Town Square District Three, Panem 3312

Sheldon landed hard on a concrete surface as a thick cloud of soot rose up around him. "Oh dear - I do hope I haven't injured my coccyx." Sheldon muttered. He quickly did an internet search of the symptoms. "Oh, phew. Though, I wouldn't mind Dr. Crusher taking a look to verify my tentative self-diagnosis." He closed his laptop and looked around at the scene.

People were gathered in a large town square. The buildings surrounding the square appeared to be a mix of brick and concrete structures. All the buildings were covered in layers of grey soot. The people in the square wore clothes also covered in soot. Suddenly a woman dressed in bright orange and yellow skin-tight dress, bright fuscia wig, and five inch heels ran up to Sheldon. "Hello, what sort of hominid life-form are you, and what planet am I on?" Sheldon asked staring at her.

"Are you the mentor?" She screeched shrilly wagging her finger at him.

"Well," Sheldon said, puffing his chest out and shifting his laptop from one hand to the other. "I have participated in numerous research projects where I have used undergraduate and graduate Caltech students and generated quite a few publications with their labor." He said smugly. The woman stifled a laugh as he voice spontaneously went up an down several octaves during the course of his little lecture.

"Well, get up there, we'll run late!" She screeched.

"You didn't answer my questions, homonid!" Sheldon said pointing his finger at her. "What type of life form are you, and what planet am I on?"

"You're in District Three!" The woman said exasperatedly. "And I'm the escort from the Capitol. Honestly." She muttered and grabbed him by the shirt to pull him up the stairs. He sat on a wooden chair next to a man in a suit.

"I appear to have traveled through time, but unfortunately not in space." Sheldon muttered before the man in the suit went to the microphone and introduced himself as Mayor of the district. He gave a short lecture of the history of Panem and the Hunger Games.

"Well, the US has turned quite barbaric which is an unfortunate turn of history." Sheldon muttered. The brightly dressed escort glared at him for talking during the speech. She went up and began the ceremony Sheldon realized was the Reaping itself.

"Wiress Carpenter!" The escort called. Sheldon watched as a young girl looking like a sophomore or junior in high school came to the stage. She was wearing a black skirt, off-white blouse, and dark blue sweater that had a seal in the upper right hand corner that read: Engineering Academy District Three. The escort called for volunteers but the crowd remained silent. She pulled a name from another glass bowl. "Beetee Tesla." She called. A boy wearing metal-frame glasses, a grey button up shirt, black slacks, and dark blue or green tie came forward. He appeared to be a senior in high school. "Tributes, shake hands." The escort called. The two students shook hands before Beetee adjusted his empty pocket-protector in his shirt pocket. They were led off by two soldiers in white uniforms that looked to Sheldon a bit like storm-troopers.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting ceremony." Sheldon remarked to the brightly colored woman. "I think I shall take my leave and walk around the city."

"You will do no such thing! What are you thinking!" the woman screeched. "We have to be on the train! You're mentoring these tributes, don't you remember?"

"Forgive me." Sheldon said. "I sustained a mild concussion when I was rudely pranked in the bathroom by my 'esteemed colleauge' Kripke." He stood up and followed the escort to the train. This wasn't anything out of Star Trek, and this wasn't particle physics, but this adventure would be interesting and enlightening indeed.