Chapter 20

I turned and trotted back to the taxi, thinking that I had best include a tip to apologise for dampening the taxi interior. I joined the ladies after telling the driver, “The ladies’ home next, driver.”

Sandy and Georgie were deep in a whispered discussion, so I left them to it while the taxi made its way to their home. They were out and heading for the door before I tried to ask about Janet. Sandy saw how I was thinking, and held up a hand.

“Later, Bob. I’ll let you know.”

I had to accept that. It was part of a commitment to marry; learning to live with each other.

“Okay. I have to be at school tomorrow, and tell them about my new job. You’d best get to university as well, and we can get together a.s.a.p.”

“Fine. Daddy can let me know when you will start with him. Goodnight darling, and thanks for the dinner.”

She leaned back towards me and we kissed as she left and went inside. I got back into the taxi, and this time the driver wanted to speak with me.

“That girl is your fiancee?”

“She is. The older girl is her sister, who will be our matron of honour at the wedding.”

He was dying to ask about my age in relation to Sandy, but it was none of his business. Instead, I directed him to my home in Greenock. He was morose all the way there, frustrated in wanting to ask about me and Sandy. None of it made sense to him; me neither. He cheered up when I added a generous tip to apologise for making the seats damp from our wet clothes.

On Monday, I took a taxi to school, and reported to the school secretary that I had found a job in a solicitor’s office and should be starting as soon as I was formally released from the school. She thanked me and said she would pass that on; then congratulated me on my employment success. I told her the solicitor was sending a letter of confirmation, and headed to my first scheduled class, a mere formality now.

It was physics, for which I was grateful, for a question had been bothering me since I found the time/space machine.

Our physics teacher welcomed me back after my injury, and explained that the class was no longer tuition for passing exams, but an extra opportunity to gain knowledge.

“Some of you young men and women will be going off to university, so this will give you a start. University is when you have to apply yourself to learning the subject in depth and not simply listen to your teacher as you have done here.

Today I am going to answer questions about physics that you ask me about; things that puzzle or interest you and that you want to know more about. As McIntyre has missed a few classes, he can start, if he has any questions.”

I was in immediately.

“Sir, I have been wondering how one could specify and identify a particular spot on the planet, such as this room. Can you help?”

“Interesting question, but it is basically answered by Latitude and Longitude, which I am sure you know something about.”

“Yes, sir, but only in a vague way. Ships use navigation to work out their position, but that only tells them where they are within a mile or two, which is why we still need lighthouses and foghorns to warn them from the coast. I am hoping for a more exact solution.”

“Well said, McIntyre. In theory, there are several ways to be more exact. In the last war, the Dambusters squadron learned to use two down-pointing light beams to help them fly at sixty feet over the water of a reservoir. The two beams were set to intersect at sixty feet, so they flew lower until the two spots on the water became one spot, and they knew they were then at exactly sixty feet for dropping the bouncing bomb, but that was defining their altitude, not their location.

A similar technique, but for a location, was used by the Germans to guide their bombers to a target in the UK. In that case, two radio transmitters in Europe, hundreds of miles apart, each sent a directional radio beam towards the target, so that the intersection point was where to drop your bombs. The navigators aboard the bombers listened to the two signals and when the two signals became one, they were on target. It was very effective, until our side learned to jam the signals.”

“Very clever, sir. I can see how that would work well, but the target would still be the size of a city or town. Is there any way to narrow it down to a single building and so on?”

“Once again, only in theory. How many of you budding scientists read science fiction?”

A half dozen hands went up.

“Thank you. Then you have probably heard of Arthur C. Clarke the novelist. He worked during the war as a radar technician for the R.A.F. and developed the notion of worldwide radio transmission using orbiting geostationary satellites. He wrote about this in an article in Wireless World in 1945, a dozen years before the first satellite went into orbit. Using his SF ingenuity, in theory this could be later developed into signals from two or more satellites to identify your position on the Earth’s surface, just like the German radio beams. You need an aerial to pick up the transmission from two satellites, and theoretically that can pinpoint your position to with a few yards. There are major difficulties in achieving such a system; the size and complexity of the satellites, and so the cost of boosting them to orbit; the difficulty of maintaining them if you are using temperamental valves (which is why he assumed manned satellites) and the number of satellites needed so that you always have two above the horizon. The theory is fine, but the practicalities will be a major stumbling block for the foreseeable future. Radio receivers would have to become much more sensitive to even pick up signals from orbit. You can’t expect to have a huge radio antenna on top of your house to collect low-power signals from hundreds or thousands of miles up.”

“But if such a system worked, could it pin down a specific spot; be as accurate as that?”

“I have no way of answering that question, McIntyre, except to say that technology has come along in leaps and bounds, boosted by the needs of war. Practical aircraft were only made possible in the early 1900s, yet fifty years later some aircraft are metal bodies being powered by jet engines and travelling at hundreds of miles an hour. Think of it: from plywood, wire and cloth devices powered by a clunky petrol engine, to aluminium-bodied jet fighters flying at near the speed of sound, all in half a century!

That is why I cannot dismiss the concept of radio positioning in the future. It may be that in another fifty years such ideas might become science fact.”

The teacher was pleased to be able to include a wide range of items to cover one topic, and he concluded by pointing out that many scientific disciplines such as radio and radar are linked to other disciplines in many ways, from miniaturisation to improvements in rocketry, and to developments of more powerful fuels to get the transmitters into orbit at a manageable cost.

I was more directly pleased to hear that it was very possible over the years ahead, for the time/space machine would need to be able to pinpoint a spot such as a lawyer’s office, for the inventor to be able to deliver his instructions to the lawyer that way. It also explained how the device was able to deliver someone to a city hundreds of miles away and avoid arriving inside a solid structure, or even having to be there physically beforehand to mark the arrival spot. Make the delivery point an open street, and you were fine; even a large room would work if you could be fairly exact in the location. Locate a street outside, then a minor adjustment places you inside a large room.

The rest of the day was pretty normal for me. Jeannie and Senga were conspicuously steering clear, for which I was grateful, but rumour was rife about someone being engaged to be married, thankfully without any name being bandied about. The idea was more or less dismissed by the more intelligent pupils, and so I was able to get away with saying nothing at all, except confirming being fit again. Only a few had noticed me getting out of a taxi, but they probably assumed that my father must be a taxi driver giving me a lift to save my foot.

The next day the letter from Mr Thompson arrived, confirming that he had offered me a post and that I had accepted it. He asked that I be released ‘as expeditiously as was feasible’, to quote his own words. That must have impressed the school staff, for I was informed that Wednesday would be my final day at school, and to ensure that I removed any and all personal effects from the premises by that day.

That encouraged me to check whether I had any items in a locker or any work pieces of woodwork, art or technical drawing that would remain as my possession. The answer was almost entirely nothing, but I had to be sure. Not having a phone at home, I was in no position to contact Sandy or her father, so I had my taxi stop at a phone box so I could call Mr Thompson and let him know I would finish on Wednesday, so I would be able to start with him on Thursday. He seemed happy to hear that when I got through, so I asked him to let Sandy know that I would be ready to take her to a jeweller to buy her engagement ring as soon as it suited her. I also asked if Georgina might come along to support Sandy in her ring choosing, as I was only around for paying the account! It was of course so that Georgina could also choose a ring, but that was between us three.

Wednesday was nearly tearful as I said goodbye to friends and classmates, but I kept my head and was careful not to promise to stay in touch, as I intended to stay well clear of old schoolmates. I made a point of saying farewell to those teachers that I respected, and they seemed to appreciate the thought.

Thursday was my formal introduction to the legal profession and its way of doing things. I don’t intend to regale you with all the rigmarole I had to learn and adopt, but I certainly had to pick up many Latin-derived phrases that were current in the legal profession, such as testament testamentar, and testament dative in relation to inheritance. The office had a small hand-written notebook of these phrases, and I was given it to memorise the phrases.

I preferred the brushing up on office routines and the procedures for dealing with clients old or new. We had to treat every client as if they were our most valued customer, but never to make promises to clients of any sort; always be vague, was the instruction. Use words such as “I will pass this on for swift attention” or “We do our best to solve clients’ problems” or “Leave it with me, sir, and I will ensure we do our best for you.” Making commitments to clients was the province of our legal boss. He wanted to be sure that he was never committed to an action because a member of staff said something they should not have done. Promises should be restricted to ‘doing our best’ or ‘passing it on’. I got the idea pretty quickly, and liked the thinking behind it.

Sandy was at university all day, so by the time I finished work I was in two minds about going home or hoping she would turn up at her father’s office. I dared to ask the secretary, Julia Somerville, if she knew of Sandy’s schedule, but the lady claimed ignorance, so I told her that if Sandy appeared, I would be at my own house in Gourock for the next half hour or so, then going home.

That allowed me time to get there, check the battery level, and if fine, take another couple of bricks to the lab. My intention was to keep delivering them until I could devote most of a day to building the wall across the doorway. That reminded me to see if there was a step-stool in the lab store, for I would need help like that for getting to the higher levels. By my reckoning, every visit was simply a few minutes after the previous visit, even if it was a week in my own timeline.

I found a step-stool in the lab supplies storeroom, so that calmed my mind somewhat.

Back at the house vestibule, I checked the battery level, and I was doubtful if it would stand another trip today, so I left that for now. Sandy had not appeared, so I walked to the nearest phone box and called for a taxi to Greenock.

Getting home, my mother demanded a report on my first day of paid work for a solicitor, and that took up the next half hour or so, until she had to release me to go make our dinner: ham and eggs with baked beans and pan-fried potatoes. It might be cheap and easy, but it still tasted wonderful.

Okay, it didn’t have all the fancy ingredients and special sauces and herbs, but as a meal it was fine by me. My father’s favourite meal was beef mince and mashed tatties. The mince was added to the pot after a chopped onion was fried first in a little oil, and the gravy from the mince boosted with a stock cube to add flavour. That gravy meshed well with the mashed potatoes which had a touch of paprika added during the mashing.

I warned my parents that I would probably be visiting a jeweller’s to get Sandy her engagement ring, and my mother declared, “That could be expensive, son!”

I replied, “For the woman I am going to marry, it is not expensive, merely an adornment to her beauty.”

Mum gaped and said, “Such lovely words. You must really love her, Bob.”

“I do, Mum. She is going to bring her big sister along to help her choose, so I might get Georgina a ring of some sort as well, to help keep her on side.”

“You are fairly splashing the money around, Bob,” declared my father, but I told him, “Money only has one use, Dad: spending. I might as well spend it wisely. You know I don’t gamble or drink much alcohol. I have been told that I will have stocks and shares to my name, but I don’t yet know what sort of income that will bring. Sandy’s studies at university may help us work out the finances, but that will take time.

My next expenditure is a wedding outfit for me. I have been told that buying a suit of quality is better value in the long term than hiring for a day or so.”

Dad said, “Your mother told me you have given us enough to buy decent clothes for the wedding, including a flashy hat for her!”

“I will also organise a limousine to take you to Gourock for the ceremony. It looks like we will have the reception at the Ashton hotel. Sandy will confirm that shortly.”

Mum asked, “Have you thought about where to go for your honeymoon, son?”

“Not really, Mum. We are swithering about what we want. Sandy has a hankering for Edinburgh with all its historical sites, museums and art galleries, but we shall see. Anything suits me, as you know. I am not one for exotic resorts.”

Friday was a pleasant morning, shadowing the other part-time members of staff as they went about their business. Part of that was phoning the Sheriff Court in Greenock to make appointments for court cases, some of which did not directly involve clients as it was about procedural law and/or arguing for a delay to a case, so as give our client time to gather further evidence, or to speed one up to cut costs for the client. By lunchtime I was ready for a snack lunch at our usual haunt, and hurried there to avoid queues for sandwiches and such. I preferred the healthy option of a baked potato and side salad. The filling I chose for my potato was coronation chicken (diced chicken in a creamy sauce laced with a touch of curry powder). It was invented for the Queen’s coronation in 1953, so that’s where its name came from. It goes well with the baked potato, provided the potato is really soft. I know, I sound picky, but I like my food to be well prepared and cooked. I had not looked for Janet, and when a shadow fell on me I assumed it was her, but it was Sandy.

“Enjoying your snack, my love?”

“I am. It is cooked perfectly. This place is good for snacks as well as main meals, Sandy. I haven’t seen Janet around, but I wasn’t looking for her. I am on my lunch break and have to watch my time.”

“No you don’t. Order another of these for me, and we can relax. I have the afternoon clear, so I came back to collect you for buying the rings.”

“But the office...”