I bet you expected me to title this "once in a blue moon". sorry to disappoint you

[will_be_god]

Who: Cyrus and YOU!
What: Moon viewing!
Where: School rooftop
When: Did you know last weekend was a blue moon? Last weekend, the end of July.

Impromptu signs had gone up around the school, seemingly out of nowhere. If anybody saw them go up, they might see a black and red ferretlike creature pinning them up in a flash.

Moon viewing party! How fun!

Of course the fliers left out that it was being facilitated by Cyrus but still, fun! If he could be avoided. Which was unlikely.

But looking at the night sky would be nice. And he didn't specifically ban snacks or whatever...

Comments

[thishereismonapizza]

Explained the lengthy conversation and all the mumbo jumbo jargon alright. Mona had her fair share of acquaintances with scientists, being that back home two of her co-workers were invested in the field of study. At first glance, Mona would never had taken Cyrus to be the science type due to his first impression and general appearance. Mona's view of one such figure was stereotypical to the mad scientist variety, ones who lived eccentric lifestyles and dabbled in their labs creating weird and nonsensical inventions. Much like her two friends back home were of that image.

"No way, you're a scientist? Get out of town!" she giggled. Rising up from her position, Mona stood and offered out her hand to Cyrus. "Should have done this sooner! My name is Mona. It's a pleasure to meet you sir, I mean, doctor! So, do you like, build robots or do experiments or something? Because that is like, totally cool if you do!"

[will_be_god]

Rather than take her offered hand, he simply bowed slightly. "My name is Cyrus. There is no title to it."

Returning upright, he continued. "I have an extensive history in machine work, dating back to my earliest days." As long ago as he could remember, starting around the age of three, he had worked with the simple concepts of assembly, disassembly, and reassembly. Of course, then it had been on blocks rather than metal and circuitry, but it was the same relative idea. "Although my primary concern is the study of the universe. It is related, though. As I said, all things are. The universe itself is a machine, made of innumerable parts. And like alo machines, it will someday break down..."

He sighed. "But for now, we are here."

[thishereismonapizza]

When her hand wasn't taken in the offer, she pulled back thinking she'd created a taboo. Though Cyrus didn't appear offended by her gesture in the slightest as he bowed. Perhaps a different custom of greeting she though, hesitant as she followed suit and bowed. Was that even the right response? She didn't even know at this point.

"You know, I never once considered the idea our tiny world could be so similar to a machine. Hard for me to believe really as all I've seen as rock and not a single gear to be found. However I'd hate for it to suddenly break down in my lifetime. I rather like living here." she spoke. Tapping her bottom lip, her eyes gazed past Cyrus back to the moon and the stars sitting above in the darkness. Watching how the lights twinkled in the vast space was tranquil, if not an ominous feeling. She herself had visited space once and as beautiful as it had been through the windows of a spaceship, space sure was quiet.

"Probably beats living on one of those stars up there," she pointed to a random cluster of stars grouped together. "All dark and lonely..." her voice grew still then trailed off.

[will_be_god]

"All the universe is breaking down. Entropy, the finite amount of energy in. We think of energy as something eternal, with even our strain on our own systems being an infinitesimal fraction of what the universe contains, and yet the energy of all creation pounds on..."

It seemed to quiet him for a moment as he organized his thoughts.

"...one cannot live on a star."

[thishereismonapizza]

Mona raised an eyebrow and looked at Cyrus with skepticism. How could he not see the plausibility of living amongst the stars? Space was a vast, endless place and surely everything within it, even an asteroid could be turned into a livable habitat.

"We can live on planets like this one, so why not a star? They're pretty much the same thing except one is more brighter than the other" she explained. No one had so much as explained to her before that stars and planets were two totally different objects.

[will_be_god]

Why not a star? Why not a star?! Cyrus had come to expect thatsort of question from his utterly idiotic and disposable grunts, but there was a vital reason that his followers in Sinnoh had to consist primarily of idiots. In this place he had expected to attract a following of at least average intelligence.

He took a deep breath. Perhaps she was from a primitive society, or hadn't had access to sufficient education. Was she simply less fortunate, or was she a fool?

He'd find out.

"Are you aware of why the day is hotter than the night..?"

[thishereismonapizza]

"Of course I do. It's practically common sense to know!" she said proudly in a matter-of-fact way. Not to say Mona wasn't any less intelligent than the average human. Some people were talented with science, some good at math while others couldn't understand either concepts. Aside from math, Mona didn't excel well in areas where huge concepts were introduced and big words found in university textbooks thrown around in daily use. She excelled better in physical subjects where her useful knowledge was keen.

Due to such, most people considered Mona to be a complete airhead to put it politely.

"Daytime is hotter naturally because the sun is one huge ball of fire. When the sun is out shining, the rays rain down and warm the land below them. Nights are cooler since the sun isn't shining in that particular area at that time!" She straightened her posture much in similar fashion to a student who felt confident their answer was the correct one.

[will_be_god]

"Ergo, why do you believe it possible to live on the sun?"

[thishereismonapizza]

"Because I, um, well...OH!" Mona started putting the pieces together in her head. No wonder he said one couldn't live on a star, they would be charred barbecue if they did! The extreme sunburn to boot..

"Are you saying stars are nothing but balls of fire too? No wonder they twinkle at night! But, um, what is a shooting star then?" she asked generally out of curiosity. If a star was a fiery ball like the sun, how could it be able to fly across the sky in such a neat tidy line?

The thought of wishing upon a streaking ball of fire held little appeal too. Sounded quite silly.

[will_be_god]

Ah, that was it, an inability to conclude ideas.

"To grossly simplify it, yes they are. In truth it's more complicated than that, but that is enough for this time." Inhaling deeply, he continued. "What we call shooting stars are in truth comets and meteors, traveling celestial objects of varying origins. Although those wandering objects are one of the keys to our creation."

He stared heavenward. "Through their travels and impacts, they bring elements of foreign worlds, of the cosmos itself. It is believed that such foreign materials created the world as we know it, enabling the creation and existence of life."

[thishereismonapizza]

Stars being in actuality burning spheres of fire, shooting stars the comets shooting by the planet. Cyrus' keen insights were amazing to behold now that the truth of the mysteries had been explored. However they left Mona with the bitterness of disappointment sitting in her heart.

"What a major bummer. Looks like those wishes I made won't ever come true now..." a pout pressed closed her lips as her eyes wistfully never left the amazing scenery splayed in the night sky. Almost instantaneously it was as if her world had suddenly changed before her very eyes.

[will_be_god]

This was a familiar situation. So long ago, it seemed an eternity...

"Wishes are nothing without knowledge," he chided. "But knowledge brings power. With that, creation itself opens for us."

[thishereismonapizza]

"Whoa..." Mona whistled. Did this man have a clever answer for everything? With his depth of knowledge and his fast responses no wonder he was a scientist. Why, if Mona held a similar line of knowledge in her busy brain of hers, who knew what possibilities the conversation could take.

Yet Mona merely possessed the IQ of an average person, let alone a weak affinity to scientifically anatomy. Give her video game programming jargon, and magically she'd ace the test. Surprisingly.

"If you don't mind me asking, I mean, you must be getting so sick of my questions..." she blathered an apology. Rubbing the back of her head she continued, "How does knowledge bring about power? I know knowledge makes a person smarter, whereas the latter being strong physically of body gives a person power. Muscles and all that. So what I'm saying is how can smarts relate to power?"

[will_be_god]

He drew in a breath and turned slightly towards her, but still not directly. "Even that represents knowledge. You know how to enhance muscle strength and the connection between doing so and physical prowess. That itself is knowledge. Knowledge of history can prevent us from repeating mistakes made in the past. Knowledge of others aids us in communicating with them. Knowledge of society enables us to exist within it. Knowledge of mechanical details let us manipulate the physical world. And so on."