As it so happens, the dim-witted character called The Writer, a decent enough chap with little to no self-awareness about himself or his general surroundings; had actually had multiple "chance encounters" with the individual known as Zeppo long before he found himself in that man's employ.
The first time the met was a short-lived moment, neither of them spoke a word, they just made eye contact in that way that tends to stand out in the memory, and would leave cause for wondering what might have been behind the strangers intent for sustaining such prolonged and curious eyeball to eyeball connection in public.
The second time they crossed paths, They shared an Econo iAutoZoom for over an Hour.
The first memorable conversation they had would stand out sharply in The Writer's own future recollections about meeting the eccentric cartoon character of a man. It was not the strangest conversation they would have, not by any means... But it would stand out for it's unusually specific subject matter, especially for being the first public conversation that the Writer had had with the mysterious MrZeppo, (which was, in all actuality- their third; he just did not realize it). It took place approximately 9 weeks before the local Keystone Cops Surveillance Team would suddenly red-flag him for direct observation.
They had sat coincidentally near each other at a local pub that the Writer wasted a bit too much of his weekends at.They never exchanged names.
They just fell into polite sociable conversation on the sorts of humdrum small talk subjects that most anyone would welcome from a stranger at a local pub.
And then, after their third round together, in the middle of a lull in their conversation and the general hubbub in the bar... The two men once again made oddly direct and somewhat uncomfortably penetrating eye contact.
Then the stranger that would later turn out to be The Incorrigible MrZeppo slowly started speaking very urgently at the Writer in such a way that made him feel as if they were suddenly the only two people in the entire world.
Zeppo: I am not an "expert", but I do have a decent layman's understanding of physics and cosmology. so, here is why I find it difficult to buy into the idea of interstellar travel-
Writer- Interstellar Travel???
Zeppo: Yes.
He said the word as if he was already running out of patience with a difficult student and he did not want to explain the fundamentals one more time.Writer: I... uh... don't know ... much...
Zeppo: [Interrupting and talking right over the Writer] Yes. InterStellar Travel. Now. Assuming we could manage the construction of such monstrous machines that could house and feed an entire nation of people. Space Faring People. Sailors across the Heavens. Even IF that could be done-
[there is an awkward but brief pause]
Mr Zeppo: The most current astrophysics-physics states that every point in the universe is expanding away from every other...
Writer: Wait.... What???
Zeppo: resuming-
The most current astrophysics-physics states that every point in the universe is expandingaway from every other point in the universe at an exponentially increasing rateWriter: slow down... How???
Zeppo: How what?
Writer: How does, what you said, do, what you said?
Zeppo:[Mildly Flabbergasted] My! She was right! You do have a way with words, don't you!
Zeppo: resuming, or rather, really, starting over-The most current astrophysics-physics states that every point in the universe is expandingaway from every other point in the universe at an exponentially increasing ratethat is either really close to the speed of light, or is actually even faster than the speed of light...
Writer: No!
Zeppo: Yes!
Writer: Nope, can't be.
Zeppo: Yeup, totally can be! Is, now, and always has been!!!
Writer: uh.... Oh?
Zeppo: Of course silly! Time doesn't exist. All things always have been forever each other and one with one another.
Writer: You're crazy.
Zeppo: So I've been told.
Writer: Good. Have you? Oh... Already?
Zeppo: You honestly think you could have possibly been the very first? Really? Just now? You. Were. Totally. About to Be. The First. To call me Crazy??
Writer: uhm... well, er. No. I guess... Not.
Zeppo: So... resuming, or rather, really, more accurately, starting over, again-
The most current astrophysics-physics states that every point in the universe is expanding away from every other point in the universe at an exponentially increasing rate that is either really close to the speed of light, or is actually even faster than the speed of light...
(the reason light is not affected is because it is a wave, and if you know anything about waves, they are not themselves, they ware that which is waving, and yet they are not. As such, a wave can travel at any speed it likes up to and including the fastest possible speed allowed by all the material limits of a given Matrix System, AND it can also expand its overall wave-form, in alignment with the expansion of the universe that wave is traveling through waving in, as it travels through the universe)
Writer: Expanding with AND traveling through the Matrix of Reality... simultaneously?
Zeppo: My, my! Wordsmithy AND quick on the pick-up!! Groovy!But don't interrupt again, please.
Writer: ..erm... Cheers!
Zeppo: So... resuming, or rather, really, more accurately, starting over, again for the very LAST time-
The most current astrophysics-physics states that every point in the universe is expandingaway from every other point in the universe at an exponentially increasing ratethat is either really close to the speed of light, or is actually even faster than the speed of light...(the reason light is not affected is because it is a wave, and if you know anything about waves, they are not themselves, they ware that which is waving, and yet they are not. As such, a wave can travel at any speed it likes up to and including the fastest possible speed allowed by all the material limits of a given Matrix System, AND it can also expand its overall wave-form, in alignment with the expansion of the universe that wave is traveling through waving in, as it travels through the universe)Soooo, if a physical object left point A at 1pm, and it would take an hour to get to point B traveling slower than the speed of light, during that hour, the distance between point A and point B would MORE than triple in length!!!Writer: Wow~
Zeppo: Every hour, the length of the distance one would hope to travel would, in fact, expand by a factor of 3!!!
Meanwhile, while the object would only be able to travel 1/3 of that distance at its limited speed, which renders the entire journey next to impossible. Ok? That's why I find it really really difficult to buy into the idea of interstellar travel...
They Stare at each other for a moment longer, and then dismiss it all with a cheers and a drink.
MrZeppo: ...but, as I said, I am not an expert by any means, so I now that I could very well be dead wrong about the whole thing.
The Writer, after much prolonged drunken consideration of Zeppo's articulate explanation he managed a polite burp and the following declaration-
W: Huh. Never thought of it that way.
[White Out]
YOU ARE READING
zero hour
Action"Set in an experimental sci-fi comic book action adventure literary world-building project universe of multi-book series nested within other book series, 'The Zeppoverse' may be a bit disorienting to navigate at first... but you kind get used to it...
