Keep an eye out for the numerous jabs at Act Your Age!
Professor Baljeet growled.
It was not often that astronomical and mathematical data frustrated the man, now a Professor of Mathematical Physics and head of the astronomy department at Danville U. The University had a very good observatory, and Baljeet had met many fellow science enthusiasts through it.
But tonight, after the sun had set, the observatory had become cold and empty, save for the single curly-haired Indian in a lab coat hunched over the desk, staring frustratedly at the computer screen and scattered papers, upon which were scrawled symbols in his own handwriting that would be unintelligible even to most of his peers, if they could even read it, but the paper and computer displayed astronomical data and calculations that contradicted each other.
Baljeet was no stranger to contradictions, and was renowned for his ability to resolve them. Usually, they were a result of a plus or minus sign gone awry at some point in the calculation, or the telescope was not calibrated properly, or someone had used a cosine where they needed a quadratic differential. But this… this was different. He had been over it seventeen times in the last 56 hours, in different mental states, and from different angles, but it refused to budge. The telescope was in perfect working order and was happily reporting data that implied that the universe was broken.
So it was understandable that he was stressed, correct? Well, apparently not to Ginger.
Baljeet could not understand why she could not understand the importance of the matter. It was a contradiction that he could not explain! The fact that Ginger was upset over his attentiveness to this matter was almost as mystifying as the contradiction itself.
He leaned back in his chair and sighed. Seeking a distraction, he pulled out his phone from his pocket. The phone itself - a device of his own design - registered his touch and gaze and flickered into life.
Hm, a text message from Ginger? he thought curiously, seeing the notification on the screen, and as soon as he had the thought, the phone brought up Ginger's message.
Won't you give that problem a break? You've been at it for, like 3 days. Come round my place and we'll watch a movie together, it'll take your mind off it. - Ging xxx
Upon reading it, Baljeet scoffed, and the phone dutifully closed the message after responding with what Baljeet was thinking: Sorry, I'm working on the problem tonight - Jeet. He did not know why Ginger was asking to spend more time with him - they had already spent the agreed upon 2 afternoons together on a date that week. Baljeet did like spending time with her, but he kept a certain structure to his life, one that had to revolve around science and its unpredictable patterns.
He pushed himself out of the chair and began pacing the room, his mind idly checking a piece of the math that he already knew was correct. He wanted to talk about his feelings to someone who would understand, but there was nobody around. He was on good terms with many at the University, but he had kept mostly to himself in his short time here, and none of his peers were as of yet anything more than acquaintances. Buford was taking a tour to 'find himself' who knew where in Europe, with who knew who, doing who knew what. And Phineas and Ferb were both, well, he didn't even need to think it, with how obvious it was that they were too busy to hang out for an hour or two like old times.
Well, they would be up for it. Or, more specifically, Phineas would promise they'd make time in their schedules ("anything for you, man!", Phineas would say) and they would meet up and hang out and catch up on each others' lives, but he'd have the attention of the bright-eyed inventor for only a few moments at a time, their conversation being constantly interrupted by one person or another approaching them with a request that the soft-hearted guy simply couldn't ignore or put off. Ferb's attention would also be on at least 5 other things, as he wrote a paper, while reading a book, in between sips of tea, his mind meanwhile whirring away at some problem in Quantum Entanglement Theory. They were both brilliant, and they meant well, but as miraculous as they were, they could not help him at the moment.
So that left Ginger, who was eliminated as a possibility by her obsession with being boyfriend and girlfriend rather than being a couple.
Sometimes he wished Ginger was more mature, more like someone who understood the demands and intricacies of science, someone with whom he could have stimulating cosmological conversations with…
Then the door handle rattled, and Baljeet jumped, startled. He only had a few seconds to run through the possibilities of people who could be on the other side of the door, but even if he had a whole year, he would never have guessed correctly.
It was Linda Flynn.
"Oh, Baljeet, I wasn't expecting anyone to be here," she said in pleasant surprise.
Baljeet couldn't help but stare. He had not actually met the woman for many years, and had scarcely mentioned or thought about her in that time apart from enquiring of Phineas and Ferb how their parents were doing. "Pardon my bluntness, Mrs. Flynn," he began, "but what are you doing here?"
She chuckled. "Nice to see you too, Baljeet. Oh, it's Professor now though, right? Or is it Doctor? 'Doctor Baljeet' has a nice ring to it too."
"It is 'Professor'," Baljeet verified. "Though I suppose I do not mind if you simply call me 'Baljeet'. Anyway, again, it is not that I am against your presence here, but..."
Linda sighed and sunk into one of the chairs. "Well I don't like telling people, but before I was 'Lindana' I was, well, an Astrophysicist."
Baljeet blinked, then laughed. "I am sorry, I seem to have misheard you. For a moment there, I thought you said 'Astrophysicist'!"
Linda smiled. "The fine structure constant is 0.0072973525698," she recited. "I used to know more digits, but it has been a while."
"By Kepler's beard, It is true," Baljeet gasped, immediately accepting her statement as evidence.
"I did my study here at Danville U," she continued reminiscing happily about her time at the university. "I used to spend so much time in this very observatory. I set the computer to email me whenever any interesting data came in, and as you know, the recent data looks particularly… interesting."
"Oh, please do not get me started," Baljeet groaned. "It plainly contradicts the equations that have been the basis of the last 50 years of scientific progress. It is a disaster!"
Linda listened, nodding in understanding. "You think, 'How can I go on living when I know my model of the universe is so wrong?'"
"That's precisely it!" Baljeet exclaimed. "Finally, someone that understands!"
Linda asked if she could see the data and Baljeet gestured her to the desk where the computer and his pages of scribbled calculations lay. It was a very old machine, nicknamed HAL, and while most of its tech, including the processor, had been upgraded to ultra-modern levels, its monitor remained a relic dating back to the 90's.
"Ah, HAL," she said, fondly stroking the old machine. "It's been so long. I wonder if it still…"
She tapped a few keys and, to Baljeet's great surprise, it hummed "Hello, Linda, good to see you again," in a pleasant metallic voice.
"Huh, I did not know that it had that programming," Baljeet said, astonished.
"Oh, there are all sorts of little secrets in this place," Linda winked knowingly. She darted over to the supply cupboard and pushed her hand past the assorted items on the cluttered shelves, things that had been there gathering dust for years, searching for something. Then Baljeet heard the click of a switch being turned on, and classical music flowed from unseen speakers in the walls.
"Beethoven," he breathed.
"Oh! And I always loved to work under the stars," Linda said, pulling down the switch (which Baljeet was aware of) which caused the roof to slide down, exposing them to the infinite twinkling lights that they were studying.
"Ah, this is why I used to love astrophysics. There's so much beauty out there, and so much beauty reflected in the equations." She sighed. "I wanted to bring Lawrence here one day, but, well, he's in a better place now."
"Is… is he on holiday?" Baljeet asked, fearing the worst.
"No, he's no longer with us," Linda said wistfully. A moment of silence passed. "He got accepted to work on the moon base. But there are still no regular shuttles there! I've not seen him in months."
Another moment passed as they both shared a vision of Lawrence Fletcher bouncing with childish ecstasy on the moon's surface. "What a man," Linda mused.
Soon after their reminiscing, Linda transitioned to work. Baljeet watched as she began poring over the data, with all the focus of a seasoned scientist. The years had been gentle to her, the slight wrinkles in her face only accentuating the her expression of wisdom and grace. He imagined her in a lab coat, demystifying the motions of the planets and stars, unlocking the secrets of the universe, discovering the utopia of understanding in the pitch dark sea of ignorance.
To think, someone with whom he shared so much had been so close all this time.
Baljeet lay back under the stars, and let Beethoven's Symphony wash over him.
"Aha," Linda said, finally, after what felt to Baljeet like either forever or a single moment. "It all makes sense now."
"You could read my writing?" Baljeet asked, in amazement. "Or, more pertinently, you resolved the contradiction?"
"It's quite simple, Baljeet, dear," she said, as he practically leapt out of his chair to look at everything again. "Your equations show that the continuity of Spacetime in that area lead to a contradiction, so what does that mean?"
"Well yes, Spacetime is not continuous at that location, it is singular, a black hole of some kind," Baljeet said exasperatedly. "But it cannot be! If it was a black hole, we would not be able to receive any data at all! But we clearly are, and it is just not in accordance with the physics of the universe-"
"The universe?" Linda interrupted, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, yes, the-"
Baljeet's eyes widened as Linda's point dawned on Baljeet. "Mrs. Flynn," Baljeet said slowly. "Are you suggesting..."
"Yes, " Linda said, clapping her hands together, delighted that Baljeet picked up on it so fast. "You've found a portal to another dimension."
She got up out of the chair as Baljeet slumped into it, in a daze, picking up his bits of paper and staring at the equations and data in an entirely new light. He picked up the pen lying on the desk and, autonomously began correcting plus signs to minus signs and vice versa, bringing them in line with the new hypothesis.
"Of course, it is all so obvious," he muttered. "Yet, at the same time, it is a truly brilliant insight."
"Oh, stop," Linda smiled, brushing away his compliments. She lay back now herself, taking in the stars and music.
Baljeet fixed the final equation and it all fell into place. It was undeniable: there was a portal to a whole other universe, right in their cosmological backdoor. He thought he had seen it all during his days with Phineas and Ferb: He'd seen aliens, been to other planets, surfed through an asteroid belt. But another dimension? He exhaled, marvelling at it. Truly, these were the moments were the ones he lived for.
And Linda Flynn was the one who had ended his suffering and opened his eyes to it. He turned in his chair and saw her in a new light. She was no longer simply his friends' mother, but…
"Mrs. Flynn, do you mind if I ask you something, well, deeply personal?" the man said, slightly nervous about what he was about to ask.
"Anything, Baljeet" she replied, leaning forwards, intently, to hear his question..
"What should I do about Ginger?" Baljeet asked. "I mean, she does not understand the importance of science to me, its beauty and elegance. How do I make her see things the same way we do?"
Yes, he saw her as a mentor, someone older and wiser that understood, saw her as someone he could confide in when he needed advice.
The woman smiled sympathetically upon hearing his problem. "Oh Baljeet, a relationship is best when the two people complement each other. The real magic happens exactly when you both see things in different ways. Loving Ginger means loving her despite your differences. I'm sure she does the same."
"I see… And it cannot be easy for her. I can be 'difficult' sometimes," Baljeet admitted.
"And of course, you must openly communicate what you want," Linda added. "No trying to manipulate the situation."
"Well durr," Baljeet scoffed. "Who would think that was a good idea?"
"Anyway, I'm sure things are better than you think, dear," Linda winked. "Ginger's a lovely girl."
She lifted herself out of the chair and stretched her arms and back. "Well, it's been lovely spending time up here again, Baljeet, but I suppose I should be going now. Do keep my background in Astrophysics secret, would you?"
With that, Linda left, the background symphony still playing as a background to Baljeet's swirling emotions.
He sunk back into the chair once more. He still couldn't believe that the matter was now resolved, and so elegantly. His brain took one more moment to appreciate it, then recollected the next phase of operations, which was to begin typesetting the data and calculations.
Baljeet was about to begin the somewhat laborious task when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in?" he said uncertainly. It couldn't be Mrs. Flynn again, she would have just entered. But if he had another whole year, he wouldn't have guessed who it was this time either.
"Hey Baljeet," Ginger said, grinning. "How's my favorite Indian Professor?"
"Ginger!" He exclaimed. Freed from the stress of the contradiction, Baljeet found himself happy to see his girlfriend once again, and he leapt out of his chair to embrace her.
"I dropped by to- oh wow, that music is beautiful," she said, taking in the still playing symphony. "And the stars as well. Oh, Baljeet, it's so romantic."
Baljeet thought of making a the typesetting task still left to do. But Linda's advice swam into mind. "Yes," he agreed, gazing deeply into Ginger's eyes. "Yes it is."
He took his girlfriend's hand and led her in a waltz under the stars.