Finding the Ideas: spec-fic

The idea slipped between his fingers and fell back into the vat. He cursed and opened his eyes.

"Patience!" his teacher admonished. "You have given up, and now the vat will be empty when you return to the state. You will never know what was being suggested to you. Had you stayed in the state and strived to create a tool to extract the idea, you might yet have retrieved it."

The student felt foolish. He had not even thought of that possibility. As soon as he had lost the idea, he had assumed that it was gone forever. He bowed his head in contrition. "I am sorry, master," he said. "I will learn more."

"You certainly will," the old man said sharply. "Either that, or you will be kicked out of the school to wander the earth as common folk do, with no understanding of the ways that we strive--"


Inspiration: I was trying to remember the inspiration that the Muse gave me the other day, or the other good idea that I had. Alas, they are gone. Zounds! Blast it!
Story Potential: At first I thought very low--stupid premise--but now I think that there is some potential here after all.
Notes: The potential lies in *where* the ideas are coming from, and what sort of ideas they are, and how this society has adapted to them--I think this is one of those stories that seems to be fantasy but is really science fiction. Possibly also a novel.