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

stopped to eat. He also rang Ramondo back at Skipton, and told him all was well. Henry spoke to a few people in Fort William, and after he had finished his lunch, he felt recharged and ready to make his way on the last leg of the journey to Inverness. As he left the town, the road became quiet once again, and as he looked out of his window, he could see Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis, to his right. As he wandered along, he could see why the district was known as the Highlands. By the time he reached Glen More, otherwise known as the Great Glen, he noticed a sign for Loch Ness further ahead. When he arrived there, Henry stopped beside the banks of the loch a few times in anticipation, but never managed to see the infamous monster.
It wasn’t until almost 5.30 that Henry arrived on the outskirts of Inverness, after which he went into an inn, for a drink and a bite to eat. He examined his map of the district, to ascertain how to get to his hotel, too. It wasn’t until about 7’ that he booked into it, and watched a DVD in his room, before having an early night. All the driving had taken it’s toll on Henry. He wanted to get an early start the next morning, too.
In hindsight, Henry felt it was a good decision to leave early the next morning, as the weather forecast for the day ahead was rough. It was only just getting light as he left the hotel and headed for the A9, the main dual carriageway out of the city. It was rather cloudy to say the least, and windy too, even when he turned inland and onto the road that should take him to Ullapool.
As Henry drove onwards, however, he noticed the fog increasing. The fog seemed to get thicker and thicker the further westward he went, until at one point he decided to stop altogether. He couldn’t see any car lights behind him or ahead, not that he could see very far at all. Henry looked at his map, trying to guess where precisely he was. To his left, he could just see a steep grass slope, but was unable to tell what was on his right, so decided to get out of the car. As he walked across the road, he noticed the ground dropping, and what seemed a loch a little further down.
Henry remembered passing a sign for Loch Garve, but was unsure how much further he’d since driven. Reluctant to go any further forward, Henry pulled over to the side of the road, and sat in his car, listening to a CD, in the hope that the fog would lift. Instead, it seemed to get thicker. Not one vehicle went past him, on either side, so he could ask for help from no-one. Henry considered going on regardless, but realised that if he proceeded slowly, as was necessary in the current situation, he wouldn’t get to Ullapool until after the boat was due to sail for Stornoway. That was if the conditions were good enough for the boat to set sail at all.
Henry considered contacting Andrew MacDougall, whom he was due to meet, and canceling the appointment, but he knew that wouldn’t help his ambition at all. He then remembered that there was an airport at Inverness, and that there were flights from there to Stornoway, at which point he decided to turn back. Henry got out his car again, and could see there was little room to manouevre, so reversed slowly for over a mile, until he noticed a gap to his left. It seemed like the entrance to a farm road, so he reversed here before heading back for Inverness. Fortunately, as he proceeded, the fog lifted, though the wind became fiercer.
It wasn’t until after 9.30 when he arrived at Inverness Airport. Though the fog had lifted, Henry got soaked as the rain lashed down, while finding the pay-box and booking his car for a 24-hour stay. He ran for the entrance to the airport, and went straight to the radiator to dry himself, before ringing home.
“Good Morning, Major Motors, how can I help?” was the reply on the line.
“Hi Zebrina, it’s Henry here,” he told her. “How is everything back home?”
“Oh, fine, fine,” she replied. How are you?”
“Drenched, basically,” said Henry. “Could I speak to Ramondo or Lucas please, if they’re available?”
“I’m afraid they’ve gone out on a job, and left me to hold the fort,” she told him. “Is there anything you’d like me to tell them?”
“No, no, not really,” he replied. “You can let them know I’m safe – I’ll probably give them a call later. I haven’t had much to eat this morning, so I’m off to find a fast food store here. If they have one! Cheerio.”
First of all though, Henry walked over to the departure screen, where he noticed a flight that had been due to leave for Stornoway at 9.25 hadn’t yet left. Perhaps the delay was due to the weather. He also noticed another flight due for Stornoway just after midday. This gave him plenty of time to buy a ticket for the flight and check in. He then walked a little further, and around the next corner, was a small restaurant, where he had breakfast. He then called Andrew MacDougall to let him know he’d be at Stornoway by about 1 pm.
By midday, the fog had cleared from the Highlands, as Henry’s flight took off from Inverness. The plane touched down at Stornoway at 12.45. Henry called Andrew as he entered the Arrivals area at Stornoway airport. It was too small to be classified as a lounge in itself.
In fact, Henry noticed the airport was even smaller than the one at Inverness. He had thought Leeds/Bradford airport was small, but it seemed massive compared to what he’d seen that morning. Henry didn’t have to wait long before Andrew MacDougall arrived.
“Hello, Mr Retono, I presume?” a voice said as Henry turned around.
“And you must be Andrew MacDougall,” Henry replied, as he stood up to shake his hand. “You can call me Henry, by the way.”
“Pleased to meet you Henry,” Andrew said to him. “Did you get here alright?”
“Yes thanks,” Henry replied. “The weather was pretty rough earlier this morning, but it improved by lunchtime, I’m pleased to say.”
“Have you been waiting here long?” asked Andrew.
“No, not really,” Henry replied, as he was about to divulge where he’d come from, but decided not to, in case it would attract more questions.
“Have you had anything for lunch yet?” Andrew asked.
“I had a late breakfast, but I’m a little thirsty,” Henry told him. “I wouldn’t mind a snack and something to drink, if that’s okay by you?”
“I was hoping you might say that, “replied Andrew. ”There’s a nice pub in town, where they have beautiful Stornoway fish meals. You’d love the local cuisine. How long will you be staying, by the way?”
“I was intending to return on the 6.20 flight, though I could stay overnight,” said Henry. “My car is booked for a 24 hour stay, so I can get the 9.00 flight tomorrow morning.”
“You should be okay for tonight then,” Andrew replied, as he led Henry to his car in the airport car park. “I just wanted to discuss your proposals first of all, to get a better idea of the expense, and how much we may save if we went ahead with the proposals.”
“I can’t be sure as to how much you’d save, without first being aware of the current expenses,” said Henry.
“Perhaps I should have explained, we sub-contract both gas and electricity for the Western Isles,” Andrew informed him. “Therefore, the final bills may be a little higher than those on the mainland.”
“So presumably, you have to account for maintenance and operating costs of sub stations?” Henry queried.
“That is correct,” said Andrew. “I’ll show you our books when we get to my office. I may take you around the island, too, if we have enough time.”
“Are there any particular sites of interest for my proposal?” asked Henry.
“There are, but I can’t really say too much more at present, as these are merely proposals at this stage,” replied Andrew, as he unlocked his car door.
Andrew then drove Henry the short distance to The Hebridean Man, the local inn he had referred to. While Andrew went to the bar to purchase drinks and order the meals, Henry took out the information papers, which he had taken to give to Andrew. After lunch, he presented it to him. Andrew looked at it carefully.
“Have you made some amendments to your proposal?” he asked Henry.
“I have made a few slight amendments, though I’d refer to them more as updates,” Henry replied. “You’ll notice that the turbine is hanging over the sea, from two arms locked into the cliffs behind.”
“And every wave that crashes into the turbine is creating energy?” Andrew queried.
“Precisely,” said Henry. “Within the turbine is a battery, which absorbs the energy. The energy is then transmitted to the main sub-station via connections within the arms.”
“There are cliffs on the island facing the Atlantic currents, suitable for the turbine, but there may be a slight problem,” Andrew told him.
“What would that be?” asked Henry.
“The main sub station is inland,” Andrew explained. “We would need to lengthen the connections.”
“The connections may need to be fitted beneath ground, but it shouldn’t need to be too long,“ advised Henry. “This island is not much more than a few miles at it’s longest point, is it?”
“We could build a new sub station nearby,” said Andrew. ”Mind you, that may face problems of it’s own.”
“Oh, what problems might they be?” asked Henry.
“Well, with strong gales we often receive from the Atlantic, the sub station would take a battering if it were sighted near the coast,” explained Andrew.
“If a new sub station was built near the coast, perhaps it could be built at a lower level, below ground,” Henry suggested. “It shouldn’t take up much room, should it?”
“No, not really, I suppose,” muttered Andrew. “I think the other option may be better, as most of the accommodation on the island is in Stornoway, facing the UK rather than the Atlantic. I’ll have a careful think about it.”
“I think you’ll find this isn’t the only project of it’s kind,” Henry then stated.
“Oh?” queried Andrew. “Is there something like this elsewhere in the UK?
“Not in the UK,” Henry told him. “There is a similar scheme on the west coast of Ireland.”
“Oh, do you know whereabouts?” asked Andrew curiously.
“I’m not sure of the precise location, but it’s somewhere off the coast of County Kerry,” informed Henry. “Planning permission was granted by the local council, though I’m not sure of it’s name.”
“Have you looked on the web?” asked Andrew.
“Yes, the name of the council is in Gaelic, and I can’t recall precisely how it’s spelt,” Henry told him, quickly realizing that though this was meant as a bluff, he had probably stumbled on the reason whey he couldn’t trace the council in question.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Andrew. “I’ll have a look on my PC when we go back to my office. I should be able to trace the council. After all, my council has a Gaelic name.”
“Is there much difference between Scotch and Irish Gaelic?” Henry asked.
“There are differences, but it’s nothing I wouldn’t be able to overcome,” Andrew told him. “Why don’t we go back to my office, to see what we can find on the internet?”
Andrew went to pay for their lunch before leading Henry to his office. There, after