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244 THE CLARENCIAN 2024-2025While the passengers were now in a state of confusion of their own, making inferences from the little to no information they received: %u201cHijackers%u201d, %u201cAnother plane crash%u201d, %u201cVIP%u201d. But none of them, even in their wildest dreams, would have been able to guess the truth: %u201cA missing plane from the past%u201d.The passengers of the plane were taken to a different building. Although the general public wasn%u2019t privy to this news, high authorities from all around the nation were in high panic. What could this mean?The confused passengers from the past were now getting angry, not knowing what to do. The manager of the airport tried to calm the passengers. Once he got the situation under control, a passenger stepped forward and pulled him aside. %u201cI%u2019m sorry, sir, but could I converse with you for a bit?%u201d%u201cSure,%u201d the manager replied.Once they were out of earshot of the other passengers, with a look of authority in his eyes, the passenger said, %u201cWe aren%u2019t the only ones.%u201dNithya V.12 ScienceAlchemists vs ChemistsIn the dim-lit corners of academia, alchemists and chemists represent a profound philosophical divide: mysticism versus empiricism. Alchemy, steeped in the esoteric, was an ancient pursuit of transformation, not merely of metals but of the soul. Alchemists sought the mythical Philosopher's Stone, a substance that could transmute base metals into gold and grant immortality.This transformation symbolised their deeper ambition: a spiritual awakening and purification. For the alchemist, this Magnum Opus was both a scientific and metaphysical journey, embracing an arcane language of symbols and mysticism that wove together knowledge of the natural world with philosophical and spiritual truths.Chemistry, emerging from the shadows of alchemy during the Enlightenment, embraced reason and empirical evidence. Chemists discarded the alchemical symbols and metaphors, replacing them with precise measurements and reproducible experiments. Figures like Antoine Lavoisier heralded this shift, introducing a scientific methodology that prized observation, accuracy and logical inquiry. Chemistry%u2019s language was formulaic, its processes measurable and verifiable. Gone were the cryptic references and allegories that defined alchemy; chemistry%u2019s focus turned to understanding and categorising matter itself.