Merle went off into a long and confused description of the Michelson-Morley experiment, and his interest in it, which was not shared by the policemen, who began to grow distant, and presently truculent.
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"long and confused description of the Michelson-Morley experiment"
I don't think there's any other way to do a description of the experiment, especially in the 1880s. Now we have Wikipedia but that's also a long and confused description, especially to a dumb-dumb like me! It's the experiment that rang the death knell for Æther! It's quite an important moment for Against the Day, especially this first section which is really focusing quite a bit on light and its properties. It's a good overarching metaphor for how science was destroying the world. Not literally! At least not yet! We'll have to wait until the 1940's for that revelation (which would make you think it's covered in Gravity's Rainbow except the only sign of the atomic bomb in that book is a half-obscured newspaper headline). The scientists were actually remaking reality through cutting edge experiments. The world was one way before the Chicago World Fair and another after. Only because that's a festive, grand, and easily pinpointed moment in American culture.
"the policemen, who began to grow distant, and presently truculent"
Look, I didn't spend fifty years of my life observing how police act and not learn a little something about assholes being assholes. I've also noticed that artistic people often have observed these things as well. So is it a surprise to some people that this cop, after only being told about something he can't understand, begins to get angry and eager to fight? Of course not! It's especially not surprising since Thomas Pynchon wrote this! I often wonder what kinds of artistic entertainment Conservatives can actually like. Most artistic and thoughtful people are diametrically opposed to Conservative values. Is this why the only books they can read are by Ayn Rand?
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