Toaru Kagaku no Railgun (light novel)/Chapter 4

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Saten Ruiko
 * Uiharu Kazari
 * Kongou Mitsuko
 * Wannai Kinuho
 * Awatsuki Maaya
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Shokuhou Misaki
 * Hokaze Junko


 * Tokiwadai Dorm Supervisor

New Characters

 * Resanerié Sadis Dialine
 * Akazame
 * Yugure Tsumebakei
 * Yugure Kanaria
 * Tougyo Kea
 * Renka Ephilty
 * Sanki Ai
 * Shitatsuzumi Yoshiko

Abilities

 * Electromaster (Railgun-variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5
 * Teleport - Shirai Kuroko, Level 4
 * Mental Out - Shokuhou Misaki, Level 5
 * Rampage Dress - Hokaze Junko, Level 4
 * Telepathy - Kobayashi Satori, Level 3

New Abilities

 * Crimson Manager - Resanerié Sadis Dialine, Level 4
 * Sense Striker - Tougyo Kea
 * Fly Racing - Renka Ephilty, Level 3
 * Micro Dying - Yugure Kanaria, Level 3
 * Plus Equipment - Sanki Ai
 * Macro Dying - Yugure Tsumebakei, Level 4
 * Material Flare - Shitatsuzumi Yoshiko

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * School Garden
 * Tokiwadai Middle School


 * Tokiwadai Dormitory

Cultural References

 * As part of the plot, School Garden's underground was swiftly and secretly fortified with cubes of a lightweight aluminum alloy used for megafloats.   are generally speaking, though the term and structure has been used more specifically for a type of . Though present in the story, megafloats are not particular common in real-life. One specific example, actually called , was a 1km floating runway constructed in  in 2000, though it has been dismantled since then.
 * A appears as part of a demonstration, apparently at a pratical stage of development and described as a larger version of an , and similar technology in used to make School Garden airborne.    Flying cars are a type of vehicle that can function as both a car and an aircraft, the term sometimes used to include . In real-life, various prototypes have been created since the early 20th century but so far none have become a practical reality, though the idea is commonly used in science fiction.
 * Yugure Tsumebakei is described as look like she was dressed up for . This is a traditional Japanese rite of passage and festival day for three-year-old and seven-year-old girls, five-year-old and sometimes three-year-old boys, held to celebrate the growth and well-being of young children.
 * Yugure Kanaria displays a tendency to refer to other by the names of birds based on their name; her sister Tsumebakei as Tsumebakei (ツメバケイ) and Misaka Mikoto as Misago (ミサゴ). Mikoto and a few others in return refer to her as Kanaria (カナリア).
 * The is a species of tropical bird found in South America.
 * An is a fish-eating bird-of-prey.
 * are a type of bird in the genera ' and ' of the finch family. The of the  (a small songbird originating from the Macaronesian Islands (the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands)) has been kept as pets since the 17th century and were once used in the coal mining industry to detect carbon monoxide.
 * Just before School Garden becomes airborne, Shokuhou Misaki anticipates a major panic which she says will be brought on by some extreme . A metaphor based on the concept of not growing up and being trapped in childhood, much like the eponymous , it is pop-psychology term used to describe adults who are socially immature, often disparagingly and not a recognized and officially used term.