[Ok, ok, let's try to eat this entire cake from another angle.]
THE SECOND DIMENSION'S... NOT A BUNCH OF IDIOTS. BUT THEY'RE SCARED. ALL OF THEM ARE SCARED, ALL THE TIME, AND BEING SCARED MAKES PEOPLE ACT LIKE ANIMALS.
THAT'S INSULTING TO ANIMALS. MAYBE WE SHOULD SAY SCARED ANIMALS ACT LIKE PEOPLE!
WHAT I MEAN IS - THERE, YOU CAN GET EXECUTED FOR A LOT OF IRRATIONAL CRAP! LIKE ARCHITECTURAL MISTAKES, OR PAINTING IN COLOR. THERE'S NO COLOR, FORD, IT'S TERRIBLE THERE. THEIR VISION IS AWFUL, SO THERE'S TONS OF LAWS ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T MAKE FOR PEOPLE TO ACCIDENTALLY BUMP INTO, LIKE SOME IDIOT BUMPING INTO YOUR HOUSE IS YOUR OWN FAULT AND NOT HIS -
[The gestures are happening again, and Bill yanks his arms down to his sides and balls them into frustrated fists. This is uncomfortable, and he'd rather talk about virtually anything else. He's trying to change the subject. Just do it. Just get it over with.]
UGH. OKAY, AGAIN, AGAIN. STARTING OVER AGAIN! I GOT IT THIS TIME.
[Calm down. Bill's eye shuts.]
I WANTED TO STUDY MATHEMATICS.
[We're on a path now, and the words come pouring out. The pacing starts again.]
MATH IS THE SAME EVERYWHERE, ON EVERY PLANET. MATH IS AN INHERENT PART OF THE UNIVERSE THAT ANYONE CAN DISCOVER! THE CONCEPTS HAVE DIFFERENT NAMES, BUT EVERY CIVILIZATION HAS NUMBERS AND DOES THINGS WITH THOSE NUMBERS. MOSTLY DOES THE SAME THINGS! YOU DON'T NEED TOOLS, YOU DON'T NEED - ALRIGHT YOU DO NEED SOME TRAINING. BUT YOU CAN TRAIN ON BOOKS, IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO TEACH YOURSELF. IT'S A USEFUL FIELD. IT'S A FIELD WHERE THERE'S LANGUAGE TO IMAGINE THINGS THAT DIDN'T EXIST YET!
[He IS getting hyped about math, and the yellow glow of his body starts to display images like an old television, stars and numbers on a background of velvet black.]
IT'S WHERE CREATING A PART OF THE UNIVERSE AND DESCRIBING A PART OF THE UNIVERSE ARE THE SAME THING! BUT BEING BORN HOW I WAS, THERE WAS NO WAY THEY'D LET ME GO INTO THAT WITHOUT ME DOING SOME SHADY STUFF FIRST...
[The stars fritz out into grey static.]
YOU ALREADY KNOW TRIANGLES ARE PRETTY LOW-CLASS, EH, I SAW IT IN YOUR JOURNAL. THAT'S A NICE WAY TO PUT IT. CIRCLES TOLD EVERYBODY TO TREAT US LIKE DIRT, SO THEY DID! PEOPLE LOOKED AT ME FOR YEARS AND THOUGHT IF I WASN'T BUSY JOINING THE ARMY I'D PROBABLY END UP A CRIMINAL.
[A pause to stare into the middle distance, in mild horror.]
no subject
THE SECOND DIMENSION'S... NOT A BUNCH OF IDIOTS. BUT THEY'RE SCARED. ALL OF THEM ARE SCARED, ALL THE TIME, AND BEING SCARED MAKES PEOPLE ACT LIKE ANIMALS.
THAT'S INSULTING TO ANIMALS. MAYBE WE SHOULD SAY SCARED ANIMALS ACT LIKE PEOPLE!
WHAT I MEAN IS - THERE, YOU CAN GET EXECUTED FOR A LOT OF IRRATIONAL CRAP! LIKE ARCHITECTURAL MISTAKES, OR PAINTING IN COLOR. THERE'S NO COLOR, FORD, IT'S TERRIBLE THERE. THEIR VISION IS AWFUL, SO THERE'S TONS OF LAWS ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T MAKE FOR PEOPLE TO ACCIDENTALLY BUMP INTO, LIKE SOME IDIOT BUMPING INTO YOUR HOUSE IS YOUR OWN FAULT AND NOT HIS -
[The gestures are happening again, and Bill yanks his arms down to his sides and balls them into frustrated fists. This is uncomfortable, and he'd rather talk about virtually anything else. He's trying to change the subject. Just do it. Just get it over with.]
UGH. OKAY, AGAIN, AGAIN. STARTING OVER AGAIN! I GOT IT THIS TIME.
[Calm down. Bill's eye shuts.]
I WANTED TO STUDY MATHEMATICS.
[We're on a path now, and the words come pouring out. The pacing starts again.]
MATH IS THE SAME EVERYWHERE, ON EVERY PLANET. MATH IS AN INHERENT PART OF THE UNIVERSE THAT ANYONE CAN DISCOVER! THE CONCEPTS HAVE DIFFERENT NAMES, BUT EVERY CIVILIZATION HAS NUMBERS AND DOES THINGS WITH THOSE NUMBERS. MOSTLY DOES THE SAME THINGS! YOU DON'T NEED TOOLS, YOU DON'T NEED - ALRIGHT YOU DO NEED SOME TRAINING. BUT YOU CAN TRAIN ON BOOKS, IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO TEACH YOURSELF. IT'S A USEFUL FIELD. IT'S A FIELD WHERE THERE'S LANGUAGE TO IMAGINE THINGS THAT DIDN'T EXIST YET!
[He IS getting hyped about math, and the yellow glow of his body starts to display images like an old television, stars and numbers on a background of velvet black.]
IT'S WHERE CREATING A PART OF THE UNIVERSE AND DESCRIBING A PART OF THE UNIVERSE ARE THE SAME THING! BUT BEING BORN HOW I WAS, THERE WAS NO WAY THEY'D LET ME GO INTO THAT WITHOUT ME DOING SOME SHADY STUFF FIRST...
[The stars fritz out into grey static.]
YOU ALREADY KNOW TRIANGLES ARE PRETTY LOW-CLASS, EH, I SAW IT IN YOUR JOURNAL. THAT'S A NICE WAY TO PUT IT. CIRCLES TOLD EVERYBODY TO TREAT US LIKE DIRT, SO THEY DID! PEOPLE LOOKED AT ME FOR YEARS AND THOUGHT IF I WASN'T BUSY JOINING THE ARMY I'D PROBABLY END UP A CRIMINAL.
[A pause to stare into the middle distance, in mild horror.]
CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE ME IN THE ARMY? YEESH.