Title: Chris's Law
Author: Black_Wingedbird
Rating: G
Author's Note: This is the first of my Blooper series, solely because it's too short for anything else, and because it makes you think. The principle of this story is real, and it's called Zeno's Theory. Enjoy!
It was a rainy afternoon, and the guys of Nsync were sitting in their hotel room with nothing to do. The rain had flooded them out of making a video so they decided to use the day to unwind. Mostly they had been watching TV, reading, or catching up with old friends. J.C. was sleeping, and the others had made popcorn to go with Comedy Central's showing of 'Dumb and Dumber'.
As they watched the movie, Chris's thoughts led him astray. "Hey guys," he started.
"What?" Joey asked, still watching TV.
"I think I broke a math code or something."
"Did you hurt yourself?" Justin asked with no emotion.
"Haha," Chris said sarcastically. Then he continued, "Okay, check this. When you're racing someone, you have to pass them, right?"
"What?" Joey asked, confused. He turned the TV on mute and gave Chris his full attention.
"To beat someone at a race, you have to pass them, right?" Chris repeated.
"Yeah, so?"
"But to pass someone, you have to get where they are," Chris said.
Joey visualized it in his head and answered "Yeah."
"Okay," Chris continued, now getting Justin and Lance's attention also. "Picture the rabbit and the turtle," he said. "The turtle gets a head start, because he's slower. The rabbit should pass the turtle because he's faster. But, if the rabbit has to get to the spot that the turtle's in to pass him, he'll never be able to because by that time, the turtle will have moved."
"Okay, you confused me," Lance said.
"If you're at the front end of the couch and I'm behind you, I have to get to the front of the couch to pass you. But when I get to the front of the couch, you will already be at the back of the couch. Get it?"
"Yeah, you're saying that I will never be able to pass you because you keep moving," Lance said.
"Exactly," Chris smiled.
"So how do we pass people then?" Justin asked.
"I don't know. It doesn't make sense. How do you pass people if they always move away from the spot you have to be in to pass them?" Chris asked.
The four looked at each other. "J.C.?" they asked simultaneously.
J.C. opened his eyes and looked at the others lazily. "What?" he groaned.
"Help us!" Lance said.
"We got a problem," Joey said.
They sat in silence for a second before J.C. asked, "You gonna tell me?"
Chris spoke up first. "Okay, you know how when you're racing someone, you have to get to the spot they're in?"
J.C. digested the information then nodded.
"Okay, but if the other person is constantly in motion, you will never get to the spot they were last in, so how do we ever pass people?" Chris asked.
J.C. thought about the problem. What Chris said made perfectly good sense, but there had to be a flaw in the theory somewhere or how did people win races or pass cars on the road?
The others looked at him expectantly. J.C. began to think out loud. "Chris, get up," he ordered. Chris rose uncertainly. "Now walk half way to that wall."
Chris obeyed, and stopped once he had walked halfway. "Now what? I don't get." "Okay, now walk half way again," J.C. said. Chris took another couple of steps and stopped. "Again," J.C. said. Chris took another step and stopped.
"I get it," Lance observed. "If he keeps walking half way, he should never be able to reach the wall."
"Exactly," J.C. said. "It's a matter of limit. If you keep reaching the point that your competitor was last at, eventually the space becomes so small that you pass them. Case closed."
"But…" Chris started, thinking about how J.C. had just derailed his theory. Then sighing, he said, "Fine, I get it."
J.C. smiled and closed his eyes again, going back to sleep. Eventually the others continued watching their movie, and everything fell quiet except for the soft patter of falling rain.
End