Three (13 page)

Alice stood and hugged
Elizabeth and said, “Thank you, Elizabeth, for all you have done.” And then,
hugging Oliver, said, “Uncle Oliver, you have always been here when I have
needed your shoulder to lean, or cry on.  It’s a comfort to know that both of
you are here for me.”

Oliver looked tenderly at
Alice, as he held her, and said, “Alice, I know I can speak for Elizabeth; we
both will always be here for you.”

Alice again hugged Oliver and
Elizabeth and said, “I’m very tired.  Please excuse me; I’m going upstairs and
getting ready for bed.”

After Alice had left the
room, Oliver turned to Elizabeth and once more thanked her for looking after
Alice.  He also complimented her on the warmth and compassion he had always
noticed in her.  “I’m amazed at how you have brought together your team, each
of different and often mutually hostile faiths.  How’ve you managed it?”

Elizabeth smiled and replied,
“These three different faiths also have found much to share over their
histories.  Years ago, in undergraduate school, I made a summer field trip to
Spain.  While visiting the Alhambra I learned that mathematics, my chosen
major, existed primarily because of the mutual respect and cooperation expressed
by Christians, Jews, and Muslims during the period of Moorish Spain.  Arabic
numerals, algebra, and the formal teaching of mathematics were all brought into
Europe by the Moors and shared among all who wished to learn. 

“The palace courtyard of the
14
^th
century sultan, Muhammed V, tells the story of the respect
shared between these three great religions.  The central fountain was donated
by the Jewish community.  It is surrounded by twelve stone lions, representing
the twelve tribes of Israel.  The walls are tiled in the Spanish style of
tessellation called Mudejar, contributed by Christian artisans.  In recent
years these tessellations have given rise to new concepts of symmetry in the
latest models of space and time.”

 Oliver was amazed at this
revelation.  “I had no idea.  Now I understand how such a strong bond has been
built around not only common interest but great mutual respect.”

“Exactly!”

“You have all worked so well
together; will you be able to continue your work now that Peter is gone?”

“We are just now beginning to
work out how to restart our joint research.”

“Was there anything on
Peter’s laptop that could help you get started on his newest theories?” 

“I’m sorry to say that
whatever information was on his laptop, when he last made entries, has been
lost forever.  But, I can tell you we all were aware he was piecing together a
toy model of the underlying structure of the fundamental particles, and thought
he had a lead on why each had the properties they reveal in their
interactions.”

“A toy model?” asked Oliver,
somewhat puzzled. 

“Oh, sorry, that’s a term we use
to describe intuitive work we are presently doing that’s not quite ready for
the light of day.  If we even discussed it with each other before we’d
completed a thorough vetting of its mathematical tie to reality, we’d feel
foolish if it turned out to contain an obvious fatal flaw.  Peter did mention
it was based on what he called prions and pixels, an obvious reference to the substructure
of fundamental particles like electrons, and that these new pieces of matter
could help explain the sudden change in the way they interacted that has given
rise to inflation, the early rapid expansion of the universe.  That is about
all any of us know, however.”

“I think I understand pixels,
but not how they relate to fundamental particles.  While Peter and I were roommates
at Princeton, we spent one evening sitting in front of the old color TV in our
room examining the picture screen with a jeweler’s eye-loop.  Each pixel of the
screen was in fact a triangle of three pixels: one red, one green, and one
blue.  By varying the amount of red, green, and blue light from this tiny
triangle, the pixel could create any color or hue detectable by the human eye.”

“Yes, this color generating
scheme started back in the days of Kodachrome color film.  Color negative film
defined the negative or anti-colors to red, green, and blue: cyan, magenta, and
yellow respectively.  These anti-colors contain all colors but that of their
anti-pair.  If you begin mixing various combinations of these six colors of
light, each at the same intensity, you discover that any color plus its
anti-color produces white light, and the three colors or the three anti-colors
when combined in a triad, also produce white light.”

“That is what Peter and I
discussed years ago.  But what does this have to do with his toy model?”

Elizabeth’s eyes brightened
as she sensed Oliver was about to have an epiphany.  “Oliver, the strongest
force in the universe is the one that holds together protons and neutrons. 
This strong force is unlike the gravitational or electromagnetic forces, not
only in strength but also in how it acts.  There appear to be not one or two
charges in the strong force, but three. They combine in the same way that our
colored pixels combine to form white light.  The heavy particles like protons
and neutrons are made up of three ‘colored’ sub-particles so that the final
‘color’ is white.  Similarly, lighter particles called mesons are made up of
two sub-particles: a color and its anti-color.  We call this part of the theory,
of how the strong force acts, chromo dynamics.”

“Wow!  Chromo dynamics from
the picture screen of an old color TV!  Just how strong is this strong force?”

“Let me put it this way: a
conventional softball-sized chemical explosive releases the electric forces
binding together its molecules, and can destroy part of a building; a nuclear
explosive the size of a softball releases the strong forces binding together
its protons and neutrons, and can destroy a city.”

Oliver was indeed impressed. 
“Could this strong force be what Peter was developing in his toy model?”

“I don’t think so.  This
theory of chromo dynamics has been in use for quite a long time.  However,
Peter may have linked chromo dynamics to the earliest moments of the universe
when a sudden change in particle interaction led to inflation.”

“What is inflation, and how
was it caused by a sudden change in particle interaction?” 

“Well,” answered Elizabeth, “we
think, in the earliest seconds of the universe, there was a sudden change in
the symmetrical patterns that caused a release of energy and a sudden inflation
or expansion of the universe.”

“Peter and I once discussed
symmetry breaking as it relates to patterns found in graphic art, but what do
changes of symmetry have to do with the early universe?  I don’t see the
connection.”

“Rather than a graphical
example, let me give you a physical one Peter has used in his public lectures. 
When water vapor in the atmosphere is cooled below its dew point temperature,
it spontaneously changes its state, or symmetry, by condensing into liquid
cloud droplets, reducing the number of ways the water molecules can hold
thermal energy, and thus causing heat energy to be released to the surrounding
air.  This process is what drives thunderstorms and causes them to expand and
release energy in the form of lightning and tornados.  It is thought that, in
the earliest moments of the universe, as the extremely high temperature began
to fall, a similar condensation or spontaneous change in the form of matter
allowed particles and forces to take on the forms that now exist in the
universe.  The sudden release in energy caused the rapid growth in the early
hot universe we call inflation.”    

“I must say, I don’t
understand just how cosmic thunderstorms created the physical properties of the
universe, but I do see just how important such a theory could turn out to be. 
That’s why I find it hard to believe Peter could’ve been so careless as to let
all his work be destroyed.  Surely he must have saved these files on a flash
drive or notes that are now hidden somewhere.”  

“The FBI agents have
carefully searched all of our desks and file cabinets at the lab and at Peter’s
home and have found nothing.  We’re at a loss at this point to recover Peter’s
work.”

 “Peter’s toy model seems to
me to be extremely important to the work you three are doing.”

“It’s critical.  If we can’t
find some copy or rough drafts of his work, we may be unable to continue our
research.  His work has been at the leading edge of the ‘theory of everything’,
and is of critical importance to the entire field of particle physics”.

“Elizabeth, I’ve been warned
to not interfere with this FBI investigation, but I promise you, I’ll do
everything in my power to help in the search for Peter’s work.  If I think of
anywhere we should look for notes or rough drafts of this work, I’ll call you.”

 Oliver gave Elizabeth a warm
hug and bid her goodbye as he left the living room and walked to the street. 
He entered the limo and was driven back to Chicago and his apartment.  During
the drive Oliver thought about what Elizabeth had told him concerning her view
of religion.  This history of respect and cooperation between the three great
world religions stood in stark contrast to his personal view of religious
intolerance and violent conflict. 

The driver, who had remained
silent during all the trips, finally said to Oliver as he got out at his
apartment, “Mr. Swift has asked me to tell you to call him as soon as
possible.”

“Thanks,” Oliver said,
closing the limo door.  As he approached his apartment he immediately noticed
the damaged door frame and lock had been repaired.  He now knew his personal
security was also being looked after by Swift’s team of FBI agents.  In the
comfort of his apartment Oliver changed into slacks and a soft sport shirt,
gathered his notes together on the desk in front of him, and called Agent
Swift. 

“Oliver, we were able to
locate the church, but there was little there to process.  The place had
obviously been wiped clean of fingerprints.  Even the dirt parking lot had been
swept of tire tracks.  It’s obvious that Benton Spencer is part of this murder
plot. The only thing we found that didn’t match up with what you said about
those two Bible verses was that they were not written on the marquee.  Instead,
there was a verse we’ve been unable to find in any versions of the Bible.” 

“What did Dr. Spencer write
on the marquee?” 

“’I am become death, the
destroyer of worlds’.” 

“That’s not Biblical.  It
comes from an ancient Sanskrit writing called the Bhagavad Gita.  It looks to
me like he’s admitting his role in Peter’s death.  I just hope there are no
more deaths.  You might talk to Maxine.  She did a background on Spencer and
may now have some useful information that could lead you to him.” 

“We’re working on that, but
you must realize, once a culprit is flushed and has gone to ground, covering
his tracks, he’s very hard to find.  I’ll let you know if we get a lead on
either Forrest Pierce or Benton Spencer.” 

Oliver thanked Swift for this
new information and signed off.  Adding these new facts to his expanding set of
notes, he sat puzzling over what it all meant. 
Why had Spencer deviated
from his Biblical references, and as he abandoned his church, quoted an ancient
Hindu text?

Oliver felt exhausted after
the past two days of discovery, coupled with the somber proceedings of Peter’s
funeral.  His role as Godfather to Alice now required him to examine his
responsibilities to her as a close family member.  He sat reflecting on his own
family ties and his impressions of the closeness of Peter’s team: Elizabeth,
Khalil, and Benjamin. 

He had promised to call
Maxine following the funeral to go over the details of his Waxahachie findings,
but as he reached for the phone, he felt the need to discuss with her his inner
feelings regarding faith and family.  He was unsure what her reactions might be
but now he just needed to talk.  “Max, I’ve decided to fax you the details of
my notes up to the present, but, right now, I just need someone to talk to.  Do
you have a moment?”

“Sure, Oliver, I know how
hard the last few days have been for you.”

“Thanks for your concerns for
me and for Peter’s extended family.  I’ve been thinking about my changing role
now with Alice and also with Peter’s team.  Last week, when I named our A&I
project The Father Abraham Conspiracy, I saw only what I wanted to see in the
conflict between the three great world religions. I was not honest with you or
myself in assuming that conflict naturally arises from religious zeal.  Alice
has been stronger than I have been since Peter’s death, and I know her inner
strength has come from her faith.  Similarly, Peter’s team is bound together by
their mutual respect for their different faiths.  I’ve let my own spiritual
demons shape my feelings about the role religion plays in people’s lives.  I
confess, I was seeking to recapture my own faith in prayer when I stumbled on
Benton Spencer’s ghost town church.”

“Oliver, I grew up watching
this kind of inner struggle in my own father.  Before I was born, Dad had a
falling out with my grandfather over religion.  He wanted to follow the Bible
but thought some of his father’s beliefs were based on witchcraft.  I’ve never
learned why he felt this way, but I’ve always been aware of his inner
conflict.  Each time I visited my grandparent’s home in Northern Illinois, Grandfather
would find time to take me aside and read to me out of the old family Bible.  I
always had the feeling that he loved my father, but knew he himself would have
to pass the family heritage within the Society of Friends on to me.   Grandfather
taught me almost everything I know about the Bible, but never said a thing
about why Dad had broken his ties with the family religion.”