Lab proceedures and feedback mechanisms

“Where is the signal from?” “Don't you mean when?”

That was the problem with the chrono-lab. You always had to ask both, and running into yesterday's, or tomorrow's, experiment was always a issue.

It was found that it was advantageous to move the equipment on a regular basis, so both questions could be answered at the same time. Every experiment the source signal was moved, every day the secondary equipment was shifted, every week the power supply was hauled around, every month the room was changed, every year the building was changed.

All related experiments were catalogued and set to non interference values. Future experiments were doled out like website addresses once were, just so things could stay relatively organized.

Every breakthrough lead to a complete overhaul of the system, and lower level paradoxes were allowed to be dissected at less secure facilities. The energy levels required were astronomical, so the fear of changes to the history books was out of the question.

Still, it seemed that someone further along in the time-line had been shaping things in a certain direction. Subtle effects could be seen in certain writings, as more powerful tools were skipped back along the time-line.

Blueprints were leaked from the future as procedures were applied to the past. As certain hypothesis and standards were made public, time-lines became more flexible as it was shown that all 'versions' of a persons work were shown to be respected.

While it was the future that had control of the equipment, it was the past that was in charge of the pace. Subjects had to demonstrate an aptitude for the theories before various insertions were made, lest any macro disturbance detract from what their perceived contribution was made.

Once it was shown that low level activity produced the desired effect, and influenced writings were 'fixed' in the development, more ambitious experiments were cleared.

It was shown that the past was just as fluid as the present, and that non-linear time meant that all contributions were equally valid. An experiment in 2050 could be suggested by someone in 2014 and the results would change what happened in 2030.

It seemed that a balance had been struck between the various parties, and that progress was only to be made by keeping all groups in the loop.

Quantum Crystal Lenses in Non-Linear Time

It was shortly after 2 pm. Everything had crystallized once again. The patterns were stable – but also dull and immoveable. The randomization had once again been reduced to a background noise. The two conditions were incomparable with each other.

The crystals required a chronological neutral framework which was easily strengthened by the light of the sun. Due to the interference, the network showed little activity at this point in the day. The growth was best if left to self-reinforce over weeks, months, or even years, but that would ruin the other half of the experiment.

At night, the shapes dissolved into their more fluid form, and mixed freely with each other. Different harmonics were applied to the substance, and the different patterns were recorded, stored, then the energies were changed.

The variations seemed to be nearly unlimited, but most of them could quickly be dismissed as having little actual function. Still, with no specific goals in mind, they were recorded nontheless.

The team reflected back on the birth of the program. It had taken a long time to get the combination of substances correct. Many of the elements only seemed to show the desired properties when in the presence of three or more other ingredients. The proportions were flexible, but again, certain combinations were more sensitive to the energies involved.

Initially, they wanted the experiment to be entirely inorganic, but sterilization proved to be counter-productive. As long as the organisms involved were limited to a certain concentration, their effects were less disruptive than trying to remove them. In fact, the lifecycles of the creatures proved to be a secondary method for measurements of the non-standard chronological disturbances.

The experiment continued on till it was clear that a free-fall scenario would be required in getting the proper measurements of the ideal frequencies. Though the liquid suspension was helpful, it was obvious that the gravitational component was having it's own effect on the resultant shapes. Still, it was more than sufficient for weeding out most of the variables.

It was also theorized that the near absolute zero temperatures would enable the growth of different types of stable crystals – ones that didn't require a chronologically neutral environment. A Bose-Einstein condensate might be able to alleviate some of the difficulties encountered at higher temperatures.

Schroedinger's Coin Flip

The experiment was set up thusly: A room with a camera and a computer arm and voice synthesizer an experimenter for the computer and an observer. The experimenter would put a coin in the robots hand and it would flip the coin. If possible it picks up the coin from flip to flip. It would call out the coin based on a single 'ping' from the observer who inputs the future source set slightly after the experiment. There is a table outside the room with a tv which replays the experiment and provides the buttons for the heads/tails 'ping'. It also has an 'abort' button which disables the arm, which is generally used after the experiment to reset the detector for the next trial.

The first twenty trials are two coins tosses, then twenty trials with three coin flips (etc)

The experimenter goes through the first twenty trials without much trouble. However the third coin toss never happens, the signal for the reset button is too strong and the machine is conditioned to two trials before resetting.

The experiment is reset, using the minimal voltage for the reset button to clear the state. The experiment goes well for the next 20 two flip trials, but the experimenter is conditioned to end the trial after two flips. The machine, now fixed, is ready to flip the coin a third time. They both reach for the coin at the same time and the experimenters hand is stabbed by the computer arm.

The observer goes outside to record the results. He pushes the buttons for the first two flips and, not wanting to watch the experimenters hand get stabbed again, decides to hit the reset button.

The experimenter leaves the room his hand now undamaged, wondering why the observer decided to abort the experiment after only two coin tosses, when they were clearly on the third.

They replay the video and it shows the experimenter's hand being damaged, even though it is not.

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As with the Schroedinger cat experiment, measurements are in a state of flux until observed. The observation of the hand injury in no way forces that event to happen, it is merely one quantum state. Back influence on the experiment with the reset button is equally valid as long as there is an alternate observation. The experimenter leaving the room with the undamaged hand proves the validity of that quantum state. The temporal split happens when the observer has the choice on whether or not to hit the reset button after seeing the second flip.