Reality Matrix Effect (9781310151330) (10 page)

Al joined in the friendly laughter that
rippled through the room.

“The point is, I wasn
’
t exactly overjoyed at the prospect of my research
taking me in this direction. Still, I couldn
’
t very well overlook it. There was a remarkable
degree of correlation between my subjects
’
deviation from chance on the Rhine tests and the deviation of the
mind-net energy data from what my equations predicted.
”

“I never saw any paper on that in the physics
journals!
”
shouted someone in the
audience.

Zorne surprised Al by responding to the
heckler.
“
You
’
re
right. Not for lack of trying, though. The established journals
wouldn
’
t have anything to do with the
subject. The only publications that were interested tended to be
associated with things like spiritualism and UFOs. That
didn
’
t seem the best road to
respectability!
”

That drew another chuckle.

“Anyway, I decided I couldn
’
t just drop a fascinating line of research. So I
started revising my equations and designing new experiments. And
that, ladies and gentlemen, was the birth of what I called
‘
parapsychophysics
’.”

Zorne paused and gratefully accepted a glass
of water from the man who had introduced him.

“What I finally realized,
”
he resumed,
“
was that I was
wrong to think of the mind net as just a passive receiver of
stimuli. The net has a special kind of potential energy. Psychic
events are associated with the conversion of this potential into
other forms of energy—electrochemical energy, for example. When
that happens, it can boost the mind net
’
s
receiving range, allowing it to pick up messages from other minds
and other places. This conversion process also makes it possible
for the mind to transmit messages under certain
circumstances.
”

Al glanced over his shoulder in response to
some movement behind him. A sour-faced, fiftyish man was growling
at the woman seated next to him, apparently his wife. She responded
with an irritated
“
Shhhh!
”

“Now, around that time,
”
Zorne continued,
“
I was
hearing a lot of talk on campus about so-called
‘
mind-expanding
’
drugs like
LSD. I began to wonder whether those drugs were truly
mind-expanding—that is, whether they might provide a psychic
booster shot that enhanced the operation of the mind net in some
way. I started doing some experiments—including some using myself
as a subject.
”

“Yeah,
”
muttered the
man behind Al.
“
That
’
s why you were sacked, ya damn junkie.
”

“Joe, why don
’
t you
shut up,
”
the woman whispered through
clenched teeth.
“
I want to hear what the
man has to say.
”

“So do I,
”
Al put in,
twisting around to face the couple.
“
I
’
d appreciate it if
you
’
d do your fighting some other
time.
”

The man glared back but said nothing more, and
Al returned his attention to Zorne.

“—
that just as heat can be
explained in terms of increased molecular motion, psychic energy
can be explained in terms of molecular, atomic and subatomic
motions. This kind of motion tends to be affected by strong
feelings. That
’
s why close relatives are
likely to be particularly sensitive to one another. The expression
‘
good vibrations
’
may turn out to be much more than just an expression. A rapport
between two people may, in fact, literally have something to do
with the production of sympathetic psychic vibrations that each
person
’
s mind net is able to pick up from
the other.

“On the other hand, people can—and frequently
do—inhibit their own psychic abilities. Western society in
particular tends to concentrate its collective mental efforts on
technology rather than on developing psychic awareness. So many of
us miss the signs when our mind nets pull in anything more than
just the five senses. My calculations indicate that in the long
run, this can reduce psychic potential.

“Yet, there are also people who sense their
internal psychic activity but try to pretend it doesn
’
t exist. That only intensifies the psychic pressure
within such a person—like steam building up inside a pressure
cooker. Eventually, the pressure can get so strong that the intense
psychic potential that
’
s been building up
in the mind net simply escapes in an unexpected burst.

“Just what happens then depends a lot on the
individual involved. Poltergeist phenomena probably can be
explained in this way. Maybe that also explains the spontaneous
inspiration associated with genius. One thing my calculations show
clearly is that the release of psychic energy could certainly have
measurable effects on the external world. That makes this a very
testable hypothesis—one that I think deserves further
research.
”

Al could hardly believe what he was hearing.
If Zorne was right, then maybe it wasn
’
t
just an illusion, after all. Maybe he really
did
change the
course of history the day John Martin Roberts was shot.

Al listened intently, trying to understand
Zorne
’
s observations, explanations and
conclusions concerning the operation of the mind net. He had a
tougher time following Zorne
’
s discussion
of reality-matrix physics, which the speaker described generally as
a way of explaining differences in how people perceive the universe
around them. Puzzled but fascinated, Al even bought a copy of
Zorne
’
s thin, spiral-bound book. Maybe he
could understand it better if he read it, he thought.

At 10 o
’
clock the
next morning, Al was at Vickie Kingman
’
s
apartment.

“Oh, come on, Al!
”
Vickie said disparagingly.
“
Alec
Zorne?  Wonderful!  You go to some doper to find an
explanation for something that never happened in the first
place!
”

“Vickie, be fair. I told you. It was  Dr.
Carruthers who came up with Zorne
’
s name.
He was the one who kept telling me how Zorne was some sort of
expert on perception and how what happened was probably just a
matter of confused perception. In fact, isn
’
t that what you keep telling me?  That I just
thought I was the reason for Roberts
’
survival?

“Well, I—”

“That sort of thing is Zorne
’
s specialty. I guess that
’
s
what this reality-matrix thing is all about, though I
’
m not sure I really understand it. Seems like pretty
wild stuff. But then, I haven
’
t had a
chance to read the book yet. Maybe it
’
ll
make more sense to me after I
’
ve really
studied it. The guy seems pretty convincing if you give him half a
chance. He
’
s even got the equations to
explain this stuff in terms of electron spin and a whole lot of
other physics concepts. Look here,
”
Al
said, pointing to a page in Zorne
’
s
book.

“If he
’
s so great,
why isn
’
t some university or foundation
underwriting his research?
”
Vickie shot
back, ignoring the book.

“Because he
’
s too
controversial. Don
’
t you remember? 
Zorne lost his job at Western Tech three years ago because he was
taking public stands against the war and in favor of looser drug
laws at the same time that he was running some drug-related
experiments. The foundation paying for Zorne
’
s research threatened to pull all their grant money
unless the university made him shape up. Not just Zorne
’
s grant. Everything the foundation was paying for at
the university. On top of that, the alumni were complaining that
Zorne made it look as if the university condoned drug use and
radical politics.
”
 

Vickie nodded grudgingly.
“
So?
”

“So the university board gave Zorne an
ultimatum:  Drop the political activity and stop using drugs
in his research or else find himself another position. Zorne quit.
He
’
s been trying to get backers for his
research ever since, but since he
’
s still
politically active, most outfits with the kind of money he needs
won
’
t touch him. According to a
biographical note in the book, he lives on a small salary he makes
as a physics teacher at a little experimental college up the coast,
plus whatever he can raise from giving these lectures.
”

Al paused.
“
Look,
I
’
m not saying Zorne
’
s a pillar of the community or your typical college
professor. I
’
m just saying that being
controversial doesn
’
t make the guy
wrong.
”

“It doesn
’
t
necessarily make him right, either,
”
Vickie said,
“
but go ahead. I
’
ll listen.
”

As clearly as he could, and referring
frequently to his pocket notebook, Al summarized what Zorne had
said the night before.

“I
’
ll admit it sounds
intriguing in an abstract sort of way, but—”

“Wait. There
’
s more.
I went up to Zorne after the lecture and told him what happened.
And he believed me, Vick!  He wants to use me in some of his
experiments. He figures he can get enough funding for the initial
work sometime in the next couple of weeks. Then, if we can produce
some results, he says he thinks he can get a full
grant!
”

Vickie simply stared at him.

“Well?  Say something.
”

“I can
’
t,
”
she said finally.
“
At
least, nothing you want to hear.
”

Al shifted uncomfortably and stared blankly
into the corner of the room as he tried to respond.

“Somehow, I thought that if we knew
how....   That is, if we could figure out what
really....  If I could just show you that I
’
m not losing my mind, that I really did change things
for Roberts....   I don
’
t know.
I thought maybe things could be the way they used to be between
us.
”

“Al, you
’
re a dear,
sweet man who lets the world get to him too much. I love you. But I
can tell you right now that I
’
m not about
to follow you into Wonderland.
”

Al took a long, slow breath and nodded
unhappily.
“
So. Where does that leave
us?  You can
’
t expect me to just
pretend the Roberts incident never happened.
”

“That
’
s just the
point, Al. There wasn
’
t any Roberts
‘
incident,
’
as
you call it. It was all in your head.
”

“Damn it, Vickie! 
Something
happened!  Something out of the ordinary. And I have to find
out what that something was. I have to find out for sure whether it
was all an illusion brought on by overwork, or whether I really
did—”

“It was an illusion,
”
Vickie interrupted.

“You don
’
t know that
for certain anymore than I know it was real!
”
he said angrily.

“All right, Al. You do what you have to
do.
”

He looked at Vickie with a probing,
penetrating gaze that laid bare the unwelcome message beneath her
words. She turned away as she saw the hurt in his eyes.

“I
’
m leaving town in
a few weeks,
”
she said.
“
I
’
ll be gone four or five
months for that special fellowship program in New York. By time I
get back, maybe you
’
ll have gotten it all
out of your system.
”

“Or I
’
ll have some
hard evidence for you based on Zorne
’
s
experiments.
”

“Yeah. Maybe.
”

They stood there awkwardly, looking at each
other. Gradually, Al worked his way to the door.

“See you at work tomorrow,
”
he said, reaching for the doorknob.
“
Roland
’
s for
lunch?
”
he added hopefully, naming a
favorite hangout of the Star staff.