The ''Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy'' is a
trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...
of novels by American writer
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American writer, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...
consisting of ''Schrödinger's Cat: The Universe Next Door'' (1979), ''Schrödinger's Cat II: The Trick Top Hat'' (1980), and ''Schrödinger's Cat III: The Homing Pigeons'' (1981), each illustrating a different
interpretation of quantum physics. They were collected into an
omnibus edition
An omnibus edition or omnibus is a book containing multiple creative works by the same or, more rarely, different authors. Commonly two or more of the works have been previously published as books, but a collection of shorter works, or shorter w ...
in 1988.
Wilson is also co-author of ''
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.''Illuminatus!'' was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert Anto ...
'' (1975), and ''Schrödinger's Cat'' is a sequel of sorts, re-using several of the same characters and carrying on many of the themes of the earlier work.
The name
Schrödinger's Cat
In quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment concerning quantum superposition. In the thought experiment, a hypothetical cat in a closed box may be considered to be simultaneously both alive and dead while it is unobserved, ...
comes from a
thought experiment
A thought experiment is an imaginary scenario that is meant to elucidate or test an argument or theory. It is often an experiment that would be hard, impossible, or unethical to actually perform. It can also be an abstract hypothetical that is ...
in
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...
. The first book, ''The Universe Next Door'', takes place in different universes in accord with the
many worlds interpretation of quantum physics; in the second, ''The Trick Top Hat'', characters are unknowingly connected through
non-locality, i.e., having once crossed paths they are joined in
quantum entanglement
Quantum entanglement is the phenomenon where the quantum state of each Subatomic particle, particle in a group cannot be described independently of the state of the others, even when the particles are separated by a large distance. The topic o ...
; and the third book, ''The Homing Pigeons'', places characters in an "observer-created universe" in which
consciousness causes the collapse of the
wavefunction
In quantum physics, a wave function (or wavefunction) is a mathematical description of the quantum state of an isolated quantum system. The most common symbols for a wave function are the Greek letters and (lower-case and capital psi (letter) ...
.
Taking place in Unistat, which is the novel's
parallel
Parallel may refer to:
Mathematics
* Parallel (geometry), two lines in the Euclidean plane which never intersect
* Parallel (operator), mathematical operation named after the composition of electrical resistance in parallel circuits
Science a ...
to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the novels have intertwining plots involving a wide array of characters, including:
*
Epicene Wildeblood, a.k.a. Mary Margaret Wildeblood, a
transsexual
A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (incl ...
woman who throws great parties
* Frank Dashwood, president of
Orgasm
Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling"), sexual climax, or simply climax, is the sudden release of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, characterized by intense sexual pleasure resulting in rhythmic, involu ...
Research
*
Markoff Chaney Markov ( Bulgarian, ), Markova, and Markoff are common surnames used in Russia and Bulgaria. Notable people with the name include:
Academics
* Ivana Markova (1938–2024), Czechoslovak-British emeritus professor of psychology at the University of S ...
, a
prankster
* Hugh Crane, a.k.a. Cagliostro the Great, a
mystic and magician
* Furbish Lousewart V, author and President of Unistat
* Marvin Gardens, author and
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
addict
* Eve Hubbard, scientist and alternate President of Unistat
Series summary
In ''The Universe Next Door'', the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
of Unistat is Furbish Lousewart V; in that universe, a terrorist organization known as Purity of Essence (named after General Ripper's obsession in the film ''
Dr. Strangelove
''Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'' (known simply and more commonly as ''Dr. Strangelove'') is a 1964 political satire black comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is loosely ...
'') threatens to detonate nuclear devices in major cities all over Unistat. Also mirroring ''Dr. Strangelove'', Unistat has an automated device that will send nuclear missiles to
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in the event of such an attack. Russia has a similar device to bomb
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, and so on.
In ''The Trick Top Hat'', President Hubbard, promotes a scientific approach to the improvement of life: she offers rewards to anyone who can design a robot to do their job or develop methods to prolong life. Eventually Unistat becomes a
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
. She makes the whole law system into three different laws: victimless crimes, which have no punishment; crimes against property, which involve debt and payment; and serious crimes, such as murder, which result in being sent to Hell, a place like jail but not quite. It's encased in
laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...
shielding and is like a primitive world all its own. It is, in fact, the State of
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
. The original
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.
History
Pocket Books produced the first Paperback#Mass market paperback, mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and ...
edition of ''The Trick Top Hat'' contains many passages, some sexually explicit, that are not included in later editions, including the Dell softcover. Much of this material first appeared in Wilson's earlier novel, ''
The Sex Magicians'', published as pornography by Sheffield House in 1973.
The third volume, ''The Homing Pigeons'', features
President Kennedy, although it has very little to do with the President. Near the end of the book it keeps switching universes, some of which contain President Kennedy, others which contain President Lousewort, and still others in which Hubbard is the president. Like ''The Trick Top Hat'', ''The Homing Pigeons'' also has material in the Pocket Books edition that is not in later editions. Unlike ''The Trick Top Hat'', however, the material that was cut out did not contain particularly sexually explicit content.
The main plots throughout these books are many. One follows Markoff Chaney, a midget, and his pranks played on the world that continuously screws him over. Most of his pranks are played on Dr. Dashwood, of Orgasm Research. However, the most important plot line follows the path of one Hugh Crane which may or may not be this Universe's Hagbard Celine; a character that is an obvious representation of Wilson himself.
Another follows an "Ithyphallic Eidolon", a penis removed from a
transsexual
A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (incl ...
woman named Epicene (post-surgery, Mary Margaret) Wildebloode. She puts it on display on her mantelpiece, where it gets stolen. It passes through the vicinity of almost every character in the series at least once.
There are dozens of
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
theories,
strange loops,
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
and
paranoia
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...
included within those pages. In addition, there are numerous references to other works and occasional outright appropriation of characters from them (including cameos by
Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in Herman Melville's ''Moby-Dick'' (1851). He is the monomaniacal captain of the whaling ship '' Pequod''. On a previous voyage, the white whale Moby Dick bit off Ahab's leg and ...
and
Lemuel Gulliver
Lemuel Gulliver () is the fictional protagonist and narrator of ''Gulliver's Travels'', a novel written by Jonathan Swift, first published in 1726.
In ''Gulliver's Travels''
According to Swift's novel, Gulliver was born in Nottinghamshire c. ...
, among others). Many of the character names are either puns ("Bertha van Ation," referring to the 1915 film ''
The Birth of a Nation
''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...
'', "Juan Tootrego") or references to historical personages (Blake Williams refers to the poet
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
, Francis Dashwood's name refers to
Sir Francis Dashwood
Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer, PC, FRS (December 1708 – 11 December 1781) was an English politician and rake, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1762–1763) and founder of the Hellfire Club.
Life and career
Early life
Dashwood was ...
).
Tanstagi
"Tanstagi", an
acronym
An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
standing for "There Ain't No Such Thing As Government Interference", is the motto of the Invisible Hand Society, an originally fictional organization invented in the ''Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy''. The acronym was deliberately intended as a reference to
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
's
TANSTAAFL
"No such thing as a free lunch" (also written as "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" or "There is no such thing as a free lunch" and sometimes called Crane's law) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get some ...
principle.
The Tanstagi principle is meant to imply that the
invisible hand
The invisible hand is a metaphor inspired by the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith that describes the incentives which free markets sometimes create for self-interested people to accidentally act in the public interest, even ...
of the
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...
applies to government as well. In other words, contrary to traditional ideas of
laissez-faire capitalism
''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire' ...
, government interference in the free market is impossible, since governments are inextricably a part of the market as a whole. 'Government' is not a separate institution—it is a word used to describe the actions of a large number of individuals subject to the same (at least qualitatively) pressures as everyone else. Both of these ideas are part of what is known as 'economic Taoism.'
While it was first introduced in a novel, people claiming to be members or know of chapters of the Invisible Hand Society have occasionally appeared in editorial pages and on the Internet.
Language and invented slang
The ''Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy'' is a fictional story, with much interpersonal dialogue between characters. This dialogue frequently makes use of slang words invented by the author, as a substitute for words that were, in the 1970s, typically taboo to speak about in modern western culture. In case a censorship case was brought against the book, Wilson made use of the names of Supreme Court Justices as "stand ins" for certain words. Examples include "
Potter Stewart
Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an American lawyer and judge who was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981. During his tenure, he made major contributions to criminal justice reform ...
ing", an expression used as a substitute for a common word that refers to the act of copulation, and "Burgering", referring to the act of voiding one's bowels (referring to Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986,
Warren E. Burger
Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986.
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the William Mitchell College o ...
), etc.
Reception
Greg Costikyan
Greg Costikyan (born July 22, 1959), sometimes known under the pseudonym Designer X, is an American game designer and science fiction writer.
Costikyan's career spans nearly all extant genres of gaming, including: hex-based wargames, role-playing ...
reviewed ''Schrödinger's Cat'' in ''
Ares Magazine'' #2 and commented that "It deals with uncertainty, sub-nuclear physics; Oriental philosophy, violence, sex and nuclear war. If this description seems confusing to you, you will be more confused after reading the novel. Purchase it; you will either love it or despise it."
Greg Costikyan
Greg Costikyan (born July 22, 1959), sometimes known under the pseudonym Designer X, is an American game designer and science fiction writer.
Costikyan's career spans nearly all extant genres of gaming, including: hex-based wargames, role-playing ...
reviewed ''Schrodinger's Cat II: The Trick Top Hat'' in ''
Ares Magazine'' #10 and commented that "Wilson is not a writer for the unware; the ''Schrodinger's Cat'' series is immensely enjoyable, but requires a reader who will think. Aficionados of space opera need not apply."
Greg Costikyan
Greg Costikyan (born July 22, 1959), sometimes known under the pseudonym Designer X, is an American game designer and science fiction writer.
Costikyan's career spans nearly all extant genres of gaming, including: hex-based wargames, role-playing ...
reviewed ''Schrodinger's Cat III: The Homing Pigeons'' in ''
Ares Magazine'' #11 and commented that "''Schrodinger's Cat III'' proves once again that Wilson is one of the best and most interesting writers of whom science fiction can boast."
Publication details
* Previously published in three separate volumes by
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.
History
Pocket Books produced the first Paperback#Mass market paperback, mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy
Science fiction book series
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...
Discordianism
Dystopian novels
Novels by Robert Anton Wilson
Fiction about trans-Neptunian objects
Novels about parallel universes
Fiction about quantum mechanics