Eight characters share the rooftop on Diwali night for the two-door test. Same family as Book 1, with one new arrival: Schro the temple cat.
Main character, age eight. Asks the big question.
She lives in the Quantum Bazaar. In this book she wants to know if light is a drop or a wave. She sets up the two-door test on the rooftop on Diwali night and watches what happens on the cotton sheet.
Grandfather robot. Sets up the two-door test.
A gentle brass-coloured robot who once worked at the Saha Institute. He cuts the two doors in the cardboard, holds the lantern steady, and asks Quanta to be patient.
Grandmother robot, retired scientist. Tells the history.
She brings the chai tray up to the rooftop and tells Quanta about Thomas Young and the first time anyone saw bands of light. She speaks softly, but every word matters.
Cousin, same age as Quanta. Counts the stripes.
He fixes brass clocks and flies kites from the rooftop. He thinks light is a drop and is happy to be proved wrong, as long as he is the one who counts the stripes.
Aunt in Mylapore, Chennai. Holds the cotton sheet.
She is on a video call from her terrace. She holds the cotton sheet for the firework test and laughs when the many-bands pattern shows up on the white cloth.
The sleepy qubit. Notices the pattern.
Q0 nods solemnly on Quanta’s shoulder. He says less than Q1 but he is the one who quietly notices when the pattern changes.
The loud qubit. Cheers each new band.
Q1 bounces with excitement when the many-bands pattern appears. He claps with both little hands and announces every new stripe as if it were a goal.
A black-and-white temple cat. Sleeps through it all.
She sleeps on the rooftop through the whole experiment. She is always fine. She does not need the box.
Each portrait above is also the colouring page for that character inside Book 2. When the printed book reaches you, these are the pages your child can colour in with crayons, sketch pens, or watercolours. The book stays the same. The colour is yours.
Final printed art is hand-redrawn by a credited human illustrator from the RSL Quantum Studio drafts.
