White Mars Part 14

He wrapped an arm round my waist, pulled me close, and kissed my lips.

I gave a small shriek of surprise. Asian honeypot indeed! He did not release me, but showered compliments on me, saying he had adored me ever since he had set eyes on me in the science unit. I did not mind the compliments. When he started to kiss me again, and I felt the warmth of his body against me, I found myself returning them.

I rejoiced when his tongue slipped into my mouth. I was becoming quite enthusiastic when the door opened and Tom and some others came in to congratulate Thorgeson on his exposition. This was one time when I felt really mad at Tom.

Back we marched into the hall. Thorgeson seemed quite calm. I was trembling. He had been about to grab my b.r.e.a.s.t.s under my clothes, and I could not decide how I would feel about that. I was furious with the situation. It was all I could do to sit there and listen to him. How should I deal with him when the lecture was over - with that Euclid looking on, too?

However, I now saw a new kind of pa.s.sion in Jon -not a physical pa.s.sion but an intellectual one, as he took over from Euclid and spoke of the next epoch of scientific discovery.

'Euclid and I were talking about the smudge mystery,' he said when the audience had settled down. 'I will skip some years of confusion and frustration and speak about the year 2024. That was the year when there were two breakthroughs, one experimental, one theoretical.

'The experimental breakthrough came when SHC got up to full power, far beyond anything originally planned for the unbuilt SSC, using a further innovation contributed by the Indonesian physicist, Jim Kopamtim. Lo and behold at far greater energies than were achieved previously, another smudge was found!

'So the Higgs smudge had to be rechristened the alpha-smudge, while the new one went by the name of beta-smudge.

The theoretical breakthrough - well, I should say it came a while before the SHC observations. A brilliant young Chinese mathematician, Chin Lim Chung, achieved a completely reformulated theoretical basis for particle physics as it stood at the time. Miss Chin introduced some highly sophisticated new mathematical ideas. She showed how a permanent smudge could indeed come about on the Ng-Robinson Plot, but but the culprit could not possibly be a particle in any ordinary sense. the culprit could not possibly be a particle in any ordinary sense.

'It was a new kind of ent.i.ty entirely. So from henceforth it was simply referred to as a smudge. smudge.

'Soon after the SHC announcement, Chin Lim Chung, working in conjunction with our own Dreiser Hawkwood, figured out that the alpha and beta smudges had to belong to a whole sequence of smudges, at higher and higher energies. It was clear that until this sequence was known as a whole, there was going to be no solution to the mystery of ma.s.s.

'Mother Teresa! It was as though we had discovered a row of galaxies on our doorstep!' As if he could not stop himself, he added, 'The remarkable Miss Chin is still alive and working. I happen to know her daughter.'

Something in Jon's manner, in his very body language, suggested to me that this lady must have been his Chinese lover, back on Earth.

Euclid: 'You cannot forever go on building bigger and bigger machines. So why did not the physicists just give up on the mystery?'

'Well, we don't give up easily.' He shot me a glance as he said this. 'It was hoped that once the gamma-smudge was found, then the mystery of ma.s.s could be resolved after all.'

Euclid. 'So they built an even bigger super-duper collider, did they? Where this time? Siberia?'

'On the Moon.'

He showed a vidslide of a gleaming section of tube crawling across the Mare Imbrium.

'A collider that formed a ring completely round the lunar surface. Alas for ambition! The Luna project turned out to be a total failure, at least with regard to finding the gamma-smudge. It did produce some data, relatively minor but useful. But no new smudge.'

Euclid: 'A costly mistake, wasn't it? Why did it fail?'

'The bill all merged into Lunar expenses, when the Moon was the flavour of the year, in the late 2030s. After a host of teething troubles, the Luna Collider appeared to do more or less what it was intended to do.

'I guess the final disaster rested with nature herself. She just didn't come up with a smudge - not even with the fantastic energy range available to a collider of that size.'

Euclid: 'Why didn't that kill off the whole idea? But you are about to tell us that after that disaster, funding was found to start all over again here - here - on Mars?' on Mars?'

'Politics came into it. The fact that Mars was a UN protectorate made it tempting. Also, there is the precept that even pure science, however expensive it may seem, pays off in the unforeseen end. Consider the case of genetically mutated crops, and how they have contributed to human longevity. Some people are willing to pay for ever-widening horizons, for freeing the human mind from old s.h.i.+bboleths.

'And there were two further chunks of scientific progress to encourage them - and another different kind of development which had been brewing away for some while earlier.'

Euclid: 'They were?'

'Even last century, a number of theoreticians had realised that the enigma of ma.s.s could not be resolved at the energy levels relevant to the Higgs. Why? Well, the very concept of ma.s.s is all tied up with gravitation. Gravitation ... Let me give you an a.n.a.logy, Euclid.

'Another long-standing "mystery" in particle physics is the mystery of electrical charge. It's a mystery of a sort let's say, although a good number of physicists would claim they understand why electric charge comes about.

'The trouble is that although there are good reasons why electric charge always comes in whole-number multiples of one basic charge - which is one twelfth of the charge of an electron - there's no real understanding why the basic charge has the particular value it happens to have.

'I should say there was a time, late last century, when this basic value was believed to be one third of the electron's charge. Before that it was held to be the electron's charge itself. But the one-third value is the quark charge, and it was still thought that quarks were fundamental. Only after Henry M'Bokoko's theory of leptons and pseudo-leptons was it realised there were yet more elementary ent.i.ties. Things called kliks and pseudo-kliks underlay these particles in the same way quarks underlie the hadrons.

'These kliks, pseudo-kliks and quarks, taken together, gave rise to the basic one-twelfth charge that we know today. A diagram will make that clear.'

He flashed a vidslide in the air. It hung before the audience, a skeletal Rubik's cube in three dimensions.

'Now, there are certain fundamental "natural units" for the universe - the units Nature herself uses to measure things in the universe. Sometimes these are called Planck units, after the German physicist who formulated them in the early years of last century.

'You see how one finding builds on the previous one. That's part of the fascination which keeps scientists working. In terms of these units, the basic value of the electric charge turns out to be the number 0.007, or thereabouts. This number has never been properly explained. So we don't, even yet, properly understand electric charge. There is, indeed, still a charge mystery. End of a.n.a.logy!'

Euclid, unblinkingly: 'So what follows?'

'The point about the ma.s.s mystery - a point made by a few physicists even as long ago as last century - was that no one would seriously attempt to find a fundamental solution to the charge mystery without bringing the electric field into consideration. Electric charge is the source of the electric field. In the same way, so the argument went, it made little sense trying to solve the mystery of ma.s.s without bringing in the gravitational field. Ma.s.s is, of course, the source of the gravitational field.

'And yet, you see, the original hopes of resolving the mystery of ma.s.s in terms of finding the Higgs particle made absolutely no reference to gravitation.'

Euclid: 'What do you make of all this?'

'It was really a whole bag of wishful thinking. You see, Euclid, finding the Higgs particle was considered just about within the capabilities of the physicists of the time. So, if a solution to the mystery of ma.s.s could be found that way - why, then it would have been pretty well within their grasp.

'But if the issue of the role of gravity had to be seriously faced - there would not have been a hope in h.e.l.l of their finding an answer to the origin of ma.s.s experimentally. They were looking for G.o.d with a candle!

'The energy required would have been what we call the Planck energy - which is larger than the Higgs energy by a factor of at least - well, if we said a few thousand million million, we wouldn't be far out.

'Put it this way. Even a collider the length of the Earth's...o...b..t would not have been enough.' His young-old face broke into a broad grin at the thought of it.

Euclid: 'Yet you tell us that they still did not give up. Why is that?'

'As I told you, it was all wishful thinking. They believed that finding the Higgs would be enough. Anyhow, science often proceeds by being over-optimistic. It's a way in which things do eventually get done. Eventually.

'So although the ma.s.s mystery remains unsolved, we now think our project here could well be close to doing so.'

Euclid: 'More over-optimism?'

'No, this time the case is pretty convincing. The thing is that we are now really facing up to the Planck energy problem.'

Euclid: 'I may be only an android, but as far as I know our experiment does not involve a collider of anything like that length. Or any collider at all.'

Jon released a 3D projection of something like a dark matrix motorway into the lecture room. He let it hang there as he spoke. On that infinite road, smudges shot off endlessly into distance. A cloud of other coloured spots sped after them.

'We're looking at a VR projection of a succession of different smudges, alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta-smudges. Artist's impression only, of course. You're right, we have no collider on Mars. I've said there were a couple of encouraging breakthroughs. Those breakthroughs make our Mars project possible.

'First breakthrough. The realisation that there was no point in working through this whole gamut of smudges, at greater and greater energy levels, the list continuing for ever.'

He switched off the projection. The scatter of smudges died in their tracks.

The Icelandic physicist, Iki Bengtsoen, showed that when Einstein's theory of gravitation - already confirmed to an unprecedented degree of accuracy - was appropriately incorporated into the Chin-Hawkwood smudge theory, it became obvious that the energies of all the different smudges, alpha, beta, gamma and so on, did not just increase indefinitely, sans limit, but converged on the Planck energy limit.

'You see what this implies? All would be resolved if just a single experiment could be devised to explore the "ultimate" smudge, that limiting smudge, where all the lower energy smudges are supposed to converge. It's this putative ultimate smudge we call the Omega Smudge.' Omega Smudge.'

Euclid. 'So we have got to it at last.' He maintained an expression of goodwill. 'But maybe you can explain how an experiment out here, on Mars, can be of particular use in finding this Flying Dutchman of a smudge - supposing it to exist at all.'

'That's where our other breakthrough comes in. Harrison Rosewall argued convincingly that a completely different kind of detector could be used to find this Omega Smudge, supposing it to exist at all.

'This involves the phenomenon known as "hidden symmetry".'

Euclid: 'And what might that be?'

Jon stood gazing at the low ceiling, as if seeking inspiration. Then he said, 'Every part of the explanation takes us deeper. These facts should have been part of everyone's education, rather than learning about past wars and histories of ancient nations. Well, I don't want to go into details, Euclid, but a hidden symmetry is a sort of theoretical symmetry which is dual in a certain sense, to a more manifest symmetry than might exist in theory. The idea goes back to some hypotheses popular late last century, although at that time the correct context for the hidden-symmetry idea was not found.

'What was important for Rosewall's scheme was that there can be things called monopoles a.s.sociated with hidden-symmetry fields.

'A magnetic monopole would be a particle that has only a magnetic north pole or south pole a.s.signed to it. As you know, an ordinary ferroperm magnet has a north pole at one end and a south pole at the other. Neither north nor south poles exist singly.

'But the great twentieth-century physicist, Paul Dirac, showed that the charge values had to be integer multiples of something. something. If you could find even a single example of a separate north or south pole, then - as we have since discovered to be the case - all electric charges would have to come in whole-number multiples of a basic charge. If you could find even a single example of a separate north or south pole, then - as we have since discovered to be the case - all electric charges would have to come in whole-number multiples of a basic charge.

'So, a number of years later, experimenters set to work to find such magnetic monopoles. If just one was found, then a major part of the mystery of electric charge would be solved. One group of experimenters even argued that the most likely place to find these things would be inside oysters. oysters. Of which, as we know, there's a considerable shortage on Mars.' Of which, as we know, there's a considerable shortage on Mars.'

Euclid: 'Any luck?'

'No. No one has ever found a magnetic monopole, even to this day. But, in Rosewall's case, the hidden symmetry refers to a dual on the gravitational field. Rosewall made an impressive case that a hidden-symmetry gravitational monopole - known as a HIGMO - ought ought actually to exist. In fact there is a solution to the Einstein gravitational equations - found in the early 1960s, I believe - which describes the cla.s.sical version of this monopole. actually to exist. In fact there is a solution to the Einstein gravitational equations - found in the early 1960s, I believe - which describes the cla.s.sical version of this monopole.

'This was Rosewall's brainwave. He realised that if you built a large ring-shaped tube, filled with an appropriate superfluid - argon 36 is what we use, under reduced pressure - then whenever a HIGMO pa.s.sed through the ring, it would be detectable - just barely detectable - as a kind of "glitch" appearing in the superfluid.'

A voice from the audience asked, 'Why argon 36 and not 40?'

'Proton and neutron numbers are equal in argon 36, which underlies the reason for its remarkable superfluidity under reduced pressure. A technical advantage is the low pressure of the Martian atmosphere. Fortunately, argon 36 is not radioactive. Okay?'

At this point, he projected a vidslide of a scene I recognised. There lay the ma.s.sive inflated tube, protected by its lid. There stood Dreiser, delivering his little speech. I had been a part of that historic scene!

'Obviously, this is a large-scale but delicate experiment. No other disturbances of any kind must affect the super-fluid in the tube. You have to do the best you can to s.h.i.+eld the superfluid from external vibrations, because any significant outside activity is liable to ruin the experiment.

'No place on Earth is going to be remotely quiet enough for such an experiment. Never mind human activity, the magma under Earth's crust is itself active, like a giant tummy rumbling. Earth is an excitable planet.'

Euclid: 'What about Luna?'

'The Moon proved no longer possible. Too much tourist activity and mining was already taking place. Maybe forty years ago the Moon could still have been used, but not now, certainly not since they began building the transcore subway.

'But Mars ... Mars is ideal for the Omega Smudge experiment. No moving tectonic plates, vulcanism dead ... That is, it's ideal provided that human activity is kept down to present levels.'

Euclid: 'No terraforming?'

Thorgeson laughed. 'The UN did a trade-off. No terraforming for a few years. The hidden agenda was that this would give a breathing s.p.a.ce for the Omega Smudge experiment. The gun at our heads is that we have to get results.'

At this there were rumblings from the audience, and an angry voice called, 'So how long is "a few years"? Tell us!'

After a moment's pause, Thorgeson said, 'There was to be a stand-off of thirty years - four years from now -before they began to bombard the Martian surface with CFC gases, to start the warming-up process. This was the deal pushed through by Thomas Gunther.'

This statement provoked angry interjections from the audience. Thorgeson calmed things down with a wave of his hand.

'Obviously the collapse of EUPACUS has altered all such arrangements.

'The experiment we're now getting under way involves only a relatively small ring, sixty kilometres in diameter. Will we discover any HIGMOs? That depends on the HIGMO density in the universe, of which there are only estimates so far. We need results. Otherwise - who knows -the terraformers take over, the CFC gases rain down...'

'Get on with it, then!' came a shout from the audience, followed by roars of support.

Thorgeson said, 'The terrestrial economy is still in meltdown. Don't worry.

'Our present experiment is basically a pilot project, partly to test out how we work in adverse conditions. Maybe we can manage with this. If not, we hope to build a superfluid ring around the entire planet.'

'Another way of ruining Mars!' yelled a voice.

'We need to solve the problem at last. With the planet ringed, the answer to the vexed question of ma.s.s will finally be answered. Maybe Mars was formed precisely to enable us to find that solution.'

'Victorianism!' came a cry from a now restive audience.

Thorgeson answered this cry directly. 'Okay, tell me what else is Mars good for? You invited me here. Listen to what I have to say. I'll take sensible questions afterwards. Till then, keep quiet, please.'

As if to back him up, Euclid spoke. 'Say why it is so important to solve the mystery of ma.s.s. If a few physicists satisfy their curiosity in this respect, what good does that do ordinary people?'

'It is always difficult to justify curiosity-driven research in terms of its ultimate benefit to society. We can't tell ahead of time. Nevertheless the effect of such research, which seems entirely abstract to the lay person, can be tremendous. An obvious example is Alan Turing's a.n.a.lysis of theoretical computing machines done in the 1930s. It changed the world in which we live. We are on Mars because of it.'

Euclid: 'You must have some idea as to the value of this immensely costly research in areas other than particle physics.'

'Smudge research will have an important impact on other areas of physics and astrophysics. After all, it is concerned with the deepest issues of the very building bricks of the universe, the particles of which we are all composed, and their const.i.tuent elements.

'A full understanding of ma.s.s may lead to matrix-drives that will carry us to the heart of our galaxy.

'It's concerned, too, with gravitation and with the nature of matrix and time. It relates in a vital way to the understanding of the big bang origin of the universe, and thus to deep philosophical questions. The whole mystery of where the universe comes from and of what the universe is composed - this is what smudge research ultimately involves.'

The same angry voice from the audience now interposed to say, 'Self-justification is no justification.'

I saw anger in Thorgeson's eyes, but he answered in a controlled manner one could not but admire.

'You might ask how any of this really affects society, although the matter remains of great interest to any intelligent person. Well, society might also be deeply affected for a different type of reason. This relates to a third breakthrough, which occurred at about the same time, having to do with the very nature of the human mind - or the soul, soul, as some unscientific people put it. as some unscientific people put it.

'In the early years of this century, the development of electronic into quantum computers encouraged the already widely held view that mind mind was just something that developed when sufficient powerful and effective computations took place. Chess, finally even the oriental game of Go, succ.u.mbed to the brutal but speedy computations of these devices. was just something that developed when sufficient powerful and effective computations took place. Chess, finally even the oriental game of Go, succ.u.mbed to the brutal but speedy computations of these devices.

'Yet no matter how effective these machines were, it was always obvious that they possessed no minds. They couldn't even be called intelligent in any ordinary sense of that word. Something essential was missing.

'With the development of the quantputer about 2023, distinct new physical features were incorporated, using basic quantum-mechanical principles. We have evidence that the human brain itself operates using these same principles. Thus, it is likely that we have in a quantputer all the essentials of human mentality. As yet, we are still short of knowing all the needed physical parameters.