What if the "master plan" is much bigger than"timoria" for the Cassadines' sins against the Spencers (or viceversa)?
By now, my writing has taken a big 'fork in the road' away fromwhat's happening on GH.
I made up Stefan's middle name. I have no idea what it really is.
Disclaimer: The characters of GH belong to ABC. I am borrowing themwithout permission, and without any hope of monetary gain. Ms.Ellison, the briefly-mentioned-but-not-seen math tutor, belongs tome... heck, she IS me!
Judy
Story Finished the Spring 1997
"Q.E.D." Prologue
Stefan smiled as he entered the dining room and saw Nikolas gazingintently at the cover of his geometry book.
"Homework?" he asked.
"Yes." Nikolas sighed. "Ms. Ellison only assigned one proof, but I'vebeen at it for hours..."
Stefan sat down beside his nephew. "Well, what kind of Greek would Ibe if I didn't know my geometry? What is the proof? How can I helpyou?"
"Well, we've been studying Euclid's first four axioms, and now I'msupposed to use them to derive Euclid's fifth."
Stefan wrinkled his brow. "The parallel postulate?"
"Yes. You'd think it would be easy to prove that parallel lines neverintersect..."
Stefan's facial muscles ached to smile, but he fought to maintain hisserious demeanor for a moment longer. He glanced at the pages ofincomplete proofs in front of Nikolas, a study in frustration. "So,what did you say to your tutor to bring about this assignment?"
A guilty look passed over his nephew's face. Nikolas dropped hispencil and put his head in his hands. "Well, I just made a littlecomment about how basic all of this 'point, line, circle' stuff was.It's a big waste of time, in my opinion. Anyone can see that parallellines never meet..."
Stefan could contain his laughter no longer. "Remind me to give Ms.Ellison a raise! I'm sure she's convinced you that proving theparallel postulate is no simple matter!"
Nikolas sighed and pushed his pencil and notebook at Stefan. "Okay,Mr Euclid. You show me how it's done."
Stefan smiled and returned the two items to his nephew. "Nikolas, ifI could do that, it would be a mathematical miracle. Mathematicianshave tried for over 2000 years to prove 'Euclid's Fifth', but with nosuccess." He reached over and tapped the cover of Nikolas' geometrybook. "And if you weren't so impatient, and actually took the time toREAD your text, you would have known that by now."
Nikolas flipped to the beginning of the chapter, to the historicalreadings that he routinely skipped over, and saw that his uncle wascorrect.
"So... if we can't prove that parallel lines don't intersect... doesthat mean that they do? That doesn't make any sense!"
"Of course it doesn't. That is why the statement is taken as anaxiom, a universal truth in Euclidean geometry, and not as a provabletheorem. Though you could spend the rest of your life trying to provethat parallel lines do not intersect..." He sighed and looked over athis computer, hearing the faint sound of the 'Timoria' disc whirringin the drive. "I, on the other hand, could spend the rest of my lifetrying to prove that they do..."
"Q.E.D." Part 1
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"...nothing can be kept secret.... No matter how tightly we weave,everything will come to light."
- Leopold Mozart
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"Barbara Jean Spencer weds Stefan Alexander Cassadine"
The small paragraph describing the simple nuptials was neatly buriedin the society page of the Port Charles Tribune. Mingled with severalother wedding and engagement announcements, the article lookedinnocuous and insignificant, but to Helena, its words dripped with avenom aimed directly at her.
She could feel her fingers tightening into a fist, the tendons of herhand glowing white under stretched skin. Her nails bit into the fleshof her palm and she smiled briefly, savoring the pain.
"My son, you have become more than a simple inconvenience." Shelooked around her empty room, and decided to address her soliloquy toher own image, reflected in the full length mirror. "Did you honestlythink that I wouldn't see through your charade? Like so many membersof nobility before you, you have tried to turn powerful adversariesinto allies through marriage. But I know Luke Spencer far better thanyou do." She laughed, and couldn't help but notice how unflatteringthe action was to her countenance. "You can heal his daughter, marryhis sister, and return his mother-in-law to his wife's loving arms,but he will never have anything to do with you."
She rose from her chair and began pacing the room. Her downcast eyeswatched the pattern of the persian rug move below her. She lost hertrain of thought momentarily, as she ground her feet into the 'Treeof Life' depicted in the knotted strands of wool. She looked up atthe idle respirator, unused since Luke Spencer's visit, andsmiled.
"Yes Stefan, I am on to your game. I thought at first you were tryingto win Laura's heart, but I should have known that you were incapableof such passion. You are, after all, your mother's son." She pausedand looked out of the window at the ocean, boiling with wavesproduced by some far away storm. "It is Luke Spencer you are courtingon this fool's errand, and my question is.... why?"
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End Part 1
*A math note for those who are interested: "Euclid's Fifth", in itsoriginal wording, does not mention the word 'parallel', and he didnot define the word until later. However, the fifth postulatebasically states that non-parallel lines always intersect at somepoint, so the phrase 'parallel lines never intersect' would be anequivalent statement. Neither variation has ever been 'proven'mathematically, and the endeavor to do so has lead to othergeometries where parallel lines DO intersect, so perhaps Stefan'squest is not so impossible after all!*