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

power. When it was felt there was sufficient energy in the system, they switched on the small substation behind the cliffs. Henry’s dream was now turning into reality.
They continued to check the sub-station at regular intervals, and when they were all satisfied that it was absorbing energy sufficiently, Andrew offered to treat them all to a meal in the pub at Port Nis, a few miles away.
Whle they were in the pub, the weather began to turn for the worse. As the clouds closed in, they noticed lightning in the distance and could hear thunder. They drank a few more pints, waiting for the weather to improve. When they eventually realised that the weather wasn’t going to improve substantially, they decided to go back to the sub-station, as it hadn’t been checked over for the past three hours.
When they arrived there however, they noticed that everything had stopped. Had it switched-off automatically? Henry was pretty sure it hadn’t, as he never devised the turbine to do this. Andrew then looked at the Health & Safety report, which he had printed off and took with him. He read the query about the surge protector in more detail, before asking the others whether there may have been a strong surge while they were away. After all, there had been lightning and gusts while they ate their lunch in the pub.
They all agreed that this could have been a possibility, after which the electrical technicians then looked into the sub-station a little closer. They noticed that there had been a short circuit. Could this have been caused by a powerful surge of energy?
After further checks on the sub-station and the turbine, it was concluded that a powerful surge probably did cause short circuiting. Henry felt a little embarrased, but Andrew told him that it was for things like this why the turbine had to be tested first. Besides, he didn’t think it would be a problem getting hold of a strong surge protector. Andrew asked the electrical technicians what they thought would be best at this moment. It was then agreed to repair the circuits of the original surge protector, re-install it and take a closer look at it. In the meantime, Andrew and Henry would go back to the council offices at Stornoway.
Henry was a little concerned particularly as Brendan O’Hagan, who had planned and managed the similar project in Ireland, was due the following day. When he eventually got back to his hotel room, he took out his laptop and looked at the Irish project. He noticed that the surge protector installed was much larger than the one he had originally set up, and so copied it into his laptop. He also checked to see what protectors were available on the internet. When he found a large, industrial surge protector, he copied that, too. He then took a closer look at the images, assessed them, and loaded revised details into the replicator he had brought with him. Then, later that evening, when everyone was watching TV or drinking in bars, he went out and replicated the surge protector.

The next morning, Henry went to meet Andrew in his office. As he knocked on the door, he could see someone in the room talking to Andrew, who waved to Henry and invited him in.
“Ah, hello there Henry, this is Brendan from Kerry County Council,” Andrew said as he greeted Henry, and introduced him to Brendan.
“Pleased to meet you,” Brendan said to Henry as they shook hands. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Nothing bad, I hope,” laughed Henry.
“Oh no, no, no,” replied Brendan. “It’s all been productive. Andrew’s been telling me you’ve had a few teething problems with your turbine.”
“With the protector, you mean?” asked Henry. “I think we may be able to sort that out without too many hiccups.”
“Oh, did you manage to trace any industrial sized surge protectors, last night?” Andrew asked him.
“I spoke to my engineers, back at Skipton, last night,” said Henry. “They agreed that the protector I had submitted for the project may not have been powerful enough to handle a sudden surge from the Atlantic. I’ve ordered another one, which I hope will be delivered later today”
“That’d be quick,” said Brendan. “I didn’t know you had delivery services over here which handled things that quickly.”
“Ai, I didn’t think anything could be delivered that quickly,” added Andrew. “Certainly not here in the Western Isles.”
“I had my engineers’ sort everything out for me, and send it first class,” replied Henry. “I had hoped that the absorbtion battery would have absorbed any additional energy, but I was told that it may not have responded to a strong surge until it had been in operation for a little while.”
“Ai,” said Andrew. “Perhaps it was just unlucky that there was a sudden surge of energy soon after the turbine was put into practice.”
“You’re here early,” Henry then said to Brendan. “When did you arrive?”
“Oh I came here last night,” Brendan replied. “I decided to leave earlier yesterday, as I knew I had a few journeys to make. I had to drive to Shannon airport, then flew to Aberdeen, and then on to Stornoway. I stayed in a hotel last night. At least the airport here is just outside town.”
“Are you staying long?” asked Henry.
“I’ve booked myself in for three nights,” said Brendan. “I’m due to fly back on Saturday.”
“That’s good,” said Andrew. “We should be able to have the turbine in operation before you leave, then. I haven’t got a lot on this morning, so we may as well go and visit the site now – what do you say?”
Henry and Brendan agreed, though Henry, in truth, preferred to wait until the afternoon, so he could claim to have received the surge protector, take it to the turbine, and get it installed. When they got to the site, Brendan said that the protector was definitely too small for any immediate surges in pressure from the Atlantic, before they discussed the appropriate size and powered protector to install. With nothing ado there at the time, Henry suggested to go back to Stornoway, and though Andrew suggested to stay for a while and have lunch at Port Nis, Henry said that as he and Andrew had been there the previous day, lunch in Stornoway may be better. There would be more on offer, and added that they could go back to Port Nis the following day. In truth, Henry wanted to get his new surge protector.
When they arrived back at Stornoway, Henry said he wanted to go back to his hotel to check his laptop, though while Andrew took Brendan to the Hebridean Man, Henry went to get the surge protector. It was too big and heavy to carry with him, so he borrowed a trolley from the hotel. He took it in the lift downstairs, where he left it in wrapping near reception, before he went to the Hebridean Man to tell Andrew and Brendan that his order had arrived. When they had had a few drinks and some lunch, he took them back to the hotel, where he opened the package in front of Andrew and Brendan.
“That should be okay for the turbine,” Brendan said as he looked at the surge protector. “It seems similar to he one we had installed off the Kerry coast. Would you mind if I had a closer look?”
“No, no, be my guest,” said Henry.
As Brendan had a closer look at it, he noticed it was virtually the same one as had been installed off the Kerry coast in Ireland, and gave it his approval. Henry was relieved.
“Do you have any electrical staff around your turbine at the moment?” he asked Andrew.
“No, but I was hoping to get some men in to the sub-station tomorrow,” replied Andrew.
“Well, why don’t we go back to your office, see what we can arrange,” suggested Brendan. “Who knows, you may get the turbine up and running before I leave?”
Henry, naturally, agreed, so took the surge protector to his car, before driving it to the council buildings, where he met Andrew in his office with Brendan. His PA had indeed booked a couple of electrical techinicians to attend the site the following day. Now they had the necessary equipment to install, too, the turbine may be ready by Friday afternoon. Until Brendan threw a spanner in the works, that is.
“Don’t you think you’d better arrange for the Health & Safety Inspector to come and check it over again, once the ‘protector is installed?” he queried, at which point Henry and Andrew looked at eachother.
They debated whether this was necessary, as the whole site had already been inspected. They agreed, however, that an inspection was required for the surge protector only, but also agreed to test the turbine prior to the inspection. Andrew then said that he had messages to sort and paperwork outstanding, so Henry and Brendan went off to pub for a drink or two.

The following day, they all met in the foyer of the council buildings. The new surge protector wasn’t there, so, presuming it had been taken to the site, Andrew drove them to the Butt of Lewis. When they arrived, the site was locked, so Andrew opened the gates with his key, before closing them again. They wondered if this was the correct date, as no-one was on-site as yet, though twenty minutes later, the Electrical Technicians arrived, bringing the surge protector with them.
They stayed there as the technicians checked the sub-station to make sure everything was switched off. When it was clear everything was safe, the technicians brought the surge protector with them. Andrew asked if they could switch the turbine on, though the technicians weren’t too keen. Andrew said it was only to test the turbine, and after a brief debate, the sub-station was carefully inspected, before the turbine was switched on.
Everything appeared to be working fine, though Henry, Andrew and Brendan decided to stay there a little longer. They noticed a few fierce waves crashing against the low cliffs and that the turbine had withstood them. Eventually, when they agreed to go for lunch, at nearby Port Nis, though this time they didn’t stay there too long. When they arrived back at the turbine, they were pleased to see everything still working. Henry went to look at the energy absorber, which appeared to be fully running. He called Brendan over to take a look, and he too, said all seemed well. After a brief discussion, it was then agreed that everything was working well, so they called the Electrical Technicians and requested they come and switch off the turbine. Henry, Andrew and Brendan then waited for the technicians to arrive, after which they went back to Stornoway, and arranged for a further Health & Safety inspection.
Unfortunately, no Inspectors were available for a couple of weeks, though after a little wrangling and negotiation, and inspection was arranged for the following Thursday. On that note, Henry and Brendan decided to call it a day, after which Henry offered to take Brendan around the island.
“Is there much to see?” asked Brendan.
“I suppose that depends upon what you like looking at,” replied Henry. “I didn’t expect to see a lot myself, but I went to the south of the island, at Harris, which I thought was rather nice. A bit more scenic, if you like that sort of thing.”
“With hills and valleys, and streams running down them, you mean?” queried Brendan.
“Yeah, that’s about it, though you’re never very far away from the sea.” said Henry.
“It sounds a little like where I come from, County Kerry in Ireland,” said Brendan. “You don’t mind me asking, where