Physically present but mentally.... Jun. 6th, 2007
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"So, finally we arrive at this particular formula. This formula is for the short circuited transmission lines. Now I want you to practice this and derive the formula for open circuited transmission lines by tomorrow", Ms. Geeta, the Transmission Lines and Waveguides lecturer was taking the second hour and it was grating on everybody's nerves. She was a good lecturer but two continuous hours translated into torture even for the most nerdy student in the class. Fleur and her friends were cozily hidden from view and were busy playing hangman. It wasn't that Fleur was a bad student. She had finished the entire derivation the night before and her friends knew they could rely upon her to give a much simplified version. But an hour of hangman had bored her enough. She put down the paper and started doodling flowers and leaves and her signature in various shapes and sizes. It was then that she noticed the light radiating right next to her.
It was a portal, the kind that you see in sci-fi movies. Before she could comprehend what was happening, a hand extended out of nothingness and grabbed her arm. In the following moment she was pulled inside the opening and somehow landed on her feet. As her eyes became accustomed to the sudden change in brightness, she found herself standing in front of a mirror. Just as she was wondering as to why a mirror should be standing in the middle of a road, her reflection spoke, "Hello Fleur, I hope I didn't startle you much". She tried shaking it off. Was she sleeping in Geeta ma'm's class! Oh God! Geeta ma'm would not spare her. She had to wake up. But the strange thing was that she didn't feel asleep, on the contrary she felt wide awake as though a bucket full of ice cold water had been splashed on her. "Oh goodness me, I did frighten you, didn't I?", the reflection was speaking again, "Let me assure you it wasn't intentional at all". Fleur thought that it had finally happened, that she had lost all sense and had completely lost her mind. Even as stupid as it seemed to her, she tried speaking to her reflection, "What is happening? Where am I?". She was half expecting her friend to shake her out of her slumber. But all she heard was her own voice, coming from her reflection which she now realised wasn't a reflection at all, because there was no mirror.
"You are in my universe".
Bewildered, she uttered a "huh?".
"My universe, Fleur, haven't you heard about 'parallel universes', 'alternate reality'?"
She remembered having read about alternate reality in a book by Stephen Hawking. But trying to comprehend the concept at this moment seemed exceedingly impossible. "Don't worry, you'll understand soon enough", her reflection, whom she now regarded as a different person altogther, said reassuringly. "Let us take a walk", and her alter ego began leading the way. They walked down a pathway in the garden. She hadn't noticed till then that they were actually in a garden. It had the most beautiful flowers blooming all around. She was now calmer than before but was excited all the same.
"Are you a doppelganger?". And she heard her other self laugh, "My goodness, no! There is no such thing as a doppelganger. That is just a myth created by people who cannot live with themselves. You see, the time, as rightly pointed out by Stephen Hawking, is actually the 4th dimension. Just like the x, y, z co-ordinates, there is a 4th co-ordinate, time. It wouldn't be wise for me try to explain the concept in it's entirety. I'll therefore provide you the explanation in layman terms. You must've of course read about the big bang theory". Fleur solemnly nodded her head in assertion. "Okay then I'll begin from there. You see when the big bang "occured", so to speak, there were 'n' number of universes which were formed. Each differed from the other in terms of the fabric of time. Each had a time lag of fractional milli-second before formation. Thus you have parallel universes".
"So how many such universes do exist?"
"No one can say for certain. But I figure the number is close to the number of human emotions".
"But wouldn't that be infinite?"
She smiled knowingly, "Yes, that's what most poets would suggest. But the number is actually quite finite, incredibly large, but still finite"
"Exactly how did you arrive at this conclusion?"
"By observing other universes of course. You see when I say human emotion, it is not really as much of an emotion but rather a state". She looked rather unsure of how to put it in words. It was like explaining calculus to a toddler. "It is like.. like the state of mind, only it is a prolonged state. You know how sometimes we feel happy for sometime and then bitter for sometime. Well, in a similar way, within one universe, one emotion or 'state of mind' dominates. For example, mine is the universe where I'm the best at academics and sports". It didn't sound like she was boasting. It was spoken as one speaks the truth and believes in it.
"Ok, so what other states of mind are there?"
"Oh there are many. One which I've observed is the one where I'm.. I mean we are.. well, the state is social elite. Then there is one of extreme poverty and misery, one where the sub-conscious is in a state of complete instability".
"Mhmm, and what 'state of mind' am I in my universe?"
"Oh well, yours is average"
Now this statement really irked her, "Excuse me! Average?! I'll have you know that I have been the first rank-holder at my college, for the past three years now"
"Ah, well that's nice. I'm a rank-holder too, at the university level".
This humbled her down and she could only manage a disappointed "Oh".
"Hey don't be disheartened. From what I've observed, the average reality is the most stable one. There is no pressure to outperform all the time, no suicidal or homicidal tendencies, no 'battles with anorexia' and it is most definitely better than the reality in which the have-nots exist. Of course you have a much better life than the rest of them and I chose to bring you here because I knew you could grasp these concepts better than the others".
"Yeah that actually reminds me, how did I get here in the first place?"
She produced a coin like object, not very unlike the five rupee coin.
"That's it?", she asked incredulously, "You know it's kind of a letdown after all that talk".
Her other self chuckled, "That is so typical. You were expecting the huge machines that they show in movies, weren't you"
"Well, to be honest, some thing bigger than a five rupee coin at least"
"This is built using nanotechnology. It would take me ages to explain the working principle behind it, I'll just give you a demo instead". She placed the coin on the ground and took out a long, thin needle-like object and inserted it into a tiny opening on the face of the coin. It began projecting life-size images like a holograph. For a second it showed Fleur sitting at a piano and playing beautifully, then it changed to another image of Fleur standing atop a building under construction. She was just standing there enjoying the breeze, like someone who has accomplished a task. The next second it showed her emerging from a hut with four-five street urchins trudging along. In the next moment, she was on a beautiful ship and there was a horde of people surrounding her. At this precise instant, Fleur's alter ego jerked the needle in a clockwise direction. Instead of the image changing again it just continued. It was like watching an oversized television.
"That's the reality where the state is of a very accomplished but severely I.Q.challenged actress. Earlier I did not have the mechanism to enter different realities so this was how I observed other universes. I still have a lot of research to do, but now I'm able to open gateways between two alternate realities"
"Okay, I think it'll be a while before I can catch up with all the technical stuff that you've told but what about genetics? Do all these alters have the same DNA make up or does it differ?"
"You should've really gone in for biology related fields you know. Not that you are bad at telecommunications, but I still remember seeing the effort that you took while maintaining your biology record books. I somehow suspected the discussion to turn towards biology. coming to your question, the basic DNA make up stays the same. The parents, the family tree, and thus the gene pool remain almost same. There are of course differences but they are subtle"
"So can you enter any of these realities at any time?"
"Not really, gateways usually open only when the mind is sufficiently relaxed and void of thoughts. This reminds me that it has almost been an hour since you got here. I ought to be sending you back"
"Yeah but won't the others notice my absence? And the sudden reappearance?"
"No. You see, when I pulled you into my reality, only your sub conscious came along. You are physically still there"
"Oh I see. Ok then send me back"
"Just stop thinking. Close your eyes and try to concentrate on nothingness"
She did as she was told and the next second her friend was nudging her, "It's your roll number stupid. Answer". Then she heard Geeta ma'm's voice "Roll number zero one zero". "P.. Present ma'm". "Fleur, why did it take you so long to answer? come here and show me your notes". She was so dumbfounded that she couldn't move for a minute. "Daydreaming again eh? Come here with your notes". She started to look down on the blank sheets of paper, dreading to go to the dais. But she saw the formula for 'cylindrical conductor with inner radius=a and outer radius=b' neatly derived. Her friend had the presence of mind to push across the sheets that Fleur had derived the night earlier and given to her friend for copying. She promptly took the sheets and went to the dais. Geeta ma'm looked shocked for a moment, "I don't know how you manage this. I didn't see you write down a single word. I don't want this to repeat again. You better pay attention in the next class", she said sternly, "And this applies to all of you here who are always physically present but mentally absent"...
