The Twins Paradox, Alan Gasparutti [online e reader txt] 📗

The Twins Paradox

Chapter Page

1) Going Home page 3

2) Nightmare In Dentdale page 11

3) Call Me George page 17
4) Delayed Report page 26
5) It Happened Tomorrow page 35

6) Moments of Doubt page 46

7) Armageddon Revisited page 60

8) New Moon On Monday page 74
9) Relatively Speaking page 90
10) Ingleborough page 100

11) The Digital Car page 115

12) A New Beginning page 135

13) The Vanishing Moon page 146

14) Four Hours to Neptune page 172

15) In The Air (Tonight?) page 184

16) The Green Revolution Begins page 199

17) New Business page 213

18) The One That Got Away page 239

19) The Warm, The Wet and The Windy page 254

20) I’ll Take The Low Road page 276

21) The Sex-Mad Doctor page 296

22) The Island Fleet page 324

23) The Grand Opening page 349

24) The Final Hurdle page 366

25) This Time Next Year…. page 394

Going Home

The Universe… An astronomically-vast emptiness… Where everything seems still and where time and space appear as one, with no end...
Within the universe are galaxies, within which are many different regions. Some contain spectacular and beautiful nebulae, formed from dead stars, and where new stars are born; while elsewhere are deadly Black Holes, where gravity is so strong that anything nearby is swallowed and obliterated into infinite density, never to see light again.
In each galaxy are millions of stars, which are millions of billions of trillions of miles apart. Some may be massive like our sun, surrounded by planetary systems. Others may be many thousands of times larger still. Also lurking within planetary systems are meteors, comets and asteroids, of all shapes and sizes.
Travelling through the universe appeared to be an asteroid, almost 8 miles in length, and about a mile across. But not everything is what it appears to be, and not everything 8 miles long is an asteroid.
The Interstellar Pilgrim was carrying over 250,000 passengers, most of whom were in deep-freeze, or hibernation, during the long, long journeys, until it was their turn to awake.
The person in charge of this current leg of the journey was Major Retono, a tall, broad coloured man, though facially he seemed Neanderthal in appearance.
“Lieutenant Jamess,” he called out on his speaker, “Can you give me the current co-ordinates of the Interstellar Pilgrim?”
“We are within stellar quadrant 1, sir”, said the Lieutenant. “We’re still on course for our intended destination.”
“How far are we from the intended destination?” asked Major Retono.
“Almost half a light year away”, the Lieutenant replied.
“What is our current speed, and how long will it take us to get there?” asked Major Retono.
“We are currently travelling at warp 5,” replied Lieutenant Jamess. “At our current speed, we should be at our destination within four months.”
“Are there many planets or asteroids on our current course?” asked Major Retono.
“We are approaching a comet field, sir,” the Lieutenant replied
“How large is this comet field?” asked the Major. “Is there sufficient space between the comets through which we can manoeuvre?”
“I don’t think so sir,” replied Lieutenant Jamess. “One of our fighters, or even a landing craft might be able to manoeuvre through the comet field, but the Interstellar Pilgrim is too large. We shall have to take a diversionary course. It shouldn’t be too long.”
“Plot the diversionary course, Lieutenant,” Major Retono ordered. “When you’ve finished, send me a report of our intended course, together with data on any planets, satellites or asteroids we may come across.”
“As you request, sir,” said Lieutenant Jamess.
“I’m going to rest for now, but if you need me, I’ll be in my office,” said the Major.

Major Retono went to his office, and when he awoke, the requested report was on his desk. As he read carefully through it, he considered divulging some of the information. On consideration however, Major Retono decided to first discuss this with two leading members of the crew. He then called down to the lab room, and asked the ship’s leading scientists, Professor Schmidt and Professor Wagstaff to come to his office.
A little later, there was a knock on the door. Major Retono went to open it.
“Ah, Professor Schmidt, come in, come in,” said the Major.
“You wanted to see me,” asked Professor Schmidt as he entered the office.
“Yes, sit down a minute”, said the Major. “Do you know if Professor Wagstaff is on his way?”
“Professor Wagstaff hasn’t yet come out of hibernation,” Professor Schmidt informed the Major. “Is there something important you wish to discuss?”
“There are a few things I'd like to query with you,“ said Major Retono. “Do you know where we are heading for?”
“I believe we are heading for Zorontin,” replied the Professor. “As no formal announcement has yet been made, I have decided not to disclose anything.”
“Good, good,” said the Major. “Do you know the significance of Zorontin, and it’s solar system?”
“I believe it is from one of it’s planets where we originated,” said Professor Schmidt.
“That is correct,” replied the Major. “Other than us, only Commander Ondichi is aware of this, and as you know, he is in hibernation at the moment.”
Major Retono then handed a copy of the report to the Professor Schmidt.
“I received this from Lieutenant Jamess a little while ago,” he explained. “I’d like you to have a look at it.”
“Does Lieutenant Jamess know where we are going?” asked Professor Schmidt.
“He may know where we’re going, but I don’t think he realises it’s significance,” said Major Retono.
“Are you sure?” queried Professor Schmidt.
“I’m sure enough that if Lieutenant Jamess had any inkling, he’d have discussed it with me first,” Major Retono commented. “As I was about to say, I’d like you to read the report, and tell me what you know about any of the planets on our course.”
Professor Schmidt had a brief read of the report, before commenting on the planetary system they were now fast-approaching.
“Without checking our galactical database, I can confirm there are a number of planets, with satellites around most of them,” said Professor Schmidt.


“Do you know of any forms of life on the planets?” asked the Major.
“The planet third from the centre, ZR3, is capable of supporting life, but I am not aware of any life forms on the planet as yet,” replied Professor Schmidt. “We may have a better idea when the closer we approach the planet. As ZR3 is one of the more central planets, we may be able to detect any life in a few months.”
“But life may have developed on ZR3 since our ancestors departed this region?” queried Major Retono.
“Quite probably,” replied Professor Schmidt. “The planet fourth from the centre, ZR4, seemed to be capable of holding some life forms once.”
“Could you elaborate on that?” the Major requested.
“I believe it’s atmosphere contained about one-third as much as ZR3’s,” replied Professor Schmidt. “Any form of life would, however, probably be primitive and restricted.”
“You mentioned some planets are surrounded by satellites?” asked the Major. “Do you know if any of them are capable of supporting life?”
“I cannot say for certain,” said Professor Schmidt. “I’ll confirm as much as I can when I’ve checked our records. I should point out that much of the information may be out-of-date. Precisely how relevant it will be remains to be seen.”
Major Retono pondered to himself for a few moments.
“I doubt anything would have happened since to change the situation, but I can’t be certain until we are a lot closer,” said the Professor.
“Is there a possibility that ZR4 may have gained a thicker atmosphere since, due to comet impacts?” asked Major Retono.
“There may have been liquid at the magnetic poles, or possibly underground, which could have since surfaced due to natural circumstances,” Professor Schmidt commented. ”However, going on what we already know, these things are very unlikely.”
“I’d like to examine any planets we pass, but priority must be given to ZR3,” stipulated the Major.
“I see we’re approaching a comet field, Major,” queried Professor Schmidt. “Do you think we could we dislodge a comet or two?”
“Probably, but would it serve any purpose?” asked Major Retono. “Or do you have anything in mind?”
“I believe it may be possible to create life, or certainly improve conditions for life, on ZR4,” explained Professor Schmidt. “This may be done by sending a comet on a collision course with the planet.”
Major Retono thought about the Professor’s suggestion.
“According to my report, there is another asteroid and comet field closer to Zorontin,” he pointed out. “This one is a lot smaller than the one we are going to by-pass, so I suggest if we try something like that, we do it later.”
“We may have gained some more data on ZR4 by then, too,” Professor Schmidt said nodding in agreement.
“The last time we came this way was a long, long time ago,” Major Retono emphasised. “What is the likelihood of all planets today remaining much as they had done then?”
“I doubt any of the planets will have changed significantly, but I can’t say for certain,” replied the professor. “Anything could have happened in that time. New life could have developed in that time on ZR3.”
“Can you look into the records of any life-forms which we have discovered elsewhere, and send me a report, with the probability of each life form developing on ZR3,” requested the Major.
“It is an awfully long, long time ago when we last came this way,” the Professor re-emphasised. “The same forms of life could still be there. A new species could have developed since, they could have moved on, or even destroyed themselves. Anything could have happened in that timescale.”
“I know, I know,” said the Major. “However, I think it best we have some idea of what we may expect. Besides, I’m going to prepare a full report on our intended destination for the Commander.”
“Very well,” said Professor Schmidt, “I’ll see what I can find out.”
“One final thing, Professor,” Major Retono said to him as he was leaving the office, “Do not discuss this with anyone else.”
“You have my word,” replied the Professor.

Over the next few days, as the Interstellar Pilgrim moved closer to the large asteroid & comet field, it changed course slightly. As they ‘flew’ beneath it, the faint sight of what lay ahead could be seen. It was then agreed to continue the journey beneath the Solar plain for the time being.
As time progressed, the bright specks ahead grew larger and larger. Major Retono went to the observatory, from where he could get a close view of all the planets, which still lay some distance ahead. He decided that now was the right time to awake Commander Ondichi from hibernation.
While Major Retono was in his office the next day, reading Professor Schmidt’s report on the planets and comparing the information to what he had seen of the planets, he heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” said the Major.
“I hear the mission is going well,” said the Commander as he entered the office.
“Well, well, Commander, how are you,” said Major Retono. “Ready for the final stage of the journey, I hope?”
“Never felt more like a final stage of a journey than I do now,” replied a jolly Commander Ondichi.
Major Retono and the Commander had a brief chat for old times. The major then showed the Commander the report on what lay ahead.
“I’m currently examining Professor Schmidt's report on the Zorontin system, Sir” said Major Retono. “There are a number of planets, but I've been giving priority to our intended destination”
“ZR3, I presume,” queried