Apologies to any Early Birds yesterday, I posted Chapter 3 again but spotted the error later in the day…

For the sake of pairing some of these adjuncts to the novel alongside their respective chapters, I am taking liberties with the Alphabet for the next couple of days and so we come to G and not E…

My goal in the 2021 A2Z Challenge is to complete a novel I started a few years ago but which has languished for lack of love (writing!). Each Post, daily in April (Sundays excepted), will consist of some aspect of the novel plus a chapter from it. I hope that the Alphabetical items will give a bit of extra background, muse on the writing process, but most of all, help me develop certain ideas to improve the novel. Some 12 chapters are already written so I have a bit of a head start…

I looked up the origin of the word “Well” when paired with the word “Gravity” and found no better explanation than the idea that wells are holes that things can fall into. There is a demonstration of the idea of the Gravity Well here. In “Train Wreck” – there is considerable reference to why gravity wells make space travel very awkward and likely to remain so unless somebody handily invents an “anti-gravity” engine…

On Hawaii 2, the problem of getting into space without using rockets or jet plane mother ships to carry small capsules aloft, is solved by building a space lift or as Americans call it – a space elevator. The book will come to describe the workings of a space lift eventually since it plays a pivotal role in the final act – suffice to say at this point, that here on earth, the materials necessary to build a space lift, do not yet exist but a competition exists to encourage their development. Development that is much more feasible than that of an anti-gravity engine…

P.S. the Space Lift was first posited as long ago as 1895 – boy did those Victorians have imagination!

One thing which is mentioned in today’s chapter, is some major environmental modification that was done in the early years of the settlement of Hawaii 2 and just today, I came across an article describing just such a project to “green” the Sinai Desert right here on Earth – what are the chances! Well the only question it raised for me (my having written this bit some time ago) was why there was desert on Hawaii 2 without the destructive input of man. Because in the Sinai and the Sahara, we know that they were once green and it is possible, if not probable, that the activities of man (to wit – cutting down trees), either caused or exacerbated the climate change leading to desertification. I will not go into what is covered in the article but suffice to say that it is very exciting and hopeful for not only the Sinai desert, but it seems, for the climate and weather of a much wider region if the scheme can be implemented and it suceeds!

The following chapter deepens the mystery of the train wreck and also tells us more about life on Hawaii 2. Please comment with any opinions good or bad – you have no idea how much I value feedback at this stage…

Chapter 5
Investigations

The investigator was conspicuous by the plainness of his outfit. He wore a grey, casual suit with a crew cut T-shirt beneath which was in such contrast to the exuberant fashions typical on Hawaii 2 for virtually everyone outside of specific work-wear, that it alone marked the man as almost certainly an off-worlder. Furthermore, he was pale of complexion and while he could have been from the far north or south of the Continent he was certainly not from the capital or anywhere near it’s latitude, and yet was clearly an urban creature.

“Thank you for seeing me Mr Gulliver and I am very sorry for your loss, although I understand you are to be congratulated on becoming a father!”
“Thank you, Mr…?”
“Inspector James, External Affairs for Hawaii 1.!
Jack responded curtly but within the bounds of politeness.
“What can I do for you Inspector James.  Actually, I wasn’t expecting you till tomorrow.”
“Yes indeed, that was the original plan, but I hope this is not inconvenient to you?”

“It might as well be now as tomorrow.” said Jack. Come in and sit down but we will have to keep our voices down as my son is asleep just there.” Jack indicated the cot where Douglas had just gone to sleep.

“I am sure it must be very painful to contemplate the events of seven months ago, although for you, it can only seem like what – five weeks, for you.”
“From when I regained consciousness you mean.”
“Indeed Mr Gulliver it must have not just a terrible shock but well, a whole series of shocks!”
Despite his reluctance to poke around in his feelings of loss, which were allowing him a little more space each day, for, if not exactly happiness, then at least some degree of calmness, Jack started to warm to the inspector his appearance was softly open and his demeanour evidenced by the tone of his questions, seemed genuinely sympathetic
“You’re right, a series of shocks.”
“I don’t want to stir up memories more than I have to, but we are really stuck over the bomb on the train, I mean as to who might have planted it and why.”
“A bomb!” exclaimed Jack “But I thought it was a gas explosion in the kitchen of the Buffet Car!” Jack lent back in his armchair, his hands and arms rigid and outstretched gripping the armrests until his knuckles were white.

Despite the softness of his approach the investigator was shrewdly appraising Jack’s reactions. It was a subject of much debate amongst his colleagues as to whether it was possible to judge reliably, whether a person was lying or not. The investigator believed that it was not. He did believe however, that many unconscious elements of body language did not lie and he had deliberately dropped this bombshell on Jack to see how he would react. He was able to observe Jack freely as in his rigid pose he was looking straight ahead but gazing internally rather than at the view beyond the window where is unfocused eyes appeared to be looking. The investigator judged that this was a complete surprise to Jack which confirmed what his background research had indicated – there was no motive or means for Jack to have been the bomber. Quite the opposite in fact. Going to the space lift to meet his lovely young wife after a separation of some months, their whole lives in front of them – very long odds! Besides it was more or less a miracle that the two of them had survived at all let alone in a coma, so close to the blast had they been that if one of them were the bomber, it would have been a suicide mission and would a suicide bomber not have self-detonated a bomb to be sure of instant, painless oblivion? No, he had early in the investigation ruled out Jack and Anna as suspects as well as dismissing as unlikely, the possibility of suicide bombers, although it was possible the bomber might still have been on the train. There was nobody in the Buffet Car since it had closed except for Jack and Anna who were in the toilet. This was a tricky case in no mistake – a bombing with no apparent motive and responsibility for which had not been claimed by any organisation or individual, nevertheless if one could eliminate any possibilities then it brought one closer to the truth or, as they might be forced to accept in the end, the probability of some other solution. As the investigator reached this point in his thoughts for what seemed like the umpteenth time in the last seven months Jack turned to him and asked

“Why did the newscasts say it was a gas explosion if it was a bomb and how do youknow it was?”

“Two good questions Mr Gulliver. I’ll answer the second one first as it’s easy. Forensics! A gas explosion would have been a slower explosion a rolling wave with a different pattern of destruction and burning not to mention different chemical residues. The residues are consistent with the Gelnex, a common enough explosive in mining, quarrying and civil engineering projects – but also simple enough to make from innocuous, easy to obtain ingredients, so it could have been a terrorist home-made device or could have been stolen from a legitimate user such as a quarry. Forensics are good but in this case not good enough to tell the difference between home-made and manufactured so we have had to resort to old-fashioned legwork. The thing is, no thefts of Gelnex have been reported anywhere on Hawaii 2 and the Rangers have gone over the inventory of every registered user with a fine-tooth comb. Nada! Actually, it very nearly could have been a gas explosion as the bomb was planted right next to the gas bottle If that had gone up I’m afraid that you and your son over there,” he gestured at Douglas asleep in his cot, “would certainly not be here today. Luckily those gas bottles are very tough, and it blew away from the bomb but didn’t rupture.”

As always with technical explanations. Jack glazed over slightly and in any case he was more interested in the human aspects of the story.

“So why did the newscasts get it wrong then?”
“Because that’s what we told them,” said Inspector James quietly. ”Firstly, when the preliminary investigation by the Rangers here on Hawaii 2 gave no clues as to why or who, and as no person or group had claimed responsibility, your President and the Rangers decided to call for external help – that’s me – and to put out the gas explosion story partly to alleviate public fears but also in the hope that by putting out a falsehood, it might tip the perpetrators into claiming responsibility after all.”
“But if someone set a bomb, then it was presumably for a purpose, like – like blackmail or extortion or to make a political point. Why wouldn’t they announce it?” send Jack who it appeared, was becoming gripped by the whole mystery. Not surprisingly, thought the investigator – who wouldn’t want to know how and why you lost your wife and six months out of your life!
“That is the million credit question Mr Gulliver.”
“Jack! Call me Jack!”
“Okay Jack. You’re right, you would imagine that if the motive was political, religious or ideological, that the terrorists would have claimed responsibility. In fact, in the very few instances of terrorism on the homeworlds, typically more than one group claim to have done it. Like your late wife, I also study the Earth Data Matrix for the information on my own field and it is very rare for a group to commit an act of terrorism and then chicken out or decide that for some reason they won’t take the credit for the act. By the time they commit the act they have too much invested in the whole plan including the follow-up.”
“Okay so it’s not terrorists – what about criminals?”
“Well Jack we still can’t completely rule out terrorism but we are looking at other lines of enquiry more strongly. Now if someone wanted to blackmail the rail company to extort money from them then this would have been pretty effective, a ‘Look what we can do!’ statement. We have thoroughly questioned the rail company and in fact they not only deny being approached with any demands, but they are in dire straits with regards to insurance. The insurance company will not pay out on a terrorist incident although strangely an act of God, whatever that might be and which this definitely is not, would qualify. We had to let them know on the promise of keeping it secret, that it was a bomb but unless a blackmailer comes forward which again, they will cover well – they, let’s just say they prefer the idea of a terrorist as it let’s them off the hook.” The investigator paused for a moment as if gathering his thoughts.
“Jack the reason I am telling you all of this, especially the truth about the bomb, it’s because we are desperately hoping you might be able to help us move this investigation along.”
“Me, Inspector – how can I help you?”
“Well firstly, we were hoping there might be some details you remember from before the explosion.”
“I’m sorry but I don’t remember much at all.”
“Why did you go to the Buffet Car Jack?”
“Well Anna was thirsty so although I said we would soon be arriving back at Grand Central she wanted a bottle of water, and we were only in the next but one carriage so we went to try, but when we got there, there was nobody behind the counter. I would have climbed over to get a bottle for her but then Anna said to wait till we arrived.”
“I see, and you didn’t see anyone in or leaving the Buffet Car?
Jack thought hard.
“Actually someone did leave as we went in. In fact, I think it might have been the attendant because I remember he had a white jacket like a chef.”
“Well that ties in with what another passenger said. He asked the attendant how long it would be till Grand Central. Unfortunately, as he was still walking towards the rear of the train when the explosion happened he was among the dead. We don’t know why he left his post. So then what happened, how did you end up in the toilet together?”
Jack blushed slightly.
“Okay, so after we found the buffet car closed Anna suddenly said she needed the toilet – it was only two or three steps away and I pushed in behind her and slapped the door lock. She was cross and asked why I haven’t waited outside?”
“Lucky for both of you that you didn’t!”
“It doesn’t feel lucky when she died anyway.” Jack suddenly collapsed inwards under a wave of remorse.
“Well they say that your body was between Anna and the blast and although she hit her head badly you cushioned her body from the explosion and probably saved the life of your son.”
“Yes, they did tell me that in the hospital.”
“So why did you go in with Anna if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Oh it was silliness really. We had just been apart for three months and I didn’t want to be apart even for a moment and besides I wanted to kiss her – and not the way you can do in front of a carriage full of people. I knew she didn’t mind having a pee in front of me but she then said she felt sick and that is something she didn’t like doing in front of me or anyone else, so I turned to go out again and that’s the last thing I remember!”
“Thank you Jack, that has cleared up a few blanks in my timeline of what happened on the train.”
The investigator sat quietly for a few minutes looking out at the view from the treehouse. Eventually he said “You know one hears a lot of imaginings on the other home-worlds about life on Hawaii 2 – mostly wrong! Like the idea that nobody has to work, so people imagine you all sit around doing nothing. That’s because they do have to work otherwise they don’t get paid, no pay – no food or rent or heating. They dream of retirement or winning the lottery so they won’t have to work anymore. It’s only when you come here that you see the truth, which is actually so much better than those fantasies. In fact, my first impression was of even greater industriousness – people working longer hours than the standard week because they enjoy their work so much and if someone finds they don’t enjoy the path they have chosen, then nobody criticizes them for wanting to change jobs. Nobody considers the training and work time wasted – the chances are that when the person enters a new occupation, they will bring transferable skills even new insights that they might not have had if they hadn’t worked in the other job first. Sorry – you know all of that anyway, but you may not realise what it’s like elsewhere. On Hawaii 1 you get your college course paid for upfront, but you have to pay it back when you are working and woe betide you if you don’t enjoy the job that it leads to, because you won’t be given a second chance with a different course. They know that people will take years to pay back one set of fees let alone two.”
“That sounds terrible!” said Jack.
“It’s not just the work choice or all the extra productivity because you enjoy your work that’s let you build such a beautiful world. Take the treehouse that you’ve built – the only thing remotely like this on Hawaii 1 are luxury hotels where the very rich can go for holidays and even fewer homes for the super-rich. How do you finance something like this anyway, at your age? If it’s not too nosey, I am curious as to how things work here.”

“You’re welcome Inspector James, I’m glad you like it. Well as you probably know we each get paid a basic stipend whether we work or not. Once Anna and I started living together there were some economies of scale and we were able to save a little. Then friends would come and do a bit of work and the “professional” help we needed was minimal, and in any case, you don’t pay for their labour because they to get their stipend too which goes up with age and skill levels. We get grants for the materials – everybody has to live somewhere after all and they are age-related – you can’t get enough to build a palace when you’re only 20 years old but you go on getting increasing grants so we, I mean I, will be able to add more to the house over time if I need to.”
“And you don’t have to pay those grants back at all?”
“No and we don’t even pay it back through taxation, we get paid what we need and we work as hard as we like!”
“What if there is a job nobody wants to do say cleaning up the sewers?”

“That doesn’t seem to happen very often, I suppose people know those jobs have to be done and someone just seems to come forward. Sometimes there is a shortage of a particular skill in one area and a surfeit in another so people are made aware on bulletin boards and somebody decides to move and fill the gap. It all seems to work out.”
“Fascinating!” said the investigator. “You know there is just one aspect of the train wreck that I still need to ask you about. How much do you know about your wife’s research?”
“Anna’s research! What could that possibly have to do with the bomb?”
Jack had been lulled by the conversation about life on Hawaii 2, into thinking that the investigator had finished his questioning, but this idea shocked him like a bucket of cold water. The investigator noted how raw Jack’s reaction was and proceeded carefully.
“I am not saying it has any connection to the bomb, it’s just that we are seven months on and none of the avenues of investigation I have told you about have yielded anything. We are no closer to understanding the who orthe why of it and believe me – we have been thorough. This is an atrocity that would have been serious on any of the home-worlds but here on Hawaii 2, especially once one has been here and experienced the life, well it’s even more unexpected and incomprehensible and that’s why we can leave no stone unturned in the investigation. Your wife’s research may not have anything to do with the event, but we have to ask I’m afraid, and I am deeply sorry to trouble you so with it, Jack!”
Jack who had tensed up again, relaxed slightly and thought about what the Inspector had said. Eventually he replied.”
“I knew she was very excited about the idea of ramjets – you’ve heard of them?”
“I have read her application for the research grant to travel to Hawaii 1. Did you know that’s her work had been classified as secret?”
“Secret!” Jack parroted, shaking his head in bemusement. “Secret from whom?”
“Secret from everyone, even you, but I’m guessing she must have told you something about it even if she didn’t mention it had been classified.”
“No, no, not at all! I do know she was excited by it and that she thought it could change everything for Hawaii 2”
“She told you that, but she didn’t say that you should not mention it to anyone else?”
“No she didn’t and, well, yes, she did tell me how it could change things, but I didn’t think much about, it, I had a lot of things on my mind. I wanted to finish the house completely whilst she was away so that we could start a family and she wouldn’t ever go away again for so long. Then too I was thinking about what work I might want to do when the house was finished. You can get a house ninety-eight percent finished in a year but that last two percent can take you years to get done – I am quite a perfectionist I find, and Anna being away was a good chance to get everything completed. You know how it is, you can leave your tools out overnight if a job is not finished and please yourself what hours you keep!”
“I am afraid I am not much of a DIY person Jack and I am very impressed that you have achieved this incredible house as your first major project – I wouldn’t know where to begin!”
“Thank you Inspector, I did find I had an aptitude for the work and the design aspects and it was the direction I was thinking of taking when Anna got back and we start a family. Now I am responsible for Douglas, I don’t know what is going to happen…”
“You have not had much time to come to terms with things, but whilst I am no builder, I do have a family. The children are nearly grown up now but I can tell you that these early months are ones that men often miss out on especially on the other home worlds where the demands of work are more rigid you have had a terrible loss but at least Douglas has his father to look after him and you will treasure this time I promise you,”
Tears were running down Jack’s face and he said nothing for a bit before apologizing as a host and taking himself off to the kitchen area around the other side of the great tree trunk that was central to the living area to make tea for himself and his guest. His mother and Anna’s Sister Chloe were keeping out of the way whilst the investigator talked to Jack although keeping an ear out in case Douglas awoke and they needed to relieve Jack of dealing with his son. When Jack returned with the tea and a plate of small cakes that his mother had made, he found the investigator standing at the bounding balcony wall looking out into the canopy and down to the forest floor. He thanked Jack for the proffered mug of tea but made no move to return to his seat and the two of them stood looking out in silence for a few minutes. It was the investigator who spoke first.
“You know I still can’t shake the feeling that I am dealing with a rich man – the owner of a luxury house instead of a young man who didn’t attend much college and built his own home with grants and help from friends!” he said shaking his head in gentle disbelief.
“Rich and poor don’t mean much here on Hawaii 2 – at least in money terms. I suppose in terms of experiences friendship and opportunity then we are all rich here.” Jack said thoughtfully and when you lose someone like Anna you realise just how rich you were.” His voice had choked up a little but he held back the tears this time.
The investigator returned to his chair and Jack followed offering him one of the little cakes which he sampled and pronounced delicious before returning to the investigation.
“So you were very busy whilst Anna was away?”
“Yes I was. I didn’t go out much except to do some shopping and Anna had stocked up the cupboards before she went. I can cook for myself but I hate shopping!”
“So you didn’t talk to anyone about the work Anna was researching?”
“No I didn’t share her enthusiasm for the history of technology and neither did any of our friends – they are more into the Arts.”
“Maybe that’s why she didn’t mention that’s it was classified or tell you not to discuss it with anyone.”
“I guess you’re right, I mean if she had said that I might have taken it more seriously. I heard her say it could change everything, but I didn’t think that much about it, I suppose I was waiting to hear more about it when she got back, after all the was no guarantee she would find any more details about it at all.”
“That’s true. So did she say anything to you when you were on the train?”
“She said she had a lot to tell me but she wanted to wait till we got home. I assumed that was about the work at the time and that didn’t interest me much. I wanted to get her home for other reasons!” Jack blushed again although this older man was somebody who made it easy to talk to about even the most intimate aspects of life.
“Since I woke up again I thought it was probably the pregnancy she was talking about and when I remember those last minutes I imagined that was why she was feeling sick and I haven’t even thought of her work until now, I suppose we will never know now whether she succeeded.
“Well. there was no sign of a computer amongst other belongings on the train. Could someone have taken it when you went to the buffet car?”
“Oh no she didn’t take a computer with her it would have been far too much weight for her allowance on the space lift.”
“Of course silly of me but then what about her work, how did she carry it with her?”
“Oh, she had a memory chip. I bought it especially for her it was concealed in a pendant. Anna hated carrying a computer around, even here. So when she went to the university, I bought the pendant and she brought her work home on that.”
“Really Jack, and have you got the pendant?”
“Well yes, although I very nearly left it around her neck when we buried her last week. I took it off her at the last minute because I thought there might be some pictures of her on Hawaii 1 and although I couldn’t face looking for them at the time, I thought I might get round to it eventually. Besides although she was touched by my gift as a way of saving carrying her computer around and it was perfect for the trip into space, it wasn’t her favourite pendant, so we swapped it for the one she liked best,”
The investigator could see that emotion was clearly threatening to overwhelm Jack again but he himself was struggling to suppress his excitement at the news of the pendant. Eventually he asked, “Could I see the pendant please?”
“Of course!” Jack said, “I will go and fetch it.” It only took a minute or two for Jack to go up to his bedroom and retrieve the pendant, but by the time he returned Douglas was waking up and handing the disguised memory chip to the investigator, Jack went to pick Douglas up before he entered full crying mode. Thus distracted, he barely registered the investigator’s remarks.
“Do you mind if I take this away to be analysed Jack, I will return it to you tomorrow, albeit with any classified material removed.”
Douglas had had an unusually long sleep whilst his father and the investigator had talked, and he was now both hungry and the wearer of a soiled nappy. In short, he was not a happy baby and he let Jack know in time-honoured fashion at the top of his powerful lungs. Jack’s mother appeared and relieved Jack of Douglas but in the confusion, the investigator made excuses and left without ever getting an affirmative answer to his last question of permission and Jack did not really register the fact till the next day.

 ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

 “My name is Inspector James you must be Jack! Thank you for seeing me,” Said the man at the entrance the next morning.

“What!” Said Jack. “You can’t be! Inspector James was here yesterday! Show me that ID!” Jack gestured at the photo ID card hanging from a ribbon around the visitor’s neck. He proffered it to Jack who compared the picture to the stranger and looked at the computer complex security holograms on the card.
“I think there’s been some sort of mistake…” Jack said.