Fifty-Ninth Theory [Voice/Action]

[i_speak_softly]

[After the experiment ended, and as summer came to Luceti, Don settled into a new routine. In the morning, he leaves his house, walks up the path to the barracks, and takes the teleporter to the beach. He runs several miles along the sand, then dives into the sea and swims back the same distance. Then he practices some magic, manipulating Wind or Water in any place that strikes his fancy, or moving to a rocky part of the shore to work with Earth.]

[By late morning he's home again, and after lunch he heads out to the smithy. He spends several hours in a back room, working on mysterious projects, then emerges again. He often visits the library afterwards, and in the evenings he can be found around the village, studying a book. Then home to sleep, and he starts all over again.]

[Today Don's projects are finished. He hauls the pieces out of the smithy, across the plaza, and into a clearing behind the playground, where he assembles them. Later, the following five structures can be found:]

[The first is a crazy assortment of reflective surfaces. Placed strategically among them are shallow metal bowls, which have been filled with kindling. A carefully-carved plaque beside this object reads: FIRE.]

[The second consists mainly of buckets on wheels, and buckets on a vertical conveyor belt, all installed in a kind of basin. The sign next to this one reads: WATER.]

[The third is a kind of Rube Goldberg machine. It's not clear what it does, but it appears it can be triggered by tilting the seesaw at one end of it. It is labelled: EARTH.]

[The fourth is a rack holding metal pipes of varying lengths, and glass jugs of differing sizes, and clusters of smaller metal rods hanging from strings. The plaque here says: WIND.]

[The fifth structure is different, and stands a bit apart from the others. It's a small hut, plain on the outside, with only a door in one side and a tiny hole in the other. There's a complicated canopy-like structure shading the door, so that even when it's opened the hut is still dim inside. The sign outside reads: SUNRISE, SUMMER SOLSTICE.]

[After completing his handiwork, Don will rest at the foot of a nearby tree, and pull out his journal.]

Earth. Fire. Water. Wind. What do they mean in your culture?

((Choose your own adventure!
A. Meet Don on his daily routine, any day that isn't ridiculously forward- or back-dated.
B. Catch Don while he's assembling these structures.
C. Come upon the structures sans-Don, and try them out. They are designed to become interesting when triggered by the corresponding element: flames reflect off the surfaces, water turns the wheels, a rock dropped on (or raised under) the seesaw starts the machine, and wind plays the instruments.
D. Explore the fifth structure. It does nothing interesting until June 20, when, if Don's calculations are correct, the rising sun will shine through the small hole and illuminate the inside.* Visitors will then be able to see what Don painted there: careful reproductions of constellations, and complicated equations describing various astronomical phenomena.
E. Answer Don's voice post. You know, if you want to do the obvious thing.))

((*Except that the calendar calls for thunderstorms that day, so sunrise may get rained out.))

Comments

[fierybluebird]

[Upon finding the fire sculpture, there's a bit too much evil glee on the pyro's face. Kindling. Now to just find a lighter or Ace. Alternately someone stop him. Marco is not someone who should be allowed to play with fire, even supervised.]

[i_speak_softly]

[No one appears. Have fun, Marco.]

((Feel free to invite someone else to thread with!))

voice

[searched]

In my world... magic, usually. Some people have the ability to cast elemental magic.

voice

[i_speak_softly]

Is it something they're born with? Or do they learn it?

voice

[searched]

Well, yes and no. Nobody used to have it or learn it... [ except in very specific circumstances ] ... but in the past few years, some people discovered they were able to use it.

voice

[i_speak_softly]

[That's very strange.]

Any idea what caused that?

[Voice]

[geniustheveil]

[Ami would be very interested in each of the setups, but her habits aren't very conducive to getting her out to see them, and she catches Don's journal post instead.

It makes her pause a moment before replying. Right now, top of her mind thinking of fire is worrying about the senshi of flame on the special mission. But she moves away from the personal.]

They're the basic elements in certain philosophies. They're considered very important.

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

[He'll pretend to know nothing about this.]

What's their significance?

[Voice]

[geniustheveil]

They're said to have connections to personality, which parts of a body are stronger or weaker, even predisposition to certain fates.

[This of course is not very scientific, hence the 'said to have', nothing more than discussing the philosophy itself, without comment.]

[Voice]

[i_speak_softly]

Are the correspondences thought to be functional, or only descriptive?

[cop_an_attitude]

[Having gotten bored and wandered out of the house to see what she could see, Sally comes upon Don constructing...something. Something elaborate and zany, to be sure. She comes up to get a better look, stops, and stares mutely for a long moment.]

I confess. I've got no idea what you're doing.

[i_speak_softly]

Neither do I, right now. [He picks up a hollow length of pipe and blows across the end, frowning at the note it produces.] Would you happen to have any musical talent?

[cop_an_attitude]

I've been told I have a remarkable talent for singing along to The Kinks at karaoke night, but that's about as far as it goes. [She picks up a piece of metal and turns it over in her hands.] What are you trying to do? Make modern art?

[i_speak_softly]

Make scientific art.

[With a "here goes nothing" shrug, he fires up his welder and attaches the pipe to the framework.]

B

[grapecape]

[Those are awfully eye-catching structures going up over there. Ondorus wanders over to watch from a short distance, not speaking up until the current one is completed.]

These are very impressive creations. Are they purely decorative?

[i_speak_softly]

Fun, too. I hope.

[He stands up from his latest creation, focuses a moment, and magically raises water from the basin into one of the buckets. As any observer might expect, the wheel turns so that the now-heavier bucket is at the bottom.]

[grapecape]

[Ondorus chuckles, walking closer and watching the device work. His eyes drift to the first one after a moment, and he leans down to examine the mirrors.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don notes Ondorus' interest.]

Do you have Fire magic?

[voice]

[quicktoanger]

"The four elements represent the four primordial forces of nature. Ancient civilizations thought that all of creation could be divided into the four elements; Earth representing solid objects, Water representing liquids, Air representing gasses, and Fire representing energy. They also ascribed spiritual and magical significance to them, and that's the part that lingers in a lot of cultures today: Earth represents home, the family, and dedication; Water represents emotions and feelings, Air represents logic and intellect, and Fire represents passion and actions."

I paused for a minute, then continued-

"They also shape a lot of magic. Including mine. I'm an air-and-fire kind of guy, personally."

[voice]

[i_speak_softly]

An interesting combination. Would you say you're logically passionate or passionately logical?

[voice]

[quicktoanger]

"I can be emotionally volatile, but I'm also perceptive and capable of quickly sorting out information and devising plans. Wascally-wabbit plans."

I paused a minute, then added

"Also, they're my preferred varieties of magic."

[voice]

[i_speak_softly]

[And yet you're not here trying out his sculptures. 8| ]

If you have to combine elements to describe everyone, is that a flaw in the system, or is it strength by simplicity?

[voice] A little late, hope you don't mind

[relinquishing]

Individually? Mm, I wouldn't say they're anything special. Fire is fire and water is water, after all.

They are four of the six elemental fonons, though - ah, basically just building blocks of the world. Everything is made up of a balanced combination of different matter and fonons, and with practice, people can learn to manipulate the elements for different purposes.

[voice] All the late

[i_speak_softly]

... Six?

[voice] Forever late

[relinquishing]

Yeah, six. Darkness, Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, and Light.

There's also technically a seventh fonon - Sound. But it's a mutation of sorts. There's only a few people who can handle it properly without some pretty disastrous side effects.