Kit BashirDec 11, 2023

When the invasion from the fourth dimension came, it had unexpected benefits. The new overlords were surprisingly mild. They only wanted the Earth for Qling, a substance we neither understood nor needed. They filled enormous eye-warping four dimensional tankers with a cargo we couldn’t even perceive, then left us in peace. A few stayed, having found human friends and even lovers.

My neighbour is one such. We met when xe returned my lost cat. “I don’t know how she keeps getting out”, I said, “all the doors and windows are shut”.

“What about that gap there?”

“Where?”

“Oh of course, it’s invisible in three dimensions. Here let me close it up.”

The cat is still furious about this.

#Tootfic #MicroFiction

Show threadariJan 19

@Unixbigot awesome! 🧡

I do have to nitpick: If xe speaks precisely, it almost certainly must be "it's invisble in *your* three dimensions" - otherwise I challenge you to construct a gap invisble in any 3D subset of a 4 spatial dimension space, i.e. leaving out one of the human-observable dimensions and including the dimension visible visible to the new overlords.

Show threadKit Bashir
@ari you can trap a two dimensional flat-cat with a shoelace in a loop. A cat that knows three dimensions steps over it. Put a lid on, and a closed 3-box will trap humans and other rude 3-chanicals. An n-cat just *goes around*, unless someone with 4-savvy closes the hyper-lid.
Jan 19 at 12:01pmWeb
Show threadariJan 19

@Unixbigot depending on how the shoelace is held in place 2-cat could push the (3D-inhabiting) shoelace out of their way, shoelace would at least partially vanish for 2D-cat.

Same for the lid on top of the shoelace, if it's fixed in a way that by pushing it in my 3D it rotates the prior α-direction-only (x, y, z, α directions) opening into one of the ari-accessible dimensions, I could untrap myself - without having direct access to the α-direction myself.

Show threadariJan 19

@Unixbigot with this rotation I could probably prove that I inhabit a 4d-world. I could probably go on and probe parts of the α-direction.

Although similar to flatcat I would have huge problems to imagine 4D-space.