Gravity Versus Gravity, page 19
“If an object is inside a room?”
“Till the ceiling. Remains stuck to the ceiling till the zero-gravity effect is over and then with a thud falls back on the floor breaking a leg or two. And if the ceiling gives up, the object goes up in the air.”
Samantha entered the room again and sat down.
“Scary,” Evans said, grimacing his face. “The whole phenomenon would look surreal. Breaking a leg or two is okay but going up in the air like a zombie and then being stuck against the ceiling would be frightening. It’s good that we are far from the zone. And that brings me to the final question. How accurate is the zero-gravity zone that you have calculated?”
“Pretty accurate.”
“Which means everything outside Central London is safe?”
“On the ground, yes,” Al replied.
“It was very nice of all of you to have come over to me. I would have treated you to coffee, but I know that all of you are busy people. I would not want you to hold here anymore,” Evans said, getting up from his seat. He shook hands with everyone and then saw them off to the lift door. He did not accompany them to the exit.
When in the lift, Samantha said, “What a cheap fellow! He detained all of you because he had questions to ask. But he had no time for the coffee to be ordered.”
“Don’t worry, Samantha,” Dr. Wardle said. “Michael’s coffee is not worth drinking. I was glad that he did not order any.”
Just as they reached the ground floor, the smell of coffee from the cafeteria in the basement hit them. Dr. Wardle said, “Now, one cannot ignore that smell. Let me treat all of you to a cup of coffee.”
All of them happily took the stairs to the basement. When they had finished their coffee and were at the exit of the cafeteria, Samantha said, “Look who is sitting there enjoying coffee.”
Everyone turned their head all at once in that direction. Evans was relishing his coffee at a corner table, watching the television on the wall and, of course, oblivious of the fact that his four guests had noticed him.
14
Louisa and her team went from door to door to see that people knew what to do. They made notes of houses that were locked. They advised people on how to secure their belongings. They helped elderly people in doing this. Hundreds of trucks were ordered to take away unwanted material.
As the truck took away a lot of junk from one neighborhood, a resident said, “How much would I’ve paid to the Borough Council or a private agency to clear all that stuff? At least the comets have done something good to us.” He and his neighbor laughed till the truck had disappeared out of sight.
Jackie Mason was the person responsible from DIMA for the Royal buildings. She did not have to do much because the Royal Household Office had got into serious work in a flash after receiving a confidential advisory from DIMA a day after Al had called on Thomson.
Jackie was given a chance to inspect the Buckingham Palace, the Kensington Palace, and Lancaster House three weeks before the event. Preparations by the Household Office had been done to near perfection. All objects were pinned to the floor. The more precious objects were doubly secured with nylon ropes. All papers and documents were tied up in huge bundles of more than five hundred kilograms each and put inside boxes with iron bars fixed to the ground.
“Perfect,” Jackie said when she was in the Buckingham Palace. “I need not have come.” She looked up to see the sunlight through the rotunda. Her gaze got fixed.
“The rotunda needs to be secured?” the Deputy Master accompanying her said.
“Not the rotunda. You have forgotten the chandeliers.”
“They weigh more than a few hundred kilograms.”
“They won’t go up in the air, but they’ll be destroyed as they sway.”
“We’ll fix them to the floor. If that doesn’t feel good enough, we’ll take them away.”
Jackie visited Kensington Palace and Lancaster House but could not find any flaws except the need to secure the chandeliers.
Joe Banks was having a coordination meeting with Lucas Walsh, Mayor of Westminster Borough in the office of Lucas. Leo Frasier entered the room.
“Sorry, you are in a meeting,” Leo said to Lucas. Then, his eyes fell on Joe. He came charging like a bull inside.
“Where have you disappeared? You have cost us so much of money for nothing,” roared Leo.
“We could not have taken a chance,” Joe replied.
“Why did you not tell me that the area for the zero-gravity event that you gave was a rough area?”
“Would you have refused then?” Joe said.
“No. But I had all the right to know. You never told me that the event would not cover Camden.”
“How could I when I did not know about it? If you watch television or read newspapers, you would know that the exact area was found out only some days ago.”
“I do read newspapers, you uncouth fellow,” Leo said. “And for your kind information, this information came out weeks ago and not a few days ago.”
“Listen, Leo. Don’t pick up a fight with this poor chap. It was none of his fault. He does what he is told,” Lucas said.
Leo went out of the room fuming.
Lucas said to Joe, “You should not take him seriously. I’ve seen many people who are behaving abnormally.”
“Yes, I’m seeing all types of people. Some are appreciative of DIMA’s efforts. Others say that we are creating the whole thing to raise the profile of DIMA.”
“There must be some psychological effect of the binary comets. Some paranormal power that the comets are exercising or maybe they are changing the alignment of stars.”
Both laughed.
Lucas said, “Now let us get down to business. Where were we?”
“We were discussing how to handle stray pedestrians on the D-day.”
“Right,” Lucas said. “We get a lot of tourists. And although chances are low that someone has not heard anything about the comets, we cannot be taking a risk. I would not want even a single human casualty.”
“I’ve discussed with Colin. He has tied up with the National Rail Network and London Underground. Our satellite number two would track movements. We have also put heat sensors at various places. Our estimate is that the evacuation time would take a maximum of five minutes after detection.”
“Good,” Lucas said.
15
In the nearly five months that Al had been working in the Center, his office had changed beyond recognition. He had rearranged the computers, got two additional screens, installed an additional display screen on the wall and removed many paper charts from the walls. He knew his computers and equipment like the back of his hand.
As Samantha sat down to arrange the print outs and charts two weeks before the zero-gravity event, she was reminded of an incident that occurred about a month after Al’s arrival at the Center. When arranging the charts on that day, Samantha had found that one of the charts was missing. Al had obviously forgotten to take a hardcopy. Al was usually very meticulous in taking the backups. But Samantha had searched all the papers and was sure that Al had forgotten to do this for the first time.
Al was not in the office at that moment. He was with Dr. Wardle and the Deputy Directors for a review meeting. Samantha was to catch the evening train to her hometown. She could have waited for Al, but she had completed all her work except the daily compilation of the charts. The review meetings usually got over in an hour, but there were times when Al had stayed at the meeting for nearly four hours.
Samantha had switched on the rightmost computer. She had done this several times when Al had asked her to boot it. Al stored the charts in folders date wise, the latest of which he left on the desktop. Samantha had opened the folder and taken the printout. Just as she was retrieving the hardcopy from the printer, Al had entered the room.
Samantha had thought that Al would be glad to see that Samantha could operate the computer on her own. Instead, Al had given a strange look at Samantha.
“Am I taking the printout the wrong way?” Samantha had asked.
Al had not replied to Samantha’s question. He had asked in a serious tone, “Did you start that computer?”
“Yes,” Samantha had replied.
“On your own?”
“Yes. You had missed printing chart number twelve.”
“Samantha,” Al had said. “There is no one I trust more than you. But, for god’s sake, please don’t handle the computers in my absence.”
“I just took a printout of the chart.”
“Whatever it is. If anything goes wrong, my whole mission may be doomed.”
“But we keep two levels of backup data.”
“Even then,” Al had replied.
Samantha had dumped the papers and left for the train station. When she had returned the next Monday, everything between her and Al was back to normal, but she had never again touched Al’s computers in his absence.
With two weeks left, Al should have been under tension. But, he was in a good mood on that day. He had hugged Samantha several times. When he hugged her as she completed the chart folder, she had wanted to remind him about the chart-number-twelve incident. That may ruin his mood, she thought and gave up on the idea.
“You look in an unusually happy mood today,” she said to Al.
“I thought that you must be knowing the reason.”
“If it were related to your personal life, maybe. But the reason seems to be an official one,” Samantha joked.
“Yes, it is.”
“Then you’ll have to tell me since most of what you do officially remains inside your head.”
“I’ll not need the satellite to see the binary comets from tomorrow,” Al said.
“Why?” Samantha asked.
“Because tomorrow is the first day the comets would be visible to the naked eye. You would not be able to differentiate it from a star.”
“And they’ll grow from that size to the size of a large ship when they are nearest to earth?”
“Exactly.”
“In two weeks?”
“Right.”
“But the comets would not be visible when the zero-gravity event occurs.”
“Yes,” Al said. “Just like the event in Thar Desert.”
“The great unpredictable dielectric composites effect.”
“You know so much about the binary comets that you would make any astronomer envious,” Al said, smiling.
Samantha blushed. She believed that her knowledge about the binary comets was only superficial. Sometimes, she did not understand anything when Al discussed the subject with scientists from the Center. In the five months, she had picked up some astronomical jargon. But she did not know the meaning of half the terminology.
Samantha did not ask Al about her doubts often. But she did once a while. Al was always pleased to answer. However, when she asked questions, she was never sure if it was an intelligent question.
“But why did not anyone believe in your binary comets event the first time? I’m sure it was visible in the sky for a couple of days,” she said.
“Everyone had accepted that the comets were indeed binary comets, but no one believed that a zero-gravity event would occur.”
“I see,” Samantha said. “So that’s the difference.”
“There are still those who don’t believe that it would occur this time.”
“This time, it is better than last time. You have many supporters for the second event. At least a lot more on this side of the Atlantic. For those who don’t believe, I can only make an analogy with mice which close their eyes when a cat is around.”
“From where would you like to look at the comets?” Al asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
“From the earth, of course,” Samantha said.
“Where on earth?”
“My house, of course.”
“You are sure that you’ll be able to make it out from other stars?”
“Then your house, maybe.”
“That increases the chance of seeing the comets at the very moment they appear to a perfect hundred per cent.”
“Okay, so what time will I’ve to come?”
“At three in the morning.”
“But you said that it will appear only tomorrow.”
“Well, three in the morning is tomorrow.”
“It would be very difficult to walk across to your house at three in the morning. I might even forget to get up.”
“Think how we can resolve this problem. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. You wouldn’t want to miss. And only I know the exact time when it would be appearing.”
“Let me think,” Samantha said. “Would you mind if I sleep over in your house?”
“Of course not,” Al said with a brighter twinkle in his eyes.
Samantha reached Al’s house at seven in the evening. Al had decorated the dining table and prepared the dinner all by himself.
“Shall we open a champagne bottle to celebrate?” Al said.
“No, no,” Samantha said. “The champagne will ensure that I don’t get up at three.”
“Okay,” Al said, pouring juice for Samantha.
The dinner was over in fifteen minutes. Samantha and Al watched television. At nine, Samantha was in her bedroom. Al continued watching television. After fifteen minutes, he found that the lights in Samantha’s bedroom were switched off. He, too, retired to his bedroom.
Al got up at quarter to three when his alarm rang. He went to the kitchen to make coffee. Samantha was sitting with a cup in her hand.
“Good morning,” she said. “Your coffee is on the table. I got up almost an hour ago. I was excited. I couldn’t go to sleep anymore.”
“I, too, am excited. I’ve looked at the comets through the telescope a thousand times. But seeing it with naked eyes is incomparable. And watching the comets in your company has doubled the excitement.”
“Whenever I think of the comets, I always feel as though they belong to you,” Samantha said.
“I, too, feel possessive about the comets. But I also feel as though I’m the creator of the zero-gravity event. And that is not a great feeling. I sometimes think that if I had not found it, maybe the event would not have taken place at all.”
“You are wrong about the second part. Not finding a danger doesn’t make the danger disappear.”
Samantha realized that the expression on Al’s face had changed in the last few minutes.
“Let’s not discuss things that don’t make you happier. Today is a special occasion. Let’s not destroy the excitement by discussing anything but the appearance of the comets.”
“Right,” Al replied. “Let’s go out to make our meeting with destiny.”
Al and Samantha went to the attic taking their coffee with them. The sky was clear. Al’s house was strategically located for spotting the binary comets. The slope near his house stretched for several hundred yards before merging in a river, beyond which was flat, treeless land merging into the horizon. Mist was slowly rising from the river. In the glow from the river, the sky looked brighter than usual.
“Has the extra brightness something to do with the comets?”
“No,” Al said. “It’s a nearly full moon day. The light from the moon is getting reflected from the river creating an illusion of more brightness. We are lucky that there are no clouds today. I cannot even see a tiny bit.”
“Will the comets be visible exactly at three?” Samantha asked, finishing her coffee.
“They’ll touch the horizon at five minutes past three, but we’ll be able to notice them after a few more minutes. I’ve a telescope to see them better. I’ve focused the telescope, and we can have a look even now.”
“No,” Samantha said. “I don’t want to do that. I’ve looked at the comets through a telescope several times. It’s like watching a movie. I want to see live action.”
“Your choice,” Al replied. “I’ll have to do it for my last-minute readings.”
“Here?”
“Yes, right here.”
“But you don’t have access to data,” Samantha said in surprise.
“I’ve whatever I need now inside my head,” Al said, putting a finger on his forehead.
Al sat down and put his eye on the telescope. Samantha looked at him. He seemed to become a different person when doing his job. He was oblivious of everything around him. Only two things existed for him now - his telescope and the binary comets. Samantha was sure that nothing would distract him. She kept looking at him - something that she did not usually get to do.
Samantha came out of her trance when the clock in the study chimed when it struck three. She looked away from Al and started gazing at the horizon.
“There are so many stars. How will we find them?” Samantha asked.
“Look below the three stars in a triangle. They’ll appear there,” Al replied without withdrawing his eye from the telescope. After some time, Al said, “There they are. Do you see them?”
“Where? Where?” Samantha said. “I only see the three stars.”
Al suddenly got up from his place, caught hold of Samantha’s hand and pulled her towards the telescope. He put Samantha’s face on the telescope and said, “Whether you want or not, you’ll have to see this.”
“Gosh!” Samantha said. “I haven’t seen anything like that. You can make out that they are comets. Even two tails are visible although they look like one tail. Two old men with long beards blowing backwards in the wind.”
“That is a good poetic description of the binary comets. Astronomical distances decrease the ferocity of celestial objects. We are in awe of the sun. Just imagine stars which are thousands of times bigger than our sun. Distance also makes these objects look beautiful. If you could get onto the core of the comet, all you would see is frozen pieces of ugly rocks. Yet, they look beautiful from far. After two days, when you see them from the telescope, you would be frightened. The two old men would look like two very huge snarling old men.”
“Let’s go back inside. I’m already scared,” Samantha said removing her eye from the telescope.
