Science

Here is an ongoing table explaining the bits of quantum theory I will be using, alongside the way I am going to use them in the story. It should help me keep track of what science is going where!

Science	Story
Alice and Bob are often used to explain different concepts in quantum theory, especially when talking about information transfer.	They will be your companions in the virtual world, and at times you will see them in the distance, carrying out thought experiments.
The twins paradox – if you travel close to the speed of light, you age more slowly because time slows down.	The ‘ending’ of one of the stories can be that you get on a very fast spaceship and return to find that everyone is long gone
Quantum tunnelling – alpha particles can escape the nucleus of an atom which they should be tightly bound into, due to the fact that there is a finite possibility that they are actually located outside it	If the world was one where quantum effect were much more important, you might be able to run through walls. This might be a good use of a random number generator…
Schrodinger’s cat/wavefunction collapse – things exist in two states at once until someone observes them. So the cat is both alive and dead until you look at it, at which point the wavefunction collapses, and the cat is either dead or alive	Your observation could change the way the story goes – there’s a choice to either look or not look, and looking might kill something/cause something undesirable
Liquid helium is a weird liquid that can flow up the sides of containers, or squeeze through impossibly small holes.	The reader could experience reverse waterfalls and streams.