Charlotte Hobson - The Vanishing Futurist

This is the reality of our universe – a state of Atomic Communism, in which we are all inextricably enmeshed in the lives of not only our fellow men, but of the entire world of living and non-living beings. It is a world that needs no biblical God to fill us with a sense of unutterable wonder, nor any priest to convince us of our duty towards it. It is also a world that holds out to us, in its benevolence, the possibility of harmony – not in the far future, but now, in the present. And this harmony is based on the laws of quantum physics, on the inalienable truths of our universe.

In my own laboratory I have made a series of studies of the electromagnetic radiation that is associated with a state of psychological harmony, and those associated with disharmony. My experiments have taken place under proper laboratory conditions without the prior knowledge of the subjects. While they were in the psychological state that I have termed ‘Chaos’ – i.e. exhibiting signs of distress, pain and fear – I tested the quantum energy states within their brain cells; and equally in the psychological state I have termed ‘Order’ – i.e. calmness, happiness, comfort.

The frequencies of ‘Chaos’ showed a marked dissimilarity across the group, as you will see from my results; while, to my astonishment, the frequencies associated with ‘Order’ oscillated within a range of 0.0007 h (where h is the Planck constant).

When Tolstoy remarked, ‘All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way’, he little realised that his insight was correct even at the level of quantum neurology.

My findings have led me to a further course of study on which I am now engaged. If, as seems to be the case, we have identified the frequency associated with ‘Order’ at the subatomic level in the human brain, then our next step is to ascertain a method of stabilising the oscillation of the brain particles within this range of frequencies. I am currently engaged in building a Socialisation Capsule, a brain-stimulation chamber of radical accuracy that will create in the brain a steady state denoting ‘Order’. Under this stimulus the brain particles will not only achieve a stable, sustainable mode but will remain oscillating at this frequency for some time, probably months or years, thereafter.

There are various outcomes that may result from this experiment:

In the most conservative, subjects exhibiting the state of Order will be able to work in varied and creative ways towards the establishment of an external state of Order. The experiment will continue on a larger and larger scale, following the mass production of the Socialisation Capsules, and the influence of the Socialised (as they may be known) will spread throughout human society.

A second possible result involves the natural spread of the state of Order at a subatomic level; within the vast, united web of particles that is our world, a reaction takes place, the ‘Socialist’ frequency is inevitably communicated from particle to particle at the speed of light and alters our planet utterly and instantaneously.

A third possible result concerns the complex nature of light particles, which, it is increasingly suspected, may also apply to electrons and even all particles – the wave-particle duality – which inserts a new level of uncertainty into our knowledge of the Universe. Before being measured, energy, it is suggested, may occupy a type of unknowable, unmeasurable stage between wave and particle. Bizarre though this may sound, it may be that they are impossible to track because they are in fact not a part of our universe at these moments. There are other versions of reality, other dimensions, with which we perhaps share matter; our matter, far from existing solidly in our world, flickers between an infinite number of worlds that all co-exist within this universe. And in this multitude of other realities, all the possibilities thrown up by our reality are played out; every unchosen path is taken, every unsaid word is spoken.

Among these dimensions there is, undoubtedly, a Communist reality; a world where man has lived in harmony with his fellow man since the beginning of history. It is quite possible, therefore, that the Socialisation Capsule will do more than just create a beneficial mindset in patients. If our particles, under the influence of the Capsule, begin to oscillate at the correct frequency for Communism, it follows that we, particle-entities, will immediately be transported to the reality of which this frequency is the dominant feature. We will cease to exist in the reality that is dominated by ‘Chaos’. We will exist, instead, in the reality of ‘Order’.

Our Time Travel will carry us instantly not to another Age, nor another Place, but another Now.

In the first frosty days of November 1918, Slavkin came to one of our evening meetings with a request.

‘My dear ones,’ he said diffidently, ‘you understand that what I am asking you now is quite outside the daily demands made on you as members of this commune. If any of you don’t want to take part in this enterprise, I understand. It is for you to choose.’

He produced a piece of paper and began to read from it: ‘Tin sheeting, iron bars, copper wire, acid – these are some of the materials that I will need for my new project. If you could help me to assemble them, I assure you you’ll be performing a great service for the Revolution.’

We gazed at him without a word. I expect our mouths dropped open. Was it possible that he had not noticed the state of the city outside the house on Gagarinsky Lane? Moscow was returning to the Neolithic age, people were eating rat, and he was talking about bringing home iron bars? Railings all over the city had already been sawn off and carted away, first for one war and then the next. It was a capital offence to steal firewood, let alone the things Slavkin was after.

‘I already have a basic engine, which will need modifying, of course, and I have a good part of the metal necessary. What I list here is perhaps 25 per cent of the total,’ he went on, looking hopefully at us.

‘Is this for the Socialisation Capsule?’ asked Sonya.

‘Yes. It’s about the size of a bathtub. Rather a long one, with a lid – you lie down in it,’ replied Slavkin. ‘There is one more thing, too, that I need. Something that I know we can get hold of quite simply.’

‘What’s that – Lenin’s balls?’ Volodya said, laughing. ‘Camel, you’re quite something, you are. Even if by some miracle you get hold of this stuff, we’ll all be shot on the spot for harbouring it at home!’

‘Oh, no, that’s something I’ve taken care of,’ he said. ‘I have a licence here for my workshop from Lunacharsky. You remember he complimented me on my work at the Centre? I went to him and asked for support. Any work I do here will be listed on the jobs list of the Narkompros. He’s including it, in fact, in the anniversary celebrations for the October Revolution – as a way to allow us to requisition scarce materials. He was very accommodating.’

‘But what is the other thing you want us to pilfer for you?’ asked Fyodor.

‘Well, it’s nothing we haven’t managed to obtain before – just a little iridium.’

Iridium had an almost mystical significance for him, a fascination that had begun in childhood. The success of the Socialisation Capsule seemed to depend entirely on its properties – its extreme density, its resistance to any kind of manipulation, heat or corrosion. He would often talk of it as ‘noble’, in the alchemical sense: ‘Most true and noble metal, essence of metal, ideal element,’ he wrote. ‘With a shield of iridium, my Capsule will withstand any pressure. It will be invincible.’

Increasingly fantastic accounts of Slavkin’s childhood have appeared in the years since he became the Vanishing Futurist. It’s been claimed that he was a child prodigy who made his first inventions as a toddler; that he was the son of Bolshevik exiles in Siberia – even the son of Stalin. He never talked a great deal about it to us – just the occasional remark – but he did write his ‘Revolutionary Development’, that I suppose must now be a rather valuable document. Here, in his own words, he briefly describes his early years. Far from being acclaimed as a prodigy, he was formed by hardship, loneliness – and iridium.