“Mathematics is a terrible calling. It’s as merciless as gravity. It swallows the soul. There’s a point near a black hole called the last stable orbit. Once you drop below that radius, no force in the universe can stop you falling all the way in. That’s what happened to your mother – she swam too close to theory, fell below the last stable orbit.””
“Where's Malfour?" the fire Elemental asks, looking around the street. "Oh, don't worry. He'll be back in ..." There's only a hint of a scream before Malfour comes crashing out of the sky. He lands right inside the cones that I’d set up, and right on top of his would-be bank-robbing accomplice. A huge plume of concrete, dust, and debris flies twenty-feet into the air, hitting a nearby traffic light and sending it into a nearby building. Malfour's created a pretty large crater, and both of the metas are out cold. "...no time flat,” I finish. There’s no response from the hole, and certainly not a laugh. “Dammit! I thought I had that timed out perfectly! 'He'll be back in no time flat.' Get it? He's huge, and he landed on you. Now you’re squished flat ... like a pancake? Man, that would have been so perfect. Ugh. That's really going to bother me all night, guys. Thanks a lot," I say into the pit.””
S. Reynolds HoleS. Reynolds Hole was an English author and clergyman, best known for his contributions to gardening literature and his role in the Victorian gardening movement. Born in 1819, Hole's early life was mar...