by Bruce Buff
Despite a room full of happy people talking loudly to one another, Dan heard nothing but the reverberations of Stephen’s voice. His words were easy to understand, but the statements were near impossible to fathom. Symbolic code with intent had profound implications for human origin. It pointed at the existence of the Being Whom, if he existed, Dan had viewed far more as nemesis than as benevolent and loving Creator.
Continuing, Stephen said, “Do you understand what I’m saying to you? Symbolic coding. You know what that means? Intent of some sort has to be behind its origin. Do you believe me?”
After a deep gulp of Guinness, Dan said, “I’m pretty sure you believe what you’re telling me. Beyond that, I’ll have to see the encrypted code for myself.”
“I figured nothing less would do for you. After Tuesday, you can have access to everything. No secrets. Other than me, you’ll be the only one to know everything. You can wait three days, can’t you?”
“With mind-blowing claims like yours, it won’t be easy. Why not now?
“I figure our conversation will be a lot easier if I have more proof of the nature you say you require. And there is more that I need to know before then.”
“How can what you’re saying be true? You know far better than almost anyone else the foundations it would shake,” Dan said.
“I can only think of three possibilities for the existence of the symbolic coding, though that doesn’t mean there aren’t more. First, of course, is the obvious one: God created it and us. Second is Francis Crick’s: An alien race created DNA and, by extension, us. Third is natural teleology: something in nature leads to a tendency for the universe to produce certain outcomes though no specific being or intelligence is behind it. Any of these would be profound. The first two require a source for their own existence. But whatever the code’s origin, it exists.”
In his mind, Dan searched through all possibilities, including the thought that Stephen might be misleading him for purposes still unknown. Speaking with forced confidence, he said, “I hope you’re not trying to pull a fast one on me, creating confusion while you get what you want, then blowing me off later. After all, I now control your security.”
“There are some things you can’t fake, and after you’ve seen what I have, you’ll know this is one of them. It feels like looking into the heart of creation. I bet it rocks your world just as much as mine, doesn’t it?”
“You’re asking me to absorb and accept a lot. Surely you know it’s an extraordinary thing to ask of anyone, especially me. Isn’t there anything else you can share now?”
After a long pause, Stephen smiled slyly then said, “A bit more should be fine. As I said before, there are two, maybe three, sets of coded information—but they are very different. The first is related to human biology. Think of it as both a blueprint for life and a description of human design. The second, well, that indicates information on the physical universe,” Stephen said, pausing for full effect. “Beyond indications of how things operate in the physical world, there appears to be a relationship between quantum physics, which explains how everything works at the subatomic level, and cell function regulation. In a way, that makes lots of sense because there is too much going on that needs to be well coordinated, without other means to do so. Purely biochemical means may not be enough. Oddest of all is what should be an inherent contradiction, that each person consists of a ‘quantum unity’ and that this helped shape evolution. We’re both a large collection of parts and a whole, simultaneously. Have you ever wondered how a multitude of separate atoms, consisting only of objective states, such as the direction of the spin of an electron, could produce whole subjective experiences such as you looking at, and hearing, me, all of me, at the same time?”
No, Dan had in fact never thought about the basis of human consciousness. It was shocking to think that his very self, at any moment, might be more than physical matter. Determined to retain his poise, he asked, “How did you find a relationship between DNA and physics? That’s an incredible connection.”
“It is. Alex found it after I saw symmetry in the DNA patterns once they were converted into symbolic code. He saw something very similar to the symmetry in the equations that physicists use to explain the behavior of the material world. It seems like the fabric of the universe is set up to guide the formation of life.”
“I really do need to see this.”
“You will.”
“And the third set?” Dan asked.
“I’m not sure, but if you can believe it, the little I saw was more startling than what was in the first two sets. Maybe there is no more to it. But if so, it could relate to the origin of the universe, our ultimate destiny, and how I should use the other information. Everything is all so bizarre. It’s as though I specifically was meant to find it; that I’m being trusted to use the knowledge for great good. And yet, I’ve learned things that I feel I have no right to know and shouldn’t play around with. I don’t know which is true and need your help finding out. I am keeping everything as secret as I can because I don’t know if there is a third set and what could be in it.”
Once again, Dan couldn’t help but question Stephen’s extraordinary claims. But with nothing to go on until Stephen showed him more, all he could say was, “I don’t understand. I thought you had already broken the codes.”
“I had. As I said, it was through extraordinary circumstances. I had been working late at night with Alex for a long time. One day, things just came to me. I don’t know if you heard this before, but Dr. Charles Townes, the Nobel Prize–winning inventor of the maser, which led to the laser, has described his scientific breakthroughs as being like religious revelations. Well, it was like a revelation for me, too. I was incredulous and overjoyed as I viewed parts of the first two sets of decoded information. Before the processing completed to produce what could have been a third set of information, it timed out. Alex had set a ‘time to live’ on the security keys used to encrypt our work. That restricted how long it could run until he renewed the keys. Unfortunately, he had gone home and crashed on the way. There was nothing further I could do. I need you to look at what he had done and figure out how to get it going again. I only saw the smallest bit of what could be a third set. What I think I saw indicated that if there is anything there, it is critical for knowing how I should use what I already have. I’m hoping you can find something on the laptop I used that night to help figure out how to set up what’s needed to resume processing.”
“You can bet I’ll do everything I can to see anything of the nature you’ve described.” Dan paused before adding, “What about consciousness? How does that relate to what you described as a ‘quantum unity’?”
“Now you’re getting to the heart of things. I need to do more research into that. If I’m right, I’ll have found proof of the human soul, yours included.”
“Depending on the path I’m on, that might not be good news,” Dan answered. He knew it was a flip response, but things had gone beyond the believable.
“Finding out what you’re made of might help you with your path,” Stephen answered.
Dan laughed, surprisingly relaxed, pleased at the prospects ahead of him, and said, “Well, I can’t imagine you proposing anything more dramatic or intriguing. You know you didn’t need to say anything as extraordinary as this. Despite our recent differences, I would have provided you the security you requested, and recovered your lost data, just for the personal satisfaction of having done so and the desire to spend time with Ava. Though, obviously, I would have extracted what I could along the way.”
“It’s remarkable how little you’ve changed,” Stephen said.
Dan finished his pint. “If what you’re saying about your discoveries is right, this is for all the marbles of every game worth playing.”
“I’m glad you finally understand,” Stephen said.
“The stakes you’ve laid out are pretty darn high,�
� Dan answered. He didn’t have any idea what to believe. The claims were too incredible. Stephen was either onto what he said he was, or was dangerously deluded.
“They always are, for anything really worth doing,” Stephen replied.
“Yeah, well, I’m afraid that once we’re done, I’ll either have lost all possibility of something to believe in—including you—or I’ll find stark answers that require hard choices.”
“That’s life for you. Only two possibilities. Either everything matters or nothing does. No in-between. Few people recognize that. Even atheists rarely acknowledge that no God means no morality.”
“Sometimes I wish you’d stick with science and leave the deep thoughts to the philosophers. The ability to conduct experiments and analyze quantitative data is not the same as the ability to reason.”
“You’re right.”
“Now, that is something I’ve waited a long time to hear,” Dan exclaimed.
“I’m sure you’ll never tire of it,” Stephen joked.
Laughing, raising their glasses toward each other, they listened as the musicians began playing “Roddy McCorley,” about the rebellion of 1798. Liam Maguire’s warm, rich baritone voice, accompanied by a skillfully played guitar, filled the restaurant.
O see the fleet-foot host of men, who march with faces drawn,
From farmstead and from fishers’ cot, along the banks of Ban;
They come with vengeance in their eyes. Too late! Too late are they,
For young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.
Talking quietly below the music, Stephen said, “I always loved this song, long before I understood where the event it was based on ultimately led. It’s extraordinary how seemingly remote things may be connected.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the Irish Rebellion of 1798 led to the dissolution of the Irish government and the incorporation of their one hundred votes into the English Parliament. This was meant to quell Ireland’s drive for independence. Instead, the Irish became the swing votes in the English Parliament. In order to stay in power, in the late eighteen hundreds, the British prime minister agreed to Irish Home Rule in exchange for Irish votes. Before Home Rule could be implemented, in 1912, many British were actively arming the Northern Irish Protestants in preparation for a civil war against what would have been the future Irish government. This led Germany to believe that England would not interfere on the Continent, being preoccupied with Ireland. They were wrong, and it contributed to the start of World War I. And without the First World War, Hitler doesn’t come to power and the Germans have the scientists and the time to develop the atomic bomb. A strong, nuclear-armed, Germany is then free to assert itself against the world. To sum it up, without the rebellion of 1798, Germany rules the world, with many of the attitudes it had at the time.
Stephen continues, “The idea I’m exploring is whether God directs events that shape history over long periods of time. Does He paint with long, faint, brushstrokes that are only visible from a great distance, with eyes sharp enough to see them, to keep history on track? So, in the end, while our sufferings matter greatly to Him, they are not the last word, something greater is at stake.”
Dan took a moment to reply. “Haven’t you already stretched well beyond the limit of what I can contemplate for one evening without sounding like you think you can read the mind of whatever God might—and I emphasize might—exist?”
“Just giving you hints to the question you wouldn’t attempt answering earlier.”
“What you have to show me better be really good to make me put up with all of this.”
“There is an important, practical, aspect to this. What are we meant to do with whatever I’ve discovered? How could it impact humanity? It’s a heck of a responsibility.”
“If what you’ve said is true, it certainly would be.”
• • •
A couple of hours later, Dan and Stephen started walking back to Stephen’s house. It was a moonless, cloudless night. The few streetlights were spaced far apart, serving more as distant beacons than as guidance for where to place their feet. In the dim spaces between the lights, the Milky Way stood out clearly from the rest of the dark sky.
Halfway home, Stephen said, “I’ve always enjoyed looking at the constellations. I wonder how they looked to the ancients.”
“They change over time, but slowly,” Dan answered.
“I need to remember that. You know, it’s amazing just how finely tuned everything is for the universe to even exist—even more so for us.”
“Well, with an infinite number of universes, at least one should be like this.”
“You know, the belief in the existence of multiverses is an act of faith based on the idea that whatever can be represented by mathematics should in fact exist.”
“I guess you’re not going to let up,” said Dan.
“I’m sorry, but when you think you start to see things as they really are, you can’t stop seeing things as they really are,” Stephen said jovially.
“That’s an addiction I’ve tried to avoid.”
“And look where that got you. Anyway, it’s quite a journey we’re about to embark on.”
“I prefer a sojourn,” Dan replied.
“That’s not what the songs on your main playlist tell me. One word sums them up. Plaintive. Sorry, I looked. You’re searching just like the rest of us.”
“Remember listening to our first Genesis song, ‘Watchers of the Skies’? That’s what I think of on a night like this,” Dan said.
“I remember listening to that when we were out on the lake late at night. The Adirondacks are great. We really need to get up there again,” Stephen said.
“We were naïve. I wish we could have stayed that way,” Dan said wistfully.
“As we both now know, you can’t stay naïve when you start to understand that life either does or doesn’t have ultimate meaning.”
“Either possibility is staggering,” Dan said with a touch of wonder in his voice.
“You’re staggering.”
“I know.”
“Ah, once again, the beginning of wisdom,” Stephen said.
“You’re way too repetitive. You should hire a speechwriter.”
“I’m done talking for tonight.”
“Thank God for small favors!” Dan answered.
Chapter 27
DAY 5
TUESDAY MORNING
Sousan’s instructions from her foreign handlers at Project Icarus were clear-cut: get the fusion reaction information; make sure the reactor is damaged beyond repair; and incriminate her fellow researchers so that they would be lucky to stay out of jail, let alone be able to conduct further research. Since she had been kept in the dark by Viktor, she could claim that she was duped and, as she’d be the only “innocent” director left, she’d be appointed to run the lab.
The plan she’d come up with was to substitute a mix of tritium and deuterium for pure deuterium in the last of the planned experiments. A “deteriorating condition, present but undetected for years,” would prevent the abort button from working. This would cause a higher-yield reaction, generating enough heat to destroy the reactor, while leading to a minor release of radioactive tritium—a major breach of atomic energy regulations—and the lab’s shutdown.
In the subsequent investigation, the cause would appear to be a loading error by a worker whom the investigators would be unable to find. More damning would be the determination of lax oversight and controls, poor procedures, inadequate record keeping, and reckless actions. Of course, she would provide manufactured evidence claiming that she had been reporting these shortcomings for years but had been ignored, bolstering the case for her appointment as the new head of the lab. If he was lucky, Viktor would only be forced to retire, though he could easily face more severe consequences. Wels
h would be finished, and if she had her way, would face jail time.
All in all, a simple, effective, and wonderful plan.
• • •
Sousan went to the loading dock and opened the doors for the delivery truck. No ordinary truck, it carried the deuterium. Unbeknownst to Viktor, this time it also carried the highly restricted and controlled tritium. The men on the truck were also not ordinary deliverymen. Like Sousan, they were agents of a foreign interest.
During the course of the delivery, they’d make adjustments to the reactor’s fuel delivery system. When the time was right, Sousan would instruct the reactor systems to supplement the deuterium with tritium. The resulting reaction would produce more heat than the reactor could handle, damaging it, potentially beyond repair, setting the project back by years, enough time to give her sponsors time to make their moves.
Satisfied with the progress of the agents, Sousan returned to the lab. As soon as she was gone, the men made additional adjustments to the fuel systems and disabled more of the reactor’s safety mechanisms. Whether Sousan survived or not was of no consequence to their sponsors. In fact, it would better if she did not. One less loose end that could become entangled.
Chapter 28
The last rays of the sun had departed some time ago, and what little dusk left wasn’t far behind. Only the barest hints of wintergreen lingered on the horizon, visible to Stephen only because he was on the top floor of the HBC building. To the east, most of the sky was already black with the last remainders of light about to be extinguished.
