CSB #4: Could we really wrinkle time?

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle, explores the possibility of momentous time and space travel.

Definitions:

Tesseract: The four dimensional model of a cube. In the book, however, it is referred to as the fifth dimension.

Aberration: A undesirable departure from the norm. The occupants of the strange planet that the main characters visit use the word several times.

Summary:

Meg, an ordinary, unpopular girl, is older sister to Charles Wallace, who is anything but ordinary. Charles possesses uncommon intelligence, and can speak fluently at age three, using words like "prodigious." The household is somewhat broken because the childrens' father disappeared a year before the story. One day, they are whisked away on an amazing adventure, along with a boy named Calvin, by Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit. These three strange beings, later revealed to be former stars, explain to them the presence of The Black Thing, an intense mass of evil. The protagonists are then informed that their father is imprisoned on a planet which has submitted to the Black Thing. Camazotz, the dark planet, is "governed" by a giant brain (IT), which controls the mind of all the planet's inhabitants. Punishment for disobedience is to be brought into close contact with IT. Meg rescues her father using willpower, and the four arrive home safely.

Discussion:

The science portion of this book is in two elements: "tessering" and the control IT has over the minds of Camazotzians. Tessering is when the former stars "fold" time and space. This is explained with an ant demonstration, as shown in the picture. They "fold" time and space and

simply "be" where they want to go. Meg's father ended up on Camazotz by attempting this, although in his case it went badly wrong. It would be amazing if it were possible to "fold" time and space, as it would be very effective. L'Engle suggests that humans can do it in Meg's fathers attempt. Secondly, IT's mind controlling powers are not entirely impossible. It would, in effect, be sending sets of telepathic information. If humans could perform telepathy, even with the use of a small device, IT would be possible. I think (though I have no sources on this one) that scientists are researching telepathy, and so it may one day be possible.

Questions:

1) How could time or space be "folded"? Is it a mental concept or is it physically possible?

2) Would telepathy alone account for IT's powers? Not only can IT tell other what to do, they have a hard time resisting. Is it just the signal strength?

Resources:

The book: L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Yearling, 1962. Print.

Picture