The Exhibition

By Ramprasath Rengasamy

“The original diamond from millions of years ago had a small pocket of water trapped inside. That water is not present in either of these, sir,” Yajan said, handing the two copies to Jarr.

Everyone in the exhibition now looked up at the LCD screen that displayed the diamond’s description.  

‘Holding a tiny reservoir of water from a bygone era, this diamond is more than a rare gem; it is a profound chronological record of our planet’s history.’

Minutes ago, the expo had been buzzing with the energy of a hundred conversations, inquiries, and laughter. Footsteps had echoed as visitors rushed to and fro, their movements on the floor a constant stream of activities. But now everyone was in panic. Happiness and laughter were gone. No one’s face was bright.

Jarr lunged at Hamsa, grabbing his shirt. Hamsa was already on his knees with his hands cuffed. On either side, two men anchored him down, their heavy fists pressing into his shoulders like lead weights.

“You charlatan! Hand over the real diamonds at once,” Jarr demanded threateningly. 

Hamsa let out a deep sigh, accepting his defeat. “If it wasn’t for you, Police Officer, I would have fled the scene with the stones and made a fortune,” Hamsa held out a small device from his pants pocket.

Jarr took the device and examined it closely.

The device was the size of a palm, and the colour of a human brain. Made of metal, it had a button marked “Copy.” It looked like a modern-age wrist scanner. A screen was visible on the back of the device. The following was written on it in small font:

{∞...1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...∞}

{∞...2, 4, 6, 8, 10...∞} -> {∞...2, 4, 6, 8, 10...∞}/2 ≃ {∞...1, 2, 3, 4, 5...∞}

{∞...1, 3, 5, 7, 9...∞} -> ({∞...1, 3, 5, 7, 9...∞}+1)/2 ≃ {∞...1, 2, 3, 4, 5...∞}

- Banach Tarski

Nayman said, “I wonder what virtuous path I walked in a past life to deserve such a profound reward in this one. I’m just so grateful they didn’t actually go missing; the consequences would have been huge. Oh, good god!” he mourned, his two palms touching.

“A diamond is forever!” Hamsa uttered. The two men on either side of him kicked him in his ass. 

“Officer,” Nayman, Yajan’s father and jewellery shop owner snapped, “see to it that he pays dearly for this. Make his life a living testament to the consequences of choosing the wrong side of the law. Let his fate be so severe that no one else would dare follow in his footsteps.”

“Quiet!! This is not a courtroom, and none of you are judges,” Jarr shouted.

Yajan, who had been watching everything, cleared his throat and said, “Officer, we would like to take back our complaint.”

“You wicked son!” shouted Nayman, “That is our property. We’ve caught a lucky break — the burglary was a disaster, and we are reclaiming what is ours. Are you out of your mind to take back the complaint at this point?”

“Dad, trust me in this. We shouldn’t dig into this anymore,” Yajan insisted.

“Focus, y’all,” said Jarr harshly. “This is a crime scene, not a drama hall. We have your report on file. This was clearly an attempted heist, so we’re going to process the evidence and take it from there.” He looked obviously upset with the father and son flipping their statements.

Yajan replied calmly, “Officer, we have the right to drop our complaint. Don’t we?” 

Nayman let out a deep sigh. “Sorry about that, Officer. He’s only seventeen years old — he’s brilliant, but he can be a handful. I think he’s just shaken up by everything that’s happened here. I’d appreciate it if you could just ignore his comments.”

“Hmm,” Jarr muttered. He took off his cap, slapped it once against his right thigh, and put it back on his head. “Alright, young man. I am all ears.” He spoke while holding the boy’s gaze, searching for a glimmer of understanding.

Nayman bit his lips in disapproval.

As Yajan approached Jarr, Nayman moved in to eavesdrop on their exchange. 

Gazing at the device’s screen, Yajan said, “Let us consider, I divide you into infinitely many numbers and further divide all the numbers into two parts in such a way that the numbers of one part, upon manipulation, lead to the other part. If I then put each part back together, how many of you will come back to life?” in a low voice.

Jarr thought for a moment. His eyes moved around in all directions. Once settled, “Two!”

“That’s what has happened. That device has indeed successfully copied the diamond. But in doing so, it has lost the trapped water. This could happen only if the copying process considered the diamond as a two-dimensional drawing.”

Jarr nodded his head in understanding.

Yajan continued the explanation. “This whole framework suggests a simulated environment. Whether we are part of a digital construct, a broadcast, or a scripted sequence is irrelevant. While you may detain Hamsa for his transgressions, I cannot reconcile the futility of placing him in a cell when we are already prisoners of a larger construct.”

Nayman stood shocked, silent.

Yajan said. “For the sake of everyone here, drop the charges and walk away. They deserve the chance to go about their lives in peace.”

About the Author

Apart from being a computer engineer working in IT, Ramprasath is also a bilingual science fiction writer. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, since 2014.

He is also an SFWA Member.

His work has appeared (or is scheduled to appear) in AntipodeanSF, Protocolized, Aphelion SF&F, Sci-Fi Shorts, L.Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future, Allegory SF&F, and Metastellar.

Reach him at <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>