Here & There (11 page)

~George Bernard Shaw

A man’s character is his fate.

~Heraclitus

Character is like the foundation of a house—it is below the surface.

~Anonymous

Both Eve’s diary and Reidier’s records offer little about their move from Chicago to Providence. In fact, Eve didn’t make a single entry for almost six weeks after the move. As far as the weeks before, apparently the diaries Eve kept while they were in Chicago were lost in the move.

Some say Hemingway divorced his first wife, Hadley, for leaving a manuscript in the Paris train station. Obviously this isn’t at that scale, and it wasn’t necessarily Reidier who lost her diaries, but I wonder what was the cost. It had to have been a personal tragedy on some level. For a writer, in particular, to not only lose a work—a metaphorical baby—but one that chronicles her first pregnancy and early
years of motherhood—a literal baby—the loss cuts twice as deep. It might feel like the loss of memory itself and thereby perhaps even the loss of self itself. The parts of Eve’s consciousness that she poured into those journals were forever lost, but painfully unforgotten. Like a fire that destroys all the photos of a deceased spouse. Depending on whether she had discovered their absence or not before arriving in Rhode Island, this would most certainly have affected her attitude toward their new house. If she was mourning the loss of her words, how could she not project that onto 454 Angell Street?

Reidier’s work in Chicago likewise seemed to have come to a standstill. In his final few weeks at the Fermi Lab there are only two video logs: one in his office lab, when he performed the demonstration for Director Pierce; the other (and final) video takes place in his home lab. The latter begins at 9:39 p.m. on April 9, 2006.

Reidier comes down into his basement carrying a stack of cardboard boxes. He proceeds to methodically pack up all of his equipment. It’s a long, dull segment, and even Reidier himself seems not present, like an automaton set in motion. He never smiles, never talks to himself, and pauses only once. From a locked drawer he pulls out the very stack of binders we saw Diderot inspecting in his lab in CSG. I compared it with the CSG footage, and there are in fact four more binders. It might be that Diderot never pulled these out. More likely, however, Reidier has added to his collection. He places them in a box and then stops. He sits and stares down at them. Then, with no visual or aural impulse, he continues to pack up the rest. This is cut short when he shuts down and packs up the computer.

Unlike the long process of applying, interviewing, and relocating to Chicago, the transfer to Brown University seemed to happen almost overnight. In fact, he left before the close of the autumn quarter. Reidier was teaching two undergraduate classes at the time: one on advanced quantum theory and another, more popular gut course
for nonmajors, on the physics of science fiction. He finished out his remaining lectures via iTunes University for both of his classes; the review sessions and final exams were proctored by graduate students.

According to the Office of the President at Brown, the urgency of the transition was due to an overlooked stipulation in a large grant they had received years earlier. Its second (and more sizable) infusion of capital required that funding be directed toward significant research in quantum entanglement by January 1, 2007. Bureaucratic oversight resulted in this discovery during the Thanksgiving break of 2006. Reidier, a leader in this field, who was already in continued contact with several of the Brown faculty, was quickly courted, hired, and relocated. A significant gift was also bestowed upon the University of Chicago for facilitating the process.

According to retired DARPA director Anthony Tether, this was a nice PR story worked out by him and Brown’s president, Ruth J. Simmons. The truth is that Reidier, in Chicago, had successfully executed an experiment that set off a seismic paradigm shift. Realizing the immense nature of his discovery, as well as the vulnerability of his position, he directly contacted DARPA with the news and requested fiscal and personnel support to continue his work. The Department indirectly funded the grant.

The details are somewhat murky to me due to the bipolar and contradictory stance DARPA has taken toward my report. While urging me to work with diligence and alacrity, and offering unconditional support, it continues to withhold and obfuscate crucial information. Despite the impact that
The Reidier Test
would have on our nation, full access only goes so far with classified material pertaining to national security. I feel as if I’ve been asked to sit in the dark and put together a jigsaw puzzle of an abstract painting that I’ve never seen. Still, the significance of Reidier’s contact with the Department is undeniable.

Transcript excerpt from the phone log of the Office of the Director of the Strategic Technology, Donald Pierce; 11/17/2006, 10:17 a.m.

Reidier: . . . yes, Mr. Pierce, this is Kerek Reidier, I am a professor and researcher at the Fermi Lab in—

Pierce: I’m familiar with your work Mr. Reidier. According to the dossier in front of me, we’re the ones funding your research on supersymmetry.

Pause.

Reidier: Yes, of course, I wasn’t aware . . . I thought the Department of Energy . . .

Pierce: Has a wonderful working relationship with us that allows all sorts of, well, let’s call it discreet cross-pollination. I’m still confused as to why my agenda has been pushed back, and you’ve been bumped up to me?

Reidier: Yes, well, so my research has taken a turn, and I’ve been delving deeply into quantum entanglement, specifically how lack of locality can be utilized to transmit qubits at a distance instantaneously.

Pause.

Reidier: Mr. Pierce?

Pierce: Yes, I’m here. That sounds rather fantastical, Mr. Reidier.

Reidier: It does, doesn’t it? I respect your choice of words. I understand how this might come off as a, well, a phone call from a loon. It’s just that, well, the other day in my lab I successfully
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several million
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. As I’m sure you understand, in doing this, it becomes completely possible, with the right technology, I’m talking
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here, these
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scanned.

Pause.

Pierce: Mr. Reidier, if what you’re saying is true—

Reidier: It is.

Pierce: If it is, this would mean—

Reidier: I have data. I have video footage. And I can do it again.
³⁹

Pierce: Mr. Reidier, how many of your colleagues are aware of your experiment?

Reidier: Almost a dozen know of my work in supersymmetry and my various experiments. However, only a few have a partial grasp on what I’m working with, and none know the entirety of what I’m attempting.

Pierce: If you wouldn’t mind, Mr. Reidier, I’d ask that you not share this information with anyone until our people can verify your results. In fact, please don’t share any information with anyone outside this office.

Reidier: Ok. Yes, of course. Uh . . .

Pierce: Yes, Mr. Reidier?

Reidier: Just so we’re clear, and complete with our, well, full disclosure and all—my colleagues are essentially limited in scope in understanding my work—

Pierce: Right, that’s manageable—

Reidier: My wife, however, has a complete and comprehensive, intimate grasp of my work and progress.

Pierce: Of course. Not to worry. We’ve had experience with this dynamic before. Completely (cough) understandable. There’s a protocol. It’ll be fine. Just please impress upon her the necessity of . . . discretion. Complete and utter discretion.

Reidier: I’m sure that won’t be a problem. For her. I guess now that I’m thinking about it, although I can’t imagine this being an issue, but, just so there’s no confusion, and I’m sure you have some sort of protocol for this as well, but we have had, my wife and I, have had discussions about my work in front of our two boys.

Pierce: Two you say? (Sounds of paper shuffling)

Reidier: That is how twins work.

Pierce: (Muttering) Goddamn clerical errors. (To Reidier) How old did you say?

Reidier: Three, and while they’re quite talkative, neither of them understands the subatomic physics of entanglement.

Pierce: Yes, of course not. If that were the case I’d have to transfer you to the deputy of another department. (Chortle)

Reidier: (Laughs) Yes, right? It would be something. Tour them around to the kings of Europe, having them give lectures on the myth of locality and Einstein’s greatest fear.

Pierce: Yes. In any event, as long as we keep everything on lockdown until the Department can ascertain the situation, we’re fine.

Reidier: Right. So do you need me to send you data results or—

Pierce: No. We’ll collect those from you when you run the experiment for us.

Reidier: That’s fine. Obviously, it’ll have to be in my lab. My equipment . . . How soon could you guys get to Chicago?

Pierce: How’s 3:30 for you?

Reidier: What day?

Pierce: This afternoon.

Obviously, Pierce was impressed. What exactly Reidier’s demonstration entailed or proved is unclear, but at the very least, its potential was valuable enough to prioritize Reidier, his project, and his needs.
By the end of the week, the transfer to Brown University was set up, and the Reidier family was cloistered within the folds of the Department’s heavy cloak.

Although Pierce prized Reidier’s project, he was by no means particularly fond of him. Instead, he approached the physicist with a distrustful skepticism. He never challenged Reidier with his suspicions. Pierce was much more Machiavellian than that, a scientist of scientists, he took notes from the beginning in an effort to figure out which handles to pull and buttons to push in order to facilitate his, and thereby the Department’s, goals. This is evident early on, as seen in intradepartmental e-mails to his Deputy Director.