I of Newton

Plot

A professor named Sam, trying to figure out a difficult math problem, angrily yells out, "I'd sell my soul to get this thing right!" A demon instantly appears. The demon announces that Sam's math problem "was the phonetic equivalent of a demonic invocation", and intends to steal his soul, which would be sold to bidders from other worlds.

There is a catch, though. Sam is allowed to ask three questions in regard to the Devil's powers, and then pose either a question or a task; if the demon cannot answer said question or perform said task, Sam's soul is spared. Sam asks, "Really?", which the demon counts as a question.

Sam's next question is more carefully planned. He asks if there are any physical limitations to the demon's powers; the demon gleefully replies in the negative, claiming that he is able to travel faster than the speed of light or make two electrons occupy the same quantum state.

The third question forms a corollary to the second. Sam queries if there is any place from which the demon cannot find his way back. The demon, with malicious joy, informs Sam that he can move through galaxies in a microsecond, and even go to "Berlin if the Nazis had won the war", or Rome had Alexander the Great "lived to a ripe old age".

The demon, confident of his victory, demands that Sam pose his final question or task. Sam, armed with his new knowledge, calmly provides the impossible task: "Get lost." Defeated, the demon screams and melts away, leaving only his sunglasses. Sam picks them up and throws them away, turning back to his problem with a rueful smile on his face, noting out loud, "Well, that guy wasn't any help at all."