Yikes! This thing is writing itself now! The Tortie Papers - Part Six - You Meet the Strangest Kats, In the Strangest Places by Paul Kemner - pkemner@bright.net "Scientists really value their privacy." Tortie was driving Old Tiger through an ex-industrial area, with the emphasis on ex-. Ruined factories idle for generations alternated with piles of rubble. The gaping windows that peppered the still-standing buildings were mute testimony that they were abandoned before electric lighting was common. What kept areas like this vacant in the midst of a busy city? Old-fashioned industrial contamination, or just the pervasive stench of abandonment and failure? Professor Hackle's lab was far out in the country, and Schroedinger's place seemed to be equally isolated, right inside bustling MKCity. As Tortie neared the address that Hackle had given her, she noticed a high stone wall in very good repair. "This must be the place- Whoa- I'm not parking you here, Tiger. You'll have to wait for new tires until I can afford them." The parking lanes on both sides of the road were heavily littered, and she could see the tire-hungry sparkle of broken glass. Tortie turned at the first intersection she came to, looking for somewhere to park. Finally she stopped in the middle of the street and kicked an area clear enough to park her car. As she turned from her car, she saw the Deputy Mayor picking her way along the littered sidewalk, lugging a heavy briefcase. Tortie's lynx-tufts twitched as she sniffed a potential story. Was Briggs doing a personal survey of this area with development in mind? It would make sense to keep things low-key to avoid starting a land-grab. "Hello, Ms. Briggs! Are you out for exercise today, or are you checking on the need for street cleaning in this neighborhood?" "Outta my way, mule-ears!" Briggs snarled, as she brushed past Tortie. "Ahh- what a fine day! Deals to make, bribes to take, rules to break!" she said as she shuffled into the distance. "Did I just hear that?" Tortie asked herself. Even though she and Annie liked to joke about their work, they would never joke about a serious breach of ethics. She must have misunderstood the words over the crunching and crackling of trash on the sidewalk. Briggs did seem to be in a surly mood- probably about being discovered in this area, and lugging that heavy case. It might be a good time to show Bob and Ali how to research deeds and land ownership in the city records. Tortie turned the corner, and let herself through the heavy iron-bound gate. Schroedinger's house was... a bit of a shock. It had maybe started out as a small factory, but a jumble of just about every architectural style imaginable had been carefully added to extend the structure. Classical columns and other parts salvaged from old mansions warred with more modern accretions, including half of a geodesic dome! She pulled a heavy lever next to the door that seemed to actuate an ex- church bell within. The glass in the door was also strange- Tortie noticed that her reflection turned in the opposite direction when she turned her head. What an odd piece of techno-trickery! She tipped her head as far back as it could go, and was rewarded with a view of the top of her head, instead of her chin! Her head was still in this awkward position when the door opened. "Go away! What do you want? I'm very busy right now and I'm not interested in buying anything!" "Um..." Tortie was caught off guard and embarrassed to have had her head tilted back like that. "Are you Schroedinger? Professor Hackle told me that you were an expert in quantum theory and suggested that I visit you. He gave me a letter of recommendation, since I couldn't call ahead." She handed the note to the short grey kat with spiky fur. "What? Hackle sent you? 'Ms. Carical is committed to helping our cause and enhancing the esteem of science in the press.'" he read from the note, 'Please aid her as I have done, if time permits.' - That's quite another kettle of fish, so to say. Come in. I am just writing down the results of an experiment, so if you can wait here for a few minutes until I finish, then we can talk." Schroedinger bounded off. The chairs in the foyer were too uncomfortable to sit in for long. Almost deliberately so- Tortie stood and looked at some old photos hung on the wall. Lab and school photos, mostly. Schroedinger's hatchet-shaped face was pretty easy to spot. The lab equipment in the photos had that old-movie mad scientist look to it, as if it was built to handle 'the forces of creation!'. Tortie guessed that his age was about half-way between hers and Rhysun's. He seemed to be bursting with energy, almost twitchy, in start contrast to Rhysun's laid-back beatific style. Schroedinger leapt into view. "Don't just stand there! Come, Come! There is much to see, and I must hear about your project." "I'm Tortie Carical, the editor of the Trib- 'We Cover the Best in MegaKat City.' As I told Professor Hackle, news coverage of science is deplorable. I'm trying to make contact with prominent scientists, so I can check out the facts before printing them. Maybe if science is shown in a better light, more young kats will be interested in it as a career. Your field of quantum mechanics is an especially difficult one to understand. To most kats in this town, quantum theory might as well be a dark-age spell." Tortie was trying to talk at the same speed as Schroedinger, with limited success. "Yes- the 'Power of the Press!', Shaper of Public Opinion- It can be a very powerful force, a very volatile, dynamic force, if you understand me. You have chosen a difficult career for yourself, similar to mine! Attempting to shape and control chaotic forces to your ends. It speaks very well for you that Professor Hackle has recommended you. Hackle is the second-greatest master of this time!" "Would that make you the greatest, Schroedinger?" Tortie probed. He jumped, almost as if he had gotten a static shock. "Oh! No, No NO! You misunderstand me. The professor is a Great Master, and I am definitely below his level of achievement. When I reach his age, I hope that my accomplishments can equal his. No, the Prime Master is one that I do not know, but I see the effects of his work and brilliance. He is as far above Hackle as Hackle is above me in the Brotherhood...." "Ummmm- Ok." she hesitated. This was getting a bit weird, it was treading close to some odd religion that she wasn't sure she wanted to hear about. His nervousness was definitely catching. "Getting back to Quantum Theory, can you give me a lay-kat's overview of your work, and how it relates? I realize that when we talk about this subject, we're talking in metaphors." "Very perceptive- yes, that is essential to understanding. We often think of the atom as a miniature solar system, with tiny electron planets and a proton and neutron sun. Of course it is no such thing, but it is very *useful* to think of the atom in this way, and is the basis of chemistry. If we think of the atom in a different way, there may be a different, but equally useful result. Are you familiar with the Wavicle Paradox, young lady?" "I think so, but correct me if I'm wrong. If you look at photons one way, using one set of experiments, they indicate that photons are particles. With a different set of experiments you get results that indicate that photons are waves, *not* particles. It's an example of how observations can change how things behave, which is in conflict with the old pre-quantum scientific view." They had arrived at a work area, and Tortie sat on a stool while Schroedinger paced about. "Yes- you have a very good basic grasp of the subject, for someone with no formal training. Now, perhaps you have read stories of how there are parallel universes, all co-existing in several dimensions. Perhaps there is one where we lost MegaWarIII, or never discovered electricity, yes?" "That's always bothered me." said Tortie, "It makes a fun basis for a story, but if each decision spawns another universe, then every little subatomic happening could create a universe. There'd be trillions of new universes each second- no, almost an infinite number each second. That's a lot of new universes. Where would the matter come from to create all this stuff?" "Exactly- I would not call that a useful way to look at the problem." Schroedinger had very little contact with other kats, and it was astounding to have one show up on his doorstep that had some grasp of his work. Hackle did send her, though. "I like to consider the 'many universes' as a 'probability foam', - a sea that our universe floats on top of. Each bubble in that foam is the potential for a complete universe, but not a fully formed one. Again we are talking in metaphors. Are you following me?" "I think so- In your way of looking at things, you might say that information about a potential universe is reflected in the walls of each bubble, but it's not a fully formed universe. Though I wonder how we know if we're the real universe, 'floating on the top' as you say. You'd have to ask yourself if *our* universe isn't just another bubble... This starts to get confusing and philosophical, and begins to sound like riddles instead of science!" Tortie paused a moment, thinking. "To prove to yourself and everyone else that you're not just playing mind- games, you'd have to find some way of looking into another one of those bubbles, and maybe produce some concrete evidence, too." Schroedinger stared at Tortie, open-mouthed. What was Hackle up to, sending this femkat here? It was inconceivable that she could make such guesses about his work if she were 'just a reporter'. Was this some sort of initiation test for him? He remembered Hackle's note- 'helping our cause' and 'aid her as I have done' it had said. With another shock, he realized that *she* might be the Prime Master! It was incredible that a kat of her tender years could be above Hackle, but then, should anything be as it seems within the Erisian Brotherhood?... She had acted uncomfortable and changed the subject when he began to talk about the Prime Master. How should he proceed? He should take his clues from Hackle! He should show her some of his work, but not everything. Only imply the potential. Surely he would be rejected if he revealed everything! That must be the test! "Oh, I'm sorry-" Tortie broke the uncomfortable silence. "I guess I read too much hard-core science fiction! I didn't mean to drift along like that. Your mentioning SF stories just got me going, I suppose. Please go on." Tortie apologized. "No, you have just summarized my research, very accurately, and I was completely surprised by it! An apparatus to observe and bring back samples of those 'other universes' is what you see before you:" He waved his arm at a half-meter sphere suspended amidst powerful- looking electromagnets. "I call it my 'Little Dipper'- Carefully pulsed pseudo-random magnetic fields should allow it to 'mirror' a small bit of those potential universes, and maybe dip out a piece of one! Unfortunately, electronic resonances and interferences make this prototype difficult to steer. But when I have corrected those, who knows what we might find, in these 'science fiction' worlds. Perhaps civilizations that have made completely different scientific discoveries than we have? Perhaps," he laughed, "a world where monkeys have evolved to become intelligent life-forms?" Tortie laughed as well- the idea of those dirty, parasite-ridden tricksters at the zoo driving cars, populating cities and the like was just too ridiculous to imagine. "What an idea, Schroedinger! You should sell it to a a TV network for a cartoon! It's just too goofy to be considered good SF." Tortie looked at her watch- "Oops, I've got to get going. It took me longer than I expected to find a parking space. I'm sorry to have just dropped in, but of course I couldn't phone. If I need to visit you in the future, and you're too busy to come to the door, I'll just leave a note, and maybe you can get in touch with me. I really appreciate your helping me. Oh-by the way, Professor Hackle did speak very highly about you, and he did say that he was sorry that he couldn't join your scientist's society. 'There's always the future', as they say..." ********************* end of part 6 **************************