myblimpisbigger | Twenty-Three: In Which 729 Anderson Gets a Pet. Sort of.

Entry tags:

!action,
!regains

Twenty-Three: In Which 729 Anderson Gets a Pet. Sort of.

[The first thing Klaus notices this morning is that there doesn't seem to be any more compulsory need to drink the milk, which is exceptionally good news, because it means no more murderous smiling drones wandering around.

The second thing he notices is that there is an unusual shadow on his lawn. A long, cylindrical shadow with... but no. Surely Mayfield didn't give him back his Castle? It's far, far too large to fit here, isn't it...?

Apparently Mayfield thought of that.

Anyone who wants to come by and remark at the new lawn ornament at 729 Anderson Lane is welcome. Klaus will be standing on the lawn, looking up in wonder at the 30 foot long miniature of his kilometer long airship. It floats gently on the morning breeze, though it stays at 729 courtesy of a chain securing it to a metal stake in the lawn.

It's like a big floating inanimate pet. And that's adorable.]

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[Dexter looks up at the strange new... thing in the yard. He first thought it was a UFO....and then he sees Klaus.]

Is that... a UFO?

Ah, no, actually. It appears to be my Castle.

Only it's quite a bit smaller than I remember.

[THAT's his Castle? It's pretty damn huge anyways. Doesn't detract from the fact that it's still sweet.]

If that's a bit small, I'd love to see the real thing!

I seem to have gotten a package as well, this morning...

Ah, well. The real thing is over three-thousand feet long. Seeing it would involve craning your neck far enough to break it, most likely.

And what did you receive?

[This actually could be good! Tools, science equipment? Cootie-repellent?]

It's a little something I made when I was younger, one of my finest and most brilliant of inventions ever!

[DRAMATIC REVEAL TIME as he finds whatever mechanism he needs to open the garage door. He's been keeping it there in his little section.

BEHOLD! THE ROBO-DEXO 2000! Not quite a giant robot, but it certainly can help me out in a pinch! It has a variety of voice-controlled weapons and gadgets to help me out in any situation, from wrestling a bear to extracting my revenge in dodgeball!

[His ol' trusty power armor. Serves him where places his giant robot can't go....He gives a sigh of embarassment, after he gets done his moment of pride.]

I'd give a demonstration... but it looks like I either forgot where I put the power source for the thing or they just didn't even freakin' bother to give me one... Thing won't move an inch...

[Ruri peers at Klaus, then the blimp, then Klaus again]

"Is a shrink ray coming next? Or a grow ray?"

Neither, I should think; I don't dabble much in such infantile areas of scientific study. But if you are asking in a roundabout way as to its usual size, then yes, it is generally much larger.

"I suspected, just I never can tell what direction the less structured scientific methods follow."

[She shrugs a bit]

"I kind of lack the madness that a lot of colleagues have."

[Walking by.....]

What is that?

It is an airship. Currently a very small one, though I assure you it is usually much, much larger.

It would have to be. Unless it's crewed by incredibly small robots.

[Looking at it.]

This place really does have a strange sense of humour.

It certainly does. Though this joke is more harmless than most. If it were its full size, I doubt it would fit within the confines of this town, and with the way you'll double about if you walk too long in one direction, the overlay in space-time would be hell to deal with.

My, that is much bigger.

I wonder if that would be impossible even for them. It would have been interesting to see.

Not impossible, I suspect, just merely highly problematic. Thus them doing this instead. I find that those who run this town are more likely to take the easy way around a problem than actually fix it.

Given that sort of laziness it's frankly amazing that they have managed to stay in control for this long. You would think such corner-cutting would eventually be their downfall.

It seems that way. Perhaps that's what brought them into this mess in the first place.

You would think. Though it still might be.

[Hiccup just. Stares.]

What is it?

An airship, Hiccup. A vehicle which transports a group of humans through sky rather than by land or sea. Of course, this is a very small one.

It's usually much larger, I assure you.

[We're not talking about you killing me or the time I yelled at you about it N O P E just science]

[NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT AT ALL since that is clearly the best way to deal with things.]

How does it fly without wings?

[Hiccup is used to the thought of humans flying, since dragons and all, but it's the dragon doing the flying, not... a bubble.]

[... Hiccup it is not a bubble it has a forest and a cathedral and lots of little castles on top of it. It is an UBERBUBBLE.]

Much of the main body of it is filled with a chemical that is lighter than air. Thus, the chemical rises within the body of the airship and provides lift.

[Was that simple enough or will he have to think of another way to explain it OH THE JOYS OF HAVING A VIKING SON]

[IT LOOKS LIKE A BUBBLE.]

A chemical? What kind of chemical?

[Really you'd think they'd have gone over this in science class at Mayfield High but maybe that was one of the things Hiccup missed when he suddenly arrived.]

Helium. It is the second symbol on the periodic table and, as I stated, lighter than air. You have seen balloons around town, yes? You have been here long enough. Those are also filled with helium. It is perfectly harmless, generally.

[BOY ARE YOU NOT PAYING ATTENTION IN SCHOOL

THIS MEANS YOU ONLY GET FOUR VARIETIES OF BERRIES WITH YOUR WAFFLES

THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU DID]

[Oh yeeeeeeah that sounds familiar. He's seen the periodic table hung up on the wall in science class. He's stared at it before, trying to figure it out.]

...generally? What about... whatever is not generally?

[WHAT

NO

BUT

AAAAAAAAAW C'MON, POP!]

[NO WHINING OR I'LL ALSO SWITCH TO LOW FAT WHIPPED CREME]

Ah, well. Any chemical can be used for bad as well as good. I haven't seen it myself but I assure you there is some spark out there whose life's work revolves around weaponizing helium.

[... :( ]

...right. Gotcha. So this... helium. It's so light it lifts whatever? Even if it's big?

Given the right ratio of helium to whatever you want lifted, yes. Castle Wulfenbach has a few extra apparatus to keep it afloat, however.

[He points to the miniature steamstacks on the back, which are currently belching ickle teeny clouds of hot steam.]

At its full size it is quite beyond the range of being lifted by helium alone, especially not to the heights it must reach. Thus, a steam engine to help it along, as well as coincidentally providing most of the internal power.

And that's what propels it forward, right? Otherwise it'd just keep floating up into the air and never stop.

Yes! Very perceptive. That and a series of guiding rudders and propellers, for steering.

... You know, we could likely reel it in and examine it at some point. The only worrying possibility is damaging it. It's been shrunk down to such a small size that I imagine any rough treatment would shatter the delicate components.

How big is it usually?

Oh, about a kilometer long.

[nbd]

[Hiccup frowns. They do not have the metric system in Berk. Nor do they have it in Mayfield. Only the good all-American English system (oh my god that is so ironic).]

Okay. Approximately how long is a kilometer.

[Glorious irony. It's like we're suddenly part of the Strider family.]

Ah.

Approximately three-thousand feet, give or take.

[Dave Strider would make an excellent addition to this family don't even try to deny it.]

...that's a lot of feet.

[But then he'd be Hiccup's brother and not eligible to be part of his harem!]

Yes. Yes it is. Imagine about a hundred of ones this size, end to end, and that's the approximate length.

[ :| oh yeah there's that.

Hiccup stares at the blimp and tries to imagine, but kind of fails, lacking a reference point for anything bigger than the Green Death. Although to be fair the Green Death was very big. Just not as big as Klaus is talking about.]

Yikes.

Mm. Well. It had to house thousands of people, over forty labs, kitchens, libraries... It had to be large. I designed it for functionality.

Okay, sure. That makes sense. But why'd you decide to make it fly? Wouldn't it have been easier to make an actual castle on the ground or something?

[ Right, so what is that thing? On her way from leaving Lancer's, she finds herself pausing to take a look at it. ]

[WHY IS EVERYONE STARING AT MY PHALLIC IMAGERY

I mean]

Never seen an airship before?

[ ooh mister klaus what would garviel say... ]

Nope. [ Looking up towards it still. ] Is it designed for mice?

[Probably nothing, this would go right over his poor innocent head]

Ah, no. It's usually much larger. I suppose Mayfield decided that over three-thousand feet was somewhat excessive and is trying to teach me a lesson in restraint.

[ Right. Carry on then. ]

Restraint? Do you have trouble holding back then? [ There may be a smirk forming it's way on her face. ]

I don't believe creating an airship that large was out of line considering it was meant to house thousands of people and act as the mobile capital of a nation.

But perhaps the forest on top was a tad excessive...

I find it rather odd they've returned it to you in such a state.

[ Glancing over to him briefly. ]

Do you think there are people in it?

I highly doubt it. Otherwise there would be a lot more chaos and screaming. And several terrified inch-tall figures parachuting to the ground and clustering around my boots.

[... okay hold on that image is kind of adorable.]

[ Is he actually amused by the idea? While it was silly of her to say, she can't help but manage a chuckle. ]

Right. So what do you plan to do with this thing?

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Twenty-Three: In Which 729 Anderson Gets a Pet. Sort of.

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