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

/> When they got there, they showed Henry around the premises, or rather, what had been completed. When he was shown the house, built into the rock, he asked to get the replicator.
“I’m afraid we didn’t bring a replicator with us,” admitted Arthur.
“No worries,” said Henry. “I put one in the boot earlier. You wouldn’t mind fetching it over, would you?”
“Erhh, no, not at all,” said Arthur.
While Arthur had gone to collect the replicator, Henry asked Rico about his date earlier that day.
“She’s a nice lady,” Rico told him. “A local girl, though not too young.”
“Well, what you get up to is no concern of mine,” replied Henry. “What I am concerned about, however, is to maintain our security. I do not want you to mention in any shape or form that we’re from outer space.”
“But I thought, strictly speaking, that we’re from this planet, anyway,” queried Rico. “You told us that our original ancestors are from Earth.”
“That is correct,” said Henry. “However, under absolutely no circumstances, should you, or any of the others, mention that we came from the Interstellar Pilgrim. If she asks, tell her you’re from mainland Spain, somewhere.”
“Like Madrid or Barcelona?” Rico queried.
“I don’t care where in Spain, preferably from some small town in the country,” Henry instructed. “Better still, ask her where she’s from first – you can then tell her you’re from somewhere at the other end of the country. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, perfectly,” said Rico. “I wouldn’t want to risk our identity, anyway. I’ll make sure I convey the message to the others.”
Henry and Rico could see Arthur coming, so ended their brief discussion then and there. When Arthur returned, he handed the replicator to Rico.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Arthur said to Henry quietly, as Rico led them to the house in the rocks. “Do you intend doing-up the place tonight?”
Henry grinned.
“Why ever not?” he asked. “If we can finish the lighting, plumbing, fixtures and fittings tonight, we can have a good night’s sleep here. Christen the premises, so to speak.”
Arthur was a little dumbfounded, so decided not to say anything. When Rico came back with the replicator, Henry told him of his intentions, which he accepted. Henry even used the replicator to create another replicator, so they could get through the work quicker. Arthur rang the others to tell them what they were doing, and that they probably wouldn’t be back until the next day. They took a couple of breaks, and by midnight, the house within the new premises was almost completed. Only the heating remained outstanding, which wasn’t really a problem on an island that was warm all year round.
The three of them slept well that morning, and didn’t return to Arthur’s house until midday. Henry was keen to finish the site completely, but the others wanted to rest on Sunday. Besides, some of them had already made other arrangements.
Instead, Henry went to finish the work over the next few days. Gaspar and Rico agreed to release Robinson to help him. Everything was ready by Wednesday, and that evening, Henry took the others to see the site. At the front was a large heavy double-gate, with the name ‘Gaspar & Gonchaves’. The warehouse had an upper level and a reception room in one corner.
“All we need now is the stock to occupy the warehouse,” Gaspar commented.
“I thought I should leave that to you, as I haven’t dealt with your customer requirements,” replied Henry.
“That’s fine,” said Rico. “We’ll sort that out ourselves. I don’t know when we’ll have time to do so, mind you.”
“You don’t have anything on at the weekend, do you?” Arthur asked.
“I like to relax at the weekend,” said Rico.
“Me too,” added Gaspar. “I haven’t got any engagements at the weekend, so I suppose I could get some of the panels, convectors, and odds & ends prepared.”
Henry then led them to the back of the warehouse, where carefully hidden from view, was a two-floor office, which included a meeting room with desks and seats. A door was placed at one end, which linked it to the house, discreetly built into the rocks at the back of the site, and out of the way of anyone else.
“Will any of you be staying in the house this evening?” Henry asked the others.
“Probably not tonight,” said Gaspar. “We’ll get our clothes and belongings sorted first, so perhaps we could move in tomorrow. We can set up solar paneling heaters in this place next weekend.”
The others agreed, so Henry spent the night in the house himself.
The following day, Henry arranged to visit the local government offices, along with Arthur, in Santa Cruz. This was to ensure that the premises had ‘received’ planning permission, were authorized, and fully recognised by the council.
Henry was due to leave on Friday. Though he was used to the wind and rain, he would later end up somewhere that made the Yorkshire climate look tame.

I’ll Take The Low Road

After trips to California and Tenerife, Henry could be forgiven for thinking it was summer. He was now back in his office at Skipton, however, and one day, while he was on his PC, he noticed a pop-up indicating he had just received an email. He didn’t think much about it at first.
Early that afternoon, after he had returned from the local café with his lunch, he opened his outlook express to check the mail he had received. There were the usual advertisements, which he quickly deleted, plus a few messages from Frank and Arthur. Then, he noticed one from the Western Isles council, off the far north western coast of Scotland. The message read:

From: Andrew MacDougall

Date 26 February 2009 10:51

To Henry Retono

Subject Development For Natural Energy


Dear Henry,

I note your proposal to develop energy from natural resources, and find this of interest. I believe this is achievable for the Western Isles, if not for the United Kingdom in general, and would like to discuss your proposal at some point.

I am available next Wednesday afternoon, March 4th 2009, and invite you to visit our offices at Sandwick Road, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, HS1 2BW. It may be possible to fly to Stornoway Airport from Glasgow or Edinburgh, or alternatively, you may sail to Stornoway via Ullapool. This however, may take some time. If you cannot travel to Stornoway, please let me know. It may be possible to meet on the mainland, at Inverness perhaps.

If you have any queries, please let me know. You can contact me on 01851 703773, extension 3749, if you have any urgent queries please let me know,

Yours sincerely,

Andrew MacDougall
Planning Manager, Western Isles Council


Henry was excited. Someone had at last responded positively to his suggestion of using wave power to develop energy in the UK. He eagerly went onto the web, to see how much information he could find about the Western Isles. He checked the flights from Glasgow airport, and found there were three or four flights depending on the day, which took little more than an hour. It may involve spending a night at Glasgow airport or somewhere nearby, but this didn’t seem a problem, so he replied shortly afterwards to say he would attend.
Henry went to the library in town that afternoon, before he went home to Ribblehead Cottage. He picked up a book on the Western Isles, after which he checked for Stornoway on the UK atlas. It was here that he began to rethink how he would get there. There seemed to be few roads, and even fewer villages on route. When he looked closer, he noticed the area was surrounded by mountains, at which point he thought that may make a nice journey in itself. He decided to speak with Ramondo about this.
“What do you think is the best way to get to Stornoway?” he asked.
“Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis?” Ramondo queried. “That’s to the west of the very north of Scotland. What on earth do you want to go there for?”
“You know that idea I mentioned,” Henry said to him. “The one about utilising wave power from the sea? Well, I’ve been invited to Stornoway to discuss the proposals.”
“Congratulations,” Ramondo said to him. “I should think there must be strong waves and currents around there. That would be an excellent place to harness the power of the sea. Haven’t you checked the options of travel to get there, online?”
“I can fly there from various airports in Scotland,” replied Henry.
“That shouldn’t be a problem, should it?” queried Ramondo.
“Oh no, that’s fine,” said Henry. “The thing is, I’ve been thinking of driving up there, through the Highlands of Scotland. I’d love to pass that way.”
“I know there’s a bridge across to Skye from the mainland, but I didn’t think there was anything similar to get to Stornoway,” said Ramondo.
“There isn’t,” Henry told him. “I’d have to drive to Ullapool, where I can catch a boat. There are two sailings to Stornoway each day.”
“I think I’d sooner fly there, myself,” Ramondo commented. “It’d be shorter, and safer, I’d have thought.”
“I know, I know, but I’ve had two long flights recently, to Tenerife and California,” said Henry. “I don’t fancy checking-in, and waiting hours at an airport again.”
“Well it’s your decision,” Ramondo replied. “I wouldn’t mind traveling through the Scottish Highlands myself sometime, but for business purposes, I know which option I’d rather take.”

Henry thought about what Ramondo said, and that perhaps flying would be the better option. Over the next few days however, he began to let his heart rule his head once again. Henry had considered traveling across the highlands on various roads, even though no route was suggested on the internet. On reflection, though, he decided to stop off at Inverness, and by midweek, had booked a hotel there, for Tuesday evening the following week.
Now, all that was left was to decide which route to take – the A9, over the high Drumochter pass and via Aviemore, or the lower, and seemingly more scenic A82, via Glen Coe and Glen More. In the end, it was no contest.
Henry decided to make an early start on Tuesday morning, before the rush hour jams queued up at Ingleton. As it happened, Henry made good time along the motorways to Glasgow, and stopped off for breakfast in one of the service stations en route. Even north of Glasgow, everything seemed okay at first. From Loch Lomond, the dual carriageway ended and the A82 became smaller the further north he drove. To compound matters, the road was quiet and there were few signs to confirm the location. Henry began to wonder whether he was on the right road. He didn’t worry too much though, as he viewed the grand beauty around him, and, soon enough passed a sign confirming he was driving along his intended route.
As Henry continued, he was enchanted by the views of the mountains on his left and the wild recess of Rannoch Moor to his right. This recess then grew into mountains, and the road seemed to close-in as he entered Glen Coe. This felt a little eerie, particularly as he passed near the site of a massacre over three hundred years ago. Henry was getting restless, and still hadn’t had lunch.
It wasn’t until after 2 o’clock that he entered the town of Fort William, where he