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

whether he should have left someone behind to watch over her. The Doctor told him all was well, and when he was satisfied, Henry went to pick up a car, to drive his team to the site where the turbine would be installed. He also hired a truck, which may be required for the project.
“It’s rather empty here,” Commander Ondichi commented when he first saw where the work was to be carried out.
“That’s the advantage about this,” said Henry. “There may be land we can use to replicate the turbine. Do you think there are enough of us to carry out all the work?”
“Probably, though there does seem to be more work to be done than I may have first imagined,” the Commander replied. “The lads I’ve brought along are rather useful with replicators, and they’re pretty strong, too. Do you want us to start the job now?”
“I don’t think it’s worth starting now,” said Henry. “We’ve got a replicatotor for each of us, so we can work on different things at the same time, tomorrow. I’ve booked a return flight for us on Thursday afternoon, so we need to get as much done tomorrow as possible.”
“Can you put the flight back 24 hours, if necessary?” asked the Commander.
“We should be able to, for a local flight to Glasgow,” said Henry. “I’ll see how things are tomorrow lunchtime. If necessary, I’ll re-book the return flight. Come on, let’s go back to Stornoway, and book ourselves a hotel for a couple of nights.”

The following day (Wednesday) was busy. Much of the infrastructure was too large to replicate in one go. Instead, they constructed them in pieces until the afternoon, after which most items were assembled into larger pieces.

It wasn’t until the following lunchtime (Thursday) that their preparation was completed. Henry then drove them all back to Stornoway, where he visited Andrew. Commander Ondichi contacted Doctor Gammazeta while he and the others stayed in a pub in Stornoway.
Henry and Andrew then went to see the contractors they had arranged to carry out the final construction of the project. They took the contractors’ manager to the site to show him the infrastructure and gave him a plan of the project and directives on their final construction.
Henry had booked a return flight to Glasgow for 17.30 that afternoon, a flight which he and the others made with thirty minutes to spare. Though the flight wasn’t long, they were delayed as they went through the customs at Glasgow airport, where Henry had to use his force to ensure Commander Ondichi and his men got through.
By the time they arrived back at Ribblehead Cottage, Doctor Gammazeta was asleep in Ramondo’s double bed. Fortunately, she had earlier prepared the beds for the others, so they could fall asleep after they arrived home.
They all slept well the next morning, even through the sounds of the birds whistling outside, though the 7.14 train from Ribblehead to Leeds disturbed Ramondo. As he awoke, Doctor Gammazeta entered the bedroom, carrying a tray with breakfast and a cup of coffee for each of them.
“You shouldn’t be doing this for me, not in your condition,” Ramondo told her.
“Whyever not?” she asked. “I’m only three months pregnant.”
“Are you aware that a full pregnancy on Earth takes nine months?” he then asked her. “You’re already a third of the way there.”
“I realise that it takes a lot quicker than on the Interstellar Pilgrim,” she replied. “I’m not showing yet, though.”
“Well, take it easy,” Ramondo instructed her. “You haven’t shown any signs of morning sickness, have you?”
“Not yet,” she told him, as she got into bed. “Don’t worry,” she then said as Ramondo looked at her, “I’m not going to ask you to do anything. Well, not for a while, anyway!”
Ramondo smiled and kissed her.
“I was waiting up for you last night,” she then told him. “What time did you arrive home in the end?”
“About half-past-eleven, thirty minutes before midnight,” he told her.
“You look knackered,” Doctor Gammazeta then commented to Ramondo.
“I’m not too bad now, though I did feel knackered when we finally arrived home last night,” he said.
“I suppose you all had a lot of work to complete?” she queried.
“There was a lot to put together,” he replied. “To be honest, it may have been better if we’d have fully completed the work ourselves. Mind you, I suppose we know now, that if any big jobs need doing, we can call on the Commander and his men."
“I wouldn’t take that for granted,” she said to him. “We don’t really know how long they’ll stay in the solar system.”
“Well, maybe once we’ve got this turbine working, this country can see the benefits of using wave energy,” said Ramondo. “We may no longer need the Commander’s men. The United Kingdom is surrounded by sea, so we ought to be in the best position to utlilse it.”
“One thing which did occur to me when I was on the ‘Pilgrim, is that though life may be longer when you’re travelling across the cosmos at near-light speed, is that life is a lot slower,” she told him. “I happened to log on to Earth’s internet, and read about time dilation.”
“So you think life will be better here?” he asked her.
“Oh definitely,” she replied. “I know there are different places on the planet, and not all are as developed as things are here, but now I’ve seen Earth for myself, it just makes me feel crammed in a compartment in the Interstellar Pilgrim.”
“Well, I know Henry and the Commander have always been keen on settling down somewhere,” said Ramondo. “Perhaps they’ve found the right place to settle.”
“Does the Commander intend to stay here?” asked Doctor Gammazeta.
“l don’t really know,” said Ramondo. “Talking to him in the car last night, I got the impression that he’s impressed with Henry, and wouldn’t mind doing something similar.”
“What, settling on Earth and developing new technology?” she queried.
“Something like that, but when the time is right,” he said.
“Do you think now is the right time for him?” she asked.
“Probably,” said Ramondo. “Unfortunately, he has a lot more to sort out on the Interstelar Pilgrim, first. Professor Schmidt wants to create a more-organic Mars in which to settle on, but that’s going to take miilenia. Then there’s Major Kong – I don’t think he’d fancy helping him settle on Earth.”

The others all took their time awaking that morning, before having a late breakfast. Henry then offered to take them on a round of the Yorkshire Dales, stopping off here and there as they visited sites such as Malham Cove and Goredale Scar. Henry then took them to his Skipton premises, where he introduced them to Zebrina. He also took them into the showroom to see his motors. They acknowledged Richard Copeland, who was with a customer at the time, though Henry then led them back to his car before Richard could ask who the guests were and where they came from.
Henry then took them through Wharfedale, where they saw Kilnsey Crag, and stopped to have tea and scones at Kettlewell. It was noticeable that they all enjoyed the trip, Commander Ondichi in particular, though they knew this was the end of their current expedition to Earth. When they arrived back at Ribblehead Cottage, Zelcius, Philpin, Crabtree and Adhera went with Ramondo to the Ribblehead Inn, while the Commander went to sit on a chair in the garden.
“Do you have a lot on your mind?” Henry asked him as he stared at Ingleborough, beyond the Settle to Carlisle railway line.
“Just pondering,” he replied, to which Henry queried what about. ”I would like to settle down here, one day. Just relaxing, looking at the hills. Have you ever been up any of them?”
“Once or twice,” said Henry. “There’s a race around these parts every year, called the Three Peaks Run. That includes going up that large hill you’re looking at, Ingleborough, plus a couple of others, Whernside, behind you, and Pen-y-Ghent, over to your left.”
“Have you taken part in the race at all?” the Commander asked.
“No, it’s too exhausting for me,” commented Henry. “I prefer to walk up them slowly, to admire the scenery all around. In actual fact, these peaks are classified as mountains.”
“I thought mountains were immensely large, covered in snow and very hard to climb?” the Commander queried.
“Yes, that is the correct definition of a mountain,” said Henry. “We do get snow up here during the winter, so I suppose they’re little mountins.”
“Oh for the easy life,” muttered Commander Ondichi.
“Don’t get me wrong, but life here isn’t that easy,” said Henry. “This country, and most of the planet, are in a financial crisis at the moment. Balancing life and commitments isn’t as easy as it sometimes seems.”
“You’re managing to cope quite successfully through this crisis,” the Commander emphasised to Henry.
“But I’m from another generation, another environment if not another world, with totally new ideas,” said Henry.
“Well perhaps this planet isn’t as intelligent as it’s sometimes cracked-up to be,” the Commander commented. “Perhaps it needs more people like you to develop new ideas.”
“I shouldn’t say this, but these ideas are still at an early stage,” Henry reminded him. “Some projects have been taken up, but they have yet to come to fruition. I probably wouldn’t have been able to get everything done without replicators.”
“Like those digital cars, you mean?” queried the Commander. “Didn’t you say something about solar-powered cars being produced elsewhere on Earth? They were your idea, weren’t they?”
”Yes they were,” Henry acknowledged, as he thought to himself. “I suppose my team and I have done some things to help this planet. They just need to be accepted by mainstream society.”
“Do you think that will happen?” asked the Commander.
“I don’t know,” said Henry. “I hope so, but just at this moment, I can’t say with any real certainty. That’s why, if things go wrong, I may consider coming back to the Interstellar Pilgrim, and moving on elsewhere.”
“We won’t be going far - only to the asteroid belt – or at least not for a while,” Commander Ondichi told him. “I’ll monitor events here on Earth, and keep in regular contact with you.”
“I presume you have been monitoring Earth regularly?” Henry then queried with him.
“Not as often as I’d like,” said Commander Ondichi. “We’re currently monotoring Mars to a greater degree, to watch out for any asteroid smashes. Professor Schmidt is convinced we can create life there instead.”
“And how does he prophecise to do that?” asked Henry.
“He says that if we bombard Mars with organic asteroids, we can make Mars a more-organic planet,” explained the Commander. “Eventually, when the dust has settled, trees and flora may be grown, which will absorb much of the carbon-dioxide which the planet will have gained following the bombardment.”
“And the trees and flora will give out oxygen,” said Henry.
“That’s the idea,” confirmed the Commander.
“But that won’t happen overnight,” Henry pointed out. “That will take many lifetimes, thousands of years, if not millions.”
“I know, I know,” sighed the Commander. “Professor Schmidt thinks we should then go whizzing around the cosmos at near-light speed, as it will prolong our lives.”
“It’s a nice idea, especially for future generations, but it’s impractical for us,” Henry commented. “As Commander, you should put your foot down, emphasise that this should only be a project and not the main course of action. You should use your influence.”
“I don’t think it carries a lot of weight any longer, I’m afraid,” the Commander admitted. “The council tend to follow Profesor Schmidt these days, and I’ve had to deal with