I've had an idea for a story brewing for a while now, a concept that probably defies some laws of mathematics but is worth exploring anyway if only for the what-if factor. I finally started writing it last night. The story is called Algorithm (I may change that), focusing on what would happen if a truly parallel version of the Turing machine was ever invented, and if its programs could be manipulated in a certain way (a concept slightly plausible for this fictional machine, not at all plausible for real computers). So far it's mostly dialogue. I'm trying to intersperse more text, but in this kind of story you have to let the characters do the exposition for you. As this progresses I expect it'll get a little more action-oriented, more introspective too, but for now I've spent about fifteen pages setting it up. This may be longer than average, but it won't get anywhere near the length of Below.

The quote is from the narrator's friend, explaining the dilemma he faces. Imagine you discovered something so revolutionary that the secret would be greatly desired by everyone on the planet if it ever got out. Imagine that if that discovery made it to the public, it would rock the foundations of civilization. How would you protect that secret? What if there was a chance that a whiff of it had already reached some people? What if your discovery could be made by anybody else who looked in the right place?

You could pose all the same questions about discovering that aliens live among us. Many authors have already explored that. But this story isn't about aliens; it's about math. For that reason, some people may consider it a horror. The movie Sneakers delved slightly into this territory, but it took a different tack. Instead I've thought of something more general, a concept that would be useful for many different fields--but would be even more devastating in the wrong hands.

In the spectacularly unlikely chance that my premise is actually possible, I hereby absolve myself of all guilt if anyone ever runs with it and implements the idea. The disaster it would wreak would be epic.