“We tend to be most critical of ourselves,” continued Hubbard, “and these criticisms are amplified in the news. This self-hatred can be divisive, but many are driven to it out of laudable motives, even when they’re misguided or misinformed. We seek to better ourselves, and to be accepting of other cultures. But the result is often that we’re hypersensitive to the slightest hint of injustice in our own country, while ignoring appalling abuses in others. Many of us even hold these other countries up as shining examples, when the opposite is true.”
Allie knew that this speech was also well-rehearsed, as it must be getting harder to recruit scientists to the US cause when the media was often obsessed with portraying America in the worst light possible.
“No need to convince me, Colonel,” she said. “I don’t hate this country. And while I once thought that China’s rulers were gracious and benevolent, that was when I was growing up. That façade has been cracking for years now.”
“I’m glad to hear that you’ve been paying attention,” said the colonel. “But it’s much worse than you know. The Chinese Communist Party has set its sights firmly on dominating the entire world. And they could well be one scientific breakthrough away from succeeding.”
“Which brings us to you,” said Zachary Reed. “You’re a very special case. For a number of reasons. Until now, the tech war has been a cold one. Secret. Underground. There’s been a lot of jockeying for position, for the best people and discoveries, but it’s been fairly orderly.”
He smiled. “Well, using a pretty loose definition of ‘fairly orderly.’ Numerous parties are involved, but I’ll describe the state of play using just US and China as examples. Both sides have been busy placing bets on game-changing technologies, recruiting the best people possible, and stealing or sabotaging important work controlled by the other side. And we’ve both been lavishly funding those pursuing the most promising research.”
“But aren’t you only funding work so you can get exclusive access?”
“That’s one reason, yes,” said Hubbard. “But not the only one. In many cases we fund long-shot projects that wouldn’t be funded otherwise. And we can only keep advances out of the public domain with the consent of the inventors. Often we decide the work won’t impact the balance of world power and share it with the public, even if we have a right not to. And some won’t accept our funding. Those who don’t, we monitor. So we can know about game-changing discoveries before the rest of the world. And can make sure China doesn’t steal the research, or recruit the researchers, posing as an American company or institute.”
“Which is what the guy I spoke with this morning must have been doing. He posed as the CEO of a company based in Tucson and tried to recruit me.”
“Exactly,” said Hubbard. “We monitor scientists to prevent them from being misled. And for their safety. China also monitors top scientists around the globe. The resources required to stay on top of this are enormous, as the importance of science and technology has continued to grow explosively throughout the world.”
“In fact,” added Reed, “Tech Ops is the fastest growing organization in US military history. It’s become almost its own small branch of the armed services, even though neither the public nor military knows it exists.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have you on our radar.”
“Wow,” said Allie, making a face. “Tech Ops is big and powerful enough to look under every stone. And yet I still didn’t make the cut. You really know how to flatter a girl.”
The colonel sighed. “My fault, Dr. Keane,” she said miserably. “I’ve been shortsighted. In retrospect, your genius was always obvious. And your Ph.D. thesis was groundbreaking. Should have put you well onto our radar, despite anything that came before. And speaking of that, it’s become very clear that Abraham Sena framed you—and we fell for it.”
Allie sighed. “You’re in good company.”
“Well, now that you’ve made the world aware of your true genius,” said Reed, “Sena’s days are numbered. We’ll make sure he’s investigated so thoroughly he can’t possibly slime his way out. He may have covered his tracks, but we’ll make sure the truth comes out. It’s time to ruin a scientist who deserves to be ruined.”
An expression of white-hot rage crossed Allie’s face, but only for a moment. “Now that’s something I’d like to see.”
“And you will,” said Reed decisively. “What he did to you was unconscionable. And the main reason you were off our radar.”
Allie nodded sullenly.
“Even so,” he added, “the colonel pointed out to me that you’re in great company. Apparently, Einstein and Newton were totally off the radar when they did their best work. Most believe they wouldn’t have revolutionized science if this wasn’t true.”
Reed paused, as if wary of forging ahead. “So as perverse as it might be,” he said finally, having decided to go for it, “and knowing you might resent me for saying this, it’s possible that if Sena hadn’t ruined your life, you wouldn’t have had the insights you’ve had. You would have had a brilliant career at a prestigious institution, for sure. But this may have chained you to mainstream thinking.”
Allie had an immediate knee-jerk revulsion to the very thought that this might be true. What audacity for Reed to even suggest something good could have come from Sena’s atrocities. But as her rational mind battled its way through a dark cloud of emotion, she couldn’t help but find the thesis fascinating. The colonel was right. Newton and Einstein wouldn’t have been Newton and Einstein if they’d been in the mainstream at the time.
“Something to think about, Commander,” she said, biting the words off as if they were acid. The idea was still very unsettling. “But not right now,” she added decisively. “Let’s move on.”
“Of course,” said Hubbard. “I believe we were explaining why you’re such a special case, Dr. Keane. First, as we’ve just discussed, you’d never been approached by any of the parties before. No funding, no contracts, no monitoring. So when the shit . . . the breakthrough . . . did hit the fan, you were naked. Fair game for all. With no signs of previous claims on you that would be harshly enforced.”
The colonel paused. “And since Tech Ops was founded,” she continued, “no breakthroughs of this magnitude have ever exploded onto the world stage with as little warning as this. Even if someone out of left field submitted a paper to a scientific journal, we have contacts that would have tipped us off before publication.”
“It’s the Wild West out there,” added Reed. “But at least everyone has basic survival skills. If a gunslinger comes into the saloon, you hide. But you, Allie,” he added in exasperation, “you panned for gold in a location everyone else was sure was dry. And when you struck gold, anyway, you didn’t file a quiet claim. You plastered the news on a billboard. A move that in the Wild West comes with predictable results.”
Allie groaned. “Really, Zach?” she said in amusement. “Talk about your tortured metaphors.” Even so, she had to admit that he had painted a surprisingly effective picture.
“Okay,” he said with an impish smile. “I’ll stop. But you’re missing out on a killer covered-wagon metaphor I had ready to go.”
Allie laughed. “I guess I’ll just have to live with that,” she said.
Reed allowed himself a brief smile and then became serious once again. “Getting back on topic,” he continued, “there are two final aspects of this situation that make it unprecedented. First, not all breakthroughs have the potential to tip the scales of world power like this one. And second, you disclosed enough to convince other scientists you’d made a revolutionary breakthrough. But you held enough back that they couldn’t run with it. Worse, you kept the key pieces of it in your head. So those parties desperate to corner your discovery couldn’t just steal a computer file to get it. Even if they could, for something this revolutionary, they’d want you on board anyway. Who better to drive a discovery forward and push past any obstacles than the genius who came up with it?”
Allie shook her head miserably. “Sorry to have triggered all of this,” she said. “But I didn’t kick the hornet’s nest on purpose. I thought it would take years for my work to be accepted. You tell me I set off a hydrogen bomb. But I thought I was just lighting a candle at my kitchen table.”
The colonel nodded. “Like I said, the ferocity of the response surprised us too. I sent Commander Reed and made sure he had backup, but I never thought it would come close to what it came to. I thought various parties would get into a bidding war for you, counting on money and persuasion to win the day. That they’d try to trip up other competitors in ways that weren’t pretty. But abducting you so brazenly on US soil. And hiring an army of mercenaries to guard their flank. Incredible.”
“I still don’t see what about my work is important enough to risk war,” said Allie. “How it could shift the balance of world power so dramatically. Can you tell me what I’m missing?”
“I’d be happy to,” said Hubbard.
“Before we go there, Allie,” said the commander, “I’d love to take a quick detour. If you don’t mind. I’m new to Tech Ops, and I was thrown onto your case at the last second. So I’d be grateful if you could spend five or ten minutes bringing me up to speed on quantum computers and the nature of your work.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” said Allie cheerfully.
17
Allie Keane gazed at the ruggedly handsome face of the man who had saved her life. “Before I begin, I’m curious. If you’re new to Tech Ops, what did you do before?”
Reed sighed. “I kept busy with other things,” he replied.
“Tell her, Commander,” said Hubbard. “No time to get cagey now. Nothing to be embarrassed about, and we’re dedicated to full disclosure here.”
“I was a member of SEAL Team Six.”
Allie stared into his eyes and shook her head. “Of course you were,” she said with a whimsical smile. “Makes perfect sense.”
She studied him for several additional seconds and then continued. “So . . . Commander, are you familiar with quantum mechanics?”
Quantum mechanics dealt with the submicroscopic realm, where things got very, very weird. Still, even though its implications were impossible for anyone to truly fathom, it was the most successful theory ever produced. It had been able to make predictions with breathtaking accuracy, and was responsible for almost a third of the global economy, including computers, cell phones, MRIs, lasers, and all other electronics.
In 1801, Thomas Young had come up with an ingenious experiment to determine, once and for all, if light was composed of particles or waves. He cut two slits into a metal plate, side by side, and placed a screen behind the plate. If photons were tiny particles, then sending a stream of them through both slits should generate two lines on the screen, right behind the two slits. If photons were waves, the peaks and troughs of the waves going through each slit would reinforce or cancel each other, creating a barcode pattern on the screen.
A breathtakingly elegant and simple experiment that was sure to determine the true behavior of light.
But Nature had other ideas.
If you sent a stream of photons through the slits, you got a barcode. A clear indication that light traveled as a wave. But, shockingly, this was far from the final answer. Because if you shot photons through one at a time, you still got a barcode.
That was impossible. It made sense that photons going through both slits could interfere with each other. But how could a single photon going through one slit at a time do the same? A single photon couldn’t split, go through both slits as a wave, and interfere with itself.
Yet it did.
Stranger still, if you tried to cheat by watching a slit to see what was happening, the pattern changed. Suddenly, instead of a barcode on the screen, you got the two-line pattern characteristic of particles.
Nature seemed to know when you were looking.
This was only the beginning of the crazy effects of quantum mechanics. Particles could be joined, entangled, and have some kind of instantaneous metaphysical connection, even across the entire universe. Particles could be at an infinity of places at once, and popped into and out of existence randomly, creating a froth of particles and energy in the vacuum of space.
Perhaps the most popular theory to account for these jaw-dropping observations suggested that a particle could be anywhere until it was observed, the probabilities of finding it in any one position dictated by something called a wave function. Once it was observed, though, it immediately collapsed to a discrete location. On some level, the reality of the universe depended on conscious observers.
The implications of this had been causing physicists to pull out their hair for over a century.
Reed held Allie’s gaze, deciding how best to answer her question about his knowledge of quantum physics. “Let’s just say that I’m familiar with the basics,” he replied. “Double slit experiments. Collapse of the wave function. Entanglement. Quantum tunneling. And so on.”
“Impressive,” said Allie.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” said Reed. “I know it fairly well at a layman’s level, but I can’t pretend any of it makes sense to me.”
Allie smiled. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t make sense to anyone.”
“Actually, it’s worse than that,” said the commander. “The more I read, the less I understand.”
“I know the feeling.”
“Yeah, somehow I doubt that,” said Reed. “But don’t waste time trying to help me understand it better. I’m a lost cause. If you could skip ahead to a thirty-thousand-foot overview of quantum computing, I’ll stipulate that the quantum mechanics behind it is real. I’ve recently come up to speed on the implications of the ultimate quantum computer. What it would mean for the world. But I know almost nothing about its nuts and bolts.”
“Few do,” said Allie. “The field can be treacherously complex. But to boil it down to its basics—in an epic oversimplification—traditional computers use bits to compute. A bit is either on . . . or it’s off. Either a one . . . or a zero. And just using ones and zeroes you can express any number, although it takes a lot of ones and zeroes strung together.”
She paused. “But a quantum computer uses quantum bits, or qubits. These give you more options than just a one or a zero, and a collection of them can represent all possible states at the same time. If a traditional computer wants to find its way out of a maze, it will try every possible path, one at a time. A quantum computer, on the other hand, can try all possible pathways simultaneously. Tends to speed things up. Like having an unfathomable number of traditional computers running side by side. Three hundred qubits can represent more values than there are atoms in the observable universe.”
“That seems like a lot,” said Reed with a wry smile.
Allie grinned. “In 2019, Google announced that it had used these principals to build a 54-qubit system. It was able to solve a math problem in less than four minutes that would have taken the world’s fastest supercomputer ten thousand years to complete.”
“So why am I hearing that a true quantum computer is decades away?”
“Because systems like the one Google boasted about use something called quantum annealing. Long story, but they aren’t true computers. They can dazzle, but they’re extremely limited as to the problems they can tackle. It’s as if you made a grand announcement that you can travel at the speed of light. But you left out that you can only do so inside a one-square-mile patch of desert in Arizona. And that if you’re anywhere else in the universe, yo
u’re slower than a snail.
“The bottom line is this,” she continued. “Problems you’d really want such a computer to solve require many thousands, if not millions, of qubits. And scaling them up, let alone getting them all to work in concert, has proven impossible.”
“Thank you,” said Reed, staring deeply into Allie’s fiery green eyes. “That was helpful. And leads us nicely back to your work. Because scaling up qubits isn’t impossible anymore, is it? Not after your discoveries.”
“I’d like to think that’s true,” she replied. “In addition to being easily scalable, I believe the qubits I’ve theorized will have many additional advantages. There are a number of other exceedingly difficult hurdles that one needs to clear to get to a true quantum computer. You have to be able to initialize your qubits in a known state. They need to have long decoherence times. You have to measure them and apply universal gates. And you have to correct for errors, which occur in quantum computers millions of times more frequently than in classical ones.”
Allie paused for this to sink in.
“And individual qubits,” she continued, “at least the kind being pursued by the mainstream, are exquisitely fragile. They have to be kept in absolute isolation. Any interactions with the environment and you can’t use them. And I mean any. A single photon will ruin quantum coherence. To build perfectly coherent qubits, you have to control all stray electric and magnetic fields, and eliminate all atomic vibrations. Meaning the qubits have to be in a vacuum and very near the coldest temperature the universe allows, where all molecular vibration stops. Using the Fahrenheit scale, this is approximately four hundred sixty degrees below zero.”
Reed nodded thoughtfully. “Fascinating,” he said. “So when you claim to be able to build qubits that work at room temperature, that’s a very big deal.”
“It’s an important step, yes.”
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