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 too focused on his work to really pay any attention to the sound, at first at least. By the time he does look up, the Master is already in the room and grinning at him, looking anything but insulted. He quickly drops his pencil and reaches for a golden pocket watch laying on the desk amid a mess of notes, just within reach. A quick glance at it's face reveals that it is exactly three o'clock, which is good. For a moment the scientist had worried that time had flown by again, and he had missed the time of their meeting.

It's only once that worry is out of the way that it registers that the Master is in his house despite the fact that no doors were left unlocked, and that there is a grandfather clock resting against one wall that he knows was not there before. However, first things first.

'I apologize, though I don't seem to have lost track of time as much as I feared.' a pause. 'And you can call me Arthur.'

[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

[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.

[scienceandgod]

Once they take a seat, Arthur turns his focus solely on the Master. His mind is still reeling, but at this point nothing but time to allow himself to get used to the idea will really change that. The detail that has been put into their tea set is certainly appreciated as well; Winifred has been away for some time now, and he's always been rubbish at preparing anything but the tea itself.

'Milk, two cubes of sugar please.'

[laser_not_sonic]

Arthur's tea is slid across the table to him as the Master cheerily smothers a scone in jam and clotted cream. He doesn't drink tea the way the Doctor does- which is to say, he doesn't look to it for all of life's answers- but he does enjoy a proper tea now and again.

So he settles back in his seat, sipping contentedly at his tea; Ealryyn black, some of the finest leaves in Mutter's Spiral. Delicious. And perfectly complimented by the raspberry jam; his good taste has clearly rubbed off on the TARDIS over the years.

For now, he's going to wait for Eddington to ask the questions; he rather suspects that, in the excitement and unsettlement of the equations the Master had offered him, the apparently impossible inside of his TARDIS, he may have forgotten the little qualifier the Master tacked on to his promise to teach him. Nothing comes for nothing, after all.

[scienceandgod]

The tea is good, better than Arthur expected actually. He can't help but take more than one sip before setting it down. Tea isn't something he normally pays much attention to, though he has a licking for the sweeter tea leaves, but he almost decides to question the Master about this particular blend.

Almost, because it doesn't take long for his mind to get back on track. He's come all the way here to talk about more important things. The Master is brilliant, even he can tell that much, and Arthur is more than eager to learn what he can from. This isn't a chance that comes every day, after all.

'Why doesn't the equation apply to giants and super giants?'