Queen - Thank God It's Christmas

Quantum Shorts 2015 - http://relativityquantumphysics.blogspot.com/2015/12/our-quantum-shorts.html

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Master of the MultiverseThe Golden CodeThe Card

MASTER OF THE MULTIVERSE

When in a superposition a quantum object can exist in two or more states at once. A person can be both alive and dead at the same time.

Albert fired up the machine. The engine blew hot air out of the grids and then started to make a loud noise. The gate’s lights started blinking. It was powered up. The noises became louder and louder by the second, until it reached a high pitched tone that could pierce right through your brain. Then a lightning bolt appeared inside the gate as the whole system shut down. Albert wrote on his computer: “Interdimensional rift creating experiment, attempt 105 failed. More power required”

“Sweetheart, please go to sleep. It’s 3 in the morning.”

 Albert looked at Gini standing on the stairs with big, expressive brown eyes. Her red hair looked a lot more disheveled than they normally did. Albert didn’t know if she had just been woken up by the sounds of the machines or if she was waiting for him to come. Either way he was really surprised to see her down in the basement.

“Honey I’m really close, I can feel it. All it needs is more power. If my calculations are right it should take about…”

“All you care about is your work. You don’t give me any attention anymore,” she cried.

Albert hugged Gini as her hot tears imbued his sweaty Star Wars T-shirt.

      “That’s not true my love, he comforted her. I am on the verge of an astonishing discovery     that could change the world as we…”

“When will you realize that this isn’t your job anymore? The university stopped funding your research weeks ago. And look at you now, Al! You are just some loser in his basement trying to play God with stolen public equipment,” Gini shouted.

Albert then, with a face full surprise, sat on the armchair and put his face between his knees. His wife approached him slowly as she oozed guilt.

“Al, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…”

“You think I do this for the money?” he shouted to her surprise.

“You think I do this for the fame? Of course not! I do this to unravel the mysteries of the world, I do this to advance science and, last but not least, I do this for me! And I will keep doing it until my last breath on this planet.”

Gini was speechless, but after a few seconds she screamed at her husband:

“Albert Edward Stevenson, you are a crazy man,” she cried and slammed the door as she left.  

“Little does she know. Am I right Schrödinger?”

Schrödinger meowed once and then went back to sleep, as he always did.

“Little does anybody know,” Albert moaned.

And it was true. Dozens of people had doubted him, or even called him a mad scientist in the past. He recalls the times when the other kids at school used to call him a nerd and bully him because of his interest in sciences. Although he had more of an obsession rather than an interest in them. While other kids looked up to actors, models or football stars he idolized Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla and, of course, Albert Einstein. All his life he had been teased about what he loved but he had never given up on his dream. And then, one day, he was given an opportunity to turn his dream into reality. A university would fund his research on an interdimensional rift creating machine. But, after months without results the university pulled the plug on his research.  

“Morons, he mumbled, they gave financial support to the greatest scientific experiment of all time and then decided to give up. Well I won’t.” Then silence filled the room.

He would try for the last time.

 Albert slowly pulled the lever.

 The engine was on.

That was it.

The machine made a loud noise.

 That was the end.

The gate’s lights started blinking.

 The end of his research.

The noises became louder and louder by the second.

 The end of his dream.

Then, instead of a lightning bolt, a spinning, glowing white orb appeared in the middle of the gate. Albert remained speechless. He had done it. He had finally done it. He was the century’s greatest scientist! By that time the orb kept spinning at higher and higher speeds until it flattened out into a glowing white disk and then into a flat mirror. Or was it really a mirror?

Albert approached the mirror with caution. The Albert inside the mirror did the same.

“We made it at last,” said the Albert inside the mirror.

“We truly did,” said Albert.

“Now it’s time for experiment number 2,” Albert from inside the mirror said as he pulled a gun from his pants, “Can a superposition be possible?”

Albert froze for a moment. He couldn’t believe that after all this effort he would be killed by himself. But he watched in terror as he observed the other Albert start crying and pointing the weapon to his own head.

“For science,” said the other Albert.

“For science,” said Albert.              

             

The Card

Lisa was the only survivor.

Lisa had been excited for many a day before Saturday. Saturday was aunt Elisabeth’s birthday. She was her favorite relative and the one whose name she had taken.

Lisa had persuaded her brother Michael to help her make a special card for the occasion. They had spent a whole afternoon zealously occupied with the construction of an intricate birthday card. To their eyes it was perfect. The precious card was placed inside a red round box under Lisa’s bed, where she kept everything of great importance to her.

And at last the day had come.

“Are you ready kids?”  mum asked. Of course they were, so astonishingly eager to leave. Aunt Elisabeth was apparently not the kind of grumpy relative everybody hated! The family got into the car. Everything was settled and the card was safe and sound in the back seat waiting to be delivered to its rightful owner.

Lisa finally relaxed. She didn’t know why, but the whole thing with the card had made her really anxious the past few days. She was now incredibly relieved.

As soon as the engine started, the day was bound to be a great success.

They arrived just in time, even though there was a rather severe traffic jam. After a series of the usual hugs and kisses with long-lost relatives, the time had come. When Lisa (… and her brother) offered the card to her aunt, she felt prouder than ever. At that specific moment she believed that her whole life depended on that little square piece of paper…And maybe it did.

…………………………………………………………………………….

“Hurry kids! Aunt is waiting. We will not get there in time for the cake!” said mum and it was clear her patience wouldn’t last for long. Dad was already in the car and it was high time they left. Lisa pushed Michael in the back seat and the engine purred.

After some minutes of awkward silence, Lisa decided to talk. “It’s all your fault!” she accused her brother. “You were the one who was supposed to have held on to the card,” he answered back equally hostile. “I know where I had put it. Someone must have changed its place! When I opened the box I was sure I would find it there…”

The argument lasted for over five minutes, with the explanation of the card’s disappearance still shrouded in mystery. Hadn’t it been for that lost birthday card, and the extensive searching it involved, they would have probably arrived at aunt’s house by then.

Lisa was devastated. All she wanted was to give that card to her aunt and receive the usual praises. Michael always wanted to ruin her dreams, but he was too cowardly to admit his responsibility!

“Stop fighting about nonsense! It’s not the end of the world!” Mum sighed. “Now please, just be quiet! We’re almost there”

The children weren’t pleased, as their dispute was getting rather passionate, but decided not to pull their mother’s trigger.

Lisa gazed out of the window still frustrated. Even her mum had called the card nonsense…

A moment later everything turned upside down.

The witnesses claimed the car was running at extreme speed and that the driver hadn’t been paying attention.

Lisa was the only survivor…

…Or was she?