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zoe's math skills would make euler jealous (quantumkid) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2011-08-28 01:00:00

Entry tags:

helen magnus, zoe tesla

WHO: Zoe Adams & Helen Magnus
WHAT: Hanging out. Eating candy. ~~Working on ridiculously complex mathematical theories.~~ You know, the usual.
WHEN: Early afternoon
WHERE: The Sanctuary
RATING: TBD
STATUS: In Progress

Although her mom hadn't showed up yet, Zoe was starting to settle into the new place she was calling home for the time being. The people were nice, the house was bigger than anything she'd ever lived in before, and she had the PDA to help alleviate any boredom that might creep in during the hours when most of the grown-ups were busy working.

Not that Zoe minded having alone time. She knew there were still people in the building, if she really needed something. Besides, she was used to spending time by herself. When you were four years old and doing quantum physics was your favourite pastime, you didn't have too many friends and most grown-ups opted to shy away the second she started discussing theories they didn't understand. However for all of her solitary nature, Zoe was still a child and always held out that faint hope, when someone came along, that this time they might understand the math too and she'd have somebody she could talk with. In the Sanctuary, she knew there was a better chance of that happening. She also understood, even if they didn't understand the math, they were still really nice and didn't seem to mind that she knew things they didn't. Everyone was special, here, which meant nobody was really all that special, so nobody was treated differently, and Zoe found she preferred it that way.

Which was why she wasn't hiding away in her room. Instead she was in the middle of the hallway, just around the corner a ways from the front door. She was lying on her stomach, her feet swinging idly in the air behind her, her construction paper and markers spread around her, and a Tootsie Roll Pop wedged between her teeth and her cheek. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, the edge of her red marker tapping absently against the edge of the paper in front of her as she tried to sort out the latest problem she'd come up with. The sound of approaching footsteps finally pulled her from her thoughts, the little girl's head turning toward the person as they rounded the corner and finally came into sight. Slowly she pulled the sucker from her mouth, the marker in her hand forgotten as she smiled.

"Hello," she said politely before popping the sucker into her mouth and turning her attention back to her work once more.

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daretobelievein
2011-08-28 06:07 am UTC (link)

Helen entered the Sanctuary, bags in both arms. Back home, it was the Big Guy who did the shopping and all of the cooking, even if Helen had always had a soft spot for preparing meals for everyone. She grew up without a mother, and in the Victorian days the woman still kept the house. Despite her knowledge and tendencies she picked up from her father, she still knew how to keep a house and did enjoy it. She could recall making the large Christmas dinners for the guests her father would bring home, and it was a tradition to continue on with that. So, it was no surprise that Helen had picked up those habits again in Colligo, when the Sanctuary could actually function without her needing to babysit her staff or patients.

She turned her head at the greeting and smiled at Zoe, shifting the bags in her hands. "Hello, Zoe. Having fun?"

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quantumkid
2011-08-28 06:38 am UTC (link)

After making a few more quick notations to finish off the formula she was working on, Zoe nodded as she finally moved back into a sitting position before glancing back to Helen. "I was just finishing up the Hodge conjecture," she explained as she plucked the sucker from her mouth and rose to her feet. "It's about the algebraic topology of a non-singular complex algebraic variety and the subvarieties of that variety. It's on a list of problems my mommy gave me."

Zoe paused there then pointed to the bags that Helen was holding. "Did you want some help?" she asked curiously.

She liked the woman in charge of the Sanctuary. She was nice and smart and even though she was a mom, she didn't try to act like her mom too much, which Zoe definitely appreciated. She had a mom, after all, and didn't need another one. Just someone to look after her until her mom got there. Because she was showing up, sooner or later. Zoe was sure of it.

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daretobelievein
2011-08-28 07:08 am UTC (link)

"I admit I am not much of a mathematician, but I am very much interested in learning." Helen smiled and glanced at the bags. She nodded. "If you would like to help me put them away, that would be marvelous. You can tell me all about the Hodge Conjecture while we put them away."

She nodded to the paper she had been drawing on. "Be sure to bring that with you. Dr. Watson can be a tad temperamental when things are left about on the floor."

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quantumkid
2011-08-28 07:26 am UTC (link)

Zoe smiled and nodded, hurrying to pick up the paper and markers. Her uncle could be like that, too, sometimes. He never seemed to really mind her drawings but really didn't like it when he slipped on a marker or had to step over piles of paper just to get into a room.

Hugging her work to her chest, she turned back to Helen, ready to follow her into the kitchen to put away the things. "Can I put it on the 'fridgerator?" she asked curiously, bouncing a bit on her toes and smiling excitedly. "That's what I do at home. I put them on my walls and the 'fridgerator and then I can talk to mommy bout them over breakfast when she's there to eat with me!"

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	daretobelievein 2011-08-28 07:36 am UTC (link)
	"Of course." She said as she turned, heading out into the foyer again to move to the opposite side of the room, heading down the hallway to the kitchen. "There is hardly anything on the refrigerator as it is." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

quantumkid
2011-08-28 04:22 pm UTC (link)

Zoe danced happily in place for a second before following along after Helen. There was a slight spring in her step, perpetuated by the permission to hang her newest work on the fridge, and her blond curls bounced with each movement as she continued after the woman until they'd reached the kitchen.

"The Hodge Conjecture's real easy, Miss Helen," she insisted as she made deposited her things in a neat pile on the table then made her way to the fridge. Rising up on the tips of her toes, she hung the picture as high as she could manage then stepped back to admire her work. Finally turning from it, she moved back to the woman's side to help put away the groceries. "If you look at it like wood. If you take a pile of wood, and you look real close, you see chopped pieces and twigs. The twigs are called Hodge cycles. Those're the rational things inside the geometric parts. The Hodge Conjecture is proving that the twigs aren't really twigs but just smaller pieces of of wood all broken down so itty bitty that nobody can see them. See?"

To Zoe, it was as simple as walking. She often struggled with why it wasn't so easy for other people to understand and, although she did her very best to try and explain it, she knew she didn't always do such a good job with that. So she promised herself she wouldn't be disappointed this time if Helen didn't catch on. She'd just find another way to explain it or, alternatively, decide once again that yet another grown-up just wasn't going to get it. Either way, her work was hanging on the fridge now and she was being helpful and putting away groceries, so it was all fine with her.

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daretobelievein
2011-08-29 10:33 pm UTC (link)

"I see." Helen smiled, handing her things to put away. And, she honestly did understand what the little girl was saying. Helen was intelligent herself, perhaps not a genius, but concepts were something that were easy for her to grab and take hold of. It was what made her so good at her job, she supposed. Her mind was constantly open to new things that seemed impossible to understand.

"And what sort of twigs are we trying to prove today?"

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quantumkid
2011-09-14 04:28 am UTC (link)

"Oh," Zoe said casually as she began carefully putting things into the cabinet, making sure to keep them lined up neatly so everybody could see what they were, "I was just proving it true, is all. I had to make up a couple of equations to show that it won't stop being true just cause the shapes are weird or the pieces are really little." The rambling stopped and she put away the last of the items meant for the cabinet.

Moving next to the fridge, she pulled open the door then stared up at the inside of the fridge with a small, thoughtful frown. A split second later she crossed to one of the chairs and carefully began dragging it across the floor to the fridge to use as a makeshift step-stool. Once she'd climbed on top of the chair, she turned to the woman with a grin.

"My mommy says someday I can make lots and lots of money when I get big and can show folks my equations." Pausing, the girl leaned a little closer and lowered her voice as though revealing a rather important secret. Which, to her, she was.

"But I just like doing the math. I don't think I wanna take nobody's money for showing them stuff that I know just 'cause I know it."

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daretobelievein
2011-09-14 07:37 pm UTC (link)

Helen leaned against the counter with one hand, the other on her hip as she watched Zoe drag the stool across the floor. She reached out to steady it for her, waiting until the girl settled herself down. Once she leaned forward, Helen did as well.

"Your mother is right." Helen said in a soft voice. "The thing is, you should make money with something you love doing. I think it'd be rather brilliant if you were to share your math with others that love it as well. Much like a teacher."

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