Fat in the Fifth Dimension
"...And the weirdest thing is," Arig said, catching the eye of each of his four brothers in turn, "I can't feel him at all. It's like he isn't made of solid klay. I can't begin to fathom why. It's a mystery.""It's magic," Gome waggled his fingers.
"Are you sure?" Ruze asked.
"I checked again and again," Arig said. "He's like air to me. A set of clothes with air inside."
"Well he can't be a ghost," Ruze said. "I'll look into it."
A few days later, Ruze called Arig to his favourite place in Hoborg's Castle, the balcony overlooking the Neverhood. When Arig arrived, he found Gome the Water Guardian was present as well.
"I've got a working theory why you can't feel De'Verro," Ruze announced without further ado.
"Oh," Arig said. "Well?"
Ruze nodded to Gome.
"I checked him out," Gome said. "I should be able to feel at least some water in him. I don't. It's like he's completely dry."
"Oh," Arig said in surprise. "Well, he is a spider, so..."
"He's a Hoodian," Gome shook his head. "A normal Hoodian. He eats food, drinks water, breathes air. He sleeps at night and laughs at day. Only he doesn't seem to be made of elements."
"That's... impossible," Arig said. "Everything is made up of solid, liquid or gaseous klay."
"And plasma," Ruze added. "But yes, you're right, he is made of klay. The weird thing about him is that he isn't entirely... there."
"How?" Gome asked.
Ruze shrugged. "I don't know how it happened. I think Hoborg botched up the creating. Have you ever heard of the fifth dimension?"
"Dake calls me fat in the fifth dimension," Gome grumbled.
Ruze laughed. "Sorry," he told the glaring Gome. "I guess that's one way to put it. So you've got three normal dimensions, right? Up and down, left and right, forward and backward. Then there's the fourth dimension, time. And no one knows for sure but there might be other dimensions, too, starting with the fifth one. You wouldn't see them. They exist without us knowing."
"Boring," Gome said. "If you can't prove it's there, why bother talking about it?"
Ruze wagged his finger. "Because that's where a bit of De'Verro is. Down the fifth dimension. I've been watching him for the past few days and there seems to be something missing from him. Like... a rainbow without green. The green was displaced down the fifth dimension so we can't see it, and that's why it doesn't feel like he's made of klay. He is, you guys just can't see it. That's why you can't feel him. He's not entirely there. He's," Ruze snorted, "fat in the fifth dimension."
"Well excuse me Ruze," Gome said testily, "but that sounds like utter bullcrap. Don't you have anything better?"
"Hey be glad for the little I give you," Ruze said. "At least now Arig has something to blame when De'Verro's getting in his personal space without him knowing."
"I'll think about it," Arig said thoughtfully. "It's a working theory. It doesn't have to be perfect."
