sciencelizard | « [IC Inbox

[There's a slight pause before the englishman starts talking. He's not used to answering machines.]

Hello. This is Dorian Gray. Your friend, Frisk, told me you would be able to explain how the entirety of Wonderland can be a small, enclosed space. If you could get back to me soon, I would appreciate it.

[She replies as soon as she's able. What has Frisk been telling this guy?? Though, it does make her feel slightly good that Frisk is referring science questions to her, or thinks she's smart enough to handle them.]

Uhm, well, Wonderland is what's referred to as a pocket dimension. So, uhm, every w-world, or reality that we know... think of it existing as a b-bubble, in a room full of them. They all have the same rules, like, bubbles being popped, but some are bigger, or smaller, and s-some float higher or lower than others. So Wonderland is like... t-the bubble wand. It's different, but still similar?

[Wow, that one got away from her.]

It's, uh, o-outside of space and time. if that helps. Uh, d-did that help? Maybe a more specific question, would, uhm, b-be easier.

[Well. The only thing Frisk said about Alphys was that she was a lizard monster who happened to be a scientist.]

[That voice on the other end certianly didn't SOUND like a lizard monster. Really, it sounded more like some nervous desk clerk. With a stutter. Sigh.]

Yes and no.

The analogy would make more sense if I understood what a bubble wand was.

... Oh. Yeah, uh, that's more c-complicated.

It's like... oh, h-hang on.

[She flips to video, at least on her end, and waves for a moment before centering it on what seems to be her workspace, where a piece of paper sits on the table, with some circles drawn on it.]

So, these circles are worlds, right? They all exist in the universe, which is the paper, b-but they're separate, so they can't interact. But they all follow the same rules, like, physics, because they're on the paper.

[She then brings into frame another piece of paper, with a single circle on it, labelled Wonderland.]

See, Wonderland exists i-in it's own space on the paper, but not the same page. It's still in a universe, but uhm, n-not our universe. So it obeys it's own rules, uhm, d-despite still being it's own world.

[She centers the camera back on herself.]

Does that h-help?

[Oh dear god, she is a literal giant lizard. Dorian decides to leave his end on audio so she won't see his shocked expression. After all, such a reaction to someone who is helping you would be rude.]

[However, he is more familiar with drawings on paper than bubble wands, so there's a blessing.]

Yes, this example is a lot more helpful than the last. Thank you, Miss Alphys.

[She smiles, a little more securely than before.]

Great! I'm glad, uhm, I c-could help. I guess, uh, y-you must come from father back in time, huh? When, uhm, t-there was less study of particle physics.

[Nod] Indeed. I'm actually unfamiliar with much of the technology here.

Somebody gave you the pamphlet, uhm, w-when you arrived, right? It explains a little more about that sort of thing.

Ah... Yes, actually.

However, she sent it to my communications device, which is currently being used to record this... I would prefer a physical copy, now that I think of it.

I think there are some, uhm, i-in the library? I'm not sure. You could ask, uhm, the l-lady who works in there. I think her name is Evie.

Ah. I'll try and ask her about it sometime soon. [Smile, nod]

By the by... I don't mean to be rude, but what sort of monster are you?

Uh... a lizard, uh, m-monster? In my world, the only real type d-differentiation are monsters and Boss Monsters, who are a little more physical and s-stronger than most of us. After that it's mostly just uh, the t-type of animal we resemble.

Oh.

What was your society like? I heard you lived underground for a long time.

Oh, well, uhm... we're a monarchy, w-with a King and uh, we used to have a Queen too. But otherwise uh, I g-get the impression we're pretty close to, uh, humans. Kids are t-taken care of by their parents, and they go to school, and get j-jobs and sometimes have families. I'm a scientist, but there's farmers, and s-schoolteachers, and librarians and members of the Royal Guard who watch for humans. There's all kinds of things.

From what I've, uhm, learned from humans, it's about the same. Kind of.

Ah... My country is actually very similar to yours, except we have a Queen whose husband died of illness, our Royal is there to protect the monarchy from assault, and we could actually see the sky when the fog wasn't as thick as pea soup.

[Now that he thinks about it...] Do monsters have a Parliament?

I don't know w-what a Parliament is, so uhm, no, I don't think so. The Guard protects and serves the King, though. And I think he has advisers or something. I mean, as the Royal Scientist, t-technically I am one!

[Or, er, was.]

[Oh, so this was like the Dark Ages with new technology.]

You wouldn't be too thrilled with Parliament. It's just a gathering of delusional old men who prefer to bicker over their interests rather than actually get anything done.

Oh. I don't think we h-have quite enough people to justify, uhm, a full bunch of politicians. The King makes all the o-official decisions but mostly industries run on their own.

Really now? I must have clearly overestimated your society's population.

Well, there's enough of us to run our society, but, the g-government doesn't really need to be that extensive, you know? The King has plenty of time to, uh, c-check in on everybody, but they're pretty self-sustaining.

Oh?

That would mean the Underground is not that large of a "country," so to speak.

[Clearly, Dorian was expecting more out of your homeworld, Alphys.]

Well no, n-not really. You can cross the entire thing on foot in like, a day, if you take the most direct route. But there's a lot of wider caverns and the city in New Home is p-pretty sprawling, if you don't mind being in apartments and so close to everybody.

I see...

[So it's more like you put the entirety of London underground and made it a whole world.]

Which would make it a little bigger than Wonderland, I presume?

I suppose. I've never, uhm, t-taken the time to figure out how big Wonderland is, since the size seems to, uhm, change to a-accommodate the amount of people present.

Does it? Well, that's a blessing.

« [IC Inbox - Entranceway]

10/6 [Voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[voice --> video]

[voice]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

Re: [video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]