— — — The link to the drawn cover picture is supposed to be here. Sorry, FF does not allow that. — — —

Wonders of Reality
Episode 9
Petawatt of Good

A series of informative stories based on the animated movie ❛Tinkerbell❜

Preceding events

Lightning struck the Home Tree. The fairies managed to put out the fire and save the tree from being burnt to the ground. However, it did not escape unscathed. Much of it had been badly damaged. The inhabitants of Pixie Hollow had to wait several years until their tree recovered completely. To survive, the fairies needed to start learning new wonders. These were the wonders of reality.

Part 1
A fairy from the future

In an empty room similar to a glowing sphere a stentorian voice sounded:

❝The court has decided the sentence!❞

❝No, wait!❞ a lonely fairy shouted from the base of the ball.

In earlier times, defendants were given the last word and the right to appeal against the verdict. But things had changed; now the super-power quantum computer calculated, like a grandmaster, every possible outcome, and if the accused had no chance to justify himself, the sentence was executed immediately.

There is no need to waste time, fairies of the future thought. Efficiency is more important nowadays, not pointless shouting.

A light brighter than the sun flashed, the thunder rumbled. A moment ago, Celestia was in the courtroom, and now she was in the distant past on planet Earth.

— — — The link to the Celesia❜s picture is supposed to be here. Sorry, FF does not allow that. — — —

The sluggish fairy plopped into a puddle before even realising what was happening. After clumsily rising up to her feet, she carelessly wiped the dirt from her face, gazing around with an air of apprehension. Raindrops were thrashing her slinky silver spacesuit. As big as an apple, a human would say. The visitant could not do much against a simple rain without her gravitational shields. Desperately trying to stop the raindrops with her hands, she tottered to the nearest nettle bush.

Stinging nettle leaves could barely cover Celestia, but it was better than nothing. She gave a mental command to her electronic assistant. The information—no fluff, just stuff—was immediately brought to her imagination.

❛The system is impaired. Vital functions intact, energy supply sufficient for seven cycles. Subspace scanners, shields and engines are disengaged. The Database of the Spacenet is limited. According to the decision of the court, all the data from the future is unavailable.❜

As the helper was giving out even more sombre news, Celestia could do nothing but sadly take in her new surroundings, thinking that she had been doomed to death. If only she had fully prepared her equipment! Forget that—even the simplest tools from her time would have given her a decent chance to justify herself and come back home with honour.

Having lost her heart, the fairy noticed an orange gleam out of the corner of her eye. She looked closer and saw a little house on the top of a thick root that was growing on a hillock. The house resembled a china teapot or rather a tureen, judging by its size. Her quantum computer couldn❜t tell her more about the design, but as the helper captured a picture, it was able to find out an interesting detail. Apparently, the person living in this house was a fairy who Celestia had already met once.

Part of her wanted to rush over there right away. Maybe this fairy would recognise her! Surely she would! Celestia even found herself beginning to move forward, excited at the prospect of finding some kind of shelter and help with her current predicament. She paused after a few steps though; her brain quickly reminded her that things might not go the way she wanted them to. Well, it was either that or staying out here and getting drenched, and goodness knows what else.

She gave a sigh of desperation and dragged herself to the light. Every now and then, she stumbled and slipped while climbing the slope railing at the judicial system of her time. Stupid judge! Stupid fairies! Stupid! Stupid!

After a while, Celestia reached the summit. She knocked at the door.

❝Just a second, Vidia!❞ a voice was heard from the inside, followed by some clattering.

As the owner of the little house opened the door, mouth open to greet the person she was expecting to see, she stiffened in astonishment. And there was a reason for that. Instead of her friend, there was a pale-skinned fairy in a silver-white outfit.

❝Hi, Tink,❞ Celestia smiled cheerlessly as she was flicking water away from her chestnut-coloured hair-bun.

For a moment, Tinkerbell could not find the words to reply. Her mind went blank as she examined the fairy standing in front of her. Then, after pulling herself together, she spoke.

❝Celestia?❞ the tinker still could not believe her eyes.

❝As you see,❞ the guilty fairy spread her arms.

After a short pause the inventor came to her senses and burst out:

❝Oh, we are still standing at the threshold! Well, come in, make yourself at home!❞ she invited Celestia and rushed into the kitchen without waiting for the traveller to come in. ❝Make yourself comfortable; I❜ll brew up some tea. Do you like strawberry jam?❞

❝Tink, I...❞ Celestia was surprised at the fairy❜s sudden excitement and tried to put a word in.

❝I have both strawberry and cherry jam. Oh, and here are some cookies and pancakes with cheese. Have you come from the future for a long time? Unbelievable! Tell me about the weather in the future! I guess it❜s better than here. No pixie dust—no one blows clouds away.❞

❝Thank you very much, but...❞

❝What a pleasant surprise!❞ The sound of clattering plates reached her ears from the kitchen and Tinkerbell appeared with a wooden tray holding two empty cups, several tiny plates with stacked cookies and pancakes, and a pot of tea. ❝I thought that I wouldn❜t see you again, or at least in a couple of centuries! Did you come on business or holiday? My friends will be amazed! Here!❞

The tinker gave her guest a cup made of thin glass.

❝How do you like it?❜ Isn❜t it nice, eh? We made it ourselves. What an oven we lit in our glassblowing shop! You have no idea what I am going to tell you now. Oh, wait a second.❞ The tinker recollected herself. ❝Let me pour you a cup of tea first.❞

❝I❜ll listen to you gladly,❞ the visitant gave a strained smile, ❝but I cannot join you.❞

❝Don❜t you like green tea?❞ asked the artisan without batting an eye.

This time Celestia managed to answer before Tink would start talking without stopping again.

❝Sometimes I need nutrients, indeed, but these will not do—my organism functions differently. I have enough energy for approximately a week, and then...❞ the guest fell silent.

Only now the tinker realised things were not going well.

❝Tell me what happened,❞ she asked sympathetically.

❝It❜s a long story,❞ sighed the collocutor sitting down on the edge of the stool made of a thimble. ❝I created an intelligent search engine that caused a lot of trouble in your world.❞

❝I don❜t think I remember that,❞ the tinker scratched her head.

❝Of course you don❜t,❞ the guest was not surprised at all. ❝The recovery function fixed everything and erased the memory of all the fairies who had gone through it, except for...❞ she broke off in mid-sentence, wondering how to explain it to Tink. ❝Let❜s say, everything turned out alright with your friends❜ assistance. I cannot say the same about myself. The court requires me to produce or help you to spare one petawatt-hour of energy in your world.❞

❝How much?❞ the hospitable inventor rounded her eyes, taken completely by surprise.

❝It would seem to be crumbs,❞ Celestia smiled joylessly, ❝The sun puts out much more in four minutes. While on Earth, especially in your time...❞

❝It looks like they want you to solve the puzzle for your misconduct, right?❞ guessed the tinker.

❝Yes. And if I fail, I❜ll perish,❞ nodded the sentenced fairy sadly.

❝That❜s harsh,❞ the artisan shook her head in disagreement, but in a moment she exclaimed: ❝Keep your chin up! We❜ll come up with something! I❜ll help you.❞

❝Thanks, Tink,❞ responded Celestia. ❝But you are a tinker fairy, and you know quite well that even if the whole Pixie Hollow knew about me and tried to help, there would be no way to produce so much energy in several days. Besides, I❜m allowed to ask only one fairy for help. Otherwise, it will be considered as a failure.❞

This did not seem to discourage Tinkerbell in the slightest. Rather, she just shrugged as if to say: Not a problem.

❝Let❜s handle it together then, just the two of us,❞ answered the inventor light-heartedly, ❝So, what do you have?❞

❝Excuse me?❞ Celestia looked at her confused.

❝Well, the last time we met you were floating in the air, could control the time and learned our language in a second.❞

❝Oh!❞ Celestia understood. ❝Well, as a punishment almost all my systems are shut down,❞ sighed the visitant, squinting her eyes into the corner of the room as if trying to read something over there. ❝My auxiliary quantum computer is still working, and that❜s it. Although...❞

The fairy from the future was staring at something behind the cupboard. Tink looked there as well, just in case. You never know— there may have been ants creeping around inside. Celestia stood up and touched her chest. The lid of the chest compartment in her suit clicked, and the mysterious guest took out three purple grains from inside. The earthly fairy winced involuntarily for her guest pulled out the strange items not simply out of the suit but right from within her body.

❝I❜m sorry Celestia, are you a fairy or a robot?❞ asked the tinker straight from the shoulder as she saw the chest compartment closing without any seams.

❝And you? Are you a fairy or an animal?❞ reacted the newcomer with a smile.

What she found inside her precious organism must have been very useful, as far as it encouraged her that much.

❝Above everything, you and I are sentient beings,❞ explained the future fairy. ❝You are almost entirely made of organic matter; whereas I practically don❜t have it. However, I differ from a robot just like you differ from a firefly.❞

❝Oh, better tell me what you❜ve found,❞ the artisan decided to change the topic.

❝These are chronocapsules that use antigraviton plasma. This substance was called pixie dust in your time. Now we can jump into the past three times relative to your present.❞

❝And if thanks to what we do the stupid petawatt-hour will have been produced by this time...❞

❝Exactly!❞ the fairy from the future exclaimed triumphantly.

The guest stood up. She started looking all over the place and waving with her arms as if trying to catch specks of dust floating in the air.

❝Celestia, are you alright?❞ Tink rose her brow; she thought that something was wrong. The time traveller took her hand in response.

My stars! Its warm! the tinker was inwardly amazed as she expected Celestia❜s hand to be cold as metal.

For a moment she heard a ringing noise like an old radio set started playing in her head. The artisan shut her eyes tightly and shook her head trying to chase away the deafening cracking. The cacophony lapsed into silence. As the tinker opened her eyes, she was stunned. Glowing pictures, words and images were floating all over the room. Right above the table, there was a line blinking with a welcoming title: Enter your search query .

❝That❜s impossible!❞ gasped the earthborn fairy. ❝How can you draw in the air? Is it a vapour projection or just pixie dust?❞

❝That❜s simple,❞ the stranger gave an indifferent wave of her hand. ❝The graphics are rendered in your imagination. It is some kind of a controlled hallucination. My quantum computer is tuned in to you and stimulates parts of your brain responsible for visual images. Look in the mirror if you have any doubt about it.❞

The tinker did it. No letter was seen in the reflection, indeed.

❝And now, why don❜t you give me a tip,❞ Celestia played with her fingers in the air. ❝What is the most powerful man-made source of energy in your world?❞

After a little pause of confusion the artisan answered, still wondering whether her interlocutress was kidding or not:

❝With humans, that would be a nuclear reactor. With us, it❜s pixie dust lacking so much.❞

The fairy from future quickly entered the word nuclear into the search query, and in a moment there were swarms of documents, graphics, formulas and translucent pictures circling around.

❝Nuclear, you say… Strange, I don❜t see anything about quark-gluon plasma,❞ mumbled the time traveller, scrolling through the glowing pages. ❝It makes no sense! How can you produce energy from nuclei if you don❜t have a tachyon converter or a black hole generator? Tink, could you tell me how it all works in here?❞

❝Don❜t you know how humans use nuclear energy?❞ asked the tinker.

❝And don❜t you know, how Neanderthals managed to make fire?❞ Celestia fenced with a tricky question.

❝I don❜t,❞ answered the artisan undisturbed, ❝But I do know something about the nuclear reactor that I can tell.❞

— — — The link to the animated clip is supposed to be here. — — —

Dear readers, enough is enough. My team and I spent too much effort and money to draw and to animate everything. If you want to read the rest of the story, please visit our Fictionpad page (the link is in my profile). I may still publish the rest here, without drawings and animation—let me know in the comments.