11-07-2017, 01:33 PM
A thrill crept up his spine and Malik smiled. It was as if he could see her thoughts, could see the vistas and landscapes of what was possible opening up before her eyes.
He almost envied her. Almost. For him, the worlds he explored existed in a Platonic reality- or, if he wanted to look at it another way, as enumerations of predefined mathematical structures, patterns more intricate than anything that could exist, that existed in some computational apparatus.
His world was a reality that could only exist in the mind, mathematical tools invented to continually open up new islands of pure symmetry, continents and underground caverns of harmony, mountain spires of beauty and cascading thunderious waterfalls of order. And connecting it all, a vast expanse of tunnels filled with gems and geodes, the hidden axioms and theorems and conjectures, connecting the most disparate of continents into one beautiful whole- perfect and transcendent.
Only in the mind could a Koch snowflake exist, built recursively from one iteration of a triangle to the next, repeating endlessly; a shape with an area that despite being completely finite (only 5/8's the area of the original triangle) had a perimeter that was infinitely long. Starting from a single point on the edge of the snowflake and then traveling forward, along the edge, one point to the other, on and on, one length and turn after another, on into infinite, one would never reach the starting point. Infinite. Never ending.
In reality, in this universe, it was impossible. On paper, even in with the most precise of pens, or using technology, dragging individual atoms into the shape, there was always a floor, a place where the next iteration could not be made. The resolution of reality could go no lower, the bar set, Planck's constant forever blocking reality from being any smaller.
But Dr. Zayed played in a different universe, a hybrid universe. Her research would play out in a different realm than his own. And for just a moment, he wished he could play in that universe too.
Time. There just was never enough time. The world was too big to let go. There was too much of importance to do. Order had to be brought to the chaos.
Still, Malik thought, a Sith will allow himself indulgences. Power is an end, to be sure. But what good power if it is not enjoyed?
Balance was the key. Not in pleasures, to be sure. But in how one lived. One was as important as the other. Life was visceral and bloody and sweet and tender. To be savored and ripped and caressed. To be analyzed and studied and cataloged. To push and to prod and to shape. Each experience changing you that much more, contributing its small mite, its quanta of difference.
The smile that blossomed on her face was beautiful and transformed her face. It was breathtaking to behold and Marcus' brown eyes softened as his own mirrored hers, joyful in her joy. He was struck but its alienness- a thing he had never seen- such pure unadulterated happiness. "I am pleased that you will join us. I believe one day, people will look back on this as something quite momentous- perhaps every bit as so as Ascendency's revelation."
And enough of that. There was optimism and then there was weaning arrogance. He waved his hand.
"Obviously, it will take a bit of time to get you into our systems. Protocol and all that. In the meantime, though, if you would start to put together your requirements- type of locations, material, equipment, funding, staff- you may bring anyone you wish who you think will help you- we can begin getting this ready for you. And I am pleased to send you my own work in case you might find it useful."
Malik stood, smoothing his coat and offering a hand to help her to her feet. He smiled at her, a friendly smile that perhaps contained a bit more that was strictly necessary. "While I will not be able to work directly with you on this, I would appreciate being appraised of your work- your ideas and theories and discoveries. I confess I am a bit jealous at what you have before you. Being allowed to play a little bit in your universe would be wonderful."
Edited by Marcus DuBois, Nov 7 2017, 04:51 PM.
He almost envied her. Almost. For him, the worlds he explored existed in a Platonic reality- or, if he wanted to look at it another way, as enumerations of predefined mathematical structures, patterns more intricate than anything that could exist, that existed in some computational apparatus.
His world was a reality that could only exist in the mind, mathematical tools invented to continually open up new islands of pure symmetry, continents and underground caverns of harmony, mountain spires of beauty and cascading thunderious waterfalls of order. And connecting it all, a vast expanse of tunnels filled with gems and geodes, the hidden axioms and theorems and conjectures, connecting the most disparate of continents into one beautiful whole- perfect and transcendent.
Only in the mind could a Koch snowflake exist, built recursively from one iteration of a triangle to the next, repeating endlessly; a shape with an area that despite being completely finite (only 5/8's the area of the original triangle) had a perimeter that was infinitely long. Starting from a single point on the edge of the snowflake and then traveling forward, along the edge, one point to the other, on and on, one length and turn after another, on into infinite, one would never reach the starting point. Infinite. Never ending.
In reality, in this universe, it was impossible. On paper, even in with the most precise of pens, or using technology, dragging individual atoms into the shape, there was always a floor, a place where the next iteration could not be made. The resolution of reality could go no lower, the bar set, Planck's constant forever blocking reality from being any smaller.
But Dr. Zayed played in a different universe, a hybrid universe. Her research would play out in a different realm than his own. And for just a moment, he wished he could play in that universe too.
Time. There just was never enough time. The world was too big to let go. There was too much of importance to do. Order had to be brought to the chaos.
Still, Malik thought, a Sith will allow himself indulgences. Power is an end, to be sure. But what good power if it is not enjoyed?
Balance was the key. Not in pleasures, to be sure. But in how one lived. One was as important as the other. Life was visceral and bloody and sweet and tender. To be savored and ripped and caressed. To be analyzed and studied and cataloged. To push and to prod and to shape. Each experience changing you that much more, contributing its small mite, its quanta of difference.
The smile that blossomed on her face was beautiful and transformed her face. It was breathtaking to behold and Marcus' brown eyes softened as his own mirrored hers, joyful in her joy. He was struck but its alienness- a thing he had never seen- such pure unadulterated happiness. "I am pleased that you will join us. I believe one day, people will look back on this as something quite momentous- perhaps every bit as so as Ascendency's revelation."
And enough of that. There was optimism and then there was weaning arrogance. He waved his hand.
"Obviously, it will take a bit of time to get you into our systems. Protocol and all that. In the meantime, though, if you would start to put together your requirements- type of locations, material, equipment, funding, staff- you may bring anyone you wish who you think will help you- we can begin getting this ready for you. And I am pleased to send you my own work in case you might find it useful."
Malik stood, smoothing his coat and offering a hand to help her to her feet. He smiled at her, a friendly smile that perhaps contained a bit more that was strictly necessary. "While I will not be able to work directly with you on this, I would appreciate being appraised of your work- your ideas and theories and discoveries. I confess I am a bit jealous at what you have before you. Being allowed to play a little bit in your universe would be wonderful."
Edited by Marcus DuBois, Nov 7 2017, 04:51 PM.