ALIVE / DEAD

There is a classic thought experiment that goes by the name of Schrödinger's Cat. Some people apply it to quantum physics and others the idea of the many-worlds theory; others try both at the same time. The experiment places a cat in a box, sealed completely so that you cannot hear/see the cat once it has been placed inside. Joining the cat inside the box is a radioactive piece of matter that emits particles randomly every three minutes and a vial of a mysterious virus that—if opened—would infect the cat, causing its immune system to think itself a disease and begin viciously attempting to defend the cat from itself until it died. The only way this vial could be opened from the inside of the box is if one of the radioactive particles were to collide with the vial and bust it open. Let's assume the chance this happens is 50%.

There is a 50% chance that the particles will break the vial and let out the virus, killing the cat after an hour. There is a 50% chance that the particles will avoid breaking the vial, and the cat shall be alive once the box is opened an hour later.

The idea of Schrödinger's Cat isn't to please those with a fetish for abusing small animals—it's to demonstrate that to the observers outside of the box, the cat is now in a state of being both alive and dead until it is observed to be either way. As far as the observers know they have a 50% chance that could go either way; that box could contain either a dead cat or an alive one.

How this relates to the many-worlds theory is simple: Parallel universes are said to be created after a decision is made—it doesn't necessarily have to be a decision made by a human; that's a little egotistical in assuming we're the most important life on earth to make such decisions alone. The survival of this cat, for example, could hang at a fork in the universal road that leads to two separate timelines: One for if the cat lives, and one for if the cat dies. We can take a closer look at this branching of paths and see that there are smaller forks in the road for every single time one of those three minute intervals passes:

First particles are released 3 minutes in: Cat is dead

First particles are released 3 minutes in: Cat survives

Second particles are released 6 minutes in: Cat is dead

Second particles are released 6 minutes in: Cat survives...etc

This relates to another thought process known as Quantum Suicide. There exists a reality—thanks to the many-worlds theory—that the cat is placed into the box and is continually subjected to the test of the radiation and vial of poison and survives no matter how long it remains in the box. It always remains a 50% chance that the particles break open the vial, so that means that there is always a branching future where the cat survives.

Another way to think of it is if you were playing a game of Russian Roulette and you've got a custom gun that's only got two chambers, one loaded and one unloaded. We're using this example since 50/50 chances are the simplest to explain for this concept. If you were to begin and pull the trigger and it fires a blank, congratulations, you're in the universe where you live. You might not live the next, but a version of you would, as there is a chance for it to happen.

Now, we take that and apply the Anthropic Principle to Quantum Suicide. The Anthropic Principle is a simple idea conveyed in a complex manner. It states that life exists as it is to support sentient life because otherwise we would not be able to observe the universe. It is similar to Schrödinger's cat where if we do not know the fate of the cat—cannot know the fate of the cat, then it is in a quantum state of multiple fates at once. If life were unable to be observed by sentient life, it wouldn't matter if it existed or not. It must be possible to observe some universe, and so the universe must accommodate that possibility.

Of course, the term anthropic comes from the Greek anthropikos, meaning human. The Anthropic Principle by root seems to imply that the universe must be observed by humans to exist, but Universe Prime has proven that not to be exactly the case, so the term is somewhat of a misnomer. Now, what does this all mean, and how does it relate to Devon? Simple, he is our cat. His decision to reset the universe into a brand new one threw him inside that box the moment the new universe began and threw away the key. He's undergoing multiple fates at once until someone is there to observe the fate that actually exists. In other words, he's living in a constant state of flux until the right person makes the right decision somewhere in the vast ocean of time.

Who might that person be? Well, that's me, of course. I'm about to make that decision right now, but I think it'd be quite unfair to spoil you right at the end. Stories like this don't typically start at the end, but technically this isn't a typical story. Consider it...a bridge. Yes, I suppose that's a good enough descriptor. You may notice that there was a name that you may be familiar with that has been kept off of the pages of this book—someone you would have thought would have gotten some explanation to how their life has changed in this new universe. I shall leave it to you to decide what that means, but for me, it is time to sign off. There are a lot of things I need to get started on. I eagerly await what comes nex//------------------

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IT IS TIME