In which Nils Nielsen needs to write a paper

Nils Nielsen was a genius. Not a lie, not an overstatement, or a product of hubris. Genius. That was the only way to put it. I knew myself.

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Pit Ahhhhh… pat

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Pit Beautiful meditative silence… pat

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Pit had to keep in shape anyway pat …

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Pit warmup complete pat pat pattttt.

Giving only a moment to take a breath, Nils Nielsen had a little reflection and consideration to do. He had just finished his particle physics PHD on antimatter particles, and was feeling a bit empty, not yet having a cause to throw his considerable genius behind. Besides, he had told himself that he was going to have 5 PHDs before he could drive, and was still two short. So he decided to vary his routine of meditative fitness to see if he couldn't draw inspiration. Today's guiding principle was observation without judgement, and so in this state he swept his gaze over the boardwalk.

This boardwalk was a fairly busy place, with many people bustling about as if (bad thought process, don't judge prematurely) bustling about, buying food, haggling with store clerks, playing Gunpla battle, calling on their phones, bumping into strangers, having romantic dates (he wasn't affected terribly adversely by the hormones, thankfully), and all the other errata that comes with being a hub of commerce.

In this state of observation, he noted that a pair of people were going to play Gunpla Battle (machines in perfect condition), while also noticing how the waitresses handed people their coffee affected their tips (null hypothesis, failed to meet statistical significance), how the day outside modified the behavior of people's buying habits (clear sunny days definitely improved traffic [what was the control group?{discard judgement}]) some id (again? My, how easily I slip into bad habits[correct this behavior{but he just stole bread in full view of security!(SHUT UP, BAD HABIT)}]) twe(unnecessary detail[abomination to grammar]) teenager taking bread from the cart in front of the store and not paying for it, some swimmers enj(can't judge emotional states from here) swimming in the blue ocean (wrong? No, blue is a allowable judgement based on personal observation) and back to the Gunpla battles where one to(is that judgemental? Just in case) gunpla was hit with a particle effect, exploded, and some couple was ar-

WAIT. WHY IS THE GUNPLA SINGED?

Observe.

I know the two gunpla started out on the pads.

They are not on the pads anymore. In fact, they are roughly at the same position where the battle ended.

The right arm was missing from one of the gunpla on the simulated battle. The right arm of the exact same gunpla is missing.

There is assorted residue on the table.

Knowing this, what are the most likely hypotheses?

One. They moved the gunpla out of sight once the simulation started. The noise of motors would be hidden by the simulation noise, and the gunpla were attached to launching pads when started. Using off the shelf motion capture devices, they tracked the location of the arm movements and then within the machine they precisely machined the gunpla and then set them in the correct positions, using some cover as an excuse to distribute the parts and dust across the battlefield.

Two. It could all be a simulation, with the players merely placing the GP base and then moving their hands to the over the GP base to signify deployment. The holographic effect hadn't fully dissipated when the two fighters pulled their gunpla off the table. There was some residue on the table, but that could be a feature of low quality or damaged holographic equipment.

Three. It could all be an effect of hard light particles created by bonding antipartic- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHA

I bent over laughing for a straight minute, wheezing, turning quite a few heads with perplexed expressions all over their faces and body language. I kept laughing and then stopped abruptly.

Hypothesis Three wasn't sane. If such a particle existed, major research institutions would be all over its discovery. Buuuuttttt.. It explained all observed phenomena. Much better than Hypothesis One and Two. Rapid movement between the hardlight particles and air would generate heat. The hardlight particles would provide graphic effects and solid platforms, as well as a form of propulsion and damage to the machines. The graphic effects might not even be graphic but instead very much physical. And with such fine control over particles that could freely generate heat and motion with next to no leverage?

Nils Nielsen knew what his next paper was going to be on.

No, he knew what his Nobel prize work was going to be.