Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings

Young Isaac was returning from school. He took a step backward and tried to estimate the shortest route between his school and his home. Unlike the rest of the adolescents in his class, he was very calculative. Everything he saw around him was questionable. Shapes, forms, structures, everything ranging from the length of an average human's stride to the direction and intensity with which the nearest creek flowed were under his scrutiny. He asked the most baffling questions in class; the teacher was left tongue-tied on most occasions. His fellow classmates made fun of him for being inquisitive. He was a loner, and he was the most uninteresting and lifeless character at school. He was, what we would call in the present day, a complete nerd with no life to call his own; except nerds weren't given any sort of respect in the 17th century. In a world where teenagers were either busy exploring their intimate desires or working off their irresponsible parents' debts, Isaac was totally out of place. His focus was entirely about Mathematics and Physics; there were many questions that he sought answers for, and his desire to learn overwhelmed everything else. He found himself alone and estranged.

He jumped across a small rivulet, walked a few yards around the farms, and knocked on the door.

"Isaac, is that you?" his mother yelled. "Yes, mother" he replied.

"Can you be a jolly lad and fetch me a pail of water" she said. "Yes mother" he said as he dropped his satchel and walked to the well. It was the same well where he had tried to understand the rotational motion of a pulley; the fact that the rope took so long to erode under the weight of the bucket surprised him to this day. "What's bothering that silly mind of yours, lad?" his mother asked as he gave her the water bucket.

There were many things his mind couldn't comprehend, and that included his mother's ability to figure out what was going on in his mind, no matter how he tried to conceal it.

Her warm smile broke him open. "Mother, isn't there anyone who can understand and explain science the way I see it?" he said. She gave him a hug and said "I might not understand science, but I know that you'll be a great scholar. Now run along and go play outside. You're too young to be worried" she smiled as she patted his shoulder. This wasn't the answer he was looking for, but it was the best his mother could give.

Isaac walked to the fence separating his father's farm and the house and sat down, his thoughts racing from one question to another.

"Oi Isaac! Over here, you scrawny twit!"

Isaac turned around to see Billy and his annoying friends across the field. They never wasted a chance to bully him. As per the routine, he hopped off the fence and walked towards Billy.

"What is that barmy head thinking of? The shape of water?" Billy's friends laughed as Isaac lowered his head, waiting for the next insult. However, things took an interesting turn. One of Billy's friends, Joe, whispered something into his ear before he could carry on. Billy paused for a few moments, and then made up his mind.

"Isaac, we're going to bar maid's house to peep on her and her sisters. She's quite the bonny lass" he grinned as he tugged at Isaac's collar, motioning him to join them in their menacing deed. Isaac, however, had no interest whatsoever in watching women take a shower. He didn't understand why boys his age got so excited by a naked human being. Reproduction one was thing, but intimate passions that led to brief moments of euphoria had no place in the genius mind of young Isaac Newton.