He pushes his hair back, accentuating a cowlick and revealing a few strands of gray, which makes Ilena happier than it should. “Theoretically, coherence link would offer a bridge between quantum states.”
“A bridge? To travel across? Like a two-way street?”
“Meaning...”
“A swap, I guess?”
“A brain swap?”
“Well, it sounds silly when you say it like that.”
“It all sounds silly. Ridiculous even. But in this particular case, a swap in the way you are suggesting is highly improbable. More mystical or intentional than the physics allows for. The bridge would simply offer the conditions for one consciousness to access its counterpart in another universe. While the coherence link lasted, consciousnesses could coexist.”
“And more silliness, but like two brains are better than one?”
Jonah smiles, and her stomach does a little flip. “While it’s conceivable that two sets of memories might exist in the same space, personally, I find the notion of the human mind being able to tolerate such a thing hypothetically challenging.”
That must be why she, Mallory, and Aubrey don’t remember the lives they had in this world. If only she could tell Jonah she is proof of his conclusion.
Jonah continues, “One set of memories likely suppresses another for a period of time. But it’s not a stable state. The more time that passes since the collision, the more the coherence link will fade out, leaving just one consciousness. We have no way of knowing which one.”
They could fade. And who knows which versions of themselves would remain.
Jonah seems to note the discomfort on her face. “It’s not as out there as it seems. Experiments with collapsing wave function show how a particle that seems to inhabit just one position actually exists in every position simultaneously. We just don’t have the means to observe it. With respect to coherence link, for those vibrations to line up, the worlds would have to be very similar in that moment, and the closer they were in all elements, let’s say a fortieth birthday party on a beach in Bali—”
“Theoretically speaking or planned?”
“Planned, but only in my mind. So, a party in Bali in both worlds. If most of the same elements were in place, that would substantively increase the odds of the universes bumping.”
“As in actually...” Ilena brings fist to fist.
“For these purposes, yes. Particles can become entangled, entering a shared quantum state, or, as you say, allow one to ‘dip in.’ The more alike things are, the more probability of a collision.It would ignite an active coherence link, and realities would cross. For how long, I can’t say.”
Puzzle pieces drop into place. The two outings happened on the same day in the same place with most of the same people, even some in practically the same clothes like Mallory and her jumpsuit. They were both held one week before AIM was to go public. And in each one, she, Mallory, and Aubrey agreed to return to the same spot to usher in good luck—in two days’ time. Which means... maybe...
“I should go.” She hoists herself up, doing a Kegel to curb the urgency of her bladder.
“Of course.” He sounds disappointed. “And it’s a wonder he’s still single.” He gives a self-deprecating laugh.
She smiles politely, though it makes her heart sink a little.
“I hope I answered your question?” he says.
“Yes, you did. You’re an excellent professor.”
“I was going to be a doctor. But they don’t really wear cardigans.”
“Which you pull off quite well.” Heat rises in her cheeks. “But you would have pulled that off too, being a doctor.”
“You think?”
“If only you could see your other-world self.”
He smiles and winds around his desk. He holds out a hand to escort her from the office, but part of her doesn’t want to leave. “Ilena, can I say something? Aside from it being strange and bizarre and delightful to see you again.”
“Same,” she says, all that double for her.
“You’re asking about choice for AIM, so I have to assume you’re looking for an angle related to your app’s focus on a fulfilling life.”
