Ah, linear algebra.

A c F(m x n) -> rank (A) + dim N(A) = n

Beautiful.

But, the story. Very interesting, I was amused all along as there are references to a subject near to my heart. The ending is very good, relating the projections and the birth of the basilisk. Nice touch. Although, the end is a bit sad, even bitter. The basilisk portrayed in your stories seems to be quite lonely and sad little critter. Anyway, the story is very good, I enjoyed reading this.

Thanks!

After I uploaded this, I suddenly questioned myself. "Will anyone read it, or will their eyes glaze over at things that don't make sense to them? Nobody will get it."

So, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I admit my eyes glazed over a bit >^_^< but I kept going and the payoff was worth it.

I’ll reply here since it also answers your question. As I was reading I at first tried to comprehend the math with my rusty memory until I did a mental pull-back and focused on the bigger picture of the explanation going on. There you used descriptors and images so well that it was understandable as far as what he was trying to explain and made the payoff at the end quite pleasurable, if a bit sad.

Also nice to see a bit more of the back-story of Hauke.

I never really settled on one back story because...I had an awesome and exciting one, and a kind of boring one. Which is the truth? Maybe they both can be. :>

Fiction is tailor made for awesome and exciting.

Very good. I'm with poetigress, I didn't really get the math. Did a little bit of calculus in high school but I don't remember much of anything. Probably blanked it out. Had to look up a lot of the terminology on the internet, but at least you grabbed my attention. And I liked it so much, I read it twice.

Nice story, I skimmed over the math part since math has always been gibberish to me. It seems a sad story overall.

*sits there with her mouth open... you really teach this stuff?

great story Hauke... I really enjoyed it...

*pounces on a mouse... curses... and chases after...

V.

I certainly do teach that stuff. And I test people on it, too.

*blinks... dammmuuummmmmmmmmm...

V.

Oy. Math (cringe). But I liked the story though :) I agree with panzergulo's comment that the story of the basilisk is a bit tragic.

Knot to worry; the math's not boring but I'd be at the front of the class doodling anyhow when I have to sit through classes.
But very, very interesting - a personal story, with a hint of what your father was like, a cock that laid an egg. Interesting to hear more...

Doodling at the front of the class is better than yawning at the front of the class. :>

a very interesting story . . . we each work with the vocabulary we have . . . and actually, once is starts to cross over into geometry i start to get it a bit, more visual that way :)

i especially like the "wouldn't shut up and wouldn't shut up . . . " sequence. Questioning how much of what we do is consciously daring the fates. " . . . daring the stone to leap into him and become him." I just love the taste of that line.

Thank you! I was trying to imagine what it would feel like to have such an effect emit from your eyes as you stared at something.

That ending is really quite chilling. I agree, it's nice to see Hauke's backstory.

Forgive me, though... You'll have to refresh my memory, just a bit, on how a basilisk is born, though. I don't feel as though I've missed anything, but having forgotten one piece of information... Well, I'll probably get it better. :3

You could look it up! Well, I'll just tell you because I like talking about it.

First off, there's probably a bit of confusion about whether I'm talking about basilisks or cockatrices. Same legends, different countries, slightly different appearance. I treat the words as somewhat interchangeable.

They are hatched from an egg laid by a rooster (some sources say it has to be an old rooster, but if a young one laid an egg that would be miraculous enough) and incubated by a snake or a toad, depending on who you ask.

Oh yes, and thank you very much for reading it! I'll send you an egg in the mail as a way of saying thanks. :>

...No, please, it's okay. D: You don't have to.