Tevun-Krus #122 - Synchronicity

A Quantum of Similarity - a short story by @johnnedwill

A Quantum of Similarity

By johnnedwill

I first met Doctor Prakash at the Daresbury laboratories in Cheshire. She was devoted to her test rigs and her experiments. At the time we met, the doctor was working on the development of a practical quantum computer. I was more of a theoretical scientist. My area of research was trying to find a solution to the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox - at least a solution that would make sense at the macro level.

My first encounter with Doctor Prakash was in the cafeteria at Daresbury. Like most of the buildings on site, the cafeteria had been refurbished from an old laboratory block. In the early noughties the university that owned the laboratories had transformed its physics research department into a private technology partnership. The developers had moved in, tearing down the old facilities, erecting new buildings and installing new equipment. The cafeteria was now an open hall filled with tables and bland corporate art. The ticking of radiation counters and the chattering of relays had gone, replaced with the hum of conversation and the clatter of trays.

I was looking for an empty table where I could spread out my papers and eat my lunch in peace. However, the cafeteria was full, with every table occupied by at least one person. So, I looked for the next best thing.

Doctor Prakash was on her own. The table she was sitting at was covered in sheets of printouts arranged in precise rows, each one annotated in her neat handwriting. A tray laden with dirty dishes had been put on one of the nearby empty chairs.

"Do you mind if I join you?" I asked her.

The doctor looked up from her lunchtime studies. "Go ahead." She shifted some of her papers, making room for me to put my lunch tray down.

I glanced at the printouts out of curiosity. The equations on them were familiar. "It looks like you're working on quantum entanglement," I remarked.

Doctor Prakash shook her head. "Not quite. I'm working on possible practical applications. Quantum cryptography, computing, that sort of thing. Entanglement is just one avenue."

I sat down. "I'm Vincent. Martin Vincent. I work in theoretical physics. Very theoretical physics."

"Doctor Anoushka Prakash." She shuffled her papers into a tidy stack. "Just how theoretical?"

"Very. Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen."

The doctor raised her eyebrows at me. "I thought that had been solved?"

"Only for specific cases. I'm hoping to make a breakthrough - the equivalent of going from Special Relativity to General Relativity."

"Really?" Doctor Prakash's tone changed, betraying her growing interest. "'General' as in 'more suitable for practical applications'?"

"That's where the funding is."

And that was how our partnership began.

At first we met in the cafeteria, exchanging ideas over lunch and coffee. Then, as we got to know our work - and each other - better, we began to solidify the areas that were of mutual interest and benefit. After that, it was just a short step to a joint project.

It was a simple proposal. We would develop a means of creating particles linked by quantum entanglement - particles that could be used to form logic gates. These logic gates would then form the core of a quantum processor. And from that? The grant proposal painted a picture of wealth and patents. At the time, 'quantum computing' was the big buzz word. It was meant to the solution to every problem. Lots of money had been invested in it. Projects that were not even halfway feasible were having millions thrown at them on the off-chance that they would lead to something. Our proposal was grounded in proper research, and the canny investors could tell. A month after submitting our paperwork we had enough money promised to us to support a research team of maybe a dozen for the next three years.