BASE SPACE ACE 427,024 AD, DECEMBER 17, 2024
LIFE, NON-LIFE, SPACE, AND NON-SPACE 4
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4
We were in a forest in a moderate climate. It would be a typical forest if it weren’t for the flying cows and the two giant bears. Flying cows without wings, I should add.
The skirt of the first male bear was so ugly that it made the skirt of the other male bear almost invisible by its sheer presence. They spoke with a strange accent that I couldn’t place.
“Quantum fields is what it’s all about,” the first bear said. “What we perceive as particles are mere excitations in oceans of excitations belonging to virtual and real particles.”
“Sounds strange,” Bear Two said. “I don’t give a damn about that. Art interests me more. Was all that stuff you mentioned related to Professor Chesworth’s work?”
(Professor Chesworth’s name rang a bell. Even I had heard of him.)
“Yes, he worked on quantum fields and thousands of other things. I have read many of his books.”
“Music and paintings—that’s what I care about.”
Bear One glared at the other bear. “You don’t understand. All that stuff, like paintings, for instance, doesn’t exist. Most matter is just empty space. Not empty actually but full of virtual particles.”
“Absurd! Which one is it: empty or full?”
“Empty for all intents and purposes,” B1 said. “But at the same time full of quantum activity.”
“You aren’t making any sense.”
“Look… It’s empty. But once you try observing the empty space, you observe the activity. Not all of it, mind you, yet enough to deduce what is there beneath the surface.”
B2 crossed his arms. “Like subtext? In art, you have shapes and colors. But also things that are not shown and yet are there… Like negative space.“
“No, that’s not what I meant. If you believe in parallel realities, then you would say that what we observe is just part of the full reality. Otherwise, you could say we’re dealing with pure mathematics. Useful but not real.”
“Yeah, yeah… I get it. Shapes in paintings are an imitation of geometry concepts. Colors are subjective and—”
B1 sighed. “No, no. That’s not what I meant at all!”
The two bears looked up as a flying cow descended slowly and landed.
“What are you two doing?” the cow asked. “Get back to work.”
“Yes, boss,” B1 said.
“Yes, boss,” B2 said too.
They went away—not in a hurry but also not taking their time. Meanwhile, the cow gave me a long hard stare. It made me nervous and slightly afraid.
“How are you feeling today?” the cow asked after what felt like an eternity.
“Fine,” I said. “Those bears were talking about art and quantum—”
“You must have imagined it. They only know how to hurt people.”
“One of the bears had read Professor Chesworth’s books.”
The cow laughed. “Bears don’t read.”