The Beginning of Creation

In our beginning, God created this universe ...

    
     One of the inescapable realities of our existence is that in our corporeal form -- in our mode as physical beings -- we appear to be confined to the physical space that surrounds us.  This physical space is part of a physical universe and it is this physical universe which, for the most part, has been the focus of the work of scientists, in general, and of modern astrophysicists, in particular.

     However, even with all the advances that have been made in the realm of astrophysics, a world of questions about our universe continues to abound.  And one of the key questions is:  Is this the only universe that is?

     In recent years, the discussion of multiple universes (and even multiple dimensions) has become almost a religious exercise with many of its advocates forwarding the notion that the central driving force of our own universe is nothing.  Such concepts defy our human ability of conceptualization and go far beyond the realm of concise discussion.  For most of us, and for the purposes of this work, simplicity is what is most desired and anything beyond a factor of three becomes troublesome.

     With this self-imposed limitation in mind, it is notable that one of the earliest theories concerning the creation of multiple universes was advanced by J. Richard Gott III.  Gott's model proposed that not one but three universes sprang from the Creation.  The Gott model attempts to account for two odd facts about our universe that trouble many cosmologists.  One of these is that while the basic equations of physics are time-symmetrical -- that is, they can be run forward or backward in time with equal efficacy -- in the real universe, time, it seems, moves in one direction only.  The second oddity confronted by Gott is the scarcity of anti-matter in our universe.  For every sort of sub-atomic particle of matter, it is possible to conceive of a particle with the same mass but with opposite charge -- an anti-particle.  Yet only mere traces of anti-matter have been found in nature.  Why should nature be so asymmetrical, favoring matter over anti-matter, running time in one direction but not the other?

     Building on a theory offered by certain physicists that anti-matter can be thought of as ordinary matter moving in reverse time, Gott constructed a three-universe cosmology.  In Gott's three universe cosmology, the Creation generated not only our universe, but also a second universe composed of anti-matter and evolving in reverse time, as well as a third universe made up exclusively of particles that travel faster than light.  The fleet particles of this ghostly third universe, called tachyons, are permissible under Einstein's relativity theory, which requires only that nothing in our universe can be accelerated to the velocity of light.  Tachyons need not worry about this provision, for they have always been going faster than the speed of light.  The tachyon particles occupy a mirror universe where everything travels faster than light and nothing can be reined in to a velocity as slow as that of light.  The Gott cosmology is a masterpiece of symmetry without being dictatorial about it.  The theory predicts, for instance, that there should be traces of contamination of our universe by anti-matter (as has been verified by observation) and by tachyons (as has not).

     Ultimately, the cosmological theories of today, including Gott's theory, may be looked upon by our descendants with respect, bemusement, scorn, or even hilarity.  After all, even though cosmological inquiries need no longer be purely speculative in nature, and even though, mankind has learned how to test such inquiries against the real universe, the universe continues to surprise and to tease, and to escape human comprehension.  For inexplicable reasons which cause all to wonder, just when our universe appears to be a lucid, intelligible, observable, and evolving entity, along comes some disconcerting fact or theory which causes us to to pause, to re-evaluate, to be confused and, usually, to be humbled by the primitiveness of our former understanding.  To be sure, our universe will continue to invite inquiry -- and man does appear to be destined to respond to the invitation.  Nevertheless, as the physical world has shown over and over again, just when man becomes arrogantly certain concerning the knowledge that has been achieved, along comes a surprise which shakes the confidence that was based on all that had been.  It is this continuing uncertainty which makes the study of both science and religion so compelling.  Ideally, both should be a search for truth but, ultimately, both seem to wind up being tests of our faith.