On March 25th, 1938, a 31-year-old physicist named Etaire Maorana bought a ticket for a ferry from Palermo to Naples.

That night before boarding, he sent a letter to Antonio Carelli, director of the

Naples Physics Institute. In the letter, he said, Dear Corelli, I have made a decision that has become

unavoidable. There isn't a bit of selfishness in it, but I realize what trouble my sudden disappearance

will cause you and the students.

For this as well, I beg your forgiveness, but especially for betraying the trust, the sincere

friendship, and the sympathy you gave me over the past months.

I ask you to remember me to all those I learned to know and appreciate in your institute,

especially skeuity.

I will keep a fond memory of them all at least until 11 p.m. tonight, possibly later too.

He was never seen again. Enrico Fermi, affectionately known as the Pope of physics, had this

to say about At Atari. There are several

categories of scientists in the world. Those of second or third rank do their best, but never

get very far. Then there is the first rank, those who make important discoveries fundamental

to scientific progress. But then there are the geniuses like Galileo and Newton.

Mayerana was one of these.

One year before he disappeared,

Mayerana published his last paper.

A strange, quiet little work that most physicists ignored at the time.

It described a theoretical possibility, a particle that

is its own antiparticle, something that shouldn't be able to exist, something that if it does exist,

just might unlock the future of physics. We still don't know what happened to Atore Maerana,

...