October 16, 2000

A Scientific Explanation:

Author's notes:  This story attempts to explain Ryoko's powers, excluding her 
ability to translocate, scientifically as they would function in reality, that 
is, outside all the Tenchi anime.  I was originally planning on writing this in 
simple textbook format, but, since TMFFA is a fan fiction archive, I decided to 
attempt to do it in a simple story, which is mainly a conversation between Washu 
and Ryoko.  
It is based on the OVA series, mainly because it is my favorite.  The beginning 
is a bit surprising; I just put it in there for the reaction, even though I 
think that the opposite would provide a better storyline for the OVA series 3 if 
it is ever made.   Anyway, enough of my rambling, see for your self what I'm 
talking about.

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"Mom, can I ask you a question I've been wondering about for quite sometime?" 
asked Ryoko.
	"How the hell, did you get into my lab without my noticing, but, I guess, 
if you must know, No," Washu said bluntly, "I am not now or have I ever been a 
goddess, though I appreciate the complement, it is simply that I and Tsunami 
were acquaintances long before the birth of this universe."
	"But," Ryoko paused, "why would ask a question like that?"
	"Umm..." Washu stuttered, "Sorry, just forget I ever said that and, umm, 
go ahead what's on your mind?"
	"Okay, if you like,"
	"I do like," Washu interrupted.
	"ANYWAY, Mom, what I wanted to know is, how do my powers work?" Ryoko 
asked inquisitively.
	"Oh, I was expecting this sooner or later." Washu-chan remarked, "That's a 
simple really a simple question, even though the answer is quite long, it is 
mainly simple [American] high school physics, but I'll start at the beginning 
anyway."
	"Fine with me, since I never went to school." Ryoko agreed
	"Hmm, let me see, where to begin..." Washu thought out loud, "Ah!  In all 
actuality, Ryoko, you have only two powers."
	"Um, noooo, I have FIVE powers."
	"NO YOU DON'T!" Washu yelled, "Now just listen."
	"Sorry."
	"Apology accepted, now, continuing with the lesson..." your first and most 
versatile power is your ability to control the electromagnetic force, as it is 
called on earth."
	"But, my powers have nothing to do with magnets."
	"QUIET!" Washu admonished Ryoko, "no they don't, but the electromagnetic 
force has more to do with than just simple magnets.  It is the main force in the 
universe, it is the force you feel when your fist impacts with Ayeka's face, or 
when a baseball collides with a baseball bat, it is the force which holds the 
atoms of your body together, it is present almost everywhere."
	 "Ahh, I see, but how does that allow me to walk through walls or fly or 
translocate?"	
"I was just getting to that!" said Washu beginning to become angry, "Now, all 
matter is composed of atoms, atoms are the smallest part you which you can cut 
something down to without changing it into something else.  Why is this 
important, you ask?  Well, all atoms are comprised of a nucleus, which is made 
of a bunch of protons and neutrons, with a number of electrons orbiting around 
it, now, if you were to enlarge an hydrogen atom, which is composed of a single 
proton orbited by a single electron, so that its nucleus, the proton, were the 
size of an orange, the atom would be about twenty kilometers in diameter, and 
the electron would also be the size of an orange." Washu paused, "Now Ryoko, I 
ask you this, what fills in the space between the proton and electron?"
	"How am I supposed to know that?" asked a somewhat perplexed Ryoko.
	"Empty space is what!" said Washu in a quite over-enthusiastic tone, 
"Because of this, all matter from the water you drink to the air you breath, 
even the fat in your ass,"
"Hey, my ass isn't fat!" Ryoko argued.
"Is mostly comprised of empty space," Washu continued without a pause, "now, 
what do you think keeps you from falling through the sofa when you sit down on 
it to watch you favorite anime show, or what allows you to bear hug Tenchi 
without going right through him, and what, I ask, causes different atoms from 
going right through each other, huh?"
"Electromagnetic force," Ryoko said with a slight hint of confusion on her 
voice.
"Exactly, oh, I'm so proud of you, you pick things up so fast," exclaimed Washu 
with a sigh.
Ryoko grunted angrily at Washu.
	"Yes, the electromagnetic force," Washu continued, "keeps atoms from 
passing through each other.  And, what you do when you pass through a wall or a 
door, et cetera, is to negate the electromagnetic force between yourself and the 
wall or whatever it is you happen to be passing through."
	"Oh! I get it now."
	"Now this takes a lot of mind power, more power, in fact, than I have, 
were I to have made the portion of your brain which controls just this ability, 
alone, not to mention the rest of your abilities, you would definitely be FAR 
more intelligent than I," Washu confessed, "Anyway continuing on...your ability 
to control the electromagnetic force is also the root of your ability to fly.  
When you fly, what you are doing is simply causing the atoms in front of you to 
pull you and the atoms behind you to push you and therefore you are accelerated 
in the direction of your choice." Explained the scientist, "Your ability to 
generate orbs of energy and your energy blade, is also from you controlling the 
electromagnetic force, all you are doing is stripping atoms of their electrons 
and forming them into the item of your choice."
	"Wow, that's interesting."
	"Yes it is." agreed Washu.
	"Okay, now what about my translocation?" asked Ryoko.
	"Well, er umm," Washu cleared her throat, "oh, that, well, umm, I haven't 
quite figured that one out yet, because according to all currently know laws of 
physics, it should be totally impossible, because through his experiments, 
Heisenberg concluded that the accurate measurements of one of two related 
observable quantities, such as position and momentum, produces uncertainties in 
the measurement of the other.  He even figured the parts of the uncertainties of 
the position, and the uncertainties of momentum, equal to or greater then 'h' 
over 2 'pi', where, "h" equals Planck's constant.  It means that observations in 
quantum mechanics always leave uncertainty.  You understand this, don't you?" 
	"No, not at all." said Ryoko.
	"What, it means is that if you were to take someone apart at the atomic 
level and attempt to put them back together again because it is impossible to 
know exactly where something is and where it is going at the same time, because 
of this, by all, known laws of nature, when you dematerialize you should not be 
able to put yourself back together again!!!" exclaimed Washu, "Once you 
dematerialize, you shouldn't exist anymore, you should be dead, gone, nada."
	"Oh, my, I'm beyond the realm of science!" yelled an excited Ryoko, "Well, 
I guess, if that's all, I'm gonna go now and continue on my quest to acquire 
Tenchi's hand in marriage."
	"Okay, go ahead, and good luck, my dear, I'm so proud of you." Beamed 
Washu with maternal pride.
	"Yeah, whatever mom.  Goodbye, for now." Said Ryoko as she departed her 
mother's lab on her way to Tenchi.

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Well, there it is, that's how Ryoko works according to modern science.  It's not 
really going to win any awards for being the most exciting or anything similar 
to that, but it does have perfect grammar, except for the quotes, and no typos, 
but it is probably the most interesting thing you'll find on this page because 
it proves how it might be possible for some of Ryoko's powers to work in 
reality, except for the translocation, of course.
Anyway, If you have any questions or comment please e-mail the to me at:
	yolk@snowcrest.net

If you want you can also visit my Spud gun website (sorry, no anime on this 
page) at:
	http://members.nbci.com/yolk_/