What is intrusive polynomial absentia ?
Polynomial absentia is intrusive because you don’t want it to happen... but it still does!
Inopportune disappearance (absentia) is a disappearing incident that happens at an inconvenient moment.
Everybody has either gone missing at the wrong time or seen the impact of a person that's gone missing at the wrong time, i.e. an inopportune disappearance:
"Where is that employee when we need him?"
"Where is XXX? He should be here with me."
"XXX is nowhere to be seen, even though she promised she'd be here."
"Where have you been? We've been looking for you everywhere!"
"You shouldn't just walk off like that..."
"We've been getting concerned about your frequent disappearances!"
Absentia, or inopportune disappearance, is polynomial since it happens simultaneously, in two locations. While the missing individual is actually in one location, they are 'supposed to be' in another. However, they'll view themselves as temporarily translocated— that is, they relocated from one location to another. This means that, for the witnesses of a disappearance, the are usually "out of sight"—rather than "missing persons" in any conventional sense.
Absentia, or inappropriate disappearance, can occasionally seem elesial, or ethereal, as if the missing person vanished into thin air then, a little while later, magically reappeared. Moment-skipping is an excellent shorthand term for this phenomenon.
In England, almost 800 individuals disappear every day. Most individuals who go missing will return within an hour, though not all do. It is less likely they will ever return if they're missing longer than an hour. The police refer to this as the "golden hour"—the hour of return.
Some well-known individuals have vanished to avoid trouble. These individuals might be fugitives who are trying to avoid punishment, debt, or shame. Such persons will meticulously arrange their departure and put a great deal of money and energy into their disappearance.
Some people purposely hide from view because they are not ready for a relationship and want to end it, or they're not ready for a task or duty they've been given and want to escape it.
Some people just want to get on with their life, so they depart (change course). These disappearance might seem abrupt and dramatic to witnesses but are seen as quite reasonable by those who have disappeared.
Some people simply dislike "hanging around" for things to happen, so they leave, for a brief period anyway, to pass the time or cope with the boredom or stress of 'waiting for something to happen.'
Some people simply 'want to get away' but are hesitant to express their emotions or desires to their loved ones... so they simply vanish without explanation.
Some people are just more spontaneous or impulsive than others. They probably found a fresh thing to do or a 'better' place to be!
Some people believe that vanishing will help get them out of a terrible situation, or because they have grown bored with how things have become, or because they know that trouble is brewing and don't want to face the consequences.
In English author Neil Mach's clean urban fantasy adventure 'Moondog and the Tercet Plume' (part of his Moondog series featuring an investigator from the Roma community) a preternatural detective is called-in to investigate a mysterious case of intrusive polynomial absentia.
Main image: Branimir Balogović
