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

though Doctor Gammazeta didn’t seem to mind. The sky was clear, as they looked up towards the stars, holding one another.
“Do you see that bright star just above Whernside?” Ramondo said to her, to which she nodded. “That’s Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. One day, you might be there, searching it’s planets, looking for life.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked him.
“This time tomorrow, you’ll be preparing to leave us,” he said as she quickly looked around. “Don’t worry, there’s no one here to hear us. There’s hardly anyone around here in the daytime, let alone at night.”
“Well you shouldn’t talk like that anyway,” she told him. “How do you know I’ll be visiting Sirius?”
“I don’t really, but you’ll be visiting some star, somewhere,” sighed Ramondo.
“You don’t know that,” she replied. “If Professor Schmidt gets his way we may be closer than you think. Besides, I’m still not certain I’ll be leaving here.”
“You’re not still thinking of staying here, because of me?” he asked.
“Not just because of you, though there are some reasons why I’d like to stay with you,” she said to him with a cheeky grin. “Just being out here, in the fresh air, with hills and valleys to look at, as well as stars. Sometimes I feel I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
Ramondo smiled at her, and took his jacket off to place on her shoulders. Doctor Gammazeta smiled back at him, before she placed her arms around him, kissing him as if to say thank you. He then walked her carefully along the moss and towards the roadside, before they headed back to Ribblehead Cottage.

Friday was a day of rest for all of them. Henry invited everyone for a drink at the Ribblehead Inn as a farewell that afternoon. They couldn’t afford to get too drunk, however, as Commander Ondichi and his crew were due to leave in the early hours of Saturday morning.
While most of them were celebrating along with Henry, Doctor Gammazeta remained at the cottage, caught in two minds whether to return, or to remain on Earth. She considered her commitments back on the Interstellar Pilgrim, but had now realised that there was more to life than travelling across the cosmos, though she knew that life on Earth wouldn’t last as long as it would while travelling at 90% lightspeed. When she looked out of her bedroom window, though, she could see Penyghent standing sirene further down the valley, with fields of green grass, a few trees, and a little beck running behind them. From another window, she could see the 14.35 crossing Ribblehead viaduct. This seemed much more inviting than being couped-up in an asteroid. She knew a decision had to be made, but would this be the hardest decision of her life?
After everyone had supper, most of them had prepared to leave (not that they had much to pack away). They all knew that the Commander and his crew had to make the journey down Meregill hole, and back to the Large Reconnaissance Craft, in order to return to the Interstellar Pilgrim. They couldn’t afford to stay too long at the pot hole to say their farewells and give eachother long handshakes, so were about to leave at 10pm, before the usual rush of men coming out of the Ribblehead Inn. They were just waiting for Doctor Gammazeta.
“Where has she got to?” Commander Ondichi asked.
“You saw she’d been shopping and has some items to take back with her. You know what women can be like. Do you want to go inside and see?” suggested Henry.
Henry and Commander Ondichi went back into the house to see what she was up to, but couldn’t find her at first. It wasn’t until Henry went upstairs and heard some crying in the bathroom.
“Is that you Doctor?” he asked. “Are you alright in there?”
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I’m fine, really. I just need to get myself together.”
Henry called the Commander, who ran upstairs to see what all the fuss was about. As he came to the top stair, he saw Doctor Gammazeta coming out of the bathroom, and drying her eyes.
“Whatever is the matter?” he asked her.
“I’m sorry, Commander. Please don’t take this the wrong way,” she said to him.
“Take what the wrong way?” he asked.
Doctor Gammazeta was unsure what to say, or how to say it, as a few more tears fell from her eyes.
“You can tell me,” Commander Ondichi said to her. “I won’t hold anything against you. We have to go back now. Perhaps you might like to tell me in a private room when we get back.”
Professor Gammazeta then began to cry again, so the Commander put his arm around her to comfort her.
“I’ll keep it between you and me,” he said to her. “I promise.”
Doctor Gammazeta then looked up at the Commander, and gave one of her soft, sympathy-seeking frowns towards him. This time, however, it was all for real.
“I’m not sure if I want to return,” she managed to blurt out, before she began to cry once again. “I’ve realy enjoyed these past few days, and have seen another future that I can belong to.”
“I think we need to get a move-on,” Henry then told him. “We can’t keep the others waiting, and we can’t be certain there won’t be any pot holers tomorrow.”
“We won’t be going far away,” the Commander then told the doctor. “You saw it didn’t take us long to get here. Perhaps you can come back another time. There is a future here for all of us, but not just now.”
Doctor Gammazeta then dried her eyes, and went back to her bedroom to pick up the items she had bought. Five minutes later, she came out, her faced washed, dried and with new make-up on to hide any signs of her tears.
“Are you ready now?” the Commander asked her.
“I guess so,” she said, before following him and Henry down the stairs.
It was noticeable that she went to sit in Ramondo’s car. She talked to him on the short journey, until they eventually reached Meregill hole at an hour to midnight. They then assembled the equipment to lower the crew back to the Large Reconnaisance Craft. Doctor Gammazeta was the penultimate member to leave, and gave Ramondo a special kiss, before waving goodbye, and being lowered down. Last to leave was Commander Ondichi, who shook hands with Henry and Ramondo before fastening the harness and commencing his descent down the pot hole.
When the Commander had finally reached the LRC, he informed Henry. Ramondo was now pulling up the winch one final time, and when all the equipment had been dis-assembled, he and Henry went to hide behind a drystone wall a few hundred yards away. Henry notified the Commander that all was now clear, and that the LRC could now depart.
Even though they hid behind a wall, Henry and Ramondo noticed an instant flash of light, before they clambered back over the stile by the drystone wall. By then, however, the LRC had gone, too faint even to see in the sky.

The Island Fleet

Henry felt a little sad over the next few days, having seen his best friend, Commander Ondichi, head back to the Interstellar Pilgrim. Instead, on Monday morning, he headed for his Skipton office, awaiting progress on the turbine scheme. When he checked his messages and emails, he noticed two from Andrew in Stornoway, indicating that he had been unable to get in touch, and asking Henry to contact him. Henry contacted Andrew immediately.
“Hi Andrew, it’s Henry here, how can I help?” he asked.
“Ahh, Henry,” came the reply. “I’ve been trying to get hold of you this past week. Have you been away at all?”
“I had important business in London to see to,” Henry told him. “Is there something the matter?”
“Well, a slight hitch has occurred,” said Andrew. “There is something I think I should tell you, however.”
“Oh, what’s that?” Henry asked inquisitively.
“I’ve been informed that the Scottish Parliament have agreed their budgets for the new fiscal year, and it doesn’t appear we will be receiving any extra money to fund your project,” Andrew informed him.
Henry didn’t say anything to that.
“There was no problem with the project,” added Andrew. “It was just that the current financial constraints mean that there wasn’t much money available. It’s all unofficial just at this moment, I should say, so you never know.”
“Is this is going to have to wait another year?” queried Henry.
“I hope not,” said Andrew. “I should say that this hasn’t yet been confirmed, so there may be amendments to the original budgets agreed. There are other avenues we can pursue, however.”
“Can you appeal against the budget set?” asked Henry.
“We can, but my leader doesn’t think we stand much chance of getting anything,” said Andrew. “I’ve been told that they would have been prepared to fund it if things were different, it’s just that this has come at an unfortunate time.”
“What other avenues can we pursue?” asked Henry.
“Well, I did suggest that you could go ahead with the project yourself,” said Andrew. “We may be able to help a little, under a PPI.”
“What’s that?” Henry queried.
“PPI? Private-Public Initiative,” explained Andrew. “I sense you’re not keen on the idea?”
“No, not entirely,” replied Henry. “I had hoped this could be supported by Parliament, as it would be quite a bit for my business to take on, particularly at the moment.”
“If it’s any consolation, Parliament support the project,” said Andrew. “The thing to remember here is that the lease with Scottish Energy is due for renewal later this year.”
“How long will the lease be for?” asked Henry.
“Ten years,” Andrew told him. “If you can’t take up the project this year, you may have to wait another five years before another similar project. Don’t forget, if you take over the lease, any profits will be yours’.”
“After the original costs have been recovered,” Henry stipulated. “How long will it take to recover the costs?”
“That would depend on what tariff rate you charged,” said Andrew. “We don’t have gas on the island, either. I would surmise that, at the current tariff, you would recover the costs in a year. It may take a little longer on the tariffs you quoted me earlier.”
Henry felt sure that he could produce the infrastructure, materials and resources with a replicator or two. He also knew that there were low lying cliffs and rocks which hadn’t been touched for many a year, and could be used for the items. What he was unsure of was how big a project this would be and how much assistance would be required.
“Okay, I may take on the project,” he told Andrew. “I will have to consult my staff, however, to see if I can take them from other projects. There are a couple of things I would like to clarify first.”
“Ochi, go ahead,” said Andrew. “What queries might they be?”
“First of all, has planning permission been granted yet?” asked Henry. “I don’t want to commit myself if the project gets bogged down in red tape and consultations.”
“I don’t think there will be any problems with that,” Andrew informed him. “I’ve spoken to the MP for the islands, and he’s in favour. He’s a pretty influential guy, so I don’t think there will be much of a problem.”
“Are you sure about that?” asked Henry.
“Sure enough,” replied Andrew. “Besides, if the people are made aware at the offset that energy costs will be reduced, I’ve no doubt they will accept the project.”
“The other thing I’m curious about is how the Irish project is coming along?”