The Quantum Tree

By Tom Harvey

The world of the mainzone, full of skyways and splitter clubs, hides the secret of the mysterious black box somebody left on your doorstep. All it contained was a seed...

Embark on a thrilling science fiction adventure across space and time as this gamebook unites the majesty of the quantum universe with the macroscopic reality of the classical world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781312904583

Tom Harvey

In 1921, Thomas Woodrow Harvey was the only son born into a poor tenant farmer’s family. While helping his family of six make ends meet, he vowed he would never have this kind of life for his family. Harvey’s father always emphasized the importance of him getting an education, knowing that his children would have better opportunities with a high school degree. Not only did Harvey surpass those expectations, but he graduated with an engineering degree from Virginia Tech, served a pilot during World War II, and worked his way to the top of the corporate world.

Book preview

The Quantum Tree

The Quantum Tree

D:\tdh4\docs\qt5.png

Tom Harvey

www.thequantumtree.com

Copyright

The Quantum Tree

Copyright © Tom Harvey, 2013. All rights reserved.

First published in book form 2015.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.

ISBN: 978-1-312-90458-3

Introduction

The Quantum Tree was originally published as a video game in early 2014. Its release was particularly notable as it was the first ever video game designed to be run on a quantum computer. So what is a quantum computer?

Regular computers perform operations on bits, which can be in exactly two states, 0 and 1. In contrast, a quantum computer operates on quantum bits, or qubits. Qubits, like the classical bit, can only be in the states 0 and 1 when measured. Their power lies in the fact that during an operation they can be in a superposition, or combination, of both of these states. This allows computations on multiple values to occur simultaneously.

The Quantum Tree echoes these quantum calculations on a macroscopic level. At each decision point of the game you may choose one of two options, or both - mimicking the concept of quantum superposition which underlies the power of quantum computing.

Unlike a regular adventure gamebook, if you ever choose the both option, you will need to keep track of multiple timelines, so having a piece of paper handy to keep track of your open timelines can be useful. Early