The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack

by Isaac Asimov

Cade mentally strengthened his shield and focused on running his body through breathing exercises. Doctor Mayes changed the display to an examination of Annsia’s brain. “While performing the autopsy, I noticed that certain areas of her frontal lobes were slightly swelled from a typical human. At first, I thought this might be due to the aneurysm, but this area was undamaged. It was a healthy zone surrounded by dead tissue. My theory was that this area might be responsible for psionoic activity in humans. I did a research query for other brains with this phenomenon and almost ninety eight percent of the sample autopsies with these enlarged lobes, that I am calling Mayes Lobes, were graduates from this academy.”

  Startled, the assembled guests began to discuss the proposal amongst each other. It took several minutes for Cade to calm the crowd so that Doctor Mayes could continue. “Using a chemical formula and medical nanites, we’ve managed to enlarge these areas in humans with a zero psionic rating. We’ve been able to affect a shift of two to four levels. We believe that this increase will grow exponentially the more powerful the subject is. Further, the nanites allow the subjects to focus their potential and achieve their maximum potential in a matter of days rather than years. My proposal is simple. I wish to give the new students this treatment to advance the cause in science.”

  Cade banged the gavel three times to dull the roar. “Chairpeople, do any of you have questions?”

  According to the rules of the forum, the Department Chairs were allowed to ask direct questions before the opposing council addressed the forum. Professor Gavin stood, slowly and painfully. He broadcast his thoughts with great potency that somehow remained polite. “I can see how your process could increase potency, but not how it would decrease the learning curve. Please explain.”

  “Very well, Professor Gavin,” Doctor Mayes replied, leaving a bit of mockery on the word Professor. “It is theorized that one way that psionics effect the material plane is via the shapes of the brainwaves broadcast. A psionic teaches their body to shape these thoughts. Bio-feedback allows students to practice and learn the hard way. The nanites allow students to learn the same process at an extremely accelerated rate.”

  Professor Gavin sat back in his chair and chewed on an apple satisfied. “Any other questions?” Cade asked.

  He slammed the gavel three more times. “Very well. My statement shall be short, but to the point. I have no doubt that Doctor Mayes’s treatment can perform as described. However, I believe that such a treatment will leave us with weak and inferior students.”

  “What? Are you out of your mind, Professor Cade?” Doctor Mayes bellowed.

  Cade glanced at the Doctor and smiled. “Not at all Doctor, but I am willing to allow you to change my mind. I challenge you to a duel.”

  Doctor Mayes opened wide with fear. “Professor, you are ranked at a PSI-12. I am only a PSI-10, I can not possibly defeat you.”

  “At the present, you are correct. However, according to your own words, you believe that your treatment will allow you to increase your rating at a fanatic rate. I propose the following. This day, you accept treatment of your formula. One week from now, we shall duel. If you win, I shall withdraw my objection. If I win, you will withdraw your proposal and destroy the work.”

  The audience muttered their approval. Doctor Mayes’s face turned red as he bit back a retort. “Of course, Professor, but I can’t promise your safety in such a duel.”

  “Excellent.” Cade winked briefly. Everything was falling into place. “Then we shall make it to the death, yes?”

  Trapped, Doctor grunted his acceptance. “Professor Gavin, will you serve as legal witness?”

  “Of course, my boy. Of course.”

  * * * *

  The Institute buzzed with rumors and predictions about the coming duel. The last sanctioned duel to the death occurred twenty years ago when Professor Gavin first joined as an instructor. Cade noted that his students paid careful attention in his classes, half expecting that this would be his final week.

  Cade maintained his usual weekly schedule. His ethics class continued to worry him. Stephanie seemed resistant to his instructions. “Ms. Williams, perhaps you can explain to me exactly what it is that you don’t understand.”

  “You’ve been teaching us that it is wrong to force others to think as you do, but you are dueling in a few hours? What’s the difference if I make someone think better, or you kill them for disagreeing with you,” Stephanie asked, feeling bold.

  “We are not dueling because we disagree, Stephanie. But I am glad that you brought up the subject,” Cade replied. He scanned the thoughts of the room feeling the buzz of their curiosity. “Why do you think that I am opposed to the treatment?”

  “You don’t want to be out of a job, sir.”

  The class laughed. Cade smiled. “I do have a pension from thirty years service so I imagine I would survive. Further, my field would not be affected. Even augmented psionics would require lessons in ethically using their abilities. Let me ask you another question, do I seem motivated by selfish desires?”

  The class laughed again. Cade could have worked in the private sector and made a fortune instead of slaving away for a teacher’s salary. “Very well then, you have your assignment for Monday. Write an essay about why you think I oppose the proposal so much that I am willing to kill over it.”

  “What happens if you die?” Stephanie asked.

  “Well then, all of you will get full marks for completing your assignment,” Cade answered, gracefully.

  “But why are you willing to risk death over this? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “You seem awfully certain that I’m going to die, Ms. Williams,” Cade protested with a bit of humor.

  “Sir, you can’t beat someone with a rating of two or more above you. It’s just not possible.”

  * * * *

  Duels were usually held in training rooms, but Cade had insisted that this duel take place at the Friday forum. A protective energy shield was erected to protect the audience from accident harm. Passive and serene, Professor Gavin hovered in a small chair above the stage awaiting the arrival of the combatants.

  Doctor Mayes and Cade entered the stage from opposite ends. “Please, Professor Cade, there is no need to die this day. I’ve been rated PSI-14 after the treatment. No one has ever defeated a psionic rated 2 levels higher than themselves. You don’t need to die to make a point.”

  Cade smiled, flashing more teeth than usual. He clearly had been spending too much time with the Professor. “Thank you for your concern, Doctor Mayes. However, I feel fairly confident in the outcome.”

  Professor Gavin rang a large brass bell. “Duelists should bow.”

  Doctor Mayes and Cade bowed to the audience, to Professor Gavin, and then to each other. Satisfied, Professor Gavin rang the bell once more. “Begin!”

  Doctor Mayes attacked immediately. His mental probe was fast and potent like a sledgehammer. Cade had expected such a tactic and had prepared his mental shields. Mayes pressed his advantage sending wave after wave of mental blasts. The attacks were potent and skillful, but they lacked experience. Dripping with sweat, Mayes’s face began to turn crimson. “How can this be?”

  “Please note that Doctor Mayes is trying with all of his newfound abilities to pierce my mental shield,” Cade revealed calmly. He wasn’t talking to Mayes, but to the audience.

  “I’ll smash your shield eventually. You can’t hold out forever!”

  “I don’t need to hold out forever, Doctor Mayes, I merely need to outlast you.”

  The psychic blasts grew in frequency and potency. Doctor Mayes was panting, trying to keep enough oxygen to his brain. Sensing that his opponent was weakening, Cade switched his tactics to the offensive.

  Mayes had concentrated so much upon shattering Cade’s defenses; he failed to construct a solid mental shield. Cade’s attack was swift, like the trust of a switchblade in an alleyway. Doctor Mayes froze, surprised by the mental punch on the nose. It was a dirty tactic, but Cade didn’t
have much choice. Taking advantage of the weakness, Cade pummeled through the shield and attacked his nervous centers. Mayes wildly flung his arms over his face. “No! No! This is not possible.”

  Cade did not reply. He was too busy lobotomizing his opponent. Doctor Mayes dropped to the floor like a slab of meat. Satisfied, Cade bowed to Doctor Gavin and then to the audience.

  “The proposal has been defeated,” Professor Gavin announced.

  * * * *

  “I’ve read through your papers and some of you had curious insights into my motives. Ms. Williams, how did you come to your conclusion?”

  Stephanie had been hoping that she would not be called upon. She had been hiding her face with her hair. “I saw the duel, sir. Some of us managed to sneak into the balcony.”

  “Yes, I sensed you.” Cade had been pleased to see his students take such an interest. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”

  “He was more powerful than you. And skilled. But he didn’t have the discipline. You beat him using the first principle of power. Power without discipline is useless. Discipline comes from not taking the easy road and working for your abilities. He hadn’t developed the stamina to break you. You waited until he was tired to strike.”

  Cade nodded, proud. There was hope for this student. “Very good, Ms. Williams. This week we’re going to discuss applications of discipline and how to maintain it during times of temptation. I’ll know if you haven’t read the reading material.”

  “Very good, my boy,” Professor Gavin thought-called. “I’ve been monitoring your class. All of them will make excellent sentinels, including your trouble maker.”

  “Thank you, Professor. May I ask you a question?”

  Cade sensed curiosity and pride from the orangutan. “Of course, my boy,” Professor Gavin

  “You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”

  Chuckling softly, Professor let a bit of pride slip through with his last thought. “Let’s just say that I enjoyed watching the first principle of power in action. It was very enlightening.”

  TOM THE UNIVERSE, by Larry Hodges

  I permeate this universe, which I’ve named Tom, and guard against its destruction. If someone had done that for the universe I came from, then Mary, my sweet Mary, would still be alive, and I wouldn’t have killed her and everyone else when I accidentally destroyed that universe.

  And now I’m on the verge of destroying much more.

  My name is also Tom. I was an undergrad in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore that January in 2040 when I made the discovery that doomed us all. My field of study was cognitive science, the study of human consciousness. What makes us aware of ourselves? Is it just the biomechanical workings of the brain, or something else?

  Sherlock Holmes said, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” I spent countless hours in the lab eliminating the impossible, and there didn’t seem to be anything left, improbable or not. The interconnectivity required for human consciousness to exist was just too many levels beyond what was possible. By all rights, we should all be unconscious blobs of matter mechanically going about our business as directed by electronic impulses from the brain, with no more consciousness than a calculator. I suffered brain cramps in the lab trying to figure out what improbables were left.

  When I could think of nothing else to try, it was time to relax and let my subconscious figure it out. So I got out the Frisbee and called my lab partners.

  Mary, Joey, and I—Tommy, as they called me—called ourselves the “ees.” I’d only met Mary when we’d started college, and adored how she laughed when I explained my love for her in neurological terms, with dopamine and neurotransmitters. We did everything together, or so I thought; classes and labs, movies, and late-night bull sessions with pizza and ice cream, usually followed by pints of morning coffee. Our future together was assured; as soon as we graduated, we would get married. I’d even convinced her we should wear purity rings—I had special ones made up with a brain emblem.

  Joey and I grew up together on the same street, playing stickball and videogames. He and I were going to be buddies for life.

  Professor Wilson, our adviser, reluctantly let the three of us be lab partners even though he said it’s best not to put friends together. Amazingly, we got a lot done when we weren’t reading the neurology cartoons taped to the walls or playing with Catzilla, the lab’s iguana-bodied, cat-brained hybrid mascot. And then came that morning when we went outside the lab on Charles Street to toss the Frisbee around among the oak trees by the front steps. The fresh air was an escape from the antiseptic stench of the lab.

  “You throw like a girl!” Joey said when my toss to him banged against the ground, way off line. He stood half a head taller than me, with that eternal mischievous grin I’d known for twenty years. He was the only person in the world who could get away with a ponytailed bouffant, which I would yank every chance.

  “Like a girl, huh?” Mary said, throwing the Frisbee as hard as she could at Joey, who barely blocked it. Mary grabbed the rebound and faked another throw while Joey cringed. “Want some more?” She was my sweet pixie, five feet of tiger and spice, never still, never silent. Recently she’d taken to tying her long blond hair in a ponytail like Joey, giving me a second target to yank. I was the smart one, with a crew cut.

  “Okay,” Joey said, “you win. You both throw like girls!” Mary smacked him with the frisbee again.

  As we tossed it around, I became aware of my awareness of the Frisbee’s location at any given moment. Somehow my mind tracked this and so many other things. The complexities were staggering. I got so caught up thinking about this that I forgot to be aware of the spinning Frisbee coming at me.

  It went bonk against my head, and suddenly the answer to my question shook free. Great complexity meant great interconnectivity meant great density meant…it wasn’t just improbable, it was astounding. But it was the only thing that wasn’t impossible.

  The interconnectivity required for human consciousness could only be satisfied by infinite density at a single point. A singularity.

  Unless Mr. Holmes was mistaken, every one of us carries a singularity in our head. The mass doesn’t register in our universe, or else your body—and everything else for a long way around—would fall into it and squoosh, a quick way to end one’s existence. No, the singularity is just a point that floats around, stuck in your brain, presumably created while your brain was being created, with its mass in some alternate universe or state.

  Actually, as any physicist could tell you—and I’m not one, I learned this later on—singularities do not really explode, no matter how many times that happens in science fiction stories. All universes start as singularities that expand exponentially, the so-called “Big Bang.” There’s no explosion, just a single point that gets bigger and bigger until you have a full-sized universe.

  “You okay, hot shot?” Mary asked. I realized I was still standing outside the lab, saliva trickling out the corner of my mouth. I wiped it off and re-entered the real world.

  “I’ve got something!” I exclaimed, as visions of singularities danced in my head.

  “So do I,” she said, hugging me, her red cardigan sweater pressing against me. Oh, if I’d only lost my train of thought and hugged back! I took off for the lab, colliding with three students on the way to the fourth floor. Mary and Joey followed. I ignored Catzilla’s rasping meow as I ran to my lab station to do research and think.

  Once I knew about the singularity in my brain, the obvious next step was to experiment on it. But a singularity takes up no space, and is therefore rather hard to test. So I sought the advice of a physics grad student. I didn’t tell him why I needed to expand a singularity, and he didn’t tell me the consequences, thinking it was all just theory talk. He explained what was needed in the foreign language of physics, but I picked up the one part I needed: “Flood it with tachyons, so that the entire quantum evaporation hap
pens in an instant.” I had no idea what the second part meant. It turned out that the physics lab had one of the new tachyon emitters, which he showed off for me. Just what the neurologist ordered!

  He assured me that tachyons were harmless, essentially massless—my eyes glazed over when he started talking about “imaginary mass”—and would shoot right through anything at faster than light speeds. I felt in sudden need of a tachyon shower.

  Mary and Joey had wandered off, which I thought strange at the time since we were at a key stage of our work, but I didn’t need them for this and so didn’t stop to wonder where they might be. (If I knew then what I knew now.…) When no one was looking, I turned the tachyon emitter on full blast, entered the tachyon field chamber through the “Do Not Enter!” sign, and the rest is.…

  I started to say “history,” but of course it was actually the end of history. The singularity in my brain expanded like any other “Big Bang,” creating a universe and destroying ours.

  Including Mary.

  My friend the physics major never said anything about branes. Not brains, but branes, one of those physics terms that I knew nothing about back then. It seems our universe existed inside a brane, which in turn existed in a higher-dimensional space-time continuum, in equilibrium with other universes in their own branes. When the singularity in my head became a universe in its own brane, it knocked our universe and its brane out of equilibrium.

  Our universe and its brane happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, near another brane which it now teetered into. There have probably been countless cases of singularities expanding into universes, but only rarely—as in this case—is a new one so close to another that it knocks the older one out of equilibrium.

  What happens when two branes collide? Both of them, and everything inside, are destroyed. And it doesn’t take billions of years. Since it all takes place in a higher-dimensional space-time continuum, the collision takes place at all times and spaces simultaneously—as if that word has any meaning in this context—and the entire existence of the universe and its one hundred billion galaxies was wiped out. Not just gone forever, but never existed. The Milky Way Galaxy, Earth, humans, Baltimore, Frisbees, Catzilla, none of it ever happened. Mary who? She never was, no matter how vivid her memory was to me.