The time travel scrabbles between Dr. Locus and Dr. Wojcik
In 2042, PhD rivals Locus and Wojcik at the University at Buffalo in New York push teleportation research to its limits until envy sparks sabotage that endangers one city but not the other’s secrets.
Miguel A. Reyes-Mariano
Despite the scholarly prediction that quantum teleportation could one day transfer information, not human beings, in the distant future, there are some unpredictable uncertainties (National Science Foundation, 2023; Sky at Night Magazine, 2024). Aiming to achieve that goal, in 2042, Dr. Motuo Locus, determined to emerge victorious from the ongoing battle to make teleportation a reality, made a bold decision to pour all his resources and efforts into one final attempt to break through the trenches of his undeclared adversary and frenemy, Dr. David Wojcik. His fervent pursuit was so intense that it resulted in the destruction of the entire city's electrical system and all signal-transmitting antennas for cell phones within a ten-mile radius around Dr. Wojcik’s laboratory office.
The once bustling sector of East Amherst was now plunged into darkness, devoid of any electricity, and all means of communication - including cell phones, cable television, and WIFI - were rendered useless by Dr. Motuo's uncalculated actions. The sky above the city glowed with an eerie red hue as fires raged from some damaged infrastructures, a stark reminder of the consequences of uncontrolled scientific desperation.
4Panic set in as he realized the gravity of the situation. In order to cover his tracks and avoid being implicated in this catastrophic event, he would have to destroy all of his equipment and dispose of it elsewhere, far from his property. The very thought made his heart race and his hands tremble. His mind raced with possible scenarios - perhaps they would suspect Dr. Wojcik, as the man who had initially created a a lab experiment that had ultimately failed.
But David's facility was one of the few places untouched by the disaster, thanks to the audacious actions of his wife, son, and soon daughter-in-law, who had designed a fail-safe installation against such errors. As an experienced player in this game, David knew better than to let unforeseen events destroy years of hard work and determination. He had always been forward-looking and had taken all the necessary measures to protect himself from potential threats, such as this one created by Dr. Locus.
The story of these two frenemies dates back to their graduate days at the university. No one ever noticed, but a small misunderstanding turned their friendship into a battleground. One day, while David was having a lively chat with his classmates, he was completely unaware of Motuo's presence several steps behind him. Unknowingly, Motuo had inadvertently positioned himself behind another student, and he was actively listening to everything David said. During the conversation, David mentioned a past experience with a close friend, and Motuo's ears perked up with interest. Instead of joining the talk, his face twisted with confusion and awkwardness as he listened to David.
The anecdote that seemed innocent to David struck a nerve with Motuo—it had happened four years ago during his undergraduate days with someone else. But Motuo probably thought he was talking about him in a figurative sense. His grip tightened on a glass bottle as he struggled to hold back his emotions, silently seething at David's obliviousness to the impact of his words. From that moment on, Motuo could never see his friendship with David in the same light again.
Motuo thought about joining David's conversation to clarify what he had thought he understood. Still, he preferred to walk away silently from the group under the pretext of going to the bathroom. Obviously, he misinterpreted the conversation, and from that moment on, there was no longer the same spark in his friendship with David.
A feeling of discomfort and displeasure took hold of Motuo, making him feel distant and uncomfortable in the relationship from that moment on. First, a little envy and now a slight misgiving were enough to put some distance between them. Motuo, out of pride, would never admit these feelings. Somehow, these events changed the perception of the relationship between the two amigos. David didn't understand what was happening with Motuo and avoided confronting him, leading to their relationship deteriorating into a void of hypocrisy.
Their original friendship, which seemed unbreakable, was now trembling. Despite the incident, their intellectual rivalry was a constant, a testament to their passion for knowledge. Both were erudite in their understanding of 'quantum physics,' and their intellectual prowess was undeniably superior to the rest of the class. Some would even argue that they grasped certain subjects better than their professors. However, one day, in Quantum Physics III, Professor Grabowsky presented a complex problem in the classroom, sparking a wave of wonderment and admiration among the students for their unparalleled knowledge.
Unlike David, Motuo was incredibly articulate, giving him a significant advantage in any public debate. But pride is a challenging thing to appease. Therefore, David also expressed his opinion on the problem at hand. The debate intensified, and as they delved deeper into the subject's logic, the fear of making a mistake that would tarnish their reputation as intelligent students began to paralyze some of their classmates. Those who refrained from expressing their opinions withdrew from the discussion one by one until only Motuo and David remained.
David asked permission to demonstrate his arguments at the height of his discussion. He went to the front to write his equations on the holographic screen pad. Luckily, the course time for this session lasted three hours, and the professor did not want to interrupt the debate since it seemed he was also learning something from his students. David very quickly wrote his formulas using the "digital typing pad," from where they were reflected on the holographic screens in the classroom. He had created about four screens of formulas when suddenly, another of the students stopped him to make a correction. This was Miguel Reyes, a brilliant student from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with a promising future in Physics.
Miguel asked David to go back about seven steps in his equations, where, as a good physics expert, he pointed out an error in the original equation from which David had developed other calculations on which he based his leading theory. Motuo, who was watching all the action from his seat, wasted no time corroborating any revision because he had also silently developed his own formulas separately.
However, when Motuo heard Miguel's words, they made him connect David's mistake with what had already been on his notes. This was the moment he had been waiting to speak, and without further ado, he stood up from his seat and projected his equations with the corrections detected by Miguel. As Motuo was an expert in rhetoric, the words flowed from his mouth like a cascade of knowledge, falling off the Quantum Physics basin cliff to the audience attending the class that day. His correction not only improved David's theory but also enriched the understanding of the entire class.
Motuo emerged victorious from the discussion, his head held high, and his pride rose in the sky. David even had to admit his mistake and bear witness to Motuo's calculations. In reality, David was more interested in knowledge itself than in competition. However, that day, all the other forty-seven students in the class received one of the best lectures of their lives, shaping their understanding of physics for the rest of their professional lives.
Four hours had passed since the beginning of the discussion. Still, no one noticed it until the professor had to ask them to leave the classroom since another professor was waiting for the class to end. Curiously, the other professor did not claim the classroom either because, from the moment he entered, he also immersed himself in Motuo's exposition and was perplexed by the clarity with which he expressed such complicated theories of physics.
So, at the end of the session, the two professors came to congratulate Motuo and talked with him for about twenty-seven minutes after the lecture ended. Even the students from the other session who were entering and beginning to read the formulas and notes were so intrigued that they asked Motuo to explain how he had arrived at his theoretical conclusions. The other professor had no problem because he wanted to hear the whole explanation. So, Motuo spent another two hours uninterrupted, and his audience applauded him at the end of the session. David had already left without having learned of this event. Although David did not hold any resentment against Motuo, he knew this was a more theoretical than an empirical matter.
From that moment on, David had no peace in his thirst to prove his theory and, little by little, every day, at the end of the day and before going to bed, he tried to find a way to prove in practice the concepts discussed in the lecture that day. This unwavering determination was responsible for him eventually discovering the correct equations as testimony to his relentless search for truth. His continuous work and the verification of documented data were what led him to overcome Motuo's rhetoric. But many more years would pass before he could prove himself in practice.
In any case, the two of them were still unbreakable friends at that time, and this event did not change anything in the relationship since, for David, there was no winner or loser. He had also gained knowledge that would have taken him years to discover on his own. Because of this, the two friends continued their everyday lives, because even Motuo's superego had already become part of his personality before David met him.
On another occasion, Mr. David and Mr. Motuo intensified their discussion of splitting matter into sub-nanoparticles. Their voices echoed through the hallway, attracting curious glances from other students. As they discussed the possible applications of teleporting matter, their minds sparkled with creativity and determination. David firmly held his position with precise focus and clarity in every argument.
At the same time, Motuo, with his infectious enthusiasm and practical experience, challenged each point with innovative examples. Their discussions were not limited to topics of their assigned classes. They shared a world of ideas after every session, once a week, and then shifted the conversations to cafeterias, restaurants, and dinners. They even started inviting their respective dates or partners. Their minds overflowed with creative inspiration as they enjoyed meals filled with laughter and lively discussion. The aroma of delicious food wafted around them. The chatter of other diners provided a pleasant background noise, but their diverse and curious minds indeed filled the space.
The bond between these two friends grew stronger. They discussed new concepts and bounced ideas off each other, savoring every moment of their time together. Their camaraderie was palpable, creating an atmosphere of warmth and companionship at every encounter. After each delicious meal came the nights of intense reading and hard work on assignments given by their demanding professors. Also, it is worth noting that they spent long hours in the university library, with only occasional interruptions from the gentle rustling of pages and the constant ticking of the clock.
One night of study was at David's cozy home, surrounded by shelves full of old books, and another was in Motuo's opulent residence, overlooking the moonlit city. Each place had its charm and unique atmosphere, making it perfect for concentrating and achieving academic goals. Luckily, Motuo's family was wealthy, and they financed his studies. David worked a part-time job, and his wife made significant contributions, hoping and trusting that her efforts would be rewarded one day.
At the end of their third semester, it was time to decide on the dissertation topic. So, David and Motuo agreed that combining their experiences in developing a project they could share would be best. After several hours of discussion on this topic, they decided to do a dissertation on the transfer or teleportation of sub-nanoparticles. To interest Motuo, David comments: "The sub-nanoparticle's movement depends on the interplay between the in-plane force and driving force. In contrast, the subsequent transport is determined by the blocks' slip velocity and the damping force. Now the problem is how to use the sympathetic atomic frequencies to reintegrate matters once 'literally' disintegrated?"
Motuo analyzed David's comment and answered: "How can we achieve the quantum transfer of sub-nanoparticles of various sizes without getting distorted by the driving force?" David thought for a few seconds and then answered: "It has been demonstrated in physics that a pre-tensioned graphene substrate improves sub-nanoparticle transportation in their liquid state.
Besides, this new transport mechanism will enable the design of a novel nano sieve that can spontaneously screen and classify sub-nanoparticles of different sizes to a 'nanoscopic' scale. This is essential for the molecular reconstruction of the matter." "Uhmmmm! Interesting," was Motuo's last reaction. For good reasons, after that conversation, he felt that David's knowledge on this topic surpassed his own and felt, for the first time, a sense of awkwardness in their relationship.
With these hidden feelings and going back to the misunderstanding incident, Mr. Motuo's demeanor underwent a drastic transformation. His attitude, once friendly and agreeable, had now changed to a volatile combination of silent vengeance and competition. Despite his outward appearance remaining unchanged, there was a palpable tension whenever they were in the same room. Despite this animosity, they managed to complete their post-doctoral project together.
They even collaborated on other research, including nanotechnology theory. Many of those studies earned them the highest accolades and academic recognition. Surprisingly, their rivalry did not hinder their individual successes. They have excelled in different studies. Anyhow, unknown to David, Motuo was always scheming for ways to undermine him. It was like Motuo wanted to push him out of their shared field of expertise.
After years of studies, Dr. Motuo finally decided to use his knowledge to open his own company, borrowing from his family's wealth. However, he soon realized that David, his former colleague and friend, was crucial to his enterprise. The success of his company's project may depend on David's knowledge, but he was not invited to join the venture.
Dr. Motuo soon came to terms with the fact that his past projects were only successful with David's contributions. Later, their rivalry became public as they competed for the same projects. They both wanted to create an invaluable sub-nanotechnology to transfer or teleport disintegrated matter. Then, reconstruct their molecular structures in a specific coordinate. Motuo was determined to obtain the necessary information from David at any cost. Desperate, he enlisted the help of a cunning spy named Marsha Ponzi, widely recognized as 'Lila.'
Marsha was born in a household where success was the only measure of worth. Her father, an accountant, and her mother, a third-grade teacher at a Catholic school, instilled in her the importance of hard work and financial stability. However, Marsha could not stop envying her cousins, who inherited a large sum of money from their uncle, who owned a popular pizzeria.
Not only that, but his deceased uncle had also left behind a sizeable life insurance policy worth two million, two hundred seventy thousand, and fifty-five dollars. While her two cousins lived lavish lifestyles and indulged in expensive luxuries, Marsha's parents worked hard to have a middle-class lifestyle. This envy eventually turned into bitter resentment toward her cousins, as she felt she could never compete with their wealth and their subsequent business success.
Then, Marsha stumbled upon a way to make easy money—uncovering secrets among her cousins' wealthy friends and charging for her silence. After obtaining a reward from a client's secret, she buried it (as best she could), wiping all accessible evidence from the social media websites. With this practice, her bank account grew fatter than those of other professionals in this kind of business, and her thirst for material possessions intensified. She soon gained fame for her investigative skills, and luckily enough, she met a private investigator who took her under his wing and taught her everything she needed to know to become one herself.
Consumed by greed, there was no room for remorse as she destroyed lives and reputations to pursue personal gain, whether social status or financial wealth. The allure of wealth and power has tainted her once pure outlook on success and happiness. At only twenty-five years old, materialism has entirely consumed her, and she has lost sight of what truly matters in life. Family, relationships, hobbies, respect for others, and spiritual beliefs lost all value and didn't mean anything anymore to her.
In a short time, Marsha skillfully integrated herself into David's world as Dr. Motuo requested and soon became intrigued by his passion and dedication to his work. The office lab in the back room of David's residence was a marvel of modern technology, filled with humming machinery and holographic screens displaying complex equations. As she observed in awe, there was machinery connected by very high voltage electrical wires with internal capsules floating by magnetic gravity. All components together showcase David's intense concentration and devotion to experimentation. Every corner of the room reflected his passion for pushing boundaries in scientific discovery.
During his postdoctoral studies, Motuo quickly realized that David held a wealth of knowledge beyond what he had previously thought. Thereupon, he devoted all his attention to understanding and learning everything he could about David's projects. However, as much as he scoured through David's publications, there were underlying concepts he couldn't grasp directly. That was the reason why Dr. Motuo hired the detective named Marsha Ponzi to act as his spy and gain access to David's discoveries. The idea was to claim such knowledge as his own later on.
Marsha was thirty years younger than Dr. Motuo when she met him, and her intelligence and cunning nature matched her beauty. She didn't hesitate to cross legal boundaries if it meant a substantial financial gain. It was tricky for Marsha to establish a connection with David at the beginning. Yet, she disguised herself as a saleswoman of technological products and secretly negotiated with Dr. Motuo. Only in this way did she gradually gain his trust. Through this strategy, she was able to infiltrate the laboratory and study its security systems until she understood them well enough to plant hidden cameras when nobody was watching.
The situation was almost laughably ironic. Despite the exorbitant amount of money and resources poured into obtaining state-of-the-art spy equipment, it proved utterly useless for Dr. Motuo Locus' ambitions. The sleek gadgets, smuggled in by the cunning Marsha Ponzi, were rendered completely irrelevant by the overpowering interference of David's artifacts. Every attempt at deciphering even the simplest sounds or images was met with frustration and failure, only adding to Dr. Motuo's mounting tension and desperation.
Nonetheless, Dr. Motuo Locus wasn't one to give up easily. Frustration fueled his determination, and he was not about to let some artifacts stand in the way of his grand plans. With a steely glint in his eyes, he called upon his team of top-notch scientists to come up with a solution. As they huddled together in the dimly lit underground lair, ideas bounced back and forth like charged particles in a reactor.
One of the younger scientists, a brilliant mind named Li Wei, suddenly perked up with an idea. "What if we try to create a frequency disruptor? Something that can counteract the interference from those artifacts?" he suggested, his eyes bright with excitement. Dr. Motuo Locus studied Li Wei for a moment before nodding approvingly. "Yes, yes, that just might work," he murmured, a flicker of hope igniting in his heart. With renewed energy, the team set to work on the strategy for how to steal Dr. David's secrets.
"Marsha, get on the preparation of the dimensional disruptor immediately! If we can't spy on them conventionally, we'll just have to bring them to us," Dr. Motuo declared, his voice filled with newfound confidence. Marsha's eyes widened in surprise at the audacity of the plan, but she knew better than to question Dr. Motuo's authority. Nodding quickly, she set to work gathering from the scientist the list of the necessary components for the dimensional disruptor.
A week had passed since the machine was first activated, its low thrum echoing through the underground chamber. Each day, Dr. Motuo's grin grew larger as he eagerly awaited his chance to turn Dr. David's luck around and reclaim his wounded pride. As the hum grew louder and more intense, Dr. Motuo's eyes gleamed with a maniacal determination to succeed at any cost. This was his moment of redemption, and he would stop at nothing to achieve it.
Yet, the technology to block the radio frequencies was not yet there due to the high magnetic fields with which Dr. David was playing. Also, the Channel overcrowding also seems to be impossible to remedy. These widespread sources of interference were overlapping wireless networks from nearby devices in the local area, such as neighboring businesses or public hotspots.
Despite Dr. Motuo's persistent investment in sophisticated spy equipment, the waves generated by high voltages of magnetism seemed determined to hinder any progress. It was a silent war, waged between competing scientists with their own agendas. As Dr. Motuo tirelessly improved his blocking capacity, Dr. David labored to perfect the magnetic fields within the teleportation capsule, striving to eliminate any friction that could impede its exponential rotations.
Dr. David's ultimate goal was to get the machine to surpass the speed of light. Meanwhile, Dr. Motuo continued to pour resources into developing equipment to block the magnetic signals to get the necessary information to thwart his rival's efforts to conquer the impossible dream before him. Just when it seemed success was within reach, the next day would bring new conditions in Dr. Wojcik's laboratory - a variable he couldn't control or predict, frustrating his scientists' progress, now involved in a race towards breakthrough technology.
Despite Dr. Locus's determined efforts, it quickly became apparent that he would not be able to extract the coveted secrets from Dr. David after all. He had tried every feasible approach at his disposal, but a nagging feeling in his gut told him that his enemy's defenses were impenetrable at this time. The technological complexities involved in creating a teleportation machine proved to be insurmountable barriers for even the most skilled and resourceful scientists.
As much as he wanted to continue pressing for getting those secrets, Dr. Locus reluctantly accepted defeat, knowing that the elusive confidential information would remain just out of his reach. His espionage facility felt emptier now, devoid of the excitement and anticipation that had driven him for some time.
Thus, Dr. Locus harshly came to the realization that his enterprise's success still hinged on one crucial piece of information—the knowledge possessed by Dr. David Wojcik. This knowledge was the know-how of sub-nanoparticle transfer, its decomposition at a subatomic level, and the later regrouping of the elements to reconstruct their molecular structure. With it, all their efforts would be worthwhile. Without it, all their efforts would be in vain.
The current situation of these two undeclared enemies is far from what it was the day they met for the first time. Mr. Locus met Mr. Wojcik in the third session of their PhD program in Quantum Mechanics. They took the "Materials Science" class at the School of Quantum Mechanics in the Faculty of Engineering at the University at Buffalo. This program began gaining popularity and had only been implemented in Buffalo, New York, about seven years earlier. Nestled within the prestigious SUNY University at Buffalo's Engineering Department, the program was a shining gem of innovation and opportunity.
With its state-of-the-art technology and cutting-edge courses, the "Materials Science" class quickly became the talk of the campus. Students were eager to enroll in its dynamic classes and work alongside renowned professors, pushing the boundaries of traditional engineering. Its success, spreading beyond the university walls, had garnered attention from industry leaders and potential employers, solidifying its reputation as one of the most promising programs in the nation.
Motuo and David emerged from the classroom, their voices excited as they eagerly discussed the topics of their third session. The crowded hallway was a blur of students rushing to get to their next class, yet the two friends were completely engrossed in their conversation. They moved through the chaos with ease, sidestepping and dodging the sea of bodies with practiced precision.
As they made their way toward their next destination, their energy seemed to pulse and surge like a live wire, fueled by the thrill of their upcoming project. With each step, they could feel their anticipation growing, like electricity coursing through their veins. Like brave explorers setting out on an expedition into uncharted territory. They were eager to uncover new discoveries and knowledge together, united by a shared sense of adventure and curiosity.
They immediately noticed each other's mutual passion for the subject. They engaged in a lively conversation about the day's lesson, sharing ideas and debating different technical approaches with palpable excitement in their voices. At that moment, it seemed they were the only two on campus. So engrossed they were in their intellectual exchange concerning splitting matter into sub-nanoparticles. The passion for science shone in their eyes as they quarreled, each defending his point of view with solid arguments and detailed examples. Mr. David and Mr. Motuo continued their lively discussion as they walked through the crowded halls of the University at Buffalo.
The friendship between Dr. Locus and Dr. Wojcik burst apart like a lab flask under pressure. In the end, Dr. Locus turned to eavesdropping, blackmail, and sabotage to get Dr. Wojcik's teleportation secrets. He bugged Wojcik's office and hired an assistant to seduce his researchers. But eventually, the harsh truth came out. Neither scientist knew the entire formula. They were two halves of a genius who, torn apart by rivalry and betrayal, would never reach teleportation's ultimate goal.
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References
National Science Foundation. (2023, June 29). Teleportation: Possible? Yes—in the quantum world. https://www.nsf.gov/news/teleportation-possible-yes-quantum-world
Sky at Night Magazine. (2024, February 13). Is teleportation possible? https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/teleportation-possible
