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THE DIVINITY OF HIGHER DIMENSIONS 31
Figure 2.6 A man and his wife, in our 3-D world, trying to get some privacy in a
locked room, when suddenly, seemingly from out of nowhere, a grinning hypersphere
penetrates their space.
fingers lingeringly along the folds and convolutions of your brain. The
being could drink wine from a bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite claret, the
most expensive wine in the world, without popping the cork." You catch
your breath, hoping that Sally has found your lecture impressive and eloquent.
"Think how easy it would be to locate a blockage in a maze of
pipes. Or—" You pause dramatically. "Or imagine a 4-D vampire that
could suck your blood or impregnate you without your even seeing him."
Sally puts up her hand. "Stop! I get the picture." She pauses as you
both walk over to the window and watch the swollen sun collapse into a
notch between the columns of the Capitol building. Beautiful! The winter
sun burns the columns to a golden brown, and torpid yellow-tinted
clouds hang over the alabaster reflections. Soon it will be dark, and you
should head home.
Sally turns to you. "I think I understand what you're saying. If I had
the muscles to reach my arm up into the fourth dimension, I could reach
'through' a solid wall and take priceless pearls or a valuable Ming vase
from a sealed case in a museum. My arm would be completely solid the
whole time, but the theft would be accomplished by moving my arm up
through the fourth dimension. I would lift the vase out of the case by