Members of the French Academy held their seats for life. Only when a member died and left a vacancy could a replacement be elected by a vote of all members.
To be chosen as an Academician meant entering the hall of France's cultural history, becoming one of the "Immortals," with one's name carved upon the Academy's walls.
French Academicians also wore swords. These were called the Sword of the Immortals, and Georgiana found it difficult to decide whether a sword set with the Regent Diamond was more beautiful, or this ceremonial Sword of the Immortals.
Laplace had invited Georgiana to observe the session. After finishing his debate at the Academy of Humanities, he took her on a tour of the French Academy. He had recently completed Celestial Mechanics and hoped Napoleon would read it and inscribe something at the beginning.
Georgiana knew that artillerymen certainly had to study mechanics, but she was not sure whether Napoleon could understand Celestial Mechanics. Laplace merely laughed and said that, with the First Consul's intellect, there would be no problem at all. That made it difficult for her to tell whether Napoleon was monstrously clever or possessed by something. In any case, she herself found the book very difficult to read.
That evening, Bonaparte came again. He read the book with her, turning the pages so quickly that Georgiana doubted he had truly read them. Halfway through, he turned around and tested her on how much she had understood. Annoyed, she slapped him on the forehead.
In many respects, Muggles' bodies were inferior to wizards', whether in lifespan or certain physical functions. After fighting for ten years and crossing the Alps twice, Napoleon's body was certainly not as sound as that of someone who had lived a peaceful life. Tending to his health had