004 | video

[plutonicideals]

[When the video turns on, there's Riley, and she's holding up what looks to be at least a few sheets of posterboard. On the very front is a drawing of a smiling planet that looks like it's holding a heart.]

Ooookay, so it's come to my attention that there are a lot of people here that don't know about Pluto, the last planet in Earth's solar system. I'm going to change that. First things first! This is what Pluto looks like. We got pictures back recently and it looked like it had a huge heart on it. [And she'd totally called it before the pictures even got recieved too, having always said Pluto had a lot of heart.]

I couldn't get the actual picture so I asked Maya to draw it.

[And she drops that top piece of posterboard, revealing something that looks like a bulleted list???]

The first important thing is that Pluto used to be a planet. Eventually a bunch of scientists decided it was too small to be an actual planet though, so they called it a dwarf planet instead. From the time it was discovered to when it got demoted to a dwarf planet, it didn't even have a chance to go all the way around the sun! Because it's that far away from us! That's pretty unfair, since Pluto never really got a chance.

[She huffs.]

That's why I still call it a planet, though. I'm always gonna believe that it's a planet, even if everything says it can't be. We don't know what it could do or anything about it because it's so far away. I just wanted to make sure that everyone here knew that.

Comments

[boilover]

Blah, blah, blah.

Pluto is a planet named after a guy who liked death and money. And so was a dog. Deal with it.

1/3

[directed]

[...There are no words.]

2/3

[directed]

[No, seriously. No words. Certainly none that Rip has come up with yet.]

3/3

[directed]

[...




But in the end, he supposes he should try.]

I'm not going to get into what should be a scientific debate with you, Mr. Rory.

[There. Dealt with.]

[boilover]

I know. Cause I'd win.

[He says with alllll the confidence in the world.]

You don't even know Pluto is a planet so you can't know much.

[directed]

Because it'd be fruitless. I highly doubt either of us could convince the other of their side.

[And he should end it there. He should, and yet...]

You do realize that there was a time when people didn't know the Earth was round or that it revolved around the sun. There was a great deal of denial when anyone dared suggest those notions to be wrong as well.

[boilover]

The earth ain't always round though. It's flat. For us. It's like that cat in a box thing, right? It's like two things at once cause it's flat but it's also round.

[He pauses, considering how to explain his strange logic.]

The earth is like a sofa bed.

[directed]

[Dear lord he can feel a headache setting in.

But Mick doesn’t seem to be arguing for arguing’s sake; rather, he’s trying to justify his point. Because of that, Rip takes a breath, trying to not only parse Mick’s brand of logic but to translate his own thoughts into a form he might understand.]

What you’re describing is perception, Mr. Rory. The shape of our planet doesn’t change based on what we are able to observe of it.

Consider when Dr. Palmer uses his suit to shrink. [It’s a far more solid example than a “sofabed,” whatever that is.] When he is his normal height, the pair of you stand similarly tall. When he’s in his suit, he would see you as gigantic—but your height has not in fact changed. You remain the same size, regardless of how Dr. Palmer sees you.

Do you see the difference?

[boilover]

Yeah but that's exactly what I just said, brainiac.

It's a sofa bed. You're just using a fancier term for it. [Not at all the same but here he is. Trying to get this. Look, okay, he's trying?] And I dunno, what if when he shrinks, I do grow? I don't have a tape measure. Maybe I do, maybe I don't.

[He's not even being purposefully stubborn here, he just wants to ask questions and learn things because that is how Mick decides to science.] Maybe some sciencey sci-fi bullshit effects the thingies around us and we all change when haircut changes? Next time he shrinks, measure us.

[See, look, he's sciencing right, he's offering to do an experiment.] What if our perception is way off and the Earth is actually flat but we're all seeing it wrong as round?

[directed]

It’s rather not, point of fact. And for the record, I can only guess as to what a “sofabed” actually is. [Since he seems determined to use that as his example of choice. The name and context both allow Rip to take a stab at it, but considering what he is trying to convince Mick of, it’s likely better to be sure.]

You don’t grow, Mr. Rory. None of us do. [But again, it doesn’t seem like Mick is trying to purposely get under Rip’s skin, and so Rip is careful to keep his tone even. If the man is genuinely trying to understand the concepts, far be it from Rip to discourage him.]

Capital idea. I’m sure we can set up something with Dr. Palmer. [It actually is dangerously close to “science-ing” right, and would perhaps provide the solid example Mick needs to convince him of the concept. As for the rest…

Well. The idea can be made to work in multiple ways.]

Alright, then try this: put your hand up in front of your face. As close as you can without touching.

[boilover]

It's a bed that's also a sofa. Erm, you know, couch. But with a bed in it. It's great, me and Snart had one in our hide out.

[He can't endorse it more, it was truly a feat of brilliant. 10/10 for sleeping space but they were on science, he had to focus on that and not focus on how amazing it is to have a couch you can sleep comfortably on.]

Why? [Wait, he remembered this game?] Is this one of those things where you smack by hand into my face? Cause you're too far away to do it right.

[directed]

...Right. [Sorry Mick, but Rip isn't exactly pining for that particular piece of furniture despite the glowing recommendation. Back to the science.

--Which, apparently, now features a quietly huffed out sigh on Rip's end.]

No, Mr. Rory. I'm not going to be smacking you in the face. [He's a little tempted to smack himself in the face though. They do have facepalming in the future.] It's merely a demonstration meant to illustrate the point I'm attempting to make. Now, go on please. Hand in front of your face.

[boilover]

I'll ask for one from the closet, I'll see if I can't show you some time.

[He so wanted a sofabed for his room.]

I dunno, that's what the game is. You get them to put their hand as close to their face and while they're blinded by it, you smack it into their face. [He barks a sharp, amused laugh.] Heh, it's hilarious. I did it to Lis once when she was tiny. [She cried, Leonard glared, it didn't end well. He only knocked it a little!]

Right, doing it. [And he does.] What now?

[directed]

And I'll wait for that day with bated breath.

[No, Rip really doesn't care that much. Or at all, but you know.

Somehow he is entirely not surprised to hear of Mick's enjoyment of the "game," particularly as he describes it. Although Mick won't be able to see the flat look Rip gives him (particularly at mention of picking on Lisa in such a way), he can rest assured that it is there.]

I'll keep that in mind in case you ever make such a request of me.

[Moving on.]

Alright. Now consider that at the moment, the prox--ah, closeness of your hand to your face is like a person on a planet. Because it's so near, you can only see a small area, and nothing beyond it. Nothing about your hand, however, has changed. It's size and shape both remain the same.

Now draw your hand out, straight in front of you.

[boilover]

If I wanted to slap you in the face, I'd just do it.

[Mick just smiles ever so pleasantly at him and then puts his hand close again, slowly moving it back when he's told. He knows all of this, of course, but it's not something he ever connected with perception. That's often the issue Mick has, he doesn't bother to connect the dots, why would he?

He knows well enough but he doesn't really put two and two together. Mostly to be awkward.]

Huh. Awesome. So the Earth is like my hand? It ain't a sofa bed, it's just a couch on wheels.

[directed]

Fair point.

[One which Rip has no reason to doubt.

Thankfully they are in separate rooms and engaged in activities free of any sort of violence. Even better, it seems that the demonstration actually makes things click in that head of his. Rip's rather satisfied with that.]

Indeed. As you pull your hand away, you see the true shape of it--the way it's been all along. Similarly, the Earth has always been round; it's merely harder to discern while one stands upon it.

[boilover]

I guess it makes sense, that it ain't flat. If it was flat then people would fall off the edge and there'd be nothing underneath.

[He shrugs his shoulders.]

So why ain't Pluto a planet then?

[directed]

[...You know what? Rip's not going to argue that logic. He's convinced Mick of his point, and that's enough for today.

At least regarding the Earth. There's no avoiding the question of Pluto, even if it does feel quite like he's starting to press his luck.]

Similar reasons: humans weren't able to properly observe and classify it before. As technology progressed, they better understood it's nature, and how it differs from true planets. Nothing about Pluto has changed; merely humanity's ability to understand it.

[boilover]

I still think it's a planet.

[Cause Maya and Riley wanted it and Mick was still a sucker for what tiny kids insisted was real. Years of dealing with Lisa and all, it happened. It was sort of built into him.]

I'm sure we'll reassess some day and take it back.

[directed]

Which, as I've expressed to Riley, is a perfectly fine thing to hope for.

[Even if it doesn't happen.]

There is a difference, however, in scientific standard and sincerely held beliefs. Admitting to the former doesn't necessarily mean abandoning the latter.

private so riley doesn't see

[boilover]

You're the future man, does it? Or is it a pipe dream? How much do I gotta lie to her?

[She keeps appearing in his life, smiling and being too happy, he doesn't know how to lie to that kid. She's like a cuter, smaller and more endearing Ray.]

Re: private so riley doesn't see

[directed]

[Clever of him, to have figured that out.]

Whether or not you're lying, Mr. Rory, I would think it would be easier for you if you don't know the answer yourself.

Whether it will or not is irrelevant. Right now, you can honestly tell her that it could still change, and have it be an entirely true statement.

[boilover]

So I ain't a liar if I say Pluto could be true.

Good to know.

You're doing be a solid here, slim.

[directed]

Indeed.

[Rip, on the other hand, would stray closer to lying--but he's also pretty good at it, so there's that.]

Yes, well. Believe it or not, it was never my intention to cause her any suffering. [Maya.] Merely to inform.

[boilover]

She's stubborn.

It's funny. [Heh. He likes it.] I ain't helping but I think it's funnier that way.