Adventures in Time & Space
Who: Chloe Sullivan
When: After the Pool Party
Where: The Observatory
Invited: Anyone who wants to join in
Status: Complete
Aside from Kenzaki's collapse, the pool party had been a success. A variety of snacks enjoyable mostly because they weren't fish, shellfish or tropical fruits, but enjoyable nonetheless. Lots of splashing about in the pool, silly games--King of the Ernie, Marco Polo and a couple Chloe had never heard of from times or worlds unknown--and lots of lovely, mostly naked flesh.
Nonetheless, the party eventually wound down. Chloe had returned to the wardrobe to find something to wear, settling at last on a dress that--judging by its length and tie-dyed green and blue pattern--had to date from the sixties. Still, it was comfortable and it matched her eyes, which wasn't something you could say about a lot of clothing. She'd turned off the black bar generator but continued to wear the necklace.
Then she'd gone looking for the Observatory. She'd hadn't been on the quick tour Jack gave but she'd heard about it during the party. She wanted to see it for herself. The notes stuck here and there on the corridor walls soon led Chloe to the right door. She opened it and glanced inside. It was a moderately large room, but utterly blank. Featureless white walls, ceilings and floor without only a couple of simple chairs in one corner.
Chloe glanced around. No controls of any sort were visible. Voice activated, then? Either that or telepathically controlled, and if that was the case she wasn't going to see anything. "Uh...show me the last programmed view?" Chloe said aloud.
The room vanished, replaced by a view of empty blackness save for the view of earth from near orbit--swirls of blue and white in every possible shade. It was familiar from television and movies, but neither medium could compare to actually seeing it with her own eyes. (Or in an incredibly lifelike simulation,) Chloe amended, since that was presumably what she was seeing.
Chloe watched it for a few minutes before she realized that she couldn't see any stars. "Can you filter the sunlight so the stars are visible?" Chloe asked. The brilliance of earth beneath her feet dimmed abruptly and the walls and ceiling blazed with stars. Chloe turned in a slow circle, grinning hugely as she studied the result.
That kept her entertained for a few more minutes. Then she began testing the limits of what the Observatory could show her. She could move the "camera's" point of view pretty much at will, moving closer or farther from earth. She could speed or slow the passage of time, move the POV instantly from here to there or "fly" it through the solar system (that was a lot of fun!), and many other possibilities. Chloe got close-up looks at all the planets of the solar system and even a few others. She could only remember a few but discovered a menu option that flashed endlessly scrolling lists of star systems on the wall when she asked for it.
"Stop!" Chloe shouted. She stared at the list, stunned by a possibility that had just occurred to her. "Show me..." Chloe hesitated, She licked her suddenly dry lips. "Show me...Krypton."
The Observatory was still set to "fly" its POV through space. The POV spun nearly 180 degrees from its present orientation and zoomed at what would have been some ungodly faster-than-light speed if it were actually traveling past countless stars, flashing through nebulae and across intergalactic gulfs before slowing to a stop in what seemed to be empty space.
"P-planets," Chloe said. She'd discovered this command, which caused the Observatory to draw in the orbits of planets in a solar system. No change. No star, no planets. What was going on? Chloe chewed on the question for a minute, then had a thought. "Date," she commanded. The current date down to the microsecond (with "A.D., Gregorian Calendar" appended for clarity) appeared.
"Change date to..." (How long ago had Krypton been destroyed? Chloe knew it had been a long time, but nothing more specific.) "Two thousand B.C." A red giant bloomed in the middle distance and several planetary tracks appeared. "P-planet Krypton, trailing orbit."
The POV swung dizzingly again and swooped down to stop with an icy-looking white planet spinning along it's orbital parth. It looked nothing like Earth. But it was real. Chloe had known for years that it was real, but only as a story from Clark. Seeing it...Chloe realized she had her hand over her mouth and her eyes burned with unshed tears. She knew how it ended. It took another few minutes of fiddling with time settings but eventually she found what she was looking for.
Chloe watched as all at once and nothing first the placid looking planet exploded. Whatever the cause, it wasn't visible. One moment the planet hung in space, a crystalline sphere orbiting a dim red star--the next it blew apart, leaving only an ever-expanding cloud of debris. If she sped up the passage of time much of the debris fell back into a greatly reduced, molten mass that swung round the star for centuries. Eventually the red giant swelled, swallowing the remains of Krypton and its surviving sisters before dimming further and collapsing back into a nearly invisible neutron star.
Chloe watched it over and over again. When she heard the door open behind her, she said, "Off!" and hastily wiped at her eyes before turning to see who it was.
When: After the Pool Party
Where: The Observatory
Invited: Anyone who wants to join in
Status: Complete
Aside from Kenzaki's collapse, the pool party had been a success. A variety of snacks enjoyable mostly because they weren't fish, shellfish or tropical fruits, but enjoyable nonetheless. Lots of splashing about in the pool, silly games--King of the Ernie, Marco Polo and a couple Chloe had never heard of from times or worlds unknown--and lots of lovely, mostly naked flesh.
Nonetheless, the party eventually wound down. Chloe had returned to the wardrobe to find something to wear, settling at last on a dress that--judging by its length and tie-dyed green and blue pattern--had to date from the sixties. Still, it was comfortable and it matched her eyes, which wasn't something you could say about a lot of clothing. She'd turned off the black bar generator but continued to wear the necklace.
Then she'd gone looking for the Observatory. She'd hadn't been on the quick tour Jack gave but she'd heard about it during the party. She wanted to see it for herself. The notes stuck here and there on the corridor walls soon led Chloe to the right door. She opened it and glanced inside. It was a moderately large room, but utterly blank. Featureless white walls, ceilings and floor without only a couple of simple chairs in one corner.
Chloe glanced around. No controls of any sort were visible. Voice activated, then? Either that or telepathically controlled, and if that was the case she wasn't going to see anything. "Uh...show me the last programmed view?" Chloe said aloud.
The room vanished, replaced by a view of empty blackness save for the view of earth from near orbit--swirls of blue and white in every possible shade. It was familiar from television and movies, but neither medium could compare to actually seeing it with her own eyes. (Or in an incredibly lifelike simulation,) Chloe amended, since that was presumably what she was seeing.
Chloe watched it for a few minutes before she realized that she couldn't see any stars. "Can you filter the sunlight so the stars are visible?" Chloe asked. The brilliance of earth beneath her feet dimmed abruptly and the walls and ceiling blazed with stars. Chloe turned in a slow circle, grinning hugely as she studied the result.
That kept her entertained for a few more minutes. Then she began testing the limits of what the Observatory could show her. She could move the "camera's" point of view pretty much at will, moving closer or farther from earth. She could speed or slow the passage of time, move the POV instantly from here to there or "fly" it through the solar system (that was a lot of fun!), and many other possibilities. Chloe got close-up looks at all the planets of the solar system and even a few others. She could only remember a few but discovered a menu option that flashed endlessly scrolling lists of star systems on the wall when she asked for it.
"Stop!" Chloe shouted. She stared at the list, stunned by a possibility that had just occurred to her. "Show me..." Chloe hesitated, She licked her suddenly dry lips. "Show me...Krypton."
The Observatory was still set to "fly" its POV through space. The POV spun nearly 180 degrees from its present orientation and zoomed at what would have been some ungodly faster-than-light speed if it were actually traveling past countless stars, flashing through nebulae and across intergalactic gulfs before slowing to a stop in what seemed to be empty space.
"P-planets," Chloe said. She'd discovered this command, which caused the Observatory to draw in the orbits of planets in a solar system. No change. No star, no planets. What was going on? Chloe chewed on the question for a minute, then had a thought. "Date," she commanded. The current date down to the microsecond (with "A.D., Gregorian Calendar" appended for clarity) appeared.
"Change date to..." (How long ago had Krypton been destroyed? Chloe knew it had been a long time, but nothing more specific.) "Two thousand B.C." A red giant bloomed in the middle distance and several planetary tracks appeared. "P-planet Krypton, trailing orbit."
The POV swung dizzingly again and swooped down to stop with an icy-looking white planet spinning along it's orbital parth. It looked nothing like Earth. But it was real. Chloe had known for years that it was real, but only as a story from Clark. Seeing it...Chloe realized she had her hand over her mouth and her eyes burned with unshed tears. She knew how it ended. It took another few minutes of fiddling with time settings but eventually she found what she was looking for.
Chloe watched as all at once and nothing first the placid looking planet exploded. Whatever the cause, it wasn't visible. One moment the planet hung in space, a crystalline sphere orbiting a dim red star--the next it blew apart, leaving only an ever-expanding cloud of debris. If she sped up the passage of time much of the debris fell back into a greatly reduced, molten mass that swung round the star for centuries. Eventually the red giant swelled, swallowing the remains of Krypton and its surviving sisters before dimming further and collapsing back into a nearly invisible neutron star.
Chloe watched it over and over again. When she heard the door open behind her, she said, "Off!" and hastily wiped at her eyes before turning to see who it was.