The Truth of Theo

By Alan Mad

A married couple of scientists, one a believer and the other an atheist, are going to share an experience that will mark them forever. During their extreme adventure, they will face questions that use science and logical reasoning to derive the existence or non-existence of God. "The Truth of Theo" is a short but intense book, which enables the reader to reach for a deeper understanding about the relationship between  science and religion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alan Mad
• Release date: Oct 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9782956553724

Alan Mad

Tour à tour ingénieur, chercheur, inventeur, mais aussi compositeur et écrivain, Alan Mad est un touche-à-tout qui a toujours soif de découvrir, d'analyser, de synthétiser, de créer. Son profil scientifique l'a naturellement poussé à s'insurger contre l'utilisation de la science pour justifier des convictions, notamment religieuses ou anti-religieuses.

Book preview

For Ana, Luana, and Anne, with love.

Chapter 1

Adam and Eva 

All his friends had giggled when Adam told them that ‘Eva’ was the name of the woman who was to become his wife. Same for Eva, even if, being of the rather reserved kind, she had spoken of her relations with Adam only to a few close friends, men for the most part. Clearly the ‘Adam and Eva’ story gave rise to a lot of jokes (some funnier than others) by their friends. But anyway, that was the way it was.

And when they got married (at the church because Adam, unlike his bride, was a believer), even the priest had seen fit to use the book of Genesis as the basis for his homily, and extrapolated it to the future life of the newlyweds. It had not failed to annoy Eva who, although she was rather soft and calm, had her strong character (as if going to the church was not enough!). For really, how could she reconcile her scientific mind—she was a doctor in theoretical physics—with this nonsense? It was at the limit of quackery, and seemed to be there only to appease, let's say, less intellectual minds, with regard to their own mortality... She had had discussions with Adam about religion on numerous occasions, but nothing helped. She could not convince him. And neither could he convince her (obviously). He, who was a doctor too, though in pediatric medicine, and thus also a scientist, or almost one as Eva liked to tease him.

After some unsuccessful attempts to convince each other, they had wisely decided to leave this difference aside, at least for the short term, to focus on their commonalities, and in particular on their common passion: mountaineering.

So for their seventh wedding anniversary, which coincided with their thirtieth year of age—they had gotten married rather young—they decided to give themselves a week of mountain climbing in the Alps, far removed from their professional concerns. For what could be more exhilarating than pure, clean air, peaceful quietude, and the grandiose beauty of a magnificent mountain landscape? What could be more life-affirming, too? Especially for Adam, who spent ten hours a day caring for children who often were leading difficult lives in dismal and aggressive neighborhoods.

In any case, this weeklong respite would allow both of them to fulfill their shared passion, and give them a well-needed opportunity to decompress.

Their ten years of experience climbing in the mountains gave them enough confidence to go alone without a guide. Eva, with her meticulous and orderly mind, left nothing to chance, which exists only in the quantum world, as she liked to point out. Even if this did not always convince Adam, who knew well that the natural elements, be they in the mountains or at sea, remain sometimes unpredictable. Nevertheless Eva seemed so sure of herself, and she was so bright, that he had chosen to leave his destiny in her very capable hands (and in the hands of God as well, of course, to Whom he made sure to pray, just in case...) 

Chapter 2

How Beautiful, the Mountain! 

After several unsuccessful attempts, Eva and Adam still had no children. It had been seven years since they were married, and even though they were still young, they were in agreement that it was time to think about some offspring (even though, in the end, this would probably disrupt their regular workaholic life).

The doctors—and Adam himself—had found nothing abnormal in their routine medical tests. However, without making it an obsession, Eva had decided to pursue a fertility treatment to try to ‘facilitate things’. But it seemed that the future-newborn was in no hurry, perhaps so as to give his parents more time to enjoy life without such big responsibilities. Thus Adam and Eva could choose their holiday dates at their convenience. For example, they could decide to spend their week climbing outside school holidays, both to avoid families and other tourists who respect nothing (which exasperated Eva), and also to pay less for their cottage rental (which was important to Adam, who did not like to waste his money).

So they arrived at the cottage on a Saturday morning under a beautiful sunny sky, though the temperature in the shade was below zero degrees throughout the day. It was the first time they had been to this little village at the foot of the mountains, which friends had strongly recommended to them, and which was to serve as their base camp, from which they would leave for each of the planned climbs.

The village (or hamlet, rather), was at the end of a cul-de-sac, as the only way out was the road by which they had arrived. It was also the last inhabited stage before Adam and Eva continued on, to measure themselves against the challenges of mountaineering.

It's really beautiful! Adam had exclaimed, to which Eva had yielded a smile. First, because she loved Adam's ability to marvel so much at such simple things. Secondly, because she also loved this overwhelmingly grand and artistically shifting landscape, that was standing out from the bright blue sky behind it.

And it is true that this little cottage, half stone and half wood, which in fact looked more like a cabin refuge by its size than a real mountain chalet, had a certain cachet, with a small fir grove and the mountains in the background.

Definitely... Eva had answered, without losing her smile. A smile that Adam could never resist, as he could not help but come to take her in his arms and then, while holding her, whisper in her ear:

We're going to have a great week!

Their move-in to the chalet was quickly settled: Eva being very effective at organization, and Adam only having to go gather some logs and twigs from outside before lighting a fire in the small chimney. This put the final touch, almost cliché, on a perfect romantic stay for two.

What if we stayed in here all week, just eating, drinking, and making love? Eva suddenly called out. Adam looked at her, wide-eyed with his big brown eyes, looking shocked. Eva burst out laughing. Adam, embarrassed and a little sulky at realizing he had once more fallen into the trap of one of her (more or less) funny jokes, just shrugged his shoulders.

What about planning for our climb, rather than talking silly?

The pair of mountaineers, under the impetus of Eva, meticulously prepared their ascents. Because it was not to be just a simple climb, such as an indoor wall at a climbing gym (which, certainly, demands undeniable sporting qualities, but is not really comparable to