Catherine Carson had not known what to expect when she entered the lab, but she had expected more than this. Other than the presence of a large bank of computers and some kind of booth that looked like an airport body scanner, they could have been in any laboratory in any scientific establishment. As incredible as it all seemed she now accepted there had to be substance to the professor claims. But her senses still betrayed her. Why did everything look so ordinary? They were privy to the most significant discovery in the history of the human race, yet it felt like the induction at the start of a night school class. If they had entered the room to find something akin to the Large Hadron Collider it would have felt more appropriate, but this! She noticed Stuart was staring at the booth; the professor had noticed this also. He was clearly a very intuitive guy as once again he had gauged their thoughts exactly. “It doesn’t look very impressive does it?”
“I’ve come to realise of late that perception often defies reality professor,” Catherine offered, looking to Stuart. Stuart said nothing. He had not yet been informed of the true purpose of his being there but it wasn’t difficult to work out what that purpose was. The simple looking booth he now stared at in the middle of the lab could be a doorway back to Lauren and the life he had all but given up on. He looked back at Catherine and the life he might have had.
The professor looked at his watch and then at Dr Cooper who was sat in front of a computer monitor. Dr Marks was stood by the booth taking readings from a digital display mounted on the side of it. “ETA five minutes, professor,” Dr Cooper informed him.
Professor Humphries walked over to the booth and beckoned Stuart and Dr Carson to join him. They stopped about a metre away from it and the professor explained to them the equipment they were now looking at was known as, for reasons that would soon become apparent, ‘the Harmoniser’. On closer inspection, it looked to Stuart like a shower cubical complete with a tray at the bottom and several rows of small fluorescent lights at the top where the spray nozzle should be. He received a tap on the shoulder as Dr Marks handed them each a pair of sunglasses and suggested they put them on immediately. “ETA one minute,” Dr Cooper announced. They put on their glasses and waited. Dr Cooper started a countdown.
“Ten, nine, eight…………………………………………zero”
Right on the count of zero the booth filled with a brilliant white light which lasted for about thirty seconds before dying down again. As the light faded they noticed something moving in the tray at the bottom of the booth. When it had dispersed completely the source of the movement was revealed. A small, white guinea pig scampering around the tray, nostrils twitching frantically.
“Right on time,” the professor declared through a smile. Dr Marks pressed a button mounted below the display she had been monitoring. The doors to the Harmoniser opened with a hiss. She reached in and scooped up the guinea pig with her hands. She gave the animal a thorough inspection before declaring it intact. She took it over to one of the benches were she pricked the pad of one paw and squeezed out a drop of blood on to a microscope slide.
“So, is that from my universe?” Stuart asked demonstrating he had grasped exactly what the purpose of the Harmoniser was.
“It may have been to your universe Stuart but its originating point was here. We originally sent this animal through two days ago. Before we sent it through Dr Cooper inserted a genetic marker into its chromosomes. Within four hours of it disappearing from the Harmoniser another guinea pig appeared. It did not carry the marker. We returned that animal three hours ago. Hopefully this is our original animal back. If it turns out to be the case we can calculate with confidence that the corresponding points in each universe are coming closer together. At the point when the time difference between the two is zero we will have the optimum chance to guarantee we can put you back in the correct location. We expect that to be in about two days’ time.”
Catherine asked the professor how the Harmoniser could open the wormholes in the first place. He explained that by measuring the amount of light absorbed in the black spots appearing when one of these events occurs naturally, they could calculate how much energy would be required to cause a quantum collapse. He went on to explain how the required energy is drawn from the environment and focused onto a single point by the resonators which are the glass tubes at the top of the Harmoniser. To simplify this he asked them to imagine the two parallel universes being separated by a pane of glass. When the required energy is drawn by the Harmoniser and focused onto a single particle the strings of that particle unravel and collapse. A chain reaction then occurs affecting all the neighbouring particles which also unravel and collapse. When this occurs they momentarily stop vibrating and lose all their mass. This continues to spread through all the particles in the vicinity until all of the energy available is used up. Initially all of the resulting collapsed particles exist in a single plane at their origin and are completely inert unless a catalyst is introduced to the reaction. The professor sat down on the edge of a computer consul to continue his explanation. “Using the pane of glass analogy, this can be visualised by picturing a two-dimensional patch of condensation on the glass. At this point unless a catalyst is introduced the particles remain inert for a period of time before they start to vibrate again and regain their original mass. However,” he offered, pausing for effect and brushing back his hair in the manner they had become familiar with, “if DNA is introduced into the mix it acts as a catalyst and the particles behave very differently. Due to the way DNA can modify the particles making up its structure, it has an amazing effect on the chain reaction. Instead of collapsing into a two-dimensional form devoid of mass, the particles form a multidimensional form of incredible mass.” He threw his arms out wide to illustrate incredible mass. “These particles stretch the pane of glass from their point of origin into the next universe. This creates a harmonic imbalance between the two universes which triggers an identical reaction in the opposite direction. So the particles in the alternate universe stretch the glass into this one. When the harmonic imbalance has been addressed the extensions in the pane of glass bud off and everything returns to normal but the two sources of DNA have swapped universes. Stuart felt like he wanted to clap at this point but refrained. “In the event you’ve just witnessed the catalyst used was the guinea pig,” the professor concluded.
“I’m guessing you want me to be the next catalyst?” Stuart asked. “We would like to carry out a few more animal tests first but we do want to send a human through and you are the ideal candidate Stuart. The black spots indicating the events are generated as a result of the energy from the formation of the wormhole and the energy of anything passing through it. We can make a fairly accurate guess as to what portion is from the quantum collapse and what portion is the matter passing through but it’s not exact. This means we can’t be sure where we are sending our subject. If we have a subject that has already passed through,” he pointed to Stuart, “our calibration will be much more accurate. Once we have a true calibration we could set up something in both universes and transfer subjects between the two with total confidence.”
Stuart considered the implications of what the professor was suggesting. He had imagined that once through he would get back to a normal life, but what the professor was asking clearly involved him being instrumental in the development of the technology in his own universe. He had many questions needing answers before he could contemplate this further. As usual the professor seemed to read his thoughts suggesting they should all freshen up and meet for dinner later at the refectory where they could discuss matters in a relaxed environment.