#science fun

“You said you’ve met other ghosts before?”

“Yeah,” Tim side-eyed him.

“Do you know what ghosts are made of? Did they tell you?”

“Uh… Emotions and magic?”

Tim actually hadn’t asked Greta or Boston. They didn’t exactly like discussing the afterlife, and he didn’t want to upset them so he did his own reading. The research he’d found from several nations and cultures mostly agreed on those two things even if how ghosts were created had more debate, and why ghosts were created and their purpose an even greater amount of debate. Several scientists around the world searched for more defined answers than “magic ties strong emotions to an item or place” but few of them went about the process of study in a way Tim found valid. The published articles were either too vague or biased, and most focused on a single cultural belief rather than a worldwide view of ghosts. These beings existed all over the world and (Tim got confirmation from Green Lantern) on most other planets, so why hadn’t anyone started research with a wider scope?

“I mean yeah,” Danny shrugged and nodded, “Emotions and magic play a part in every sentient thing, but I meant more like base components. Life has its basic building blocks of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon, but death has different substances to build with.”

Tim’s eyebrows scrunched together. He wasn’t sure how this would connect to eating the glowing green Dippin’ Dots but he nodded for Danny to continue.

“Okay so just like living things are made of organic matter, humans specifically being shaped out of tissue and bones and cartilage, ectoplasm is what gives ghosts their form,” Danny waved his arms as he spoke, his voice slipped into a pace and tone that Tim knew from his brothers getting caught up in a new interest. “It’s made up of a few different things, like various dark matters held in a Higgs field - because obviously you’ve gotta prevent Detachment Space or else you’re just creating a portal - but ectoplasm is the result of these particles combining and fuels the existence of all sorts of larger structures. Think of it as ectoplasm is for ghosts what water is for living matter. Water is made of smaller particles, and essential to build and support bigger things. It isn’t the only thing humans are made of but that’s most of it. Except the average human is 60% water while the average ghost is 95% ectoplasm. I guess a closer comparison would be ghosts and jellyfish. Humans are way more complex in structure and survival needs. Ghosts much less so, but still more complex than a jellyfish because you can’t take a jelly out of water for long but ghosts don’t need constant access to ectoplasm so I guess it’s more like if humans drank three gallons of water a day. The point is we need it to survive. Newly formed ghosts need consistent and structured ectoplasm like humans need meals, and that’s one of the guardian’s jobs, is to feed the baby. As a baby ghost grows in power its core forms and that stabilizes the personal Higgs field much like a planet’s magnetic field but instead of forming an atmosphere to repel subatomic particles, it collects WIMPs that attract non-baryonic ectoplasm to fuel the ghost through osmosis. Bigger meals of structured ectoplasm are still encouraged but only needed about once a month. Haha, it’s opposite in humans, since a baby ghost needs lots of solids but adults mostly drink their ectoplasm? If osmosis counts as drinking. Anyway, since I’ve got an ice core I like to structure mine like ice cream for fun, but we can find you something that better fits yourrrrr ooohhhh no you’ve bluescreened.”

Danny had been floating around the ceiling during his tangent-filled explanation, and it was only when he turned back to try handing Tim the ice bowl again that he found a blank stare.

A small part of Tim’s brain had kept track of Danny’s movement and words but most of it was trying to compile the MASSIVE AMOUNT OF THEORETICAL PARTICLE PHYSICS INFORMATION this 14 year old dead boy had just dropped casually as if it were fact and all it implied about the universe as a whole.

“I’m sorry,” Danny said, looking contrite. “I get excited and forget not everyone grew up with ectobiologist parents hearing about this all day. I can explain in laymen’s terms instead.”

“Ecto… biologists…” Tim echoed. His own words felt far away but his brain needed to connect the dots before it could reboot. As if there were too many tabs open at once and he had to shut them down one at a time. “Ghost biology… is… dark matter?”

“Um. Yeah. But look, that’s not the important part. I didn’t mean to confuse you. Point is you gotta eat. Ectoplasm is your water now.”

“Your parents… studied theoretical particle physics… and came to the conclusion… it’s ghosts?”

Danny sighed long and hard. His eyes closed and the tension around them spoke of painful memories.

“They started at ghosts. Theorized that life and death were opposite sides of the same coin, so what ghosts were made of must be the opposite of living matter. Dark matter and other unknown particle physics was a good candidate. My dad got his doctorate in that because he was real excited about subatomic particles and wanted to study the molecular structure of ghosts. Molecule by molecule,” he said the last part bitterly.

Tim blinked. Some dots connected in his mind but he didn’t know what they connected to yet. Danny continued.

“Mom double majored a masters in engineering and applied mathematics, then got her doctorate in electrical engineering. They shared what they learned the whole time with the sole focus of building any equipment necessary to detect and capture ghosts.”

“Capture,” Tim repeated. His eyes finally focused and stared hard at Danny’s face. The ghost met his eyes for a split second before turning down and aside.

“They didn’t even consider ghosts would be sentient. Just an odd manifestation of ectoplasmic energy and post-human consciousness. They followed the common theory that magic ties emotions to ectoplasm, that some memories could get dragged along, but the resulting structure wouldn’t be a real person. It wouldn’t think or feel, just be an imprint. A physical echo they could dismember and study to advance science and rid the world of unstable ecto-anthromorphs that lash out in dangerous ways.”

“Your parents. Did they…?”