This is the central equation of quantum theory, and describes how any quantum system will behave, and how its observable qualities are likely to manifest in an experiment.
At first the world’s general population didn’t bother about the continual warnings of global warming because it wasn’t having any significant impact on their daily lifestyle. Alright people had to use less aerosols but they still enjoyed scorching summers until the increased temperatures brought unprecedented storms, tsunamis and wildfires. Still then it was only a moderate inconvenience to most at best, until finally the melting icecaps unleashed prehistoric diseases causing plague and pandemic and the world finally began to pay attention.
Pharmaceutical advances couldn’t keep up with the new demand for chemical intervention to preserve life so the call for collaborative technologies was made. Dr Caros stepped up to the mark and used quantum computing to upload artificial twins of her human patients to test telomere reduction in damaged and diseased cells. Of course, nobody said this was going to be easy as how could life limiting diseases be diminished by the combination of quantum concepts? But they could and she could prove it.
After countless hours she and her team had produced a solution that could be delivered through a nanopatch removing the need for invasive procedures and in theory it had worked. In practice it had worked and now, with an audience eager to see the results, it had to work.
An elderly man sat comfortably in the middle of an auditorium while the remainder of the crowd took their seats in the low light. He readjusted a knitted blanket covering his knees and blew on a freshly brewed cup of tea unaware of the gravitas of this moment. His family sat in the front row unrecognisable to him but more than familiar to Dr Caros as she peaked through the door segregating her from what was to come. She took a breath and stepped out onto the stage bathed in such a blinding light that she almost knocked over the gentleman’s tea, he managed to save it with a trembling hand and said, “Watch yourself there,” but his gaze remained fixated on the cup now precariously balancing on the table. Dr Caros carefully readjusted it to which the gentleman nodded and said, “Thank you Alice.”
That wasn’t her name, but she played along giving him a reassuring smile and squeeze of the shoulder before turning to the audience and announcing, “Thank you for your attendance here today, I’m Dr Caros and this is Bob.” Bob held up his hand to shade his eyes from the piercing light and gave a vague wave at her as she continued, “Today marks an incredible moment for both the science community and those within the medical field as we bear witness to quantum theories once again becoming the saviour of our ageing population.” Bob slopped his tea in obtunded obscurity as Dr Caros said, “Bob is a well-regarded medical fellow and relished the chance to help others who have received the same palliative diagnosis. At the start of this trial Bob understood the risks he is undertaking and just how fundamental his contribution is to curing a disease which should have stayed dormant.” She bent down next to Bob and added in a whisper, “It’s going to be alright,” this was both to him and herself as she rolled up his sleeve and prepped his skin. She peeled a seal from a gel covered patch containing nanodiamonds and consoled herself as this would either help or hinder him.
The spectators held a collective breath as she applied the patch and waited for a sudden change but Bob just slurped his tea until he abruptly gulped and groaned dropping the cup onto the wooden floor where it smashed not only the ceramic but the tense atmosphere.
Dr Caros had witnessed similar reactions in the virtual models but never so quickly after application. Ever the professional she donned a calm demeanour and hoped it would comfort the crowd into thinking this was all part of the show, even if it wasn’t. She prepared herself for the next stage of subterfuge but it wasn’t needed as Bob unexpectantly sat upright and bellowed, “It’s like a montage of familiar faces and places playing in my head. I can see them clear as anything,” he paused and braced himself against the leather-bound chair as he took stock of his surroundings seemingly for the first time. “The murkiness is fading because my memories are there in the corners of my mind. It’s like I’m blowing the dust of unused books and flicking through the chapters of stories I already know the endings to and…” He stopped and grasped his chest as the crowd inched forward, each person wanted a better angle because a success story would be just as worthy as a failure for the reporters out there in the wings.
Dr Caros reached out gingerly to give Bob a prod but he stood up with the vigour of someone half his age and turned away from the crowd as he addressed her, “You’ve saved me. I told you it wasn’t going to be easy, but with the help of the united metaverse nation we’ve done it. This will change the world and this will be the start of the remedy to cure all.” Bob shook Dr Caros’s hand as she sighed in relief and beckoned his family over. “Alice… and Hettie right? I’ve missed having tea with you two,” he said to two of the closest. They hugged him with longing and relief as the room filled with flashes capturing the moment that quantum science had delivered the tangible result of bringing a person from the depths of cognitive disease to the heights of health.