Roland Michel Tremblay

Sci-Fi Helper

This report on the Net: www.themarginal.com/paralleluniverses.htm

Download a doc version: www.themarginal.com/paralleluniverses.doc

 rm@themarginal.com     www.themarginal.com

            Star Trek The Next Generation: Parallels (season 7, episode 163)

            Original Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (season 2, episode 39)

            Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Crossover (season 2, episode 443)

            Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Shattered Mirror (season 4, episode 492)

            Star Trek Voyager: Deadlock (season 2, episode 137)

            Stargate SG-1: There But For the Grace of God (season 1, episode 119)

            Stargate SG-1: Point Of View (season 3, episode 306)

I have watched almost every Sliders’ episodes up to the moment where they changed all their characters. It was not the same after that and I could not follow it anymore. Unfortunately I did not record the first ever episode where they would talk about the remote control but I have seen it. To my knowledge, they have not explained scientifically how the remote control works. That is what I would like to verify by watching it again, but I don’t believe they gave us much information. There was one other episode where the Professor tried to explain the parallel universes and get the credit for the technology, I recently saw that episode and I still don’t think they explained it. Here is all I found about it on the net:

“Quinn Mallory, while working on an anti-gravity machine (device), accidentally creates a portal to a parallel universe.”

“While researching anti-gravity, brilliant grad student Quinn Mallory accidentally opens an inter-dimensional portal, which sends him and three companions on a cosmic roller-coaster ride to alternate Earths.”

Now, how would an anti-gravity device open an Einstein-Rosen Bridge (a wormhole) to a parallel universe, your guess is as good as mine. It is not like the Antimatter propulsion system of the Enterprise, it cannot really produce the energy you need in order to open a wormhole. The only thing that could happen if you could really invent an anti-gravity device, is that magnetic fields would be distorted. Well, a lot of strange things could happen as a consequence. Usually time runs faster or slower, and space could be warped and distorted. Ultimately I suppose you could warp space to an extent that a wormhole would open and I suppose that this is how they explain it in Sliders. Or perhaps they meant an antimatter device to justify the energy needed in order to open the wormhole, like on the Enterprise. The annihilation of the matter with the antimatter produces the huge amount of energy needed to warp space.

One thing though, every story about UFOs we hear these days, about their possible way of propulsion and all the side effects of their engine, appear to be related to high magnetic fields and antigravity devices. People report time slowing down, time going faster, space being distorted, ships moving in odd directions, no noise, and ships being multiplied when moving because they would be going faster than the speed of light. If these ships really go from one solar system to another, whatever how they do it, they appear to be using antigravity devices and high magnetic fields. Ultimately that could also be the technology we need in order to open a wormhole or to warp space.

You would need negative energy forces (still theoretical), exotic matter (still theoretical), incredible amount of energy we cannot produce today, and the wormhole itself would need to be artificially maintained. They cannot be a natural phenomenon. Unless of course you dissociate yourself from the wormholes of the movie Contact (Kip Thorne wormholes). They invented the concept and this is how wormholes can exist from their definition. You could always invent your own type of wormhole and explain it differently. There are still a lot of mystery in this world and many phenomena that we have not yet identified. Whenever we discover something in science today, we are always completely surprised by what we find. Things we thought impossible are suddenly happening, things we could not even have imagined happen. Ultimately you can find other ways than wormholes to reach your parallel universes.

Well, this is Science Fiction and your audience is not gullible. They will question everything. This does not mean you cannot use a remote control to open a wormhole like in Sliders, but it means that you have to justify it very well. Now, I sincerely believe that new science will not come from those high energy power stations they have built, but from simple ideas and simple experiments. Because it is all down to discovering how the universe and the laws of physics work. Think of a different way to explain everything, and a remote control is all you will need to create a huge amount of energy, open a wormhole, distort reality or go to a parallel universe. How you explain it is crucial and needs to be groundbreaking. Even, just having your character saying that most great discoveries in science are made of small things and little equipment, will add credibility. What is difficult is how you picture the universe, the physics that explain the world you live in. Once you understand it, you can manipulate it quite easily.

If you are still concerned, your remote control could also just be the tip of the iceberg. It could be the mean to activate a powerful machine somewhere else or even a powerful satellite in orbit. Then you have a laser beam striking someone from space or an energy field of some sort sending someone into a parallel universe.

There is also the concept of Mind over Matter. You could easily have a device over your heads and the remote control or hand device could help focus your mind in order to create a shift into another universe (I mean help you switch universe). In this case you could be talking about psychological problems that parallel universes appear to be able to explain, like multiple personality syndrome and schizophrenia (where you would obviously see real people but in parallel universes). There is interesting information about parallel universes on this webpage:

-An alternate reality, another possible outcome of our reality. There could be many parallel universes super-imposed in our space and time.

-Because of the weird phenomena observed in Quantum Physics where one particle can be at many different places at the same time. Also because many equations and theories only make sense if parallel universes exist. This is the case of the Many-Worlds interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.

-Particles appear to vanish and appear out of the nothingness of space which suggests that they might be going and coming to and from parallel universes.

-The most likely candidate to explain everything in science: the unifying theory for the very large and the very small (TOE - theory of everything), is Superstring theory which accounts for at least 10-11 dimensions. This also works better if a multiverse exists.

-Einstein-Rosen bridge (wormholes, vortex) (a lot of energy)

-Opening a rift (or a window) in the spacetime continuum (a lot of energy)

-Playing with electromagnetic fields (strong magnetic fields) distorting space and time

-Getting out of phase with reality (see the solution 2 of my Invisibility report)

-Mind over matter in order to make your body vibrate at another frequency (see the solution 7 of my Invisibility report)

NOTE: Though this report is about invisibility, you could quite easily replace being invisible as if you were in a parallel universe. Many of the solutions and ideas could help you to justify being in a parallel universe (especially solution 1, 2 and 7).

Has there ever been any occurrence of someone going into a parallel universe?

-Not to my knowledge. But what about ghosts, people finding themselves in different time period, people becoming invisible and déjà-vu phenomenon? You could add schizophrenic people hearing voices and seeing people that others cannot see.

Yes, there are a lot in mathematics and physics. It seems to pop up all the time in theory. Quantum computers are also a proof. At the moment quantum computers are using the weird phenomena observe in the Quantum World in order to process information, they are basically using computers in parallel universes. At the moment they are using up to 64 computers in parallel universes and prove that parallel universes exist. Soon it will be a huge amount of computers in parallel universes that these quantum computers will be using to make complex calculations in seconds instead of years. All the info at this URL:

-If you are not satisfied with your own life, if you made mistakes you cannot correct, if you lost someone that you loved, if you wish to change anything in your life, you might want to go to a parallel universe hoping that the grass will be greener. But as the expression says, it is seldom the case and you could find yourself in a worse situation.

-Often it is because the problem is yourself. Your attitude towards life, your actions that have terrible consequences. And unless you change your nature or your attitude towards life, no other parallel universe could change anything to your life. It could in theory give you a second chance if you do intend to change, but wouldn’t it be preferable to change in your own universe first? And what about the ethic of stealing the life of someone else, even if this someone is your counterpart in a parallel universe? Unless you replace your twin when he or she is just about to die…

Star Trek The Next Generation: Parallels (season 7, episode 163)

Original Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (season 2, episode 39)

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Crossover (season 2, episode 443)

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Shattered Mirror (season 4, episode 492)

Star Trek Voyager: Deadlock (season 2, episode 137)

Stargate SG-1: There But For the Grace of God (season 1, episode 119)

Stargate SG-1: Point Of View (season 3, episode 306)

www.startrek.com/library/tng_episodes/episodes_tng_detail_68632.asp

Worf returns victorious from the Bat'leth competition and walks straight into his surprise birthday party. He begins to feel dizzy and disoriented, and is confused when his cake seems to change from chocolate to yellow and an absent Picard seems to appear out of nowhere. Worf is later summoned to Engineering, where Data and Geordi show him how the Argus Array has been reprogrammed to spy on the Federation. Worf spots a Cardassian ship in the Array's imaging logs and prepares to scan the area, but suddenly feels dizzy again, and recovers to see Data and Geordi working on the opposite side of the room. Spooked, he goes to Sickbay to visit Beverly, and she states he is probably reacting to the concussion that cost him the Bat'leth tournament. Shocked, Worf tells her he received no concussion and hurries to his quarters to retrieve his trophy to prove he won the contest. When he gets there, he finds a trophy that reads "Ninth Place."

Beverly tries to ease Worf's worries by assuring him that his memory will return if he slowly settles back into his routine. He gets back to work, and is on the Bridge when he is alerted to an approaching Cardassian ship. Picard speaks with the Captain, Gul Nador, and explains that the Enterprise is in the area to repair the Array. Worf tells Picard that Nador's ship is the same one they saw in the Array's imaging logs, but Picard and the crew are confused — they never suspected the Cardassians of tampering with the Array. Frustrated, Worf fills Troi in on the bizarre turn of events when Geordi arrives and says that the Array's problem was a simple malfunction. Worf starts to protest, but feels dizzy again and notices a painting on his wall has moved and changed appearance. He experiences a wave of dizziness in which Troi's clothing changes, then another that leaves him on the Bridge with the ship at Red Alert and a Cardassian warship on the viewscreen.

Picard orders Worf to raise the shields, but he is too confused to do so before the warship fires. Riker takes over and retaliates, and while the Enterprise escapes, the Cardassians destroy the Array. A disappointed Picard confronts Worf about his failure, and when Worf mentions memory loss, no one knows what he is talking about. Afraid he is losing his mind, he returns to his quarters, and is surprised when Troi arrives and tells him that she is his wife! Telling her he has no recollection of their marriage, he explains what he has been going through and is gratified that at least Troi seems willing to try to help him. Later, in Engineering, Worf explains his experiences to Data, who points out that Geordi was present every time things went awry. They eagerly hurry to talk to Geordi, and are shocked to learn he is dead.

Still looking for clues, Data hooks Geordi's VISOR up to the diagnostic array, and Worf has another dizzy spell. He wakes up to find himself in a commander's uniform, and Data tells Worf that he has detected a quantum flux in his RNA. They report to Riker, who is now Captain, to explain this problem. Data says Worf's RNA indicates that he does not belong in their universe. Data and Wesley Crusher, who is now a part of the crew, discover that a quantum fissure in the space-time continuum is causing this. Hoping to find where Worf belongs, the crew scans the fissure with a subspace differential pulse. While they search, the Enterprise is attacked by a Bajoran ship, and the fissure begins to destabilize. Realities begin to merge into one another, and hundreds of Enterprises appear.

Data realizes the only way to stop this phenomenon is to find Worf's Enterprise and send him back through the fissure to seal it. They manage to locate the right ship, and Worf boards his original shuttlecraft, re-modulated to seal the fissure. Worf soon arrives aboard his Enterprise, happy to finally be home.

www.startrek.com/library/tos_episodes/episodes_tos_detail_68738.asp

Caught in the beginnings of an ion storm, Kirk, McCoy and Uhura interrupt their negotiations with the Halkans for dilithium crystals, to return to the U.S.S. Enterprise. Scotty beams the landing party aboard as a burst from the storm hits the starship. The transporter malfunctions, sending Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura into an alternate universe. In this world, they soon discover the "Galactic Empire" is maintained by fear and assassination. Now, aboard the Imperial Starship Enterprise, the four must find a way to remain undetected until they can return to their own universe.

Meanwhile, the parallel versions of Kirk, Scott, McCoy and Uhura have been beamed on board the positive U.S.S. Enterprise. Their behavior is so different from their counterparts that Spock immediately realizes something is wrong. He had the four imprisoned until the transporter could be checked and repaired.

On the I.S.S. Enterprise, the parallel Chekov is foiled in an attempt to assassinate Kirk. When Kirk refuses to give an order to destroy the Halkans, who have refused to give up their dilithium crystals, the parallel Spock becomes suspicious.

The Imperial Fleet sends a secret message to the parallel Spock, telling him to kill Captain Kirk and assume command of the starship. Finding an unexpected ally in the parallel Spock, Kirk continues to stall while his three comrades gather the information needed to send them back to their own universe.

Parallel Spock has no desire to become captain, and therefore a mark for assassination. Along with Lieutenant Marlena Moreau, who wants the parallel Kirk back because she is "the Captain's woman," they help return the four U.S.S. Enterprise officers to their own world. Before he goes, Kirk talks to the bearded Spock, telling him the advantages of a Federation-like system over the anarchy of this universe. Spock seems almost convinced that he should in fact get rid of his Kirk, seize control of the I.S.S. Enterprise, and manipulate the Imperial Starfleet into working toward a more civilized universe.

www.startrek.com/library/episodes_ds9.asp

After experiencing operational difficulties while traveling through the wormhole, Kira and Bashir find themselves in an alternate universe where the space station is populated by exact doubles of Garak and Odo, and is run by Kira's counterpart, Kira II. In this universe, they have no knowledge of the wormhole, and humans have no rights whatsoever. Because of this, Bashir is sentenced to manual labor, working under the sadistic, human-hating Odo II. Later, Kira II tells Kira about the last crossover, which occurred with Captain Kirk a century ago. That incident led to the formation of a powerful alliance between the Klingon and Cardassian empires in which Bajor is also a major player. Kira II tells Kira that she cannot allow Kira and Bashir to live, but Kira convinces her counterpart to spare them and let her try to find a way back.

Kira steals a moment with Bashir and tells him what she knows. Since a transporter accident caused the last crossover, he thinks they might be able to escape using another one, and tries to talk O'Brien's counterpart into helping him. Unfortunately, the beaten, put-upon Terran has little interest in risking the wrath of his superiors. Meanwhile, Kira almost succeeds in securing Quark II's help, but he is arrested by Garak, Kira II's aide, for helping Terrans escape the station.

Kira then meets Sisko's counterpart, who receives better treatment than the other Terrans because he runs missions for Kira II. Afterwards, Kira II reassures Kira that she has nothing to fear, and suggests they should become closer. Later, Garak II tells Kira that he intends to dispose of Kira II, and that he will let Kira and Bashir escape if she pretends to be Kira II, then resign and allow Garak II to take over. Garak II then reveals Bashir will be killed if she does not comply.

Kira hurries to Bashir and tells him they must find a way back to the Runabout and make their escape through the wormhole. She fills Sisko II in on Garak II's plan, hoping he will help out of loyalty to Kira II, but he is unmoved. That night, Garak II prepares to put his plan into effect at a lavish party thrown for Kira by Kira II. Meanwhile, Bashir is able to take advantage of an accident at the ore-processing plant where he labors, killing Odo II and escaping.

News of Bashir's escape soon reaches the party, while Bashir manages to locate O'Brien's counterpart, who decides to help this time. However, the two are caught and brought to the party to face Kira II. Despite Kira's pleas, Kira II sentences Bashir to death. When she turns to O'Brien II, he makes an impassioned speech, telling the assembled crowd what Bashir has revealed about a universe where Terrans have respect and dignity. His words move Sisko, who turns on Kira II and helps Kira and Bashir to escape. The two return to their universe, leaving Sisko and O'Brien's counterparts to fight for their rights in their own world.

www.startrek.com/library/ds9_episodes/episodes_ds9_detail_68902.asp

Jake can hardly believe his eyes when his father introduces him to a woman who looks, talks and acts exactly like his late mother, Jennifer. She and Sisko reveal that this is Jennifer — at least, her double from a mirror universe which Sisko once visited, where she was married to his now-dead counterpart. Sisko leaves the two of them alone for awhile. But when he returns, Jennifer and Jake are nowhere to be found. All that remains is a small device, which Sisko realizes is used for transport to the mirror universe. He activates it and appears on Terok Nor, the other universe's Deep Space 9, where he meets O'Brien's rebel counterpart and announces he is taking Jake home. Pointing weapons at Sisko, O'Brien replies that neither he nor Jake is going anywhere.

O'Brien tells Sisko they need his help in their fight against the tyrannical Alliance forces. The rebel group built its own Defiant, but is having trouble making the powerful warship operational, and the Alliance is due to attack Terok Nor in four days. Sisko asks to see Jake, who tells his father he came to be with Jennifer. Angry, Sisko takes Jennifer to task for using his son, but still agrees to help. Elsewhere, leading a fleet of Klingon and Cardassian ships, the Alliance Regent, Worf's counterpart, lashes out at Garak's counterpart for losing Terok Nor to the rebels. Garak swears his loyalty as they prepare to take back the station.

Sisko meets up with the counterpart for Kira, once Terok Nor's leader but now a prisoner of the rebels. Meanwhile, Worf learns about the Defiant's construction and increases the fleet's speed to the station. Back on Terok Nor, Jake grows more fond of Jennifer, despite Sisko's concerns, and Jennifer reveals to Sisko that she can't stop thinking of Jake as the son she'll never have. Their moment is interrupted by news that the Alliance fleet is less than eight hours away.

Needing another plan, Sisko asks Kira for help, reminding her that Worf and the Alliance probably blame her for the loss of Terok Nor. Kira tells Sisko that Alliance ships have targeting systems that are easily fooled, information he uses to create a diversion while finishing work on the Defiant. Jennifer assists him and talks about her deepening bond with Jake, then decides to return the child to Deep Space 9 and out of harm's way. The Defiant now ready, Sisko volunteers to lead its rebel crew in battle. Meanwhile, Jennifer prepares to send Jake home. But the pair encounters the evil Kira, who has now escaped and trains her weapon on them.

Kira plans to take Jennifer as a hostage in order to get back into the Regent's good graces — then prepares to fire on Jake. But Jennifer jumps into the line of fire, struck to the ground by the blast. Learning the truth about Jake and Jennifer's connection, Kira spares his life — but promises to collect on this debt later. Back on the Defiant, Sisko, O'Brien and the rebel crew force Worf and the Alliance to retreat after a fierce battle. Sisko returns to Terok Nor, but arrives to find Jake at Jennifer's deathbed. She summons the strength to wish him goodbye, then dies, leaving father and son to deal with her loss a second painful time.

www.startrek.com/library/voy_episodes/episodes_voy_detail_68892.asp

As Voyager enters a plasma cloud to evade approaching Vidiian ships, Ensign Wildman goes into labor and delivers a baby girl. But as the crew emerges from the cloud, a series of astounding events occur: the warp engines stall, the antimatter supplies drain, and proton bursts cause a hull breach. What's more, Kim is sucked out into space, Kes vanishes in a mysterious void, and Wildman's baby dies.

As the hull breach widens, the ship is forced to run on emergency power. Another proton burst hits and Chakotay orders everyone off the bridge. To her surprise, Janeway sees herself walk across the bridge, which she assumes is a spatial fluctuation caused by their passage through the plasma cloud. Janeway visits Wildman in Sickbay and admires her newborn baby, who appears to be fine. The crew also beams aboard an unconscious patient who's identical to Kes.

This Kes "double" reports the same series of astounding occurrences, which leads Janeway to speculate that there's another Voyager nearby. Apparently, a divergence field has caused all sensor readings to double and every particle on the ship to duplicate. Unfortunately, there isn't enough antimatter to sustain both vessels. Janeway alerts the other Voyager crew, led by a duplicate Janeway. After a merger of the ships fails, Janeway decides to go over to the other ship through the void Kes disappeared into.

The two Janeways meet and strategize their options. The captain of the more heavily damaged Voyager proposes to self-destruct her ship and crew to save the other Voyager. With the Vidiians closing in, the two captains know they must act quickly or both ships and crews will be destroyed. Meanwhile, the Vidiians board one of the Voyagers.

Desperate to steal healthy organs to help battle a plague known as the Phage, the Vidiians begin attacking crewmembers. One of the Janeway captains decides to act. She sets her ship on self-destruct and orders the duplicate Kim to take Wildman's baby through the void. The Vidiians are destroyed when the duplicate Voyager explodes, while Kim, the baby and the other Voyager crew are saved.

www.stargate-sg1.com/home/episodes/s1.html

Synopsis: While exploring an alien Stargate complex on P3R233, a world that appears to have been destroyed by the Goa'uld, Daniel Jackson discovers a slab that, when activated, turns into a shimmering mirror. He touches the mirror and gets a mild jolt but thinks nothing of it until he returns through the Stargate. Then, he finds himself in an alternate reality, a place that looks like Earth but where nothing is quite as it was. The most distressing difference is that this world is under attack by the Goa'ulds, who have wiped out half-a-billion people and are about to capture the Stargate Command. O'Neill faces-off against Teal'c, who in this reality is still loyal to the Goa'uld, and Daniel tries to escape through the Stargate with information that may save his world from the fate of this alternate reality.

www.stargate-sg1.com/home/episodes/s3.html

Synopsis : SGC is taken aback when an alternate reality version of Samantha Carter and the deceased Major Kawalsky are found in a secured building in top secret Area 51. To transport themselves to our present day Earth, they used the Quantum Mirror (previously seen in "There But For The Grace of God"). When the alternate Carter and Kawalsky are taken to SGC for debriefing, they can't believe how different everything is in this reality. Here Colonel Jack O'Neill is alive, whereas in their alternate reality he was married to Dr. Carter before his recent death at the hands of the Goa'uld. Teal'c is an ally rather than the enemy, Major Kawalsky has been dead for several months, and their Samantha Carter is a Major who is identical in appearance with the exception of her short hair.

Dr. Carter begins to suffer from temporal distortion, a side effect caused by travel through the quantum mirror. Major Carter determines that Dr. Carter and Major Kawalsky will die unless they are returned to their alternate reality. Unfortunately in their reality, the Goa'uld are swarming the SGC and returning means certain death. SG-1 must use their present day resources and knowledge to return with their new acquaintances and overthrow the Goa'uld.

(Note: before jumping on these ideas, keep in mind that they might be used in a movie coming out next year. Please contact me to find out if these ideas have been used or rejected for other options. I can always invent something else if you wish to do things differently.)

Yes, there is such a thing as almost infinite amount of energy contained in the vacuum of space, anywhere. And most likely we will be able to tap into this energy pretty soon. You could use this as the energy you need to open a rift to another world. It is called Zero-Point Energy (ZPE) and you can read all about it here:

You could also talk about cold fusion, which is a nuclear reaction produced in a test tube without any heat. But it was in the movie The Saint and the science to explain it at the moment is at an all time low. Nobody believes in it. Apparently people were able to do it but never to reproduce it. Nanotechnology could not be of help. It is basically very small robots that could in theory build something or rebuild something, from bio matter to industrial construction. I cannot really see this as helping you to open a rift to another universe.

Here is how you justify everything: your device will use the Zero-Point Energy produced by virtual particle fluctuations in the vacuum of space in order to create a multitude of microscopic wormholes by which matter can travel to a parallel universe. This is so great because the energy we are talking about concerns the energy of virtual particles in space that we cannot see and that flicker in and out of existence into perhaps a parallel universe. Isn’t this wonderful? Your character could have invented a way to use this energy in order to open a multitude of microscopic wormholes capable of shifting someone into a parallel universe, particle by particle. What is interesting is that where the energy comes from is where the micro-wormholes will be created, in the vacuum of space. It is a match made in heaven.

I don’t believe now that an antigravity device would be your best solution. Right now you would be tapping into the energy from the virtual particles contained in the vacuum of space (quantum fluctuations) in order to open a multitude of micro-wormholes. You are basically sending all the particles of someone into these micro-wormholes into a parallel universe. You found a way with a device contained in a suitcase to create those micro-wormholes that are a rift or window to a parallel universe. It could be a very nice high-tech suitcase like in the movie Deadzone when the President pushes a button to send the missiles to Russia.

There could be some buttons in the metallic suitcase and some sort of price gun (code bar reader) like the ones we see in grocery stores when they read the code bar. This gun could be attached to the suitcase by a twisted phone cord. What is needed to start the machine: set the frequency at which matter should vibrate or you could say the frequency at which the parallel universe is vibrating (this is in order to make sure they go to the right parallel universe) and sort of scan the person with the code bar reader in order to open the micro-wormholes that will disintegrate the person and send him or her into the parallel universe. I guess he should also scan the suitcase and anyone else he wishes to bring along in order to get everyone and everything he wants with him. Of course, all this is only limited by your imagination and your special effects department. You could use a laser gun if you wish and vaporize the persons and things you wish to send to the other universe.

 Zero-Point Energy Important Facts

Zero point energy has been called "the ultimate quantum free lunch" (Science, Vol. 275, 1/10/97). During the early years of quantum mechanics, Paul Dirac theorized that the vacuum was actually filled with particles in negative energy states (Proc. R. Soc. London A, 126, 360, 1930) thus giving rise to the concept of the "physical vacuum" which is not empty at all. Quantum mechanics also predicted that invisible particles could become materialized for a short time and that these virtual particle appearances should exert a force that is measurable.

Recently, ZPE was mentioned in Science (Vol. 282, Dec. 18, 1998, p. 2157) in an article called the "Breakthrough of the Year." Two teams of astronomers have confirmed that distant galaxies are accelerating apart. Furthermore, 2/3 of all astronomers now acknowledge the data as valid. Thus the cosmological constant envisioned by Einstein is being reconsidered and an antigravity force being postulated. Physicists have also interpreted the force as "the evanescent particles that flicker in and out of existence in ‘empty’ space that gives space its springiness, shoving it apart." Scientific American seems to agree ("Cosmological Antigravity", January, 1999, p. 53): "The aggregate energy represented by these ‘virtual’ particles, like other forms of energy, could exert a gravitational force, which could be either attractive or repulsive depending on physical principles that are not yet understood." The cosmological constant represents energy inherent in space itself and coincidentally is almost exactly equal to the average density of ordinary matter in the universe (10^-29 gm/cc), at this particular time in its evolution.

Dr. Forward subscribes to the classical notion that there is no known limit to the electromagnetic wavelength or frequency in the vacuum. What we see from Dr. Puthoff's approach to this is that he supports the majority view of a cutoff, which is based on Sakharov's work. The cutoff frequency (perhaps considering hf=mc²) is called the Planck frequency which is around 10⁴³ Hertz. This opposes what we see as far as Moray King (in the book, Tapping the Zero Point Energy) and Dr. Forward saying that there is an infinite amount of energy available. In a later section we will see that Dr. Puthoff's theory derives gravity, inertia, heat, and also electricity directly from ZPE considerations. In Dr. Forward's paper, he suggests using micro-fabricated sandwiches of ultrafine metal dielectric layers. He also points out that ZPE seems to have a definite potential as an energy source.

History was made on 12-31-96 when for the first time ever, ZPE was the subject of a U. S. patent (#5,590,031). Dr. Frank Mead, from Edwards AFB, has designed receivers to be spherical collectors of zero point radiation with hemisphere reflectors of beat frequencies. He states that

"zero point electromagnetic radiation energy which may potentially be used to power interplanetary craft as well as provide for society’s other needs has remained unharnessed."

Proposing to convert zero point electromagnetic radiation to electrical energy, […]

This is what I found in a book called “Achilles in the Quantum Universe” by Richard Morris in order to justify these microscopic wormholes you can use to justify how we can travel to a parallel universe:

Page 200:

          Don't forget, there is no such thing as "empty" space. Virtual particles are constantly being created and destroyed everywhere. The vacuum is filled with the quantum fields associated with these particles. Further­more, energy, which can be calculated, is associated with all this activity. When this calculation is performed, the self-energy of the vacuum turns out to be enormous. Since mass and energy are equivalent, this energy should give rise to huge gravitational forces. These forces would not vary with distance; on the contrary, they would be the same everywhere. In other words, there would be a cosmological constant.

          When Einstein conceived of the cosmological constant, he associated it with repulsive forces. The constant can be either positive or negative, however, and the forces associated with it can be either attractive or re­pulsive. The forces associated with quantum fluctuations in the vacuum should be so great that the universe should never have been able to ex­pand beyond microscopic dimensions. One could say that accepted sci­entific theory predicts that the dimensions of the universe should be much smaller than those of an atomic nucleus.

          In 1988, the Harvard physicist Sidney Coleman published a paper en­titled "Why There Is Nothing Rather than Something" in which he pointed out that if microscopic wormholes connected our universe with an infinite number of other universes, then particles could presumably pass through the wormholes during their brief existence. Coleman calcu­lated that this would have the effect of exactly canceling out the cosmo­logical constant in our universe.

          Coleman's results created a great deal of excitement within the theo­retical physics community. He had found the first real evidence that other universes might exist. He had certainly not established their real­ity beyond any doubt. After all, his evidence was highly theoretical in na­ture. But he had shown that the assumption that other universes were real could lead to a solution to one of the most baffling problems of theoreti­cal physics.

Page 201-202:

[…]

          Stephen Hawking says that particles may acquire certain properties because they are constantly traveling to other universes through wormholes. Hawking points out that if particles are able to disappear into and emerge from wormholes, their masses will be greater than if the particles always remained within the same universe. Further­more, there would be similar effects on the particles' charge. If microscopic wormholes exist, they cannot be seen. Thus if an elec­tron traveled through a wormhole to another universe, it would seem to suddenly disappear. Again, this is something that is not observed. Elec­trons just don't suddenly vanish. But this does not contradict Hawking's theory, which is a theory of particle exchange. According to Hawking when an electron leaves our universe, a second electron emerges from the wormhole. Neither universe gains or loses an electron; they simply exchange particles with one another.

          Every electron is identical to every other electron. They all have the same charge and the same mass. Thus wormhole exchange is a process that cannot be directly observed. As far as we are concerned, an electron was there a moment ago, and it is still there now. There is no way of knowing whether it is the same electron or a different one. However, if calculations were performed that gave the correct values for the elec­tron's properties, such as mass and charge, we would have real evidence that wormholes and other universes existed.

          As I write this, such calculations have not been successfully carried out. All I can say is that it is possible to conjecture that particles might acquire charges and masses in this way. Naturally, there are other possi­bilities. For example, if the laws of physics vary from universe to uni­verse, particle charge and mass might be matters of chance. It could be that in some universes the proton weighs 1,836 times as much as an elec­tron, and in others it weighs five times as much. On the other hand, it could turn out that quantum mechanics and yet-to-be-developed particle theories will tell us that some values of charge and mass are more prob­able than others. As I write this, speculation about such matters has hardly begun. As a result, it is possible to do little more than cite the dif­ferent possibilities.

Not so very long ago, the concept of alternate realities was encountered only in science fiction. Today, the idea of the existence of an infinity of other universes, some of which may be very different from our own, is an ingredient of respectable scientific thought. As we have seen, no one knows whether such universes really exist, but the assumption they do allows us to deal with problems that would otherwise seem intractable. If there are other universes, the fact that the existence of life seems to de­pend on so many improbable coincidences seems less puzzling. If there are other universes, it may explain why the cosmological constant is so small. And if there are other universes, we may eventually discover why subatomic particles have certain properties. Scientists may even find out why the physical laws they have been studying for many centuries have the particular character they do.

You could explain the alternate universe as an antimatter universe which is the reflection of the universe made of normal matter, but at the moment in Quantum Physics everybody is talking about an infinite amount of parallel universes. This is what can be deducted from the fact that a particle can be at many places at once. And you never know, if there is a sequel to your movie or TV series, you might want to involve many parallel universes. Better keep your doors open.

As well, you would limit yourself a lot by saying that if a character from one universe meets his counterpart in another universe then they will annihilate each other. You could always say I suppose that the balance of matter in each parallel universe is important otherwise the whole universe could collapse. But to my knowledge there is nothing in science that could support that. There is always the possible cosmological constant of Einstein that is near zero and could change the laws of physics as we know it if more matter suddenly goes from one universe to the other, but I would not venture to say that. The whole purpose of the movie or the episode is to be able to go from one parallel universe to the other. Why would you want to impose limitations on yourself that could prevent you to do things in future scripts? As well, I think one human could not make a big difference considering all the matter there is in the universe.

Of course all the sci-fi stuff and the technology can be secondary, only a mean to tell a good story. Like Star Trek The Next Generation. It is as much about love, friendship, humanity, acceptance, rites of passage and sociology than science fiction. It has been said that Star Trek was a soap set in space. Get rid of the ship and technology and you still pretty much have the same stories and feelings. I suppose this is a positive thing, it is very important to have a good story and a good script. Let me say one thing though. Parallels from The Next Generation was 10 times better than the episodes Crossover and Shattered Mirror from Deep Space Nine because in TNG we could feel the science, it was explained to us. The science was more than a mean to tell a story, science was the story. That makes great sci-fi.

If you are looking for ways to oblige your character to go back to its own universe, I suppose you could still use my previous ideas and say that having opened a rift between two worlds renders those two worlds unstable. Also someone who goes into micro-wormholes might not be in perfect health once in a parallel universe. Strange things could happen to him.

Other possibilities, our micro-wormholes could only stay open for a certain amount of time and then you would lose your chance to ever go back to the original universe. If you were to use the device again, there is no way you could end up in the parallel universe of your choice. You could end up in a totally different universe instead (like if choosing where you go would be out of your control). So in that case you would not necessarily need the device again in order to get back to the original universe, the doorway or rift could still be open for 72 hours for example. You could still need the device I suppose to get the person to go through the micro-wormholes. But if the micro-wormholes shut for good, activating the machine again would bring you into a totally different parallel universe.

You could still talk about compromising the two realities, micro-wormholes could join together and create a bigger wormhole exerting strong gravitational or electromagnetic fields.

Or even the micro-wormholes could join together to form a black hole capable of swallowing the Earth of one parallel universe and spit it back into the other parallel universe via a white hole. Or both parallel universes could have a huge black hole linked together by a wormhole with a singularity in the middle crushing everything from both universes (or part of the universe anyway). Or strong gravitational and electromagnetic fields coming out of the micro-wormholes could affect the planet, the magnetic poles and the weather system. Both worlds could also annihilate each other like a particle and an anti-particle canceling each other out, but I don’t like this idea too much as, like I said before, we do not have here a universe made of matter and another one made of antimatter. We have many parallel universes existing on their own rights and they are made of the same stuff.

You could still talk about compromising the two realities, micro-wormholes could join together and create a bigger wormhole exerting strong gravitational and electromagnetic fields and eventually develop into the beginning of a black hole on each side of the wormhole. So it would be small at the beginning and could develop into swallowing the whole planet and solar system if not closed in time with the device. So both parallel universes will have the beginning of a black hole linked together by a wormhole with a singularity in the middle crushing everything that is sucked in there.

Of course there is a way to send everyone back in the black hole/wormhole as you can read below in the excerpt from the book HyperSpace from Michio Kaku. In the movie, I guess that going right in the middle of where the whole reversed tornado is happening could be the solution. In the movie The Philadelphia Experiment they use this heavy truck, almost a tank, in order to stay on land in order to reach the center of the funnel while the wormhole is sucking everything. Then they get out of this heavy truck and get sucked right in the middle, so they end up not being crushed by the singularity.

I would also have the effect of the black hole localized to where the rift has been open. Remember that we are talking about a baby black hole otherwise the planet would not stand a chance, it would be sucked in in no time. I would not make it global but I would say that if it continues like that, the whole planet will be sucked in and crushed at the singularity inside the black hole.

The effect of the micro-wormholes and having all the atoms of someone vanish into those micro-wormholes should be interesting enough as it should not be like in Sliders. When the micro-wormholes collapse together to form a bigger wormhole, you would then have something like a funnel, small at the beginning, that brings any small object inside with the wind. Then it would grow bigger like a huge funnel and then I think it should be from above your head and you could see wonderful images like a reversed tornado in which many things would be sucked into. At this point I believe you should go and rent or buy the movie Philadelphia Experiment (the first movie) because I believe this is the best image of a wormhole we have seen. The whole place is like a tornado, deserted as many things are already gone in the wormhole. Houses, buildings, etc. Even the images on the computer in Philadelphia Experiment are wonderful and you could get inspiration from that. Here is an image of how the two universes would be linked together and could be represented on a computerized image in the movie (it is from the book of Michio Kaku called HyperSpace):

This morning on the British television there was an episode of Stargate SG-1 that, if you get the chance to rent or buy, might be useful to your script.

If you decided to have a black hole near the Earth, then this episode shows you great images (better than the Philadelphia Experiment) and might give you some ideas.

Note that this episode is not about parallel universes, neither is Stargate SG-1 as a whole, but they do use wormholes and wormholes are a convenient way of going to parallel universes. Wormholes are not the only way in order to go to a parallel universe, you could just as easily have a window like a mirror in a frame. That is what they did in the episode Point of View of Stargate SG-1, they use an alien technology that opens a Quantum Mirror (as mentioned before). I do not believe that they explain how this Quantum Mirror works, but the use of the word Quantum is often thrown at us to justify the existence of parallel universes because it is at the quantum level (atomic world) that we have the only proof that parallel universes might exist.

www.stargate-sg1.com/home/episodes/s2.html

Synopsis: While attempting to save the members of SG-10 from a black hole on planet P3X 451, the SG-1 team activates the Stargate and exposes themselves to the hole's gravitational pull. Trying to break free, the team shuts down the gate's power and in the ensuing explosions Teal'c and Daniel are badly injured. Even without power the black hole's gravity continues to draw the SGC closer to the swirling wormhole. With the intense gravity field warping the space/time continuum, the SGC loses contact with the outside world and the Pentagon sends O'Neill's former mate Colonel Cromwell to investigate. Cromwell is tormented with guilt for deserting O'Neill during a Soviet mission and volunteers to partner him in the attempt to save the SGC. Time slows to a near stand-still inside the SGC, where only O'Neill and Cromwell are left. Carter scrambles for a solution before the SGC and then the Earth are torn apart by the black hole's gravitational tides.