TILE 23

'....Isaac Newton was the first man to recognize and formulate the rules that apply to things like celestial mechanics and simple actions and reactions like why a gun recoils when fired. The first launch of a satellite, the Russian Sputnik, owes some of its success to Newton's mathematical work.'

Tim searched in vain for a definition of satellite in his compendium . Then he added the word to his own notes list of terms taken from the journal of Charles Ramsey for which there was no equivalent. He continued reading

'....The next landmark advance in physics was Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity which seems to prove that nothing can exceed the speed of light at approx 186,000 miles per sec.

I do not accept this, I believe his explanation of Special Relativity is ingenious but wrong because it doesn't take into account the subsequent discovery of quantum mechanics.

Everything physics thought it had nailed down was thrown out of whack by the work of Schroedinger and Bohr and also by the slit screen experiment's results which eventually gave rise to string theory....'

"Blimey!" Tim said aloud, "None of those crucial nouns have any description in my compendium, I will just have to add them to my list of unknowns."

His head was aching and his brow sweating heavily after a fruitless evenings studying. A cup of willow bark tea was needed followed by bed, thought Tim wearily.

He instinctively knew that he'd been given a treasure trove of magical spells that even wizard Hodson had been defeated by. Wearily he replaced his books on their shelf and stumbled off to sleep.

Had he stayed awake long enough to turn to the next page he's have seen:-

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Arthur C Clarke."

Charles Ramsey, whoever he was, had taken great pains over his journal illustrations even to the point of colouring them in. This was a godsend for Tim who had been able to distinguish various parts as being made from copper and brass.

Although the silver gray metal was anybodys guess, at least it was definitely a metal not wood or china, for instance.

Sooner or later Tim would encounter another of Clarke's quotations that Charles had obviously thought important.

"The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."