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I don't even know what it is yet!
[But he's laughing.]
Yes, my dear, of course. Are you ready for me to escort you now?
[But he's laughing.]
Yes, my dear, of course. Are you ready for me to escort you now?
"Yes, ma'am," he says smartly, still laughing, as he grabs his boots. "Getting big, he said?"
I'm sure he'll be absolutely majestic. Should I give you some alone time once I've escorted you off the barge boundaries?
"Blame the Romans, probably," he hums dryly. "War-mongering conquerors of ancient history. Though numerology's been a thing since the Egyptians first invented a proper numerical system, or something to that effect - they're even older, allegedly one of the oldest civilisations on Earth."
He idly tosses his stick into the water. "Numerology's a crock of shit on Earth, of course. It's invariant all the way down- the premise of calendric mechanics exist, mostly as- as a sort of joke, a more philosophical, nonsense series of beliefs. A-at least to humans, though, but the idea of masses devoted to a single idea is how beings like the King in Yellow amass power."
He idly tosses his stick into the water. "Numerology's a crock of shit on Earth, of course. It's invariant all the way down- the premise of calendric mechanics exist, mostly as- as a sort of joke, a more philosophical, nonsense series of beliefs. A-at least to humans, though, but the idea of masses devoted to a single idea is how beings like the King in Yellow amass power."
Jedao flinches a little to hear Arthur call it calendrical mechanics, a forcible reminder that Arthur knows the details now. Still, it's done, and the only ways to undo it would be things John wouldn't allow and Jedao wouldn't forgive himself for.
"I have a theory that your universe's thing is having irrationals at the handshake nodes instead of a central integer. John feels very Phi to me, sometimes."
"I have a theory that your universe's thing is having irrationals at the handshake nodes instead of a central integer. John feels very Phi to me, sometimes."
"Call John if there's anything strange, and listen to Ethan about return protocols, okay?" he tells her, as he arrives on deck.
"Uhm-" There's no hiding the flicker of confusion in his eyes when Jedao goes further than the limited bits of calendrical jargon that Arthur does remember - and even then it's not much, given that it was very much not an Andan-typical field of study. "R-right, er. Yes."
Jedao laughs softly, and leans in again to bump their shoulders together.
"I know Earth has Phi. Y'all even call it the Golden Ratio."
Which makes the comparison almost unbearably twee, except that it also works.
"I know Earth has Phi. Y'all even call it the Golden Ratio."
Which makes the comparison almost unbearably twee, except that it also works.
The laugh that nets is both surprised and relieved, and he bumps back against Jedao with a broad smile.
"I didn't know its mathematical name, no. I'm aware of it in the arts - painters crow about it, there's a way to do it with music but I never experimented with it myself."
"I didn't know its mathematical name, no. I'm aware of it in the arts - painters crow about it, there's a way to do it with music but I never experimented with it myself."
"Well, it's important in math, too," Jedao tells him. "It's...it's the number that's the most impossible to ever fit in a finite fraction. It's endless and beautiful...it shows up in the places wherever the universe is twisting itself away from simplicity. It's in the way seashells coil and sunflower seeds grow and honeybees breed and the angle your DNA turns around itself."
He gives a thoughtful hum, mostly using it as an excuse to lean over and press against Jedao some more.
"I think that suits him perfectly," he says warmly.
"I think that suits him perfectly," he says warmly.
He picks her up, spins her a little.
"Your escort, my lady."
"Your escort, my lady."
"Oh! And this is what I get for running to your call!" he squawks.
He takes her arm and - lightly, in the slightly fuzzy way of the Barge's variable borders, step off onto the station.
"A bit different in style, but in the fundamentals, yes."
"I'll be fine, darling," he promises, and gives her a little kiss on the forehead.
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