The Quantum Nomad

"Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe, or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” – Arthur C. Clarke When I was a little kid, like so many others, I dreamed of being an astronaut for a while. I am still a mega space-nerd, but pursuing a musical career seemed like a reasonable compromise. The piece in your hands, The Quantum Nomad, presents a modern-era version of my childhood dreams. Today’s physics and cosmology are leagues beyond where they were when I was born thirty years ago. We know more about the cosmos and the fabric of reality than any human before us has. I’ve been particularly interested in progress in the field of quantum mechanics, as well as efforts to reconcile it with general relativity. Taken with the now-confirmed measurement of the expansion rate of the universe by the James Webb Space Telescope, it is clear to me that we are on the cusp of the Next Big Step in physics, and likely all of the sciences. In quantum physics, a particle like an atom or a photon can become linked with another of the same kind. This phenomenon is called quantum entanglement, and it has some of the most exciting implications for future technologies. Instantaneous transmission of information across vast distance is one of these ideas, because entangled particles remain so even at the greatest possible cosmic distances from one another. The state of one determines the other. This all directly challenges many concepts in classical physics. Einstein famously referred to entanglement as “spooky action at a distance.” Now, think about science fiction stories which feature some form of teleportation technology. It’s not hard to make the imaginative leap from the theory of quantum entanglement to a practical technology enabling teleportation. We’ve seen other technologies from old sci-fi become real (Star Trek predicted things like video chatting, wrist communicators…) and it is not unreasonable to think that they may all be a possibility some day. The Quantum Nomad tells a science fiction adventure based on all of this current theory. It imagines a future kind of astronaut traveling all over the universe and exploring the vast reaches of time and space. The soloist in the piece switches between tuba and euphonium, muted and unmuted, to present slight variants in tone and timbre. These variations represent the changes that our astronaut undergoes throughout his travels, due to the effects of time dilation and general relativity. One will hear a few abrupt changes of tempo after the seemingly smooth journey presented by the first few minutes of music. Electronic sounds imitate the astronaut’s gear and heads-up-display helmet sounds, followed by epic power chord driven riffs which accompany the grandeur of exploration. Suddenly, danger strikes, and our hero must flee from an alien pirate. The ensuing starship dogfight is portrayed by an absolutely crushing series of breakdown riffs, explosions of sound mirroring the violence of the battle. Ultimately, the hero prevails and returns to exploring the cosmos, but danger always lurks in the unknown. That’s what makes an adventure exciting, and any science worth doing. - Evan Zegiel, 2024