TueWednesday's Ten Minute Tale - the result!

[martinlivings]

Okay, here we go. Thanks to editormum for "Star Trek", punktortoise for "strawberry blancmange" and mikandra for "black hole". And benpeek for the format. Yet again. ;)


"Star Trek: Deleted Scene"
(c) Martin Livings 13-5-2009

---

"But Old Spock, before Mister Scott and I beam back to the Enterprise from this icy planetoid that we visited for no real reason, please tell me one thing."

"Certainly, Jim, old friend. What would you like to know?"

"How did you create the black hole that saved the galaxy?"

"Ah, my young friend, that is a tale indeed. A tale of astounding science and universe-bending physics. Are you sure you wish to hear it?"

"Well duh, you pointy-eared pontificator..."

"Very well. In 2372, about fifteen years ago in my own timeline, and not long after you died..."

"I died???"

"That's what Captain Picard told me. You died well, if it helps?"

"Not really, no!"

"What did you think, Jim? That you'd live forever?"

"That was the plan, yes. As a great ancient philosopher once said, I don't want to be immortal by being remembered by others. I want to be immortal by not dying."

"Sorry to disappoint you, my young old friend."

"You know, you're almost as annoying as your younger self!"

"That should hardly be a surprise."

"Just get on with the story!"

"At any rate, I became obsessed with the concept of time travel and the use of controlled naked singularities to punch controlled holes in the space-time continuum, to create wormholes to other places and times. My theories were well-received. The only component missing from them was the material required to create said wormholes."

"Fascinating."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it isn't. Skip to the earlobes."

"The earlobes?"

"The point."

"Oh, I see. Very amusing."

"Get on with it!"

"It was the discovery of Earth Prime that finally gave us the missing piece. It was in the ruins of an ancient city that we discovered the chemical formula for what we came to call 'Red Matter'. It was using this substance, carefully contained in a repulsor field to prevent premature detonation..."

"Heh..."

"What?"

"Nothing. Please continue."

"It was the Red Matter that creates the hole in reality. And it was that hole that I used to save the galaxy, though too late for Romulus."

"What a shame."

"Indeed."

"I just have two queries about it."

"Go ahead, old young old friend."

"Firstly, what is the red matter?"

"Well, clearly, it needs to be a super-dense, highly-energised substance. Luckily the Old Earthers had exactly what we needed."

"Which was?"

"I believe they called it 'strawberry blancmange'."

"Ah."

"You asked."

"Okay. Now, my second question..."

"Yes?"

"If you and Nero got sucked back in time through the black hole, why didn't the supernova do the same? You should have wiped out the galaxy, except doing so a hundred and twenty nine years earlier."

"Uh..."

"Yes?"

"Uh... energise!"

"Hey, wait, you didn't answ..."

Comments

[benpeek.livejournal.com]

stop stealing my work!

[martinlivings.livejournal.com]

Make me. ;)

[benpeek.livejournal.com]

lawyers! where are my lawyers! where is my ally mcbeal!

[mikandra.livejournal.com]

LOL!

*scratches head and wonders who ever came up with the idea to make the stuff that creates black holes RED. Er? No light escapes out of a black hole. No red light light either*

[martinlivings.livejournal.com]

As I understand it, it's a JJ Abrams in-joke from Alias. Having never watched the show, though, I wouldn't know. *shrug*

[mikandra.livejournal.com]

I can do better than that. Up until a few days ago, I'd never even heard of JJ Abrams. I dislike in-jokes in movies/books. It makes all those who are too young/busy to have watched/read the subject of the in-joke feel like idiots. It also makes me feel that the writer/director takes the project less-than-serious. That's fine if the movie or book isn't meant to be serious (Shrek, the Incredibles) but if it isn't an obvious poke at existing culture... meh. I just don't like it. And I didn't buy the red matter at all. I think your treatment of it above gives it what it deserves. Meh. I liked the movie, though.

[editormum.livejournal.com]

Well done sir :)