After rotating past the staging area, the newlyweds would see the ever-expanding space station, already more than a half-mile long, and four smaller zero-G laboratories, with two more under construction. More than 1,200 people lived and worked within all these structures. Hubble 2, the triple-size replacement for the aging space telescope was nearing completion nearby, after which it would be steered into a remote orbit away from the busy traffic above Bolivia to expand astronomy’s vision into the deep universe by a billion light years.
“I can’t believe how beautiful this is, Tyler,” Alicia said.
“Not to mention the fact that we’re the first couple in human history to honeymoon in orbit,” Freeman grinned. “I always wanted to go into space, but I never dreamed I would. Strange how things turn out. I had to start my own space program to get here.”
Alicia giggled, then smiled coyly. “Well, I can certainly recommend low gravity for a wedding night.”
“You think that was good? The hotel manager told me they have an empty room so near the hub that it’s classified as microgravity, around a twentieth earth-normal. Want to give it a try tonight?”
“Absolutely,” she responded, fairly beaming. “Eat! The sooner we get through with dessert, the sooner we can go.”
“Just hold that thought and keep it warm,” Freeman said. “Thaddeus is stopping by for a few minutes. He said he had something he wanted to talk to me about.”
“Tonight?” Alicia feigned a mock pout. “We’re on our honeymoon.”
“”It’ll only take a few minutes, I promise, sweetheart. If Thad starts into one of his long-winded science lessons, I promise I’ll kick him out.”
There was a knock at the door, and Freeman walked over to answer it in the peculiar low-gravity shuffle that visitors to the orbital hotel quickly learned.
“Come on in, Thad,” Freeman said, shaking his friend’s hand. “But I have to warn you, we have orders from my new wife to make this quick.”
Alicia had followed Freeman to the door, and gave Stout a hug. “Hello Thaddeus. Despite the fact that you’re turning my honeymoon into a business meeting, it’s wonderful to see you. Would you like something to eat?”
“No thanks, Alicia,” Stout answered. “I’ve already eaten. Anyway, that would just make me stay longer. Please, you two continue with your dinner. I can talk while you eat, and I promise this won’t take long.” He took a seat at the dining table while Freeman and his new wife resumed eating.
“Well, what do you need to talk to me about?” Freeman asked between mouthfuls.
“I need a research budget.”
“How much?”
“Five million for starters. Maybe more.”
“Five million? Damn, Thad, that’s not a research budget, it’s a whole startup! What’s this about?”
“Dimensional displacement. You know I’ve been working in the zero-G labs on synthesizing the minerals that power the Titicaca Effect. So far I’ve been unable to duplicate it, but one of my failed experiments has exhibited some unusual properties, and I want to follow the trail and see where it leads me.”
“What is dimensional displacement?” Alicia interjected.
“My question exactly,” Freeman said. “What does it do?”
“I promised not to talk too much,” Stout answered. “So here’s the short version. The material I’ve synthesized, under the right circumstances, disappears.”
“Five million bucks for a magic trick?”
“It’s not a trick, Ty. It actually disappears. If you hit it with a laser tuned to the right frequency, it just winks out of existence. For reasons I won’t go into tonight, I think I’ve produced a dimensional shift.”
“You mean it goes into some other dimension? You’re kidding!”
“Nope, I’m not kidding.” Stout answered. “It’s the only explanation that fits the observed facts. Matter can’t just cease to exist without a tremendous release of energy, which is what nuclear reactions are all about. That’s not happening here. Somehow, the material I’ve created is reacting to the tuned laser at the quantum level. I think it’s interdimensional.”
“Did you have a practical application in mind?” Freeman asked. “We’re doing very well, but I’m not sure we have the money yet to fund pure research for its own sake. That takes government money.”
“Well, yes. What I hope to do is figure out a way to reverse the process. Once I’ve sent something into another dimension, find a way to bring it back.”
“And what would that get us?”
Stout scratched his goatee thoughtfully, searching for the right way to explain the concept. “OK, Ty, think about it this way. Pretend for a minute you’re having dinner back on the surface of the earth in Bolivia. Suppose I could take that dessert you’re eating and send it to another dimension. From your standpoint, it seems to have disappeared. But it wouldn’t have, actually. It would still exist.
“OK, I got that much.”
“All right, now just suppose, theoretically, that in this other dimension, it’s not on some kind of a carbon copy of the earth. Suppose it’s somewhere in a void, where there’s no lateral velocity like you have when you’re standing on the surface of the planet. In this other dimension, its position relative to us could literally be anywhere, if it follows the rules of quantum mechanics.
“Quantum theory gives me a headache, but OK, I follow,” Freeman said.
Alicia poked at her dessert, her eyes glazing over.
“Good, now suppose I can bring it back. And suppose I can control, very precisely, where I bring it back. It would leave our dimension at point A and return at point B, if it survived the interdimensional shift both ways. If I’m right, there’s probably a temporal shift, too, so from our standpoint, this would all appear to happen instantly. Think about it.”
Freeman stared at the scientist while his mind worked through the concept to a conclusion. After about ten seconds, his face registered the flash of insight Stout was hoping for. “Oh, my God, Thad, you’re talking about teleportation!”
“Ah, you understand,” Stout answered. “I’ve even got a name for the subsidiary company that would develop the technology. We can call it Beam, Incorporated.”
“Do you really think it’s feasible?” Freeman asked.
Thaddeus Stout, Chief Scientist of Freeholdings, Inc., leaned back in his chair and smiled broadly. “Well...”
Freeman laughed. “Don’t tell me, let me guess. You’re working on it.”
About the Author
From the time of his first visit to Bolivia more than 25 years ago and subsequent visits as recently as 2003, Richard N. Tooker has been motivated to tell a story about this beautiful but poorly-understood region of the world and its rich heritage as the cradle of western civilization. A voracious science fiction reader, he resolved to use his favorite genre to craft a tale that would be compelling on many levels - scientifically intriguing, culturally significant, and a highly entertaining read for science fiction fans.
Although this is his first work of fiction, Tooker has been a regularly-published business writer for more than a 15 years. He is also the author of “The Business of Database Marketing” (2006).
A database marketing solutions architect at The KBM Group in Richardson, Texas by day, Richard lives with his wife Victoria in the foothills of the Sierras near Chico, California.
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