Later that night, Richard Greene had done everything he could to alleviate Charlize’s feeling of displeasure, not to say of hostility. He had apologized to her the minute she stepped out from the back of the Bentley driven by Kwanele in full chauffeur uniform. Inside the Michelangelo Hotel lounge, he had told her that what his clumsy assistant had conveyed to Coetzee was a misunderstanding. Yes, he wanted to invite her to tonight’s dinner but that didn’t mean she had to accepted it. He had apologized so many times and had been so charming and attentive to her reactions while being constantly assaulted by autograph-seekers that by the time the group was sitting at the hotel’s best table under a gigantic gilded chandelier, Charlize had softened and had even laughed at some of his jokes to the great relief of her director, Pieter Coetzee.
Greene glanced at a stunning Charlize de Vries in a black evening gown sitting at his right before lifting his stem glass of champagne, “To Johannesburg’s Institute for Theoretical Physics.”
– “To the Institute.” echoed back Pieter Coetzee, “Prof. Greene, it is a very great honor indeed to have someone of your reputation among us. Your visit here will surely hep us—uh—what’s the American expression? Put Johannesburg on the map?”
– “Dr. Coetzee, you’re giving me too much credit.”
Jan Kruger, the South African leading string theorist, turned to Hoskins. “I’m curious as to how you’ve gotten rid of our friend Trevor Plato. He’s a celebrity here and have a lot of friends in high places.”
Hoskins smiled and put his glass down. “I’ve told your Minister of Sciences that Prof. Greene prefers to debate these issues only with critics who are distinguished scientists rather than with people who have become known by writing books.’’
Everybody at the table was laughing except for Charlize.
– “As a particle physicist, I have to admit that the latest runs from the Large Hadron Collider give me some concerns. I was hoping that they would reveal some signs of supersymmetry.” said Gert Botha.
– “You shouldn’t. Supersymmetry is there whether the LHC finds it or not.” said Greene.
– “So, it doesn’t worry you at all that no superpartners of the Standard Model particles have yet been found?” asked Charlize.
Greene smiled, “To be honest, no, Charlize. Remember, these particles may have masses up to a thousand times greater than their corresponding ‘real’ particles. Theoretically speaking, only supersymmetry allows for the high-energy unification of the weak interactions, the strong interactions and electromagnetism. Also, only supersymmetry provides for a realistic candidate for Dark Matter and a natural mechanism for electroweak symmetry breaking.”
– “I’d like to ask you about Prof. Leonard Susskind’s Cosmic Landscape theory. It is something really mind-blowing. Is there a chance, Prof. Greene, that we only live inside a bubble universe in a sea of infinite parallel universes all with a different set of physical laws?” said Coetzee.
– “Dr. Coetzee. String theorists did not invent extra-dimensions because it pleases them. Extra-dimensions simply jumped out from the theory, the same way pocket universes leaped out from string theory latest equations.”
– “Does this vindicate Everett’s Many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics?” said Botha.
Greene shook his head. “Not at all. Everett’s views were of alternate universes. We’re talking here about parallel universes.”
– “Could a lifeform from a parallel universe visit ours through a wormhole?”
Greene turned to Charlize, “We’re gonna have to ask the opinions of our expert in quantum mechanics interpretations. What do you think Charlize?”
Charlize blushed for having being called an expert by Richard Greene in front of her peers.
– “No, that’s not possible. Of course, if these lifeforms inhabited a multi-dimensional universe with a fifth dimension obeying the laws of quantum mechanics, then an anomaly akin to a singularity involving decoherence and gravitational waves might, in principle, allow a lifeform to pass through the barrier between our universes.”
Greene smiled with satisfaction. “Well said, Charlize. I couldn’t have put it better.”
– “But Charlize, what kind of cosmic event could create such anomalies?” said Kruger.
– “Some event that could never happen in our universe because our law of physics wouldn’t permit it. Also, their genetic code might have evolved differently. You know, we’re really in the realm of science-fiction right now.”
– “I rather like the thought-experiment exercise. So, let’s say a singularity happens on the other side which causes a lifeform to tunnel through a parallel universe barrier to decohere in our universe. How do we know that it can survive in a universe with different physical laws?” said Coetzee.
– “We don’t.” said Greene, “That’s the reason why we could not predict what will happen. Subjected to a different law of physics, the lifeforms could perish instantly or be able to do things we consider utterly impossible.”
– “They might have a level of abstraction that allows them to understand our ultimate law of physics, something we’re not sure the human race is capable of.” said Botha.
– “You’re right, Dr. Botha. The ultimate laws of the universe might be forever beyond our grasp. The same way Trigonometry is beyond a monkey’s grasp.”
– “Could they ever go back to their universe?”
Greene shook his head. “No. The physical constants in our universe wouldn’t allow it. For example, their speed of light might not be constant or they might have particles that are faster than light but here, in our universe, the speed of light is constant and is the cosmic speed limit.”
– “If one of them had come through the barrier, then we have a Clark Kent here on Earth.” said Charlize, laughing.
Coetzee raised his eyes, “Who’s Clark Kent?”
– “Superman, Dr. Coetzee.” said Hoskins still laughing. “Superman, the movie. When he’s not Superman, he’s Clark Kent from Smallville, Kansas.”
Coetzee grinned. “Och, of course. Clark Kent.”
