Zero Point - Chapter 20

A Quantum Adventure Story

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CHAPTER 20

The next few weeks were exciting times at the lab as they continued to experiment successfully with Stelle-field transport. They were soon ready to write a short paper and send it to the physics journals.

While Ray was busy finalizing his chip in custom silicon, John worked on a new experiment, Stelle-field communications. He was certain that the military already had such a system in place and that it wouldn’t be much harder than building a Stelle-field transport system.

First, John would have to manufacture empty pilot-waves. The apparatus John would build would be very similar to the one the late Dr. Metzger had described to him. He would take the output of the laser, tuned near the ultraviolet, and pass it through a nonlinear crystal which would sharpen the beam further into single photons. The result would pass through a beam-splitter which would either pass the photon or send it off at a right-angle, splitting the pilot-wave. On the right-angle path would be a photon detector, if the detector triggered then the other path had been taken by the remains of an empty pilot-wave and this wave would be passed out of the device. If the detector did not trigger the photon had passed straight through the beam-splitter and would impinge on a reflective shutter and not proceed out of the device.

The empty pilot-waves could pass through the shutter and would then be modulated by a signal, encoding that signal on the empty pilot-waves and transmitting them. The receiver would be similar to an interferometer where the incoming pilot-waves would impinge on internally generated waves and create a kind of modulation of those waves which could be detected.

Unlike transporting a solid object, the empty pilot-waves would travel much farther with the same amount of energy input because they can travel with little attenuation through most materials.

John knew that since the military had already succeeded, all he had to do was competently build the device, which wouldn’t be as easy because he lacked the skills available to the military.

He was working in the shop area when Marta came in one afternoon.

“How’s it going, honey?” she asked.

“Well, I’m no machinist, that’s for sure,” he said. “But I’m hoping that even with such poor machining I’ll get the dimensions close enough that we’ll be able to detect something.”

“That’s all we need to do now,” she said. “Just a proof of concept. If we can do that I think we can get enough interest to build a more exacting model.”

“Anyone show any interest yet?” he asked.

“So far, I have about a half dozen interested parties, one of which you already know personally,” she said.

“Who would that be?” John asked as he continued to work on device.”

“Richard,” she said.

“Richard? You contacted Richard,” he said.

“No, he contacted me,” she said.

“Really?”

“Yeah, he said he was sorry for letting us down and disappearing the way he did, but he was concerned about getting involved with the military again,” she said.

“Why?”

“Richard thinks the military won’t like someone building a commercial version of these devices,” she said.

“So what, what can they do about it,” he said.

“I guess we can talk to Richard about that when we get this prototype running, he hopes to see it,” she said.

John continued working on his prototype though he continually worried that it wouldn’t be precise enough to generate or receive the pilot-waves he hoped to use.

The other team in the Institute, led by Stanley Robinson, had been working on a similar field of research called hydrodynamic quantum analogs. In their research droplets bouncing on a vibrating fluid bath exhibited features similar to those in quantum physics. The droplets, called walkers, in the system self-propelled along the surface of the liquid, guided by the waves they generated. This self-propulsion is similar to how particles might behave in quantum mechanics, influenced by wave-like properties.

Such quantum mechanical phenomena as diffraction and interference, tunneling, and quantized orbits could be seen in the hydrodynamic systems. Robinson and his team had their prototype built and were beginning to get results. They would use these analogous behaviors to support de Broglie’s pilot-wave theory in papers they hoped to publish.

Since all the research, one way or another, at the Institute was on de Broglie’s pilot-wave theory, Marta thought it would be a good idea for their first colloquium to be about the work. They could invite other researchers in pilot-wave theory and hydrodynamic quantum analogs to give talks. Marta thought maybe fifty or so researchers might be a good start, many could stay at the Institute housing and the others nearby in Oracle or Tucson for the three-day event. She proposed the idea to the others, and they were all in agreement, though John was worried that he might not have results by the time of the colloquium, which Marta set as the following April, when the weather would be improving from the winter cold.

With the additional motivation, John started working late into the night to get his experiment going, often Marta or one of the postdocs would be helping. It was on a cold January night that he was ready to test his work.

A postdoc, Eric Russell, had stayed to work with him.

“Okay Eric, I’m going to start trying to transmit you a simple Morse code in five minutes. You will go to where we setup the receiver on the other side of the building and try to take down the results. I won’t tell you what I’m sending, so that you are not biased in what you put down. Ready?”

“Yes, Dr. Carson.”

“Okay, let’s go,” said John.

Eric rushed out of the room. John watched the time while he monitored the power output of the laser. He had installed a telegrapher key to modulate the outgoing signal by opening and closing a shutter. It was mechanical and slow but John wanted to make it simple as possible so that it would not be an unknown source of complexity in the already complex experiment.

After five minutes he started keying the shutter. After another five minutes of sending his simple message repeatedly, John stopped. He called Eric at the other end of the building.

“Yes,” said Eric, “I got something, but I’m not sure it makes sense. I’ll be there in a moment.”

John was checking over his equipment when Eric entered the room.

“You got something?” asked John.

“Yeah, at first I couldn’t make anything out but then I started hearing it, I think,” said Eric.

“Okay, what did you record?” asked John

“This,” said Eric, showing John his pad.

A patient waiter is no loser.

Eric looked at John apprehensively.

“It doesn’t make sense, does it,” he said.

“It’s perfect Eric. That’s exactly what I sent, over and over.”

“Why that?” asked Eric.

“That was the message Samuel Morse, the creator of Morse code, sent with his new telegraphy system,” said John.

“Oh,” said Eric, “I didn’t know that. Makes a little more sense now.”

“Let’s shut down for tonight, I want to get back up the hill and tell Marta,” said John.

The first paper out of the Institute was about hydrodynamic quantum analogs and the second was John’s paper about sub-quantum communications. The work on sub-quantum transport by Marta and Beth was still being perfected. But the published papers gave the Institute recognition in the physics community.

“The timing is perfect,” said Marta at breakfast one morning. “The papers gave us enough recognition that the final spots in the colloquium filled. I think it will be a success.”

“That’s great, honey,” said John. “Getting off to a good start could really help with our applications to the science committee.”

“That money would allow us to add several more researchers,” she said.

“Yes, it’s time to grow,” said John.

“Well, next week is the colloquium, and two weeks afterwards the committee will make their mind up about our application,” she said.

“Marta, did you see this news article?” he asked holding his pad up so that she could see.

“Explosion in northern Montana destroys miles of countryside,” she read. “A nuclear weapon of some kind?”

“Doesn’t say, but I doubt it,” he said. “It says they believe it was centered on a military base. They think hundreds were killed.”

“That’s terrible,” she said. “Maybe there will be more details later.”

No more details were divulged about the explosion and John and Marta continued the preparations for the colloquium.

A couple of days before the colloquium was to begin the participants began to arrive. Marta and John placed several of the senior researchers in the campus houses. Others checked in but would be staying in Oracle or Tucson. John and Marta were down the hill early the first morning of the colloquium. By nine, most of the participants were in the auditorium and the lectures began.

John was the first speaker and had a large audience. His talk went well and he finished it by demonstrating his prototype.

The second lecture began with Stanley Robinson talking about his groups experiments in hydrodynamic quantum analogs. John was in the back of the auditorium when one of the postdocs came up to him.

“There are some people to see you Dr. Carson,” she said.

John looked surprised, he wasn’t expecting any more colloquium participants. He got up and followed the postdoc out to the lobby. There he saw some military officers waiting.

“You are Dr. Carson,” said one of the officers.

“Yes, I am,” said John.

“I’m Colonel Williams, I’m Adjutant to General Allen. He is out in the command vehicle and would like to talk with you.”

“Outside,” said John.

“Yes sir, it’s easier to control the security,” said the colonel.

John followed the officers outside and to what looked like a giant troop transport.

“In here sir,” said the colonel opening the door of the vehicle so that John could climb up and into it.

John found himself in a large room where several soldiers were standing around a seated officer behind a small desk.

“I’m General Allen,” said the man seated. “Please have a seat Dr. Carson.”

John took the seat in front of the desk, he noticed it was attached to the floor of the vehicle.

“Dr. Carson, have you heard anything about the explosion in Montana?”

“Just that a very large explosion occurred,” John said.

“Okay, what I am about to tell you should go no further unless I approve, understand?”

“Yes sir.”

“We know that you and your wife worked at the military research labs not far from here with Dr. Brackett and Dr. Herbert,” he said.

“That’s correct,” said John.

“Well, I’m sorry to tell you they were killed in the incident,” said the general.

“Oh no,” said John.

“Yes, it’s much worse than that,” said the general. “Everyone that was working on pilot-wave projects perished.”

John was stunned, all the people he had worked with, gone.

“Do you know what happened General?”

“No, Dr. Carson we don’t and that’s why I am here. You and the people at your Institute are now the experts on pilot-wave physics in this country and we are going to need your help. You see, we know that other countries are pursuing this same technology and this country can’t afford to be left behind.”

“What do you want me to do?” asked John.

“We want you to become head of the project and continue the work of your colleagues who have died,” said the general.

“But what about my work here, the Institute. We are just getting started,” said John.

“If you agree with my request then you may work wherever you wish Dr. Carson. Of course, for the foreseeable future the Institute will be under the supervision of the government and that means there will be some secrecy involved, there’s no way around it I’m afraid. So, this will be the last public colloquium for a while,” said the general.

“But General, I have my wife and a dozen others to think about,” said John.

“You may meet with them and offer them the same jobs they are doing now, Dr. Carson. Only they will be working under government direction until the project is finished.”

“Finished, how?” asked John.

“When you develop a field deployable communications and transport system based on pilot-wave physics,” said the general. “Then you may return to your research as you wish.”

“What if I say no?”

“Then your Institute will be attached by the government and others will develop the technology. You and the others here who refuse will not be able to work on the technology until the government has working equipment,” said the general.

“Doesn’t sound like much choice to me,” said John.

“I’m sorry if it seems that way to you Dr. Carson but this is a matter of national security and the lives we’ve already lost will not be in vain,” said the general.

“Very well General, I will go along with your wishes, and I will speak to the others about it. But I want to finish the colloquium first,” said John.

“I’m afraid I need you to start immediately and shut down the colloquium today,” said the general.

“General, I assume we need to be somewhat circumspect about this change, and I think to just tell everyone to go home would not be best for the secrecy and security you desire,” said John.

The general thought a moment.

“Okay doctor, finish the colloquium and quietly recruit researchers to our project. You will be reporting to me. Any more questions?”

“No, not now General.”

“Thank you for coming doctor, I will see you again, soon,” said the general.

John got up and exited the vehicle, watching it and the other military vehicles drive away before going back to the auditorium. The first person he would tell would be Marta.