Mobius Dick

Published Jan 2010

A lost lover resurfaces in the life of physicist John Ringer when he receives a mysterious text message. But does it really come from the woman he knew? Mobius Dick is a dazzlingly inventive story that blends techno-thriller, historical fantasy, philosophy and farce with a cast of characters that includes composers, scientists, geniuses and madmen. Ringer journeys to the Scottish Highlands where investigations at a remote research facility promise a new kind of communication technology based on the laws of quantum theory. But as he gets nearer the truth about his lost love, his world starts to become a very different place. Inexplicable coincidences and instances of telepathy and false memory mount, with humorous, brain-teasing results. Could the paradoxes of quantum mechanics be governing Ringer’s own destiny? Beneath its griping plot, Mobius Dick traces the history of an idea. Just how real is reality, how much of it simulation? In a series of episodes that at first appear unrelated, we encounter real-life historical figures : Robert Schumann, Erwin Schrodinger, Friedrich Nietzsche, Herman Melville : and also hapless amnesiac Harry Dick, making his first efforts in ‘creative writing’ from his hospital bed. Gradually the pieces come together, creating a story of wit and ambition : an homage to classic literature and an indictment of cultural relativism; whose climax is truly earth shattering.