fandomhigh | Science You Cannot Possibly Comprehend, Monday, Period 5

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Science You Cannot Possibly Comprehend, Monday, Period 5

Doom was not in a throne this week. Sorry, you weren't always going to see him being a total pimp. Sometimes you were going to see him being an awesome scientist.

As the students entered the science lab, where all future classes would take place, they would see Doom standing on a flat, metal platform on the ground. There were two more next to him as well. "As I mentioned last week, I created mechanical time travel before anyone else in my world. I am now aware of future beings who travelled before my time, but their technology owes much to mine."

And then Doom launched into a very detailed explanation of how time travel works (and how to stick to a singular timeline even though every choice you make creates alternate realities) and how you can mechanically control the timestream.

Seriously, you'd have to be among the ten smartest people on Doom's world to fully grasp his instructions... which weren't even complete. Because did he really want students knowing how his time travel technology worked? No.

"Now that you'e heard the theory and been heard much about the construction of my Time Platform, you have three choices. You can choose to merely experience time travel. The completed platform I stand on is calibrated to send anyone who stands upon it to the end of class. Please note the time shown on the lab's clock and your watches or any time device you own that does not self correct before you step through. Then note the time on the clock when you have reached the end of class."

"This second platform is partially completed. The components within it already are calibrated to ensure you join the rest of us at the end of class. There is no way to change that. And it is likely that if you attempt to study what has already been built, it would be akin to a dog staring at the inner workings of a computer. Team together and finish the work if you believe you can."

"The third platform is merely a shell. You will have the rest of the class period - a mere thirty minutes - to work together to build an entire platform from the provided parts and instruction from earlier. Please note that you will fail. But in failing Doom's challenge, you, like so many others, may still learn important lessons."

"One way or another, you will see me at the end of class," Doom said. The Platform he was standing on began to glow, and then a glowing plane lifted from the platform, up and then back down Doom's body. Suddenly, he was gone. Well, from this moment in time, at least. See you at the end of class!

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This platform is in pieces. A talented group will not finish it before the end of class. But your failure may teach you something!

Danny's best record for time machine completion was about a week, but that was entirely because he was lazy and easily distra--

--hey, what was that?

Never mind. He figured, he should at least challenge himself. Platform 2 he could probably do blindfolded, and he wouldn't want to take the fun from the other guys, so he was definitely going to give this beautiful scattering of equipment a go. Thirty minutes, though. He had to admit, that was a pretty heavy order, especially since the technology was probably a little stilted from what he was used to.

Still, when in Rome 5000.... Danny hefted up a wrench, started whistling, and got to work. Who knew? Maybe the lesson he'd learn was that, if he truly applied himself, he could get a time machine done in thirty minutes.

Or he would just learn that trying to finish something in thirty minutes was stupid because anything really worth doing clearly took a week, if not more. OBVIOUSLY.

"Does this help?" Cecil held out an impressively complex bit of machinery. He thought it was probably part of the part that put you back together at the end.

"Oooh, yeah!" said Danny, happily taking the proffered bit of machinery and hefting it a little in his own hand. "This bit is really important."

Though Danny would not exactly be able to say why. It was just one of those things that was, you know? He certainly wasn't going to waste any of their precious, way too ridiculously short time in attaching it to what he'd already managed to put together.

"This your first time machine, cowboy?" he asked curiously, wondering if he could find another time machine veteran and, together, with their powers combined, they could cleave together some sort of ultra time machine that did...ultra stuff, or something.

"Yes?" Cecil answered, beaming. He'd known that bit was important. "As far as I know, anyway. We did have a time traveler come through Night Vale once, though! He was sort of odd."

"Yeah," Danny said with a smirk, giving his wrench a little twirl before setting it to work again, "most of them are. What made you want to come over and work on this one if it's your first time?"

"It seemed like the most fun and the biggest learning experience." Cecil shrugged. "And the parts looked pretty nifty."

Danny grinned. "I like your style, man," he said. "Here, why don't you go ahead and attach this here megabooster doohickey to that there temporal space cable thingamabob?"

"Great!" Cecil grinned hugely, thrilled to be doing Science! He sat down and grabbed both parts and tried to decide... "Hm. Welding or duct tape?" He picked up the tape. "We do only have half an hour."

Then he perked up, cocking his head. "Couldn't we work on it for twenty-nine minutes, then go back in time and work some more?"

Edited 2013-09-09 19:18 (UTC)

Danny considered the question, which was indeed a very good one, and almost went with Cecil's point, but then he shook his head. "Naw, man," he said, "you never want to cut corners with time machines, not unless you really want some seriously jacked up results."

This, coming from a man who once tried nacho cheese sauce as an alternative fuel....

"Besides, welding is fun."

Shame he didn't think to bring a laser welder or something with him to class today...that might have shaved off some minutos.

"And that would only work if we managed to get it to minimum capacity functionality, which...is...possible?"

A light went off in Danny's head.

"You're brilliant, dude!"

Edited 2013-09-09 19:20 (UTC)

Cecil grinned and determinedly picked up the arc welder. Carlos would be so impressed! This was going to be awesome!

Victor joined the team on the third platform without really considering the other options. He didn't think half an hour was enough time, but so what? Doing the hardest thing possible in a science class was a point of family pride.

He rolled out some blueprints he'd sketched based on the lecture and started welding pieces together to match them. It wasn't quite the same as the device they'd used to get to 1912, but the principles were close enough that he could follow along.

"Can I help?"

Cecil wasn't terribly scientifically adept, but he was very enthusiastic! And he had hands!

"Sure," Victor said, barely glancing up from the screw he was tightening. "What are you good at?"

Cecil blinked. He wasn't entirely sure how that was relevant, but okay. "Radio, talking, hiding, screaming, sex, reporting, ignoring, forgetting, remembering, surviving..."

He tried to think of more. He really wasn't used to bragging like this!

Yeah, that was not exactly what Victor had been asking. Though he appreciated the thoroughness.

"... okay, what are you good at that has to do with science?" he amended. "Though, uh, congrats on the being good at sex. And surviving."

"Thanks!" Cecil grinned. "Um...I'm good at watching? And at getting out word about it. And I got a B in Transmigration."

"Transmigration is a class?" Not the issue, Victor. "And it's not exactly watching, but maybe you could keep an eye on the blueprints and give me the tools I need."

"Well, yeah, in seventh grade." Cecil shrugged. He wasn't going to admit how long ago that was.

"Sure, I can do that! What do you need?"

"Oh, of course." Victor ... hadn't actually existed in seventh grade. So.

He bent his head over his sketched blueprints and eyed Danny's progress. "Copper wire," he said. "20 gauge, I think we're using that to make the conductor for the flux unit."

Cecil rummaged until he found it and passed it over. What? He could read, and he knew what copper was. Then he knelt and squinted behind the adorable protective glasses at the thing Danny had given him to weld.

"Do you think we can get enough done in time to go back and have more time? Danny thinks maybe." Actually, he'd said Cecil was brilliant, but Cecil had done enough bragging to Victor already.

"Danny's a hell of a lot more optimistic than I am," Victor noted. He pulled off a length of wire and cut it to the right length, talking the whole time he worked.

"He looks like he knows what he's doing, and I know I could figure this stuff out, but half an hour's barely enough time to make pizza, let alone a time machine. But who knows, maybe we'll surprise me."

He felt a little bad about disappointing Cecil, especially given the adorability of the glasses, but he wasn't going to lie.

"It's enough time to order a pizza," Cecil pointed out. "Hey! Do you think the delivery folks know time travel? We could ask them to help."

Really, there was no other explanation for how they could cook and deliver a pizza so fast and have it still be cold.

[OOC: I swear one of these effing days I'm going to learn to CHECK THE ACCOUNT before posting. :P]

"That is actually kind of a brilliant theory," Victor said. "Hey, maybe if we order Doom a pizza he'll be so impressed he'll give us extra time."

But probably not.

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Science You Cannot Possibly Comprehend, Monday, Period 5

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