Quantum Times

by Bill Diffenderffer

  A young man who was the hottest young country music singer spoke up, “I guess I could have done somethin’ but that was our government’s job to figure out what to do. Not mine.”

  “A fair point. Now Mr. Reynolds. Do you generally have confidence in your government?”

  “Not particularly.” Several people in the room laughed.

  Plato smiled too. “Now we are getting to it. So Mr. Reynolds, who is the government in this case?”

  “The President and his guys.”

  “And who elected them?”

  “The People did.”

  “And who influenced the people?”

  Rusty Reynolds saw where Plato was going and didn’t back away from it. “I guess we all here and the others coming did that. That’s your point, isn’t it? We chose the government; the government screwed up on Korea, Korea blows the shit up. So that makes us here responsible. That’s it, isn’t it?”

  Plato turned back to Washburn, “Is this where all you influencers had to cancel each other out?”

  Washburn shook his head, “My news commentators said this President’s Korea policies were stupid.”

  “You don’t support this President do you?”

  “No sir I don’t.”

  “But you did support the last one?”

  “Yes we did.”

  “But they both had the same policy on Korea, didn’t they?”

  Washburn just nodded and closed his eyes.

  Plato looked into the faces of those in the room. “The difference between what happened to Earth #278 and what happened to the land of Korea is just a matter of degree – both are horrible. But Korea here is a forewarning; Earth #278 is a fatal finality. This Earth is on a pathway that leads to where that Earth ended.

  “It is in your power, your collective power, to determine Earth’s fate.”

  Then he suggested everyone take a fifteen minute break.

  During the break, Plato was approached by the university president Margaret Latham. She said, “Plato, I presume you know the histories of many Earths, is our moment in time right now common among them?”

  Plato nodded, “Though the histories that get them to this point are varied, a moment in time when the world is at a tipping point is not unusual.”

  “Are you optimistic for us?”

  “It depends on how people like those of you here accept responsibility.”

  “In these other worlds does America provide good leadership?”

  Plato shook his head, “In most Earth worlds the United States as you know it does not exist. Historically a continent spanning new nation is an anomaly. Also, your 18th Century revolution often fails. Or the South wins the Civil War – which by the way has devastating consequences for the world where that occurs.”

  “How so?” Howard Kosar, a hedge fund titan who was listening in to the conversation asked.

  “First the United States splits in two. A few years later a major slave rebellion tears apart the South which had been weakened by the War. Texas pulls away and resumes its independence and California follows suit. There is no United States to save Europe in World War I and Germany wins. Germany gets the atom bomb first. There is no United States to restrain Japan in the East, so Germany and Japan in their most militant moments conquer over every other nation, then destroy each other and take the planet down with them.”

  Ms. Latham looked sadly at Plato, “What you are showing us is that as our world develops, what happens politically affects not only our individual lives, it affects our planet’s destiny. It is so interdependent and fragile.”

  Plato called the group together to resume.

  “Government matters!” Plato stated to start the session. “Yet here you treat it as of only occasional interest and put immense power in the hands of inexperienced, ill-informed and arrogant second-raters. Both major parties are equally guilty. You claim to appreciate wisdom and honor, but put forth candidates who have neither. You claim to seek moderation and community but fan the flames of partisanship.

  “And it is you and those like you who are the influencers who are responsible for this!”

  Plato regarded the room. “And unfortunately you do not cancel each other out; rather you help build monolithic blocks incapable of compromise. Who here would say otherwise?”

  “You can’t compromise with people whose views would ruin our great country!” a hugely popular talk show host responded.

  “Thank you Mr. Lewis for speaking up and saying what so many of you obviously think. And you Mr. Winthrop,” Plato said to a famous actor, winner of several Academy Awards, who spouted his political views at every opportunity, “You think Mr. Lewis is completely wrong in his views and believe he should be taken out and shot somewhere – that is something you have been quoted as saying, isn’t that correct?”

  George Winthrop cleared his throat and said, “I was exaggerating. I wouldn’t want him shot…” then relying on his charm and dashing smile, he said, “But a good dog muzzle could be useful.”

  No one laughed.

  Plato continued, “I take no pleasure in this. I am just trying to make you see the consequences of your actions. You have another Presidential election coming up. Are you going to do better than you have in the past?”

  After looking around the room again, Plato changed the discussion. “I have something I’d like you to do now. You are highly intelligent people – you have answers to the problems your country and your world face. So let me ask you to call out solutions that you know are correct and really should be acceptable to the other side. Please, what should your next president do?”

  “Fix education. Our kids are being left behind.”

  “Invest in infrastructure. Infrastructure fuels productivity growth. Productivity growth fuels job creation.”

  “Maintain our military – the world is a dangerous place.”

  “Fix income inequality with more and better jobs!”

  Plato smiled, “You see you do agree. Each of those objectives will require compromise, but if four years from now this country has made no progress on those issues, and others like them, then you are betraying your country and will be contributing to the disaster that follows.”

  Plato was about to move on to his next issue when Catherine Ozawa came in to the lobby and motioned to Plato.

  “You need to come outside and see what has appeared in the sky.”

  Plato and many of the others there in the room went outside to look.

  There slowly creeping across the sky was a cylinder shaped object that everyone looking guessed correctly was not from this Earth.

  David sought out Plato to find out what he knew about the new object in the sky. The news media would be hungry for even a shred of information and Plato’s comments on it would go worldwide. David wanted to be on the front end of the story. And he thought Plato would want to set the tone too.

  When he saw David approaching him, he waved David over.

  “Do you know who they are?” David asked.

  “Yes. I was expecting them.”

  “Are they trouble?”

  “Most definitely.”

  “So what should we say about their arrival -- the world will want to hear from you.”

  “Now is not the time for speeches. Just quote me as saying ‘now is the time to act wisely’.”

  “That’s pretty cryptic.”

  Plato smiled, “All the better.”

  Later that day he sat next to Catherine Ozawa on a low barrier wall separating the beach from the retreat grounds. Looking westward, they saw the sun sliding into the horizon, its job for that day done.

  “I have seen a sun set on a hundred worlds. It is always perfect.” Plato said.

  “It knows what it is to do.” Catherine responded.

  “I hope I do. Things are going to start getting bad now. I had hoped I would have more time before others arrived. I am afraid for this world. I fear losing this one the way I lost the other just before I came here. My ten
years there accomplished nothing and millions of people died because of my failure. That world was so similar to this one. I could not bear that again. I would have to stop my Don Quixote wanderings and return to my own world.”

  Catherine Ozawa saw the pain still so fresh in his face. She reached out and took his hand and held it against her thigh. “Put down that baggage. You have learned from your experience on that other world so now put that other world away. Live in this one.”

  The horizon was painted in a broad-brushed flowing rose; even as the sky darkened, its rosy glow lingered, unwilling to surrender until the last moment.

  “You see that sky there,” Catherine pointed to the horizon. “Well I was here yesterday at this same time and the sunset was a feeble, unremarkable one. Yet our celestial painter once more took out his brush today undeterred by yesterday’s failure.”

  Plato turned away from the horizon to look into the face of the woman next to him. Without saying anything he lifted their entwined hands and kissed the back of hers. Then he turned his gaze back to the quiet ocean.

  “Dr. Einstein, Why is it that when the mind of man has stretched so far as to discover the structure of the atom, we have been unable to devise the political means to keep the atom from destroying us?”

  “That is simple my friend. It is because politics is more difficult than physics.”

  Albert Einstein

  Part Two

  Time: Three weeks later

  Chapter Ten

  “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  It was with more than a little trepidation that David mounted the steps to what he could only describe as a shuttle craft that looked like it belonged in a Star Trek movie. He had been directed to an out of the way field in northern New Jersey to catch his ride up to the second Object that had suddenly appeared over the world’s skies three weeks ago. He now knew the name of this Object was The Freya. The craft to take him to The Freya had arrived almost immediately after he had parked his car along the side of the infrequently used road.

  A soldier in a tight fitting, dark grey uniform had come out of the door of the craft and beckoned for him to come forward. David approached and said hello. Without any response to his greeting, the soldier patted David down and David was directed to hand over his backpack and the soldier looked through it. There wasn’t much in it – just his laptop, a pad of paper, some pens, a Kindle and some bottled water. Then the soldier gestured for him to take a seat with a harness. He placed his backpack between his feet and strapped in, the door was closed and the shuttle launched upwards. Not a word had been said by the soldier. That did not make David feel more comfortable.

  Two days earlier while sitting at his desk in his New York apartment writing an article for The Washington Post about the importance of philosophy in Plato’s homeworld, he had received an email telling him he had been granted an interview with the Captain of The Freya. David was stunned since he had not asked for an interview and thus far there had been only a video message when the new Object first arrived. In that video message, which had been picked up world-wide, the Captain had been stern and succinct: he and his crew had come to observe this new Earth and would meet with this earth’s leaders in due course. There was no reason for alarm.

  In the email David had been told where to go and when to be there. He had been told to come alone. It said he had been granted this exclusive interview because he seemed to be the leading journalist on the subject of ‘Many Earths.’ That was all the email said. Its tone was more of a command then an invitation.

  Gabriela came in to the apartment soon after he had read the email. She tossed her backpack into the corner of the couch and plopped down next to it. She kicked off her shoes and asked him what was new.

  David looked over at her and considered whether to mention the prospective interview. He knew she’d be concerned – she saw risks where he didn’t and even he could see there were risks here. Just sitting there on the couch with her black hair pulled back in a ponytail and only a trace of make-up, he still found her irresistible and he wanted to share this new development with her.

  He read her the email. “So what do you think?”

  “Have you told Plato?” she asked.

  “No. I haven’t decided whether I should or not.”

  “Why wouldn’t you?”

  “My instincts tell me to keep things simple. If I tell Plato, it will add a degree of complexity. From what Plato has said in the past, these other Earths have their own interests and agendas, interests sometimes hostile to Plato’s.”

  Gabriela did not like hearing any of this. “But he might tell you that going to them is dangerous!”

  “Probably would.”

  “David, you are a science writer – not some kind of wartime correspondent. You are not the dashing, danger-seeking type.”

  “Nice to know you think I’m a wuss.”

  “That’s not what I mean. I’ve been very proud of all that you’ve been doing. Your writing is published all over the world; people everywhere look to you to understand how things will change, whether they should be afraid or not, what they should believe. You have taken the lead in explaining to the world one of the greatest stories of all time.”

  David ignored the tightening feeling in his stomach. In the last months he had found it best to not think too much about his particular role in what was going on. He was not some important player on the world stage; he was just writing about the goings-on. His job was to be a chronicler not a participant. He was more determined than he had ever been in his life to do what he was doing as well as he could do it. “And that’s why I have to go … you know that, right?”

  Gabriela regarded David with a look of both concern and respect. She had always thought David blessed with a wonderful mind that was mostly wasted through a rudder-less ambition. He wanted to do great things but could never pick which one. Now he had his mind and ambition focused on the same thing – but it was something that was huge, complex and dangerous. And now she feared for him whenever he was out of her sight. “Can I go too?”

  “Hell no! … I mean the email said I have to come alone.” Actually he wished someone else would be going with him – just not his girlfriend.

  The inside of The Freya left no doubt that it was a military vessel. What he could see was all very utilitarian and cramped. There was no decoration. David had once been on a new nuclear submarine and this spaceship reminded him of that – though it was larger than the sub. The people he saw, both men and women, all wore the form fitted dark grey uniform, all walked or stood with ramrod posture, all went about their business with precision and discipline and no idle chatter.

  Upon arrival at the ship David had been met by a tall reddish haired and bearded man who introduced himself as Lieutenant Benson, the communications officer.

  Benson told David that it was he who would first answer David’s questions, and then David would be introduced to the Captain for any questions that Benson needed to defer to the Captain. David was led to a small room with a table and two chairs and pointed to the one David was to sit at. David took the seat and pulled out a small pad of paper to take notes even though he planned to record. Also he pulled out one of the two small water bottles he carried. As he sat across from David, Benson said to record the conversation if he wished. David did.

  “Lieutenant, if we could start with your telling me about the Earth you come from and then why you are here? Then I’ll follow up with questions I might have.”

  “Excellent. First, I should say that though we have been studying your Earth since we arrived six weeks ago --”

  “I’m sorry,” interrupted David, “I thought you arrived three weeks ago?”

  “Six weeks is correct – we only made our presence known three weeks ago.”

  “I see.”

  “As I was about to say, “Our understanding of your Earth is still quite limited. For example on
my world, your country, the United States, does not exist. In fact I come from a city that is where you now live – the City you call New York is New Narvik in my Earth and is part of a country you think of as Scandinavia. As I think you now know, our Earths multiply through a physics you call ‘Many Worlds’. I believe my Earth and your Earth shared a common history until about the 11th Century. In your history, the Vikings came to North America and settled in Greenland but did not settle permanently in North America. In our history, Vikings roamed further south and set up a permanent settlement in what you call Massachusetts. From there our hunters and farmers established towns and cities. Our Scandinavia covers now a large part of Europe and the eastern coast of what you call the United States and Canada.”

  “A very different history from that point forward, I’m sure. “ David’s mind spun as he considered the differences.

  “Yes. We are a Viking culture.”

  “So why are you here now?” David asked.

  “We are here because it is the nature of Vikings to go to all new lands. But do not worry, we no longer rape and pillage. Though our traditions are honored, we have long ago learned the importance of peaceful co-existence. Besides, as I think you know, the physical laws that separate our worlds only allow for limited and focused interaction.”

  “So I’ve been told. But why is that?”

  “I am a warrior not a scientist, but my understanding is that since we move across the dimensional boundaries that separate us based on ‘mentalization’ as you call it, only those who can sustain that mentalization within the community of travelers can transport themselves and their limited equipment. As the size of the group of people to transport together increases, the spillage of distracted mindsets causes disruption in the transportation. As the number of people increases, so does the spillage, with disastrous consequences – so no armies can cross the dimensions.”