Schrödinger’s Cat Is

schrodingers cat

Elsa: “No we can’t open the box, not ever. Uncle Erwin forbids it.”

Inga: “How long has his cat been in there?”

Elsa: “A long time. Since I was very young. But Uncle Erwin says if we open it, or even peek inside, then we might kill it.”

Inga: “But surely the cat is long dead by now.”

Elsa: “It is strange, but I don’t think so. There is no smell, you see. A rat died in a trap behind the wall once, and it took weeks to figure out where that horrible odor came from. But the box has never smelled, not even a little, not once. Uncle Erwin says the cat is both alive and dead, as if it is trapped in both states at once.”

Inga: “What would happen if we looked inside?”

Elsa: “Different things maybe, it’s kind of confusing. One time Uncle Erwin said just peeking inside will either save the cat or kill it. But then another time he said the moment we peek we would make two different universes, one where the cat lives and one where it dies.“

Inga: “Remarkable! To think all of that could happen from just putting a cat in a box. So what is in that larger box, by the window?”

Elsa: “That’s Aunt Annemarie. We can’t open that one either. I will admit, that one smelled quite a lot.”