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Paul got home from the university and started his studies. The incident at the university was in the news but not as prevalent as Paul expected. Anyway, he was getting behind, and he didn’t want the AI tutors to tell his father again, so he worked until dinner time.
After dinner, for the first time since talking to Dr. Pratt, he had a chance to query Rothmeyer through their link about Einstein-Rosen bridges.
Yes, I believe what the professor was saying was that the Einstein-Rosen bridge provides a way to link quantum mechanics with general relativity. You see, the E-R bridge provides a structure that allows for two arrows of time: a forward-going arrow and a backward-going arrow.
Paul asked another question through the link.
--You mean forward and backward in time?
Yes, you see, one of the problems that crops up with black holes is that they destroy, or remove, information from the universe.
--I’ve read about that paradox. It was introduced by Hawking, right?
That’s right. A black hole hides information behind its event horizon, and at its core, the singularity, everything is broken down. That is okay if this destruction remains behind the event horizon, but as Hawking showed, black holes can evaporate, and when they do, they do not return information to the universe, just random entropy.
So, general relativity is saying that this process is irreversible and information is lost. But in quantum mechanics, all known processes are reversible, so information should be preserved. This paradox leads to two of the greatest theories in science disagreeing.
Now, this is where the E-R bridge enters. If there are two arrows of time, then information falling past a black hole’s event horizon doesn’t disappear from the universe but flips from one time direction to the other.
Paul asked a question.
--It goes back in time?
From our perspective. But it could just as well be that we are the ones traveling back in time, and the information we are discussing is now traveling forward in time: quantum reversibility. It creates and preserves a symmetry that agrees with quantum mechanics, which can now be reconciled with general relativity.
--Quantum gravity?
Yes.
--Well, that’s too deep for me. But I think I understand the importance. The question I now have is this: do we have a way to control this bridge? Can we choose to go forward or backward in time?
I suppose that would require more experimentation with the device.
--Yes, and Professor Pratt said he wouldn’t be allowed to do any more experimentation on campus.
I bet the government will continue the experiments.
“You’re probably right. I wish I could too,” said Paul aloud.
Over the next few weeks, Paul continued his studies but also continued to think about the device. He had
Rothmeyer scanning the net for any news that might be related.
One afternoon, as Paul was playing a game, Rothmeyer alerted.
--What is it Rothmeyer?
I have a news report of a consortium that has started investigating the device you made.
--Really, where?
Apparently near Pittsburgh, the consortium is associated with a national laboratory.
--So, it begins.
Soon, there were several groups pursuing research into Paul’s device, except Paul.
One day at lunch, Paul’s mom said, “Paul, I talked to your grandpa. He wanted to know if you were interested in going up to the farm for a few weeks this summer.”
“I don’t know,” said Paul. “There’s not much to do up there.”
“He said to tell you he’s got satellite internet now,” she said.
“Really,” said Paul.
“Yeah, I think he put it in just for you,” she said.
“Well, maybe,” said Paul. “I wonder if he would mind if Rudy came with me.”
“We can call and ask him if you think you might want to go,” she said.
“I think I might,” said Paul.
“Okay, let’s call him,” she said.
The call set up Paul’s visit to his grandfather’s farm, and Rudy would be welcome too. Paul had another month before he would leave.
That evening he called Rudy and told him.
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Rudy. “Spending a month on a farm isn’t that appealing to me.”
“But we’ll be doing something that might be appealing,” said Paul.
“What?”
“We’ll be experimenting with the device,” said Paul.
“What do you mean?” asked Rudy.
“Well, the farm has several buildings on it. The small barn is the farthest from the house. Grandpa used it
to keep some of the herd in when he was raising cattle. It’s quite well equipped. All we need to do is run a cable for internet access out there, and we have a decent lab,” said Paul.
“I see,” said Rudy. “But Paul, do you think that experimenting with that thing is safe? Look at what happened to you and the physics building.”
“Right, so we know we need to be careful. If you want to, we can run the experiments remotely from the house once we have the barn wired. Should be safe enough,” said Paul.
“We’ll need some money,” said Rudy.
“We’ll do an online fundraiser for our experiment for the national science fair,” said Paul.
“Might be fun,” said Rudy.
“Yeah, we could be the first to time travel,” said Paul.
“I ain’t going,” said Rudy.
“We don’t have to; we can send an AI agent,” said Paul.
“Okay, I’m in,” said Rudy.
“Good, we’ll start preparing immediately,” said Paul.
Paul’s grandfather, Agonistes Anderson, had an eighty-acre farm in the northwest Georgia mountains.
Agonistes’s great-grandfather had bought the land from the government in the early 1800s, and it had been in the family ever since. But whether it remained in the family might be up to Paul, as Paul’s father had shown no interest in taking it over and would probably sell it if it were left to him.
Agonistes had hopes that Paul would take over the farm; that was one of the reasons he had finally installed satellite internet. He hoped Paul wouldn’t feel as isolated this visit.
Paul and Rudy had taken a long-distance electric from their Hampton suburb, and it dropped them off at the nearest town to the farm. Grandpa Anderson was waiting in his old electric pickup.
“Good to see you, Paul,” said his grandpa.
“You too, Grandpa. This is my friend Rudy.”
“Welcome, Rudy,” said Grandpa. “Well, let’s get your bags in the truck and head for the farm.”
In the cab of the truck, Paul said, “Grandpa, did you get any deliveries marked for me?”
“Yeah Paul, I put them out in the small barn like you said. I also ran a cable out to the barn for your internet.”
“That’s great, Grandpa. Rudy and I like to do some online gaming for fun,” said Paul.
“Well, you should be all set up. I got the highest speed they offered,” said Grandpa.
“Great,” said Paul.
The trip took about thirty minutes, as the roads got narrower and narrower the further, they got into the hills. As they came around a turn on the farm road, they could see the farm laid out in front of them. The white farmhouse was the nearest building; on its far side was the big red barn where the robots that tended the orchard were stored. Agonistes also kept the truck and other equipment in it now. Across the pasture was the small barn, and several other smaller buildings dotted the pasture. Behind the small barn was a solar-panel installation. The farm got much of its power from solar energy. Across the road from the house and up the hill was the apple orchard, which was the last income-producing part of the farm.
They soon started down the hill, and the truck was pulling up in front of the house within a couple of minutes.
Paul and Rudy took their belongings up to their rooms on the second floor and came back to the kitchen at the back of the house where they had a snack. The back and side walls of the kitchen were lined with windows. It was a south-facing room and got sunlight much of the day.
“Was that enough food boys?” asked Grandpa.
“Yes,” said Paul.
“Yes sir,” said Rudy.
“What do you want to do now?” asked Grandpa.
“I think we want to go over to the barn and get our stuff set up,” said Paul.
“Okay,” said Grandpa. “I’ll have dinner ready at six. Don’t be late.”
The two boys walked across the pasture in back of the house, crossing the stream that ran its length.
They walked under the cable that Paul’s grandpa had strung up between the house and barn. Inside, the barn was thirty by forty feet with open side lofts. Crates and small barrels, for packing apples, were stacked against the side walls under the loft areas. On either side, one could climb into the lofts. Some tools were stored there. There was a long wood table along the back wall, which had a window in the center.
“Let’s set it up there,” said Paul, pointing to the table.
“Where’s the lights?” said Rudy.
“Try the wall behind the door, and close the door while you are there,” said Paul.
Rudy did as asked, and the two rows of lights came on.
“Here’s our packages,” said Rudy.
Several cardboard boxes were sitting beside the door.
“Let’s get them open,” said Paul.
The boys opened the packages, and from one, Paul pulled out the device and placed it on the table.
“Let’s get the battery-backed power supplies out and place them on the floor under the table. We’ll run the power cords up to the device from behind,” said Paul.
The boys worked for some time, moving the heavy power supplies to the back wall under the table and hooking them up to the device. They finished arranging the equipment they had bought with the online proceeds for their experimenting and went to the house to eat dinner.
“Did you boys get your game playing set up?” asked Grandpa as they entered.
“Yes sir, we’re finished,” said Paul.
“You ready to eat?” asked Grandpa.
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” said Paul. “You hungry, Rudy?”
“Getting there,” said Rudy.
“Well, let’s go into the kitchen,” said Grandpa. “It’s all ready; just get a plate, fill it up from the food on the stove, and take a seat.”
The boys did as Agonistes said and soon all three were eating the dinner the old man had cooked.
“Grandpa,” said Paul. “Besides playing some online games, Rudy and I are going to work on the device we are building.”
“Really, what does it do?” asked Grandpa.
“Well, so far, we’re not too sure; we think it has something to do with the physics of time,” said Paul.
“Does this have something to do with that incident that your dad told me about?” asked Grandpa. “That’s dangerous, isn’t it?”
“Well, we think we understand it better, and that won’t happen again,” said Paul.
“Promise you’ll be careful, son,” said Agonistes.
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