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"Are we sure this is it?" I asked. "How can this be a cutting-edge quantum computing facility? It looks so ordinary." My new friend Astrid and I were here in a bland office park for a tour of Atomic Computing as part of the 2023 Annual Science Writers Conference. I was an aspiring science writer. Astrid was already a pro.
The door was locked. I knocked on the glass.
Astrid grinned at me. "I guess we'll find out." She had a great grin; it lit up her whole face. I wanted to make her grin some more.
"So, do you think quantum computing proves the Many Worlds interpretation?" I asked. "You know, the superposition of quantum wave functions spreads out among parallel worlds?" Yes, I was desperately trying to impress her. Yes, I had a crush.
Just then, a tall, skinny, thirty-something man opened the front door. "There you are! Welcome, Science Writers!" He looked over our heads. "Where's the rest of you?"
"We're it, me and Olivia," Astrid said.
His face fell for a moment, but he quickly rallied. "Well, Welcome. Come on inside!" He held the door open for us, and we all entered a lobby area. "Welcome to Atomic Computing," he said. "I'm Dr. Martinez, the Chief Scientist here. First, we're going to stop in our conference room and go over some of the concepts of quantum computing, and then we'll have the tour. Please, no pictures or other recordings."
He led us past a dozen nerdy-looking men sitting at desks in front of computers in a large room to a sizable conference room with a bunch of tables facing a large screen.
Astrid and I sat down at the front table, where they'd set out little notebooks, pens, and ‘Visitor' IDs on lanyards at each place. Everything was covered in Atomic Computing logos. As I took in the twenty or so piles of swag around the room, I felt kind of sorry for him. They'd clearly been expecting more journalists.
At the same time, I was enjoying sitting next to Astrid. Did I have a shot with her? Maybe I should suggest we go for a drink tonight?
"Without further ado, I'll just jump in," he said. "We're developing quantum computers here. They're special because they use qubits rather than classical bits. Qubits use superposition; they can be in multiple states at the same time."
Astrid and I nodded.
"Furthermore, quantum particles can be strongly correlated. This effect is called entanglement."
We nodded.
"There are lots of kinds of qubits," he said.
This was the kind of info I was hoping for so I could write my first article.
"Superconducting loops, nuclear spins, diamond vacancies, trapped ions, topological qubits, and silicon quantum dots are the most popular."
Yikes. Nobody said this was going to be easy. "Can you explain those?" I asked.
"Yes." He nodded. "But I'll also give you my contact info for later questions."
After almost an hour, he started winding down. "In summary, the purpose of the quantum algorithm is to make all the bad answers cancel each other. This is possible because of the superposition and entanglement of the qubits. So, let's take the tour."
We eagerly followed him out of the room. We walked down a very plain hallway with white walls, a white ceiling, and a white tile floor.
He stopped in front of a window into a small room filled with electronics. "This is one of our prototypes. A 5000-qubit system."
That sounded like a lot. "Wow," I said. "Congrats."
He preened a little.
But when I looked inside, all I saw was a bunch of small metal boxes and cylinders attached to one another.
"Uh, neat," I said.
Astrid nodded. "Very impressive."
We walked further down the hall.
"We're totally automated," Dr. Martinez said. "We can control everything via remote control. We're about to do an important test."
He stopped in front of another window. "Here's our second prototype." This room looked the same as the first little room.
He glanced at his phone. "Unfortunately, we're about out of time. And we're almost back at the lobby area. We had made a big loop."
In the lobby, Astrid said, "I'm going to make a stop." She headed into the restroom.
I asked Dr. Martinez, "Does quantum computing prove the Many Worlds Interpretation?"
As he opened his mouth, a red light started flashing and an alarm blaring. "Warning," a bland male voice intoned. "Containment breach. Containment breach."
In the hall, a line of shadowy figures was appearing. As they solidified, I made out the figures of me, Dr. Martinez, and Astrid from a few moments ago.
"What the...?" I asked.
More and more figures appeared. The ones back towards the conference room seemed to be the three of us from further back in the past. A line of figures also extended through the lobby and out the front doors.
Outside, one of the shadow Olivias seemed to kiss one of the shadow Astrids. They both seemed really happy. I wanted to be happy like that. I wanted to kiss Astrid like that.
But what did it mean? "Could this be the, what is it, the Transactional Interpretation of quantum physics?" I asked Dr. Martinez.
He turned to look at me with confusion in his eyes.
"You know, the quantum wavefunctions travel forward and backward in time rather than into parallel worlds during superposition," I said.
"Uh," he said. "Maybe so." He nodded as he glanced back at the now-fading figures. The alarm and flashing lights stopped. "Maybe so." He seemed kind of dazed.
I was gonna write an amazing article!
Astrid came out of the restroom. "What's going on?"
I smiled brightly at her. "I think we should go out for a drink tonight. What do you think?"
She smiled back. "Okay."
I knew she'd say that!
I opened the front doors, and together, we stepped into our future.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lesley L. Smith has a Physics Ph.D. and a Creative Writing MFA. Her short fiction has appeared in various venues. She has published several novels, including The Quantum Cop, A Jack By Any Other Name and Conservation of Luck. She's an active member of the Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America.
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