Three years later, students in Germany discovered the Lifts echo properties demonstrated in quantum mechanic experiments that formed the foundation of the field. Instead of properties unique to matter at an atomic level, these new phenomena were operating on our human scale and the same issues of observation and measurement affecting matter moving through these tears had been realized. What once was thought to be the physical rules of electrons and photons were now being applied to molecules of combined atoms. Objects. Humans. Many would hypothesize that this meant outside our known universe must be an observer. An observer that, like in the quantum world of yesterday, was now affecting our scale and physical world today. This observer relationship to the Lifts was broadcast the world over to inform the public about the new potential dangers of passing through one of the columns without an observer present to keep the other individual in their present material form and not a conversion into wave-like energy.

Matter passed through appeared fine when directly observed by another party, but when the transfer went unobserved, the matter fragmented and duplicated like pond ripples, as waves, as energy. Like a worn ink stamp, the first individual looked normal, but to their left and right were instances of inferior quality, their existence and similarity to the original dimming progressively. Bodies without arms, faces skinned over without features, brains fused with bone, and internal disabilities that would take years to discover and even longer to understand had been byproducts of a careless step into the Lifts. Only a handful of echoes would remain longer than a couple minutes. Those distortions that disappeared would fade into nothingness in a matter of hours or minutes.

Time continued and the world became accustomed to them. Some would remain cautious, only watching and marveling at them from afar. Others would choose exploration and abuse.

Six years later the Lifts seemed to stop. Six years the knowledgeable concluded the Observer was absent. Six years later we were alone.
Six years later.

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