Strings: something big is about to happen... Read Free

she worked, she was constantly
aware of a thought, deep-rooted and, for the moment, still hidden.   It was a state of mind she recognised.   Sooner or later, the thought would surface
and become an insight.   That was a good
word for it.   But so was ‘truth’ or
‘recognition’ or even ‘understanding’.   There were so many words that very nearly explained the moment when
everything clicked into place, when a hunch became a deeply felt
perception.   To Maddy, it was a moment
she lived for, it was her own kind of ecstasy.   If only she could catch this one and tie it down.   She laughed.   It would be like catching quanta in a butterfly net.   Impossible.   The image stayed with her.   There
she was, running around, able to sense the microscopic universe, and attempting
to trap some of it in a contraption obviously inadequate for the task.   She would need a special kind of net, and an
enhanced perception to be able to ‘see’ what was normally invisible. She worked
with a smile on her face, always aware of the thought that was doing its best
to emerge.   When it did, she would grab
it.
     
    *****
     
    “Awake, team-members!” Sim sent
out a signal and the players stirred.
    “Uh?” thought Rim.
    Li poked Rom with a joke and he
turned somersaults.
    “Two blips,” announced Sim.   “Illuminating screen. Confirm your choices.”
    “Shall we take the hot one?”
    “Does it support life?” asked, Ti.
    “Affirmative,” replied Sim. “Third
solid from the hot. At sub quanta levels.   Observe.”
    On the screen, strange granular
objects appeared, made of various identifiable elements.   Some characteristic of animate, some of
inanimate forms.  
    “There is evidence of organisation
and, in previous studies, this has been proven to assume some level of
intelligence.”
    The players passed their thoughts
around.
    “We need a hot.   One last one, to have victory.   We can use the discretionary rule.” Rim
waited for a response.
    “Intelligence cannot be accurately
measured at this level of magnification.   However, new research suggests that we may soon harness more of the
power of our minds to see beyond what the universe currently reveals to us.”
    “We shouldn’t take the hot, if
there is life.”   Li contributed his
thought reluctantly.
    “When will we meet the next system
choice?” queried Lom.
    “7, 081 blips,” said Sim.
    “We are so close to winning!”
    “Who cares about a few microbes?”
    “How long will it take them to
die?”
    “If they are alive in the first
place!”
    “Depending on intelligence and
location, less than a dwil,” announced Sim. “But you must take into account
that, though a dwil, to us, is nothing more than the blinking of an eye, it
could represent a substantial period of time to a microbe.”
    “I never did really understand
that,” said Lon.
    There was telepathic jeering from
the others, until Rim shared his thought:   “I want to go home.”
    The others concurred, regretfully,
but unanimously.   And, although Ti still
had reservations, there was always the discretionary rule, which said that, if
a player needed to take a risk on less than adequate information provided, they
could choose to bring home the specimen for study purposes.
    “All for one and one for
all?”   Sim queried.
    “Ratch nor dwl!   Ratch!” came the reply.
     
    ***
     
    Hugh was watching the news.  
    “Maddy!   Come and see this.”
    There was something in his voice
that made her come.   And, looking at the
screen, a tickle started in her mind, which always signified the beginning of
clarity.  
    “They noticed it two weeks ago,
but they don’t know what it is.   Just
that it’s getting closer at some speed that’s impossible to calculate.   They don’t think it’s solid.   Some kind of gas cloud.   They say it will pass right through us.”
    The astronomer on the television
explained that the objects detected were nebulous in nature and changed