The Twins Paradox by Alan Gasparutti (best contemporary novels txt) 📖

fifty-two at the time,” said Arthur.
“It’s not really that unusual for someone to retire at that age, though,” said Henry. “Especially those in senior positions. Perhaps he wanted to retire.”
“That’s just it,” said Arthur. “Frank never even considered retiring. He was offered a golden retirement on condition that he closed the case of the oncoming asteroid.”
“The Interstellar Pilgrim, you mean?” queried Henry.
“Yes indeed,” replied Arthur. “Frank had always been suspicious of the asteroid, particularly as it had been travelling much, much faster than your normal asteroid.”
“So how much was he offered to retire?” asked Henry.
“He wouldn’t say,” said Arthur. “I tried to read his mind at the time and could see 5 million dollars, but I don’t know for certain. Oh, by the way, he asked me, Dermot and Clint never to say anything about it.”
“Dermot’s your chief at the European Space Agency, isn’t he?” queried Henry, trying to fathom who Arthur was referring to. “Who’s Clint? Was he another friend you met at the convention?”
“Yes,” Arthur told him. “He was Frank’s friend and agreed to come along with him. You’ll never guess where they met?”
“At NASA?” queried Henry.
“Clint was called in by NASA to train for the space-shuttle,” Arthur told him. “He was actually the man who fired the missiles towards the Interstellar Pilgrim.”
“How do you know he couldn’t have been the assassin?” asked Henry.
“Because he was sitting beside Frank,” explained Arthur. “Besides, they caught the attempted-assassin.”
“That’s no guarantee,” said Henry. “They claim to have caught the man who shot JFK, but it’s suspected that there were others lurking around the place at the time who have never been caught.”
“If Clint was going to shoot Frank he’d have done it a long while ago, certainly in the past year,” Arthur commented. “Besides, Frank asked all of us to keep this a secret.”
“There were other factors why Frank was to be assassinated,” said Arthur.
Just then, as he was about to expand on this, they heard a knock on the door. Arthur went to open it, and Lucas brought in a tray of tea and biscuits. Henry thanked Lucas, before he left and closed the door.
“So, tell me, you had a little business to put my way?” Henry then queried.
“Dermot asked if he could have a car like mine,” Arthur explained. “He was very pleased and surprised how well the car handled, particularly when I drove out of San Bernardino and into the hills of California.”
“Oh, I had thought you had a full order,” said Henry.
“I may do later on,” said Arthur. “If Dermot can drive his car around Paris, you may have some interest from France.”
“Did he want one like yours?” Henry asked.
“If you have a sporty model, I think he’d prefer one of those,” replied Arthur.
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” said Henry. “We can charge him a bit more for a sporty model.”
“How much do you think it will cost?” Arthur asked.
“About £20,000.00, I should think,” said Henry. “Do you know how much he’d be prepared to pay for it?”
“I’m not sure really,” said Arthur. “The price of some of today’s sports cars are extortionate. You could charge quite a bit, as Dermot will probably have it paid by the European Space Agency.”
“I don’t think that’s right,” said Henry. “I don’t approve of top bosses who pay for things through company expenses.”
“I shouldn’t worry about that,” commented Arthur. “Dermot is Director of Development, so much of his interest in the car is to develop something for future ESA missions to the Moon and Mars.”
“What? To take as a vehicle to drive along the planet?” asked Henry.
“Yes, that’s the idea,” replied Arthur.
“I’ll take you along to see the model, before we go home,” Henry said to him as he picked up his cup of tea.
“Good idea,” said Arthur. “I might fancy the model myself. Who knows, you may even sell another car.”
“Why? Would you be interested in buying one?” Henry asked. “With all due respect, you’re not exactly the sort of person I’d imagine driving a sports car.”
“Just because I’m not a teenage tearaway doesn’t mean to say I wouldn’t fancy a sports car of my own,” replied Arthur. “Oh yes, there’s something else I ought to tell you.”
“Oh, what’s that?” Henry queried. “Do you have more business to put my way?”
“Yes, there’s that as well,” said Arthur. “What I mean to say is that I told them about the Interstellar Pilgrim.”
Henry coughed with an almighty surprise, spurting his tea out onto the table. He was very annoyed.
“I don’t suppose you approve,” Arthur mumbled to him apologetically.
“I gave clear instructions nobody from the ‘Pilgrim was to let-on our true identities or where we came from. And that included you!” shouted Henry. “What the bloody hell were you thinking of?”
“I only told Dermot, Frank and Clint,” said Arthur. “I didn’t broadcast it to the whole of the convention when I was on stage.”
“I don’t care if you told Fido, Mutley or Nellie the Elephant!” Henry told Arthur. “Under absolutely no circumstances was anyone from the Interstellar Pilgrim to tell of our identities and origin.”
“I don’t think we need worry about this,” said Arthur. “I know a secret about Frank as well, don’t forget, so he won’t say anything. It wouldn’t be in his interest to do so, anyway. Even if he did tell about this, he’d probably be laughed at, and the US military, or someone high up, would order him to be shot, more than likely.”
“What about Clint or Dermot?” asked Henry.
“Clint wouldn’t say anything – he’s almost as implicated in all this as Frank,” replied Arthur. “Besides, Clint’s a rather quiet man, who usually tries to keep out of the limelight. Dermot wouldn’t say anything either. He knows that if NASA, or even the Russian Space Federation, found out about me they’d try and get me to work for them instead.”
Henry thought to himself for a moment.
“Besides, I could have erased this from their memories, if I wanted to,” pointed out Arthur. “I can still do it if you want me to.”
“No, no, no, we’ll leave it this time,” agreed Henry. “But under absolutely no circumstances are you to tell anyone on this planet, or anything for that matter, about our identities. Do I make myself clear??”
“Perfectly, Henry,” said Arthur.
“You inferred in all that that you may have some more business for me?” Henry queried.
“Yes, indeed,” said Arthur. “Frank and Dermot, and Clint to a lesser extent, were interested in my car, with a view to developing a similar motor in the USA.”
Henry just looked at Arthur and asked him to elaborate.
“Well, they don’t have the sort of money to build a new factory, with the machines and resources to manufacture digital cars in volume, not even with Frank’s pay-off,” Arthur explained.
“You didn’t tell them your car was manufactured by the replicator, I hope?” queried Henry.
“Oh no, I didn’t tell them about the replicator,” replied Arthur. “As far as they’re aware, my digital car was built in a factory like every other car.”
“Good. Let’s keep it that way,” said Henry. “Didn’t Clint get a pay-off as well?”
“Yes, but I don’t think it was as big as the one Frank received,” said Arthur. “Besides, he didn’t leave any clues when I tried to read his mind. We all agreed that they needed the backing of someone senior, who supported the environment.”
“I doubt you’d find many people like that in the USA,” said Henry. “Mind you, the Governor of California was supposed to have green credentials.”
“Yes indeed,” said Arthur. “I used the force to inform him about the digital car, and to give him Frank and Dermot’s addresses and other details. That way he could contact them.”
“How much do your friends know about the car?” asked Henry.
“Everything, other than we used the replicator to make it,” Arthur told him. “When the Governor of California contacts Frank or Dermot, they’ll let me know about it, and we can go to California to demonstrate the car to the ‘Governor.”
“And with his backing, plus a little finance along the way, they could develop a totally new market,” Henry acknowledged.
“Yes indeed,” said Arthur. “And the Governor of California is probably the best person to advertise the idea.”
“But how will this bring business to me?” queried Henry.
“Well, first of all, you can supply one of the cars – a sports car should do perfectly,” said Arthur. “If the idea takes off in California, it should take off here as well. Plus Dermot will be driving another digital car in Paris. As they say in the supermarket, every little helps.”
Henry then passed his mobile to Arthur, which had a picture of a new sports car.
“What do you think of it?” Henry asked.
“Not bad, not bad at all,” said Arthur. “Is this the finished model?”
“No not yet, I’m afraid,” said Henry. “This is the basic design we’ve come up with. The problem has been coming up with a new design – it seemed whatever we did to the original design, it ended up looking like one car or another that’s already out there.”
“I take your point,” said Arthur. “This looks a rather like one of those Opel Tigra’s.”
“Vauxhall Tigra’s, here in the UK,” Henry pointed out. “We have amended the sides of the car, the badge on the front is different, and the cabriolet roof has been updated, but otherwise it’s basically a Tigra.”
Arthur then left the mobile on the desk, while he went to pick up cup of his tea.
“You can keep the mobile phone,” Henry said to Arthur.
“Are you sure?” Arthur asked.
“You may as well,” said Henry. “It runs on solar power, a bit like calculators did on Earth twenty years ago, apparently.”
“That’s not a problem, is it?” Arthur queried.
“No, only that we don’t get enough sunshine in the UK,” replied Henry. “Take the mobile – it’s bound to operate better where you are, as you get a lot more sun than we do here.”
“Oh, thanks,” said a jolly Arthur. “Have you decided on a name for your motor business yet?”
“We haven’t come to a final decision as yet, but we were going to have a vote on it this weekend,” said Henry. “You’re welcome to be involved in the vote.”
“Are there any names up for suggestion?” Arthur asked.
“We considered giving the company a galactic name at first,” said Henry. “When we thought it over though, we found some names are in use, like Galaxy and Orion, and Universal has been used as a name for other companies in the past.”
“How about names like Stellar or Cosmic?” Arthur suggested. “What about Henry’s Motors?”
“I’ve thought about that, but apparently one of the early car pioneers was called Henry, Henry Ford I believe,” explained Henry. “Why don’t you put your suggestions forward at the meeting. I know some of the others will have a suggestion or two.”
“Is it being held anywhere special?” asked Arthur.
“Not really, unless you put the Ribblehead Inn in that class,” said Henry. “We’re all going there on Saturday night.”
“Hhmmm, I may come along,” Arthur replied unconvincingly.
“Don’t you want to come along?” Henry queried. “Wouldn’t you like a night out with the lads? You haven’t seen us for months.”
“You wouldn’t mind if I gave it a miss?” asked Arthur. “It’s just that I spent enough time last week drinking until the early hours.”
“Oh I see, you’ve found other friends now,” Henry commented. “You’re not one of the lads anymore, eh?”
“To be honest, I was never one of the lads,” replied