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

been laying-off employees, which is why we’ve been able to appoint plenty of top, qualified staff for our business.”
“Do you mean to say people have been coming all the way from Detroit to California?” queried Henry.
“Henry, I can vouch that people would jump at the opportunity to move residency to California,” Frank laughed. “I should know - I’m one of them! Actually, you wouldn’t mind doing me a small favour, would you?”
“What might that be?” asked Henry. ”I thought you didn’t require any more vehicles in the meantime?”
“Thanks for the offer, but I think we may just about bee okay for now,” said Frank. “Could you tell Professor Wagstaff about the opening – he’s invited too.”
“Yeah sure, that’s easy enough,” replied Henry. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“I’ve got a few other things to do, and some other managers I need to notify over here, so I’d be grateful if you could let Dermot know, too,” Frank asked him. “In the meantime, I’ll wish you all the best. ‘See you ‘round at the opening.”
Henry considered another showroom, and thought about ‘striking while the iron was hot’. He knew that was the best approach, and that Lucas and Ramondo were in favour of this, but wanted a second opinion (largely, to back his own cautious views that this was not the right time). He then remembered he was going to notify Arthur of the invitation, so decided to ask his opinion.
“Well, if the business is successful in a recession, this would be the best time to expand it,” Arthur told him. “Besides, I understood that you’ve agreed to Rico taking on local staff.”
“I know, I know, I did agree to his request,” acknowledged Henry. “That was on the condition that he releases Robinson & Frickas to me later this year. I’ll need them for the Atlantic project.”
“From what I understand, he’s already arranging interviews?” said Arthur. “I’ve looked at the books, and found that orders are increasing all the time.”
“Well as long as the money’s coming in,” said Henry. “Do you know how large the backlog of orders was?”
“I can’t say for certain, but it’s probably becoming too much for Rico and the team to handle on their own,” said Arthur. “How is that project of yours coming along, by the way?”
“To be honest, the project has had its ups and downs,” Henry confessed. “A grant hasn’t been awarded towards it, and my lads are going to have to construct the infrastructure. All in all though, it’s still in progress.”
“Has planning permission been granted?”
“Yes thanks,” said Henry. “Apparently, Andrew, the local Planning Manager is sorting out the paperwork as we speak.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to trace the Irish council where that similar project is going ahead,” said Arthur. “Have you managed to find out anything at all?”
“Yes thanks, with Andrew’s help,” Henry acknowledged. “Apparently, the name of the council was in gaelic. He also managed to trace the energy company behind the project.”
“So an energy company is behind the project after all,” said Arthur with surprise. “I was led to believe it was the council’s scheme.”
“Never mind who’s scheme it is,” commented Henry. “As long as it’s fruitful and helps this planet’s eco system.”
“That reminds me, I received a message far more interesting,” Arthur then told him. “Professor Schmidt sent me an email from the ‘Pilgrim.”
“Oh, what did he have to say?” asked Henry.
“He only re-iterated about the small asteroids they were directing towards Mars,” Arthur told him. “Didn’t he copy you in?”
“I hadn’t noticed anything from him, though I haven’t looked at my messages from this morning yet,” said Henry. “He probably isn’t too keen on ‘hearing’ my thoughts about this, as I was opposed to his idea of directing comets at Mars in the first place.”
“Indeed, indeed,” recalled Arthur. “The idea is all in a good cause.”
“I’m no professor, but I can’t see how a couple of asteroid smashes will help develop Mars,” commented Henry. ”We now know that the surface consists of ferric oxide, which does not hold water.”
“I know, I know,” mumbled Arthur. “The idea behind the asteroids, though, is to give the planet a more organic surface.”
“Are you sure that’s feasible?” asked Henry. “Won’t the asteroid smash create an explosion, followed by a blanket of dust covering the upper planet, and blocking out sunlight?”
“That’s what would probably happen on Earth,” explained Arthur. “Mars, however, has a very small atmosphere, so won’t have the same effect.”
“So what do you think will happen?” asked Henry.
“Well, I’ve been studying this on my own, and noticed that one asteroid has already smashed into Mars,” confessed Arthur.
“So what was the result?” an inquisitive Henry demanded to know.
“It only occurred a few weeks ago, and hasn’t had time to settle yet,” Arthur told him. “Though there is little atmosphere on Mars, it is hoped that the debris will eventually be pulled down by the planet’s gravity, and scatter all over the surface.”
“I hope you’ve not informed anyone yet,” Henry told him.
“I’ve not told Dermot or my colleagues, though how long this can be kept quiet for I don’t know,” said Arthur. “I’ve not heard anything from NASA yet.”
“I suppose while President MacAraka is sorting out the Middle-East, there proably won’t be much attention given to NASA,” surmised Henry. “At least we know two of their top scientists are no longer there.”
“I’ve not heard of any redundancies there recently,” said Arthur. “Who are you referring to?”
“Professor Frank Marshall and Dr Steve di Pierri, of course,” Henry pointed out.
“Oh yes, of course,” giggled Arthur. “Silly me!”
“Do you ever hear from the Russians or Chinese?” asked Henry.
“I can’t recall hearing from either of them, though we hear from NASA now and again,” said Arthur.
“Well let’s hope we don’t hear anything more about this asteroid,” said Henry.
“Oh, I think it’s inevitable we will hear more of this in the future, I’m afraid,” replied Arthur. “Professor Schmidt is intending to divert more asteroids towards Mars.”
“Well if I receive any calls or messages from the ‘Pilgrim about this, I’ll pass them on to you,” Henry told him. “I don’t want to get involved at this moment in time – I have other things on my agenda.”

One day the following week, while Arthur was checking some data on his PC in his office, a colleague put a call through to him. It wasn’t from anyone that his colleague recognised.
“Hello, Professor Wagstaff of the European Space Agency, speaking – how can I help?” he said down the phone.
“Hi Professor,” said a voice at the other end of the line. “My name’s Robert Langman from NASA. I’ve received some data which I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Oh, what might that be?” Arthur asked curiously.
“I’ve received reports from the International Space Station that an asteroid has hit Mars recently,” Robert told him. “I was wondering if you were aware of this.”
Arthur was a little unsure what to say.
“Have you received reports about this at all?” asked Robert.
“To be honest, I can’t say that I have,” replied Arthur. “Now that you mention it though, Mars did seem a little different the last time I observed it. Haven’t you reported this to your manager?”
“I had reported this to my Astronomer-in-Chief, but as yet, he hasn’t come back to me about it,” said Robert.
“How very odd,” said Arthur. “Did you say that an asteroid had smashed into the planet – that’s probably why there was a hazy brownish-red tint over parts of the planet.”
“The thing is, I reported it last week, and queried it again with Dr Ferguson,” Robert told him. “I asked him again this morning, and he just said the matter was in hand.”
“Well, it may be that in the current financial climate, there is little money around for major projects,” suggested Arthur.
“Yes, but I only reported the case, not requested a new expedition to the planet!” said Robert. “Dr Ferguson may be more approachable than his predecessor, but I find he doesn’t always come back with answers.”
“Unlike his predecessor,” queried Arthur.
“Professor Marshall wasn’t always approachable, but he was decisive and you knew where you stood with him,” Robert commented. “I’ve been observing Mars for the past two years, and noticed that a comet is due to smash into it next year, too. I think we may be entering a new phase.”
“A new phase of what, may I ask?” queried Arthur.
“I think we may be entering a new phase of instability in our solar system,” Robert suggested to him.
“Oh good lord, I hope not,” said Arthur. “Are you saying you think there may be meteors heading for Earth which we don’t know about?”
“We haven’t detected any as yet, but my fear is that we may not find a meteor until it’s too late,” said a worried Robert. “As for that asteroid a couple of years ago, I found it very odd.”
“Yes, it was a bit,” said Arthur. “What do you suppose happened to it?”
“I’m not sure,” Robert replied. “It travelled at collosal speeds.”
“Yes, it did, didn’t it,” muttered Arthur.
“My guess is that it may have been part of a brown dwarf star,” added Robert. “It may be that though the trillions of atoms were very fast, they never quite made it to light speed, to form a main star.”
“Which was why the asteroid travelled at such collosal speeds, I suppose,” said Arthur. “Do you think this caused the asteroid to be unstable?”
“I do indeed,” said Robert. “I believe the atoms simply broke apart, and travelling at such speeds, seemed to disappear.”
“And you believe this may have triggered a period of instability with the Kuiper and asteroid belts, which it passed on it’s way towards Earth,” surmised Arthur.
“That’s just it,” replied Robert. “I just wish someone, somewhere, would take a look at these events, before it’s too late.”
“Hhmmm,” Arthur muttered to himself. “Send the report to me – I’ll see what I can come up with. I can’t promise you anything, though.”
“Thanks Professor Wagstaff, I’ll be most grateful,” said Robert. “Maybe, one day, a lot more people will be too.”
“Indeed, indeed,” said Arthur. “I’ll try and get back to you next week.”

Arthur, however, knew the true stories behind these events, but tried to think how best to approach the case. He didn’t want to make a big thing out of it all, but at the same time, was concerned that word may get about and that some people may spread panic. Worse still, could it lead to cries of Doomsday and prophecies of Nostradamus? Arthur considered bringing this to Henry’s attention, but thought better of it. He also considered informing Dermot, but decided to wait a few more days.
On Friday afternoon Arthur flew to Paris, where he stayed in a hotel for the night, before meeting Dermot at Charles de Gaulle airport the next morning. Arthur decided to wait until they were on their flight to California, before bringing the asteroid smash on Mars to his attention.
“Where did you find this out?” Dermot asked him.
“Well, to be honest, a chap from NASA told me he’d received a report about this from the international space station,” said Arthur.
“When was this?” asked Dermot.
“He told me on Tuesday afternoon,” said Arthur.
“What about the asteroid?” asked Dermot. “When did it smash into Mars?”
“Oh, about two weeks ago now,” Arthur told him. “I believe it occurred on Thursday May 21st.”
“Surely the chap informed his manager?” queried Dermot.
“Oh apparently he did,” said Arthur. “He informed the Astronomer-in-Chief,