to change the course of history

[laser_not_sonic]

At precisely three o'clock in the afternoon, on- what is to Arthur Eddington, at least- the next day, a stray grandfather clock appears in his study.  Not to say that it simply blinks into existence with no fanfare whatsoever; it's accompanied by a strange, grinding noise that echoes faintly off the floorboards, and a glowing from behind the face

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[scienceandgod]

Arthur is, at this point, more than a little frustrated. He's been working longer hours lately, taking fewer breaks in between. Mostly, it's because he has little else to do, once his work at the University is done. He still goes on his routine bike rides, of course, but often times he finds himself riding either further out than intended or not going far enough, depending on how much sleep he got the night before. Partly, all this is due to having found a new theory to focus on, something that demands more of his attention than even the Astronomical Society, at times, though he still makes a point to at the very least make the meetings.

Mostly though, it's due to the fact that his sister isn't around right now. Arthur understands, of course, that the work she is doing in Germany is important. Helping the rebuilding effort when there is too much work and not enough hands. But he's become accustomed to having someone prod him away from work every so often, making sure that he eats and takes breaks ever so often.

She always told him ten hour working session were no good for his health.

But none of that is really going through his head right now. He watches as the Master crosses out phrases here and there, in a moment eliminating hours worth of work. But Arthur is too fascinated with what he does write down really protest, mind trying to make sense of these new equations and quickly grasping at their meaning. It's certainly less complicated than what he had been working on, surprisingly so, but that doesn't make them any less brilliant.

Arthur is too absorbed in them to even move away from the touch. 'Luminosity as related to absolute magnitude?'

[laser_not_sonic]

The Master watches in some pleasure as understanding quickly finds a place on Eddington's face. He is clever, without a doubt, and the Master enjoys that; human beings have such a limited intelligence, but Arthur Eddington manages to scrape just a little bit above that, struggling to understand the cosmos. He nods.

'As measured against what you'd call a main sequence star- one from about 80 to .08 solar masses,' he agrees, outlining the process further on the paper. 'Giants and supergiants don't quite adhere so neatly to the equation.'

He could go on, of course, sketching out the mass-luminosity relationships for O stars and G2 stars, but best, he rather thinks, to let Arthur get on on his own from here. He's perfectly capable of it, the Master has no doubt, and no scientist gets any great pleasure from having the answers handed to him. The Master's just given him a bit of a boost, so to speak. Something to speed things up. The tip of the pencil taps against the paper, indicating one of the new expressions- rad. p in photosphere= 80sm + 106.

'That'll be named after you one day, you know.'

[scienceandgod]

Arthur is sure that, given enough time, he could have solved it. Come up with that solution on his own. But it would have been some time, and it's oddly relieving to know that he has at least been spared those hours of work. But he doesn't want the rest handed to him, not in the least. Then there would have been no sense in sitting here and spending his own time trying to figure things out himself.

He stares at the Master's new equation, making sense of it just as he did with the others. This one, at least, is somewhat easier to understand. But the Master's last comment makes him frown and look up, tearing his eyes away from the papers so that he can look at the Master, puzzlement obvious in his expression.

'There are better things to name it after, aren't there? Give it a more practical title.'

[laser_not_sonic]

Aww, and so modest. Bless. Eddington looks positively baffled at the suggestion, and the Master grins, letting the hand still resting on Eddington's shoulder trail lightly over his shoulders until it drops away entirely. It's difficult to resist the urge to pinch his cheeks or take his chin between finger and thumb, give him a condescending little smile. But that wouldn't do at all, and the Master is good at restraining himself.

'Oh, but people like to pay homage, don't they? Remember the clever ones, if only for their names. You live on, Arthur Eddington, you and your man Einstein.'

At that, the Master pushes himself off the desk with his hands, landing with a little hop that carries up through his frame as he bounces slightly on the spot. 'Anyway, easier for the layfolk to remember than some technobabble gobbledygook. But!' His tone takes a sudden turn for the upbeat. 'I believe I was here for tea, was I not? And you'll like my ship, I promise.'

[scienceandgod]

The touch still unsettles Arthur, though he's not really sure why. There's just something....different about it when it comes to the Master. Somehow it feels more intimate than it ought to be, despite the fact that it's only a simple hand on his shoulders. It's not an uncommon gesture, albeit with people that are more familiar with each other. He doesn't let his mind linger too long on it, though, and instead follows the other's movements, standing from his seat.

'I assume your ship has something to do with the grandfather clock on the wall?'

[laser_not_sonic]

Very much about the Master is unsettling; it's a talent he has. If dear Arthur thinks a hand across the shoulders is disturbingly intimate, oh, he should just wait. As Arthur's eyes slide over to Lolita, parked against one wall, the Master nods.

'The grandfather clock on the wall is my ship. A TARDIS, is what she's called. A ship composed entirely of dimensional physics.'

Or, well, mostly. The mathematics that made a ship like the TARDIS possible didn't entirely translate into a language as limited as English, but the Master made due. He knew, if nothing else, how to use to language best to his advantage, even when describing concepts it didn't really encompass. He cocked an eyebrow back towards the desk and its litter of papers.

'Sure I can drag you away from your numbers for a while?'

[scienceandgod]

Arthur is starting to think this might not be the best idea. Well, he'd had the thought since the beginning, but now it's been nudged to the very front of his conscience. There was something about the Master, his presence, the way he behaved....something he couldn't quite put a finger on, but knew was strange all the same. And it wasn't until he had met the man that it really occurred to him that he knew nothing about him, not really.

He had even been given a choice to turn back, if he so chose. Keep writing and working, as if nothing had ever happened.

But he wasn't going to back out. Couldn't, really. He was being offered too much, the chance to know so much more than he would if he simply stayed and work. Already, Arthur guessed that the Master was certainly a brilliant man. He wanted to find out the extend of that brilliance, see how much he could learn about the universe , all from this one chance.

'I'm sure it'll be more than worth my time.'

[laser_not_sonic]

'Good man!'

The Master grins that glittering, Prime Minister grin, inclining his head graciously at Arthur.

'I promise you, it will be even more than that.'

A bit of enjoyable harassment, certainly, and a great deal of science. The harassment would be mostly for his enjoyment, he concedes- though Arthur, if he unlaces himself a little, might be able to have a good time of it as well- but the knowledge he has to offer... oh, he knows Arthur won't be able to resist that. A scientist, a seeker after the truth, and here the Master was giving him more than he could possibly with to know.

This is going to be brilliant.

Gently urging Arthur towards the TARDIS with another faint touch of a hand on his back, the Master opens the door of the grandfather clock, stepping inside. Unlike the Doctor's TARDIS, a mess of coral and bits of this and that, wires tangled everywhere in confusion, Lolita's console room is beautiful, sleek and black as if carven from ebony. The scale is immense, vaulted like a cathedral, and the whole thing is lit from some unknown source, as well as with a green glow from the time rotor in the centre. The Master caresses the nearest wall fondly.

'Magnificent, isn't she?'

[scienceandgod]

Arthur follows along obediently,still somewhat unsure. But once the door is open and the Master steps inside, he can do nothing but stare.

The proportions are huge, indeed magnificent, and with a scale that reminds Arthur of the Grand Hall in the University. Except this is bigger, grander, and entirely unbelievable because it's the inside of a grandfather clock. He doesn't have to walk around to check it's size, this is bigger than the house itself, and besides that he doesn't think he could really make himself look away. Not that he wants to, not really.

Slowly, almost warily, Arthur takes a step inside. He's still looking around, trying to take in the sheer size and impossibility of this place. It's probably something that should make him back away, deny the Masters offer and return to his study. But it just makes him all the more curious, the more willing to stay and explore.

'Is this the whole of it, of your ship?'

[laser_not_sonic]

He loves it, that look that comes into their eyes when he first shows them the wonders that he commands. That wide open, mesmerised look, and without even any hypnotism necessary. It suits Arthur very well indeed, those dark eyes wide, lips faintly parted as he stares around himself, trying to comprehend, to rationalise, and a shark's smile curves the Master's lips.

At Arthur's words, he exhales a scornful little chuff of breath. 'The whole of it? Hardly. A TARDIS's interior is infinitely large, Mr. Eddington. We're standing in an entirely different dimension that that which exists outside.'

The Master strolls to the console, running delicate fingers caressingly along it. 'Keep walking,' he says musingly, 'and you'd never stop.'

((OOC: I say, have you got an AIM?))

[scienceandgod]

Perhaps because the Master claims it's infinite, Arthur begins to move forward. Deeper into the console room, into the TARDIS itself, all the while expecting to hit some sort of invisible wall. Something that tells him that no, it's not quite as large as it appears. It's all an illusion, because few things in this world are truly infinite. All things need an end, certainly those created by mortal hands.

But he doesn't reach an end. He doesn't reach a wall, or any sort of stopping point, and finally Arthur forces himself to cease taking steps forward and instead turn to the Master.

'It doesn't seem possible, any of it. But here I am, standing in the inside of a grandfather clock....'

[I'm Scarecrowfan on AIM]

[laser_not_sonic]

He watches patiently as Arthur sets off towards the far wall, down the nearest corridor that presents itself to him, idly tapping out a familiar, four-part drumbeat on the edge of the console. It's not long before he turns back around, and the Master almost sighs at the look on his face. He grins.

'Well, you know what they say about improbable impossibilities. Anyway, she's hardly an actual grandfather clock. Device called a chameleon circuit, allows the ship to change its appearance when necessary; camouflage, you know.'

The Master arches an eyebrow at Arthur, an expression that's somehow provocative. 'Tea? Nothing like superheated tannins to fire up the brain cells, after all, and perhaps I can do a little more explaining.'

[scienceandgod]

Arthur is running a hand over the TARDIS wall. His expression is no longer one of disbelief, but rather of wonder. He's seen proof, is walking inside it right now, and there's no reason to think the Master would lie to him. So instead he's begun to take it all in, soak up every bit of knowledge he can, while he still has the chance. He's only here to share a cup of tea, nothing more; he doubts the Master will keep him around any longer than that.

'Tea sounds wonderful, actually. Thank you.'

[laser_not_sonic]

And with that, the Master is suddenly every inch the beaming host. 'You are most welcome. Now...' Hmm, where to take him? When he'd said the TARDIS was infinitely large, he'd not been lying; there's all manner of rooms he might take him to, tea rooms and libraries and laboratories, rooms with no point at all; Roman baths, gardens, torture chambers (ixnay on those, he thinks), a zero gravity room...

But Eddington looks like a green countryside and fresh air sort of bloke, and the Master thinks he knows something perfect. 'This way,' he finishes his sentence, 'If you would.'

That's another gently urging hand on his back- lower back, this time, not quite so decent- and the two of them set off into a corridor. In contrast to the console room, this corridor looks plucked straight out of an old manor house; walls panelled in rich wood, the floor under their feet carpeted in faded crimson. There are any number of twists and turns that they take, but eventually they reach a door that the Master brushes through imperiously.

On the other side is a sunny afternoon in a grove of trees. Any sunny Sol 3 afternoon you like, with a warm breeze and the sound of birds singing. The landscape stretches out before them, beautiful, but utterly uninhabited. There are no squirrels or badgers or insects, or any of the things one would usually expect to see outside on an afternoon such as this. Even the birdsong is false, not that anyone could be able to tell, save for the conspicuous absence of any birds.

Under the nearest trees there sits a wrought iron table and two chairs, painted a cheery white. The table is laden with a tea service; tea, scones and jam and clotted cream, cucumber sandwiches, ginger biscuits, the lot. The Master silently thanks Lolita for obliging him.

He grins over at Arthur. 'Care to take a seat?'

[scienceandgod]

Arthur is no less amazed by the TARDIS when they reach the room than in the beginning. He keeps staring at the decorations, watching with great curiosity as they change the further into the TARDIS they go. The Master's touch is no less unsettling this time around, and he does squirm slightly under it, but mostly he just forces himself to focus on the details that much more. He's unaware that the Master is enjoying his discomfort, thinks he doesn't even notice. The man is probably just used to being that close with others.

His mouth actually falls open slightly at the sight of the room, and Arthur can't help but stare for a few moments at the sheer size of the place. It still takes his mind some time to register it, the fact that this is a room inside a ship and not really the outside. He seems embarrassed when he turns to the Master, giving him a slight nod.

'It's a very impressive display.' He begins walking towards the tea set, even then looking around in wonder.

[laser_not_sonic]

The Master very nearly giggles at Eddington's reaction to the room they enter. It is impressive, he has to admit; maybe he is showing off just a little, but hell, why not? That is what he wants to do here, after all.

The man's embarrassment is quite charming, a faint flush colouring his cheeks, and the Master takes that in with a pleased little quirk of the lips, sitting down at the table himself, and pouring them both a cup of tea. Into his own cup, he drops several sugar cubes- strong and sweet is how he likes it this time 'round, before lifting an eyebrow at the other man. 'Milk, sugar?'

Ever the gracious host, after all. The Master knows how to do polite; he did get himself elected Prime Minister, after all.