So: Earth. And surely not Earth of the past. There were parts of modern Earth, especially in equatorial regions, that were little explored, but, as Hak had pointed out, the vegetation here was largely the same as that in Saldak, meaning it was unlikely that he was on another continent, or in the southern hemisphere. And although it was warm, many of the trees hed seen were deciduous; this couldnt be an equatorial area.
The future, then? But no. If humanity faded from existence, for some unfathomable reason, it wouldnt be Gliksins that rose to take its place. Gliksins were extinct; a revival of them would be as unlikely as one of dinosaurs.
If this was not just Earth, but in fact the same part of Earth Ponter himself had come from, then where were the vast clouds of passenger pigeons? Hed seen not a single one since arriving here. Maybe, thought Ponter, the nauseating smells drove them away.
But no.
No.
This was neither the future, nor the past. It was the presenta parallel world, a world where, incredibly, despite their innate stupidity, the Gliksins had not gone extinct.
Ponter, said Reuben.
Ponter looked up, a vaguely lost expression on his face, as if a reverie had been broken. Yes? he said.
Ponter, we will take you somewhere else. Im not sure where. But, well, for starters, well get you out of here. You, um, you can come stay with me.
Ponter tipped his head, listening to Haks translation, no doubt. He looked puzzled at a few points; presumably Hak wasnt quite sure how to render some of the words Reuben had used.
Yes, said Ponter, at last. Yes. We go from here.
Reuben gestured for Ponter to take the lead.
Open door, said Ponter, speaking on his own behalf, with evident delight, as he pulled open the hospital rooms door. Go through door, he said, following the words with the appropriate deed. He then waited for Louise and Reuben to exit as well. Close door, he said, shutting the door behind them. And then he smiled broadly, and when Ponter smiled broadly, it measured almost a foot from edge to edge. Ponter out!
Chapter 19
Following Dr. Singhs instructions, Reuben Montego, Louise Benoit, and Ponter made it safely down to Reubens car, which hed moved to the staff garage. Reuben had a wine-colored SUV, the paint chipped from the gravel roads at the Inco site. Ponter got into the backseat and lay down, covering his head with an opened section of todays Sudbury Star. Louisewho had walked to the hospitalsat up front with Reuben. Shed accepted Reubens invitation to join him and Ponter at his place for dinner; hed said hed give her a lift back home later in the evening.
They drove along, CJMX-FM playing softly on the cars stereo; the current song was Geri Halliwells rendition of Its Raining Men. So, said Reuben, looking over at Louise, make me a believer. Why do you think Ponter came from a parallel universe?
Louise pursed her full lips for a momentGod, thought Reuben, she really is lovelythen: How much physics do you know?
Me? said Reuben. Stuff from high school. Oh, and I bought a copy of A Brief History of Time when Stephen Hawking came to Sudbury, but I didnt get very far into it.
All right, said Louise, as Reuben made a right-hand turn, let me ask you a question. If you shoot a single photon at a barrier with two vertical slits in it, and a piece of photographic paper on the other side shows interference patterns, what happened?
I dont know, said Reuben, truthfully.
Well, Louise said, one interpretation is that the single photon turned into a wave of energy, and, as it hit the wall with the slits, each slit created a new wave front, and you got classical interference, with crests and troughs either amplifying each other or canceling each other out.
Her words rang a vague bell in Reubens mind. All right.
Well, as I said, thats one interpretation. Another is that the universe actually splits, briefly becoming two universes. In one, the photonstill a particlewent through the left slit, and in the other, the photon went through the right slit. And, because it doesnt make any conceivable difference which slit the photon went through in this or the other universe, the two universes collapse back into one, with the interference pattern being the result of the universes rejoining.
Reuben nodded, but only because that seemed the right thing to do.
So, said Louise, we have an experimental physical basis for possibly believing in the temporary existence of parallel universesthose interference patterns really do show up, even if you only send one photon toward a pair of slits. But what if the two universes didnt collapse back into one? What if, after splitting, they continued to go their separate ways?
Yes? said Reuben, trying to follow.
Well, said Louise, imagine the universe splitting into two, who knows, tens of thousands of years ago, back when there were two species of humanity living side by side: our ancestors, which were the Cro-Magnons (Reuben noted she pronounced it just as a French-speaker should, with no g sound), and Ponters ancestors, ancient Neanderthals. I dont know how long the two kinds coexisted, but
From 100,000 years ago until maybe 27,000 years ago, said Reuben.
Louise made an impressed face, clearly surprised that Reuben had this tidbit at hand.
Reuben shrugged. Weve got a geneticist up from Toronto named Mary Vaughan. She told me.
Ah. Okay, well, at some point during that time, perhaps a split occurred, and the two universes continued to diverge. In one, our ancestors became dominant. And in the other, Neanderthals went on to become dominant, creating their own civilization and language.
Reuben felt his head swimming. But but then how did the two universes come back into contact?
Je ne sais pas, said Louise, shaking her head.
They exited Sudbury, heading down a country road to the misnamed town of Lively, near where the mine was actually located.
Ponter, said Reuben. You can probably get up now; we wont be stuck in traffic anymore.
Ponter didnt move.
Reuben realized hed been too complex. Ponter, up, he said.
He heard the sound of newspaper rustling and saw Ponters massive head emerge in the rearview mirror. Up, confirmed Ponter.
Tonight, said Reuben, you will stay at my house, understand?
After a pause, presumably in which a translation was rendered, Ponter said, Yes.
Hak spoke up. Ponter must have food.
Yes, said Reuben. Yes, we eat soon.
They continued to Reubens home, arriving there about twenty minutes later. It was a modern two-story house on a couple of acres of land just outside Lively. Ponter, Louise, and Reuben headed indoors, with Ponter watching in fascination as Reuben unlocked the front door then bolted and chained it shut from the inside once they were within.
Ponter smiled. Cool, he said, with delight.
At first, Reuben thought he was complimenting him on his decor, but then he realized Ponter meant it literally. He was evidently quite pleased to find Reubens house to be air conditioned.
Well, said Reuben, smiling at Louise and Ponter, welcome to my humble abode. Make yourselves comfortable.
Louise looked around. Youre not married? she asked.
Reuben wondered at the question; the first, best interpretation was that she was checking on his availability. The second, more likely, interpretation was she had suddenly realized that she had gone out into the country with a man she hardly knew, and was now alone with him and a Neanderthal in an empty house. And the third interpretation, Reuben realized, as he took stock of his own messy living room, with magazines scattered here and there and a plate with the remnants of a pizza crust sitting on the coffee table, was that obviously Reuben lived alone; no woman would have put up with such a mess.