Lift, page 1
PRAISE FOR
“An outstanding achievement … Ray Anderson’s extraordinary grasp of mathematics, music, and human behavior are all on display here … His world-building is impressive, and yet the all-too-human players in this tale don’t become lost in it. The natural reactions among many of the characters as the stakes go up coalesce into conflict or cooperation, and the doomsday clock keeps ticking toward what may be its final chime.”
—Vincent H. O’Neil, author of Glory Main, book one of The Sim War series
“So much science fiction rests on the caveat at the core of Mary Shelley’s progenitor novel Frankenstein: ‘Watch what you wish for.’ For over two hundred years this cautionary theme has infused the genre with the warning not to tamper with nature, human or otherwise.
Lift is a mind-bending and brilliantly engaging twist on that theme, suggesting that human nature be altered to set it free from the so-called ‘Curse of Cane’—murder and war.
Set in the year 2489, the world is at the threshold of World War IV and inching toward extinction. Because it is believed that violence is ‘embedded in our psyche,’ mathematicians decide that the only way to eliminate the self-sabotaging evil is to devise an optimal language that eliminates miscommunications and misunderstandings among people of diverse cultures.
An ingenious concept, Lift clearly and meticulously demonstrates how mathematics, linguistics, and music theory coalesce to save the species. Thus, humans can join the galactic community of other species which have long conquered their violent nature.
Brilliantly researched and well-crafted, the novel’s title refers to a scientific breakthrough that allows for a finite number of historical individuals to be resurrected or ‘lifted’ into the present. Euclid, Bach, Marie Currie, Jonas Salk and other great thinkers help fabricate a language that obviates ‘the virus of evil.’
The title Lift also refers to the literal upward movement to the stars as well as an apotheosis of the human race based on humanity evolving out of its own bestial nature. This is a must-read piece of speculative fiction that accomplishes what the best of the genre does well—educate, entertain, and inspire [a] new way of thinking.”
—Gary Braver, bestselling and award-winning author of Rumor of Evil
ALSO BY RAY ANDERSON
The Trail
Sierra
The Divide
The Rise of Mathe-Lingua-Musica
Ray Anderson
KEYLIGHT BOOKS
AN IMPRINT OF TURNER PUBLISHING COMPANY
Nashville, Tennessee
www.turnerpublishing.com
Lift: The Rise of Mathe-Lingua-Musica
Copyright © 2024 by Ray Anderson. All rights reserved.
This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover design by Archie Ferguson
Book design by William Ruoto
Author photo by Donnat C. Mitchell
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Anderson, Ray, 1942- author.
Title: Lift : the rise of M-L-M / Ray Anderson.
Description: Nashville, Tennessee : Turner Publishing Company, 2024.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022050680 (print) | LCCN 2022050681 (ebook) | ISBN 9781684429660 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781684429677 (paperback) | ISBN 9781684429684 (epub)
Subjects: LCGFT: Science fiction. | Novels.
Classification: LCC PS3601.N54475 L54 2024 (print) | LCC PS3601.N54475 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23/eng/20230714
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022050680
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022050681
Printed in Canada
To—
All Mathematicians, Linguists, Musicians, and admirers thereof.
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
World Council of Mathematicians:
Juanita Colleen Popov—Chairperson, expert in number theory and primes. Internationally acclaimed harpist.
Yoganda Sein Anand—Specialist in game theory. Psycholinguist, fluent in nineteen languages.
Sean Pablo Boucher—Expert in fractal and chaos theory. Eidetic memory.
Wang Chen De Costa—Leading mathematician in computer simulations. International Bridge champion.
Sven Olaf Gunderson—Specialist in quantum theory. Leading topologist and discoverer of the Minus Three Dimension.
Joiacham Aaron Heinz Reed—Expert in probability and metamathematics. Author of Dragoon fantasy series. Born on First Moon Colony.
Katherine Sorche Tuan—Specialist in bio-mathematics and nano-technology. Former Random-Fisher, 3-d, world chess champion.
World ARMY:
General Roy Braun—Chief, Graduate Powell Military Academy
General Janice Osteen—Graduate Powell Military Academy, 7th-degree black belt, karate
Students:
Charles Wang De Costa—Student, mathematics academy, 16-year-old son of Wang Chen De Costa
Andrica Saint-Saens—Charles’s girlfriend, student, mathematics academy
Conrad—Charles’s rival, student, mathematics academy
Other Characters:
Veced Lobashevsky—Russian peasant, puzzle solver, Liftee
Pauperito—Italian servant, discovered by Leonardo da Vinci, Liftee
Helena Kosovsky—Pupil of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Liftee
Magnuson—Mathematician, discovered and enabled Lobashevsky, Liftee
PROLOGUE
THE WORLD COUNCIL OF MATHEMATICIANS (WCM) HAS BEEN Earth’s supreme governing body since the discovery of historical time travel in 2411. Present-day humankind cannot go forward in time; they can only go backward. But a recent breakthrough in quantum-entanglement physics allows any deceased human to be Lifted into the modern world. The deceased can be Lifted forward in time, but only in the continuum of their past to the present. No person can be Lifted or sent beyond now.
Humanity had discovered that mathematics provided innumerable scaffolds in the universe. As the finest minds climbed and penetrated new mathematical pathways, it became ever more obvious that deeper understanding in all fields of mathematics would improve world leadership, science, and government. And it proved to be true. Weather forecasts became reliable to the point that the accuracy of prediction for any square-mile location on the planet was 99 percent for up to a month and six days out. Cancer was next. Genetic research infused with the newest quantum calculations revealed the particular inchoate chromosomes and organelles of a person that would be infected. Data pages in the billions were accumulated in what became known as “Cloud Plus,” and specific fixes were found for all cancer victims of all nations. A year later, mathematics linked Alzheimer’s disease to tobacco and secondhand smoke. The discoveries, cures, and wins continued as mathematics explored, discovered, and prevailed.
Despite these advances, humanity was sick, due to an untreatable “virus”—the human propensity to covet, take, and kill. Humankind’s dependency on violence and war is more pronounced than ever. It is the worst of times.
In an effort to correct for violent futures, attempts were made to improve the past, but humanity did not perceive the deeper repercussions that would make the future worse. For example, when a young struggling artist named Adolf Schicklgruber was waiting for official acceptance as an art student in Vienna, and the WCM found the key person who would grant that wish, it was viewed as a tremendous gift for humanity. Yet, after the deed was done and this artist was on his way to acclaim, new histories were simulated and rolled to the present, only to learn that the Soviet Union had conquered Europe, killed even more people, and performed additional atrocities and pogroms. Just when the miscalculation was understood and attempts made to re-correct, an unseen and previously unaccounted-for asteroid slammed into Earth, killing millions.
It wasn’t a coincidence. We knew. There was no other plausible explanation that could account for the asteroid that seemingly came from nowhere. It was punishment for tinkering with history and a warning to never try to change it again.
I
Our world, so worn and weary,
Needs music, pure and strong,
To hush the jangle and discords
Of sorrow, pain, and wrong.
—Frances E. W. Harper, “Songs for the People”
1
21 October 2489 Indonesia
“SO, HOW DO WE PACK IN THE MUSIC?” CHARLES ASKED.
The master organist stared at him. For a gifted mathematician, he thought, this young man is a disaster. “Aside from mathematics, Charles, what else do they teach sixteen-year-olds at academy?”
“Mostly all math, from age ten.” Charles thought to add: “depending on how exceptional we may be.”
Johann Sebastian Bach blinked and blew his nose into his hand. Charles rolled his chair back sharply. They were ensconced in a five-square-meter soundproof room, busy at their keyboards. Charles’s face reddened as Bach wiped his smeared hand underneath the desk where they were seated. “Terrible,” Bach said. “You pay close attention to me and what I do here.” He tapped on the keyboard and entered the standard musical scale in letters. “We have a lot of time to make up, and your teachers should be whipped.”
When Bach found the corresponding musical scales in Mat
he-Lingua-Musica, he transposed the latest mathematics. “What do we do about sharps, flats, and naturals?” Charles asked.
“Thank God you asked. Perhaps there is a flicker of hope in you yet.”
TWO DAYS LATER, BACH AND CHARLES PRESENTED THEIR NEWEST update to the World Council of Mathematicians. The seven WCM members sat around an oval table, while Charles and Bach sat beside each other among them. To Charles’s surprise and Bach’s frustration, the five men and two women, the finest mathematical minds on the planet, scratched their heads and were lost.
“What do you mean by atonals?” one of the men said.
“Imbeciles. Give me asses and they would understand better,” Bach said. “What is wrong with you, Sir?”
“Restrain yourself, Mr. Bach, or you will be sent back to your era-time by the end of the day,” Juanita Popov, Chair of the Council, said. Bach stuck his pinkie into his ear and wiggled his I-Trans, which looked like a miniature hearing aid tucked in his ear.
Charles whispered to Bach, “Go back and begin with our premise.” Bach blew his nose into both hands. Charles knew what Bach might do next and offered the master his handkerchief. Bach looked puzzled as he accepted the wrinkled cloth.
“Right,” Bach said. “I ask the Council, what is considered to be the universal truth in our universe?”
“Mathematics.” All answered as one.
“Correct. Two plus two equals four; three squared equals nine; et cetera. At least in our universe.” With a snort, he paused. “And what is considered to be the universal language in our universe?”
Juanita Popov, for the first time, smiled at Master Bach. “One universal language is music. The other is mathematics.”
“Ah. I would add that music is our only universal language.” The great composer-organist angled his head. “But it helps to know what’s behind the music. As it is, everyone can have their own understanding and immediate interpretation. Music doesn’t require the listener to learn theory, grammar, or equations. Music is ready for everyone.”
Charles noted a settling down, and a sigh or two.
Master Bach bowed his head. “As I understand it, I have been resurrected to help you find the optimum language for our species. Not just any language or a hodgepodge of tongues, but the one language that best befits humans. I will do my utmost, but you must always accept our mutual premise: this optimum language must contain both mathematics and music, in addition to linguistics.”
“Sharps, flats, and naturals aside,” a cosmologist said, “how do we speak mathematics? And haven’t we always had opera as music with language?” This man was recognized as a champion in all math genres, theoretical and applied.
Bach deferred to Charles, who gave Bach a piece of gum, one new luxury the musician and composer looked forward to in the afternoons. In the late twenty-first century, chewing gum was laced with medicinal stimulants which powered up the brain. Bach chewed, and his jowls puffed out like he was blowing the tuba.
Charles gathered himself and remembered to speak slowly. “Nano-computers built for transmitting and receiving Mathe-Lingua-Musica will be embedded in our brains. Whatever our thoughts are can be transmitted in this optimum language, but we control the gate. If we want to keep a private thought to ourself, we can.” Charles hesitated as he glanced at Master Bach who was playing on an imaginary keyboard in his lap. “As for opera, all of it is in various languages which are not optimum for humanity.”
“Opera packs emotion because of the music,” Bach hollered. He didn’t even look up from his keyboard, and Charles could see his closed eyes. The questioner remained standing, arms akimbo. Finally he sat down.
Later, after ten hours of trying to puree mathematics with musical theory and linguistics, Charles walked beachside with Master Bach. They were on the Indonesian island Purity. Streaks of dirty clouds smeared the sky; foul odors climbed from the sea.
“I don’t know why they named this island Purity,” Charles said. He stepped over a human corpse and wondered if it would be removed.
“In my day, the streets reeked with horseshit. I haven’t smelled that here, but I smell corpses everywhere. Is that tea you’re drinking?”
“Yes.” Charles saw him looking at the thermos. “Did you drink tea in Germany?”
“Not often. I preferred wine.”
They watched seagulls screech and peck at the body. “Will the Council replace me?”
“I hope not. It takes a lot of energy to resurrect, or, as we say, Lift, and the Council had to give it much thought.”
“Should they have Lifted a mathematician beyond my time—perhaps Euler?”
“He was on the list, but we wanted someone superior at music who was also gifted at math.”
Bach smiled. “I revere mathematics. But I am better at music. I’m infatuated with what you call jazz. The loose harmony, the rhythms.” Bach walked with his hands held behind his back. “Whatever happened to the sky? Not a trace of blue since I’ve been here.”
“It’s a long story. Master, can we perfect this language in time?”
“We had better. According to your mathematicians, it’s the only way for …” Bach raised his hands to the sky and shook his head. “My question is, can you leap over everything we’ve done for setup? Up until now, our work has been logical but pedestrian. We must do a lot more than transliterate. We must pack different rhythms and music with expanded mathematics to generate algorithms for a unique universal alphabet and grammar.”
Charles noticed Bach finger-poke his I-Trans as he struggled with the word algorithm. He hesitated as his German caught up. “I’m trying,” Charles said.
“I insisted on a young mind. I’m learning the new types of music that came after me. There is so much. With my wisdom and your youth, we can solve this. Remember what the Council requires: the optimum language, for optimum communication.”
Hardly a pause later, a throttling vibration shook the sand beneath them. They looked up, as the sky streaked an orange-white; any doppler effect had been reduced to a distant rumble. Something like snow afire began to descend from above them, and Charles turned to Bach. “We may have run out of time, Master.”
2
Four Months Earlier Sulawesi, Tomini Bay, Indonesia
JUANITA POPOV OPENED HER EYES AND CRAWLED OUT OF BED. TWO cockroaches twice the size of her thumb scuttled under the bed. Damn those things, this is 2489, for Chrissake.
Popov unzipped her body bag, threw it into the sanitizer with one hand, and selected her day’s uniform with the other. After putting it on, she released her boots from the heavy-duty sanitizer and stepped into them.
Food pills and coffee constituted her breakfast. Normally, while sipping coffee, Popov would scan telecasts and listen to music. Today she did neither as she wrestled with the same thoughts that kept her awake all night—how and what to tell the people. The mathematics was clear, nothing further could be done. Yet, maybe—no, there wasn’t enough time. But that wasn’t the immediate problem. Yesterday’s world status report, prepared for her by General Braun, reinforced her worst suspicions—humanity would stumble and fall.
Popov was surrounded by solid wall, but the fake windows and mirrors in the giant obelisk allowed her to digitally see outside. She watched hovers skim by her window in horizontal lanes with only fifty meters between the lanes below and above, which stretched to a dirty, clouded sky. Popov longed to take a hover to the last sea-garden on the planet.
She dumped her coffee, took a slow walk to the elevator, and expressed herself to council headquarters. The height of the obelisk above sea-level was nearly 500 meters, almost three times taller than the Washington Monument in the United States. The top was pointed, slanted on each of the four sides. The turnable center axis was re-engineered Aramid-Kevlar-steel. The inner-outside walls were covered with semi-finished marble stones. These stones covered granite and gneiss over six meters thick at the base. Outside, each side of the obelisk, shielded with plasma-enhanced carborundum, tapered downward from an upper width of 125 meters to a sea-level width of 215 meters, but the structure widened to over 300 meters as it extended down to seabed, the ocean floor.
