The Eternal Flame (Orthogonal)

I'm not sure anyone without a BSc in physics (or equivalent level of knowledge) is gonna get what's going on here, as three aliens in a universe where space and time are indistinguishable, repeat the equivalent of the work of Einstein, Rutherford, Bohr, Schrodinger, Pauli and Dirac, invent the laser and laser-powered rocket, all in a few years! Still, even if you just skimmed all the technical stuff, there's a good story here, about science, gender, politics and trying to save the world with finite resources.