Simple Machines

"Gravity doesn't stop. It's exponential," said Newton. "Everything is falling, all the time."

"I'm not!" said the Quark.

"You don't count," snapped Newton. "It only stops when the force is countered. You don't stand on the ground; the ground holds you up. And even that is illusory because whatever holds you is falling, too. What was it Archimedes said? A long enough lever and a place to stand can move the world?" For a brief moment, Newton tumbled headlong in silence and darkness. Or, for all he knew, flew perfectly straight. "It's the place to stand that's really the problem."

Strange Charm

"Everything has a place," said the God of Gravity, "and that place is with me." It breathed in, and things began to fall.

"Look," said Newton, hurling himself in a wide arc to avoid the god's gaping maw, "I know you want to help, but you're only complicating things."

"I defy causality!" said the Quark.

"And that's very impressive," said Newton, ducking a hurtling rock, "but I need to focus."

The Quark bounced up and down vaguely. "Have you seen Higgs?"

"Okay, you... just... just go wait in the car."

The Quark cocked its head. "I've already always been there."