“Physics for Geniuses”? Lol. How about Physics for Bitches?

I wondered whether I should write a post on “Physics for Bitches” like I did “Math for Bitches” in “The King: Eternal Monarch” but I decided that there wasn’t any need for it. The kdrama explains what the audience needs to know to understand the story.

Plus, we’re ahead of the curve anyway.

1. Two Taeyis

Since the beginning of the kdrama, we already figured out that there were two Taeyis in 2020. The Taeyi at the fountain is NOT Professor Taeyi.

We also suspected that the daughter of Dr. Jang would grow up to be Professor Taeyi. Even without the physics of time travel, we get the logic of the kdrama. The introduction of her family in Episode 3 temporarily threw us off, but in Episode 4, we saw that she was raised in an orphanage, and that she “communed” with a tree.

I’m assuming that the tree was the burial place for her father’s ashes.

But we can’t get ahead of the story.

The 2050 Taeyi — who went back in time and became Mom SunYoung — cannot be Professor Taeyi. Professor Taeyi – if she’s still alive in 2050 — would be too old to have children. I wrote about it earlier:

The woman in the classroom could be Dr. Jang’s daughter who was all grown-up now. If she was about 8 years old (Korean age) in 1992, she’d be 36 years old in 2020, and 66 years old in 2050. That’s why I said earlier that the young child could be one of the architects of the Alice time travel program. BUT note this: Jang’s daughter could NOT be the 2050’s Taeyi who traveled back in time with MH to 1992. She would be too old to be THAT Taeyi. Plus, at 66 years old, there was no way she could bear a child.

source: Alice: Eps 1 and 2 First Impressions

My guess is that, at some point in time, Professor Taeyi (or the founder/creator of Alice) would realize that she was altering reality and creating multiple parallel universes, so she began putting a tattoo on herself for easy identification.

I’m also beginning to suspect that Professor Taeyi is the person JG was supposed to IGNORE.

Mommy Taeyi/SunYoung knew that Professor Taeyi would become obsessed with time travel because of the timecard that JG showed her. In turn, that obsession of Professor Taeyi would lead her to discover time travel. But if time travel was going to have tragic ending, as written in the “Book of Prophesy,” then Mommy Taeyi wanted JG to avoid starting the chain of events.

To me, Professor Taeyi was the type to rashly embark on a project without thinking of the possible consequences.

As JG already observed, she was full of herself. I told you, right? She was nothing like his mother. She was berating her students while Mommy Taeyi endured a lot in silence because of him. That’s why Officer Go told JG to “Be good to your mother. She’s been through a lot.”

Officer Go knew that Mommy Taeyi suffered for JG’s sake.

Moreover, JG’s mom valued interaction with others that she forced him to take up drama and sports so he’d learn to socialize well.

Mommy Taeyi was keenly aware of his feelings and was grateful with whatever he could show her.

Meanwhile, this Professor Taeyi was so thoughtless of his feelings and tossed his mother’s possessions willy-nilly on the bed. All she cared about was getting more information about his dead mother. Breaking the necklace was the last straw. She should have apologized profusely, but instead she was more sorry that she couldn’t get any more information about his mom.

He realized then that this arrogant and imperious woman couldn’t be his mother. He said, “I think I must have been crazy for a little while. Knowing it wasn’t true, I was hoping for it to be true.”

Meaning, he didn’t believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, so he was crazy to believe that she was his mom.

TY: What are you saying?
JG: My mother might not be an ordinary housewife, but she wasn’t this rude of a person either.

Meaning, his mom is superior to this Professor Taeyi in every respect. She might have been an ordinary housewife, but she possessed an advanced technology, and was respectful and gracious as well.

Yes, miracle23, I’m assuming that that “Alpha Taeyi” (as opposed to Omega Taeyi, lol) is the founder/creator/architect of this Alice project.

It could be Professor Taeyi. But it could also be this new Taeyi introduced at the end of Episode 4.

This 2010 college girl Taeyi might end up to be the 2020 Professor Taeyi; we don’t know yet. Remember what Director Seok said: this could be a parallel universe. Who knows what impact JG’s time travel to 2010 will have on this college girl Taeyi and the future 2020 Professor Taeyi?

Note: this 2010 college girl Taeyi doesn’t have anything in common with the Omega Taeyi who was going to be killed in the same year.

2. Alice HQ

As for Alice HQ, the headquarters is located in 2050/2051. The founder and the other corporate bosses of Alice have yet to appear in the drama. We’ve only seen Team Leader Ki and other minions of Alice, like MH, Manger Oh, and the other people in suits.

This Alice building is the spaceport for entry/departure of the time travelers. It’s a hotel of sorts, like Hotel del Luna of people with “grudges” or unfinished business with the past. They’re travelers who can’t let go of the past.

But this Alice building isn’t the corporate headquarters.

At Ep 3, 21:00.

Team Leader Ki: Be careful for the time being. Park Jin Gyeom likely will remember your faces.
MH: I wouldn’t worry about a measly cop.

It’s interesting that as the story progresses, MH becomes more contemptuous of JG. I think this is a defense mechanism. MH realizes that JG is a force to reckon with, and he dislikes obstructions. He’s  disgusted with himself because he knows that, despite his limited technology, JG got the better of him.

Ki: They may be from 30 years ago, but they’re still police officers. There’s no need to cause trouble.
MH: Then you shouldn’t have built Alice here in the first place. It was a given that problems would arise from your building Alice at this location, and that’s the reason you called me here. To solve those problems. I know what you want, but we need to be more aggressive to achieve those things. You have to be stronger to protect what is precious to us.
Ki: So did you protect those things? Since you were strong, did you protect the things that were precious to you?
MH: (left without a word)

Here, I don’t know what MH meant by that Alice location posing a problem but I’m putting this out here for future reference.

Then in Ep 4, at 26:00.

Team Leader Ki: There’s something interesting about time travel. It’s that we can freely control the duration of the trip. That means, spending 10 years in 2020 can just be one day in 2050. To clarify, I can trap you here by my authority whether it’s by 10 years or 100 years.”
Eunsoo’s Mom: Are you threatening me right now?

To me, Team Leader Ki was telling her that for her criminal offense, he could lock her up for 10 years, even 100 years in that 2020 world, because her disappearance wouldn’t be noticed in 2050. For example, 100 years in that present world would only be a 10-DAY absence in the future world. She could “travel” (or be imprisoned) as long as he liked because Alice could manipulate the time. That’s why 29 years for MH = 1 year but 10 years for Eunsoo’s mom = 1 day. The durations of time aren’t equivalent.

This also suggests that the Alice Hotel is NOT located in 2051 because one day in 2051 is simply one day in 2051.

3. Eunsoo’s Mom and Manager Oh

She and the Fountain Taeyi did meet each other. It seems likely that Fountain Taeyi gave her the contact number for the mercenary because she so desperately wanted to stay by her daughter’s side in 2020.

But it’s also possible that Fountain Taeyi was here to try to dissuade her and warn her that no good would come of her desire to hold on to her daughter. We really don’t know what happened. 🙂

All we know is that Manager Oh gave her permission to extend her stay in 2020, but MH rescinded that order. Eunsoo’s mom wasn’t surprised to see MH so that tells me that Manager Oh was able to give her heads-up. She wasn’t surprised when the mercenary ambushed her Alice vehicle.

And yes, Miracle23. I believe that Eunsoo’s mom is a client from the 2051 world.

I find Manager Oh really shady so I’m marking her every moment. Here she was spying on MH, (Episode 4, 30:33). And she hid it from Team Leader Ki, too.

But she was the one who gave Team Leader Ki advance notice that the 1992 assassin was about to be released.

Ki: Why don’t you leave this for another staff and take a break?
Oh: I’m comfortable here. Did you need something?
Ki: Let Eunsoo’s mother go.
Oh: Understood. Also Lee SeHoon is getting released from prison soon.
Ki: Who?
Oh: The man who got his ankle cut by Team Leader Yoo. I’ll bring him. We need to find the “Book of Prophesy.”

lol. Viki’s subbing error. Who’s “Yeon Seo”??

It should be “Book of Prophesy.” From Kissasian —

Ki: Isn’t that Team Leader Yoo’s job?
Oh: Seeing that man is going to remind Team Leader Yoo of TaeYi and he’s going to have a hard time.

Of course. She’s going to volunteer for the job. She’d probably help Lee SeHoon escape or kill him himself.

4. The Book of Prophesy

The Alice people knew that the book was missing but we don’t know whether MH reported that TY took it with her or not. It’s possible that he only reported that they failed to retrieve the book because it was already missing when they arrived, and that TY left him soon afterwards to become a mother.

Anyway, it ended up with Director Seok. There are so many possible ways it could have ended up with him.

a. TY could have given it to him.
b. He could have killed TY for it.
c. Another assassin (the one with the leather jacket) from 2050 could have killed her for the book.
d. His own 2050 self could have stolen it from TY and given it to his 2020 self.
e. Or Lee SeHoon, the assassin with the amputated foot, could have sought TY to finish the task. (But note the gray-haired man standing outside the gate had two feet, and was too tall to be Lee SeHoon.)

I agree with you all. Director Seok would be anti-Alice. Sure, his position could change, in the future, if he somehow found someone/something that he loved so much that he would want to go back in time to save/protect. But for now, he’s anti-Alice.

5. On time traveling according to Dr. Seok.

I’m writing it down here, nrllee.

You’ve heard of the butterfly effect, haven’t you? The term “Butterfly Effect” became widely known because of Lorentz the meteorologist’s assertion. It was an assertion that even with a small change on the other side of the earth, the weather can be changed entirely. But why the term “Butterfly Effect? If we are talking about things that fly, eagles can fly so can mosquitos

It’s because of a certain science fiction. It’s a short story published in 1952 titled “A Sound of Thunder.” Because of one regenerated butterfly, the outcome of a future presidential election changed and a totalitarian radical like Hitler was elected. That’s what the story is about.

But have you thought about this? If the past changes, will the future really change as well? Let’s suppose that I, the one in the present year 2020, got into an accident and my leg became disabled. Therefore I travel in a time machine to the past and warn my past self of 10 years ago. You are going to get into an accident in 2020 so be careful. Thanks to that warning, I, of the past, avoided the accident in 2020.

Then, the leg that traveled in a time machine back to 10 years in the past. What condition would it be in? The one who avoided the accident in the year 2020 is not the me of the present but rather the future me. Isn’t that right? Therefore, I think that I get divided into me, the one who got into an accident, and another me who avoided the accident. That is called the parallel universe. What you often call multiverse is a similar idea. Are there any questions?

This explains why the several versions of Taeyi. When Omega Taeyi travelled back in time and rescued Dr Jang’s daughter as well as gave birth to JG, she altered the future. She was killed in 2010. But in a parallel universe, where she didn’t die, she could have gone back to 2020 to watch over her son JG, and make sure he wasn’t killed off…Mother’s love is a strong bond, you know.

Also this:

JG: I don’t believe in it because I haven’t seen it.
Seok: Does that mean you would believe it if you witness it?
JG: I would like to hear your opinion.
Seok: Of course, it’s possible but I don’t think humans should do it.
JG: What do you mean by that?
Seok: Just because it’s possible to do something does not mean it is all right to do. Same goes for cloning humans. Life. Time. Because these all belong in the divine realm.

In the good old days, I would put this Director Seok in the “Good Guy” column. But given the anti-religion bias of many contemporary writers and directors, I wouldn’t be surprised if this Director Seok was written to be a religious freak. He’d be cast as the devil pretending to be a saint. Sigh.

My take here is that 2020 Director Seok hadn’t come from 2050. He didn’t have any idea what a timecard was. But it’s possible that he’d be alive in 2050, and he’d be a leader of the “resistance” or Anti-Alice who’d either hire assassins or travel back in time themselves to sabotage this project.

5. Coincidences?

a. Truck of doom. Is this accident deliberate? Is there somebody trying to kill him?

The first accident: to save him, time stood still. His teardrop unfroze time.
The second accident: to save him, he was sent back in time.

b. Drone. Okay, this drone isn’t the *official* Alice because MH doesn’t know Professor Taeyi is alive.

Note to myself:

In the first accident: the drone led him to Fountain Taeyi.
In the second accident: the drone flew away from Professor Taeyi’s window after the accident.

c. Moon-loving Taeyi. The Professor Taeyi was doing calculations all night so this must be the Fountain Taeyi. Didn’t I say that this Fountain Taeyi is more like the JG’s mom?

Back in 2010:

 

Again in 2020:

6. “Time is relative”

Nrllee, this is my explanation. 🙂

Pretend that you’re on a train traveling at a slow speed of 20 miles an hour, and there’s a big clock (like the London’s Big Ben) that you can keep an eye on. As your train leaves the platform at 20 miles per hour, you keep your eye on the clock’s little hand (the one that measures the seconds ticking).

At that very slow speed, you’ll probably be able to watch the seconds tick by quickly and the second hand go around the clock several times before the train is far away from the platform and you can no longer see the clock’s face.

Because you’re looking at the second hand move quickly, and you’re traveling slowly, you’ll think that time is flying by.

Now, compare this slow train to a train traveling at the speed of light. Speed of light is 186,282 miles per second.

Imagine that your train is traveling at the speed of light (which isn’t possible, but hey, this is just a thought experiment!), and you’re again keeping an eye on the second hand of that big clock with a special pair of goggles or a magic telescope.

The clock on the train platform will look like it STOPPED (or froze) as you zoom away from the platform at a ridiculous speed. The second hand of the clock remains stationary as the train speeds 10, 20, 30 miles away from the platform. You’re now at 100 miles, at 150 miles, at 200 miles, at 700 miles, at 1000 miles, at 3000 miles, at 6500 miles, at 10,000 miles, at 50,000 miles, at 75,000 miles, at 110,000 miles, at 150,000 miles, at 180,000 miles… but the second hand of the clock is still standing still.

Then at 186,282 miles, BOOM! the hand of the clock advances one second. lol.

That’s the example of “time slowing down at the speed of light.” When you move so fast through space, you move slower through time. Theoretically, at the speed of light, time stops. We just haven’t experienced this phenomenon, because we haven’t reached the speed of light. Only light can attain the speed of light…otherwise, it’ll be the speed of humans, too. lol.  🙂

Gotta walk at 2 feet (or 0.0003 mile) per second to bed now.