Window on the World

“What’s it do?” the reporter asked.

“Well, if everything works the way it’s supposed to, someday we might be able to see slices of time from the past and possible future on this screen,” the Professor replied, “you see…”

The reporter cut him off, “You mean we can see next week’s sports scores or stock market reports from next month?”

“I knew you would ask that question. That’s a cliché from time travel stories. However, this is not yet a device we can tune in to specific times and places in the past or future,” the Professor took a breath. “As I was saying, the universe is composed of infinite concentric layers, spreading out from an infinite number of points, if you will. The Earth, the moon, you and I, and each molecule and sub-atomic particle that we are made of. This device could allow us to visualize samples of those layers, like pages in an album, scratch that, more likely layers of an infinite number of onions, interacting with each other into the past and possible future.”

“What do you mean by possible future?”

“Well, technically speaking, the future hasn’t happened yet. That’s why we can’t see precise scores or stock reports. But eventually we might be able to see the future of other timelines like ours. I call these, echo or offset timelines. They could be possible futures for us if, and this is a big if, the conditions are the same on our timeline. But the data are too complex to render.”

“This is getting more and more complicated. What can we see then?”

“That’s right. We can see then. Haha! Seriously, at some point, we might be able to see miniscule slices of our past. This could be invaluable for historians or… anyone who wants to understand how things got this way. We can’t change the past, but we might be able to see how it really was…and learn from it.”

“So, we could investigate crimes, you know, to see who the killer was or what really happened?”

“Again, the device can’t focus on specific times and places. It’s not a glorified security camera. We might be able to get images of random events if we’re extremely lucky. It will take a lot of time to sort everything out.”

“So, Professor, is this a breakthrough or not?”

“Reporters like you, Mr. O’Keefe, are the ones calling this or that a breakthrough. I prefer to call it a possibly interesting development. If it leads to something else, fine. For now, I would be pleased if it confirms just one of my hypotheses.”

“So, you’d be happy to see a single snapshot of say, the Roman Colosseum when it was brand new, or the Boston Tea Party as it happened?”

“Again, we can’t zero in on a specific incident or create a picture like on a TV screen. Right now, I’m looking for images of energy patterns. Oh, look…” the Professor hit save on control panel. “That image could represent the energy wake of the Earth in motion around the Sun.”

“It looks like old-fashioned static to me.”

“I’ll need to do some analysis.”

“How long will that take?”

“A week, maybe.”

“Thanks, Professor. I’ll give you a call.”

The reporter didn’t call. He wrote a story about a ground-breaking discovery. Professor Davidson and his team had made it possible to see into the past and soon would be able to predict the future! O’Keefe even named their device the “Chronoscope.” On this screen, scientists would soon be able to see what really happened in history. No more guesswork or relying on secondhand accounts. No more feeling like history was written by the winners. No more tedious research leading nowhere. The Chronoscope would at last allow historians to see the past like a recorded message. Video before video was ever thought of! Everything that was said and done still exists somewhere, at some time. All the team has to do is find it. The article didn’t mention that this would be like finding a needle in a practically infinite haystack. Or that the computational power required for such a feat would be greater than every data center on Earth combined.

After the article came out, the Professor got calls. Mostly from conspiracy theorists. “Hey, could you help me solve the Kennedy assassination once and for all?” “Could I take a look at the lost colony of Roanoke?” “Can you find D.B. Cooper?” There were many more like that. And there were heartbreaking requests. “Please help me find my little girl. She was abducted and the police don’t know where to start.” “My son is MIA. Please help me find him.” Why do reporters sensationalize things? The Professor concluded that science wasn’t as important to them as getting clicks and likes.

Of course, the “Chronoscope” didn’t work the way O’Keefe said it would. At least not yet. And not without a suitable Quantum AI assisting the team. The only thing they could accurately predict was that time comparisons would be crude for the foreseeable future. So, they looked at images of energy patterns from the past – these followed where the Earth had been and what energy was absorbed and radiated into space along its path. Professor Davidson fantasized about seeing far enough into the past to detect old nuclear tests or trends in the greenhouse effect. But the Chronoscope required more power, and the team required more money.

The prospect of “seeing what really happened” did attract money. So, O’Keefe’s overly optimistic reporting wasn’t all bad. But donors wanted to know when they would be able to have front row seats for past events. “Be patient” was not what they wanted to hear.

Little by little, the Chronoscope improved. The algorithm peeled back a few onion skins of time. The team’s analysis of the “static” became more precise. The pictures on the screen began to display the flow of time. Colors indicated electro-magnetic energy, motion, heat, and approximate direction. What we call time is the result of innumerable changes, and the vibrations of quintillions of intersecting layers are its record. Still, it was like flying a jet plane with a canoe paddle – too many variables and not enough control surfaces.

After a year passed, O’Keefe called. Could he “stop by” and see how things were going? Dr. Davidson reluctantly agreed. How bad could his reporting be after last time? The Professor vowed to be more cautious in his statements to the press.

His assistant, Dr. Murray, warned him caution would not really help. “They write what they want to. Remember all the bogus reports on climate change and vaccines? They have no idea how to interpret what we tell them, much less the data. They confuse correlation with causation and draw conclusions opposite to actual scientific papers. Most of the anti-science sentiment these days is probably because reporters don’t understand science. But they write about it anyway. It’s the Dunning-Kruger eff…”

Dr. Davidson stopped him, “You’re preaching to the choir, Dr. Murray. Let’s just hope we can convince O’Keefe to keep his claims modest this time.”

“Alright, Dr. D. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Let’s just make sure Mr. O’Keefe doesn’t get any more wild ideas than he already has. I hope he will see reality, if he can remember what he saw last time, that is.”

—

“As you can see, Mr. O’Keefe, there are still no sports scores, from the past or the future. We can’t see last year’s world series any more than we can see next year’s. But we can track the Earth’s path through space with pretty good accuracy. Look, we’ve detected previously unobserved wobbles in the Earth’s motion. And these have since been confirmed by having a second look at satellite data. We’ve been doing this for a year now, and…well, I’ll zoom in on Earth’s actual path. From a distance, it’s of course an ellipse. But it’s affected by slight irregularities in Earth’s mass distribution and whether these occur in the direction of motion or spin out to the side or swing contrary to the planet’s path. We already knew this, but what we are seeing here…”

“Dr. Davidson,” O’Keefe jumped in. “Our readers are more interested in just when we can expect to see actual pictures of the past. What can you tell me about that?”

“Mr. O’Keefe. All I can tell you is that we will likely not see that kind of image in my lifetime. Perhaps when you’re my age, you might see one. Even with our new Quantum AI over there, the challenge of analyzing that much data is huge…”

The reporter whipped around to have a look at the new Quantum computer. His foot caught on a bundle of cables, and he tripped, falling towards a control panel. As he cracked his head, his Starbucks coffee cup spilled all over the console. The resulting cascade of sparks and puffs of electrical smoke made everyone jump back. The screen flashed and went dark. After a minute, the black screen displayed a message in white letters, “Images ready for collimation. Press ENTER to proceed.” The team was dumbfounded.

“What do you want to do, Dr. D?” Murray asked hesitantly.

“Don’t you think someone should help O’Keefe?”

“Oh, he’ll be fine. It’s just a goose egg.” By this time O’Keefe had staggered over to a chair as he nursed his forehead.

“Hit ENTER, Dr. Murray.”

“OK, here goes.”

The screen flickered back to life. It seemed to take minutes, but in about ten seconds an image appeared. It played like a badly edited movie. Inside a new nineteenth century theatre illuminated by gas lamps, a gun threw sparks from the shadows. A tall, bearded man, in a black, well-worn suit slumped over in his seat. The woman seated beside him was spattered in blood. The crowd murmured in stunned silence. Another man leaped onto the stage, fell, and limped behind the rear curtain. The screen went dark. Another prompt appeared, “System ready for next collimation. Specify time and place.”

O’Keefe was the first to speak. “Professor, I thought you said the Chronoscope couldn’t zero in on specific images, much less show videos.”

“A least you were listening. Well, all I can say is that it couldn’t, until you broke it. And please stop calling it the Chronoscope.”

O’Keefe couldn’t resist acting on his first impulse. He quickly typed in a time and date one month from the current date. The place was the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Before Dr. Murray could stop him, he pressed ENTER.

The screen remained blank for a never-ending minute, then it showed the Chyron scrolling below the officers of ZMatic Enterprises (ZME). The news of the day was that their stock price had soared to many times its projected value on news that the company had been purchased by a major player. There was general commotion. The screen flickered and faded to black. Then the same message appeared. “System ready for next collimation. Specify time and place.”

By this time, Dr. Murray and a few of his colleagues had escorted O’Keefe away from the keyboard.

“Listen carefully, Mr. O’Keefe,” Dr. Davidson began. “I want there to be no mistake about what I’m about to tell you. You must not invest in ZMatic Enterprises. And you must tell no one about what you saw on the… umm… Chronoscope. That goes for everyone in this room.”

“Why the hell not? This is the stock tip of a lifetime. Why should I pass it up? We know the future, why shouldn’t we make a few bucks?” O’Keefe shot back.

“First of all,” replied the Professor, “we don’t know for certain that this slice of time represents our future. It might be the future of another timeline. It is only a possibility, based on everything staying the same as it is right now. If you or anyone else invests in this stock after what we have seen here, it could change the initial conditions, thus possibly altering the future. There is a high probability that acting on this knowledge will poison the well, so to speak, and your investment will change the outcome. A larger investment might even have a larger effect. There’s no way we can know. Even one additional investment will mean the Quantum AI did not have all the information, and for all we know, the AI might be malfunctioning due to…umm, caffeine overload. Second, it would be unethical to act on insider information.”

“Look, Professor, what good is a window on the world if we can’t use it? How do you know I’m not supposed to invest? What if my investment is what causes the outcome we saw? The only way to find out is to…”

“Don’t. Do. It. Mr. O’Keefe. The probability of…”

“Probability, Schmobability! I like my odds. I could make real money.”

“It’s more likely you could lose your shirt. The images we saw are only one version of many possible futures. You don’t understand the numbers. There are countless interactions to consider. Even our AI can’t possibly account for them all. Please, don’t do it!”

O’Keefe left the lab without saying goodbye. In the next few days, he took out all the loans he could, maxed out his credit cards, and cashed out his life savings and 401K. He invested everything in ZMatic Enterprises. He stood to make millions by the end of the month.

At first, all was going as expected. ZME stock rose after O’Keefe bought shares. Then, the Wall Street Journal announced that a potential acquisition deal had fallen through. Apparently, an analyst discovered that several “suspicious” investments had been made. The press accused the company of “insider trading.” These reports spooked the potential buyer who chose to call off the deal. Overnight, O’Keefe’s shares became worthless, and he lost everything, including his credibility.

Time has ripple effects, currents and eddies. One action can change everything. O’Keefe learned this the hard way. When O’Keefe called Dr. Davidson to tell him he was right after all, the Professor asked if he had told anyone else about the stock. The reporter replied sheepishly, “I…uh… may have.”

The Professor swallowed the urge to say, “I told you so.” After a moment he could only say, “Thanks for the call, Mr. O’Keefe.” Otherwise, Dr. Davidson seemed preoccupied.

—

In 1927, Werner Heisenberg proposed that merely observing a particle changes it. The energy it takes to register the position of a particle changes its momentum and vice versa. So, we can’t accurately know both at the same time. This problem lingered in the Professor’s mind. And the predictive capabilities of the Chronoscope made him worry that in other timelines other versions of his team were also viewing slices of time and might be altering their timelines in small ways. There might be no such thing as just having a look.

The team proceeded with caution. They focused on the past. Mainly on historical turning points. No spying on the future. Dr. Davidson assumed that viewing the past would be relatively harmless. The past was fixed. Only the future was uncertain. However, the past, as seen through the Chronoscope, might absorb a tiny amount of the energy being used to view it. There was no way to determine how much even a peek at the past might change it, and with it, the timeline from that point on.

The trouble is, if the Chronoscope changed the timeline, how would we know? Wouldn’t any changes be subtle, mere anomalies in the larger picture? Or would the butterfly effect prevail? Even small changes might have major repercussions, given enough time. If a butterfly flaps its wings in Budapest, later there might be a hurricane in Havana.

Then, 2024 happened – a series of improbable events, culminating in the election of a presidential candidate, who, according to half the nation, was unfit for the office. It was as if a coin had been flipped and landed on its edge. Of course, there were plenty of other explanations for these events, but how could the team be sure the Chronoscope had nothing to do with them? After what happened to O’Keefe, maybe they couldn’t rule out viewing the timeline as a key factor.

“If only we had a way to communicate with other timelines,” Dr. Murray sighed. “We could learn what they know and vice-versa.”

“Maybe we can,” Dr. Davidson replied. “What if we put a simple message on a white board, wait two minutes and set the… ahem… Chronoscope to look back to that point in time? The window has been staying open long enough for a brief response, that is IF our team on at least one other timeline thinks of the same thing.”

“Well, it’s not like we can pick up the phone and call them, Dr. D. What message should we send?”

“How about, Do you have a Chronoscope?”

At first, it was a waiting game. The team viewed their own message, Do you have a Chronoscope? every two minutes, for weeks. They left the message on the white board and automated the look back time. They kept watch in shifts. Time after time, no response came. Just the same screen. Maybe teams on more than one timeline sent the same message and no one could tell who sent it. Maybe it was a silly idea. It relied on at least one other team to tune-in on their question and then provide a short answer. Maybe it relied on a synchronicity that didn’t exist. Or maybe there just weren’t any other Chronoscopes.

“Should we pronounce this idea dead?” the Professor asked.

“Let’s let it go for one more… what the…?”

On the screen was the question Do you have a Chronoscope? followed by an answer,

“Yes!”

“Quick. Write, “Anomalies?”

Then, like clockwork:

“We think so.”

“Divisive?”

“Yes.”

“Societal?”

“Yes.”

“Political?”

“Yes.”

“Harmful?”

“Yes.”

“Related to Chronoscope?”

“Possibly.” Then a cascade of…

“Possibly.” “Possibly.” “Possibly.” “Possibly.” “Possibly.” “Possibly.” “Possibly.” “Possibly…”

An overlapping barrage from a myriad of timelines…

“Holy guacamole…” Dr. Murray whistled. “What next, Dr. D.?”

“Excellent question! Let’s ask.”

He wrote, “What next?”

Pause…

“Future.” “Future.” “Future.” “Future.” “Future.” “Future.” “Future.” “Future.” “Future.”

“Huh…” the Professor scratched his head. “That’s what I was thinking.”

“Share info about the future?”

“Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes.”

“2035?”

“OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK”

“Respond. Reference mark minus two.”

“OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK” “OK”

Over the next several days, observations from 2035 were shared. The possibilities were not encouraging. The messages read like dystopian future headlines.

“Social Security system collapses.” “Dollar no longer world currency.” “BRICS nations solidify alliance.” “Trillionaires in charge.” “US Economy in shambles – world suffers.” “Inflation out of control.” “Water wars in the Southwest.” “Climate disaster evident – deniers silent.” “West coast ravaged by wildfires.” “Marauding gangs terrorize Midwest.” “Life expectancy reaches new lows.” “Unemployment rate at all-time high.” “Miami flooded by storm surge.” “Corporate cities authorized by SCOTUS.” “US officially one-party nation.” “Christian party announces new restrictions.” “US President declares martial law.” “Another data center bombed.” “Record number of dissidents jailed.”

There were many more like these.

On the contrary, O’Keefe’s experience showed the team that what they called the future is a multi-dimensional shadow of things to come. As Charles Dickens wrote,

“Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead,” said Scrooge. “But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me.”

Just as the present depends on the past, the future depends on the present. It seems odd that fictional time travelers are always warned not to change anything about the past, while we remain oblivious to the consequences of our own actions. The surest way to change the future is to change our behavior in the present. So, there is always hope.

The team leaders of multiple timelines made two decisions. First, their Chronoscope projects had to be shut down. No peeking. Forever. 2035 would arrive soon enough to observe the future first-hand. Second, in the meantime, there is much to be done to protect the future. If a window on the world is worth anything, it’s worth realizing that we control time, it doesn’t control us.

Teams on countless timelines signed off at the reference mark.

“Shutting down in two minutes.”

“Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down.” “Shutting down…”

“Good night and good luck.”

 “Good night and good luck.” “Good night and good luck.” “Good night and good luck.” “Good night and good luck.” “Good night and good luck.” “Good night and good luck.” “Good night and good luck.” “Good night and good……”