Questions

Welcome to The Spot Writers. This month’s prompt is to write a story involving waiting.

 

This week’s story was written by Phil Yeats. In September, 2021, he published The Souring Seas, the first volume in a precautionary tale about the hazards of ignoring human-induced climate change. The second volume, Building Houses of Cards, appeared in May 2022. He’s now published They All Come Tumbling Down, the final volume in his The Road to Environmental Armageddon trilogy. For information about these books, or his older soft-boiled mysteries, visit his website https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

 

Questions

by Phil Yeats

 

The white-haired scientist with a scraggly beard waited in the laboratory for the results of his experiment. Every time he ran it, the answer was different. He’d repeat it until he generated the same result twice in a row. Then he’d know. He didn’t know what he’d learn, but at least he’d learn something.

On day 728, the answer was identical to the one he produced a day earlier. Was 728 days significant? Or was it 728 repetitions of his experiment? Or was 728 irrelevant? If he repeated his experiment, would he achieve his result in a different number of days or repetitions?

He glanced at his watch and rushed from his lab. Only five minutes to reach the venue for his weekly lecture on the philosophy of science.

After describing his experiment, he gazed at the faces crowding the large lecture hall. “You see, my young friends, the dangers of undertaking such a quest. The experiment will inevitably lead to more questions and more experiments. The process will repeat until…” 

He paused, watching for their reaction. No one showed any animation. “That brings me to the real question. Where will we stand when our investigations generate no new questions?”

 

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The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/