Tycho began his evening exercises. Push ups, sit ups, squats, pull ups, and stretches. He decided to skip free weights; he just wasn’t in the mood this evening. His mind tried to focus on tomorrow’s objectives. Everything just boggled his mind. The whole situation was insane.
(Three hours ago)
Tycho received the notification for the Skype conference. He took another sip from his rum and coke before accepting.
“...and I am very sure if we can get enough of those measures from that sensor, we can develop an accurate calculation needed to produce a reverse feedback!” He overheard a female voice speak.
“Why not check to see if Discord is responsible for all this?” He heard an unfamiliar male voice speak, slightly lower tone but higher pitch.
“Luna said she’ll take care of that!” A new female voice said.
“You didn’t tell me-” Replied the male voice again.
“Listen, everyone!” He heard Alex’s voice pipe up. Finally, a familiar voice! “We just started the skype call, everything will be revealed and organized as such.”
“What kind of coalition have you started here, Al?” Tycho finally piped up.
The next voice to speak was also unfamiliar; female, sounded young-adult but like it was being projected? "Did we plan how we we’re going to explain this all to Mr. Tyke?"
There was an uncomfortable silence, indicating to the lone human on the other end that this session wasn't well planned. ‘Almost like they are hiding something big from me.’
"I'll explain it." Ann stated.
"Um...Ann I am not sure-" Alex was about to talk until Ann interrupted him.
"Tycho, what if I told you these disappearances happened before... several times." Ann began.
Tycho raised a pierced eyebrow. He always appreciated Ann’s forwardness. "How much is several, and why wasn’t it noticed before?"
"At least three." Ann explained. “No where near as public as this current situation.”
Tycho said nothing for a while. "So... who were the victims?"
"Me." Alex piped up. That explained why he ‘fell of the map’ as it were.
"Second." Followed the unknown male. "Matthew is my name."
"Third," Said the projected-like, female voice. "Eleanor."
"Aaaaaaand, where are you now?" Tycho felt torn between curiosity and skepticism. He readied himself for another shot.
"First," Ann cut in. "What is your opinion of of the theory of the multiverse."
The sound of Tycho's chair creaking as he laid back filled the microphone as he took a deep breath. "It’s very hypothetical but very possible. If you are referring to these recent incidents, the Quantum Entanglement experts in China and Australia have shared information with me and other scientists the mathematical implications of these strong QE spikes whenever a person disappears. I am still reviewing the equations but there is a strong indication that these guys are shifting-"
"Jumping." Matthew interjected.
Tycho shook his head. "Shifting," He heard a snort from Alex, "Out of their current space and to somewhere else. It could be to another universe, but we have no proof of that. It could be a shift into another part of our universe. For all we know, they don’t stop shifting once the process begins. But again, we are not certain.”
Ann was quick to reply, "What if I told you these three you are talking to now are currently in another universe?"
Tycho frowned before he took another drink, now this was unbelievable. "Look, I don't know what you are trying to pull or why now of all times, but I find it hard to believe I am contacting another dimension through a skype call. We don’t have near enough energy to make that feasible!"
Finally, Twilight Sparkle intervened. "Tycho, this is Twilight Sparkle. I know this is unbelievable right now, but bear with us.” She cleared her throat. “You humans can already send electron signals through space. What makes you think this can't be accomplished as well?"
Tycho paused again. "You... humans?" Now his mind was assaulted with something else to consider. “So I have been speaking to aliens,” He said slowly. “Alex, if this is a joke I am not finding the humor in it.”
He heard a hushed voice over the audio. “Too soon, dear.” Sounded male.
Alex intervened. "Tycho, it’s a long story, but... my laptop here has a quantum entanglement device that is connecting the electromagnetic signals that a wireless device uses to connect to the internet. There is a lot of stuff in this I can't explain but..."
Tycho took a big gulp from his drink as he listened to Alex's explanation. Something about multiple universes and finally landing where he was now. It was too much to take in at once, but he got the gist of it. Still, this conference wasn't getting anywhere closer to what was going on his homeworld. Was all this some elaborate trick? He would never think Ann or Alex would lie to him. Tycho thought about Ann and Alex’s divorce. It was shocking. Those two were meant for each other. He couldn’t remember anything even remotely serious that would have led to it. But now Ann was implying the reason for her divorce was that her husband, his friend, was torn out of space to another world!
"Why are we doing this on audio only?" Matthew asked. "Lets fire up the webcam and show him." Tycho overheard shifting and a few clicks on what he deduced was the mouse-pad on a laptop.
"Oh! Matt, guys, I am sorry but-" Alex tried saying as Tycho received indication on his braille pad there was video now being fed.
"Can you see now, Tycho?" Matt asked as Tycho’s computer screen displayed the other end.
Sadly, Tycho couldn’t see any of it. He shook his head. "You didn't tell them, did you, buddy?"
"I'm sorry, Tycho. I've been gone for a long time and forgot to mention it." Alex frowned.
"Tell us what?" Twilight asked.
"I have been blind since I was 12." Tycho explained in a matter of fact sort of way.
Another uncomfortable silence continued until Ann piped up with an exasperated sigh. "I can't believe no one said anything."
Tycho paused in thought. He could believe Alex would forget to tell people. Not out of neglect, but how he regarded his friends. Out of everyone he knew, Alex treated him like a fully capable and normal human being, not even thinking to offer him help unless he was obviously having trouble. Ann could be patronizing, but only to be kind. Then came that one action, turning on the webcam. If they were weren’t trolling him, he thought, they wouldn’t have bothered with it.
El spoke. "Great. We can’t prove jack to him."
"How would you forget that, big guy?" Tycho heard a slightly raspy feminine voice ask.
"I’m sorry, Dash, everyone,” Alex apologized. “I've known Tycho as he grew up losing his sight, and learning how to live without it. Eventually he was able to live as normally as one could and enjoy things so... his blindness rarely became an issue." Alex explained.
"My mom and dad paid for the best echolocation instructor to teach me. Wasn't easy, but after twenty years, I like to think I can pretty much take care of myself." Tycho finished his beverage. “While I am still skeptical about half of what you told me,“ he paused a moment to reflect on his answer, “I believe you sincerely want to help.”
There was no reply, but an aura of hopefulness Tycho could feel from everyone else.
‘“I wouldn't, couldn't believe Alex or Ann would lie to me or try to play a cruel joke. They may have been patronizing about my disability at times, but I would never expect them to take advantage of my blindness. And knowing Alex, he would forget to tell people about this little detail.” He further explained. “I don’t think you would have turned on my webcam to make a lie more convincing.” He selected his webcam option as it warmed up. "And with that, I can trust your intentions are sincere."
"Tycho, if I could go over there and help in-person, heck, all of us would if we could." Alex said.
“No offense, but I really don’t want to go back there.” Rainbow Dash grumbled.
Tycho’s thoughts still lingered on Alex’s explanation. So his friend has been going ‘Quantum Leap’ all over the multiverse? Really?
Tycho rubbed his head. “Alex, what can these friends of yours do to help us?”
Alex’s voice got softer but more audible. “Two here are very smart, Tycho. They helped me return here, even.” He sighed, realizing he mentioned more things Tycho wouldn’t understand. “Look, these two have accomplished great things involving this stuff. I’m sure if we cooperate with each other, we can do something about this.”
Tycho nodded as the webcam finally turned on. “Okay, then, lets build this new association on that.”
"What did you do to your face?" Dash interjected.
Ann followed. "Oh god, Tycho. You kept the piercings? You are a respected physicist and working for CERN, not a punker!"
"Oh stop it. CERN hired me despite my good looks." Tycho stuck his tongue out in defiance. Making sure that she saw that one as well.
"I think they look good on him." Said what sounded a child’s voice.
"Nevermind that, pumpkin. Tycho, what is the current situation where you work?" Alex asked.
“Well, you know about the Hadron Collider. Then there are the two QE labs. Another particle accelerator at the states.” Tycho finished typing an email and sent it to CERN. "Some folks in Australia are shipping us something I requested earlier. They have another quantum entanglement scanner and they are bringing it to us back at the HRC."
"Why? They aren't blaming you guys for these, are they?" Ann asked.
"No, not yet at least. They want to find out just in case. The United Nations is going nuts trying to solve this problem... and it reads they going to investigate... oh for crying out loud." Tycho shook his head. "Well, my workplace is going to be slow for a while. We'll have to shut down operations while they investigate."
"No! We need that to solve this problem! The LHC and both QE Devices have to be calibrated to stop this!" Another unfamiliar female voice exclaimed.
“We don’t know if we can do that, Lyra! We need to gather data, first!” Twilight argued.
“Shhhhh!” Another person...or child shushed the two.
"Who is this?" Tycho asked.
"Oh! I am Lyra Heartstrings, I am helping Twilight come up with solutions to solve this problem." She answered cheerfully.
Tycho blinked. "Who named you guys?”
"Oh c'mon, its not like you don't know who we are." Dash broke in. "Come on! You never heard this?" She then sang, "My Little Pony, My Little Pony - I used to wonder what friendship could be."
Everyone was quiet as Dash sung the first line of a song Tycho never heard before. "Um...that is a nice singing voice but I have no idea what it’s about."
"You memorized the theme song?!" Lyra burst out laughing.
"Shut up! At least I am a main character! You're just a background pony! Ha!" Dash retorted.
Lyra replied with a sniff, “I was a main character for that one episode.”
Alex redirected the conference back to the topic at hand. "Tycho, how does this QE scanner work?"
Tycho pushed aside what Dash had said earlier and focused on this topic. "From what they are telling me, it has a range of several kilometers and is able to scan the location of a 'QE Occurrence.' It can measure how strong the QEO was, as well as how long it lasted. Heck if yours has a QE device in it, and it’s connecting with mine…” The gears in his mind turned. “...then it might be emitting a quantum signal, which I can use to scan my laptop during a conference call with you to find out if there is a QE spike!"
Ann spoke, as she always did, with calm authority, "People are disappearing, Tycho. You realize if we delay because you want proof, then more people are going to vanish before we can solve the problem!"
"It’s not just proof I need. If this is true, then that QE 'modem' on Alex's laptop can be useful. That scanner should be able to quantify a QE Occurrence, according to the Aussies." Tycho replied.
"We are way ahead of you on that, Mr. Herandez." Twilight replied. "But we'll discuss that later. First, we need to schedule times to collaborate. Second, we need you to provide us information about the HRC and if you can, convince the Chinese and Australian QE scientists to work with you."
"Oh gee, is that all? Would you like gravy on that too?" Tycho snorted. One more point in favor of them telling the truth. Only aliens would make such naive requests.
"I know we're asking a lot from you, buddy. I can't imagine one guy trying to do all this, but we can't keep going through this for every ally we make. You are smart and you have connections. We're asking you to be the coordinator." Alex was good at that; getting on people’s good side and being the voice of reason.
Tycho rested his head on his palm, thinking for a moment, anxiety building. "I'll try, Alex. Just... this is just a lot of weight on my shoulders."
"You aren't alone there." El spoke. "How about we plan the first steps so not to put too much pressure on Tycho?"
(present time)
Tycho laid back on the floor after doing his evening exercises. He had a lot on his mind and needed to better focus. Something on this world that shouldn't be happening, was happening. This was all in science fiction, he thought to himself. Was he being fooled, tricked? No, that wouldn't make sense. Too many coincidences. He did almost die today.
It was maddening. Tycho was a dreamer of space and science fiction. Those were the important things in his life. Why he did physics and engineering. Even after his optic nerves died, he dreamed with the visual imagination of a child about what impossible things could come true.
We can teleport information, we can beam individual atoms from one location to another. We understand more things about time and space than ever. Heck, the cosmos reveals more and more amazing things each day, Tycho thought.
But something was happening which confirmed one of the most grandiose ideas in the scientific community. But it may turn out to be humanity’s doom. An investigator may accept this as true, even if it were improbable, but the doubt in his brain was ever gnawing at him like a canker. Alex and two other humans were spirited away to another dimension.
Tycho mentally took a step back in his mind to see the whole perspective. The multiverse? True. Inter-dimensional shift, jumping, whatever? True. Dimensions based on cartoons? Goddammit, true! But it needed to be confirmed, if anything, so that Tycho would be assured this was still within his reality.
Despite his stress, he needed sleep. He took a benadryl to help himself rest. He just hoped when he woke up, he wouldn’t have been the next to disappear. “It would be cool if Star Wars was real. That was the last movie I saw.” He said to himself.
CERN was not a happy place during the past two days. With the Australian scientists in-bound, the bigwigs at CERN were dealing with UN officials already. Sadly, that meant all work had to stop. Even emails were rumored to be being scanned. Most employees at CERN just sat at their offices, bored as hell. Then again, it would be better than arguing with political morons. And what’s more, the number of disappearances kept climbing.
Employees would stop what they were doing to get updates from the news on the disappearances. Many would repeatedly call friends and family to see if they were still present, or call their family to report they were still on Earth. One worker broke down and cried when his daughter didn’t answer her phone, fearing the worst. It was impossible for administration to keep up morale, so it came down to individual departments to keep themselves in better spirits.
Tycho laid back in his office chair, continuously exchanging emails with the Chinese and Australian science teams. He used his personal laptop on the 4g network. They were above ground, anyway. No need to use the workstations. Still, it was more difficult than he anticipated to get his associates to send more information about their work. Juan Yin warned Tycho that the Chinese government was already restricting communications, and he had to use an illegal satellite connection he personally had to contact him. Yet, he managed to get the documents to his inbox. Yin could only give dates when he would be best contacted as he was worried he would be arrested and imprisoned if government investigators caught him talking with western scientists.
It was depressing. The news proclaimed that politicians around the world were already feeding the paranoia. Meanwhile, most of the world demanded there be a joint effort to solve this. The cry for global cooperation was so strong it stopped several potential wars between feuding nations. Still, the world leaders needed to know if it was something their scientists did to start this. Many conspiracy theorists online accused other nations of attempting to harness whatever caused this to make other nations disappear.
Tycho read through articles as he waited for emails. Thankfully, the Aussies were much more forthcoming. They sent him files upon files on everything they had, with notes to help him catch up. His work-friends, Dr. Arjeta Zhanow and Dr. Johan Friedman, were passing the time helping him sift through megabytes of scientific journals on quantum entanglement and related theories.
Each were glued to their personal laptops in their office with classical music playing in the background to help them relax.
Finally, Arjeta broke the silence. "This is all very interesting." She said in French. "You think these may help explain what is going on?" She had several research articles open, displaying various graphs and tables of measurements regarding quantum entanglement and theory.
Tycho nodded. "We have no other reference in breaking the space-time continuum than this. Though I have some other friends working on the math." He decided it best not to introduce them to his possibly-interdimensional correspondences. No need to spread the crazy.
"You will tell us who they are in case you disappear, right?" Johan looked at Tycho with a concerned expression.
"I have instructions and a will written in case that happens." He said nonchalantly.
"What do we get if you go?" Arjeta usually tried humor to lighten the mood. And in this situation, humor was necessary. "Please not those ugly pictures on your wall."
Tycho smirked. "No, you both get a life-time supply of ice-cream."
"What flavor?" Johan dared to ask.
"Boot to the head." Tycho grinned.
Arjeta chuckled as the phone rang. She picked it up and exchanged dialogue in Swiss.
Johan leaned forward in interest. "Tycho, check this out."
Tycho looked up to Johan. "Spit it out."
"Okay, so a map of the disappearances is being made worldwide." He turned around his laptop to show Tycho the website tracking the disappearances, then cursed, remembering Tycho was blind. "Fuck, I mean, anyways. So, some places of interest are being talked about. Two of them are the QE labs. It seems the disappearances happen less near them.”
That was good news. Tycho noted that. "What about the particle accelerators?"
Johan nodded reading through the article. "The disappearances take longer to occur. Like there is some kind of resistance. Its a difference of about three seconds. Radius is an estimated 70 to 90 kilometers from the Large Electron Positron Collider. And ours is 100 to 190 kilometers from us! And as for the QE labs, less occurrence of disappearances around 37 kilometers!"
"That is pretty precise. How did they get that measure?" Tycho looked skeptical.
"Behold the power of internet collective work!” Dr. Friedman grinned. “Remember the website tracking all this? The U.N. is endorsing it!" Johan was getting a bit excited. "You know what that means!?"
Arjeta interrupted as she hung up the phone. She shook her head. "It means we're having a meeting with the board of executives and U.N. officials. Take your computers with you, guys. We might be asked to explain some things to the officials. Use big words to really impress them."
Tycho and his work-friends remained silent for the most part; they were limited to yes and no answers whenever an official asked a question.
“These electromagnetic devices don’t open black holes?” Asked the investigating official. ‘Stupid question #59’, Tycho noted.
“No.” Arjeta answered.
It was obvious nobody liked this procedure.
“But the atom smashing does create black holes, as we noted earlier. Is it possible they go loose from the testing chamber and swallowed up humans?” Asked another official.
“No.” Arjeta answered. “If I can explain in further detail-”
An administrator cut her off .”You’ll excuse our staff, ladies and gentlemen, we’re all eager to do what we can to help the situation.”
Tycho piped up with his own question. “How much does the U.N. know about the frequency of disappearances near the LHC?” He was never one for procedure.
There was silence. The administrators grimaced. The officials were already talking to one another about the question. One admin glared at Tycho from afar.
Finally, the representing official spoke. “We are aware disappearances near the HRC take longer, but only just.” Said the official. “And that is why we wonder if there is a cause-and-effect situation with the HRC, mister…?”
“Doctor, sir. Dr. Hernandez.” Tycho replied.
“Yes, well, if you will let us all proceed.” The officials resumed their inquiry.
Four agonizing hours later, an admin took Tycho aside as the inquiry was finally done. He was a portly, balding man with a thick mustache and beard. He adjusted his spectacles looking at Tycho. “Dr. Hernandez, we are all frustrated by this. Afraid, terrified about all this. So are the officials.” He said earnestly with a German accent, while Tycho felt like he was being lectured by his dad. “And it is because of that fear that we need to handle this delicately. All it takes is one word from them and they’ll shut us down!” The man removed his spectacles and took a drink from his coffee.
Tycho sighed. “Dr. Herman, I have been talking with the Chinese and Australian Quantum theorists and engineers. I have some ideas on what we can do, but me and the others need to work without hindrances. Namely the officials breathing down our necks.”
Dr. Herman shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “They’re afraid of what we are doing here, Tycho. You know the Quantum Scientists are having the same problems?” He took another sip of coffee. “Tell you what, if you can get me something substantial after the Aussies get here, I’ll see what I can do, but no promises on the delays.” He patted Tycho on the shoulder.
“Thanks, doc.” Tycho returned the gesture and headed to his office.