The God Patent

by Ransom Stephens

  The next morning, a Tuesday, the New York Times headline blared, “Christians Discover Science They Like.” The Washington Post: “Little Christian College Beats Big Labs to the Punch.” Not even college newspapers could resist the sensation; the Daily Princetonian ran “Evangelical Word U Embarrasses Institute for Advanced Study.”

  Emmy stared at the San Francisco Chronicle headline: “Physics and Bible Get Married in Texas.” Bile rose in the back of her throat. She wanted to fight. She wanted to cry.

  She had a dozen phone messages, most from colleagues offering support. Four of the messages caught her by surprise. The first was from the director of LBL, whom she’d threatened the day before. He said that he and the director of SLAC wanted her to represent the labs. The second message was from the director of SLAC, echoing the first and adding that he was checking with the National Academy of Sciences to coordinate a response with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

  The third message floored her. CNN asked her to appear on Wolf Blitzer’s The Situation Room later that afternoon with Foster Reed and Ryan McNear.

  The last message, left just a few minutes before she sat down, was from Ryan, and it brought Emmy back to Earth like a falling satellite. “I’m worried about Katarina. She got arrested Saturday night. I think she’s in big trouble. Could you come up and talk to her? She got busted with meth and,”—Ryan’s voice cracked—“and for having sex in the alley behind Skate-n-Shred. Her mom is in total denial. Anyway, call me. I missed you this weekend. I hope you got caught up—love you.”

  Foster Reed was in his lab when he got the call. Mabel popped her head in the door. “Dr. Reed, y’all have a call from Washington—CNN wants you on that Wolf Blitzer show…”

  Foster looked up at Mabel. What was she doing here? The phone? “CNN? Have them call Jeb.”

  She said, “The CNN boys want you, Dr. Reed.”

  The media had an effective feedback loop: every news outlet was compelled to out-sensationalize the other. By midafternoon, MSNBC was questioning religious leaders about evidence for Noah’s great flood. They said that the flood explained away the scientific establishment’s so-called evidence that Earth was four billion years old. That the actual age was six thousand years, as calculated from the Bible, and that such seeming contradictions as seashells found at the top of mountains and the formation of the Grand Canyon all made sense in the light of the great flood.

  Members of both the state of Kansas and Dover School Boards—the people who had fought at the Supreme Court to have Creation science and intelligent design taught alongside evolution in public schools—were being interviewed on national news.

  The biology community responded the way it had in the past, by submitting a short press release: “Evolution is grounded in a preponderance of evidence. Creationism and intelligent design are religious ideas that have nothing to do with predictive science.”

  Man-on-the-street interviews painted Joe Sixpack as skeptical that this was “it” but certain that eventually science and religion would meet. Religious leaders from Buddhists to Muslims, Sikhs to Mormons, Hindus to Wiccans embraced the idea of science accepting a distinction between “in here” and “out there.” The official response from the Vatican: “We’re happy to see that progress is being made in understanding the work of the Lord.”

  Demonstrators from the left flew to Texas to protest a dangerous new form of nuclear energy and, from the right, to prepare for the Rapture.

  Ryan was excited at the prospect of going on TV—who wouldn’t be? He also understood that he would be smack between Emmy and Foster. He would stick to his core beliefs, respect their positions, and expect them to respect his.

  CNN had asked Emmy and him to appear together at a TV studio north of Petaluma. Ryan waited on the porch for Emmy to pick him up. Her red Acura came up the hill, and she parked behind Ryan’s car. He went down to the street, opened her car door, and offered his arm. Every time he saw her, he felt a little Lady and the Tramp thrill. She was so cultured, important, respectable, and he was an outlaw.

  She stepped out of the car and hugged him. Ryan saw the tension, anger, and disgust drawn in lines across her brow. He lifted her up and gave her a mushy wet kiss.

  Her nose against his, she said, “Ryan, please put me down. I don’t feel playful.”

  Emmy drove Ryan to the television studio where they were directed to makeup. Ryan asked the makeup artist to paint a moustache on him, “a big Fu Manchu job.” His wisecracks were more effective at removing the lines in Emmy’s brow than the makeup.

  In the studio, they sat on stools separated by a few feet, each with a different color backdrop and separate cameras. The producer asked them to smile in the cameras and say a few words to check the lighting and sound. Ryan listed punch lines to dumb old jokes: “if we find my keys, we can drive out of here,” “he only took tips,” and “no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.” By the time the producer indicated that they were about to go on the air, Ryan felt confident and comfortable. He raised his eyebrows provocatively at Emmy. She turned away, trying to cover her laughter. Good, she was ready too. He didn’t want her all uptight and defensive.

  Five TV monitors were mounted behind the cameras, one each for Ryan, Emmy, Foster, and Blitzer, plus one with the live feed. Two thousand miles away, the studio in San Antonio had a similar setup for Foster.

  “Has science met spirituality?” Wolf Blitzer spoke in his patented gruff monotone. “Tonight we have Foster Reed, the physicist behind Creation Energy; Ryan McNear, coinventor of the technology; and Amolie Nutter, professor of physics at the University of California and leading critic of Creation Energy—after this message.”

  The producer said, “Back in ninety.”

  Emmy took several deep breaths and closed her eyes. Ryan looked at the monitor showing Foster—he seemed to be looking right back.

  “Three, two, one…”

  “We’ll start with Dr. Reed of Evangelical Word University.” The monitor with the live feed showed a three-way split screen with Foster on the right, Ryan in the middle, and Emmy on the left. “How does this technology bring science and religion together?”

  Foster smiled into the camera, cocked his head slightly, and spoke with rich confidence. “The power generator is a matter-antimatter collider operating right on the cusp of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. It’s based on a principle of symmetry like all other laws of nature. What makes it remarkable is that by replicating conditions symmetric to those of Creation, spiritual energy will flow into the physical universe and power the generator.”

  Blitzer’s voice was passionless. “Does it work?”

  “It’s new technology that is showing tremendous potential,” Foster said. “We should have an operating power generator within five years.” There was a slight pause before Foster said five years.

  The camera shifted to Blitzer standing in front of a wall of monitors. “In a CNN/Gallup poll, a stunning ninety percent of Americans believe science and religion must eventually meet, and fifty-four percent believe that Creation Energy has done it.” He turned to the monitor showing Emmy. “Dr. Nutter, why are you so critical of the technology?”

  “What technology?” Emmy held her hands out as though asking for help. “There is no evidence whatsoever to support his claims. This man is nothing but a snake oil—”

  Foster spoke over Emmy. “Another attack by the scientific establishment. Don’t listen to these atheists as they destroy the moral fabric of—”

  Emmy cranked up her voice from small classroom to auditorium level. “Let me add that I don’t want my appearance with this man to give any credence to the nonsense he’s selling.” She went silent.

  Foster said, “Why do you have this woman on? This atheist who has risked our national security by posting classified documents on the Internet—”

  Blitzer cut him off. “We’ll get back to that point in a minute. But first, Ryan McNear—you are a coauthor of the patents. Is this technology feasib
le?”

  Ryan looked to his left—giving the impression on television of looking at Foster—and then to his right, toward Emmy. With an irreverent smile, he said, “Look, I’m an engineer.” Ryan leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “I’ve developed a lot of technology. There’s a leap of faith anytime you try something new. Physicists are pretty good at telling engineers what is and isn’t possible, but engineers are pretty good at pulling off projects that seem impossible. Will it work?” He scrunched his lips together as though it were a ridiculous question. “Need to build the thing to find out—but I’ll tell you this.” He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “I hope it will work. Scientific evidence for the soul? Who wouldn’t like to see that? Solving the world’s energy problems doesn’t sound too bad either. Even if the chance of it working is tiny, it seems to me that it’s worth a try.”

  He held a hand out to Emmy. She looked annoyed. “This woman right here, Professor Emmy Nutter, is the smartest person I’ve ever known, and if she says that it violates physical law, you better believe it. The thing is, though, God already built a perpetual motion machine—a little thing we call the universe—so I don’t think the rules have to apply to Him. So, yeah, it probably won’t work, but what the hey?” Ryan shrugged and turned back to Emmy. Now she looked pissed off.

  Blitzer said, “We have to take a break, but we’ll be back with our three guests.”

  Ryan exhaled a huge sigh and said, “Emmy—you okay?”

  Looking straight ahead, she said, “Ryan, some day you’re going to have to take a position on something.”

  “Three, two…”

  Blitzer said, “Dr. Nutter, why won’t the scientific establishment entertain the possibility that Dr. Reed could be on to something?”

  Foster jumped in before she could talk. “They’re threatened. Why else won’t they publish our results or face us at a conference?”

  Emmy ignored Foster. “Wolf, this is a very important question. Let me explain to Foster Reed why his papers are rejected by peer-reviewed journals. His fundamental error is that he thinks scientists want to uphold established theory. It is simply not true. I’m an experimental physicist. Discovery comes when we find something that is not understood, something that violates established theory.” Settling into her lecture, she took a cue from Ryan and motioned to the side so that, on the television feed, it looked as though she were indicating Blitzer. “Think about it—which would be more fun for a scientist: a measurement that everyone expects or a measurement that is a huge surprise?”

  She turned back to her left, on the monitor, toward Foster. “Foster, the reason your papers are rejected is that they don’t hold up to scientific scrutiny. It takes more than a hypothesis. You need experimental evidence that can be reproduced under similar conditions in any laboratory. If there was even the tiniest shred of evidence to support your claims, then not only would your papers be published, but physicists all over the world would be working overtime to reproduce your results. But all you offer is superstition.”

  She turned back to the camera. “The difference between doing science and doing whatever it is that Foster Reed is doing—I guess Mr. McNear would call it engineering—is that Foster Reed has a vested interest in a specific outcome. His results have to conform to the Bible. He assumes that reputable scientists work the same way. This is why he insists that there is some entity that he calls the scientific establishment. But the community of physicists has no shepherd. The scientific method is based on what we call a disinterested love of the truth. We love the truth, not a truth.”

  Blitzer asked, “Do you believe in God?”

  “No. I find the universe beautiful enough without ghosts, however holy.”

  Blitzer said, “We’re going to extend this discussion into the next segment so that Dr. Reed will have a chance to respond. When we come back, we’ll find out why Dr. Nutter intentionally published a classified document—was it treason?”

  “Back in sixty…”

  Blitzer said, “Amolie, thank you for a fine interview, and Foster, thank you for holding your peace while she spoke. I’m sure that she will offer you the same courtesy.” He looked away from the camera and then added, “You’ve got forty-five seconds to relax.”

  Emmy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Ryan looked around the studio. Foster stretched his legs while watching the clock.

  “Three, two…”

  Blitzer said, “Dr. Reed, why do you think that the scientific establishment has suppressed your work?”

  Emmy’s mouth fell open in an ironic, hopeless grin.

  Foster said, “You just heard Dr. Nutter admit that she’s an atheist. I feel deeply sorry for her. These intellectual elitists are divorced from mainstream America. They don’t just deny God, they deny patriotism, they deny everything that our country is built on, and then—this is one of the saddest things I can imagine—they look at the stars and into the sunset and somehow deny a higher power. Without faith in Jesus their lives are so hollow.” He wagged his head abruptly to the side. “As for this disinterested love of the truth—why do they fight the teachings of God as documented in the Bible? Why do they go to court every time a schoolteacher tells the story of Creation? Why are they so threatened by liberating scientific principles like intelligent design? If they’re disinterested, why not teach both sides?”

  Emmy’s monitor reappeared on the feed. She spoke as though exhausted. “There are not two sides. Science is based on empirical evidence. There is no evidence for the religious doctrine that this man advocates. Promoting a mythical description of the formation of the universe to the same level as the Big Bang, a theory that stands on a firm empirical foundation, would be absurd. Why not teach people that the Earth is flat? Why not teach astrology as science?”

  Foster said, “You see? They are afraid, threatened—”

  The producer shut Foster’s feed off, and the image on the screen showed Blitzer next to a monitor with Emmy. “Dr. Nutter, National Engineering Group, as well as senators from Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, and Florida are demanding that you be arrested and tried for treason. Do you deny knowingly distributing a document classified as a national defense secret?”

  “I notice that no one has pointed out that Foster has been distributing signed copies of this classified document for some time. When were megachurches granted higher security clearances than national laboratories?” Emmy smiled and bounced slightly in her chair. “Wolf, don’t you find it interesting that this document was removed from the Evangelical Word website literally hours before NEG’s press release touting their investment in alternative energy and new propulsion systems?”

  She dropped her ironic smile, her eyes narrowed, and she focused on the camera. “As a citizen and as a physicist, it was my duty to bring this document to the attention of experts in the field. Don’t you see? NEG is buying political support, not technology. For a tiny fraction of their annual revenue, NEG bought the religious right and risked nothing. NEG employs real scientists and engineers. Did you ask any of them to appear?”

  Blitzer said, “We had their chief technology officer on yesterday afternoon.”

  “Right, and would he answer any questions about the technology?”

  “The technology is classified. He couldn’t address it directly.”

  “How convenient.” Leaning forward, a lock of hair had fallen over her face. She pushed it behind her ear.

  Blitzer asked, “As it is written, did you violate the federal law restricting dissemination of classified documents?”

  “If there is a law designed to protect corporate interest from public scrutiny, then I violated it. Wolf, why do I have to do your job? You’re the journalist. Find out how NEG manipulated the Department of Defense into classifying these documents. That’s where you’ll find treason.”

  The feed panned in on Blitzer. “We’ll return with final comments.” During the commercial break, Blitzer told the three guests to limit their final comments to fiftee
n seconds each.

  “Three, two…”

  “We’re back in The Situation Room. We’re going to conclude this segment with the only truly relevant question—a question that has been lost in the hype and headlines: will this technology work?”

  The screen split back into three. “We’ll start with you Dr. Reed, then Ryan McNear, and I’ll give Professor Nutter the last word.”

  Foster was composed and solemn. He read from an index card that he held below the camera frame. “We’re on schedule to produce energy within five years. The technology is showing results that threaten the scientific establishment, and they are reacting out of fear.” He looked up to the camera and concluded, “Imagine, in a few years, there will be a new book in the Bible, this one answering the cynicism of the scientific establishment—no longer any reason to doubt. Imagine.”

  Ryan said, “I guess I am in the middle.” He looked at Emmy. She didn’t look back. “It’s ridiculous to expect the Bible to be a science textbook. The Bible was written by men thousands of years ago. I believe they were inspired by God, but it was men who put ink on the page. What if God tried to explain the Big Bang, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and all the rest—no way could they have understood. They even got pi wrong. Science is right, but science isn’t finished.” He looked at Emmy again. “I say let’s build it and see if it works.”

  Foster interrupted, “Do you really want to see it work?”

  “Yes, I do,” Ryan said. “I hope the best for you, Foster.”

  “Then come to work at Creation Energy. We need you…”

  “What?”

  “I’m offering you a job right now. Would you like to be director of software at Creation Energy?”

  On television it looked as though Ryan were looking into space, but he was staring at Foster’s monitor. He started nodding and said, “Do you have a product requirements document?”