The Machine: A story by Steuard Jensen circa 1994

[I wrote this story sometime late in high school, though I don't believe it was for a class. I'd just learned about a piece of physics that I thought was cool, so when this application occurred to me I had to write it down. I'm resisting the temptation to edit it at all, despite the fact that I'd probably handle the physics at least a little differently today and I'd like to think my writing has gotten better. I think it turned out reasonably well nonetheless.]

Stan heard the knock on his door and quietly rose as Alan entered his office. Al was his supervisor, but also a close friend, and he had supported Stan in this project as he had in so many other seemingly hopeless quests, all doomed to failure. Stan was happy now, though, happy, because his friend's patience had been rewarded: this was one mad scheme whose success had passed beyond his wildest expectations.

All this evaporated from his mind, however, as a stranger followed Al into the room. Alan saw the tension snap into Stan's face, and quickly moved to introduce the two men.

"Stan," Al began, "I would like you to meet Mr. Eurek, a member of the board. Mr. Eurek would like to hear a summary of your work on this project, potential benefits, chances for success... the usual."

"Pleased to meet you," Stan said as he smiled at the bureaucrat, "Have a seat." Already his mind was racing to detect even the slightest clues about this man from Alan's face. Of course, this was anything but usual—Al had never brought others along to hear a progress report before, so this meant that the board was becoming nervous about him, about all of the dead end projects that they had endorsed without compensation. Oh, yes, Stan was a prize catch as he left school, on the edge of a brilliant career, or so they said. He had been snatched up before the ink on his diploma was dry, but had yet to produce anything profitable, or for that matter complete, since then. No wonder the board would start to worry.

Alan's expression conveyed more than that, however. The stress visible implied that this was far more serious than it already seemed. From that look, Al had already called in a few favors on Stan's behalf, and these problems had been building for some time. This must be a final interview, one that could cost Stan his position and whatever reputation he had, and while he was confident in his results, it might take a good deal of convincing to pass that confidence on to this Mr. Eurek.

"Before I begin, Mr. Eurek, could you tell me how much experience you have had in physics? Are you, for example, familiar with the concept of a Hamiltonian function?"

"I know enough to supervise researchers like you," Mr. Eurek responded, in a tone which clearly said that he didn't. "If I don't understand what you tell me, it's because of your failure to explain it properly."

"In that case, I'll do my best to help you understand." Obviously, this was one of the worst people the board could have chosen to interview him, and it occurred to Stan how difficult it must have been for Alan to get him an interview at all. At least he had managed to be there himself. "Loosely speaking, the Hamiltonian is a measure of the total energy of a system. It consists of a part representing kinetic energy added to one representing potential energy. The entire system can be expressed as a function of position, momentum, and time. Are you following me so far?" He addressed his question to Alan, hoping that this would be less intimidating to Mr. Eurek.

Alan seemed to know what Stan was doing, so he glanced at Mr. Eurek and replied, "So far. It would be nice if you would clarify what this has to do with psychology for me."

"I'm getting to that. Now, it is fundamental to Hamiltonian mechanics that any systems with the same Hamiltonian will behave in the same way over time. That is, while the variables may change and the physical interpretations may differ, as long as you know how to convert the behaviors of one system into those of the other, they will behave in the same way." Stan could tell just by looking that Eurek understood what he was saying, but also that he was beginning to lose interest—why could these people see only their own interest instead of the beauty of the science itself—and needed to see where this was leading.

"That's where my research comes in. For the past few years, I have been studying the mind, and I have devised a way to represent our thoughts as a Hamiltonian function. The intensity of a given thought is represented by its momentum, and its relationship to other thoughts by its position. It's rather elegant, when you come right down to it.

"Of course, I also had to find an expression for the Hamiltonian of the system. It turns out that our thoughts are best represented in a four dimensional space, three of which are treated as real and one as imaginary. The expression for 'mental kinetic energy,' as I call it, is i²/2w, where i is the intensity of the thought and w its importance. The expressions for 'mental potential fields' are more complicated, but I've thoroughly double checked my calculations and they are correct. In fact, there are in a sense three different potential fields, which interact with each other at various levels. Two relate in large part to emotion, and one deals primarily with physical stimuli. Of course, you must understand that these results only apply to our own species, and that the constants and initial conditions vary based on the individual."

Mr. Eurek suddenly interrupted, "But what is the physical interpretation of these equations? You said that all systems with the same Hamiltonian acted the same; what system matches our minds?"

"As far as I know," responded Stan, "there isn't one. Do you know of one, Al?"

"No. That kinetic energy expression is never seen in the real world, and having seen your potential functions, they don't match anything that we've seen before, either. In a way, that's almost comforting: no other system can duplicate the complexity of the mind." Trust Al to turn the weak point in my argument into a bonus, and set me up to make an even bigger impression, Stan thought to himself.

"No observed system, that is correct. But, the second part of my research was to build a computer that could run based on these parameters. I have done so, using an analogous system of particles, moving based on the rules that I outlined earlier. The whole system fits in memory, surprisingly enough—there are a great number of variables in the mind—but I must admit that the memory system that I designed is superb for the task."

"But how can you enter, much less read, all of those variables?" asked Al. "It seems that it would be a monumental task."

"That was the final step in my project," said Stan, allowing the smallest twinge of excitement to enter his voice. "Along with the main computer, I have devised a device that can, given time, detect the appropriate values from a living mind. If you would be willing, Mr. Eurek, I would like to give you a demonstration."

"As long as both you and Alan guarantee me that this thing is safe," he responded, but was unable to keep a touch of enthusiasm out of his voice.

"It is, Mr Eurek," assured Al. "I've tried it myself, and have suffered no ill effects. In fact, I was quite impressed." Stan helped Mr. Eurek position himself so the machine could function, and then activated it. After a short wait, it was done.

"Now, Mr. Eurek, I would like you to think of something. A number, a phrase, a person, anything. Preferably something concrete, though, because that will be easier to read from the display." Eurek had a combination of expressions on his face: excitement, suspicion, greed. Fear. Stan continued, "Write it down."

As Mr. Eurek wrote what he had thought of, Stan gave a command to the computer. As Eurek finished writing, Stan said, "You thought of Alan, and the number 673."

Mr. Eurek gasped, with the same mixture of emotions on his face, for written in his own handwriting on the scrap of paper were those exact items. "You can see the value of this discovery," said Stan, but it wasn't necessary. The emotions on Eurek's face cleared, and he smiled.

"You've done a good job, son. Come with me to see the board." As they left the room, Stan casually flipped off the computer. No use wearing it out.

On Earth, people went about their daily lives, building, selling, learning, fighting. Some were happy, some were sad. Some cared for others and some cared only for themselves. Some few contemplated the nature of the universe, the meaning of life, the existence of God.

And then, as the switch flipped, there was nothing.