The Twins Paradox - Alan Gasparutti (top ten books of all time txt) 📗

ward. Clint went in and walked over to him.
“Hello there Steve,” he said to him, as Steve turned around to see who was there.
“Clint, how are you,” he replied. “Good to see you again.”
“Good to see you too,” said Clint. “I must admit, you don’t look too bad, considering what happened.”
“So what brings you here?” asked Steve. “They haven’t sent you to NASA again?”
“No, no, not this time, thank God,” said Clint. “I thought I should come and pay you a visit, after what I heard.”
“So, what did you hear?” Steve queried.
“Only that you were caught up in a bomb explosion as you went to open your car,” Clint told him.
“Where did you hear that?” Steve asked him.
“I only heard that second-hand,” said Clint. “Maybe even third-hand. And that was from some European fellow at the convention.”
“The Astronomer’s Convention, you mean?” queried Steve.
“Yeah, that’s the one,” Clint told him. “I went there with Frank a couple of months ago.”
“I heard that someone tried to assassinate the Governor of California?” asked Steve. “Did you get to see what happened?”
“Only that someone fell onto the stage, probably from one of the stanchions above,” Clint told him. “A rifle came down with him. The Governor of California was there at the time, and so it’s presumed that he was the intended target.”
“You don’t sound too convinced by that?” Steve asked, a little curiously.
“The media were just putting two and two together, and coming up with three, as usual,” Clint commented. “There were a lot of people in the audience who could have been a target.”
“Do you know something?” Steve asked, ever more curious.
“No, no,” laughed Clint. “I just think the cops and media went for the easy option. Anyway, how are you feeling? I thought you may be in intensive care.”
“It was a nasty incident, but on the face of it, I didn’t come out of it too badly,” Steve told him. “I can’t remember a lot, other than pressing my car key fob a fair distance from the car.”
“How far away was that?” asked Clint. “About twenty, twenty five metres?”
“I can’t be sure, but it must have been something like that,” said Steve. “I can’t recall much else, other than waking up in hospital with cuts and burns all over me.”
“I see you have a couple of scars here and there,” said Clint.
“That was probably done by pieces of metal which must have been flung around when the explosion occurred,” explained Steve.
“Do you know if your car was the target?” Clint asked.
“I can’t be sure,” replied Steve. “It must have been about 6 in the evening when the bomb went off. I don’t believe there were many other cars in the car park at the time, and I can’t recall any body else there at the time.”
“Well at least you’re okay and in one piece,” Clint said to him.
“So, how are you keeping these days?” Steve then asked. “Are you still living in Colorado?”
“That’s about it,” said Clint. “Generally I don’t do a great deal, except let the misses spend the money. I still go to the gym once a week, and sometimes pop up to the observatory.”
“With Frank, I suppose?” asked Steve.
“Sometimes, but not always,” said Clint. “I like to see the cosmos out there for myself. I find it very fascinating - it’s like a new hobby of mine.”
“Good, good,“ said Steve. “It’s good to have a past time – better than spending your days in hospital. How’s Frank, by the way?”
“Oh, he’s fine,” said Clint. “He’s currently on a project for a new sort of car that can run without gasoline.”
“When did he come up with that idea?” asked Steve.
“He didn’t,” Clint told him. “A fellow we met at the convention had one of these cars. Professor Arthur Wagstaff, I believe. I hadn’t heard of him until I met him at the convention.”
“I hadn’t heard of the bloke until recently, myself,” admitted Steve. “Apparently, he discovered some minor planets outside our solar system.”
“He was with another fellow from the European Space Agency,” said Clint. “Dermot, his name was, he was some friend of Frank’s.”
“Dermot O’Hagan, I should think,” Steve surmised. “I didn’t have many dealings with him. He holds some Directorship for the ESA nowadays.”
“So, tell me a little about this car that can run without gasoline,” Steve asked.
“I can’t say I know much about it, other than it ran on large digital chips,” said Clint. “Apparently, when one is in use, the others gain energy from their movements.”
“Interesting,” said Steve. “Does it have a conventional engine?”
“It had an engine similar to most of today’s cars.” Clint told him. “I don’t know whether it will ever catch on.”
“Only time will tell,” said Steve. “I suppose it depends a lot on how the car is marketed.”
“You’ll never guess who they’re trying to get to market this car?” Clint said to Steve, who looked on curiously. “The Governor of California.”
“I know the Governor has green credentials, but is he really going to put other things down just to market a new car?” Steve questioned. “That’s if he gets Frank’s messages. He must receive thousands of messages a day.”
“Well the Governor must have paid some attention to the project, as Frank has a meeting next week with him,” Clint told him. “Dermot and Professor Wagstaff are going along too.”
“Do you reckon that car will work?” asked Steve.
“If you’d asked me if such a car could be constructed a year ago, three months ago, even, I’d have said no,” said Clint. “During the convention, I saw the very car with my own eyes, I even travelled in it. I still don’t find it any easier to believe.”
“Well I’m sure there must be something in it, otherwise I doubt Frank would have gone along with the project,” commented Steve.
“I’m sure if two Professors and a Director can go with such an idea, there must be something in it,” said Clint. “Maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m getting too old to recognise where change is possible in this world today.”
“You shouldn’t talk like that,” Steve said to Clint. “There’s nothing wrong with getting old – it happens to all of us. You shouldn’t feel like you’re in exalted company, either”
“Perhaps it’s everything that’s happened these past couple of years,” sighed Clint. “The shuttle training, the asteroid, not to mention other things which have happened since.”
“Like what?” Steve asked inquisitively. “Like the attempted assassination of the Governor of California?”
“One day I’ll tell you,” he said to Steve, with a smile as though he wanted to spill the beans.
“You can tell me now, if you like,” Steve suggested. “I’m not going anywhere for another week, at least.”
“One day, when the time’s right, I’ll tell you everything,” replied Clint. “Are you due to be released next week?”
“Provisionally,” said Steve. “Doctors will check me over again in a couple of days time. If all goes well, they’ll probably check me over again at the weekend, to give me the all clear, and confirm a release date for me.”
“That’s good, that’s good,” said Clint. “You won’t be going back to NASA for a while though?”
“Not for sometime, I shouldn’t think,” replied Steve. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself just yet. When I get home, I’m just going to relax for a while. I’ll go back when I feel I’m ready.”
“That’s what you need to do,” agreed Clint.
"Whereabouts are you staying?" asked Steve.
"At a motel near the airport," Clint told him.
"Did you fly here?" Steve queried.
"I didn't fancy driving all the way here," said Clint. "I drove here last year a couple of times, when I helped Frank move house, and didn't fancy doing that again. Particularly after I drove over 1000 miles to San Bernardino a couple of months ago."
"Will you be staying long?" asked Steve.
"Only until the end of the week," replied Clint.
"Well, if you fancy staying a little longer you can stay at my place if you like," suggested Steve.
"Thanks for the offer," Clint acknowledged. "I'll see what happens over the next few days. Wouldn't your wife and kids mind?"
"Naahhh," said Steve. "Carol would be glad of the company. Besides, I might be out next week."
Clint wasn't intending to stay beyond the weekend, but thought this may be a good opportunity tell Steve about the convention, what he heard, and what really happened there.
"I'll see how things go," said Clint.
Clint had bought some fruit, which he offered to Steve, and stayed at his bedside for an hour, often discussing the asteroid, and what could have happened to it. All the time, Clint wanted to discuss what he was told at the convention, and considered Steve's offer to stay a little longer.

Back in Colorado Springs, jet-lag had caught up with Arthur and Henry, who went back to the Mountainside Hotel. After demonstrating the new cars to Frank and Dermot, they went back to rest for a while, before going out for food in the evening.
"I 'focussed' on Frank," Henry told Arthur.
"Good, good," he replied. "That should be two of them who will have forgotten what I said at the convention."
"Two?" queried Henry. "Is there someone else you've told about how we arrived here, on Earth I mean?"
"Yes - Clint," said Arthur. "He went to the convention with Frank. He was with us when I disclosed the information."
"Do you know if he lives here?" queried Henry. "Perhaps we can pay him a visit."
"Oh I believe he lives somewhere in this city," Arthur told him. "Unfortunately, he's gone away for the time being, according to Frank."
"Do you know where he's gone, or when he'll be back?" asked Henry.
"Apparently, Frank said he went to Texas, though he didn't seem to be sure whereabouts," said Arthur. "I wouldn't worry too much about Clint. He's not the sort of chap who'd go blurting things out."
"Let's hope you're right," said Henry. "We'll keep in touch with Frank, in case we hear anything more about this other chap."

After Arthur and Henry had their meals and a glass of wine or two, they went to their rooms, where they watched TV for a while. They each slept well that night. Henry didn't awake until 8.15 the following morning. When he realised what the time was, he quickly washed, dressed and brushed his teeth, before dashing downstairs for breakfast, where he expected to see Arthur. Arthur wasn't there though, so he went back upstairs and knocked on Arthur's door. It wasn't until he was about to go back downstairs that Arthur came to the door. He was getting up at the time, and asked Henry to order breakfast for him, saying he'd be downstairs soon.
It wasn't until well after 9am that they'd finished breakfast and went back up to their rooms. They didn't have long to rest there, though, as Dermot rang to say that he and Frank were on their way into town. They met them at reception just after 10’, where it was noticeable that Frank had warmed to the new cars. Henry agreed to let him drive the solar sports car. Frank was excited, as he's original anxiety and caution had now been overcome.
Frank enjoyed driving the car, and could see it's potential. He took the others to a restaurant in town for lunch that afternoon, where he saw his wife, Jeanette. He waved to her, as she came over, along with Clint's wife.
"Hi honey, what are you doing in town?" asked Frank.