Originally published May 25, 2014
Fixing it. Sometimes the lure of a chance to, well, do it over and do it right is intoxicating. The human curiosity of how we might make the math come alive in the “real” world taunts us. Surely the math can’t lie. If time has no arrow in the equations, then why do we still see an arrow?
Given the current state of affairs in my life, time travel was beginning to look more than desirable; it was looking downright necessary. My job was out the window, my wife had shown me the door, and most of the friends I had were avoiding me in case I was contagious. And the thing was that I knew when things went bad. Well let’s face it, a lot of people knew when, but I seriously suspected it before it all came crashing down. I grumbled about it almost daily. My wife was sick of it. Maybe that’s why she kicked me out. “I told you so,” are not words that endear you to people or create deep bonds.
Aw, see? That’s where the problem was, bonds. One of the things that any mathematical or physics theoretical specialist will tell you is to not apply the math unless the entire scenario fits. Some seriously damaged soul had taken a mathematical algorithm that defined how bodies of a certain mass react and applied it to bonds. If bonds have any mass it can only be defined by the amount of puffery used to sell the things. Why, then were we using the math of gravity (as we knew it) to define bond markets? It was insane and it kept me up at night.
It’s taken me months of research, quiet investigation and not a few bribes. I have, however, found someone that is sure they have a functioning pathway to the past. They were quietly looking for volunteers because one person had to stay in the present while one went into the past. I was game. And I knew just where I wanted to go.
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Wall Street in the late 1990s was on fire. There was a perception in the country that things were really moving up. I knew then and I know now that the real numbers were far gloomier. Expendable income in the majority of households had not risen in a decade or more. But people believed, and when they believed they spent money. I was there to find the one person that would change the course of the future. The MBA who thought it was a good idea to mix physics with finance. Surely I could explain the facts of life and economics over a nice Manhattan lunch and return to a saner world, a world where I still had a job.
His name was not widely known. A student in a university taking an MBA with a serious interest in economics. He fell in love with math. He had been looking for a way to determine future yield on bond markets. Something reliable in an emotion driven market. (You didn’t really think that market investments were driven by logic, now did you)?
I had to convince this person that the idea he was about to take to Wall Street was the worst economic decision the world had seen since the 20s. I found him in an off-campus diner, chatting with another student. Placing myself to hear the conversation I realized that this was the physics student that would drive him off course. Friendly as I could be I introduced myself as a visiting professor of economics. During our lunch I did my best to point out the pit falls of combining the fields in the manner they were attempting. Believing I had made my point I took my leave and found my way back to the portal.
I found things as they should be in the lab. My guide, however, was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps I didn’t return exactly as expected, so I went in search of information. Walking down the hall I saw a television on in what appeared to be a break room. Several people were watching the program on the screen and I stepped in to listen. There was the student, now a few years older and he appeared to be under arrest. Moving closer I heard the newscaster rattle off some statistics that only made sense in one context. The camera pulled out and on the building behind him an all too familiar logo came into focus. Oh, he had learned all right. When I suggested his formula would cause havoc in the bond market he simply switched tactics and sold his paper, and his life to Enron. I had arrived too early. And most of it was going to happen again.
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