Artur Zadikyan
Parallel Worlds pro et contra
Chapter 6. Tangled Couples
– Dear gentlemen, we are all smart, intelligent, wise and chipped. We're also powerful and all-powerful. I'm sorry, it's just so we don't skimp on such an important project. You must agree that when I… well, we," he looked at the smiling Rutru, "when we presented you with the cloning project, the rapid cloning project, you, in addition to being amazed, felt tremendous and, I'm not afraid to say, self-serving envy. After all, this is the way to eternal life. Copy yourself as much as you want. Only have money. And you have enough capital, because you have a lot of power, that is, all the power is yours.
– Dear doctor, let us not be… I note that we got it by our labors and our mind. And money is not so important to us. We set the rules of power and control it. It's a system. It's not a dynasty, it's not a takeover, it's not a redistribution. You of all people should know that. So let's get scientific. We've been watching the spectacle for over an hour now. I'll admit, it's certainly worthwhile.
The chairman was a bit harsh, perhaps also because he himself came from a scientific background. Like most of the council. And the Sphere system was mostly made up of people of science. The chairman was right. The organization was not created by powerful families, clans of special services or financial oligarchs. These structures knew nothing about it. Or rather, no one knew anything about it. The wealth and danger of scientists was demonstrated by the latest "circus" that had just taken place in the center. Scientists could create something that neither special services, nor oligarchs, nor military, nor religious figures could understand, being already under their full control. They and only they stood at the top of everything new, and after their inventions or discoveries could be used for their own purposes (even if for selfish purposes, even if they wanted to control mankind) by all the above-mentioned (and not only) groups. That is why in the voice of the chairman there was a certain fear of himself as one of the members of the scientific community. The fear of all before all. Therefore, the system revealed more and more the personal lives of the people who were part of it, not shy even to recommend marriages and the time of conception of offspring.
– I'm sorry," the doctor said guiltily, with a sigh. – I understand, but please accept my further method of proposing, presenting and even explaining the project. Not everyone is knowledgeable in this field. Not everyone is well versed in the exact sciences. Now how do I say this so as not to offend. I will be listened to, the topic studied and approved by more than just the board members. Right? That's right. And, no offense, there are a lot of people in the system – financiers, military, specialists in some other fields.
– Mr. Doctor, let's get on topic," the chairman asked rather loudly and firmly.
– Okay, here I go. Everything that can be imagined exists. Otherwise it can't be imagined. The idea of the world is in the brain, in representations. The many-worlds interpretation, or the Everett interpretation, is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that assumes the existence (in a sense) of "parallel universes", each with the same laws of nature and the same world constants in different states.
The Council did not need to be told about the scientific background of the theory of multiple worlds. For the average person such a thing was perceived as a fantasy, because not everyone knew that there was a scientific basis for the existence of parallel worlds. There were several explanations, among them – the Copenhagen interpretation, Everett's many-worlds interpretation and other similar ones. The point is that the scientific community studied this issue, so no one could take the speaker's words lightly. Everyone tried to understand how it was possible, knowing his past, no less fantastic ideas, which still managed to materialize.
This time he stated that indeed there are these parallel worlds, moreover – they are an exact copy of ours. As proof, the scientist cited quantum teleportation. Since not everyone to whom he presented his program understood the subtleties of his reasoning, the speaker made detailed explanations.
– Let me explain how it can be. In physics, quantum teleportation is a very real thing. What is it? It is a transfer of quantum state of an electron, i.e. a tiny particle, of which, however, our world and we ourselves consist. So, it is the transfer of particle states over a distance by means of a coupled (or entangled) pair separated in space. Now I'll explain what this is. Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in which the states of two (or more) particles appear to be interdependent. For example, it is possible to get a pair of particles which are in an entangled state, i.e. connected with each other as if by kinship ties, and then if at measurement of a regular circle, let's say, of the first particle the helicity turns out to be positive, then the helicity of the second particle will always be negative… and vice versa. Such interdependence is always preserved even if these objects are separated in space beyond any known interactions. So, logically, they should have no connection. But a change in the parameter of one particle leads to an instantaneous change in the state of another. It's a miracle. And this miracle is possible because the process occurs instantaneously… not just above the speed of light, but instantaneously. And here I can prove that this is not some kind of miracle, but quite a natural phenomenon. According to the laws of physics, as we know, nothing can be transferred from one place to another at a speed greater than the speed of light. Accordingly, we know nothing about anything that moves above the speed of light. Quantum teleportation does not transfer energy or matter over distance. The fantastic notion of teleportation comes from a specific interpretation of the experiment: the original state of the particle collapses after all that has happened, as if it were to appear elsewhere. That is, the state was not copied, but transferred from one place to another. Well, now you will say that this is nonsense, because in fact both energy and information are transferred. Information, I think, for sure. Because the state of one particle is transferred to another particle. All right. Let's do this – you'll believe me without the scientific details. Master Rutra Paschov and I have invented a technology with which we can copy your brain, that is, what you really are, transmit its state over a distance with instantaneous (or almost instantaneous) speed, and then – the most interesting thing – put this state into another brain. Now for the even more curious part. I can do this: we will send all this from one person, put it into another, and the one from whom we took the initial consciousness will be the first in the alien body. That is, first we will bring a person's brain with the help of neuro-linguistic programming and hypnosis into such a state, when he, getting into a new body, brings that brain as if into a coma state, i.e. disconnects it, and then acts on his own. Besides, a timer program will be laid down, and he, this first mind, will switch off at the appointed time and return to the original body. And the person, from which the mind and consciousness was sent, will then know and remember everything that he felt in another's body. Here is a miracle from the greatest genius of all times and peoples. What do you think?
– Grandiose, magnificent," Rutra said with a triumphant applause.
The rest of the attendees looked at each other, some just smiled.
– We don't want to disbelieve you, but it's hard to believe it either," the head of the economic bloc said no less solemnly.
The situation was familiar, as with the past fantastic proposals of the "luminary of science". The thing was that the other masters did not spend resources on practical testing of the scientist's ideas. Though any wonderful ideas could be tested here or a real program could be disguised as something else in some science center or complex. All it required was money, and the power was already there. The Sphere system was a secret organization of an international consortium of the world's rulers, but there were still points that could not be hidden: large expenditures required explanation to the public. It was clear to ordinary but thinking people that, for example, the grandiose Large Hadron Collider, running several billion dollars deep between several countries, had not been built simply to find some hypothetical Higgs boson. The same is true here. The cost is already looming in the minds of the audience. It couldn't be an inexpensive thing. Everyone realized this project was bigger than building a spaceport. In addition, everything must take place secretly, with distraction. But what was said next surprised everyone except Rutra.
– I'll tell you right away, the project itself is inexpensive. I will say, if we do not have to build another similar center. After all, the participants of the project, whom we are going to send to parallel worlds, have to live and prepare themselves, i.e. everyday life must exist, their bodies must be serviced in the process. But nevertheless I still think it is worth it. Imagine if someone had told you at the dawn of the invention of electricity: one day the whole world will be covered with wires. You would have said, "There are not enough resources for that, it is impossible to realize. Wouldn't you? And now think… if I say that this installation, which, by the way, is not very different from the virtual reality installation, will be an ordinary commodity, that such flights to parallel worlds will be entertainment and attraction. How's that? You'll say: he's sick. Yes, I am carried from primitive consciousness to the depths of space.
– Wait, wait, wait. Let's take it back to Earth. Let's say all of this is true. The technology for consciousness transfer is kind of already in place. Quantum teleportation is known to science. But please tell me, what makes you think there are parallel worlds? Have you already tried your process? – the same head of the department asked less emotionally.
– All of this comes from what I said. I was talking about quantum entanglement. That is to clarify: entanglement is not from the word "entanglement", but from the fact that one particle has a double, which allows a parallel reality, somewhere changes with instantaneous speed its state. Repeats it, the particle. Like you in a mirror, your reflection. Quantum teleportation provides the answer to the existence of these worlds. It's hard to believe, but it does. Billions of years this process has been going on. We're all made up of these particles. We know what photography, x-rays, tomography are, and it doesn't surprise us anymore. What's that… cloning and genetically modified foods don't even surprise us. So why not assume that our whole world, consisting of molecules, atoms, particles and so on, emitting all this every second, has not folded into the same world in another area, where the appropriate conditions exist. Why shouldn't that be allowed to happen? So, logically speaking – all of this is there, is there in numerous forms, that is, one world is reflected in another, and that one in a third, and so on. Of course, with each copy, and taking into account the conditions around, the subsequent world will already be a little different.
– All right. Let's get to the practical part. How many resources do you need for this, for all the stages of the project, if you prove its viability here? – asked the financier firmly.
– That's the thing – not much at all. We need to build one more additional center with installations, or better yet, two. You understand, we'll send the human consciousness to the edge of the universe, and the body will stay here. Imagine if something happens: a fire, an earthquake, an asteroid, a nuclear war. There must be insurance.
– Oh, great. You're saying the rig could be affected? Don't you think something could happen to the body, too?
Obviously, a dispute started between the scientist and the head of the economic block. Everyone listened to their discussion with interest.
– Now what I – I mean, I'll put it this way: I'm very grateful to the board for that past project. Grateful to those who believed in it and made it happen. I mean cloning and creating a second personality from the original. Agree, to create a copy of you, and at any desired age, and even with changed parameters, for example, a different hair color, is also a grand idea and work. Now I'm going to use this technology. I'll create a clone of the person whose consciousness we're sending. And we will keep a digital copy of the consciousness, if something goes wrong, say, our test subject dies there and it will be mirrored, i.e. the body dies here, – then we will be able to put the digital copy into the clone. Everything will be restored. A miracle? Absolutely.
– I have nothing to say. And yet – how much are you asking? – Without expressing any particular surprise, the economist emphasized his question.
– Fifty billion, I think, will be enough," the scientist replied quite calmly.
– Well, shall we risk it? – addressed the economist to the audience.
– According to the protocol – the co-author responsible for the practical part of the project must provide evidence of the feasibility of the project," the head of the Sphere system's governing board said expectantly to everyone.
– The project is feasible and the first trial is cost and risk free. It can be done here. It's a test of transferring consciousness from one to another, which is what you actually observed. The second stage – we'll do the same thing in Earth conditions, somewhere between continents. The third is between Earth and space, and then we can launch everything into distant parallel worlds," Ruthra answered the demands for explanations, his voice extremely confident.
He knew his role, he knew his power. In Ruthra's system, if he was not the first and most important, he was certainly an equal among the first.
– As for the practical part, I don't think there are enough fingers on my hands to list in what fields and for what purpose this process can be used. For example, even in earthly conditions it is possible to create several clones of one person, and he can be instantly transported across oceans and continents and remain himself. It is the same in those worlds. Initially, once there, you can create the same technological setups and the same clones. So traveling to deep, deep space is not a problem at all now.
By voicing such fantastic possibilities for the project, Rutra not only inclined the council to approve the scientist's proposal, but also ignited a desire to make future financial investments. His scientist friend glowed. It was clear how grateful he was.
– You know, I still have to say," the chairman began cautiously. – I am, of course, surprised at the lack of questions and the way we are taking this project on faith. Of course, the topic of cloning and this show you put on played a role, but let's look at it a little bit from the outside. Mr. Master, do you want us to believe in the existence of other worlds, even if we leave aside our faith in technology? I'm still asking for proof. Honestly, if it's not protocol, I'd like it to be true. But you should also understand what we're talking about right now. Okay? What does the board say? Do we approve stage one? Give us six months for preliminary preparations? Allocate a sum of money for the first, earthly, part of the project? – the head of the council asked the audience.
To Rutra's surprise, almost everyone was silent. It was clear that the project was very improbable. Rutra thought to himself: "That's all right, soon I'll be the chairman of the council, and I won't approve any of your projects. Of course, he thought this in jest. However, he made sure that his emotional state was transmitted to those around him.
– I approve," said the head of the economic bloc.
Turns out everyone was waiting for it. Almost simultaneously, the others were in favor of approving the project.
– I am very grateful to you. I promise to send you to parallel worlds, too," the scientist said cheerfully.
To which the economist hastily replied:
– No, no, no. You first, please, yourself.
He spoke with a smile. Everyone understood the joke. For Rutra and the luminary of science, the meeting was over, the assistants took off their masks, and the world became ordinary.
Chapter 7. The Ribhu Mission
Rutra had been interested in this technology since his days with the secret organization Zero. But it had frightened him a great deal at the time. The tried and tested method assured him even more that this method of humanity's existence in the future would not be alternative. But only not by moving into each other, but by moving the consciousness according to the principle of the influence of entangled pairs to the far reaches of space. There the consciousness had to find its shelter, i.e. another biological body. If not, it would return to the original one without risk. What is consciousness? It's an aura of brain waves generated by the brain. With their help Rutra wanted to influence the particles, and those in turn, influencing each other, exchanging states (and the distance, as it was said, did not play a role for them), had to do the same as any other change. When we speak, draw, write, tap out Morse code, even when we make babies – we are converting one action into another, and initially converting an idea, a thought into a desire and action. In the same way these particles, influencing each other, had to form a copy of the original consciousness from other waves there, somewhere far away, in someone's brain. People use such technologies everywhere, only we are not copying consciousness yet.
Rutra began to prepare a large-scale project, although a pilot launch had to be done first. The project had many organizational and other issues, including moral and ethical ones. This is inevitable in any new endeavor, especially one so phantasmagorical. Rutru's life experience had taught him that it was necessary to endure it, and also to properly justify and present the idea, but nothing, of course, should stop the prospect, progress and his idea. He decided to take it seriously.
How often does it happen in people? Because of lack of free time, indecision, fear, they begin to think that it is not worth wasting their nerves and strength. Those who believe in failure do just that. And those who believe in victory dive in headfirst. Disappointment is their companion, but still the latter often win, achieve their goal, because at least they try.
Ruthra couldn't afford, and didn't want, to point his finger at the sky. What he wanted was a specific, programmed result. He decided without reservation that if he were to use such an extraordinary technology, he would use it with the most probable, intended result. Thinking about it, Ruthra came to a seemingly simple, as it might seem at first glance, but striking conclusion: the mission had to be carried out by a child, and not by any child. Everything had to meet certain criteria. From his genes to his subconscious… or, as Ruthra himself said, the thoughts he would have in the long run. Yes, there was a possible risk: the child might not return....
By transmitting consciousness through the influence of one particle on its copy, it was possible to achieve the main goal – to overcome great distances. After all, even if you fly at the speed of light, i.e. 300 000 kilometers per second, you will pass our galaxy only in a circle for 327 000 years. That's if you go in one outer circle, and there are about 400,000,000,000,000,000 stars in it, except for the planets. It will take you 2,551,000 years to get to the nearest galaxy at this incredible speed. And it's 18,000,000,000,000 years to the known edge of the universe, not to mention other universes whose existence is in doubt. So, the second advantage of this technology is that, apart from the instantaneous transfer of the state of one particle to another, these particles find each other. That is, they do not fly anywhere, or rather, they transfer their state, knowing in advance from u the entangled pair. This can be compared to the way a glass lens and electrical signals preserve your appearance, voice and transmit instantly to the other side of the earth. This too would once have been magic, tell anyone such a thing, even Archimedes himself.
Rutra came up with the idea of the child precisely because there was a risk of it not returning after the transfer of consciousness to distant worlds. So, even if it was a temporary glitch in the system, the child would grow up, not grow old and die. Although… depends on what kind of failure. It was almost impossible to influence the processes "out there" from here. It was impossible to accurately guess what a person would encounter. Perhaps the world was an exact copy with minimal differences, for example, the test subject would like something there that he was deprived of on earth. Or perhaps – the air, the sun, the seasons… everything was the same, only the circumstances, the living conditions were different. Maybe there this person would have found himself in other relationships with people, would have gone to a different school, would have been engaged in a new profession, the story of love would have been successful or unsuccessful. After all, the basic idea was that these worlds, in fact, cannot be completely different. It is only in fantasy that they are different. And the idea was that life could only be born in conditions like ours. As for the differences… there are already differences. Just look closely at how different we all are. All inhabitants of the planet. That's why the child was chosen on the criterion of risk: if something unforeseen in the technology itself or a glitch in this person's desire were to happen, there should be enough time to study the world and prepare the test subject to become what one wants to mold him or her into. The child could grow up, learning along the way, get information into the brain and create a similar system, and then go back.
Rutra began to prepare the project: to collect material, to find a person for the experiment, to "polish" the basic idea. At the same time, Rutra had a lot of things to do about his past work and the subject. He could not forget about it. The trail of responsibilities from the past follows us all our lives. Even if we want to abandon it, we must have the strength and will to abandon what is no longer needed, otherwise we will abandon both morality and conscience, and we will be abandoned ourselves.
At first, Rutra was looking for a corresponding child, believing that such a hero would be the most optimal for the project's long-term existence and the expansion of time boundaries. But then he realized that it was possible to find a woman who would give the world a very young person with her whole life ahead of her. It was incredible, amazing for this project, this mission. Maybe it was risky and absurd, but it was promising. The child should not be in the mission from the beginning. It must be born by the missionary herself! It was a kind of eureka moment, but elementary simple. All you have to do is decide to do it.
It took Rutra two months to understand all this! He considered many variants, explored the topic back and forth, put forward and disproved his hypotheses, went into parallel realities with the appropriate logic, but still something was wrong! One thing didn't fit with the other. The full plot of the mission was not built up in any way. At first it seemed to him a lot of time for the realization of the project, then not enough. Time had become the main factor, the criterion of the mission; it had become material to Rutra.
According to the technology and the idea, it was possible to calculate the code of the human mind, that is, the way we think, to transform it, to direct it with a beam in space to the target, and by acting on molecules to fold them into a living cell, and then to create a reasonable being. Then, already being the source of its thought, which Rutra called the initial state of personality, the real self, what we would realize ourselves to be if we were incorporeal, – to compel it to do what is necessary. After all, the action of creating something, the same painting, sculpture, writing a program for a computer, or even the process of conception, is also a transformation of thought into action. It is a certain set of influences of one thing on another. He called such influence on matter, transformation into some living being, a form of life, including a human being, "syntheme". After all, in essence – each individual unit of the DNA code is inanimate, but the whole is the main cell of life. He coined the term "syntem" himself, it meant a synthesizer of thought, something that gave birth to thought from information. Accordingly, first it was necessary to physiologically change the tissue of the thinking apparatus, i.e. the brain, then to give information, i.e. to influence it, and then to form a thought out of this information, which was later to become a beacon for the fulfillment of what was planned by someone else's physical actions. In fact, this technology made it possible to create a reasonable person out of a creature without intelligence and, practically taking possession of it, to control with the help of supposedly spontaneous thoughts that came to mind, to realize any actions that this creature could afford physically (and even more). First, it would become real to influence inanimate matter, and if the second experiment was successful, it would be possible to create life. Even if primitive, it would still be a sensation. Secondly, already created life can be brought to such intellectual stuffing, which will create everything, including space technology. That is, being in the consciousness of this new person, literally being his personality, it is possible to create a civilization. This technology Rutra called "god." At first, however, the most important factor for the project was to have the right test subject, and he was having trouble with that. According to the parameters set by him, the computer reviewed variant after variant, checked them, compared them, calculated possible actions and behaviors in different situations. For example, you can set such a parameter – "what a person will do if he finds a threat to his life", and the answer will be obvious, because the criterion itself is schematic. But if it is a specific situation, be it defense against a predator, earthquake, fire, sinking of a ship, war, fight, then the options of actions are quite diverse. If you introduce another parameter, for example, "a boat/war ship/cruise liner is sinking", then there are many more branches. Further – for example, it happens at night, you have a child with you, you are at sea, there is a storm, and so on, right down to what subconscious fears and motivations you have in the back of your mind or consciousness.
While more and more data was being entered into the machine, Rutra was gathering material, preparing the mission, and refining the machine. The euphoria of his first "flight" made his insides tingle. Rutra wanted to organize everything quickly… So another quarter of a year passed. In the end, it was necessary to make an extraordinary and at the same time the most expedient, logical, though risky decision as it seemed: to include in the program someone whose personality had not yet been formed. The most correct, as the artificial intelligence gave out of the variety of options, was to send a child on a flight and in the process adapt it to the surrounding reality. It was not an easy decision that changed a lot of things. The flurry of emotion in the debate was just an incidental element in the ocean of passions. Who would receive this honor? And most importantly, was everyone ready to take responsibility for the risk this individual would take?
Rutra began each day with a fixed mask on his face that concealed his preoccupation with current affairs and the reality of existence. He was constantly thinking about the key link in his concept. Everything seemed to be right, a logical and optimal option had finally been found. Rutra even thought that someone had put the idea into his head, which was why he thought it was the most correct. Then Ruthra decided to use his own method, which he called the theory of "pure reason" or "alien's view", which said: imagine yourself as a non-human, non-Earthling, free of all thoughts, concepts, emotions that are inherent in the inhabitants of the planet. This is the only way to soberly evaluate human actions and the logic of decisions.
As Ruthra circled around his idea, he returned time and again to this virtual child astronaut already formed in his mind. There were parameters to be reckoned with, and some of them were momentous. The child was by far the most appropriate option and in terms of temporal boundaries, the parameters of time. Despite humanity's great achievements, even if we gain power over everything – the sun, the universe, death – still time remains beyond our control. The Great Equalizer was speechless and indifferent. It was such an apt definition that Ruthra began to sink deeper and deeper into the meaning of those words. He tried not to succumb to sentimentality or religious views. He had to recognize that only time for Rutra could be called a god while not existing as a substance and at the same time having absolute power over all substances.
Many times Ruthra thought that everything was ready, that he could begin, but analyzing again and again, he came to the conclusion that something was missing. He felt it intuitively. There was a certain muse missing, which helped to put everything into a single chain. A child in the role of a small astronaut was logical and not logical at the same time. Such a grandly risky and ingenious idea would have been a challenge even then if it had been about conventional spaceflight in a real human body. The human-launched Voyager 1 spacecraft reached the limits of the solar system in 35 years. For interplanetary flights, if we overcome radiation, it will be relevant within the solar system. But it takes 40,000 years to fly to the nearest star. In that case, we can't even on Earth predict events. The child (or children) must grow up in flight, gain a base of knowledge and experience, complete the mission, and return healthy, sane, even if old. Flying to the stars, even at superluminal speeds, takes a long time for a person whose life in the timeline is but a blink of an eye for eternity. A light speed of 300,000 kilometers per second is grandiose for earthly distances, but impossible for earthlings, according to the formula E=MC2. It is impossible for material objects at all. Only that which has no mass, i.e. light, radio waves, can travel at such a speed. Even if the speed was ten times the speed of light, it is still negligible for cosmic distances. Imagine a billion years. Even if you fly not ten, but a hundred thousand times faster than the speed of light – even then you will not have enough human life on Earth, even, perhaps, the life of a civilization.
