chromatographic

My post on the Accessibility of Science, a potential solution, is not happening today/tonight for varying reasons.

But! I want to post something good each day.

So here, have a song about quarks:

Written for philomytha  on Fic_promptly, for the prompt a cultural passion for things that go boom.


There was a wide lawn in Vorbarr Sultana's biggest park, where every year at the Emperor's Birthday, there were Fireworks. Of course, they never got to sit out there, with all the various families of the city from the lowest classes up to the Vor. But that was too big a security risk for a Lord Auditor and his family, not to mention a Count and his heirs, so they were stuck at the Imperial palace, a much less crowded view was to be had.

Somehow, that didn't stop Alex and Helen, Ekaterin always sighed as she recovered her children, from being convinced that is was somehow a less impressive view. Every year, they tried to sneak out of the Palace. Invariably, these efforts were thwarted by someone's Armsman (and not, to Pym's dismay, always a Vorkosigan one) and they were dragged back to her, presented to their seats within two minutes of the start of the show.

But they were always back by the time it started, along with the younger children.

This year, Ekaterin grimaced as she counted the minutes. By now, the Palace staff and all Armsmen present were dutifully warned, and so they should be fine. They should be just safe.

She grimaced as the first shot lit the sky and her children were still not present. Well, there was no point spoiling the show for the younger ones, she thought as her face lit with red and a small smile. She'd just have to trust that her children were in safe hands. Surely any vile ones would be just as distracted by the display, and this shared cultural passion for things that go boom.

Sure enough, a staff member had found them, this time slightly too late, causing them to miss the show completely. Next year, Ekaterin hoped, they'll have learned their lesson. She stayed prim and pointedly let them stew in their own displeasure, as Taurie rubbed it in that they missed the fireworks completely.