And it was.
It just didn’t work. Once again, the jump failed.
He sat back, suddenly looking his age. I found him a blanket. He declined another cup of tea. His pulse was very erratic. I feared for him again.
‘How about …’ I said, a little reluctant to expose my ignorance to such a giant intellect. ‘How about, Professor … we just switch everything off and then back on again. Always works for me when my data-table’s got itself into a tangle.’
He brightened. ‘Excellent idea, Max. We’ll make a physicist of you yet.’
‘Before you get too excited, Eddie – there’s a possibility that not only will it not work but we won’t be able to power up again and then we’ll be even worse off than we are now.’
‘No, I don’t think so,’ he said, confidently.
I crossed to the trip switch, looked back at him, and said, ‘Ready?’
He nodded eagerly.
I tripped the switch and we were plunged into the darkest dark I’ve ever known. After a few seconds, the battery-operated emergency light came on over the door.
‘Count to twenty-nine,’ said Eddie, in the dim glow, ‘then throw the switch on again.’
‘Why twenty-nine?’
‘My favourite number.’
So, feeling rather foolish, I counted steadily to twenty-nine, took a deep breath, and threw the switch.
A click, a rising hum, and with a couple of electronic beeps, the console lit up again.
And nothing had changed.
We were still trapped in the middle of nowhere, with a dwindling supply of oxygen and everything was working but not working.
I returned to the console, sat down, and had a bit of a think. I was in charge of this assignment and it was balls to the wall time.
‘Well, now,’ I said, quietly. ‘We have choices.’
‘We do indeed,’ he said, heavily. ‘Shall we discuss them?’
‘I don’t know where we are, but I don’t think we’re going to get out of this.’
‘Don’t you?’
‘Don’t I what?’
‘Know where we are.’
‘Of course not. According to our instruments, we’re not anywhere.’
‘No,’ he said, thoughtfully. ‘We’re not, are we? Sorry. Continue.’
‘We can end this sooner or we can end this later. Your thoughts, please.’
‘Well, in my case, it doesn’t make much difference. I’m beginning to feel very cold and weak. I suspect I’ll lose consciousness soon and I’ll never wake up. It’s you who has the decision to make, Max. Do you want to spin it out for hours and die, frost-covered and gasping for your last breath, or go on your own terms and in your own time?’
‘I don’t want to spin this out, Eddie.’
‘No.’
‘But then again, I don’t want to die, either. I have a future waiting for me. I won’t give up yet.’
‘I’m glad to hear that. I rather had the impression you were … undecided about one or two things.’
Once again, he saw more than was comfortable. ‘Now,’ he said decisively. ‘I’m going to have a bit of a think. Give me a poke in five minutes in case I’ve dropped off.’
I took the time to have a bit of a think myself. I thought about Leon Farrell. Then Troy. Then I thought about how pleased I was to have done that in the right order for once. I reviewed my life and then went back and replayed some edited highlights. There were a lot more of those than I once thought there would be.
Professor Penrose stirred. ‘I have an idea. It’s a very bad one.’
‘They’re often the best sort, Eddie. Tell me.’
‘We open the door.’
What? Was he out of his mind? Had blood loss affected his brain? I stared at him. ‘The benefits being …?’
‘Out there is nothing. In here is something. Matter exists. Time is passing. We open the door. Something collides with nothing. That collision may – may – kick-start the jump. It’s not a solution, Max. We almost certainly won’t survive. All I’m offering is uncertain death rather than certain death.’
I considered.
‘It’ll be a hell of bang.’
‘It certainly will.’
‘I’d have to override the safety protocols.’
‘Can you?
‘I think so.’
‘We’ll only need a tiny, minute fraction of a second. Just enough for an infinitesimal amount of something to … escape. No more. Can your computer handle something that small?’
‘No idea. Doesn’t matter really, does it?’
‘No, not really.’
I considered how to phrase this.
‘Computer, on my mark, disengage safety protocols. Point zero zero zero one of one second later, re-instate protocols, close the door, and make the pre-set jump to St Mary’s. Authorisation Maxwell, five zero alpha nine eight zero four bravo.’ I crossed my fingers. ‘Confirm.’
‘Confirmed.’
‘Well, there you are, Eddie. It says it will. Whether it can, of course … Will we survive this?’
‘If it helps, Max, if it doesn’t work, it will all be over very quickly.’
‘Understood.’
We were silent.
‘Max, I’m sorry to have got you into this.’