SPACE

by Penny Reid

  Laws of Physics Book 2: SPACE

  Penny Reid

  http://www.pennyreid.ninja/newsletter/

  Contents

  Prologue: Linear Momentum and Collisions

  1. Electric Charge and Electric Field

  2. Electric Current, Resistance, and Ohm's Law

  3. Magnetism

  4. Electromagnetic Induction

  5. Electromagnetic Waves

  6. Geometric Optics

  7. Special Relativity

  8. Introduction to Quantum Physics

  9. Particle Physics

  10. Circuits and Bioelectricity

  11. Heat and Heat Transfer Methods

  12. Oscillatory Motion and Waves

  13. Atomic Physics

  14. Fluid Statics

  15. Fluid Dynamics

  16. Atomic Masses

  17. Selected Radioactive Isotopes

  About the Author

  Other books by Penny Reid

  Legal Stuff: This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, rants, facts, contrivances, and incidents are either the product of the author’s questionable imagination or are used factitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead or undead, events, and/or locales is entirely coincidental if not somewhat disturbing/concerning.

  * * *

  Copyright © 2019 by Cipher-Naught; All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, photographed, instagrammed, tweeted, twittered, twatted, tumbled, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without explicit written permission from the author.

  * * *

  Caped Publishing

  * * *

  Made in the United States of America

  * * *

  1st Edition, February 2019

  Prologue: Linear Momentum and Collisions

  *Mona*

  Lisa was there . . . here.

  At the house.

  In her room.

  And so was I.

  We were sitting on her bed and she was talking about the arrest, explaining what happened, how Tyler had known she was calling things off for good, so he set her up to make it look like she’d been selling drugs to kids, but that—though she’d been arrested—the charges were dropped when the witnesses changed their stories. She used expletives and insults to describe Tyler, her voice growing quieter and quieter with rage.

  Now she was thanking me, and her eyes were wide and open, and she looked like a different version of herself, one I actually knew rather than the stranger she’d become. She was saying that she forgave me for what happened when we were younger, and that she’d been stupid to hold on to the grudge for so long, and that she missed me when she’d been sent away after I’d tattled on her and Gabby to our nanny, and that seeing media images of Leo and me with our parents at events and movie premieres and award shows while she was at boarding school alone made her feel like she was trash, unwanted, forgotten.

  But she realized now that I had nothing to do with that, she realized I was just as trapped as she had been. And she was so sorry. So sorry. She’d expected Leo and me to protect her, but she knew we’d been powerless, and she was working on accepting being abandoned and wanted to move on.

  Now she was saying it was all in the past, and I’d protected her now. I’d protected her and she would never forget it. I’d protected her and it meant the world to her. I’d protected her and now she felt like she had another chance at life and I was responsible for changing her life.

  Now she was next to me on the bed, hugging me, apologizing for hugging me because she knew I didn’t like it, but saying she couldn’t help it, and thanking me, and telling me how much she owed me and saying that, if there was ever anything she could ever do to help me, I should ask. I should always ask. She promised that all the bad choices were at an end and that she was going back to school, she was done being selfish, she was done being destructive.

  Now she was staring at me like she was confused, or she was worried, and then glancing at Gabby. Gabby shrugged, shaking her head quickly, wearing an identical frown to Lisa’s, her eyes coming back to me.

  Now they were both looking at me like they expected me to say something.

  But I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to do.

  I didn’t know . . . I don’t know.

  “Mona!”

  My name sounded faraway, as though it had been spoken through a tunnel, or underwater. I felt a small shake. Someone was shaking me. I heard a sudden snap, like the crack of a whip. I blinked, abruptly surfacing to the present, the last half hour and all of Lisa’s words rushing over me, flooding my brain.

  Lisa.

  “Hey, snap out of it.” My sister was here, kneeling in front of me, snapping her fingers in front of my face, sounding frightened. She turned over her shoulder. “What is wrong with her? Did something happen? Oh my God, he didn’t—did he hurt her?” Lisa appealed to Gabby, who shook her head.

  “No, no, of course not. Not all guys are like Tyler, Lisa.” Gabby was sitting on the desk, watching me with a worry-rimmed stare. “They got along really well. When I went downstairs, they were—”

  “I can’t do this.” My hoarse voice brought Lisa’s attention back to me. Her eyes darted between mine. I gripped her forearms. “Lisa, I can’t do this. I can’t leave.”

  “What?” My sister whispered. “What are you talking about? Are you okay? Did something happen?”

  I shook my head, my thoughts a mess. “Yes. I mean, no. Not like that, not something bad. But it’s-it’s terrible.”

  Tightening my hold on my twin, I didn’t get a chance to explain further because Gabby gasped.

  “Oh my God! Oh no. Mona! I swear to God, Mona DaVinci. Did you fall for him?” Gabby had straightened from the desk, her eyes now a little crazy, rimmed with panic and accusation.

  I sighed helplessly.

  She groaned and covered her face. “No! No, no, no, no! I told you to stay away if you liked him! Why didn’t you listen to me?”

  “What is going on?” Lisa was glancing frantically between Gabby and I, looking completely perplexed.

  Gabby abruptly dropped her hands from her face, setting them on her waist and shaking her head at me, her look one of intense frustration. “You are so smart, and yet so impossibly stupid. What are you thinking? That you’re going to tell him the truth? Tell him about Lisa? If you do, you’re insane. Insane!”

  “What?” Now Lisa’s eyes returned to me and she looked completely lost. “What is going on? Will someone tell me what’s going on?”

  I licked my lips, skootching forward on the bed, desperate to make her understand. “Listen, he won’t tell Mom and Dad, okay? I really think he and I—”

  Gabby’s hard laugh interrupted me. “No, Mona. Abram will tell your parents. That’ll be the first thing he does. Then he’ll call his sister and give her a good scoop. Then he’ll tell you to get lost.”

  “You don’t know that!” I whisper-yelled.

  “I do know it!” Gabby yell-yelled. She took a few rushing steps forward, causing me to lean back. “You think he has feelings for you? Well, guess what? That doesn’t make you special. I tried to warn you, this is what he does! Everyone is in love with him. He doesn’t care about you. You’re just another one to him. But, I can guarantee you, he’ll definitely care about being lied to. He’ll be super pissed about that. And if you think he’ll ever forgive you, you’re out of your mind. He’ll hate you forever.”

  My heart was beating out of my chest, each thump enormously painful, and I was breathing like I’d just run a race. It was on the tip of my tongue to reject her words, because I knew Abram. He wasn’t like that. He’d forgive me. He’d keep—

  “And for what? To clear your conscience?” Gabby asked shrilly,
laughing again. “Typical Mona Mary Sue bullshit. You think you’re doing the right thing? Well, you’re not. You’re doing what you think is the right thing for you. You couldn’t care less about what will happen to Lisa, but it’s going to blow up in your face. You’ve known him for six days. Six days! And you’re choosing him over your twin sister? You’re the one who is selfish. You’re the reason Lisa was sent to boarding school when we were kids, and you’ll be the reason she’s banished now!”

  “Okay, enough!” Lisa had stood at some point and she paired this proclamation with a double hand swipe, cutting her arms through the air and sending Gabby a fierce look. “That’s enough, Gabby. I know you’re trying to help, but you’re not.”

  I blinked against hot tears, berating myself for all this confounded crying. I’d cried—or wanted to cry—more in the last twenty-four hours than I had in the previous ten years.

  Something is wrong with me. I don’t know who I am, but I’m not myself.

  “Just . . .” I heard Lisa sigh and I looked at her, she was shaking her head tiredly. “Be quiet for a minute and let me talk to Mona, okay?”

  Gabby nodded stiffly, and then sent me a cutting look, turning and pacing to the other side of the room. Meanwhile, Lisa sat next to me on the bed and pinched the bridge of her nose. I took a moment to look at my sister, to really look at her.

  Her hair was dull, lifeless. She wore eye makeup, but more concealer than liner. Even with all the concealer, I could still make out the dark circles under her eyes. Her lips were thinned, pale. She looked exhausted, overwhelmed, and my thumping heart twinged painfully.

  Was Gabby right? Was I being selfish? And why was I so sure of Abram? You’ve known him for six days, and you’re choosing him over your sister.

  I couldn’t think. Everything was a mess. This is why I hate messes!

  Lisa was taking deep breaths, frowning at whatever internal thoughts she was having.

  “Lisa,” I said unthinkingly, wanting to explain before she made up her mind about anything. But when she lifted her eyes, all I could think to say was, “I’m sorry.”

  Her shoulders sagged and the side of her mouth tugged upward in a sad smile. “Don’t apologize, Mona. God, don’t ever apologize to me. I—” She sighed, a full body sigh, her eyes glassy. “Listen, I don’t know what happened, or what’s going on with you. I’m tired. I’m so tired, I’m trying to think. But I do know one thing: I hate the person I’ve become.”

  She blurred in my vision until I blinked, two fat tears rolling down my face.

  She shook her head at me. “Don’t be sad, and please don’t be sorry. I’m sorry I put you in this position, and I’m sorry you’re upset now. This is my fault, not yours.”

  “Lisa—”

  “No, listen. If you want to tell him—Abram—the truth, that’s up to you. I’ve done a lot of thinking over the last week and I can’t keep living like this, being like this. I trust your judgment a hell of a lot more than I trust my own. I just want you to know, I won’t be upset. I won’t blame you, no matter what happens. This is my fault, these were my choices, and you shouldn’t have to pay for them.”

  I heard Gabby make a scoffing noise, like a growl, and Lisa turned to frown at her friend. “Gabby!” Her voice held a warning. “You need to let it go too.”

  Gabby crossed her arms and shook her head in a quick, jerky movement. “No. This is bullshit, and you know it!” And then she turned to me. “I don’t trust your judgment. Your judgment is why the three of us were separated and Lisa was sent away.” Her tone wavered, had turned quiet and earnest, her eyes were watery with unshed tears and her nose had turned red, her skin splotchy. “You think Lisa is the only one who lost her family after that? What do you think happened to me? I lost you both. I lost everything. Just . . . don’t. Please don’t do this again.”

  A sudden pain seized my chest and I winced at the raw helplessness in her voice, at the pleading I heard in her words.

  But she wasn’t finished. “Your judgment is telling you that Abram will forgive you when I’m telling you—since I actually know him—that he will not. He. Will. Not. He is the most unforgiving person I’ve ever met. I have been trying to tell you from the start not to trust him, and—”

  “That’s it, Gabby.” Lisa cut in, standing and walking to the door. “You know I love you, but you can’t put this on Mona.” My sister opened the door and gestured to the hall. “Can you wait downstairs?”

  “Yes—” Gabby sniffed, swiping at her eyes “—if Mona keeps her promise and I’m taking her to the airport, I’ll wait for her.” Walking to the door, she said to Lisa, “But if she tells Abram the truth, then I’ll wait for you and I’ll take you home with me. I don’t know how my parents will react, but I don’t care.”

  Maybe Gabby didn’t think her words made an impact on me, but they did. She was willing to do whatever it took to keep Lisa safe, whereas I was not. Fact.

  And I believed her about Abram. Rather, I believed she believed what she was saying. Also fact.

  But I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to think. I was lost. So lost. The logical path forward had been erased by my stupidity. Now, no matter what I did, I was making the wrong decision.

  Did I tell Abram the truth? How could I? Even if I was convinced he wouldn’t hate me, that what was happening between us was real, Gabby believed he would tell our parents the truth.

  Did I leave now, like Gabby wanted? I would never see him again. But this was not a shock. I’d been preparing for this all week.

  So why does it feel like the end of the world?

  “Mona.” Lisa had claimed her seat on the bed again and only hesitated for a second before grabbing my hands and cradling them; her fingers were freezing. “It’s clear you’ve been through a lot this week.”

  I huffed a bitter laugh, abruptly angry with myself. “I’ve been through a lot? Lisa, you’ve been in jail.”

  “Yes. But that was my fault.”

  “That wasn’t your fault.” I gripped her hands tighter, willing them to be warmer. “That was Tyler.”

  “I chose Tyler. I lied about being with him. That was my decision. This, none of this, is your fault. And you—” She took a deep breath, her eyes dropping to our hands, like she couldn’t look at me and say this next part. “You need to do what you think is right. But you also need to know that, no matter what, I won’t be mad. You are my sister and I love you. I can’t lose you again, and . . . I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  This last part she said brokenly, tears finally falling. My imperturbable sister was crying. And not just quiet weeping. Massive, body-wracking sobs. My heart bled for her, for she was the other part of myself.

  Pulling Lisa into my arms, I held her. I rocked her. I told her how much I loved her. I pet her hair and promised to always take care of her, because the path had revealed itself and I knew the answer.

  I knew what I had to do.

  *Abram*

  Reaching for Lisa, my hand encountered only a cold, vacant couch. I’d hoped to find her next to me, to curl myself around her. But she wasn’t there.

  Opening my eyes, blinking at the darkness, I listened for a sign of her presence. A ballooning disappointment deflated hope. When it was clear she wasn’t anywhere close, I flexed my jaw, stood from the sofa, and stretched while yawning. Discontented. Frustrated. She was gone, she’d taken her sweet softness, and—

  Gone, and she took all softness with her.

  Gone, and emptiness takes shape.

  Gone, and summer is winter.

  Gone, and… And?

  Cassette tape? Fate? Concord grape?

  Scowling for many reasons, I pushed the hair out of my eyes and left the dark theater in search of my lyric book, a toothbrush, and the exceptional woman constantly on my mind.

  I wouldn’t use “fate” to end the fourth line of this new stanza, and obviously not “concord grape.” The first part was useable—her/winter wasn’t a textbook rhyme, but that only ma
de it more perfect—yet I couldn’t work out what word to use with shape.

  Gone, and I browse the internet using Netscape? No.

  Gone, and where did I put that videotape? No, but it made me grin.

  Gone, and something about a great ape? Ha ha!

  Great ape. Funny. Perhaps I was the ape? . . . worth considering.

  Stopping by the basement bathroom, I brushed my teeth and splashed my face with water. This was my usual waking-up routine, whenever I might wake up: absentmindedly going through the motions while words played musical chairs in my mind. Since agreeing to house-sit for Leo’s parents, I’d been sleeping mostly in the recording studio on the couch. That’s where all my lyric notebooks were as well as my guitars.

  Before Lisa came, I’d found it was easier to write while in the studio, trying and testing lyrics with background accompaniment via the soundboard. But now that she was here, writing music, poetry, lyrics had been just like sharing her company: effortless.

  Gone, and she took all softness with her.

  Gone, and empty (or emptiness?) takes a shape. . .

  Shape. What else rhymes with shape? My priority was to capture this feeling, that moment upon waking, discovered loss or whatever it was.

  I wouldn’t force it. If I had to force the words, then they were a lie. Studying words had been a compulsion of mine from a young age. I collected and hoarded them. I thought about how to assemble and arrange them to communicate the most truth in the least amount of syllables. I treasured them when they were real just as much as I reviled them when they were false.