“Fair enough, let’s talk… Perhaps we can begin by your explaining a little further your statement that there are many Earths?”
“That is a good starting point. General are you familiar with the quantum physics thought exercise called ‘Schrodinger’s Cat?’ ”
The General nodded, “In the thought experiment, a cat is put in a box with a poison that has a 50% chance of killing the cat. Until the box is opened, the cat is presumed to be neither dead nor alive. It is a probability function. Only by opening the box and observing the cat is one of those outcomes determined.”
“Very good. Then you probably also know that some quantum theorists suggest that the universe could divide itself at the moment of the determination event such that in one universe the cat lives and in an otherwise identical sister universe the cat dies. Quantum physics theory allows for all possible outcomes.”
“Yes but that is just a thought experiment,” the General insisted.
“The rational mind suggests that, of course. How could a universe instantly duplicate itself? But your problem here is that you think of the universe as being made up of things …. Of matter and of energy. That it is a material universe. But actually, contrary to what common sense would tell you, it is not a universe of matter. In its raw state it is made up of information. Information that interfaces with what you call Dark Energy and Dark Matter. It is framed by the laws of physics. Its language is mathematics. And the boss of it all is ‘consciousness.’ “
“So how does that produce many Earths?”
Plato regarded the General for a long moment. “I cannot tell why it works but I can tell you how. It seems that whenever on any Earth there is a major event where one multitude of people opposes another multitude of people, each group crying out for a victory of their own, the universe provides each of them what it wants. For example, one of my crew members is from an Earth where the Germans won what you call here World War I. On that planet there was no subsequent World War II. Their history from the early 20th Century to the Present is quite different from yours. My Earth’s departure from your Earth came more than two thousand years earlier. In my Earth, Alexander the Great died before he moved his army into Asia. His successors kept Greece strong through the build-up of Rome. So Greek thought and culture prevailed into the historical period you call the Middle Ages – where frankly your Earth stayed rooted in ignorance for a thousand years.”
The General thought he understood even as it occurred to him that he should think he was listening to a lunatic. “So we all have Earth in common, but our histories are different – the difference starting whenever one of these cloning –like events occurs?”
“That is correct. But we have more than just our Earth in common. We have our ancestors in common as well. Neither one of us is more or less human than the other.”
“And what about the people alive at the moment of the splitting? Are they alive on both Earths?”
“Yes .They would have to be, don’t you see?”
“The ramifications of that are going to make my head spin. But putting all that aside, earlier during your introduction to David, you said he would be useful ‘in the coming battle.’ What coming battle are you referring to?” The General leaned forward in his chair and his hands on the table curled into fists.
“And this is why I wanted to talk to you – a leader of your country’s military. Regardless of which Earth one is on, as I said earlier, mankind is the same. Our species seeks dominance and competitive advantage wherever it is and wherever it goes. We are capable of great brutality. We destroy whole cultures without even a qualm of conscience. We of what you call The Object may be the first to arrive but we will not be the last. What brought us here will bring others – others who have far more dangerous intentions than we do for your Earth.”
“Why now? What has changed from before when we were left alone?”
“Actually the beacon you sent out to the other Earths technologically advanced enough to assess it is a combination of several factors. One is the growth of your population into billions of people – Your Earth’s consciousness factor increased, also Planck’s manipulation of matter with his mentalization as he calls it, registered on our sensors, and lastly the sudden extinction of the consciousness of twenty million people left a dark hole noticeable for what was no longer there.”
“So the battle you refer to is coming to us from these other Earths?”
“The battle – which may come in many forms – is more a result of your geopolitical forces…however visitors from other earths will come here to take advantage of your Earth’s instabilities and vulnerabilities. They will aid and abet animosities, they will instigate violent confrontations. They will do what men do to take advantage of weaker players. If it were not for the present conditions already here, there would be no battle.”
General Greene knew he needed to stop and think about things. He had outdistanced his protective cover. He should pull back and await further orders. Much as he hated it, he had to get the elected officials involved. Still he had to ask one more question.
“And what about you, Plato? Are you here to attack us too? What do you want from us?”
Plato did not respond immediately. He wondered how much he should say. He and his team had been monitoring all of Earth’s communications for weeks and he himself had specialized in learning the power structure of the superpower countries. He had not yet resolved a communication strategy that would optimize his objectives. This Earth’s governmental practices were partisan and divisive on even relatively unimportant matters. They continually sought tiny tactical political victories at the expense of dealing with larger truths.
Finally he said, “We can each help the other. The scale and consequences of the battle that exists are much greater than you imagine. No one of the many Earths can avoid involvement –your Earth is involved already – you just don’t yet know it.”
“At least tell me what the battle is about?” The General demanded.
“The war is about what all of man’s wars are about. On every Earth – and now in alliances of Earths – men fight over power and control. Man fights to control the resources that produce wealth and influence. When was it ever different?”
Planck and Dr. Wheeling and David chose to sit around one of the outside tables covered by an umbrella. An ocean breeze was cooling off the worst of the late afternoon heat and each of them welcomed the island beauty. Each of them had spent the last couple of days confined in a small space: David and Dr. Wheeling at the Pentagon and Planck onboard The Object.
“So Planck…last time I saw you, you were being kidnapped. How is it that you are here now?” David asked.
Planck grinned, his boyish beach boy good looks at odds with the serious theoretical physicist he was. “Bizarre right! So I was taken by sort of a Russian equivalent of a Navy Seal team. They get me on their fishing boat and we start heading out to sea. I’m trying to figure out if I can do anything. There are about six of them and they all have guns. I’ve got my amplifier in my ear but I was scared and couldn’t really focus on what I should do. I didn’t know what I could do. Basically all I did was stare at them and stare out the boat at the waves.
“So I don’t know what I should do…. But then their boat’s engine dies and they can’t get it started again. One of them tries the dinghy’s outboard and that won’t start either. And I wondered if I had done that somehow – but I didn’t think I had – though then it seemed like I should have thought of that. Then from out of nowhere The Object’s shuttle appears and it is hovering right next to the fishing boat. Then there is this huge booming sound and a super bright flash which they told me later knocks us all out. Next thing I know I am up on The Object and I never see the Russians again though I’m told they were dropped off unharmed back in Russia somewhere.”
“So you were up in The Object all that time? More than two days?” David asked.
“That’s right! I’ve been talking to Plato and his
crew. They are from a number of different worlds, but all are simply different historical versions of Earth, some are almost identical and others totally different. And the people can look just like us or some interesting variations – though I was told those were culturally selected, not biologically. Like some of them are this very pretty light shade of green – but that is by choice. The universe is so different than what I had envisioned.”
Dr. Wheeling had listened quietly but intently, now he had to ask, “So how does the universe work? What is different from what we thought we knew?”
“The key difference is that the universe is in a continuous state of ‘potentiality’. What becomes material is what the Observer wants to arise out of the flux of possibilities. Matter is just the Observer’s preferred state. But the Observer is not a defined consciousness, it is an aggregate consciousness. As an aggregate it has no single orientation. But at any moment in time as it relates to any particular space-time location, its aggregate mind leads to one result, but that result can arbitrarily be influenced if that particular space-time is a matter of specific and exceptional focus from within the overall consciousness.”
The professor nodded his head, “I see. So all of humanity is just a part of the universal consciousness but with Planck’s group mentalization aided by his amplifier he can influence local space-time by virtue of an exceptional focus directed there – potentiality is instructed to take a particular form or result. To the universe as a whole, that local space-time is an infinitesimally small fraction of all space-time.”
Planck agreed, “I think that is how it works.”
“So why did The Object, I guess I should say Plato and his team, want to communicate with you?” David asked.
Planck’s expression changed then to a much more serious demeanor. “First, let me tell you, you can’t always tell what these guys are thinking. And since they come from a mix of Earths, some of which have very different histories and cultures than our own, you shouldn’t assume that they all think alike. Plato in particular thinks with a very different perspective than you or I do.
“Also, they seem to have instant access to vast data files as if their brains have a computer chip inside them, so sometimes talking to them seems like you are talking to a computer.”
“So why you?” David repeated.
“Yea, why me? Well what Plato said is that in their experience once an Earth has developed the ability to manipulate matter with my so called ‘mentalization’ that the cultural and scientific changes at that Earth are so dramatic that the Earth enters a whole new historical cycle. Those changes can be transformative in very positive ways or very destructive ways. Some Earths become visions of prosperity and wisdom while others literally destroy themselves. Plato says there are not a lot of in-betweens – the Earth goes one way or the other.”
“And what drives that? Why does one Earth become great and another Earth become a huge dust ball?”
“Plato says it is driven by the wisdom of its political leadership.”
David just shrugged his shoulders, “Then we’re toast!”
Dr. Wheeling, who had been listening and considering the new information from Planck now bobbed his head up and down several times, and then said, “Actually what faces our Earth now, we have faced before. Planck’s mentalization should be viewed as no different than any previous major technological advance. At numerous times in our history major new technologies changed cultures and created both opportunity and danger.
“Whether you consider the changes driven by the invention of the wheel or of nuclear power, both opportunity and destruction followed. The recent invention and development of the Internet has wrought enormous cultural changes. Some good some not so good. Setting Planck’s work to the side, scientists all over the world are working on tremendous new technologies that will radically alter cultures and societies. Geopolitical structures will have to change.
“Also,” Dr. Wheeling continued, “With each new technological change, man’s ability to destroy the Planet seems to increase. Before gun powder was discovered, killing people in war had to be done one person at a time and from very close range. Gun powder led to more and more powerful explosives. Bigger and bigger bombs were developed until whole cities could be destroyed like the fire-bombing of Dresden during World War II. Then we came up with the atomic bomb and its ever more powerful progeny. And then of course we started on potentially even more dangerous biological weapons. However that same growth in understanding chemical and biological reactions is leading to the eradication of diseases and the lengthening of the lifetime of mankind.” The professor paused as if to stop, then had one more thought.
“Benefit and destruction are the constant yin and yang of scientific advance. And the stakes keep getting higher!”
Now David really understood what the Alien leader had said earlier, “So when Plato told us that their statistical models show us with a 17% chance of turning our Earth into barren desert within the not so distant future, he was just forecasting the likelihood of our governments screwing up so badly that we off our own planet…. I guess I’m surprised the probability isn’t higher!”
Chapter Seven
“There is a universe where Elvis is still alive.”
Alan Guth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor of Physics
Hank Scarpetti hung up his phone and considered what the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs had just told him. Human beings from other Earths with different histories. But more technologically advanced though not from the future. He would never have guessed that!
He hated that the military was ahead of him on this. He should have thought of having one of his people go with the professor and Randall back to the island. Instead the damn military could claim first contact. What a political coup if he could have had the President there! Instead it was General Carl Greene and Scarpetti wasn’t at all sure that he could trust his friend Greene on this. Even though he and Greene had been friends for years, he really didn’t know what Greene’s political views were. Too often in Scarpetti’s experience military leaders wanted to act like they had no political views, but then WHAM as soon as they retired they wrote books that made civilian leaders look like idiots.
Scarpetti had to figure out how to play it all. He knew the President would want to meet this Plato guy immediately. But something like that couldn’t be scripted and this President didn’t do so well without a script in front of him. The President was smart enough, you’d think, since he could remember all sorts of facts and figures, but he seemed to have no idea how issues would play over the long term. And the one thing Scarpetti knew about life in politics – sooner or later the long term would arrive and bite you in the ass! He had the scars to prove it.
He thought then about pushing General Greene to the side on issues relating to The Object. But then the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs would just appoint someone else to be the liaison – or worse do it himself! Scarpetti figured he’d be better off with Greene, they were friends after all. And better the devil you know than the one you don’t!
He realized he’d gotten used to The Object just floating by overhead and not really doing anything. Amazing how fast you could get used to something like that! But now this guy Plato had arrived and worse yet, he was talking about involving Earth in some kind of cosmic war. Of course as soon as the military heard that they figured this put them right in the center of everything! The President was not going to like that! He hated sharing power with anyone!
Then Scarpetti thought of one thing the President would want to set up immediately, He’d want a new Cabinet level Secretary – Secretary of All Things Weird and Alien, Scarpetti mused. Actually he knew he had to start thinking about that. Who would the President want to appoint to take lead within the White House? Of course, the Secretary of State would argue he should be in charge and The Secretary of Homeland Security would argue for herself. Scarpetti shuddered and thought no way! He’d been brought in by the President to keep that sor
t of thing from happening. Those Departments were so cumbersome and overstaffed that it would take a year for them to figure out The Object had landed.
Scarpetti knew he had to come up with someone quickly or the President would pick one of his old political cronies. As cynical as Scarpetti was, he knew he couldn’t let that happen. This issue was just too big. The future of Planet Earth was at stake. Scarpetti sat at his desk and thought about all the political leaders he knew. Who would he trust to be the Government’s interface or Ambassador to The Object? Who should the President appoint to work with Plato and Plato’s team?
Scarpetti started thumbing through his contact list. He thought about Congressional leaders and political supporters. He thought about current and past leaders of his Party. He thought about state governors. Who was savvy enough, wise enough, that he or she could be trusted on this? This would require real wisdom. A real understanding of how things could turn out over the long term. Sitting at his desk, Scarpetti leaned back, defeated. He could not think of anyone. Never before had he actually had to think of who was wise. Wisdom wasn’t a requirement for political leadership. It would just get in the way of how politics really needed to be played. And those few who were wise also tended to be honorable – and that really didn’t work!
Scarpetti leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands over his protruding stomach. Over the last thirty years he had worked tirelessly and he thought brilliantly to get himself to where he was the Chief of Staff to the most powerful person in the world. He himself thereby became one of the most powerful. That was a long way to come for the son of an airline mechanic who had worked his way through the University of Illinois. He’d always been underestimated by the people around him and he turned that into an asset. He had hid his ambition and worked closely with people whose personalities were shinier and more charismatic than his. Then when they failed, as they inevitably did, he was there to save the day.
Quantum Times Page 13