Garnet And Gold

Chapter 10

Rick spent too long gazing out of his window on the quad below observing people hurrying to perform useful tasks. From his armchair he hoped to achieve an explanation for the events that had transformed his mundane academic life into one violating the laws of physics.

Perplexed, he rose and crossed to his bookcase, and selected The Power of Now by Ekhart Tolle. He often turned to this Canadian philosopher in moments of lassitude for stimulation. Settling down in the chair again he opened the book to a page marked by a scrap of cardboard. He read: ‘Yesterday is but today"s memory and tomorrow is today"s dream... ...What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.’

The Power of Now‘Yesterday is but today"s memory and tomorrow is today"s dream... ...What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.’Rick slammed the book closed and leapt to grab a coat, “The Now is precious!” he said aloud, pulling on his jacket. He marched out of the College and followed the road along the River Cam barely aware of his surroundings, dwelling instead on time as an illusion. He hoped to find someone to help order his tumultuous thoughts and strode the little over a mile to Churchill College at such a brisk pace that his face turned bright pink. Disorientated in this western quarter of the university, and breathless, he asked a student for the Physics Department.

“Cross the road, go through that gate behind the blue car, see? OK, that’s the Cavendish Laboratory.”

Inside, Rick stared with a sensation of hopelessness. He was not naturally attracted to the sciences and physics, in particular, had been a weak subject at school. He approached a notice board that caught his eye. It referred to the Quantum Matter Group, which, he read, studied matter under extreme conditions, like at very low temperatures, in high magnetic fields and with high pressure using advanced experimental techniques. The research aimed to understand new forms of magnetism and superconductivity and to find electrically conducting materials with new physical properties not described within the standard models of solid-state physics. Rick re-read these last words that might be of use to him. He skipped over the funding credits for someone who might be helpful to him and came to rest on one name, Professor Faulkner, Head of Group.

not described within the standard models of solid-state physicsA professor who ‘thought outside the box’ was what he needed, but where would he find him? Subsequently, how would he convince the physicist that he was not dealing with a raving eccentric? He began to walk the corridor when he encountered a distinguished-looking man with grey hair wearing a white lab coat. Promising, he mused.

Promising“Excuse me, where might I find Professor Faulkner?”

“Oh, end of the corridor, turn left and his study is the third – no, er, the fourth on the right.”

erfourthRick followed the directions and began to read the nameplates on the door. There it was! Professor R. Faulkner. Quantum Matter. He knocked politely and was rewarded with a mellow, “Come!”

The study stank of stale tobacco smoke and a pipe laid on its side in front of the professor’s papers confirmed the source. Rick excused his intrusion, “I really came on impulse not knowing who might advise me. But if you are too busy, Professor, I’d be more than happy to come another time.”

The hard, pale grey eyes softened and the crow’s feet deepened with his smile.

“Not at all. Please sit and tell me how I can help you.”

“First, you can take me seriously. I know it’s asking a lot and I should warn you, you are talking to a total ignoramus as far as physics is concerned.”

“Thank goodness for that! There are enough pretentious fools around wasting my time. It will be refreshing to chat to someone more rational.”

“It may be that rationality is the one thing I don’t bring, Professor.”

“Let’s get to the point then, shall we?”

Rick introduced himself, spoke a little about his research and hastened to the events of the last few months since Gary had given him the reliquary pendant.

“So, you see, Professor, I can hardly declare to the world that I’ve been wandering about in ninth-century Lindsey. Sooner rather than later, I’d be committed to an asylum.”

“My dear fellow, are you asking me to believe you?”

“More than that, I’d hoped for some kind of explanation.”

“The world of physics will offer you a baffling array of theories from wormholes to parallel universes but I will not be able to explain what happened to you, Dr Hughes. If it happened. What I can say, if it helps, is to paraphrase the words of my Oxford colleague, David Marriner, who states, “Ability to violate the laws of physics doesn’t exist. Nor does having an effect in the gaps between laws of physics...er...” He struggled to recall, “...there are no such gaps. But the ability to create something new that is not ‘explained’ by the laws of physics does.”

explainIfer...” ,The Professor leant back and reached for his pipe. He pushed it in his mouth and fiddled with the bowl, scrutinising Rick to gauge the effect of his words.

“Are you saying time travel may be possible, Professor?”

“We know for certain it is, young man.” He removed his pipe and pointed the stem at Rick for emphasis. “Forward in time, that is. If you travel faster than the speed of light, you could theoretically return to earth younger than your twin. Now, backwards is un-theorised as yet.”

itisForward“But do you believe it possible?”

“I’ve not ruled it out, but until today I haven’t considered it. I know that there are Americans working on quantum teleportation who do so believe. But so far they are limited to particles. I don’t think they have evaluated transporting solid matter like an actual person. What you are suggesting, Dr Hughes, means scientists will have to dismantle the theories of Einstein and re-evaluate the laws governing the universe.”

“I knew I was on to something cataclysmic – can you explain it in layman’s terms, Professor?”

“My word! Suppose the universe may not only be static and timeless but even without a path that one might call history. There are just nows, individual instants like locations in a landscape. Quantum mechanics makes some more likely to be experienced than others. This falls out as a distinct possibility from one perfectly respectable approach to the unification of quantum mechanics with the inner timeless structure of general relativity.”

nowsWhat the hell is he talking about?

What the hell is he talking about?“Mmm. It’s complicated but are you saying that time doesn’t exist?”

The pipe stem began to bob up and down like a conductor’s baton.

“That is exactly what I’m saying. It shows that general relativity is as timeless as Newtonian dynamics would be if you considered only the directions bodies follow and not their speeds as well. History in Einstein’s universe is not a path traversed in time at some speed but simply a path. This is a complete elimination of time.” He paused to see if Rick was following him. The philologist faked an intelligent expression of understanding but the Professor might as well have been speaking in a little-known Arabic dialect. Reassured, the physicist continued, “We know that time is real at one level because it can be manipulated - stretched and shrunk. However, in strict fact, we never see time, only the readings of clocks. There is no contradiction between the elasticity of clock readings and history as a timeless path. Clocks are part of the landscape through which the course of history passes. They are milestones.” He chuckled at his metaphor.

see“I must seem very ignorant to you, Professor. I know as little about quantum physics as the average man on the street. But what you’ve just told me fits with a theory I’ve been developing since being caught up in my – um –situation.”

um“And that is?”

“What I call ‘relative re-enactment’. I believe that by reproducing identical actions conducted by ancestral counterparts – let’s give them that label – we can leap back to their now.”

now“Interesting. Tell me exactly how you achieved this leap.”

Rick described the stages of going back in time but when he reached the rippling in the air, the Professor interrupted.

“No, no. That won’t do at all! Quantum physics does not admit such a thing. Maybe it isn’t like that at all. It might be your mind interpreting it in that way, to make sense of what’s happening.”

“You mean there are no ripples and no mist – just an illusion?”

“It would fit with what we know.”

“It might explain why I lose consciousness every time. Maybe my material self is being de- and re-constructed.”

“By Jove, yes! I think we shall have to conduct some experiments if you are willing, Dr Hughes.”

“I’m pleased to have somebody of academic weight on my side, to be honest.”

“If you are interested, there’s a conference next Monday at 10 o’clock entitled, ‘A Possible Solution For The Problem Of Time In Quantum Cosmology’. You’re welcome to attend as my guest, although it’s certain to be somewhat technical. You might find it interesting and questions are always open to the floor. Meanwhile, we both have plenty to think about.”

‘A Possible Solution For The Problem Of Time In Quantum Cosmology’The Professor stood and extended a hand, which Rick shook.

“Until Monday, Professor. Thank you for your time.”

If anyone had asked Rick what he had seen on his way back to his digs or what time he had set off, he would have gaped blankly. He walked like an automaton, his thoughts blotting out everything else. He was coming to believe that science was lagging behind but one day time travel would be as common as catching the bus to the town centre. His post-psychiatric plans were going better than he imagined. Gary had gone with him to the ninth century and he was also on his way to some sort of scientific explanation for his adventures. It remained to inform and convince Esme of his extraordinary experiences.