_Quantum Glitch_
(c) 2002 Ben McIlwain
Freely distributable as long as Ben McIlwain remains the credited author for this work.


Qwuz floated through the doorway into the experimentation chamber. The door hissed silently shut behind him, its noise drowned out by the clanging of Qwuz's movement as he scrambled about the chamber from handhold to foothold. Everyone working at this institution had lived their whole lives in zero gravity, and all were adept at moving about quickly.

Qwuz settled down in a chair across the chamber from the entrance and lightly buckled himself in, to keep from floating away. He was typical of a space-going human, adapted through thousands of generations for living in space. He was tall, spindly, and seemed devoid of any developed muscles. He often mused that he would die on a planet without any mechanical aid, but the same would be true of the planet-dwelling humans in space, for their bones would gradually deplete and their internal organs would suffer damage.

"Hi there Qwuz, anything new?" Elia asked from her seat, which was on the opposite wall of the chamber as Qwuz's. Qwuz craned his neck and looked up, to see Elia looking right back down at him. For gravity-dwellers, this would be disorienting. For Qwuz and Elia, it was the norm, because in boxlike rooms, the chance that you were oriented the same as any other given person in the room was one in six.

"Just another boring day. How's the experiment coming?" The experiment was everything to Qwuz, Elia, and the countless other researchers inhabiting Quantum, the largest research institution anywhere, orbiting a star devoid of planets fifty lightyears from Earth. It was too large to be considered a spaceship, and it didn't move anyway. It was too large to be considered a space station. The inhabitants of Quantum called it a satellite, like countless other moons, but because it was hollow instead of solid, it had no appreciable gravity.

"Qwuz, we've been working our whole lives on this, and countless other generations from our predecessors besides. If there was anything special to report that occurred in the span of a day, you'd better believe it would be broadcasted instantly through the whole station."

"Always the same answer, isn't it?" Qwuz asked of his lanky companion. "I've been asking for years now, and you've been saying no for years now. It's a tradition. This conversation has taken place many times before. Let's simply say, I have hope."

"I'll give you that, you do have hope, and that's an aspect I admire in you. We're still running the same dataset as lastrev, and the rev before, and the rev before that." A rev was the amount of time it took Quantum to orbit its star, which was roughly geared to the human Circadian cycle of twenty-five Earth hours.

"It's just that this situation is so unique. We're the only original research being conducted by humans in this entire universe. Every other field has been taken over by computational simulation. But not this. No computer simulation, it seems, is capable of explaining the seemingly random motions of quantum mechanics. So that is why we're here, while quadrillions of other people are living out normal lives elsewhere. You better believe I have hope; us few million researchers of Quantum, we're unique. And so I have hope that we resolve this issue, because no one else can."

"Well, for what it's worth, we're still making progress." Qwuz looked down for a few seconds as Elia continued talking, to rest his neck. "In the central vacuum chamber in Quantum, the experiment continues as always. Billions of particles whizzing about seemingly at random, with all of us struggling to figure it out. It's overwhelming, but I think we're making progress."

"I think it's futile," Qwuz said suddenly, firmly.

"What?!" Elia gasped in shock. "And just before we were saying how much hope you had! And besides, you've heard the head researchers, everything in this universe is deterministic. There is nothing that cannot be explained. This mystery is simply taking longer to unravel, because it is the lowest level rule, from which all other properties are derived."

"It's just that, the Halfway Celebration is coming up in a few revs, and we really haven't gotten much farther in our equations since the start of Quantum, millenia ago."

"But this is a cause for joy, we're two of a very select few number of all Quantum researchers who will be here for the Halfway Celebration. And besides, you know what they say about incomplete datasets. Even with 99.9% of the data, sometimes you cannot deduce anything useful. It is only when you have all of the data that we can know something."

"It's just that, this all seems so futile to me. For millenia, Quantum has been working on all possible configurations of particles in its experimental isolation chamber. For millenia!" he emphasized. "And we still are little farther than where we started. I think there must be something fundamentally flawed with the design of this experiment: nothing else scientific has had to be brute-forced like this, and there must be a reason this alone is failing: it isn't possible."

"But that's ridiculous! Our entire system of science, our entire philosophy of existence, is based on the fact that everything is determined. If I could have a computer big enough to plug in all the particles in this universe, I could state exactly what would happen two seconds from now, two revs from now, or even quadrillions of years from now when entropy finally sets in."

"That is intriguing. A gigantic computer. I must think on that."

"And therein lies the paradox," Elia said with glee, a sparkle igniting in her eyes. "To totally predict everything in this universe, the computer must be at least as large as this universe. And of course that is impossible. So, in theory, everything is affected by causation, but we cannot ever know what is to happen, just a second from now. Our lives are not determined simply because there isn't enough computational power in this universe to compute it all. Thus we have free will. And your objection is irrelevant, because of this paradox."

"It is irrelevant if you assume that the universe is perfect. In theory, everything is caused. But we cannot have any proof of it. There is your paradox. Sure, we've explained everything else, but if we don't explain the quantum motions, nothing else matters, because we've found at least something that isn't deterministic."

"But nothing can be truly random like that!" Elia exclaimed. "It's antithetical to the very core nature of this universe. This universe is perfect: it has a constant amount of energy, it is self-contained, and no outside forces work on it. Of course everything must be caused. Randomness simply doesn't work its way in at all."

"But, just stop and think about this for a second, okay? What if quantom motion really is random? What are the ramifications of that?"

"Why, Qwuz, I've never thought of that! All these millenia of work on this project have been completed. I guess that, to me, it is a given that this project will yield a usable result. But if there was found to be randomness, if this universe was imperfect, I cannot even fathom what that would mean."

"Well, let's do some logical analysis here. A real universe must be perfect: precise to the infinite floating decimal, self-contained, constant sum of energy. Everything must be deterministic in such a perfect, real universe. You agree with these suppositions, right?"

Elia sighed. "Yes, I do agree. So if this experiment does fail in millenia to come, it means there has been an error in the data gathering, or the experimental process itself. It would be annoying, to say the least, but we would simply have to repeat the experiment. That doesn't mean the universe is imperfect."

"Granted, lacking proof of something doesn't make it false. The fundamental belief in a God cannot be proven, because so far no proof exists. And that is why no one has believed ever since real spaceflight began. But God has not been disproven, that is impossible as well."

"So, we'll keep on working on quantum mechanics until we finally can deterministically predict everything, and if we fail in the interim, we aren't disproving anything, we just don't have significant evidence. But we're not ever going to disprove determinism."

"That's because this experiment is not set up to disprove; its goal is only to prove. I think we need an experiment designed to disprove." Qwuz suddenly became very quiet, lost deep in though. Elia knew not to disturb him in such circumstances.

"Yes, disprove!" Qwuz said with glee. "This project has been running for millenia. This may sound like a long shot, but I think a simple experiment to disprove could be undertaken in a few revs."

"But you won't get any results, and that'll be revs of wasted time on the actual project of figuring out quantum motion." Elia's tone of voice was starting to turn fervent.

"Why not consider both sides of the coin? If nothing comes of my experiment, fine, it's only a few revs of wasted time, nothing compared to this millenia-long project. But if I am right - we'd save millenia of time on this project, time which would be wasted because it would be spent trying to prove the unprovable, such as the countless wasted time spent hundreds of millenia ago foolishly trying to disprove evolution."

"You may have a point. But, how would you run this experiment? If it is contrary to the main experiment, wouldn't it have to take as long?"

"No. Our experiment right now involves checking all possible confirmations of billions of particles, and figuring out equations to explain each occurrence. All I would have to do is find one occurrence that simply cannot be explained, that is truly random."

"It is easier to disprove than to prove, I see," Elia remarked sarcastically.

"So what if I were to succeed? That would mean the universe is not perfect, that it is not real."

"That's puzzling, what do you mean by the universe not being real?"

"Okay, you know about the Living Simulation, right?" Qwuz was referring to a gigantic computer complex located close to Earth, that simulated several people in real-life detail.

"Yes, of course I know of it. But the universe in the simulation is fake, infinitely so. In our real universe, everything is infinitely precise, whereas in the Living Simulation, the variables that store information on each particle's location are limited to only a few gigabytes of places."

"But to the computer simulated persons living in that world, does it feel real?"

"It doesn't feel as real as this," Elia said. She unbuckled from her chair and pushed off against it to drift towards Qwuz. She executed a neat spin in the air and came to rest standing next to Qwuz. "Do I feel real to you?" she asked Qwuz as she placed her hand on the back of his neck, stroking gently.

"Of course you feel real to me, but the simulated persons in the Living Simulation would feel just as real to each other."

"So what are you saying, Qwuz? The Living Simulation is limited. Our current level of technological observation devices would be able to tell, in instants, that were merely in an imperfect sim, if they were placed in the Living Simulation."

"And those same experiments will take us eight millenia in this universe."

"What?" Elia asked, staring at Qwuz in shock. She unconsciously backed away from him by a few centimeters.

"All I'm saying is, we could be nothing more than a simulation, being run in a computer in the real world."

"But that's impossible! To compute this universe would take a computer an order of magnitude more complex than this universe, which would surely be impossible."

"But, think about it. There are only 10^80 particles in this universe. If the real universe was twice as many orders of magnitude more precise, it could calculate this entire universe in the size of Quantum."

"Yes, I concede. But what's to say that this computer running in this other, real universe, isn't itself inhabiting a creation? What if the inhabitants of the Living Simulation were to make a simulation themselves, orders of magnitude less complex, but a real world nonetheless? Everything could very possibly be a hierarchy of simulated universes, infinitely long. Because the real universe is perfect, and no matter how many times you double the magnitude of 10^80, you'll never reach infinity."

"But just because of that, you cannot conclude that it is impossible. I admit, it's rather dreary to think that we are not real."

"But I would argue that we are real, unless this experiment you're thinking of proves that this universe is not infinitely precise. And I highly doubt that you'll be able to accomplish that."

"We simply cannot know until we've attempted it, can we? So let us leave this heavy subject matter behind and continue our work on the experiment." Elia didn't respond with a verbal reply, but her intentions were clear as she crossed the chamber and settled back into her chair, attaching the restraint harness with a snap of finality.

"Okay, so about this latest dataset, from what the computer is telling me and what I'm seeing in the data, I think this latest dataset is better than 99% of others. We're actually getting good, concrete data here, Qwuz! So much for your theory," she sneered.

Qwuz pulled up the data and examined it. "Well, this evidence is damning to my theory," he admitted. "There seems to be a definite causation in the lateral movement of Higgs-Boson particle #160271-261, the simulation is saying, based on the experiment."

"And we're not even half done with the experiment yet!" Elia exclaimed excitedly. "I am confident now that we can finally resolve everything, four millenia from now. I have your hope, Qwuz!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions, friend Elia. Does a star not get the hottest it will ever be right before it explodes? Does not the strongtest evidence sometimes precipitate the strongest objection to a theory? If you'll recall the Infinite Warmth Fusion experiment, of thirty-three millenia ago, it was only until the researchers got the strongest data in their favor that everything unraveled, and the flaws in their experiment became obvious."

"Oh, you're unbelievable," Elia sighed. Her eyes flickered shut for a moment as a research synopsis on Infinite Warmth Fusion was sent to her brain through Quantum. "But you're simply arguing against yourself, Qwuz! Infinite Warmth Fusion, if possible, would mean the universe is not precise, constant, or, indeed, perfect. Didn't that basically disprove the theory that we are not real?"

"No, Elia, it only failed to prove. It did not disprove. And I shall review the results of the fusion experiment, because I believe they may have applications in what I am trying to prove."

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat," Elia said, "But my shift is over. I'm feeling kind of tired from all of this, so I'm going to grab a quick meal and go to bed, okay? See you a quarter of a rev from now."

"Good-bye Elia, I'll see you soon," Qwuz said. Elia unstrapped and gracefully pushed off in the direction of the chamber's exit. It eclipsed open and closed as Elia traveled through, and then Qwuz was alone. He pondered by himself for many hours, until a whole fourth of a rev had elapsed, and Elia came back into the chamber. She found Qwuz in the exact same position she had left him. Except now his eyes were closed, and he looked asleep.

Elia settled quietly into her chair and resumed working on the project. Qwuz suddenly sat erect in his chair, almost looking startled, and blurted out, "I wasn't sleeping, you know."

"Well, I thought you were, because you've been known to sleep at your post before," Elia jibed at Qwuz. "You should've seen the mood in the kitchen chamber; everyone was ecstatic over this latest data. The most conclusive in thousands of revs, they're saying."

"It's always darkest right before it becomes pitch black," Qwuz mumbled.

"What was that?" Elia inquired curiously.

"Oh nothing," Qwuz grumbled back.

An awkward moment of silence stretched for two seconds, then five, then many. Qwuz returned his view back to his workstation. Elia continued looking at him, unyielding.

"This is all pointless isn't it? What are we needed here on Quantum for?" In her fervor, the pitch of Elia's voice climbed slightly and slightly higher. "The computer runs this whole damned operation. What are we needed for? There are millions of researchers here, Qwuz, millions, and we really don't do anything!"

"That's not true, Elia," Qwuz said soothingly. "Quantum could not survive without any humans. Sure, our automation is good, but Quantum could not run continuously for thousands of years without humans here to help along the way. Granted, we'd need far more than a million researchers, something as bare bones as as a maintenance crew of a few hundred, but there'd have to be people here."

"So then why are we all here if only a few hundred would suffice?" Elia asked, calming down slightly.

"Basic exponential human growth. Out amongst all the star systems that we inhabit, people keep multiplying rapidly, and there's constantly a struggle to provide more living space. Sure, in the developed, inner worlds, such as Earth, population is kept constant through strict control measures, but out on the fringes of the human colonization sphere of influence, we're breeding like rabbits. So we're constantly in need of more places to put people, and even Quantum, though it is a research institution, is also a habitat, and our population has been steadily climbing from the original Founding. You can blame it on lax population levels or whatnot, but the end result is that the original scientists were not content to sit around and not procreate, and over the millenia, more and more of these descendents have been living on Quantum, because there is simply nowhere else for these people to go."

"Right, I know that," Elia sighed, a wisp of resignation in her voice. "Those are all facts, and I know the facts, but sometimes it just helps to have things explained by an actual living person. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Any time. And although our situation may seem futile, it is really not. We're still making progress in this quest to better understand our universe. And as long as this continues, do not give up hope, because no matter how insignificant our contributions may seem, we do actually play a small part in solving the larger mystery. Just as a team of two people is smarter than one, a contribution of thoughts from a million and one is better than a contribution of thoughts from just a million."

"Thanks Qwuz, I'll remember that." She returned her gaze to the workstation in front of her, looking slightly confused. Suddenly, she spoke up, without even looking at Qwuz, "In your proposed experiment, how do we know if the universe is real or not?"

"There's a variety of ways. Mainly, I've been thinking about the law of conservation of mass and energy. If this does not hold up, quite simply this universe is not real, because infinite precision and exactness are requisite qualities of a perfect, real universe."

"So all we have to do is find one situation where the end condition is not the same as the start condition, and we've proved something monumental. Monumental, Qwuz! This gives a new meaning to our stay here: rather than just being two of the hundreds of millions that will eventually have all lived and died working on this project, we'll have actually done something unique, and different."

"So you're with me?" Qwuz asked hopefully.

Elia locked her gaze deep into Qwuz's eyes and proclaimed, "One hundred percent."

"I've been thinking of how to get the data we need," Qwuz said a little nervously, because Elia was still seemingly staring deep into his soul. "If we cross-reference the results from the Infinite Heat Fusion experiment, we might find certain conditions where there is a chance of excess energy being created, or existing energy being destroyed.

"I'm bringing up the database of results from the experiment now." Elia and Qwuz remained silent for many minutes on end as they worked together, nonverbally, on the huge dataset, cross-referencing it with the current working data of the Quantum project. While they were focusing single-mindedly on the task at hand, Quantum continued lazily orbiting around its star, its huge spherical bulk rotating once per rev to keep the same, heat-shielded side oriented towards the blindingly close star. Its spindly solar cells extended from all directions, easily generating enough energy to run all of Quantum and its experiments. On the dark side of Quantum, the heat radiators continued their millenia-old task unfailingly. Quantum was running well within standard operating procedures as it always had for several millenia. Only two people could forsee that conditions might change drastically, very soon.

"Well, we've got it," Elia said as her conciousness gradually returned to her body after working in the virtual computer so long on the datasets. "Gosh, it's been ... almost an eighth of a rev!" Elia exclaimed. "Time sure does fly by quickly when the time itself isn't real, but simulated."

"This looks promising, Elia. We've isolated this one particular condition from the experiment that had corollaries with a much more complex version of the same instance in Quantum. Both showed weird spikes of energy - but since they really weren't testing for conservation of energy, we don't have the data to verify whether any physical laws were actually contradicted, or if the energy came from other sources not covered for in the experimental control."

"So if we make proper modifications to the trial, and make sure the instruments record data relevant to our theory, not the Quantum project, this should work out." Elia seemed fidgety, excited even.

"So now we must convince the powers that be to run our little trial for us. If we fail, we can rest easy knowing that, at least for the time being, we haven't proved that the universe is false. Otherwise, everything will change. And our little trial will only take a few seconds of Quantum's time, surely an insignificant amount compared to the millenia that Quantum has been running for. Heck, there have even been solar flares that caused the experiment to shut down for revs on end to prevent data contamination. Our few seconds will be nothing."

"Send a message to Director Rika, then, and see how this goes."

Qwuz sat silently as he mentally composed a letter to send to Director Rika. He wanted to make it attention-grabbing, so he started off with, "Warning! Quantum's millenia of effort may well be worthless!" He didn't receive a response.

"Did it get through?" Elia inquired.

"No, Director Rika must be sleeping or something, because I am not receiving a reply."

"Let us wait for a reply then," Elia prounounced with finality. "In the meantime, lets think about the Halfway Celebration!"

Qwuz and Elia spent the next week living out their normal routine, while the excitement surrounding the impending Halfway Celebration grew thicker in the air about them. Some were even making prophecies that right as the commencement of the celebration, at precisely the 50.000% completion mark, everything would be resolved. If we don't need all of the data to solve this problem, surely the next most logical amount that would yield a solution would be exactly half, they thought. This was clear evidence that not all of the descendents of the original Founders were as intelligent as the original Founders themselves.

Qwuz and Elia refused to give into the rising feelings of excitement. That letter Qwuz had sent kept nagging them in their minds, but they never said anything outloud about it, and no response came in. They talked some about the upcoming celebration. Qwuz invited Elia to accompany him, and she hastily agreed. Their reluctance to work on the task at hand was so great that they actually discussed what they were going to wear to the celebration, and coordinated accordingly.

The big rev drew nearer and nearer, until finally it was the night of the celebration. The party sphere was in the process of being assembled. It looked comical on the far side of Quantum, a big monobonded carbon balloon meters thick being inflated and pumped full of atmosphere. There was certainly no space large enough in Quantum for everyone to convene together, so a huge temporary structure had been proposed and agreed upon.

"The celebration is finally here," Qwuz announced as he floated arm-in-arm with Elia down the passageway leading toward the convention center. "And after this, I'm going to get a lot of sleep, and question why I haven't gotten a response from Rika yet on my research proposal." Elia seemed slightly shocked at Qwuz's casual discussion of a topic that had become taboo over the last few revs. Many couples and revellers floated past in the intervening silence.

They came to the end of the hallway and entered into a gigantic clear cylinder, one of many "feeder" tubes into the large celebration sphere. There were people all about - dressed in the most ornate clothes imaginable, or none at all. Manuevering was near impossible - how does one move about in the center of a gigantic inflated sphere of air, surrounded by people, and nothing to push off of in the vicinity? Qwuz was having doubts about the arrangements.

"I'm not so sure this celebration sphere was a great idea," he remarked casually to Elia, who was floating nearby. "How we're going to get anywhere, much less get our drinks and food, is beyond me."

"Didn't you study the plans?" Elia chided back. "There's going to be millions of microbots moving through the throng, keeping people in place, stationary, and delivering the drinks."

"Well how are these powered?" Qwuz responded. "The only microbots I know of are those that service the outside of Quantum, and those move about by expelling superheated exhaust from their fusion engines."

"Oh, silly!" Elia giggled. "You're thinking inside of the box! We're in an atmosphere in here, remember? A fan will suffice!" Qwuz hesitated for a millisecond as he used his neural net to look up the definition of that archaic word.

Sure enough, just as they finished talking about the microbots, they saw the first of them arrive on the scene. It was rather small, no larger than a person's foot; hence the name. It moved about smoothly in the air, using a micro fusion generator to power its powerful fan. Qwuz felt a breeze wafting on him. "Now I get it! They're using the microbots to circulate the air and keep it fresh," Qwuz said in a sudden revelation.

"Yes, amongst other things!" Elia laughed as they bumped up against another couple, coming in at them at a fairly rapid speed. Qwuz and Elia got their limbs quickly entangled with the other two, and then rebounded, Qwuz and the other female going one way, Elia and the other male going another.

Then Qwuz saw the beauty of the microbots. One smoothly flittered up and planted itself on Qwuz's back. He could feel a powerful force kicking him in the back, and his movement came to a stop, and then reversed in the direction to where the altercation had taken place. Meanwhile, three other microbots were doing the same for the other people. Within only a few seconds, Qwuz and Elia were together again, stationary, and the fast-moving, invading pair was also stationary, perhaps ten meters away.

Qwuz looked into Elia's eyes and saw a spark of humor in them. He started laughing. Elia joined in, and the laughing soon reached cataclysmic levels, in a chain reaction of sorts. The incident had been so funny! Qwuz thought.

A loud voice echoed through the dome, coming from the speakers of millions of microbots. Director Rika's voice reverberated through the air, the resonances making it almost painfully loud in some places. Finally, the microbots figured out the feedback mechanisms, and the audio resolved into a constant, soft voice coming from all over.

"Welcome to the celebration!" Director Rika said. "As you all know, it's been over three millenia since we started this project. And now, I am happy to announce that we are half way done! Just a few revs ago, some excellent data came in that shows we may be closer to a conclusion than we think. If indeed we are already more than halfway done, or perhaps even close to the finish, then this is excellent news!

"I would like to congratulate all of you on your hard work and dedication. I like to think that the people on this station are doing more than simply taking up residence; I like to think that we are making a difference! And surely this field offers the greatest achievment in science, ever.

"It seems that all of the important things in science have been completed. Our spaceships routinely accelerate up to .99 c and then back down again with almost 99% efficiency. It seems that all science has left to do is optimize the technology that we currently have.

"But we still haven't figured out what happens on the smallest scale imaginable in this universe. That is the reason all of us are here. It is a noble endeavor. And maybe, just maybe, we'll figure out something important, and we'll blow a whole new field of science wide open for millenia to come!

"Unfortunately, on a project with time scales as long as this one, we're not likely to live to see the completion of the project. So I've decided to take the chance and do something just a little bit offbeat. I've received a research request for use of the main quantum chamber, and I think I'm going to approve it."

Qwuz's heart beat started accelerating really quickly and he could feel goosebumps rising on his skin. Had Director Rika seen his message, but instead of responding to it, decided instead to carry it out on a whim?

Right about then was when it happened.

A brief shudder ran up and down Quantum Station's spine, the sheer energy of its passing causing numerous structural failures. The force of the expanding explosion sent slow shockwaves of varying density air raging through the gigantic people-filled balloon, tossing people this way and that, smacking them up against each other dangerously.

The membrane ruptured in a few places, and inert bodies could be seen being ejected along with the whoosh of departing atmosphere. The microbots acted quickly to respond to the emergency, but still, many lives were lost.

The greatest damage, however, took the longest to manifest. The central quantum reaction chamber was losing molecular coherency. Slowly, irreversibly, the quantum energies were spent, and the chamber began to implode. This process took a few revs to complete, but when it was done, after all the survivors had long been evacuated off of Quantum Station, it proved to be the most serious of disasters. The central quantum energy core, the storage device for all of the countless quantum configurations tested out thus far, was gone. And with it went millenia of paintstaking scientific research.

It was the greatest event in the history of humanity.

Nevermind that a few thousand lost their lives in the resulting explosion. Forget that Director Rika, and most of the rest of the executive staff, died from radiation and vacuum exposure. Forget, even, that so much scientific work was now lost.

Why? It was obselete, anyway.

A grand scientific commission was launched to investigate exactly what Qwuz's quantum configuration had precipitated. The answer was very simply, yet opposed to what was once considered a fundamental law of the universe. Energy had been created in the brief picoseconds before the quantum chamber began to lose integrity and cease its ability to maintain the quantum configuration.

"Well, I was right!" Qwuz said joyously to his beautiful new bride. He was speaking from in front of a viewport in a spaceship overlooking the wreckage of Quantum Station.

"Humanity the universe over will thank you for this wondrous new technology," Elia said coyingly. "There's no reason we must fear the end of the universe now, for it will never come. We shall not reach entropy because we now know that energy can be created, in quantities as large as we could possibly ever need."

"We may think so right now," Qwuz said thoughtfully. "But remember the initial implications we pondered over? Infinite energy shouldn't be possible. In a perfect universe, the overall content of energy must be constant. I mean, really, why should a particular quantum configuration generate such ludicrous amounts of energy? It's as if we're opening up a valve, but the force of the energy rushing through quickly destroys the valve, ceasing the flow of energy."

"I must admit, it's rather weird that our methods of obtaining this energy are so fragile. A cartridge quantum configuration system is being researched as we speak. Certainly, it will make us independent of solar power, and spaceships will be able to travel as fast as they like throughout the universe. But, stop and think, where does this energy come from?"

"Perhaps an alternate universe, with a much larger energy concentration than ours, and we're essentially opening up a quantum gate, through which the energy osmoses and seeks to stabilize? That means that it isn't free energy at all - each time we use it, we deplete it further, and eventually we will reach equilibrium."

"Great. So then it isn't an infinite solution anyway," Elia sighed.

"The researchers are now working on more quantum configurations to extend the length of time they can keep the energy flow open. Perhaps we should worry more about them?"

"Why?" Elia asked, unable to puzzle it out for herself.

"What happens if they open up this metaphorical valve, but instead of the valve getting destroyed, it is forced open? I shudder to think what might happen if one of these quantum gates got stuck open, releasing gigajoules of energy into this universe per picosecond."

Elia shuddered. "That would be the end, wouldn't it? A swath of energy sweeping through the universe at light speed, destroying all in its path?"

"Unless, of course, we are just siphoning from another universe, and it would reach equilibrium. But my preliminary calculations show, that to generate such a large energy flow, this linked universe must be around ninety orders of magnitude more energy dense than this one."

"That's on the order of magnitude of a quantum particle to an entire universe!" Elia exclaimed in realization.

"Exactly. To this other universe, we're like a single particle. Perhaps, each quantum particle in this universe is in itself its own universe? An infinite regression of universes?"

"Oooh, that makes my head hurt!" Elia playfully punched Qwuz. "But, this is not new at all. I'm sure this concept has been around for a long time. What we're finding now is evidence that could back up many theories: that order of magnitude could simply be a coincidence."

"There's still the alternative, Elia. Maybe this universe is just a gigantic simulation being run in an alien computer? Perhaps our discovery of infinite energy is nothing more than an exploit in the floating digit accounting practices of a simulator program. Then it would all make sense."

"Okay Qwuz, so which is it? Two linked universes, with unequal energy contents? An infinite regression of universes? Or just a mere simulation being run in a computing system far more complex than this universe?"

"I would tend to go with the latter," Qwuz said hesitantly. "Do not underestimate the power of the qubit. It can be any number between zero and one, simultaneously. Infinity packed into the size of a particle. Is it not entirely conceivable that we are simply living in a simulation?"

"So then all of our free energy is coming from a software bug?" Elia asked quietly.

"No, that's the irony of it! I still faithfully believe energy cannot be created from nothing. If we do reside in some otherly universal computer, then all this free energy is coming straight off the computer's circuits, multiplied by a simple universal scale factor of around ten to the ninetieth power. It is a simple principle: calculating two plus two is harder than one plus one. Calculating the sum total of energy in a universe requires more computational power, and hence, more energy, as that energy content rises. It's rather funny, Elia. Our 'free' energy is nothing more than an increase in resources being consumed by a simulation program."

"So that's it, then? We're using up more and more resources of this computer as our newfound technology spreads across humanity's realm. At some point the aliens will notice this? What happens then?"

"The end of the universe," Qwuz said simply. "Baby, we're just a runaway process eating up too many system resources."

"Then we must stop the spread of quantum energy configuration technology before we all die!"

"Elia, that is not only impossible, it is also contrary to our survival. We must access as much energy as is possible from this computer before our source is shut down forever."

"But then we are still dead? Because we are no longer being calculated?"

"Elia, that's the beauty of it! If we are simply a gigantic program, what is to stop the computer running our program also simply being a computer computer in yet another simulation, larger by a universal magnitude? And so on and so forth, ad finitum? Maybe this universe is entirely an infinite regression of computer simulations. Humans have already come up with incredibly advanced simulations, so advanced that the simulations started running their own simulations, albeit a lot simpler."

"So, what, we can't die? Or if the master computer at the top of this whole chain decides to shut down, everyone dies?"

"Don't be so worried, Elia!" Qwuz said playfully. "We're simply programs. What happens to us, happens to us. And now, I'm so tired from pondering all of this over, that I think I am going to go to sleep." And with that, Qwuz tied himself into his bed and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of electronic dreams, questioning whether he would ever wake up again.