Rebecca Moll's Blog - Posts Tagged "parallel"

String Theory. Parallel Lives. Quantum and Schrödinger's cat. Remember freshman physics? Committed to memory only to regurgitate. The stuff of stars. Thus, the precursor, Theoretical.
But what if it was more than just theory, other than some far off galaxy, other than some laboratory nano reality, some research electron particle behavior invisible to normal, everyday life? What if we do actually lead parallel lives?
Kelley McNeil, in A Day like This, drops you into a vortex of possibilities, spins you around, tearing off the blindfold to reveal an alternate reality. Yes, this is fiction. Yet, it begs just enough to make you ask, "What if?"
Parallel lives? Nah. The duplicity is too much, the dimensions of such thought beyond the parameters in which most of us, non-theoretical physicists, define our world.
And even if parallel lives are a reality, the modifier itself implies that never shall the two meet. How would you even know?
Knowledge is the product of asking questions, the product of thought. Reconsider the equation. Think, outside the box.
Have you ever considered those moments in life when faced with a decision you said no instead of yes, went east instead of west? Where would you be if you chose a. instead of b.? Happier than now or pine to turn around?
And what if what led you to this juxtaposition was more than a series of thought and action? What if unknown outside forces influenced invisibly, much like electron particle behavior?
“To be or not to be? He he,” chuckled the cagey cat.
Picture two parallel lines grounded in what we call reality. A pair of high-speed trains barreling down the tracks. The life when you said no. The life when you said yes. We can consider, maybe even dream, about the possibilities. Each train filled with the people you know, love, hate, passing through places and events past, present, heading towards what’s yet to be. It’s a crazy ride, full of emotion and commotion, all forward motion. So close and yet, each life but a blur to the other.
Now, consider the train tracks cross. Converge, then diverge. Where? An event that occurs identically in both lives. A level junction for the railroad engineer and an everyday occurrence in the world of transportation. But, here, in the world of theoretical physics, the trains are neck and neck. No rules of the road, no safety protocol or “ladies first.” As your two lives intersect, cross over, same place, same time, you choose a, not b and find an alternate reality.
Kelley McNeil explores such possibilities in a malleable medium: fiction. Creative, enticing, thought provoking, and just scary enough to be real, you turn the pages faster than a pair of parallel high-speed trains, your heart leaping at each crossing, hoping, wishing, Annie Beyers finds the answers she so desperately seeks. It’s a full-in-the-face look at that other train, the one when you said no instead of yes, went east instead of west, time slows and you take a step, bittersweet, full of regret.
And in crossing over the metaphysical realm of duplicity you expand your understanding of what we call life, you feel the thrust of invisible indiscernible influence, the weight of alternate possibilities, and the terrifying freedom of the unknown.
Well, if you can cross once, what about twice? What’s fiction without a little redemption? Sound nice?
I, for one, hope to never explore the possibility of a parallel life, not for a moment, nor forevermore. Yet, when I think of reams of knowledge unknown, I look to the right for a fast-moving train and the woman within, within, within some alternate vein, a forsaken domain, and wonder, What if? If only in vain.
A worthy read, a rainy-day detour, a train ride - destination unknown. Grab a hot beverage and a comfy chair, prop up your feet and say a little prayer, that fiction is fiction and dreams are sweet, and that parallel lines never shall meet.