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

[myblimpisbigger]

[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.]

Comments

[worstvikingever]

[Hiccup just. Stares.]

What is it?

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

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]

[worstvikingever]

[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.]

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

[... 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]

[worstvikingever]

[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.]

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

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]

[worstvikingever]

[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!]

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

[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.

[worstvikingever]

[... :( ]

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

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

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.

[worstvikingever]

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

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

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.

[worstvikingever]

How big is it usually?

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

Oh, about a kilometer long.

[nbd]

[worstvikingever]

[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.

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

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

Ah.

Approximately three-thousand feet, give or take.

[worstvikingever]

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

...that's a lot of feet.

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

[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.

[worstvikingever]

[ :| 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.

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

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

[worstvikingever]

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?