The Visible Men Or, Down the Multiversal Rabbit Hole
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FUTURES NATURE|Vol 441|18 May 2006 The visible men Or, down the multiversal rabbit hole. Michael Moorcock varies enormously, making them invisible. lowed his every move. “Getting us all to That’s why we’re all essentially the same.” the same scale. Expansion and compres- “That a cat’s cradle?” Miss Brunner peered With scarcely any echo, identical voices sion. Your atoms only change mass, main- down at a naked Jerry Cornelius tangling came from each identical mouth: “Only taining identity. See, we’re either too huge his hands in a mess of guitar strings. A red after travelling through billions of sets do to perceive the next universe or we’re so Rickenbacker twelve lay beside him. you start spotting major differences. The massively tiny we merely pass through it “It’s twine theory, he said.” Frank was quasi-infinite, Frank. Think how many without noticing it. Either way you can’t absorbed in his own calculations covering billions of multiversal planes of the Uni- see ’em. Until I use this little gadget.” the large slate propped on his mum’s verse there are! Vast as it is, with my box With a disapproving pout, she clicked kitchen table. “He got a bit confused. Too you can step from one end to the other in across the parquet. many Es. Too much reverb.” He followed about ten minutes. Go all the way round. “You change your mass relative to her gaze. “G? Somewhere in the seventh Your mass compresses or expands accord- theirs, or vice versa, and they become vis- dimension.” ingly. Once I realized space is a dimension ible. At first you feel a bit queasy, but you “He’s a simple soul at heart. Easily led…” of time, the rest was easy!” get used to it.” Picking up the small black Major Nye stroked his pale mous- box from the table, he showed her the tache. He’d come in with Miss Brun- display, the triggers. “Have a go. It’s ner hoping to take Mrs Cornelius easy. Everything’s digitalized.” JACEY out. “Is she here at all?” “Certainly not. I have enough trou- “Pictures with Colonel Pyat.” ble controlling my own world.” Frank spoke spitefully. “IT at the “But this gives you millions of Electric. I’ll tell her you called.” His alternatives. Immortality of sorts. horrible feet in a bowl of soapy water, Admittedly, the nearest billion or so he frowned over his equations. What are boringly alike. But most people, had been in that third syringe? like you, love repetition…” “Pip,” said Jerry. “Pip. Pip.” The “Rot! Utter dissipation! Double strings coiled into a neat pile and Deutsch, I call it!” Grumpily, Major vanished. He beamed. Nye closed the door. Through the Frank wondered why Jerry could bars they saw him climb area steps, charm and he couldn’t? pushing aside three more Jerrys star- Jerry strolled into the basement ing at one another in some confusion. room sniffing. At the window, Jerry Upstairs the front door opened. stopped to test the bars. In the “Oh, blimey!” Dismayed, Jerry kitchen Jerry cursed as he felt about peered around for a hiding place. in the toaster. From the front door upstairs “Pervert! You and your proliferating “Mum’s back early.” Jerry called through the letter box. They clones.” “You’ll have some explaining to do.” were all naked, save for black car-coats. “Clones ?” Miss Brunner licked her lips. Frank smirked. Jerry stood up pulling on his underpants. “Are they edible ?” She adjusted her pow- But Jerry was already fiddling with his “Sorry I’m not decent.” der-blue two-piece. box and wires. As Mrs Cornelius waddled Miss Brunner turned away with a stran- “They’re not clones, they’re versions. into the room, exuding a delicious smell gled word. “What…?” When you dash about the multiverse, this of greasy fish, Jerry shrank into a corner, “Interdimensional travel.” Jerry knotted sort of thing happens. I prefer to shrink. his duplicates following. Everyone stared his wide tie, copping Frank’s calculations. But denser, you rip holes; drag things in. after him. “Though not very sophisticated.” He Nobody sees the universe next door “Fairyland again!” Miss Brunner was reached to rub out a figure. because it’s too big or too small. Fractional, contemptuous. Pettishly, Frank slapped him. “Just the of course, in multiversal terms. Problem is, “The Major said Jerry ’ad a message. air cooling. Entropy factor. Anyway, your bits of one universe get sucked into Where’s ’e gorn?” Mrs Cornelius lifted huge sizes are all slightly different.” another. They’re all so close. Déjà vu…?” blue suspicious eyes. A plump hand carried “All?” Jerry frowned at the versions of “Carry on like this, young man,” Major chips from her newspaper to her mouth. himself. “If I had a black hole they’d follow Nye straightened his cap, “and you’ll cause “Climbing the bloody beanstalk, as me into it. As it is…” the end of matter. You’ll have your chaos, usual.” Defeated, Frank faded. Frank scowled. “You and your bloody all right!” Feelings hurt, he made for the Mrs C roared. ■ multiverse. Energy’s bound to thin out if basement door. Michael Moorcock claims to have invented you’re that profligate.” “That’s ridiculous.” Miss Brunner the multiverse in 1961 but then he claims to “Crap.” Jerry holstered his vibragun. repaired her face. “Why aren’t your have created London in 1965, the same year “Effectively energy’s limitless. It’s Mandel- clones…” he created Jerry Cornelius, whose adventures brot, Frank. Each set’s invisibly smaller. Or “Duplicates.” won the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1977 despite invisibly bigger. Depending where you “Why aren’t they too big or too small to the author’s insistence of their authenticity. start. You don’t go through the multiverse see?” Colonel Pyat’s final memoir The Vengeance of — you go up and down scales of almost “That’s the whole trick.” Jerry preened. Rome appeared in January 2006. Moorcock is infinite but tiny variability. Only the mass Now in sync, his rippling duplicates fol- currently resting in a Texas institution. FUTURES 382 © 2006 Nature Publishing Group.