Read Online The God Particle by Daniel Danser - Free Book Online Page B

you, there had been a few operational setbacks, which he took
personally. We had a problem with one of the heat shields a few months back,
which was luckily detected in time, otherwise we would have had a major
catastrophe on our hands. There had been other minor breakdowns in the past,
but not on the scale of the heat shield failure. They’re all in the report I’ve
asked Deiter to provide you with. You should have it on your desk in the
morning.’ He took a large gulp of the white wine he had chosen.
    ‘Surely a few setbacks, even one as serious as the heat
shield failure, wouldn’t drive a man to take his own life?’ Tom queried.
    ‘I believe the balance of his mind was disturbed,’ Frederick
announced gravely. ‘There is a fine line between genius and madness and I
think, unfortunately, Erik crossed that line. The afternoon before he died, he
came to see me. He was very agitated. He was like a man possessed; ranting on
about how we need to destroy the collider before it destroys the world, and
that Deiter knew all about it and was letting it happen. He said that he had
proof and was going to go to the media if we didn’t stop the experiments
immediately. The poor man - obviously some kind of breakdown.’
    ‘So, what did you do about it?’
    ‘I tried to placate him, of course. I told him that we’d
shut down the collider immediately and look at the evidence to see if there was
any truth in it. He seemed to calm down and we agreed to go through the data
the next morning. That was the last time I saw him alive. He must have gone
back to his apartment - your apartment - more disturbed than I
realised, because they found him the next morning. He’d taken an overdose of
sleeping pills washed down with a bottle of whisky.’
    ‘And the evidence he said he had?’
    ‘Nothing. The police searched everywhere – his apartment,
office, computer – but they found nothing. Again, further proof of a deranged
mind, I’m afraid. A tragic loss to us all.’
    Frederick looked forlorn; he had obviously cared deeply
about the man. A heavy silence fell between the two men, which was fortunately
broken by the arrival of Pierre and their food.
    He wished them ‘bon appétit’ whilst placing their respective
dishes in front of them.
    ‘I just hope that tastes as good as it looks,’ Frederick
said, smiling at Pierre.
    Tom tried to lighten the mood by changing the topic of
conversation. ‘Why is there a statue of an Indian god at the entrance of the
control centre?’
    Frederick chortled. ‘You mean Shiva the Destroyer?’
    Tom frowned, which made Frederick laugh even more.
    ‘I bet, at this stage, you’re wondering what you’ve let
yourself in for,’ Fredrick mused.
    Damn right, Tom thought, but didn’t say anything.
    Frederick continued. ‘Don’t worry, he’s not all bad. He’s
also known as Shiva the Transformer. In Hinduism, he is regarded as the most
powerful deity - his role is to destroy the illusions and imperfections
of this world, paving the way for beneficial change. According to Hindu belief,
this destruction is not arbitrary, but constructive. Shiva is, therefore, seen
as the source of both good and evil and is regarded as the one who combines
many contradictory elements.’
    ‘But why is he here?’
    ‘Shiva takes many forms,’ Frederick explained. ‘The one we
have at CERN is Shiva Nataraja, or Lord of Dance. It is believed that he
performs a cosmic dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for
the god Brahma to start the process of creation. The symbolism of the dance is
a metaphor for the cosmic dance of subatomic particles that we observe and
analyse every time we operate the collider.’
    ‘Okay, two out of three. I’ve got the “what” and the “why”,
but who put it there?’
    ‘It was given to us by the Indian government in 2004, to
celebrate the research centre’s long association with their country. Don’t
forget that, if it wasn’t for a certain Indian