Flux’s Capacitor
On a quiet Sunday afternoon in the government supplied apartment, Tear prepared tea and biscuits for her special guests. She had saved up her ration stamps to ensure she would have marmalade and butter for this special occasion. It would be in violation of her government monitored calorie intake, but minor infractions were usually ignored by the bbbff (big brother best fraternity franchise).
The arrival bell sounded and Tear turned her head to the monitor. She wasn’t surprised by the early arrival. Rift was always early. Before she could reach the ‘authorization’ button, her other guest arrived as well. Flux, well dressed and dapper as ever, was wearing a cranberry tweed jacket that complimented his standard purple bow tie. Rift never bothered with clothes.
Tear turned up the monitor volume to hear them. Flux said ‘good afternoon’ while Rift only grunted. So typical of them, that Tear had no doubt of their identity, and buzzed them in.
The monitor automatically switched to another camera as they entered. It followed them past the elevator doors and switched again to the ramp way that would take them to her apartment. They didn’t just walk side by side – they marched. They had been like that since she had used her special unicorn magic to find them. Initially their dislike of each other had hindered their cooperation, now, grudgingly given way to the unmentioned mutual respect for each other’s abilities.
Flux’s attention to minuscule details certainly impressed Tear, while Rift’s impulsiveness and brute force proved quit reliable to get the most difficult of jobs done. Tear saw herself as something in between the glue that held them together and the grease that allowed these divergent mechanical clogs to function. Except that today, she would have to stretch herself and establish herself as the leader of this little group of revolutionaries, and that would require a dangerous gamble.
The monitor continued to switch from camera to camera as the twosome continued their decent to her bbbff apartment.
It was the government decision that private ownership constituted a theft of property, in that if one pony claimed ownership of something, then it was theft from all others. Thus, the government justified their confiscation of all personal property and redistribution of said property to those most suited to empower its success, all according to the bbbff. A sound principal in theory, except that in practice, an obvious corruption existed, as no system, however perfect, could co-exist with the self-inherent tendency of ponies to lie to themselves. That lying ability or talent enabled them to persevere in spite of overwhelming evidence of the despair of effort. And this talent made any attempt at an equalitarian society totally prone to futility and corruption. Alas, under the present bbbff data management controlled society, resistance was futile. Only a reboot of the entire system could correct the inadequacies, and that was why Tear had sought out and gathered both Rift and Flux.
They arrived at her door, and she opened it with a smile. They entered and stationed themselves at polar opposites in the room.
“How progresses the operation?” asked Tear
“Great” responded Rift
“Excuse me, may I ask if?” interrupted Flux
“Yes, the bbbff listening devices had been temporary disabled” answered Tear
“And how was that done?” asked Flux
“The usual way, with magnets” answered Tear
“May I?” said Flux, not really waiting for an answer, activating his ECM device in his bowtie.
“You’re input is always welcome” responded Tear as she started pouring the tea.
“We are ready to commence a test operation” said Rift
“Agreed” said Flux
“No” said Tear
“No?” asked Flux “We have reviewed the calculation beyond my capacity to endure tedium. I can offer no more inputs to those equations until we have collected actual data”
“He is right” stated Rift “We need to test the stress levels of his machine before we can start our project”
“You misunderstand” said Tear “What I meant is that this initial event will be no test”
“What?” exclaimed Rift
“You can’t” said Flux
“We must” injected Tear “what we are doing is being monitored by the bbbff. The only reason they have not interfered is because they have no idea of our intent or ability”
“You mean to say that despite our precautions… “ asked Flux
“They know?” interrupted Rift
“Yes” said Tear “they know we are doing something. Did either of you think that our unusual requests for materials would go unnoticed?”
“All of my requisitions were common and specified for my abstract art program” responded Flux
“That may cover the requests but when we finally use it, the bbbff will jump down our collective throats. There can be no test” said Tear
“Big Brother is always watching” said Rift “then our operation is over”
“No” said Tear “not if we bypass the test phase and charge straight into action”
“That’s crazy” said Flux
“And irresponsible” said Rift
“And that is why it must work” responded Tear
“I like it” said Rift
“Forward into the breach dear friends” said Flux
“What?” asked Rift
“He said he agrees” translated Tear
“This is so crazy, it might just work”
“I don’t like it” said Rift
“Hey” interrupted Flux “you’re the one who is always bragging about how you can just ‘look’ at a storm cloud and get it to ‘thunder’”
“Yeah, but this is different” answered Rift “why do I have to do it from inside this contraption?”
“This will truly test our abilities” answered Flux
“I don’t know if I can do this either” answered Tear
“We need you to use your ‘finding’ ability to navigate us through the time flow” said Flux
“And why again do we have to do this by dropping from a balloon?” asked Rift
“We need to meet a minimum velocity to achieve time distortion” answered Flux
“What’s that mean?” asked Rift
“The time we exist in must ‘notice’ that we are slipping before it will let us go” answered Flux
“You refer to time as an entity” said Tear
“In a way it is” answered Flux “it is like the universe having a sub-conscious and when the standards of known physics are broken, as we are doing, the universe ‘hic-ups’.”
“And this ‘hic-up’ allows us to fall into a time free zone?” responded Tear
“Not exactly” said Flux “the time free zone IS THE NORM. We exist in our distorted state of linear time”
“This universe seems pretty real to me” interjected Rift
“Of course it does” responded Flux “we do not remember an alternative”
“And if Tear successfully uses her ‘finding’ talent” asked Rift “we will arrive at our intended destination?”
“Having no memory of the journey?” responded Tear
“Correct” said Flux “however, you will possess your learned skills from your encounter with the navigation controls”
“So why can’t I just leave myself a note?” asked Tear
“Because in our present linear time state, we haven’t yet traveled into the time free zone” answered Flux
“This sounds like so much mumble jumble” commented Rift
“And the minimum velocity we need to become ‘slippery’ is?” asked Tear
“1293.6 joules per second” answered Flux
“And that means?” asked Rift
“About 6 times faster than the fastest earth pony” answered Flux “which is also slightly faster than your areal cursing speed Rift”
“So what if I just pull your contraption at my sprint speed?” asked Rift
“My capacitor will become slippery enough to slide into the time stream, but you would be either freeze dried or friction burned or both in the process” answered Flux “you need to be inside with us”
“So why again do I need to gather the thunder clouds?” asked Rift
“Because they will provide us with the necessary electrical charge to enable the capacitor to activate” answered Flux
“And how much energy is that?” asked Tear
“1.21 gigawatts” answered Flux
“What are giga-whats?” asked Rift
“One thunder strike” answered Flux
“But you want more than 1 thunder cloud to do this?” stated Tear
“Yes, one is sufficient” answered Flux “but multiply thunder clouds at varying altitudes will give us optimal options for capturing the energy needed at the correct velocity”
“And I can’t gather the thunder clouds early?” asked Rift
“Correct” answered Flux “the hydrogen balloon is particularly sensitive to electrical shock”
“What?” asked Rift
“He said we would die in a big fiery explosion if the balloon is struck by the thunder” said Tear
“So after our contraption, sorry, capacitor is at the correct altitude, I will gather the thunder clouds and reenter the capacitor” said Rift “and then we will release the balloon and plummet to get the speed we need, while the thunder strikes us, releasing energy, and ‘hic-ups’ us into the time stream?”
“And if something goes wrong?” asked Tear
“Then we hit the ground so hard” answered Flux with a smile “that we’ll leave a big hole in the earth”
“But what about our hyper-sonic force field?” asked Tear
“That has limited self-protection effects” answered Flux “in fact; we will be counting on your ability, Tear, to navigate us into a reentry point where we use the velocity of the unit to counter gravity”
“Huh?” said Rift
“He says, we fall, get up to speed, absorb energy from a thunder strike, enter the time flow, exit the time flow close to the ground, traveling skyward to brake, and activate our shielding and gently bounce off the ground” said Tear
“Exactly” said Flux
“And if Tear’s navigation is incorrect?” asked Rift
“We will employ either our parachutes or refill another hydrogen balloon” answered Flux
“And none of us will remember our experience in the time stream?” asked Rift
“Correct” answered Flux
“Still sounds like mumble jumble to me” said Rift
“But you’ll do it” stated Tear
“Of course” answered Rift “this is going to be supernervousexciting, even if I don’t remember it after it happens”
“You do know that isn’t a real word?” asked Flux
“What are you?” asked Rift “a dictionary?”
“But why won’t you explain how the steering works in the capacitor?” asked Tear
“Because you already will know how to work it once we enter the time stream” answered Flux “any information I would give you now, would be purely speculative and may prove more confusing and contradictory than helpful”
“And what will you be doing while she is steering?” asked Rift
“We will assist her with subjective observational data” answered Flux
“Huh?” said Rift
“He says, you both will be screaming like frightened little foals” said Tear
“I object” said Flux “the likelihood of that is 12.67%”
“I bet he’ll scream louder” said Rift
“That bet would be meaningless” said Flux “since we won’t remember the event after it is over”
“I’ll take that bet” said Tear
“But didn’t I just argue that that would be meaningless?” asked Flux
“Yes” said Rift “we won’t remember, but I bet we will know”
“Agreed” answered Tear with a smile
In the public park, Flux’s abstract ‘art’ exhibit opening brought only a modest crowd of onlookers and critics. Tear & Rift quietly joined the crowd, speculating if any of the art connoisseurs were enforcers with the bbbff. The mood was casual and light hearted. Flux began the presentation with lavender and pink balloons that pulled colored streamers up into the sky, which due to his calculations presented silhouettes of known ponies dancing beneath the clouds. More ponies from throughout the community gathered to view the show. Mild clopping gave way to cheers & stomping, as the audience became awed at the artistic expression of a mathematical solution that considered the various variables of wind, temperature, and cooling of the balloons as they rose, plus the weight of streamers and cords. Critics would report that not since fireworks had been outlawed, had they witness such a spectacular areal event.
Flux beckoned to his ‘assistants’ who joined him on the modest stage. Tear used her magic to pull on the cords and streamers as the show began its second stage. Rift took to the air and circumvented the show creating a wind vortex that spun the entire balloon assemblage into a spinning representation of a dragon looming down upon the crowd. The response was immediate. Oohs and awes gave way to another round of clopping. Flux mused that his career as an artist was about to end and that this audience would never remember him, if the experiment worked.
In the final stage of the show, a satin covering upon the capacitor was removed. Its appearance was meet with hesitant speculation by the crowd. The green coloring with red trim seemed out of character in comparison to the brightly festive show. Especially ominous were the mechanical claws upon the sphere. 3 large balloons began to inflate, and brought modest approval from the crowd. Rift and Tear entered the device and were joined a moment later, as Flux with a last flourish saluted the crowd, and hopped through the hatch, just as the lift balloons reached positive lift. The device rose into the sky and accelerated, while internal lines continued to release hydrogen from pressurized tanks into the balloons.
At a radically higher altitude, Rift exited the device with a smoke canister in tow. The audience below continued their approval, even though such a garish display and use of an unauthorized blue smoke canister was most certainly outlawed by the bbbff as being wasteful and a potential breathing hazard. In fact, the canister also released a chemical researched, invented, and mixed by Flux to polarize the magnetic charges of the clouds. Flux now activated the compressors to start pulling hydrogen out of the lift balloons in order to neutralize the buoyancy. Rift now used his impressive skills to gather dark thunder clouds into a target zone beneath the capacitor and directly above the still growing audience of onlookers. The clouds wanted to discharge their thunder, but Rift gave them a stern look, that would have frightened a blind rock.
A pegasus critic and a secret member of the bbbff rose up from the crowd to get a better view of what was going to happen. She realized quickly that she had misjudged the altitude of the show, and it would take her many moments of painful vertical flight to reach the balloon contraption. This would happen way too late for any intervention on her part as Rift was reentering the capacitor through the iris door.
Like a deep breath before the plunge, the universe paused a long moment in slow motion. Flux released the balloons and the capacitor plummeted downward. The thunder clouds began releasing their energy is bright clacks of splashing erratic lightning that targeted the capacitor. The crowd below was so shocked that they became petrified at what they were seeing.
And then, it stopped, it all stopped. The crowd stopped. The bbbff pegasus stopped.
The capacitor was gone. Flux, Rift, and Tear were gone.
The wind stopped. The planets moving about the stars stopped. The stars moving about the galaxies stopped.
The universe stopped.
It ALL STOPPED.