I sketched the figure roughly (Figure 2). "The distance from F to G and the distance from E to H does not enter into the equation," I said. "The only thing we are interested in is the distances GJ, JH and GH."
"And GH is an irrational number," Trella said.
"Quite right, although like most things that appear absurd on the surface, it is not as irrational as it seems. The distance G to J is three months, the time required for the flight from the earth to Rihlon. We will represent this by the unit 1. The distance JH is four light years, the distance in space from earth to Rihlon. This, therefore, would be sixteen units. Using the formula (GJ)2 plus (JH)2 equals (GH)2 we find that GH is the square root of one plus 256, or 257. The square root of 257 is 16.031228, etc., an irrational number.
"It can't be expressed in figures! We do not need figures when we can draw a picture. The triangle GHJ is a picture of an irrational number. We had only to go to Rihlon to complete the equation."
"Time can be traveled," Trella said.
"Where would you like to go on our honeymoon?" I asked.
"To the Garden of Eden," she said.
[1] Three years from the time this accident occurred would make the sides of the triangle between the past event, the present, and the present on Rihlon (four light years away) equal to the units 3, 4 and 5. Three squared, plus four squared equals five squared.
[2] As a mental exercise, I would suggest that the reader look at Figure 2 for a minute or two and figure out the answer. The answer is there and high school mathematics should enable a person to discover how to extract the irrational number.—Dr. Fred Huckins.