The Rebound Ansible.(Kevin Hughes) “But we didn’t do anything!”

The woman was being forced to march to the square to join the throngs of scared jittery Civilians. She was almost screaming.

The Soldier looked at her and her small family without an ounce of pity or care.

“Neither did we.”

When the last of the stragglers finally joined the milling thousands standing in the square an announcement was made.

“You did nothing when your country invaded our country. The Soldiers, guns and weapons you see around you are not real. They are not human. They are merely physical constructs that satisfy the basic laws of Physics:

For every Action there is an equal and opposite Reaction.

This is the equal and opposite reaction. “

Then the guns began to fire.

There were no survivors.

*****

“What do you mean you don’t think we should move forward with Operation Rebound?”

The General hated dealing with Politicians and Nerds. Especially Nerds. Politicians could be bought, but Nerds…well…they seemed to be gifted with abnormal amounts of naiveté. The Nerds seemed to think there was a Universal Right and Wrong and that some things just shouldn’t be done. The General hated dealing with them. He wondered (idly) if the poor General Staff that ran the Manhattan Project had to deal with these same kinds of Righteous eggheads. He supposed they must have…but, they deliver the bomb. So he smiled as he listened to the Nerd finish his speech.

“ General, Mr. President, Senior Staff Members (There were no Press present - and there would be no leaks) as you probably know, there is a Law in Classical Physics that states: ‘For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.’ (Several heads nodded. Good. At least they are listening thought the Nerd).

Most of us, including me, took that to mean for Physical Objects or Forces. We had no idea until we started on Operation Rebound, that at the Quantum Level that same Law is in effect. And it isn’t limited to mere physical events.”

“I hate to interrupt (which was a bold faced lie, as the Senior Senator from Kentucky and head of the Appropriations Committee was known for his interruptions)
But most of us are not Quantum Scientists or Researchers…can you explain what isn’t limited to physical events in plain language?”

For one of the few times in their lives, most of the Panel, including the President and his Senior Advisors - agreed with what the Senator from Kentucky said: what do the Nerds mean “…isn’t limited to mere physical events.”

The Nerd sighed loudly, squared his shoulders, and started to talk like the Teacher he used to be…and so longed to be again.

“If you push something, it pushes back. You don’t notice it much in ordinary life, but we learned very quickly once we got to Space. Turn a screw to the left when you are weightless, and you will start to rotate to the right. Push off the side of the Space Station…and you will accelerate at the acceleration proportional to the force you pushed against the Station with."

All the heads in the room nodded. They understood that part fairly well. So the Nerd plowed forward.

“We used to think that Law was only applicable at the Atomic or Macro Level: Atoms, molecules, structures. The world of “matter.” It turns out that at the Quantum Level, the Law applies to not only physical objects, but also to emotions, events and feelings.”

This time, heads swiveled to look at the folks sitting near them…looking to see if any of them understood what the Nerd was saying…or implying. It was clear that the swiveling heads found the same look of confused ignorance that was mirrored on their own faces.

“You are going to have to give us either a metaphor, an example, or a simpler idea of what you mean.”

Another deep sigh by the Nerd. He hated talking to folks with no Math Background. It would have been so much easier.

“Mr. Chief of Staff…if you break a heart, that pain can rebound. If you lie for example…then the rebound would be the truth. If you fight a battle, the Law would mean there would have to be an equal counter attack. One just as ferocious and horrid as the first act of war. Every single death would have to have an equal and opposite death flung back at the killers. Same with wounds…or psychic shock. The suffering would be twofold…and the originator of the First Action would receive the full brunt of the the equal but opposite outcome. “

It was the quiet and staid Senator from Rhode Island who spoke up. She was known to hate the spotlight, and assumed to be the real Brains behind most of the Progressive Acts passed by the Senate. She spoke in lucid clear terms that struck right to the heart of the subject at hand:

“So if I shoot someone, I will get shot?”

The Nerd nodded.

“How? That person I shot…is dead.”

This was the part the Nerd hated to acknowledge…it sounded like Magic…not Science. He swallowed.

“Yes, that is true. You will be killed by the Rebound Action.”

Her voice took on that silky softness that warned folks that new her the best, you are treading on deadly waters.

“And what…exactly…is the Rebound Action?”

And now he had to tell them.

“Er…the Quantum World will make a copy of the person who killed the first person…and that construct will exist only long enough to kill the original Actor. “

The President had to order the room back to quiet. That took several minutes to quell the babbling, screaming, and outrage… and knocking the heads of a few of the more stubborn outraged folks. Calm was restored, and a fragile order in place.

“That isn’t a Law, that is Karma dishing out revenge at every turn.”

The nerd was afraid that is what they would say. As if there were a Universal Karma..or revenge was the motive for every possible reaction.

“No. Acts of Kindness also rebound. As does any and all actions carried out with intent. If you kill someone by accident, there is no rebound. If you broke a heart because you weren’t in love, that didn’t rebound either…you moved on. Mistakes, apparently are not susceptible to the Law only actions with intent.

Please don’t ask me how Quantum reactions can determine the intent of the person, State, or Order…but it can. I beg of you…please stop before we set this thing in motion. Please. “

The Nerd sat down. He could see from the faces around him, they were already plotting how to turn the “Law of Rebound” to their advantage. He had lost.

The Committee and President met in secret. The Head Nerd was fired that day. A more…shall we say…amenable person was put in charge with a rather large salary increase. The Project went ahead.

They turned it on just four months later. They called it the “Rebound Ansible”. It worked.

All hell broke loose.

Who knows what the final toll will be? Murders died in the thousands. Marriages were broken like twigs. Liars found themselves confronted by the truth in the open. Entire countries paid the price for the decisions of a few in power. The world came to a screeching halt as it dawned on people, countries and businesses…that the old ways were now gone.

It all came back to intent. You tried for power…power kicked you out of office. Leaders became people who never wanted the job in the first place. Nobody, and I mean nobody, joined an Army, Navy, or Air Force. Those days ended quickly. Within an hour of turning the machine on, hundreds of small towns and a few moderate sized cities in Russia were obliterated.

Without an Ukrainian or Nato Troop anywhere near the destruction. The massacre didn’t stop until exactly as much damage- and as many killed and wounded- were in Russia as in the Ukraine. And not just Russia and the Ukraine. The West Bank, the Pakistan/India Border, the Sri Lanka and Malaysian troubles, El Salvador…you name it…and the Law of Rebound took effect. China was reeling. The United States saw almost two thirds of its News Outlets Talking Heads die of either “natural causes” or suicide. Seventy Senators, and almost two thirds of House of Representatives either died, became disabled, or flat out went mad. It was horrendous.

They tried to turn the Ansible off…turns out…they couldn’t. It didn’t need us to run it anymore. It had found a way to the Macro world of our Reality and it wasn’t leaving.

No one calls it the “Rebound Ansible” anymore.

Most call it ….GOD.

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