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“Have you ever done something and not known why you did it?”
White light shown down on the concrete of a Grecian balcony patio that overlooked a golf course below. Posh model homes were hidden behind every hill and filled every curve from where the balcony overlooked the green. Leaves cast in every shade hung from the limbs of trees that concealed the horizon and blanketed the sky. Fragrant honeysuckle grew along the trellis that encircled the patio. Taking in the view from here was like seeing a 3-D image from a page out of a Magic Eye book come to life.
A woman with long luxurious black hair contemplated the question as she leaned forward on her elbow, chin resting elegantly on the back of her hand. “Hmm, I’m not exactly sure what you mean.” Realization dawned on her mature face as she stirred the hot tea in front of her with the end of her little finger. “Like after doing something when you think back and it seems as if it had been someone else?”
“Exactly!” Marcus Holdman, the man sitting across from her, beamed as he straightened up. “Sort of makes you really wonder at the gravity of our work; you know, how it changes everything, and yet how it all fits just the same.”
The woman lifted her finger from the tea and sucked the liquid off with a kissing sound. “We are but delicate vessels languishing in a sea of worlds within worlds, and perforated throughout,” she said, quoting a famous line spoken by the original Intrepid, Sir William Samuel Stephenson. “Like a sponge.”
“No kidding,” Marcus agreed. “But seriously, the theory of planar metaphysics and all its tropes never ceases to amaze me.” He looked up and saw her smile, interpreting it as a placative response. “Come on, indulge me.”
“Oh, I’m right there with you, Mr. Holdman, as always.”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” he said. “I guess it’s predictable by now, but you’re the only one I truly enjoy discussing this with.” There was a pause, and then a word carefully left his mouth as if it were fragile enough to break. “Jessica.” He reached over and laid his hand on top of hers.
The woman gently retracted her hand as she reached up and replaced a strand of hair behind her ear. Crossing her shapely legs, Jessica leaned back in the chair and nodded. “Go on.”
Showing no obvious signs of disappointment at the rebuff, Marcus blinked once then continued.
“Well, as you know, I like to start at the beginning,” he said. “So, try to stay with me, because there is a point to all this.
“Now, if you take what we refer to as the known physical universe and posit that for anything done there is something not done, that means there will always be at least two of everything that exists or could exist. Apply this theory to the birth of the universe and you get the many-worlds interpretation of existence.”
He licked his lips as he went on. “And within many-worlds theory you have the framework by which to model anything you experience in reality. Reality is thus measured in terms of planes of existence—the supraphysical world—or dimensions, if you will.”
Jessica’s swoosh-like eyebrows rose as she spoke. “Yes, there are numerous ancient religions and philosophies which support similar claims in their own beliefs: Neoplatonism, and Theosophy, to Kashmir Shaivism, Kabbalah, and Rosicrucianism. The idea of the plane, vibrating plane, or the invisible world is not a new one, Mr. Holdman.”
“Right, and in science also we have quantum physics models that show how an atomic system can exhibit any eventuality in its own space. But what about large-scale systems, such as a universe, or all the things contained within one? There must be a way to example quantum relationships at the macro-level, and that’s where the MWI comes in.”
Jessica could see where he was going with this. She leaned her head back in an odd state of repose, pointing her toes and bouncing her leg on her knee as she spoke. “In esoteric cosmology, the manner in which the universe, or multiverse, progresses is by means of emanation: a gradual unfolding or expanding of the world around us—like a ripple on the surface of a pond, except that nothing exists outside the ripple until it has gone beyond that point. Not unlike the spreading action of spatial expansion associated with the big bang theory. Are you suggesting that this is a spot where these two conflicting ideas seem to agree, Mr. Holdman?”
He couldn’t help fidget at her response. “Well, for the initial relative states of everything that ever could be, yes.” He loosened his tie. “Look at it this way, science holds that everything that ever could or would be has always existed since the beginning of time. Nothing is gained and nothing is lost, matter and energy only go through various state changes. Esoteric cosmology, however, says that for every change in a system’s state there are two new divergent resultant systems for that change, each progressing in their own world, in their own dimension. If you combine these two theories you’re left with a multiverse of near-infinite planes that each progressed independently but coherently.”
“Meaning every universe that could ever exist has always existed.…”
“Precisely.”
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That's what he said!
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