The Thirteenth Night

(The Return)

[Insert Pic]

Harness 2

~
It has been a rough week for poor, little Robert. His dreams felt restless ever since he has
encountered the number devil, but he has never felt so satisfied in his life. With the devils help,
Robert learned to care and appreciate the wonders of mathematics, and has become Mr. Bockels
favorite student. However, he still felt empty inside because his friend, the number devil, wasnt
around anymore to aid him.
Honey, Im so proud that you passed that big test! said Roberts mother. How about
we celebrate with ice cream, and then you can watch a little bit of television before you go to
bed?
That sounds great!" Robert joyfully replied.
After a delicious digestion of raspberry raisin and a monster movie marathon, Robert was
ready to hit the hay. He fell into a blank state, a dream where he dreamt of nothing! Why cant I
see anything? Robert thought. All of a sudden, flames burst around his feet, and the humidity
rose intensely, making his skin turn a bright orange and the sweat leap off his face! And out from
the blinding smoke came the number devil!
Tex! Boy, am I glad to see you! cried Robert.
Hush! Not another word my boy! warned the
number devil. They are watching us right as we speak!

Harness 3
This struck Robert with great confusion. What are you talking about? he replied,
Where am I and why is it so dark in here?
The number devil could only speak with great silence. You have entered The Complex
Realm dear Robert. whispered the devil. This is where real numbers and imaginary numbers
coexist beside each other! The devil looked cautiously around, knowing that they were getting
closer to them. Imaginaries murmured the number devil. What was that? snapped Robert.
Imaginaries take the form of i instead of having a whole number. answered the devil.
But I thought numbers were represented by INTEGERS not letters! Robert curiously said. Oh
numbers can be anything really, the number devil explained, they can be Xs or Ns or any
letter imaginable, as long as there is a value to represent them.
So what does i represent? asked Robert.
The letter i by itself is actually the rutabaga of negative 1! explained the number devil.
2
If you hop the letter i two or more times, you get a different result. For example, i (i hop 2)

will get a value of negative one, and i

will get, well, -i.

I wonder why? Robert curiously asked.

Its simple. clarified the devil. i hop 2 times i hop 1, which is just i, equals i or i hop
3! The devil wasnt done with his explanation just yet. Any form of i can be placed on the
coordinate plane, just like polynomials or any other point. From the ground spurred a pillar, and
out to the right came a giant bar which impacted straight through the pillar giving a cross shape.

Harness 4
Then with the flick of the cane, the number devil set up a grid made of pure light on all for
quadrants of the cross.
These are points (-1,-1i) and (1, -1i).
showed the devil. Just like
regular

numbers, i can be placed

anywhere on a

plane. Polynomials take the form

of x and

can be hopped, just like i. Then

all of a

sudden, an unfamiliar curve

swooped

down from underneath Robert, and

landed on top of the points. This is the quadratic function, nasty looking fellow, aint he? said
the devil. The quadratic formula glared at Robert, grunting in disgust by his very presence.
Make it go away! cried Robert. I dont like xs!!!
Alright. reasoned the number devil, and with the flick of his cane, he transformed the
evil function into a snake! Now Robert, even though this is your first time encountering a
Cubra, let me reassure you that he is perfectly harmless!
How did you do that? asked Robert
Simple. said the number devil. All you do is hop x another time. The higher they go,
the more curves and shapes they will have. Before the number devil could show more
polynomials and there effects on a graph, the Cubra swallowed him whole, all the way down to
the x-axis. It appears that Im stuck. examined the devil in a muffled tone. Quick Robert! Tell
me where Im at!

Harness 5
It looks like youre at a (0,0). said Robert. Carefully, the number devil knew how to get
out of this trap! Alright Robert. said the devil. I want you to add a polynomial to this
function, try subtracting x hop 2 to the formula. Robert obeyed the devils command, and then
he saw the little bump slide down and hit another point on the graph.
It looks like I hit the relative minimum. Every Cubra, or any of its Pythonomial cousins,
can stretch to an infinite length adding as many curves as possible. explained the devil.
Pythonomials can have zeros and even complex zeros, which is unseen to the human eye,
because they involve is!
How do you solve
complex zeros? asked Robert.
If I cant see them, how can I
believe that they are really there?
Each Pythonomial has
its own special case of solving
the their solutions, or zeros.
explained the devil. Quadratic Pythonomials use the quadratic formula to find its zeros, but
since Im stuck in a snake of a higher degree, I suggest we attack this problem with a theorem; a
Conjugate Zero Theorem to be exact.
Alright, complied Robert. Where do we start?
First things first, factor the equation. said the number devil. Ever since we subtracted
an extra polynomial to this function, we can factor it out!
2
So we would get: x ( x2 ) or ( x)( x2)(x +0) . said Robert confidently.

Harness 6
Precisely my boy! cheered the devil. This means that the two real zeros are 0 and 2,
but did you check the hop, Robert?
What do you mean? There are only 3 hops! examined Robert.
Exactly, looking at the degree can give the number of zeros to find! said the devil. This
means that there is one more zero to find! Now where is that little bugger?
Well it seems like x is a factor of (x-2) (x+0) when it is put in standard form. explained
Robert. And when x2-2x is divided by x, the quotient will be x - 2! If I plug it into the quadratic
formula, I get:
2 22 4 (1)(0) 22 i 2+2 i
=

2
2
2(1)

so the zeroes would both be 0+0i! THATS INCREDIBLE!!!

Its funny how the math world works. reminisced the number devil. So lets review,
this Cubra has a relative maximum of (0,0), a relative minimum of (1.33, -1.19) -that is where I
am currently located-and three zeros of (0,0), (2,0) and (0+0i). We are only left with one
problem, how do I get out of this mess? The snake is unlimited! It will take me an eternity to get
out!
Dont sell yourself short. said Robert. I think I have an idea
Robert thought of the idea in almost a second. Snakes are only harmful when provoked
by an external force, giving anyone the right to defend themselves from a snake attack. The best
way to kill a snake is by penetrating its body with some sort of lance, or long sharp object. How
can I attack him indirectly? thought Robert. I GOT IT!

Harness 7
Using the oldest polynomial known, a red, linear lance came rushing through the 2nd
Quadrant of the graph, and intercepted the y-axis at (0,3). The lance went straight through the
snake, and with a cry of pain, the snake burst into millions of pieces all over the coordinate
plane! POOF!
Out popped the number
devil with a joyous shout of:
WHAHOOOOOO! IM FREE-EEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! The devil
landed back on his feet and asked
Robert, How did you know
linear functions kill Pythonomials
so easily?
Simple. said Robert. Snakes used to come into my gardens all the time. Every time I
would go adventuring, I always brought my survival rake in case if I ever got ambushed.
Well you got lucky. warned the number devil. Pythonomials are deadly creatures in
mathematics. They can take on the forms of Snikes, Cosnikes, or even Tangakes!
Thank goodness we havent ran into any of those yet said Robert in a relieving tone.
All this talk about mathematical snakes is getting me dreary; it looks like we have to part
ways.
There, there. said the devil. Well see each other again soon. Ill be in your math
books, calculator, or any other utensil if you ever need the help
Robert thanked the number devil for all the hard work he has done for him in the past,
then Robert saw a blinding light that served as an exit to his dream. Robert woke up to see the

Harness 8
bright sunshine filling the room. Oh Robert, greeted his mom. you were walking around all
night making waves out of your video game controller cords, and tying your shoelaces into
knots; what has gotten into you?
Well mom, explained Robert. I was hunting the rare Cubra Pythonomial in my sleep,
have you seen one around?
I swear, the movies kids watch these days chuckled Roberts mom. They both shared
a laugh, and Robert went off to start a new day at school.
Where will the number devil be when Robert has to learn: LOGS!?!

THE END

Harness 9

Story by:
Christopher Harness

The Number Devil was created by:

Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Original Illustrations by:

Christopher Harness

Illustrations by:
Rotraut Susanne Berner

For Mrs. Dewey

-For the wonderful year in FST and all that you taught us.