A regular object moves along a predictable path, like a ball. In the quantum world, a particle is smeared into a probability cloud. To find order in this fog, scientists have recast Schrödinger's equation in the language of flowing water.
The number of such vortices is always an integer, and that's all you need for precise energy quantization. Previously, level calculations relied on the approximate Bohr–Sommerfeld rule, which often failed. In the new picture, the integer nature of vortices automatically yields the correct spectrum. It also clarifies the origin of the eternal jitter even in a 'still' particle: it's the swirling flow around the zeros. Vortices exist at every point where the particle cannot be, and it is they that determine its energy — much like an invisible whirlpool in a mountain lake sets the water level.
The number of vortex-zeros is always an integer, like the set of notes in a chord determines its sound.
In Dune, navigators manipulate probabilities; perhaps vortex-zeros are knobs you can tug to pull the fabric of reality.