"Nope. Still don't see anydifference." Shelby reclined in the matte-black armchair, eyes closed and serenely smiling.

Sitting across from her in an identical armchair, Laura pursed her lips. "Come on. Romance is what happens when people are bored. Or pubescent. Sometimes when they like someone. Love is deeper."

"Deeper?" Shelby raised an eyebrow.

"Aye, much, much deeper. It's when you care so much for someone, you feel like… like your world wouldn't be complete without them. Like a sibling," she added hastily at Shelby's doubly raised eyebrows.

"I don't recall you having any siblings, Brand. Someone else in mind?"

"My point is, they're two separate entities that sometimes act upon each other. For example…" Laura thought hard. "You've had, like, twenty boyfriends, haven't you?"

"Twenty-three," Shelby corrected.

"Whatever, twenty-three. That qualifies as romance, Oui?"

"Of course."

"But did you ever feel… love? Did you ever feel like, well, like it would kill you if that person were to leave your life?"

Shelby hesitated. "I've had lots of fun, even though most of those relationships hardly lasted a week. But—"

"Hah!" Laura looked smug. "If it was really love, you would've lasted longer. I bet you've never even felt it."

Shelby's eyes flitted in a tall Alpha's direction for the briefest of moments.

"That's not strictly true…" she murmured.

"What was that?" Laura glanced in the same direction. Several meters away, Otto was attempting to explain the relativistic snake(1) to a lost-looking Wing.

"But the snake got shorter!" Wing was protesting. "At more than half the speed of light, he got shorter—"

"Yes, but to the snake, the distance between the crazy kid's knives has decreased. Wing, these are two different inertial frames. Length differs—"

"I understand that part—"

"Remember that simultaneity is not constant in different inertial frames. Now, Wing, does the snake live or die?"

Wing paused. "The distance between the kid's knives has decreased. The snake gets killed."

"But the snake shrank, at least to the crazy kid."

"So does he live?"

"That's what I'm asking you."

"It's a paradox! There's no answer!"

"Yeah, there is. Simultaneity is not the constant. You know what, just forget it."

"I would like to know if the snake survives."

"I'm not telling. You figure it out. Or actually… yeah, just forget it."

Amusing as this was, Laura had other issues to contend with. She turned back to Shelby, who was still looking in their direction. At one person in particular, though Laura didn't point this out. Last time it'd been messy. She waved a hand in front of her friend's face. "Earth to Shelby. Do you receive?"

The glazed look vanished. Shelby snapped back. "Huh?"

"Though they sometimes act on each other, love and romance are two different things. Agreed?"

"Maybe."

x

(1) Googled special relativity, and found this ancient problem, which is based on the idea that things in different inertial frames contract according to the viewer. I couldn't help putting it into this fic.

A relativistic snake, 1 meter long, travels at a velocity of 0.6c (c being the speed of light) on a looong table. A boy is about to strike two axes simultaneously on each side of the snake (1 meter gap between the axes) as it passes him. The boy figures that if the axe at the back strikes right behind the snakes "tail", the snake will not be hit thanks to the length contraction.

As in:
I- I

Meanwhile, the snake, who figures what the boy is about to do, is a bit worried. The snake sees the axes approach with a velocity of 0.6c, and hence is contracted and the gap seems less than 1 meter.

as in:
I-I-

The question is; what will happen?
Will one axe hit the snake, which is what the snake assumes?
Or will the snake make it between the axes, as the boy believes?

The key is that simultaneity is not the same at crazy speeds like this. The boy thinks he's slamming the axes simultaneously, but to the snake, he's not. THE SNAKE LIVES!

End theoretical physics lecture. Call me a nerd.

x

Love 'n' romance: same diff?

What do you think? I know the Apple dictionary says romance is idealized love, but… I just feel like they're different, y'know?

Hope it was relatively decent, and somewhat enlightening, and if not, flames are always accepted. Just so long as they're… you know… justified. And tell me exactly what I need to fix. Y'all know the drill.

Love ya!

:) pigeonattack

P.S. Anyone interested can ask me about the RELATIVISTIC BARN, which involves a stupid (but speedy) guy and a ladder. All reviews WILL be answered personally. Not, like, robotically.