Visions of the Future

by Brin, David

  Croyd called it the “Big Monte Carlo Cheat”. His goal was to not only eliminate the unlikely future paths by technical realty checks but also to identify them by deviation of the quantum signatures. To achieve this he would conserve a Magnetite molecule and use it as a sample over time. He called this machinery the “Atom” and with all its conservation systems and sensors loved it more than anything else. Some even said he worshipped it. But it was his firm belief that if the molecule would remain to be connected to a computer in the future these two units could interact. A loss of the Atom would break this chain forever. No wonder the Atom was the most guarded item of the whole high security complex.

  “In the best case”, Croyd said, “the future will interfere with the matrix of the molecule of the Atom. They know the programming of the computer and will help to choose the right scenario. The matrix of the Atom is always the same connecting the past and the future. It is the lifeline that connects us with tomorrow.” – “But they will not be able to change the matrix. It has to be the same from the past to the future.” – “Not necessarily. But they will have far more advanced technical opportunities. While they cannot change the form/structure, they can reinforce what they want. It is like carving a statue that has already been carved. In this form of quantum physics we do not have a specific succession of time. The form is there because it will be changed in the future. You might remember that Michelangelo once said that he did not ever chisel a statue from the stone, it was already there.” – “You are crazy, Croyd!” – “If you are not crazy,” he said, “quantum physics will not discover you.”

  This led to a dispute with the whole scientific community. They called him a quack and a madman. He prevailed via his family’s power and via his almost hypnotical power over his followers. And they were legion.

  The preparation discussions with Croyd eventually became paradoxical and I started to doubt him seriously. Like: “If I am your messenger, what do I have to do?” – “Ask them a question” – “Which question?” – “This is confidential; they will know the question already.” – “So I ask a future, that most experts say does not exist, a question that I am not allowed to know?” – “If you want to put it that way, Louie, yes. But the future does not wait for us. We have to be smart…” These abstract discussions went on and on until the big day finally arrived.

  To gather the huge amount of energy to operate Golem, Croyd initiated a fake energy failure. The whole energy production of the region was diverted for about four hours that night. The first step was to break the Leibowitz barrier with a final core calculation run, the so-called hot phase with live data, and then to go online for about 10 minutes. Quite a small time window for a journey, but this had to suffice.

  Everybody was nervous, almost hysterical. It was too late now to check the final calculations. The curves of Golem on the huge main screen looked more and more like a battle of armies of dragons. Then within minutes gradually looked more like a dance that evolved into patterns. Over the time more and more curves intersected. Then the patterns were complete. An incredibly beautiful picture evolved. Was this the future?

  “See you soon, Louie”, Croyd said, “That’s one small push of a button for a man; one giant leap for mankind!” He laughed. What a pompous man I thought. And then Golem swallowed me.

  Again everything changed. My fears that the black would come back overwhelmed me for a second when the lights disappeared. The blackout only took a blink of an eye. Then I saw paradise. How to describe it? Green over green, a tropical forest with a blue sky, the scent of the near sea was almost tangible. The humming of small insects, the soft touch of turbulence and the grass beneath my feet was almost too much to handle. And then it came to me—I had my body back! All these feelings were so intense that I stumbled forward and laughed, losing caution and fear. Even the feeling of time… looking at my hands and touching, breathing and watching…

  It must have taken an hour until I realized that the little clearing in the forest I relaxed on was the beginning of a path leading further into the green. My task came back to me. Obviously Croyd and his guys were right. There is a reality behind our realities. But where was I? Remembering my noble task I decided to wander down the path. And indeed it did not take long before I managed to reach a nice little British-style cottage with a beautiful person sitting in front of it. There was a white table with two chairs with my favored cocktail waiting for me.

  “Hello Louie! My name is Cassandra. I suppose you still like margaritas?” I was baffled. A trip to the so-called future in a behemoth of an artificial brain is one thing, but this was really not what I had expected. And as if Cassandra would have guessed my thoughts, she said, “I know you are a bit surprised, but just sit,” her right hand patted on the cushion of the nice garden chair in the exotic surrounding, “I don’t bite!” – “So this—this is the future?” I stuttered, like most heroes in historic moments. “Yes, my dear. We are in the year 2231. Star time!” she said in a deep voice. Then she laughed when she saw my consternation. “Sorry, I could not resist, and you are most welcome.” She leaned forward, looked in my eyes and smiled at me. And I swear, she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. This was not how I imagined it to be, something was wrong.

  She felt my uneasiness and went on, “Do not worry, we have enough time. Their time passes much slower than ours. I suppose you want to discuss business?” – “Yes. But first… why am I here?” She looked to the sky, folded her hands and became very serious. “Because they sent you here, my dear. But be assured, we are not happy what these guys, and especially Croyd, are doing. You know that we have no right to change what they do, but I can assure you that we do not approve the way they treat you.” – “But they need an answer…” I interrupted her “… it is important!” “No,” her voice became stern, “they have no right to ask for an answer. But as they did not have the guts to tell you what the question is, let me explain.”

  She leaned back, ignored my tension and went on, “At your time the scientists are approaching areas in several fields where the outcome of many experiments are insecure and some even dangerous. Technology and the related potential are developing faster than the real understanding of the context. Too many organizations are undertaking too many experiments. Many experts became uneasy. Also because they knew that mankind had not received any signals of other extra-terrestrial civilizations. When they asked themselves why, they formulated several possible explanations. A likely one was that other civilizations—if they existed—must be extremely short-lived. Short-lived by degeneration and/or war would have been only an explanation for a part of the silence. So they assumed that there must be several ‘traps’ in the system of evolution of civilizations that came from the development of new technologies. We are talking about science going wrong at a global scale. They called it ‘Omega Experiments’ and defined at least six areas where such a terminal disaster could happen.

  “Without real control of all the research on Earth and no possibility to decode the really secret data in the different networks any more, Croyd resorted to a very specific plan. He wanted to ask one of the surviving future scenarios on how to avoid the Omega Experiments, or at least warn him about some of the issues to allow him to steer human civilization into the survival path. He WAS a big man with big ambitions it seems.” She took a sip of her margarita while I studied her perfect, slightly tanned hands. “While we are not at liberty to say if there are or are not such experiments, I have to mention that warning the past about such obstacles might constitute such a case. In short, Croyd is inviting disaster. And we will not help him with that.”

  This was frustrating, but I had already guessed that with my luck, an easy answer to a non-existing question would have been unlikely anyway. So, knowing that it was for me to face Croyd when I got back and not Cassandra, I tried to learn as much as possible. “So what shall I tell them? I cannot go back with empty hands!” “Tell them nothing!” she said “You do not realize that we k
now what will happen in our past. You help our cause and we will make it worth your while…”

  Having your soul eaten by darkness leaves scars. Scars so deep that the constant pain makes normality appear like heaven. This greed for normality turns into an insatiable hunger. My hunger was for a cure, a cure that maybe did not exist. So I approached her a bit too boldly: “Make it worth my while? Whatever could you give me that would make me happy? Illusions?” This was not fair; I felt it the moment I said it. Cassandra’s reaction showed me that handling the future is not an easy task. She ignored my bickering, “Louie, I might have put that wrong. We will reward you.” I was astonished, but understood; Croyd’s training had prepared me for such discussions. I replied in my most calm voice, “So I did not say anything when I came back?” – “At least not in our past.” She took my hand in an honest effort to soothe my confusion. “Things are complicated in different times. By the way, is there anything you want to know about the future? We have time and you might be curious.” I did not reply for some time, enjoyed the surrounding and the margarita. I would have preferred to never go back. She waited patiently. Finally I approached her.

  “Did you know I would come? And why do you know me this well?” – “We have the notes and reports of the experiment. Over time it became scientifically clear that you must have visited the future and lied about the outcome of the experiment. So your name, the equipment and all the data was available to us.” – “The equipment? This means you have Croyd’s Atom?” – “Yes, we have it. It is a kind of monument of our culture. It honors us and is a sign of the belief of the past in future’s promise. So far it has been used only by you in this future.” – “So I am and will be the only one?” – “We are afraid so. Without you telling them the project was a success, the energy cost would be too high to repeat the project. Later when we knew virtual time travel was possible and had the resources at hand the interest in an encounter shifted to another area.” – “Which area, is there more?” – “There is, dear friend, but let’s wait until we talk about your reward.”

  “Are there still wars?” – “Wars are the most expensive way to transfer resources from one structure to the other. We have conflicts of interests today, but we do not need to resort to the termination of life to eliminate a disagreement. Part of the solution is the fact that there are only three forms of conflict: the one for replicable resources is easy to solve, we are now able to provide the resources to everyone. Then there is the one for limited resources, here we have to find a solution as only one can really get what he or she wants, in general we tend to share possession here as no one can own everything 24 hours a day or wants to use it forever. The last and most dangerous one is the conflict of values, which comes usually in the different tastes of greed for power.

  While good values are a good thing, the clinging to values for the wrong reasons is bad. We invest a significant amount of effort to eliminate such notions in early childhood. We see greed for power as a serious mental health problem that can only be mitigated, but not eliminated due to human nature. There still are conflicts of values, but in the worst case we try to separate the different spheres to the best of our ability.” – “I understand. Your wars actually have broken down to a series of smaller conflicts?” – “No, this is not what we wanted to say. Society tries to prevent conflicts and intervenes with gradually more and more power to make sure these do not escalate. It is easier in our time as we do not have institutions and governments that try to manipulate public and individual perception in their favor. But conflicts cannot be eliminated as the individual freedom that we respect also contains the choice of conflict.”

  “And if there is an escalation? What if someone dies?” – “This unfortunately still happens. Our individuals might encounter personal nightmares that are inflicted to them by others. But we all agree that we have to pay the ‘price of freedom’. Freedom always contains the inherent risk to be misused. If someone dies we mourn and talk to the offender. Due to our principles we cannot answer the escalation of violence with an escalation of pain. We try to help all victims, including the offender. But do not misunderstand us. We are not perfect and in such a situation there might be wounds we cannot heal. We need to be firm in our belief in humanity though. And the results prove us right.”

  “Do you believe in God?” – “The perception of God in our times is much different. Some of us believe in a specific religion, but the past has told us that the ones that speak in the names of prophets often speak in their own interest and greed for power. Therefore people in the future tend to find their own explanation for where they come from and where they go. Some go this way together, but most regard their belief as a private matter and approach God in a very spiritual way.

  Altogether we share a deep respect of each other. The ones that believe in a specific god see the others as parts of God’s creation, the ones that prefer scientific explanations follow their reason, which usually also leads to their inner good and respect of the others. The main difference to your time might be that people do not self-humiliate themselves in front of God anymore; they see their life and happiness as the ultimate praise of the creator.” – “This is fascinating! So there are no religious conflicts in your time?” – “There never have been religious conflicts in the past. It is the people’s inner conflicts that lead them into conflicts with others. But we agree that religion always was a very good catalyst for such conflicts.”

  “There is one tricky thing. Why do I see only you? Where are the others?” – “We knew you would ask that. Actually no human was ready to see you. Most were not interested and the many others that were, were forced to share you.” – “This means there was a conflict over who of the people in the future would talk to me?” – “There was no conflict, but there is a certain interest in your person. And yes, you are a limited resource in our times, Louie.” – “So how do you share me?” – “This is easy. Most people in our time are able to enter a deep symbiosis with their sphere, which you would call a network. The ones who were interested to meet you, share the encounter via my person.” – “Wow! I want to take the opportunity to say hello to all the folks who show interest in me.” – “Thank you, Louie! We appreciate that!”

  “How many of you are there? You should have a reproduction problem right now.” – “We are not as many as we were, but reproduction technology helps to keep population on Earth at an optimum level. Nature gradually has recovered; just look around you, this is a normal scenario in our times. Apart from classical humans there are several stages of existence that can be regarded as a combination between man and machine. Technology is the evolution of the tool, and gradually the tool has emancipated itself. So you can say that the wall between man and machine has become permeable to a certain degree. That way even death becomes a relative thing sometimes.”

  “Are you happy?” – “Happiness is a special moment in your average life. From this point of view everybody is happy and unhappy at times. But if you mean that our society is more intelligent or better than yours then I must disappoint you. We are like you, neither better nor worse. Our advantage is that we cooperate better and respect each other. Also the most admired trait in our society is not success at the cost of others but by overcoming yourself. We believe that applied altruism is a key to a working society.”

  “What shall I do now? Do I go back?” – “Yes, you will go back, but before you do we want to give you a gift.” – “What kind of gift? There is nothing you can give me that I can take with me?” – “You are wrong, Louie, but let us explain.”

  “When mankind developed Golem they left the path of numbers. Rational numbers suddenly were not the most precise, but most imprecise, as they excluded a whole cloud of scenarios. Mathematical organisms, consisting of multidimensional trends and potentials, interacted with each other breeding information that competed towards realities. They aimed for the perfect simulation, for a perfect scope that would allow them to see beyond the barriers th
at our physical existence sets us. But they oversaw a little point, which was discovered much, much later.

  We are talking about Q, the point of intersection. We know that there is a grey area between black and white. We also know that towers usually get thinner the higher they are built. I do not want to bother you with abstract questions, but what do you think would be the color and the diameter of the top of an infinitely high black tower built in a white universe?” – “Hmm, I think it would be an extremely tiny grey dot.” – “Indeed. In addition they tell you that not more than four homogenous countries can have a border with each other. But this is wrong. If you take a perfect mathematical cake and a perfect mathematical knife, you will be able to cut it in an infinite number of slices.

  The center of this cake will be Q, the point of intersection. All segments will converge on this tiny little point. You can guess the color of this point?” – “Grey. But what…” – “It was later discovered that Q can be simulated by a fractal simulation based on any atom.” This confused and angered me. I decided to play the skeptic and argued, “This means that this point would be mirroring the whole universe? But infinity is infinity, in the smallest and the biggest. You cannot put it into a box.” – “Almost, but we also found out that there is a kind of barrier that prevents unstructured information to enter certain areas of the grey.” – “Specific information in a certain point? By whom?” – “By everybody who can enter Q. It is amazing. Louie, we discovered the most exclusive club of the universe.”