Joshua nodded, hardly able to accept his own theory. “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he said. “Hey, it was your thought experiment, and this is the only possible answer to your hypothetical question. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it kinda makes sense.”
In her excitement, Rachael’s foot depressed the accelerator, inching the car’s speed to seventy. She gripped the wheel more tightly as her breathing quickened at the answer—both outrageous and bold—tendered by her companion.
“How does it make sense?” Rachael asked.
“Remember when I said that, at higher energy levels, spookyons could be created using smaller elements with smaller nuclei?” Joshua said with excitement in his voice.
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s not actually the nuclei that are required. It’s the protons in the nuclei. But creating spookyons with only naked protons would require an extremely high energy level. Within the first few minutes of the Big Bang, protons and neutrons came into existence. At that point the entire universe was contained in a small space but also had an extreme amount of energy—enough possibly to allow naked protons to create spookyons.”
“Josh,” Rachael said in a whisper as the weight of what Joshua said was beginning to sink in, “the entire universe expanded from a single point. If what you’re saying is true, then there are trillions—or a trillion trillion—spookyons permeating the universe, and their entanglement creates a cosmic communications network.”
“I know.”
“We’re starting to sound a lot like those hippie scientists from the sixties.”
Joshua couldn’t suppress a laugh—or the continued speculation about an endless number of spookyons existing in every corner of the cosmos. “Rachael, imagine if it’s true.”
“If it’s true, Dr. Joshua Andrews is going to soon be giving his own lectures at Wheeler when he’s not doing the talk show circuit. But something bothers me about all this. We’ve engaged in some pretty wild conjecture for the past fifteen minutes even though it seems to make sense and represents the only explanation for what we saw in the mine, but if it’s true, then—”
Joshua anticipated what she was going to say next. “Then we didn’t create the spookyon contained in this sphere in the tokamak at all.”
Rachael nodded, her eyes on the Interstate as eighteen-wheelers blew past, sending large plumes of rain cascading onto the left side of the car and windshield. They were now traveling south on the 101 headed towards Palo Alto. The car drifted slightly to the left each time it was caught in the Venturi effect of a passing big rig. “You read my mind.”
“I’m way ahead of you,” Joshua said, growing more enthusiastic by the minute. “Yes, we just happened to trap a spookyon when the capture procedure was in progress.”
“I’d call that winning at Galactic Powerball.”
“Not really. Stay me with me on this and recall my basic assumption. If spookyons were created by the Big Bang, they would be plentiful in the universe and be distributed evenly throughout what is called the Picard Topology. In 1884, Emile Picard theorized that the cosmos was shaped like an elongated, expanding horn. Picture the main tube of a slide trombone, and you’ll see what Picard was getting at. As the universe expanded, spookyons were evenly distributed through the end of its horn shape and in quantities that stagger the imagination. If that’s correct, then it really isn’t so farfetched that we captured one.”
“But you’re saying that one of these particles was free-floating through space and just happened to land in the sphere. The odds are still against us. Not trying to be a buzz kill, just attempting to play devil’s advocate. What’s the famous maxim governing science? Extraordinary claims call for extraordinary proof.”
“I agree with you one hundred percent, but maybe the capture wasn’t so random.”
“How so?”
“Because we were actively trying to attract one, and I know with certainty that spookyons are attracted to heavy metals regardless of how they are created. Yes, we trapped a spookyon that’s as old as the universe, but it was because we were looking for one with the right equipment. Until Henry came along, nobody believed in them and therefore there was no active search. After five years, however, my refined techniques have proven sound. The particle in sphere 1 gravitated towards the sphere because we were attracting it. Maybe the new formulation of the heavy metals in the container lids attracts spookyons created by the Big Bang.”
“Quite convincing,” Rachael conceded, shuddering. “It’s almost too much to take in, but everything you’ve laid out is logical.”
“More than logical,” Joshua added. “Science indeed demands rigorous proof, but that’s exactly what we may be in the process of finding—proof—if your friend’s algorithm re-establishes contact.”
“But only if the aliens, wherever they may be, are still transmitting,” Rachael said. “Remember the WOW! signal that the Big Ear Antenna at Ohio State University found. It vanished after only a few seconds and was never detected again even though no one has ever been able to adequately explain it.”
“But we’ve already got so much more than that. We have the sequence of color changes recorded on a hard drive, and it not only changed according to mathematical constants, but the sequence repeated over and over, unlike the WOW! signal. I mean, this blows SETI out of the water. All of a sudden, looking for extraterrestrials using radio telescopes seems archaic. No wonder we haven’t found signals from intelligent life before. We’ve been searching the wrong medium. No intelligent species with the knowledge of spookyons would use radio transmission to communicate. Any truly advanced civilization would only use spookyons to communicate since there’s no lag time of years, decades, or centuries in trying to open a dialogue with an intelligent species. In the space of minutes, they already sent multiple mathematical signals. It makes sense—perfect sense. We replied to the transmission, and I hope they’re waiting for more.”
“Remarkable,” Rachael said. “I have a feeling you may be on to something, but we still need Vinod’s help. I’ve got a gut feeling that the mathematical constants are only an introduction of sorts. Of course, you realize that if all this pans out, you’re going to change mankind’s understanding of its place in the universe. This could be the biggest discovery ever made in the annals of science. In all of human history, for that matter. In doing so, you might rattle some philosophical and theological cages. Are you prepared for the fallout?”
“You mean are we prepared for the fallout,” Joshua replied turning to Rachael. “At this point, this is as much your discovery as it is mine.”
Rachael looked towards Joshua with a slight grin on her face. He was definitely a refreshing change from the typical researcher she was accustomed to, most of whom were very protective of their work. Their careers, after all, depended on their research and the papers they published. The typical scientist was reluctant to share credit for an amazing discovery, but in what could be the most significant discovery in all of science, Joshua was freely willing to share this with her. She found his egalitarian attitude very refreshing.
“Galileo rattled some cages too,” Joshua continued, “but scientists have an obligation to the truth. Sooner or later, Ptolemy was going to be supplanted by Copernicus, and those guys didn’t have social media to spread the word.”
Rachael glanced in her rearview mirror and saw that an eighteen-wheeler was drawing uncomfortably close to her rear bumper.
“Entanglement on a cosmic scale, not to mention universal communication,” she said. “No wonder Einstein was freaked out by the very idea of entanglement, and it’s going to freak out a lot more people if Vinod re-establishes contact.”
“But what would—will—we tell each other?” Joshua wondered out loud.
Rachael, overwhelmed by the worldwide implications of the concepts they’d discussed, inhaled and let out a deep breath before chuckling. “We could start by saying it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. You know—something non-th
reatening and benign.”
“That’s something else I’ve been turning over in my mind,” Joshua said. “Whose galactic neighborhood are we even talking about? This intelligence could be in the Milky Way—maybe even close by—or in another galaxy altogether. Maybe even billions of light years away if my theory of the uniform spread of spookyons after the Big Bang is sound. That’s a mindbender.”
“The real mindbender is that we’ll go a step further than SETI and be able to have meaningful communication with these beings in real time.”
“That depends,” Joshua asserted. “Swapping mathematical constants is one thing. It verifies that both civilizations have reached a certain technological level, but how do we turn math into a true exchange of information, such as ideas on culture, technology, and beliefs?”
“That’s where Vinod comes in,” Rachael replied. “He can not only help re-establish contact but create the basis for dialogue. His algorithm is that powerful.”
Joshua’s curiosity was piqued. “That’s an incredible discovery in itself. How come he hasn’t published it?”
Rachael slowed to sixty again since the rain had intensified further as they traveled south down the 101, the big rig still on her tail. She nevertheless remained calm and in control of the vehicle.
Joshua couldn’t help but note that her cheeks had a rosy, youthful color. Maybe she was excited by the possibilities they were discussing, and then again maybe it was just makeup. The bat cave had been dark, and he’d been absorbed in the test earlier that afternoon. And he had, after all, been doing his level best not to keep staring at her. Either way, he was now sitting beside her and couldn’t help being struck by her presence. Well, first things first, he told himself. They might be talking with ET, and he needed to retain his focus—if that was possible.
“Vinod works for a startup now,” Rachael explained, “but right after college he did some volunteer work for SETI. As someone in information theory, he wasn’t as much interested in finding a signal from outer space as much as what we would do if we ever got a signal. How would we establish communication? He wrote a computer algorithm that uses mathematical constants as a base to progress to language—that’s the short version. He’ll explain it in more detail when we get there.”
“But how reliable is his algorithm? Are we his guinea pigs? You talk like this guy has been around the block and has proven technology. What’s his track record?”
“He’s shared a little with me,” Rachael said, “although I think that, despite our long friendship, he knows I’m a reporter, and reporters like to quote anonymous sources. Still, he trusts me, and I’ll tell you in confidence that his algorithm has been tested on artificial intelligence. Vinod’s dropped some hints that AI is much farther along than anybody knows except for some tech gurus in Silicon Valley. And the government, of course. The military is always ahead of the technology curve.”
The rain was still coming down in sheets. Joshua felt uneasy as Rachael navigated through the heavy rain with only an intermittent view of the road ahead. The wipers were on high, but they were having trouble keeping up with the deluge. Rachael, though, still seemed completely in control.
“I think you’ve got your article now,” Joshua said. “That aside, Vinod may have to reveal the ultimate capabilities of his algorithm if he’s going to help us.”
“I’ve got enough for an entire book,” Rachael said. “And you’re right about the algorithm. This will test its potential to the max, and I don’t see any way that he’ll be able to keep this under his hat assuming we want to announce what we’ve found. We’ll have to offer proof of whatever communication might ensue, even if it remains purely mathematical in content.” Rachael glanced sideways for a split second. “You talked about Vinod being discreet earlier. You’re not contemplating sitting on a discovery of this magnitude, are you?”
Joshua was silent for several moments. “No,” he said at last. “The creed at SETI has always been that any signal they received would be for all mankind. I think I’d have to follow the same protocol except . . .” His voice tailed away as he gazed vacantly out the passenger window at the impending nightfall. “We still haven’t verified anything yet, and we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. But assuming that the conversation continues, we don’t know what this intelligence might tell us. Recall, if you will, that Stephen Hawking warned SETI against revealing anything about humanity.”
“C’mon, Josh. This is too big to sit on. We already have evidence of communication even before Vinod runs the algorithm. Whatever the content of the communication, you have a moral obligation to go public. Sure, the intelligence is likely to be advanced, but so what? Maybe information travels faster than light, but not interstellar craft. It’s not like anyone’s going to drop in for a visit.”
“That’s true,” Joshua replied staring out of the passenger window. “So how do you know Vinod? What’s he like?”
“We actually met at Berkeley while in line waiting for Henry’s lecture. He’s a mixture of old school and new. Cool and geeky all at the same time. He’s definitely got a unique personality though. A great guy overall.”
“Sounds like our man, Rachael. Another good call.”
“Journalism 101. Always think one step ahead.”
“There’s that spooky action in your brain again.”
“Not too weird for ya?” Rachael asked. She glanced to her left. The big rig that had been tailgating was now trying to pass her. Its wheels were causing a constant spray onto the windshield.
“What’s weird is that we’re having this conversation at all. I woke up this morning hoping for entanglement in spookyons we created, not talking with intelligence that could be hiding anywhere in the known universe.”
Looking at Joshua and then the case on the floor, Rachael laughed. “I wouldn’t worry about using all your free minutes or roaming fees.”
“Look out!” Joshua called.
The persistent eighteen-wheeler had finally made its move to get ahead of the Prius and was changing from the passing lane to the right-hand lane before fully clearing the front of the Toyota.
Rachael turned the wheel to the right as the rear end of the rig swung within a foot of the hood. The car skidded onto the shoulder of the Interstate, headed for a ravine.
Joshua looked with horror at the unfolding accident. His one thought was not for his own safety, but that the sphere in the case—a link to possible proof of extraterrestrial life—might break or end up buried in the mud after the Prius had made a few rolls before crashing. Would anyone look for it? More importantly, what would a state trooper do with it even if it were found?
12
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Rachael took her foot from the accelerator and steered left again, into the direction of the skid, as the eighteen-wheeler cleared the front of the vehicle. The Prius was now coasting straight down the narrow shoulder. She gently depressed the accelerator to give the front wheel drive needed traction and eased the car back onto the highway.
Joshua exhaled with relief, the case now in his lap as he’d instinctively clutched it and brought it out of the passenger well.
“That was a close one,” he said. “Nice driving. How’d you know to do that?”
“It was mostly instinctual, but I once wrote an article on force vectors, mass, and acceleration,” Rachael replied. “It’s basic physics.”
“I have a new respect for science writing,” he said, relieved that nothing truly disastrous had happened.
Rachael relaxed in her seat as she continued to drive.
“Josh, I’ve been wondering about something. Where could this signal be coming from? Is there any way to find out?”
“Absolutely impossible,” Joshua replied. “Unlike radio waves, entangled communication with particles has absolutely no directional component. There’s no way to determine the source location of the signal. Also, given the fact that there is no signal loss with distance, and given that there are millions of galaxies
out there, most likely this signal is not local in origin if you consider the size of the cosmos. Mathematically, the odds are against it.”
“Interesting.”
“Anyway, even if we wanted to find out and they wanted to tell us where they were, they couldn’t do it.”
“Why not?”
“Because we have no common point of reference. We’d need that in order to send location information. We have no idea where they are just as they have no idea where we are.”
“Whew, that’s a relief,” Rachael said tongue in cheek. “It’s good to know that no invasion fleet is on the way.”
“Besides, even if they knew where we are and could travel at light speed, which I’m sure they can’t, it would take millions or even billions of years to get here. But invasion?”
“Well, you were the one talking about Star Wars.”
“You have a habit of observing people very closely,” Joshua noted. “Might make some people feel uncomfortable.”
“Reporters are observant by nature—at least the good ones are—and you’re right. It sometimes causes people to feel a little uneasy, as if they’re under scrutiny, but it makes them cough up the truth faster. Journalism 102. Watch, wait, and record, which I’ve been doing every minute since you showed me the tokamak and the creation of a spookyon.”
“Speaking of making things happen faster, when are we going to get to your friend’s house? The intelligence controlling the other spookyon may have hung up on us.”
“Almost there,” Rachael replied. “Vinod lives in Palo Alto.”
A short time later, Rachel arrived at a neighborhood in northern Palo Alto. She swung into the driveway of an average two-story suburban home.
“We’re here,” she said. “And for the record, your average Uber driver wouldn’t have this kind of scientific connection.”
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