The Elicon

by Rob Roth

  “I’ve studied the basics of quantum physics, Connor, but my interest has been on quantum indeterminacy and randomness — we live in a world where one cannot predict specific outcomes. I fear I may need a refresher. What exactly are quantum entangled photons?”

  “Ok, let me start with the basic thought experiment virtually everyone learns in their first exposure to quantum physics, Schrödinger’s Cat. Are you familiar with that?”

  “Certainly. But please walk Dooley and I through it so we can be sure we share the same understanding,” said Jace.

  “Very well. In the thought experiment, a live cat is placed in a covered box. Inside is also a vial of deadly poisonous gas which, if released, would immediately kill the cat. A special triggering device like a Geiger counter is set in place to go off, releasing the poison. The trigger will go off based on the radioactive decay of one particular atom.

  "Now this is where quantum physics sounds somewhat weird, but at the subatomic levels it has been demonstrated to be true. Because radioactive decay is a quantum event, random as you pointed out Dr. Larkin, one cannot predict exactly when it will occur. Therefore, until one observes the cat by looking into the box, the cat is both alive and dead. It is in an indeterminate state until an observation is made, and then the wave function collapses, and the state of the cat becomes dead or alive,” said Van Dyne.

  "Just hold on a second, Connor… that can’t be true,” Dooley responded. “The cat is either dead or alive in the box, regardless. It can’t be both dead and alive at the same time.”

  “Well in fairness,” replied Van Dyne, “That behavior only has been verified at atomic and molecular levels. At this microscopic level, a pair or group of particles can be entangled such that the state of a given particle cannot be described independently of the state of the others. Much like the cat’s state can’t be described independently of the state of the radioactive atom. They are intrinsically tied together. In the case of the Synchrotron, it can produce photons that are intrinsically tied together like that cat and the atom. This results in something Albert Einstein once called ‘spooky action at a distance’. For example, if one of a quantum entangled pair of photons passes through an object, the result can be read from the other entangled photon that did not pass through the object. Something we are trying to do with infrared light for analyzing planetary composition.”

  “Connor, this is all very fascinating theoretical science, but frankly, like Dooley I prefer my cats to either be alive or dead as they are in the real world. How does this relate to Project Stardust?” Jace asked.

  “Ah yes. Well, as you may know, last year a meteorite landed in Australia, and Panterra was fortunate to be the first one on the site. Miss Trask was part of the recovery team that brought back the meteorite fragments. What we did not announce was that some very strange looking blue dust was discovered at the site.”

  Jace suddenly became very interested in what up to this point had been a cut and dried science lecture. Now he could understand why Allison had asked him about colored meteorites and dust. And the color blue seemed to be more than a bit of coincidence, Jace thought.

  “Of course,” continued Van Dyne, “we had our science team analyze the dust under an atomic microscope and discovered something almost unimaginable. It turned out to be exotic matter. By that, I mean it was a non-baryonic substance. It did not contain protons or neutrons.”

  As a geologist, Jace was taken aback. Science wasn’t even sure non-baryonic matter truly existed. But now Van Dyne had acquired some? Another question came to mind that Jace hoped might help answer a puzzle he had mulled over previously.

  “This is quite an incredible discovery, Connor. May I ask what non-baryonic matter look like under a microscope?”

  “Why that’s a very interesting question. It’s hard to describe, but I would say it almost looks like shattered glass. I mean, at the microscopic level. It doesn’t seem to have any kind of alignment or arrangement or discernable structure,” replied Van Dyne. “But at this point you are probably wondering why I brought up the blue dust, and how it relates to Project Stardust.

  “Of course, we know that quantum entanglement is a very weird phenomenon, spooky action at a distance, as Einstein called it. And we can generate entangled photons with the Synchrotron in order to study them. Entangled particles somehow seem connected to each other, but no one has figured out how they are connected. We know a change in one quantum particle affects the behavior of the other entangled particle at what appears to be faster than light speed. How can that possibly be? One of our scientists had been working on a theory that entangled particles must be connected through a different dimension, since we can’t measure or detect the connection.

  “Then someone on our team came up with the idea to see how the blue dust… this exotic material… would affect quantum entanglement. So, he took a tube of glass about an inch and a half in diameter, where the ends came together to form a circle, and filled it with the blue dust. Then the high-intensity infrared beamline was directed through the crystal, and through the circle of glass, using it in a fashion similar to a magnetic containment field. In other words, like a lens. I could tell you what we saw, and tell you what we believe, but it is best for you to see it firsthand. So, I would like to take you over to the Synchrotron and demonstrate what happens.”

  They all departed to the outside of the building, where Van Dyne had a transportation van standing by, and the driver took them the short distance to the Synchrotron. Once they had parked in the parking lot, they walked over a wide fan-shaped walkway that led to a broad circular paved walking path that at first seemed to completely encircle the actual Synchrotron building. However, looking to the right Jace saw a rectangular building was jutting off the side of the round building and the right side of the walkway led to that building’s entrance.

  Jace now had a perspective of how truly large the Synchrotron building was. A whitish-blue color, it had two rows of windows completely encircling the building, which he estimated to be fifty or sixty feet tall and maybe a quarter mile in diameter. It was completely round and flat on the top, having a shape like that of four quarters stacked on top of each other, where the first and third were the windows.

  Van Dyne ushered the other three into the building and they walked around the circular interior corridor which wrapped around the inner storage ring. They eventually came to a small rectangular room jutting off the storage ring that had a secured door with a biometric fingerprint door entrance. Van Dyne placed his finger on the pad, the door unlocked, and he led them inside.

  Two other scientists were already inside, and after making introductions, Van Dyne had Allison, Jace, and Dooley stand to the side of a circular pipe about one foot in diameter, which came out of the storage ring and into their small room. The pipe led into a small square chamber where one of the scientists locked a multi-faceted crystal in place. This was followed by the circle of glass such that the beam passed through the center of the circle. A small hole was at the end of the rectangular chamber for the beam to pass through the crystal and then into their room. About ten feet beyond was a lead and steel wall which was sufficiently thick to stop the beam.

  “Now,” began Van Dyne, “Please observe the space between where the beam comes out of the chamber and the lead wall beyond. I will have Dr. Williamson engage the switch to activate the beamline and pass the high intensity infrared radiation through a very special crystal. Ok, whenever you are ready Dr.”

  Williamson went over to a panel and flipped a toggle switch. While they all heard the switch engaging, they did not see it — all eyes were on the space beyond the chamber. It took a few seconds, but then a slight glowing started about five feet from the chamber, and soon the outline of a dim oval about five feet high and two feet wide began to appear. Inside the oval was a dull greyish color with what appeared to be straight lines of some sort, but it was very hard to see what they were.

  “Holy Mother!” said Dooley. “What in
the world is that?”

  Jace was thankful that Dooley had spoken up, because Jace was so taken aback he was speechless. The oval projection was the same shape and size as the one he first saw at the impact site, and later in the hotel room and in the gardens. However, it wasn’t the same — his oval projection had a flaming background whereas this one was very dull and smokey looking. And instead of an incredibly beautiful girl in the center, he was seeing… well, he wasn’t sure… buildings? But it was very much like the fiery mirror, so any explanation Dooley’s question evoked from Van Dyne he hoped would give some clarity regarding the purpose his own oval projection.

  “To answer your question, Mr. Marz,” replied Van Dyne, “we believe we have opened up the dimension that connects between entangled quantum particles. Call it a wormhole if you will, or the Schrödinger Gateway.”

  “A wormhole? You mean, we are looking into another place in the universe?” Jace asked.

  “Perhaps not our universe, Dr. Larkin. That’s why we call it the Schrödinger Gateway. Think of it as a parallel universe where different events took place. To be simplistic, whereas the cat lived in their universe, our cat died.”

  “How is that possible? Are you using a unique type of crystal?”

  “The crystal is just a diamond, although as you can see, quite sizable,” Van Dyne continued. “Acquiring one of this quality was not cheap. But what happens after the entangled light passes through the exotic containment field is, as they say, priceless. That blue dust is what enables this, and it is invaluable. Creating a traversable gateway is what we refer to as Project Stardust. We used advanced imaging techniques to analyze the view within the portal, and it appears to be structures — the kind constructed by what one would presume is an intelligent race dwelling in that dimension.”

  The image started to waver a bit, and then it vanished.

  “Wait a minute,” said Jace. “Did you say ‘traversable? You mean you think you can actually go there?”

  “We can only hold the portal open for a very short period. Also, currently it is just a view of a portal. If we try to touch it, it also disappears. By our calculations this is due to the limited amount of blue dust we have available. However, with a sufficient supply of exotic material and creating two more containment fields, we believe we could stabilize the portal and possibly traverse it,” said Van Dyne with a hint of excitement rising in his voice.

  “Maybe we could even control where it opens," he continued. "The possibilities this gateway presents are almost unimaginable. Think about it! Panterra could finally have the technology to 'get there', as we've so desperately wanted."

  Can it be? The beautiful landscapes I flew over showing vast forests and valley’s filled with rivers and lakes are real? The city with shining towers and perhaps the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen truly exists? And it may be possible to travel there? I don’t know… don’t read too much in your dream, Jace…

  “Dr. Larkin, Allison already confirmed you did not find any blue dust at the meteor site in Arizona. That’s unfortunate, but we also know you have contacts all over the world with others who may have come across the blue exotic matter. This is why we need your assistance.”

  Jace thought for a moment and then replied cautiously, “Connor, we have to face the real possibility that the blue dust you found is the only source in existence. As far as we know it’s never been found in any other meteor fall before.”

  “Actually, that’s not quite true,” replied Van Dyne. “Four years ago, a small meteorite impact in Germany was discovered by your U.S. Government, and it contained a good supply of blue dust — perhaps enough to have completed our experiments. When it was discovered to be exotic matter, a General Heissman was assigned to investigate its application as a potential weapon. But the supply they had disappeared. Vanished. They claim it was in a secure location where no one should have had access. Losing it was a tremendous blow to them.

  “Because of leaked information about exotic matter, both our side and theirs decided we better join forces. Then, when the portal capabilities became known, Heissman became paranoid that some other government stole his stash of blue dust and was performing their own portal experiment. That is why he came after you, thinking you were working with them to acquire more blue dust. So, you see, it is quite possible other meteorites with blue dust have landed on earth.”

  “If I agree to use my contacts to find out what I can about the blue dust, how do we keep Heissman or any of the military from taking it or using it?” asked Jace. “I can imagine the military value… if it worked both directions, one could pop in on an adversary... the ultimate surprise attack,” Jace said with some concern. “Or, what if those aren’t friendlies on the other side where you were viewing, and we are opening a gateway to them? Or what if they have very dangerous weapons that make their way into our universe? These are all really bad scenarios that we must avoid.”

  “Let me work on that, Dr. Larkin. I am thinking we will have to disclose the information to the UN or some world governing body, so that control is permanently maintained by science for peaceful purposes and no one nation would be allowed to pursue it for its own purposes. And we would be very careful to proceed in small steps, making sure we knew what we were doing before we opened it up all the way.”

  “That sounds like a reasonable approach. I think we can come to some arrangement, Connor. I would just like to talk this over with Mr. Marz if I may, since he too would be involved. Can we give you an answer tomorrow?” asked Jace.

  “Certainly. Take whatever time you need to be sure. And please, be my guests at the estate until you are ready to depart,” replied Van Dyne.

  Back in their room that afternoon at the Van Dyne estate, Dooley made a complete sweep checking for bugs, to ensure they could speak freely. Dooley then shared his opinion to Jace on the matter of helping Van Dyne find more blue dust.

  “Is he friggin’ crazy? If they ever figure out how to build a gateway like that, it would be like the nuclear bomb — there’s no way some militant group wouldn’t try to get ahold of that dangerous technology, no matter what precautions are taken. And once the gateway is open, who knows what could come out from there and over to here? Jace, we just can’t go helping them create something that could lead to… God knows what!” Dooley exclaimed.

  “Don’t worry, Dooley. I have no intentions of helping Project Stardust, at least not in the way they are thinking. We still have a couple of leads we need to continue pursuing, and if they think we are chasing stardust, well, all the better to keep them off our backs. We must find Colonel Severs to find out what he knows about aliens and how he knows it. I can’t help but think there must be some connection to Project Stardust. How Severs fits in is a piece of the puzzle that is still missing. Nothing Van Dyne told us today has shed any light whatsoever on that.”

  “Also,” Jace continued, “you had to have noticed how much their gateway looked like our fiery mirror… and how different it was. The blue dust must be related to the blue stone somehow. Maybe that’s what gets created when the blue stone is crushed up. Our blue stone created a fiery portal with a beautiful woman on the other side, whereas their blue dust created a dark, smokey portal showing buildings. It didn’t feel right. And apparently it required the use of intense infrared radiation, diamonds, and entangled quantum particles to make it appear. I just hold the stone to make a portal appear. Perhaps the stone works like both the diamond and the blue dust combined.”

  "Then you must be the light, Jace. Well, I knew you were a million times brighter than almost everybody we went to school with…” Dooley joked.

  “Very funny. Anyway, neither one is a true gateway. They are both just projections that may be showing the beginnings of a gateway. And logically, I know I should probably consider getting rid of the blue stone for the very same concerns you voiced, Dooley. But… well… holding the stone is all I’m doing. It just seems natural. Diamonds, intense infra-red radiation and a containment ring
of exotic material seems like forcing something unnatural. I would like to run a few more experiments before we decide what to do with it.”

  “Ok professor, I had a feeling you weren’t ready to call it quits yet. A beautiful place, a gorgeous chick… who wouldn’t want that? But please don’t try anything without me. I want to be there in case someone has to save your hide and maybe humanity’s as well. If we find out it threatens our universe, we have to make sure it can’t ever be used. I assume you understand what I’m saying?” asked Dooley.

  “Certainly, Dooley. Don’t worry, I’m with you one hundred percent on that,” Jace said. “I know how governments would try to use it if they could, to gain military superiority. We need to ensure that can’t ever happen. In fact, I’m thinking we need to work against them while making them think we are working with them. Even if I don’t get any blue dust for them, who’s to say they won’t find it from some other source? We need to figure out how to stop that. But I also think we need to understand the blue stone better, so we can make a logical decision regarding it.”

  Taking the stone out of its container, Jace handed it to Dooley.

  “Here, you try holding it and squeezing your hand. Let’s see if you can reproduce the image.”

  Dooley took the stone and squeezed his hand and waited for several minutes.

  “Nothing, Professor. It doesn’t even feel warm.”

  Jace took the blue stone back and clasped it in his hand. In a second or two he felt the warmth grow, and an image started to appear.

  “For whatever reason, it is responding to me but not to you. Very curious. It would be interesting to try this out with others, but unfortunately we can’t risk exposing what we have to someone else. But it doesn’t make sense that I would be the only one who could activate it. There must be some factor we are overlooking.”