Manny Levels Home Thoughtcrete - Page 1
THE THOUGHTCRETE DIMENSION PAGE 2
From the outside the Mattercrete building was a duplicate of Thoughtcrete, except when I stepped inside Mattercrete I stayed inside. There was a vacant reception area in front, and behind it a hall with a line of doors on each side broken by elevator banks.
"Mr. Marble is waiting in the Administrative Offices, Sir." Mr. Smith pointed to the left.
A small but definite chill went down my spine. Then another, larger chill followed it. Thoughtcrete had the look and feel of a Bandwidth operation – fantastic imagery, intense speculation, and a world-wide press ready to pounce. One would get you five that Bandwidth was behind that door.
You certainly remember that a few years back the Hubbell telescope discovered a tenth planet in our solar system. Then a radio signal, now called the "Message From Mentalos", was picked up from the planet. The Message said, in effect, that if the Universe began in an explosion of energy, then everything in the Universe is composed of energy – including ideas.
This implied, among other things, that 1) the physical laws that govern energy must also govern ideas, and 2) since energy and matter are equivalent – meaning you can see energy as matter and matter as energy (thanks to Einstein) – then ideas have mass and a physical existence, expressed as geometric forms just like all other matter.
Well, that was kind of a shocker, and I was sent to Mentalos to investigate. That's where I first met Bandwidth, the ruler of the planet. And as far as anyone can tell, I am the only one who has ever seen Bandwidth. I should add that "seeing" him is a tricky concept – Bandwidth has shown me that he can assume any human appearance he chooses.
"I'll take it from here."
"Yes, Sir. I was told to expect that." Then Mr. Smith saluted me. It was an unexpected, awkward moment for me. I was out of practice but saluted back, then walked right into the Admin Offices without knocking.
A short man was sitting upright behind a desk, dictating a letter to a secretary who was jotting it all down. They were the only people in the room. The man stood up as I approached. He had white hair and a delicate, formal bearing. His brown striped suit was perfectly tailored, and perfectly pressed. His eyes were dull gray, without animation.
"Hello. My name is Manny Levels, and I am looking for Woodland Marble."
"At your service." We shook hands. "Very pleased to meet you. This is my secretary, Maya."
Maya was wearing sunglasses, so dark that I couldn't see her eyes. But her lack of eyes was offset by extremely pliable facial expressions. She ran a few at me. I sensed an extraordinary gamut of feelings.
Marble said quietly, "May I ask who you represent? There has been a parade of people in here today, and I would like to check you off the list."
"The National Science Foundation, United States of America."
He looked at Maya, who made a check mark. Then she lowered her glasses and winked at me.
The chill re-visited my spine. Bandwidth had a constant companion, Ms Terry. I don't know if she was his wife, his advisor, his whatever. But she was always with him.
And her move … was a wink.
I turned to Marble, who was already transforming into Bandwidth. He doubled in size, and his mind, a maelstrom of lightning and ebullient geometric forms, erupted from the top of his head and bounced across the ceiling of the room. Think of it as a brainstorm of ideas, except these ideas possessed an actual physical existence.
A large cross-shaped object assembled in the center of the turbulence. It was composed of 8 cubes, a row of 4 followed by an additional cube attaching itself to each face of the second cube in the row. I recognized it as a tesseract, an unfolded 4 dimensional hypercube.
Each of the 8 cubes was a different color and began rotating – spinning – into its neighbor, like a Rubik's Cube gone wild. The cubes spun faster and faster, and the sight was so compelling it took a tremendous effort to take my eyes off it. All around the tesseract smaller independent cubes distorted into shapes I can't accurately describe, until they either found a stable design or reverted back to a cube shape.
Soon everything was spinning and changing at tremendous speeds, but it did not become a blur. Instead the individual pockets of hysteria, taken as a whole, felt like parts of an immense effervescent puzzle. It felt strong, resilient, complete.
I'd seen the show before, so to me it was spectacular. First timers would think they were in a horror movie.
Bandwidth towered over me, full of force. He had the shape of a human, and just emanated power. I could feel his presence throughout my body. I didn't feel safe, because no way I could take him in a fight. But I didn't feel scared either.
Small talk wasn't Bandwidth's style, so I went right to it.
"That Thoughtcrete is a pretty fancy hologram."
Bandwidth's laugh was so loud it set a French flag on the wall fluttering. "The Thoughtcrete building is an idea. The idea of the Mattercrete building."
It sunk in quick, but not all the way down. I worked it a little. I admit I get a maximum thrill going head to head with Bandwidth. "You have told me that an idea exists in many places at one time, and matter exists in only one place at one time. Is that it?"
"Ideas exist with or without material expression. The idea of 'nothingness' exists, but it cannot be materially expressed without contradiction." Bandwidth couldn't speak quietly. His voice boomed into the room. Any second I expected Mr. Smith to burst in with his gun blazing.
Bandwidth went on. "In this world material expression requires a minimum of 2 measurable dimensions – length, width, height, duration. Even a one dimensional line must have duration to exist."
It made sense to me, although I knew I'd chew it over later. Bandwidth had previously defined ideas as representations of the "power relationships" among interwoven energy patterns. I tried to get that in, and found a way. Measurement is key to any relationship.
"You are saying that Mattercrete is limited to four measurable dimensions. Does Thoughtcrete represent another measurable dimension?"
"The Thoughtcrete Dimension is the library of all the relationships among all the ideas – all the interactions initiated at Creation."
Bandwidth held out his hand to Ms Terry / Maya, who took it in a regal manner. They both faced me, hand in hand. Ms Terry tossed her glasses and smiled.
Bandwidth let out one more bone-crushing laugh, and then he and Ms Terry just disappeared. Gone. Now you see them, now you don't.
* * * * * *
For the record, Mr. Smith said he did not hear a sound from the room, and he was standing (guard?) just outside the door. He drove me back to the air base, and this time when he saluted me I shook his hand instead.
I was somewhere over the Atlantic when I got the news that Thoughtcrete buildings had appeared in Tokyo, London and New York. All of them hovering 10 feet off the ground. Thoughtcrete was replicating itself.
On the plane I put together a preliminary report and sent it over a secure connection to Netto. In the middle of writing it Tristater's "clue" suddenly made sense to me. The walls of Ground Zero were constructed of reinforced concrete. Tristate drew my attention to the wall to make me think of the concreteness – the physical, energetic existence – of both Mattercrete and Thoughtcrete. It is the common bond that joins them.
Netto was relatively calm when I entered his office. He pounded his pipe into the ashtray with no particular aggression. No doubt the Special Committee had reviewed my report and taken the heat off.
I mentioned the replications, which occurred after I had sent the report.
"Add Melbourne, Moscow and Beijing to the list." When it was over (as you might recall), there were a total of 10 Thoughtcrete buildings around the world, before they all disappeared. Just like Woody Marble, aka Bandwidth, also disappeared. It was not the first time Bandwidth proved to me that he has been visiting Earth for a long time – it is a guarantee that he designed the buildings attributed to Marble for the past 20 years.
Netto carefully lit his pipe. Not too many people wanted his job – it is a pressure cooker with many lids – so he pretty much did what he wanted. Like smoke in a federal building. "So now Bandwidth is inventing a new Dimension for us."
I smiled. "He didn't say he invented it. More like it was already there, and he is helping us see it."
"I see too much already. Another Dimension and my brain will explode." I laughed. "Give it to me again." He sat back.
I re-worded my preliminary report. "This is how I put it together so far. Most people would say that ideas exist, because they think with them and exchange them with other people, and because ideas can affect behavior. But most of these same people also say that ideas do not have a physical existence. So they are saying that something that exists does not exist with material dimensions. " I paused. "So they are saying that ideas exist outside the world of matter. Bandwidth calls that place Thoughtcrete.
"A lot of people would also say that the three dimensions – length, width and height – the three perpendicular directions – require a fourth dimension, time. Bandwidth defined time as Duration. I think he meant that without time, there is no duration – and therefore no physical existence for the first 3 dimensions."
Netto nodded. "The ability to measure material objects gives them physical existence." Netto thought it over. "Maybe Thoughtcrete is the Fifth Dimension."
"Good point. But Bandwidth did not get into the numbering game. He said Thoughtcrete is composed purely of idea relationships. Some subset of those relationships have a Mattercrete existence, existing in one place at one time." I waited for Netto to respond, but he didn't.
"If you add the concept that ideas are composed of energy, which is the Message From Mentalos, you come up with something like this. Bandwidth is saying that Thoughtcrete is the Dimension of pure ideas, ideas composed of energy and constructed according to the laws of energy. Ideas can exist with or without material – 2 or 3 or 4 dimensional, one place, one time – expression. Ideas do not need to have a 2 or 3 or 4 dimensional existence to belong to Thoughtcrete. They exist there anyway."
Netto closed his eyes and cupped the bowl of his pipe. When he came back he said "Not unlike Plato's Theory of Ideas. The universe is ordered according to eternal laws and forms, embodied by Ideas. Neo-Platonists called the collected ideas The Logos – the Mind of God. Logos is pure truth – pure logical design that exists independently of matter. All ideas already exist – we just reveal them."
Netto is more sturdy than surprising, but he has surprises in him. Like that one. I blinked.
Netto grunted. "Pythagoras pre-dated Plato. He said geometry is the secret structure of the world – as did Albert Einstein 2400 years later. The relationships of an object's parts defined it. Form is function and identity." Netto's eyes narrowed. "Think you're the only smart guy here?"
I liked to think so, in spite of all the evidence. So I said, "Yeah."
Something was on my mind, so I mentioned it. "By the way, who is this Mr. Smith? He said he had orders."
"The Special Committee assigned him, and told me after the fact. All I can say is that the Committee didn't skimp."
I left it at that.
Netto puffed a string of smoke circles. We both watched them form, linger, then dissipate. The smell was sweet burnt vanilla. "So Thoughtcrete is the Dimension of Ideas."
"He is breaking it out. Mattercrete distinguished from Thoughtcrete. Everything is composed of energy, but Mattercrete is energy patterns that exist in one place at one time. Ideas can exist in many places simultaneously." I thought of the multiple Thoughtcrete buildings springing up around the globe.
Netto sat back and relaxed. "Bandwidth is using energy as the bridge between Mattercrete and Thoughtcrete. I like the angle." His eyes drifted up. "This feels like something", he said after a while.
I nodded.
There was a beep, and Netto looked at his computer screen. He clicked a couple of times, then said "An official statement from the Chinese. The Thoughtcrete building in Beijing has been declared an enemy of the people. Public discussion of the building has been banned. Over 200 arrests in the first hour of Thoughtcrete's appearance."
I didn't say anything. Netto, manager of men and women who search for the practical in the possible, sometimes at great risk, grunted. Then he took a long slow draw on his pipe, igniting the bowl with fiery embers.
THE END
Manny Levels Home Thoughtcrete - Page 1