# Sci-fi Science Experiments with unforseen consequences? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138 "2009-01-26T22:54:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/21 "2009-01-27T02:15:57Z")
I recall a short story where scientists operating a new record breaking particle accelerator simultaneously proved both the existence of a false vacuum\* and the existence of branching parallel universes. Every time they tried to run an experiment, the machine would ALWAYS fail - something would break, something would be overlooked, and so forth. One of them finally figured out that actually running the machine would break the false vacuum, and in the process destroy Earth and all the universe. So in every possible universe where the machine worked, everyone died; the only existing universes were those few where by some coincidence the accelerator failed. So they discovered two very interesting scientific facts - at the cost of destroying a near infinity of universes. **Repeatedly**. - The “false vacuum” is a hypothesis that our present vacuum isn’t the lowest possible energy state, but is in fact only metastable and could transition into a lower energy state. Since this would change all sorts of physical laws, the result would be the destruction of everything in the present universe, in a bubble expanding at lightspeed as the vacuum transitioned to it’s new state. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/22 "2009-01-27T02:18:37Z")
In [_The Quiet Earth_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Quiet_Earth_(film)): > [@](#): > > Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) is a scientist working for Delenco, part of an international consortium working on “Project Flashlight”, an ambitious energy experiment. He awakens abruptly in his bedroom, appearing somewhat surprised, gets dressed and drives into the city. On the way, he notices that everyone seems to have vanished. Investigating a fire, he discovers the wreckage of a jet, but there are no bodies inside, only empty seats with the seat belts still fastened. > > He enters his underground laboratory workplace; a monitor displays the message “Project Flashlight Complete”. The mass disappearance seems to coincide with the moment that Flashlight was activated. He notes on his tape recorder: > > _“Zac Hobson, July 5th. One: there has been a malfunction in Project Flashlight with devastating results. Two: it seems I am the only person left on Earth.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/23 "2009-01-27T02:29:35Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I recall a short story where scientists operating a new record breaking particle accelerator simultaneously proved both the existence of a false vacuum\* and the existence of branching parallel universes. Every time they tried to run an experiment, the machine would ALWAYS fail - something would break, something would be overlooked, and so forth. One of them finally figured out that actually running the machine would break the false vacuum, and in the process destroy Earth and all the universe. So in every possible universe where the machine worked, everyone died; the only existing universes were those few where by some coincidence the accelerator failed. > > So they discovered two very interesting scientific facts - at the cost of destroying a near infinity of universes. **Repeatedly**. I think this is “The Doomsday Device” by John Gribbin - at the end of the story they device that detects fallout - so that if a nuclear war ever occurs, the accelerator will destroy that universe (putting all of us in a better, non-WWIII universe. Back on topic, I read part of a story (online, with the second half of the story only available if I paid) in which a psychology experiment imprinted every person in the world with the experimental subject’s personality - unfortunately, I never found out what happened after that. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/24 "2009-01-27T02:41:54Z")
I don’t think that is what Der Trihs is thinking of. The story he is remembering had an analogy of our Universe having expanded to a situation analogous to super-cooled water, which needs a seed to immediately turn to ice. The device would provide that seed. It would either provide inexhaustalbe free energy or satrt another Big Bang/ inflationary period going to the next larger Universe. The story ends with them hitting the button. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/25 "2009-01-27T06:05:39Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And _The Stand_ involved a bioweapon getting out of its bottle, and _Firestarter_ involved a government weapons project that produced a superpowered mutant. King seems to like the theme. Also King’s “The End Of The Whole Mess” where an attempt to get rid of violence in humanity succeeds but at quite a price. How about Clarke’s “The Nine Billion Names Of God” where a couple of scientists produce a computer that prints out all the possible names of god for a group of monks who believe that when all the names have been written, the universe ends. On the small scale I’d say that just about every story in “Tales From The White Hart” has an ending like what the OP is looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/26 "2009-01-27T06:52:17Z")
Joe Haldeman, _The Accidental Time Machine_. Its about someone who accidentally invents a time machine. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/27 "2009-01-27T12:53:25Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I don’t think that is what Der Trihs is thinking of. The story he is remembering had an analogy of our Universe having expanded to a situation analogous to super-cooled water, which needs a seed to immediately turn to ice. The device would provide that seed. > It would either provide inexhaustalbe free energy or satrt another Big Bang/ inflationary period going to the next larger Universe. > The story ends with them hitting the button. Nope, I’m pretty sure I recall that story and it’s a different one. I say “pretty sure” because I think the details were slightly different : The “button” had ALREADY been pressed; the protagonist was being given a choice by the experimenter whether or not to let it finish building to full power and activate. The twist was that the experimenter was a maverick type whose theories the rest of the scientific community didn’t take seriously; and he only had the resources to try the experiment once. So the choice is; let the machine build to full power and activate, and find out if you have an inexhaustible power source or a universe destroyer; or shut it down, and the experiment probably won’t be tried again for a long time if ever. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/28 "2009-01-27T14:43:45Z")
Old folks like me often conflate details of things read twenty or more years ago. Do you recall a line about “I tried to picture the people in the previous cosmic egg. I imagined them like fast-moving ants” or something to that effect? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/29 "2009-01-27T15:01:14Z")
> [@Ring](#): > > I’m pretty sure that you’re thinking of something other than [Hyperion](http://www.amazon.com/HYPERION/dp/B000KD7GKE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233022181&sr=1-3). No he’s right, the Earth had been destroyed by a miniature black hole in Hyperion. It wasn’t part of the story, just history in the story. But that’s the whole setting of Martin Silenus’ _Dying Earth_ novels. Of course, In the sequels, we find that Earth hasn’t really been destroyed, just moved elsewhere by one of the AI factions. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/30 "2009-01-27T16:02:17Z")
> [@dysonsphere](#): > > Half-Life… > > …it even has a chapter at the beginning called “Unforeseen Consequences…” 😛 Of course, experiment-with-unforseen-consequences was the plot (OK, fragment of plot) of DOOM first (actually, I bet there was a game with the same plot before DOOM; anybody know?) It’s just become the default foundation of any shoot-em-up game. " Scientists… experiment… portal.. demons coming through… your mission.. close portal and protect Earth…here’s your weapon.. good luck.." ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/31 "2009-01-27T16:52:04Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve been trying to think of a properly descriptive title for what I mean, I was going to call it Mad Science but that’s not really appropriate. A generic term I’ve heard is “things man is not meant to know”. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/32 "2009-01-27T17:10:53Z")
All sci-fi science experiements go bad. Well–all cinematic ones. But the first one that comes to mind is the one in _Deep Blue Sea_, when the Saffron Burroughs character, believing that mako sharks’ brains may contain a chemical which can threat Alzheimer’s, genetically engineers three sharks to have bigger brains, which naturally entails making them much, much smarter. My then-eight-year-old niece, watching this for the first time, remarked on what a horrible idea that was and expressed disbelief that anyone would remain on the ocean-borne lab where the research was being done after hearing about it. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/33 "2009-01-27T19:22:29Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Nope, I’m pretty sure I recall that story and it’s a different one. I say “pretty sure” because I think the details were slightly different : > > The “button” had ALREADY been pressed; the protagonist was being given a choice by the experimenter whether or not to let it finish building to full power and activate. The twist was that the experimenter was a maverick type whose theories the rest of the scientific community didn’t take seriously; and he only had the resources to try the experiment once. So the choice is; let the machine build to full power and activate, and find out if you have an inexhaustible power source or a universe destroyer; or shut it down, and the experiment probably won’t be tried again for a long time if ever. This may be “Vacuum States” by Geof Landis (from 1987) - if anyone cares, I’ll see if I can find the issue with that story. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/34 "2009-01-27T19:54:18Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Joe Haldeman, _The Accidental Time Machine_. Its about someone who accidentally invents a time machine. I came in to mention this book as well. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/35 "2009-01-27T21:20:56Z")
In _The Ring of Charon_, an experiment in creating artificial gravity with the Ring in question sends a signal that wakes up an alien machine/creature buried on the Moon. The result is that Earth is stolen \* by the aliens, and they promptly start dismantling the Solar System. - They replace it with a black hole; for some time the people in the Solar System think that Earth was somehow crushed into a black hole by the experiment. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/36 "2009-01-27T21:27:02Z")
Wouldn’t the Reevers from **Serenity** count? Or, how about the movie **My Science Project**? ---
**Author:** ![Buran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Buran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buran)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/37 "2009-01-28T20:51:33Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I recall a short story where scientists operating a new record breaking particle accelerator simultaneously proved both the existence of a false vacuum\* and the existence of branching parallel universes. Every time they tried to run an experiment, the machine would ALWAYS fail - something would break, something would be overlooked, and so forth. One of them finally figured out that actually running the machine would break the false vacuum, and in the process destroy Earth and all the universe. So in every possible universe where the machine worked, everyone died; the only existing universes were those few where by some coincidence the accelerator failed. > > So they discovered two very interesting scientific facts - at the cost of destroying a near infinity of universes. **Repeatedly**. That’s genius! If you have the name of that short story I’d like to read it. Thanks for the other replies everyone. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/38 "2009-01-28T20:56:29Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > All sci-fi science experiements go bad. Well–all cinematic ones. . That’s what I was thinking…the theme is so common that it scarcely bears mentioning. “He tampered in God’s domain”…or peppered in God’s lo mein.. or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/39 "2009-01-28T21:35:45Z")
Well, Half-Life 2: Episode 2’s ending would certainly qualify. ---
**Author:** ![in\_hiding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c5a1d2/32.png) [@in\_hiding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/in_hiding)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138/40 "2009-01-28T23:46:50Z")
> [@Buran](#): > > That’s genius! If you have the name of that short story I’d like to read it. Yeah, me too. Spooky Idea, sounds a little like an Episode of Outer Limits. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-science-experiments-with-unforseen-consequences/483138.md?page=3)