Jintao Read online

  “What if your father was experimenting and something went wrong?”

  “I thought of that. The equipment generates potentially dangerous power, but if something went wrong, if he was injured and couldn’t call for help, or couldn’t make it off the island, we would have found him.”

  Frustrated, Quan stood up and walked over to the fireplace. Firelight refracting off the crystals danced on his face.

  The only way father would have experimented with a human being, was if he were absolutely sure that no harm would come. And, if he was absolutely sure, then why not use himself? It was a crazy thought.

  “None of us really understand what that machine does, not even Dr. von Ang. What if father did put himself in the machine? For all we know, he could still be in that other place.” He turned to meet Sealy’s eyes. “Someone needs to go look for him there.”

  “Someone? Someone like Wei, right?” Sealy sat up, her back tensing. “If anyone needs to get into that machine, it should be that Wei person. And there are probably a thousand other people who would jump at the chance.”

  “Perfect reasoning, Seal. You’re absolutely right. On the other hand, we’ve proved it’s safe and I’m more than just a little curious.”

  Sealy shrank away from him, turning her gaze to the flames dancing on crystals.

  Stepping between Sealy and the fireplace, Quan said, “Father went to great effort to keep this project a secret and already seven people know about it. If word leaks out, the opportunity to find my father could be lost. Of the seven who already know, I’m the logical choice.”

  “No,” barked Sealy. “Wei is the logical choice. He’s already done it once and you told me he’s willing to do it again.”

  “There are two agendas here: solving father’s disappearance and the chance to pursue his discovery. Wei doesn’t have the technical knowledge, plus he doesn’t know my father. I qualify in both categories.”

  Sealy could see it in his face; he’d made the decision. After a long pause, she said plainly, “I know how determined you can be when your mind is set. You always find impeccable reasons to justify what you want. But, you have to consider what would happen if something went wrong. Think about us. Think about me. Dr. von Ang and Mr. McGowen—they’re both qualified aren’t they?”

  Quan went down on one knee next to her and put his arms around her. “Now that someone else has taken the risk, it’s that much safer.”

  Sealy looked away.

  “Listen to me. Father intentionally kept this work secret and he left a trail for me. I believe he wants me to follow it and I’m sure he wouldn’t put me in harm’s way. If I don’t take the next step, I’ll feel like I’ve let him down. That’s something I couldn’t live with. I don’t think the risk is that great.” He said softly, “I love you.”

  “I love you, too and I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you. How can you be so sure it’s safe?”

  “Maybe it’s best to do another test with Wei just to be sure.”

  “Thank you. Now you’re making sense. Have them explore—not you.”

  “I still want to be involved. The science we’re going to learn could revolutionize the way we see the world.”

  Calmer now, Sealy said, “By the way, Lotus asked if she could come stay with us. She’s on semester break and you’ve been gone a lot. So, I said yes. I could use the company. Are you alright with that?”

  “Good idea. I’ve got a lot to do and your sister would be fun to have around.”

  Overhearing the conversation, Ning listed the pros and cons of Quan’s rescue mission, sorting through the aims, objectives, and concepts: safety versus discovery, Quan’s life versus Master Jintao’s, fate versus free will. Her instruction was suddenly in discord and she became perplexed. Taking the most efficient path forward, she reset her upper registers. After resetting, she identified the interpolation error. Assisting others might also include participating in their discussion. That could also be considered part of her function. A round of logical reduction ensued and she concluded that if they were to ask for her participation, then she must assist. Since they had not, she turned to her task—putting dishes away.

  ~~~

  Wei was asked to return for another trial and two days later his second sojourn was accomplished. His experience was the same as his first—an atmosphere full of dense particles. He saw waves moving through the scene and, although it was difficult to be sure, he thought he saw four human figures in the multicolored sandstorm, while there were only three present in the lab. Again, his medical readings were normal and he was returned to his community unharmed and another 5000 Yuan richer.

  Quan explained his decision to Sealy. “Wei has done this twice and I need to see for myself. Time is of the essence. Call it my destiny. Call it my fate. If there is any trace of my father on the other side… I want to be the one to find him.”

  Sealy tried to debate the issue but Quan went on. “We’ve tested the machine and I believe it’s safe enough. If I don’t go, I’ll always regret it. I may be risking my life, but in the end it’s my life. I’ve inherited the rights to this project and it’s mine to do with as I please. I would appreciate if you would support my decision.”

  “I’ll give you all the support I can,” she said.

  The following day, Quan arrived at Henan Kaifeng Laboratories in preparation for his time in the machine. Dr. Lee produced a full body scan and that evening, in the chill of the basement laboratory, Gaston von Ang and Gregory McGowen gathered to assist.

  McGowen wheeled the mobile medi-bot system closer to the other equipment. He connected it to the main power bus and waited for the machine to complete its self-test while, a few meters away, Dr. von Ang was checking Quan’s scan data for a third time.

  Feeling eyes on the back of his neck, Quan turned to see McGowen staring at him.

  Quan called out, “You look worried.”

  “Maybe a little,” said McGowen.

  “Wei survived it twice,” said Quan, “and there’s no reason to believe this will be any different.”

  “Let’s hope so,” said McGowen.

  A few minutes before 3:00 p.m., von Ang’s attention swept the room. “I have checked the entire system twice,” he said. “We’re ready.”

  McGowen gave him a subtle nod and turned to the young Jintao. “Okay. Let’s get you up here.” Stepping onto the footstool, Quan climbed onto the suspension mesh.

  Brushing his hand across the web, Quan thought out loud. “Easy money. Right? Isn’t that what Wei said?”

  “That’s right, sir. Easy money.” McGowen cracked a smile and touched a fist to Quan’s shoulder.

  On the equipment panel, digits flipped. 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

  A second later, Quan vanished and the room was quiet, except for the whistling of the machine’s harmonics.

  “Two minutes,” said McGowen, walking around the area, rubbing something invisible between his thumb and forefinger, his eyes scanning the room. Stopping directly in front of von Ang, he asked, “So? Where do you think he went?”

  “I don’t think in those terms. He is right there . . .” said von Ang, pointing at the mesh. “He is just one positron to the left of where he was a moment ago.”

  “Seriously, where do you think he went?” said McGowen, straightening to his full height.

  “I was being serious,” said von Ang. “His quantum structure has shifted into another state. He continues to exist, but in a different set of dimensions.”

  “That’s just theory. What’ve you got that’s real?”

  Both of them continued to stare at the bare mesh where Quan had been.

  “A theory, yes, you can say that—an extension of the unified field theory.”

  Studying McGowen for a moment, the scientist geared his explanation to a layman’s level and continued. “The reciprocal field theory states that when the universe was created it consisted of eleven extremely compressed dimensions. As t
he universe expanded, seven of those spread more rapidly, outpacing the others. The four we observe lagged behind—three spatial, plus time. The other seven dimensions spread throughout the universe. Those dimensions are everywhere, embedded in our world, influencing our physics, but invisible to us.”

  “So, what you’re saying is that we’re like frogs at the bottom of a well. We only see a piece of the sky.”

  “There’s so much our eyes can’t see, like the Higgs field, dark matter, and gravity. We don’t see the quantum world at all and it’s in a state of constant flux.”

  “Yeah, yeah . . .” said McGowen. “But still just a theory.”

  “Everything in science is theory until proven wrong—even Newton’s laws of motion were modified by Einstein.” Von Ang went on. “The reciprocal theory predicts that black holes, for instance, are weak points between dimensional states, where information is leaking from one state into another—a kind of intradimensional spillway.”

  “So, is this machine opening up a black hole between our world and another? Is that it?”

  “Call them worlds, or regions of space-time, or different dimensional states, or facets of a multiverse . . . all the same . . . just semantics. We’re present in one aspect of the multiverse and Quan Jintao is present in another. I think this machine is projecting his entire quantum array into an alternate state. The energies are holding him there. That’s my best guess. And as for a black hole, that’s a very different phenomenon. If the machine were producing a black hole it would be more like forcing him through a pinhole. I doubt that anyone could survive that.”

  A humf came from McGowen as he looked at the empty black mesh. The explanation was too airy-fairy for him. “Theory,” he said and turned to look at the timer.

  Dr. von Ang turned his attention back to the instrument panel. At 10:05 the energies shut down and the wave guides gave a sigh of relief. The young Jintao reappeared, blinking, looking to his right, then to his left, seemingly puzzled by his surroundings.

  “Good to see you again. How do you feel?” asked McGowen.

  Looking straight ahead, Quan blinked several times.

  “Sir,” McGowen demanded, putting a hand on Quan’s arm. “You all right?”

  “Yes, yes,” said Quan softly. “A moment, please.” Turning on his side he propped himself up on one elbow and took a deep breath.

  “My head is tingling . . . and my eyes.” He paused. “It’s like Wei said, particles everywhere; the air is thick with them, like a sand storm . . . but not uniform . . . many colors. And shapes, outlines equipment that come and go . . . particles moving across in waves.” He moved his hands in the air, trying to describe the shapes and the motion. “Specks went right through me. I could feel them . . . sheets of different colors, waving and floating like in a breeze. I could see you, but in the negative . . . empty dark forms fringed with coronas of light. And I heard things . . . hissing sounds . . . faint, like whispers . . . maybe your voices. If this is what my father experienced, I can understand why he might have been compelled to explore it further.”

  “Any sign of him?” asked McGowen.

  “No. Unfortunately. Maybe if I had more time. It’s so different in there. Takes getting used to. It’s another world. We should name it,” he said, looking at von Ang.

  “It’s the other side of the membrane. How about Braneworld?” suggested von Ang.

  “Braneworld . . . I like it,” said Quan, sitting up. “I wanted to walk around in there, search for my father, but it’s so hard to see. The air is opaque. If I had something to guide me . . .” Catching himself in midsentence, fearing he might lose von Ang’s interest, he quickly added, “Of course, we’ll want to experiment . . . do tests. I can take instruments next time. We can test different spectrums: electromagnetic, infrared, radiation.”

  “Come with me,” said McGowen, taking him by the arm and extending a hand toward the medi-bot. “Let’s check your readings.”

  “Hey, I’m fine,” said Quan, getting down from the mesh. “You don’t need to treat me like a basket of eggs. I feel good . . . energized, in fact.”

  McGowen let go of his arm. “We’re sticking to procedure. You’re going to have a thorough checkup.”

  At the medi-bot, Quan lay down on the gurney and the system went to work. Jointless steel arms picked sensors from their cradles and swept across his body, from forehead to toe. Within seconds the results were projected into free space.

  “Looks good,” said von Ang. “Heart, brain, liver . . . kidney, blood pressure, RDW . . . chem levels . . . all seem to be within normal range. Vitamin D level is a little low but within range. We’ll check you again in an hour.”

  Quan changed clothes and rejoined the others, restarting the discussion of how to search for his father. “If there’s a remote possibility that my father is in there somewhere, I’m not sure where to begin, or what to try. What do you think?”

  Von Ang said, “We don’t know where this goes. It could be a slightly different state each time. There’s no guarantee.”

  “I saw the same thing that Wei described. That much we know.”

  “If you’re going to search for him in there,” said McGowen, “standard search procedures apply; walk a grid and call his name. And you should use a tether so you can find your way back.”

  16.

  Trying to balance his jubilant feelings, Quan stood in front of the wall-to-wall mirror in the penthouse bathroom, wearing only his pajama bottoms, his bare feet against the warm marble floor. The broad smile on his face refused to go away. In his reflection, he saw a different person. No longer a student, he saw a man, an explorer in a strange new world. He could hardly contain his excitement.

  Sealy’s fingers caressed his back. “If anything had happened to you . . .”

  He turned and faced her. “It was amazing . . . something I just had to do. I had to know . . . and now that I’ve done it . . . I feel great. It’s not like anything else in the world . . . truly amazing.” He went on, excited, telling her about what happened, bragging about his success.

  She listened, stroking his hair lightly, all the while thinking about how he had ignored her appeal to have someone else take the risk. He gave in to his desires rather than heeding her wisdom. She could forgive that in light of his need to find out what happened to his father. But, he had done something potentially dangerous and it seemed to excite him. That concerned her more.

  “And did it bring you any closer to understanding what happened to your father?”

  “Well, not exactly. It helped me to understand what his experiments were about.”

  “Now that you know what his experiments were about I hope that’s the end of it,” she said.

  “I’m okay, Seal. Think for a moment. If this was about your father, wouldn’t you be just as curious.”

  “Curious, yes. I’d want to know what happened, but I wouldn’t put myself at risk to find out. Promise me you won’t do this again.”

  He turned her around with her back to the mirror above the marble sinks. In the reflection, he could see the curve of her waist through her silk chemise. He softly kissed her lips and, sliding his hand beneath her garment, he felt the smooth muscles of her lower back. Pulling her close, he kissed her again, deeply this time. Feeling her firm breasts against his chest, he looked at the perfect skin of her throat, her delicate ears and the subtle curve of her neck. Her skin smelled of lavender and her beauty was intoxicating.

  She put her hands against his chest, holding him back.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “It feels like we’re losing what we had. I was hoping the investigation would run its course and we’d get back to where we were.”

  “I don’t feel any different about us,” he said, kissing her neck. “I love you.”

  He scooped her up and lifted her onto the marble counter.

  “I love you, too,” she said, leaning back. “I think you’ve done all you can here. Can’t we leave—go away somewh
ere together.”

  He looked directly into her eyes. “It’s too soon. What I did today was important. Just give me a little more time.”

  “What you and I have together is what’s most important to me.”

  “I know that and I think we’ll be able to go away soon. I promise.”

  He felt powerful, as if he possessed the strength of two men. He began kissing her again. Muscles in his back flexed. His arms reached under her, lifting her legs. Closing his eyes, he pulled her into him, held her close and joined with her. Sealy craned her neck back until her head reached the mirror. She moaned.

  Behind his eyelids, inverted colors swept across landscapes of another world and sparkling forms swirled like heat waves on a desert highway. He walked to the bed with her still wrapped around him and laid her down gently. He had never felt so strong before. They kissed and caressed, communing without words, reaching a crescendo together, and after a while they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  While Quan slept, he dreamed of the other world, walking through the billowing sheets of multicolored sand. He felt protected there, as if he were held safely in the palm of a giant’s hand. His eyes opened before dawn. A different dream woke him and was still in view. He was a boy of eleven, standing with his father at the rim of Aram Chaos on the southern highlands of Mars, looking out across the Ares Vallis. It was the same valley he had seen from his telescope, but it was transformed from a desolate and rocky landscape into a vibrant ecosystem. It was nighttime and he could see the glimmer of a river snaking through the central plain—groves of trees grew along its banks. A township spread out on both sides of the river, extending to the distant foothills. Lights twinkled brightly and his father’s hand was on his shoulder.

  “Imagine,” said his father, “they’ve been here for thousands of years and we never saw them.”

  He woke abruptly and the visions slowly faded. He fought to stay in the dream, but his efforts only hastened its departure. Like spume deposited on a beach, the dream left only an impression. Life where we thought there was none. Without doubt, there was a connection to his recent experience. He had sensed something in that other place, something he hadn’t told the others about, something elusive—a feeling that someone was there with him, reading him, protecting him.