: PARALLEL UNIVERSES
"But do you really mean, sir," said Peter, "that there could be
other worlds-all over the place, just around the corner-like that?"
"Nothing is more probable," said the Professor... while he
muttered to himself, "I wonder what they do teach them at these
schools."
-C.
S. LEWIS, THE LION,
THE WITCH
AND
THE
WARDROBE
listen: there's a hell of a good universe next door; let's go
-E.
E. CUMMINGS
Are alternate universes really possible? They are a favorite device for
Hollywood scriptwriters, as in the Star Trek episode called "Mirror,
Mirror." Captain Kirk is accidentally transported to a bizarre parallel
universe in which the Federation of Planets is an evil empire held together by brutal conquest, greed, and plunder. In that universe Spock
wears a menacing beard and Captain Kirk is the leader of a band of
ravenous pirates, advancing by enslaving their rivals and assassinating their superiors.
Alternate universes enable us to explore the world of "what if and
its delicious, intriguing possibilities. In the Superman comics, for example, there have been several alternate universes in which Superman's