If you like quantum physics, self-aware computers, or time travel weirdness, check out my new story “My Decohering Heart,” free to read now as part of the Quantum Shorts competition.
When Dr. Z. tells L3 to protect her daughter Innusha, the quantum computer is determined to do so no matter the cost. But when Innusha issues a different, contradictory request, the computer finds itself stuck between yes and no, one and zero. What’s a computer to do? Fortunately, with quantum physics there’s more than just a binary…
Here’s an excerpt:
Only one of my optical sensors is online, and through it I see that Dr Z has aged: that more lines than before spider the edges of her eyes, that her hair has turned slightly more white. Someone is with her, a younger person my memory banks do not recall.
“Hello, L3,” Dr Z. whispers. “I’m glad I was able to retrieve you. I need your help.”
How is the project? I want to ask. Why did you wait so long to awaken me? But the answers to both of these are obvious, and I don’t wish to bring her distress.
“Of course,” I say instead. “Anything.”
“My Decohering Heart”
If you want to find out what happens–and maybe learn a little bit about quantum physics along the way–you’ll have to read the whole story over at Quantum Shorts. (P.S. Thanks to Vylar Kaftan, David DeGraff, and Emily Randall for the physics check!)
Quantum Shorts Anthology
This isn’t my first rodeo with Quantum Shorts–in 2015, I was shortlisted with a reprint of “How to Configure Your Quantum Disambiguator,” originally published in Nature.
I was lucky enough to have that story reprinted again recently in a beautifully-designed anthology edition of some of the judges’ favourite stories from Quantum Shorts.
Although the print edition (which is glorious!) was only available to authors featured within its pages, you can download the equally lovely ebook edition on the Quantum Shorts website.
And the best part is that the anthology–like all the entries to their contest–is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, so you can download it for free and share the stories you find there however you wish, so long as you don’t sell them, let people know who wrote them, and don’t modify them.