<The Flat Earth - Part 1>

Hey there, fellow folks from the regular Earth. As school kiddos, we've all (hopefully, or was that just me? Hmmm.) been irritated by this Pythagoras guy and his forays into different subjects. Politician, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer (scientist...?), this is one name that's not going to get out of our brains in forever. He's talked about everything ranging from observations on how souls are immortal and how bodies are just carriers, to mundane matters like Pythagorean triplets and the Pythagorean theorem.

Why are we taking a history / philosophy / math lesson today? I've ran out of my usual intros (for real, this time - please go back and read slightly older entries if you're new - the Rhyme Rant is a good place to start :) ) and hence this weird, factual beginning. Anyway, welcome to a tiny portion of land that has been sublet from one of the many Internet Overlord Google's subsidiaries in the name of Nemo, captain Nobody (Ref: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). It's not at all the usual writing (typing?) environment this time - everyone's home, it's only late evening, there's sounds of crackers bursting, people walking and talking. Very chaotic but homely. As usual, there's music in the background (Hello, Arijit!) and I can smell chapatis in the distance. Anyway. Enough rambling.

And, one final insert (refusal to have a small post). With quarantining becoming more and more lax with every passing day, I would again like to reiterate the importance of this period in many of our lives. It has been a time of self development, rediscovery. The perfect time to whip up old pictures from dusty racks and marvel at how things have changed, the perfect time to try out a new hobby. From Dalgona coffee to this week's Trump drama, 2020 has been a very eventful year indeed, and here's to a good year ending and a brighter (and hopefully it becomes safe enough to go out) 2021! All you college folks out there preparing for / writing your end semesters, all the best. 

Part 1

(It's the year 1750, and we find men dressed in period costumes, with canes and monocles as accessories. This is the courtroom of Queen Victria the 4th and chained to heavy rocks and seated in the stone cold stone benches are the most unfortunate men of the 18th century - there's James Columbus, Christopher Cook, John Magellan and Friedrich Cabot)

(Comment : Haha, see what I did there? Why bother coming up with character names when you have lots of popular explorers to choose from and mix-match.)

Victria: I hereby charge these men here - Columbus, Cook, Magellan and Cabot with high treason for trying to undermine the Scientific Society of the State and for creating confusion among the common public.

Columbus: Stop right there, you vile woman! All we did was suggest that the Earth is a globe. It is time you wake up and believe the real truth. These men are feeding you lies and shortsightedness in the name of Science.

Victria: How dare you speak to me in that tone, you insolent criminal! I'll clap you in irons and have your eyes pierced with burning stakes.

Magellan: Don't you dare hurt the purveyors of truth. If not now, eventually humankind is going to realise the Earth is not flat. Just because we represent it on a piece of paper, doesn't mean it's flat.

Victria: The piece of paper, was plotted by explorers and seafarers like you men. Are you telling me you made a mistake in plotting the Earth, Mr. Magellan?

(there's an 'I'm going to seriously hurt you vibe in the room now)

Friedrich Cabot ever practical, proceeds to lock horns with the very angry queen now.

Cabot: Your Highness, you say we have plotted the Earth on a piece of paper, and you're right. We have. For centuries and centuries, man has worried that he might fall off the face of the Earth if he wanders too far away from mainland and that superstition has been passed on to us too.

Victria: (still seeing red) Alright then. If you say the Earth is round, why don't you actually prove it? Go around the world and come back safely, my dear men, and I shall reward you with riches and stones and other regal finery, the likes of which you've never seen.

(pindrop silence in the room, as everyone is still digesting the implications that moment might have had on World history)

Cabot: (slowly clears his throat, wanting to explain himself)

Victria: Tut tut tut. I thought seafaring took more courage. Too bad I was wrong.

Magellan: Is that what you think, lady? Do you not realise the perils that an explorer faces? The long and arduous months at sea, the rough seas themselves, hostile natives, freaks of nature. You have no idea what you're talking about, sitting comfortably on your throne.

Victria: Oh! Bold and unsubstantial claims. If you believe so much in your 'science', sailors, why not accept the challenge and prove the world wrong, once and for all? History will gladly remember all of you and recollect your tales of bravery and valour.

Cook: I propose to accept this wager, Your Highness. I shall leave the docks this same day with 4 other ships in tow and deckhands. I will prove you wrong or die a brave death in the process.

Victria: (before anyone could object) Very well then. Three years from now, in this same courtroom, if these four men stand with scientific proof that the Earth is round, if they have successfully lived through the experience, history shall be rewritten.

(The court disperses)

(END of Part 1)

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Hey there again, my dear reader! This series is something of an experiment for me. I have only recently started writing dialogue based entries. This being the first one to go on the blog, comments and suggestions are welcome, as always. Every time I get a new site visit, everytime a person reads through the entire thing (I can see engagement using Google Analytics - thank you, Google Overlord :P ), the feeling that gives is quite incomparable to anything else. Here's to more writing and thank you for the 10 month long support and continued readership! Hope this has been interesting, and hope you're looking forward to the next installment. Happy landings :)