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

Dr Ferguson, but wasn’t too happy with the response.”
“Oh, what was the response?” asked Dermot. “You can’t expect even NASA to send a craft to Mars just because of some asteroid smash, especially in the current financial climate.”
“Apparently, Dr Ferguson just said the matter was in hand,” Arthur informed him. “The thing is, the chap was worried that we may be entering a period of asteroid instability.”
“That sounds worrying,” said Dermot. “Have you any evidence of this?”
“No, not really,” replied Arthur. “However, don’t forget, a comet smashed into Mars a few years ago. I understand another is currently heading for Mars, too.”
“And there was that asteroid which came close to Earth,” Dermot added. “I think that chap may have a point. What was his name by the way?”
“Robert Langman, I believe,” said Arthur.
“Leave it to me,” said Dermot. “I’ll try to speak to Dr Ferguson about this. I will admit though, he doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. I much preferred dealing with Frank.”

When Arthur and Dermot arrived at Sacramento airport, they went to collect their luggage, before heading straight to the nearest bar. As they waited there a short while, Henry arrived to meet them, before all three of them went off to have lunch. Henry had wanted to discuss the Aqua Turbine project in Ireland, but the main topic of discussion seemed to be the Martian asteroid. Though he tried to change the subject, by the time Steve arrived and joined in the debate, Henry decided not to bother. After all, he now had the web site he wanted and his own project was now in the pipeline, too.
Henry, Arthur and Dermot had all pre-booked into the Marriott Hotel in Sacramento, and after soothing their loins, were escorted there by Steve.
The following day, Frank arrived at the Marriott to greet them, and after another drink or two, took them to his house. He introduced them to his wife, Jeanette, and to Steve, who was lodging with them. Amongst their discussions, Frank clarified arrangements for Monday morning, when they would all go, as shareholders, to the opening ceremony of the new car plant.
The three of them woke up relatively early the next morning, and by 8.30 had had breakfast. They then called a taxi, and proceeded together, before they were dropped off at the showroom, where they met Steve.
They had a brief chat with Steve, before he informed them that he wasn’t going to be involved in the ceremony. He took them through the back door, which led into the yard, where he pointed to where they should go.
As Henry, Arthur and Dermot walked down the yard, they saw a platform ahead, and as they went towards it, a man stepped onto it and looked towards them.
“I see you guys made it, then,” Frank said to them. “What took you so long?”
“We’re not late, are we?” asked Arthur. “I thought the ceremony wasn’t until 10.00 o’clock.”
“It isn’t, but we only have another 15 minutes to get everything ready,” Frank replied. “You won’t mind doing me a favour at all?”
“Of course not,” said Dermot. “What favour might that be?”
“Can you open the gates,” Frank requested, as he threw the keys to Dermot. “There’s a notice outside about the ceremony. We don’t want to keep the audience waiting.”
Frank then turned to Arthur and Henry.
“You two can come with me,” he told them. “There are a few more seats to be put onto the platform.“
“Is everything ready?” asked Dermot, at which point Frank stopped and walked back to the microphone on the platform, which he tested, successfully.
“Everything’s ready now,” Frank told him.
“Where’s the Governor of California?” Henry asked as Frank came over to him. “I thought he was supposed to be giving a speech?”
“He is,” said Frank. “You can’t expect the Governor of California to come and help with the preparations, though.”
“How about Gary Armstrong and that Goldstein chap? Are they here, at all?” asked Arthur.
“Yes, they’re here, talking in the reception with the Governor of California,” Frank told him
There were seats in front of the platform, too. When Dermot got to the side gates, he tried each of the keys in the set, before eventually finding the right one. By the time he opened the first of the gates, the others were returning to the platform. When Dermot opened the other gate, he saw some people waiting outside the premises.
“Come in, come in,” he said to them. “Take a seat. There are booklets which you may want to read, too.”
As more and more people arrived, they each read the booklets, which were for CAC motors, and presented the vehicles available, along with possible future projects. Then, at 10.00 o’clock, the Governor of California took to the platform, along with Gary Armstrong and Mr Goldstein behind him, who went to sit with Frank and the others.
“Hello everyone, and thank you for coming along this morning to the grand opening of CAC Motors,” announced the Governor’. “I’m pleased to announce that California is not shirking it’s responsibilities. As you may know, I’ve introduced some measures to combat the threat of global warming, and I’m pleased to see that we are taking the matter seriously.”
The Governor of California then stopped for a second to read the autocue.
“I’m pleased, too, to have the honour to open the new CAC Motors plant,” he then told the audience. “I’m sure you’ve all seen the new advertisements for the vehicles. They will be the transport for the future, which operate on natural energy. No longer will we need to rely upon gasoline. No longer will we be caught in a price-war for the value of crude oil.”
“The cars to be produced here sound very exciting,” commented one member of the audience. “Can you elaborate on how these cars will operate?”
The Governor’ turned around and looked at Frank.
“I shall leave that answer to my colleague here, a little later,” The Governor’ replied. “Perhaps I should first announce that the new plant for CAC Motors is now opened.”
As the Governor’ then cut a small yellow ribbon, the theme from Rocky could be heard from the loudspeakers nearby. He then pulled the cover of a plaque commemorating the event, as the audience applauded.
“I didn’t know the Governor of California starred in Rocky?” Arthur asked Dermot quietly.
“He didn’t,” said Dermot.
“What? Not in any of the Rocky films?” Arthur queried.
“No, not one, as far as I can remember,” Dermot whispered.
“Thank you, thank you, everyone,” said a smiling Governor of California, before the applause died down and the theme from Rocky ended. “As promised, I will now hand you over to the Managing Director of CAC Motors, Professor Frank Marshall. He will help you with any questions you may have.”
“Thank you, Governor,” said Frank, as he came forward to the microphone to refer to the audience. “Can I help anyone?”
“These motors seem very exciting,” a member of the audience asked again. “Can you elaborate on how they will run?”
“We are about to embark on the production of solar-energy vehicles,” explained Frank. “This means that they will harness energy from the sun (something we tend to get a lot of here in California!)”
“How will the energy be harnessed?” the same man asked.
“I was just coming to that,” Frank replied. “Solar energy is absorbed into the sun roof. The energy is stored here, and then transferred to the engine to replace the initial combustion and run the pistons, and so forth. I could elaborate further, but I’m sure you get the picture.”
“Will these cars run even when the sun isn’t shining?” asked another member of the audience.
“I’m pleased to say that we considered the possible problems prior to production,” replied Frank. “In addition to the main Solar Energy Battery, there is a similar auxiliary battery, which will absorb the energy when the main battery is full. This energy can then be ustilised when the sun is not high in the sky.”
“How many miles can these cars do on one full battery of solar energy?” another person asked.
“That would depend upon the size of the engine,” said Frank. “There are details in the booklets we’ve placed on the seats prior to the opening. If you require any further details, our staff in the showroom on the main road will be only too happy to help.”
“Is there a point when the batteries can absorb no further energy?” was the next question raised.
“There may be a point, if the vehicles are standing stationary on the road, but don’t forget that whenever the car is in motion energy is always being utilised, hence further energy can be absorbed,” Frank replied.
“These vehicles may be suited to California, but if I wanted to visit my family in New York, for instance, full sunshine cannot be guaranteed,” another person stated.
“That may be the case at the moment, but we intend to develop solar energy stations, in a simlar way to gasoline stations,” explained Frank.
“Where will these solar energy stations be located?” asked another member of the audience. “One in each state? One in each city?”
“Eventually, it is intended for these stations to be located all over the country,” said Frank. “We intend to first place them in highway service stations.”
“Do you really think you can achieve all this, and if so, how long?” another person asked.
“I believe it is possible,” said Frank. “I wonder how many people queried with JFK all those years ago, whether we could get a man on the moon.”
“Professor Frank Marshall,” someone then queried. “Weren’t you once employed by NASA?”
“Yes, indeed I was a couple of years ago,” Frank replied.
“Do you believe we have the technology available to achieve all these new vehicles and energy stations?” the person then asked.
“You should never under-estimate the American people,” Frank insisted. “I don’t claim to be the new messiah, or the new Bill Gates, even, but what I do know is that this is the beginning of a new revolution.”
“I presume by that you believe we do have the technology?” the same person queried.
“The technology is available, and has been for sometime,” Frank commented. “What is required is a new vision in which to utilise the technology.”
“Is this plant totally new, or have the other CAC motors on sale in the showroom, been assembled here?” asked another of the audience.
“I can confirm that this plant is totally new,” said Frank. “The motors which have been sold in the showroom were constructed elsewhere. After assessing the suitability and potential of the motors, it was decided to construct this manufacturing plant for the assembly of further vehicle production.”
“The booklet suggests you have plans for other models, and with different forms of energy,” was the next question raised. ”Can you elaborate on this?”
“It is intended to develop vehicles with alternate forms of energy,” Frank confirmed. “In fact, we had put some on sale a few months ago, but they didn’t seem to sell as well as the solar cars on show.”
“Which vehicles were these?” asked another person.
“Digital cars have been produced, and are in use in the UK,” explained Frank. “We intend to develop similar vehicles in the future, which may be more suited to other parts of the United States. However, at this moment in time we intend to focus on the current models.”
“You seem pretty confident that this will become a big success,” another man commented. “How can you be sure this won’t just fall by the wayside?”
“Well, let me tell you something,” said Frank. “I’m generally a cautious kind of guy. I won’t make the final decision on something until the full situation