A time-skipping accident strands Barry Allen and his nemesis Eobard Thawne in the past; specifically 15th Century Japan, which is rife with chaos and warring clans. Barry is saved from outlaws by an early metahuman named Mineko Kaze, a disciple of a...
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"So now that you understand radio and cameras, you might be able to start comprehending video." Barry said, crossing his legs and straightening his back. It gave a light crack and he sighed in relief. "We can see things because they reflect light into our eyes. An ordinary camera photographs things by capturing this light on light-sensitive film or using electronic light-detectors to make a snapshot of how something appeared at a particular moment."
Mineko nodded with a whole new understanding of the world. She glanced at the graphs and scribbles of paper that littered the floor around them for verification. Barry had spent the entire day explaining how things work to her, writing down certain elements to help her understand and drawing terrible images for her to reference.
"A TV camera works in a different way: it has to capture a new snapshot over 24 times per second to create the illusion of a moving picture." Barry continued.
"So, it is like a camera that takes singular pictures but is capturing thousands?" Mineko asked curiously. "And it is not that they are trapped inside... it is just a glimpse of the moment?"
"Exactly!" Barry replied with a giant grin on his face. To anyone else explaining these things would be both taxing and tedious, but to him it was satisfying. It was a challenge to provide a general understanding of science to a person from the 1400s, and when it came to science, Barry loved a challenge.
"But there is another aspect of this that I still do not understand." Mineko mumbled lowly.
"Yes?"
"With the thing you call 'movies', why do people pretend to be chased by monsters and extra terrestrial beings?"
"Oh..." Barry said, stretching nhis hand back to scratch his neck. "I... well, it's for... entertainment?"
Mineko's once curious expression morphed into surprise, then disgust. "That is revolting!" She boomed loudly enough for her voice to echo off the apartment walls. "There is enough violence in our reality, why would people desire to see more?"
Barry's lips formed into a tight line. He wasn't entirely sure himself, and he certainly didn't have an answer that could be deemed sufficient. "I guess it's like an outlet?... Y-Yeah, that's it. We watch that stuff to satisfy our own violent tendencies, and so we don't turn to violence in real life."
Mineko scrunched her nose up at his response. "Does it work?"
"... Sometimes?"
Mineko's head turned to the side in confusion. If it didn't work, then what was its purpose? Despite being from a century without such great strides in science and technology, her mind was a logical one. If it had no reason to exist, then why did it?
