Chapter 10

The portal had been named Sigma one. Sigma stood for the quadrant of space it was found in, and as it was the first portal ever found in the quadrant it got a ‘one’ as its other specification. At that time the Count was just a child, and even though betrothed to his countess, as was the custom, none of them knew the other.

As it happened the grand opening of Sigma one gave their respective parents a unique chance to let them meet for a first time, as well as getting better acquainted themselves naturally. Daughter to a margrave Eleonora was a quiet child, often absorbed in books. The duke, or rather what will become the duke, on the other hand was somewhat of an enigma to his parents, restless and unable to take anything seriously, even his fathers stern rebukes. In Terran years both was around that age where pimples might appear. Yes, you got that right, early adolescence.

“Thomas, come and meet Eleonora.” his mother called. Being upon that imposing spacious passenger vessel used to carrying nobility. It was named ‘The Hollander’ in remembrance of that brave Terran ship that was said to ever rove the seas. As the Chaplain said at that time they baptized the ship ‘May you forever rove Space, as cleanly as your predecessor’.

“Must I” He muttered

“I heard that, come now”

“Damn” he whispered. His mother had an uncanny ability to hear he thought as he walked up to the stateroom where they was waiting for him. He just knew she would find faults with him, just because the trousers might be a little dirty or his hair tussled. You just couldn’t have fun anymore. And his father nagging about the responsibilities waiting to be laid on his shoulders. ‘What’s the use of growing up if that was all there was to it?’ He thought.

“Ah there you are” his mother said smiling at him

“This is my son Eleonora, Thomas”

“And a sorry sight you are” thundered his father looking at him

“What have you been doing to yourself boy?”

“Sorry Sir, was in the viridarium studying”

“Studying, with the gardeners apprentice perhaps?”

“Eh, no Sir”

“And the holes in your trousers?”

Thomas studied them a little, then smiled

“A tree attacked Sir”

“Really?” said his mother, doing her hardest to not smile

“A tree?” said Eleonora who by now had started to take an active interest in this strange looking boy. To her he definitely looked as if he would fit better as the gardeners apprentice.

“Indeed miss” and there he gave her a stately bow, worthy of any pure blooded noble.

“I was sitting there, peacefully studying ‘Tractates of good manners’ when this knave tree suddenly jumped at me. It was only my fathers good training that saved me from succumbing.”

“Go on Thomas.” said his mother, finally unable to hold in her smile

“Don’t encourage him for gods sake” muttered his father as he studied his son anew

“Why would a tree do such a thing?” Eleonora asked wide eyed. Not that she believed of course. But it was at least funnier than the grown ups around her.

“Well, he ripped apart my tractate.” He shrugged

“I can only assume he knew how to read” Thomas finished.

His Father whose coloring slowly had gone from white to a purplish red, couldn’t hold it in longer. He started to laugh. Thomas relaxed, he knew the worst was passed now, could he just get his father to laugh everything would be okay. Studying Eleonora with newfound interest he saw a young somewhat gangly girl, near his height. A wide smile, sprinkled with freckles, over a pair of sprightly green eyes and unruly copper red hair. ‘She looks nice’ he thought a little surprised. ‘But she only like books’ He decided to test it.

“Eleonora, would you like me to show you the viridarium?” he asked

Eleonora contemplated him for a moment, then turned questioningly to her mother.

“Why don’t you do that Eleonora” her mother said smiling at Thomas

“Go children but keep on the grass, don’t let the trees find you”

There is this funny thing with time. As any experimenter knows you can’t be without it. It follows you like a shadow from the day you are born to the day you die. In any experiment done there will be a clock, even if just a simple wrist watch. So your local time never stops? But when dipping your toes into that mysterious region where time stops making sense then? The quantum realm? Even there your own clock will tick. Human science was well used to the word observer dependencies, but the word scale dependencies had yet to be invented.