of the academy building. Adrian rushed up the stairs and ran to the end of the hall, where a loud noise encompassed the room behind the door. He threw it open, and inside was what someone would call, an explosive mess.
On the left side of the room, what looked like a ball of fire was flying over to the right. In the far back corner on the right a set of fire crackers was going off, making the floor a danger site. "Thymon, are you organizing a firework show or something!"
Adrian had to shout, only for Thymon to ignore him, facing Adrian with his back towards him. The noise was clearly too loud.
"Thymon, seriously, what are you doing!"
Adrian walked towards the scientist, making sure to not trip on any crackers or other potential explosives. He grabbed a hold on Thymon’s shoulder, who was clearly was surprised. He jumped up, his hands in oven mittens holding some a big metallic lid. It came loose, and before Adrian knew, and only after Thymon screamed a loud no, did a large, loud explosion cover the room on the third floor within the Academy of Philosophy and Science.