believed, two things were required: first, wormholes that could, in effect, be ‘caught,’ and second, matter possessed of a negative energy sufficient to provide the repulsive gravity required to keep the wormhole open. The name for the latter kind of matter is much lovelier than
wormhole
. It is known as
exotic energy
.” At this locution Dr. Sexton practically shuddered with pleasure. “The Casimir effect postulated conditions in which negative energy density could be created from quantum foam, the theorized but undetected fundamental fabric of the universe. And I, when I was at last able to conduct experiments using the Large Hadron Collider—the largest particle collider on the planet—discovered a way to detect quantum foam.”
Dr. Sexton paused, letting this evidently awesome achievement sink in, though Jennifer felt woefully unqualified to appreciate it. “From the quantum foam, I harvested wormholes. Using the negative energy of exotic matter, I enlarged and stabilized them, turning a wormhole from a theory into a method of transportation as reliable as the Holland Tunnel.” Smiling, she took a sip of her tea. “And that, my dear, is how it works.”
Jennifer wished she could say it all made sense now, but she felt more confused than ever.
“Sugar?” Dr. Sexton asked brightly, gesturing to her untouched tea. Jennifer nodded.
With a flourish, Dr. Sexton scooped a spoonful of sugar into Jennifer’s cup. When Jennifer made no motion to stir it, Dr. Sexton did it for her.
At last Jennifer found her voice. “My phone is a wormhole.”
“It creates one end of a wormhole. Your destination forms the other.”
Jennifer looked down at her tea and began to stir for herself. “And why hasn’t this been all over the news? Why am I here in the middle of the night, listening to an explanation I can’t even understand? Why doesn’t anybody else know? The people who
should
know?”
“The people who
should
know?” Dr. Sexton repeated, visibly amused. “Nobody else knows, my dear. Just you, and me.”
“Why not? Why me?”
“Why doesn’t anybody else know? Because I don’t want them to. Imagine what would happen to a technology like this if it were to fall, though I’m loath to use such a melodramatic cliché, ‘into the wrong hands’? It is inconceivably frightening. Can you imagine the violence, murder, and spying such a device would enable in the hands of the men who rule this country, or, God forbid, the men who wish to see it destroyed? Technology has made them far too capable of doing damage exponentially disproportionate to their judgment already. It is the last thing I would want to see come of my work. I had all but concluded, in fact, that I would never share my discovery with anyone—until I was inspired, in part, by the evening I spent with your phone. For a moment, anyway, I envisioned a future where the app was put to good use in the hands of women like you, struggling so mightily under the burdens of modern life.” Jennifer considered this. If she got the app back,could she be trusted to use it wisely, and well? She wouldn’t start any wars with it, to be sure, but there would certainly be other temptations. “Which leads me directly to your second question: Why you? The answer to that is both more complicated and more straightforward for me to explain.
“The simple explanation,” Dr. Sexton went on, “is that it was fate. An extraordinary stroke of fate! I’ve come to believe in such things much more as I’ve grown older, though I must confess I’ve always had a mystical streak, like many another brilliant scientist. None other than Marie Curie believed that spirits could communicate from the dead. Science and magic have always been intertwined. As Arthur C. Clarke said, ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ Part of the reason for the wand, you know.” At the thought of the wand, Dr. Sexton permitted herself an unreserved look of
wormhole
. It is known as
exotic energy
.” At this locution Dr. Sexton practically shuddered with pleasure. “The Casimir effect postulated conditions in which negative energy density could be created from quantum foam, the theorized but undetected fundamental fabric of the universe. And I, when I was at last able to conduct experiments using the Large Hadron Collider—the largest particle collider on the planet—discovered a way to detect quantum foam.”
Dr. Sexton paused, letting this evidently awesome achievement sink in, though Jennifer felt woefully unqualified to appreciate it. “From the quantum foam, I harvested wormholes. Using the negative energy of exotic matter, I enlarged and stabilized them, turning a wormhole from a theory into a method of transportation as reliable as the Holland Tunnel.” Smiling, she took a sip of her tea. “And that, my dear, is how it works.”
Jennifer wished she could say it all made sense now, but she felt more confused than ever.
“Sugar?” Dr. Sexton asked brightly, gesturing to her untouched tea. Jennifer nodded.
With a flourish, Dr. Sexton scooped a spoonful of sugar into Jennifer’s cup. When Jennifer made no motion to stir it, Dr. Sexton did it for her.
At last Jennifer found her voice. “My phone is a wormhole.”
“It creates one end of a wormhole. Your destination forms the other.”
Jennifer looked down at her tea and began to stir for herself. “And why hasn’t this been all over the news? Why am I here in the middle of the night, listening to an explanation I can’t even understand? Why doesn’t anybody else know? The people who
should
know?”
“The people who
should
know?” Dr. Sexton repeated, visibly amused. “Nobody else knows, my dear. Just you, and me.”
“Why not? Why me?”
“Why doesn’t anybody else know? Because I don’t want them to. Imagine what would happen to a technology like this if it were to fall, though I’m loath to use such a melodramatic cliché, ‘into the wrong hands’? It is inconceivably frightening. Can you imagine the violence, murder, and spying such a device would enable in the hands of the men who rule this country, or, God forbid, the men who wish to see it destroyed? Technology has made them far too capable of doing damage exponentially disproportionate to their judgment already. It is the last thing I would want to see come of my work. I had all but concluded, in fact, that I would never share my discovery with anyone—until I was inspired, in part, by the evening I spent with your phone. For a moment, anyway, I envisioned a future where the app was put to good use in the hands of women like you, struggling so mightily under the burdens of modern life.” Jennifer considered this. If she got the app back,could she be trusted to use it wisely, and well? She wouldn’t start any wars with it, to be sure, but there would certainly be other temptations. “Which leads me directly to your second question: Why you? The answer to that is both more complicated and more straightforward for me to explain.
“The simple explanation,” Dr. Sexton went on, “is that it was fate. An extraordinary stroke of fate! I’ve come to believe in such things much more as I’ve grown older, though I must confess I’ve always had a mystical streak, like many another brilliant scientist. None other than Marie Curie believed that spirits could communicate from the dead. Science and magic have always been intertwined. As Arthur C. Clarke said, ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ Part of the reason for the wand, you know.” At the thought of the wand, Dr. Sexton permitted herself an unreserved look of
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