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Folded Universe Series - 6 books:  What if the imaginary dimension that is necessary in standard physics equations were an actual dimension like length, width, and depth? And what if the universe were folded in that dimension so that parts of the universe that are distant in the standard dimensions were close in that new dimension? What would you find if you could travel in that direction? Robert Anson Hunter (Bob) and Susan Fletcher (Suzie) discover that the imaginary values used in the wave equations of physics actually represent a real fourth dimension, just not one that is readily apparent because the three-dimensional universe is folded in this fourth dimension. The ramifications of this discovery are revolutionary scientifically, economically and politically. Jura: [Published March 2025]An imaginary dimension yields a new planet What they found was dinosaurs! Bob Hunter is a new assistant professor in the math department at the University of Tennessee and Suzie Fletcher is a new assistant professor of physics at UT. They are busy with teaching duties, counseling students, and serving on departmental committees. Additionally, they are expected to be working on publishing papers. All of this is completely ordinary for young professors. However, Bob has an idea. He proposed that the imaginary values in common physics actually represented a real dimension, different from the normal length, width, and depth dimensions. Further, he suggested that, if the universe were folded in this imaginary dimension, it might be possible to view distant parts of the universe as if they were next door. Bob and Suzie found this concept so intriguing that they work on it in their spare time. Their work also brings out criminals who want to use it for their own purposes. Jura Colony: [Published March 2025] Portals lead to big changes Bob and Suzie Hunter, with their friends, Pat and Rita Kelly, have incorporated Folded Universe as a company. Bob and Suzie’s paper has been published and created an enormous stir in the world of physics. Other physicists assured them that it was worthy of a Nobel Prize. Their safari business is doing well and the government wants a plan for creating a colony on Jura. Bob and Suzie are also working on a use for the portals that will totally disrupt the economy if it isn’t implemented properly. However, one of the criminals who stole a portal generator lost it to Russian spies. Amidst their theoretical researches, Bob and Suzie have to contend with both Russian and Chinese aggression. They were planning on economic upheaval, not wars. Yucatan: [Published April 2025] Asteroids can be dangerous The Russian and Chinese assaults were defeated through the use of portals supplied by Folded Universe. However, there were still spies, seduction, and a war being planned. Folded Universe is now a profitable company. Bob and Suzie Hunter and Pat and Rita Kelly are running safaris on Jura and have helped found a colony on Jura. The Russians have also founded a colony where they had previously had a military base. Rita and Pat are running a large University of Tennessee project that is funded by the National Science Foundation to investigate Jura. And the math and physics departments are researching various aspects of the 4-dimensional space that contains the folded universe; Bob and Suzie are leading these efforts. But Jura was just one of the near-Earth planets, so Bob and Suzie picked another planet to investigate. This one contained an abandoned city that was being engulfed by a jungle of vegetation. Accordingly, they named this planet Yucatan. Hades: [Published May 2025] Describing the folded universe is important Bob and Suzie have completed their second major paper, this one providing the theoretical explanation of the folding of the universe and a predictive map of the folds. Within the university, applied science is flourishing. The geographers are searching for remnants of the population of Yucatan and the planetary scientists want Bob and Suzie to find an exotic planet to explore. At the same time, Folded Universe’s implementation of the major air routes with a portal-based system is bringing in a phenomenal amount of money. On the international front, Russia and China have exhausted each other, but Syria’s dreams of forming a Greater Syria are generating a quagmire. Settlements: [Published May 2025] Hunting dinosaurs for trophies can be dangerous Suzie and Bob have shared the Nobel Prize in physics for their first bombshell paper and are set to give lectures around the country. However, they have chosen to avoid the prestigious universities and make their presentations at institutions that seldom see prominent speakers. France, Germany and the UK are all building their own colonies on Jura, bringing the total settlements there to five. Bob and Suzie are worried that trophy hunting for dinosaurs will be instituted and that, in time, the planet’s ecology could be irreparably damaged. On Yucatan, the survivors that Pat had found were now settled into three towns, the subjects of intense anthropological study. At some point, the researchers were going to make contact with the survivors, although how and when were not yet determined. Herders: [Published June 2025] The survivors of the Yucatan disaster need to recover Bob and Suzie and their friends are working to help the survivors of the catastrophe on Yucatan. The pack animals are expected to be a major resource for the survivors and the preservation of low-technology skills at the Museum of Appalachia is a godsend. In the sciences, more Nobel Prizes have been awarded and more are expected. The exploration of the solar system is going well and students are searching for new planets to explore. At the same time, rogue dinosaur-trophy hunters are a problem and the Chinese are not through causing trouble. The US production of steel and rare earths minerals from Hades is severely damaging the Chinese economy and their sales of “dragon’s teeth” from Jura isn’t enough to make up the deficit. However, the Chinese have a plan. Sciences used and abused:  Physics - curved space; mathematics - topology; military science; planetary sciences; astronomy; anthropology; sociology; geography; geology.                Allosaur on Jura                                            Ruined city of Maya on Yucatan             Hades a as seen from Hades b                                 Chased by a dinosaur                                       Yucatan pack animal

Bob and Suzie Pat and Rita                      Ken and April                                                      Brian and Paula                      Camille and Leon                                                   Lacey and Hal Jura map

Addendum:

These novels are science fiction. That means they are stories with some connection to science, particularly speculative science.

Physics

We experience three directional dimensions and one time dimension.  However, there is another dimension that effects us - it is an imaginary dimension.  This dimension is useful in describing electromagnetic radiation, which travels through space over time, yet requires this extra dimension.

We also have proof that space has a local curvature; light is bent as it passes through gravity wells.

Mathematics

Mathematically, curvature can be positive, zero, or negative.  By convention, the surface of a sphere has positive curvature.  A saddle point has negative curvature.  You can think of the surface not having enough stuff to lie flat as you get further from your reference point.  The constant pi is the ratio of the diameter of a circle and its circumference.  On a sphere, this ratio is not constant and is less than pi.  For negative curvature, there is too much stuff for the surface to lie flat.  A circle drawn around a point on the inside of a torus would have a ratio greater than pi.  The brim of a typical cowboy hat has this feature.

Fiction

The fictional assumption is that our universe has generally negative curvature and thus has many folds.  In the one-dimensional view below, the universe is folded back and forth to fit into a small area.  The observed directional dimension follows the curve and the extra dimension is the imaginary dimension.  Thus, if you could travel along the imaginary dimension, you could skip lots of conventional space and get to a distant location more quickly.  The book assumes a method of doing this that matches a disk at our location with a disk at a distant location.  The math uses Dehn's lemma and the substitution of axes.  The physics is fictional.

The figure below shows how two different stars (four-pointed objects) might be easily accessible from the Sun (five-pointed object).

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