Arcadia Read Online Free PDF Page B

revealing.
    ‘I hope you remember me. You’re not taking my machine,’ I announced as I slammed the door shut so he couldn’t escape.
    ‘I beg your pardon?’
    Actually quite a handsome fellow; it’s amazing what technology can accomplish. He must have been older than I was.
    ‘What this facility does is low-grade garbage, except for my work; one of Oldmanter’s acolytes wouldn’t cross the street for any of it. If you have travelled five hundred miles to a boggy island in the north-west of Scotland, then it is because of my machine. Don’t deny it. Nothing else could attract the attention of that crook.’
    ‘I will not have Mr Oldmanter referred to in that way.’
    Toady, I thought.
    ‘Nor is it appropriate for me to discuss such matters with staff.’
    Staff? Me? What was Hanslip saying about me behind my back? What role was he claiming for himself? That he had done all the work? That it was his idea? It wouldn’t have surprised me.
    I decided to pile on the pressure and burst into tears. Naturally, that sent him into a panic. I had learned over the past fifty years that uncontrolled displays of emotion were capable of inducing a sense of terror when released in a confined space. I was used to them; my work depended on their judicious deployment. Most people would run a mile to avoid even being in close vicinity and Grange was now obviously feeling disoriented.
    ‘Oh, Lucien!’ I sobbed. ‘After all these years! You do not even remember me!’ Odd; I was most certainly putting it on, but a part of me was feeling genuine distress, although I did not understand why.
    I could almost see him running through the options for how to fend me off. ‘Good God! I mean, ah …’
    I collapsed on the settee and sobbed into my sleeve, taking the occasional peek to see if this was having the desired effect. Eventually, he tentatively approached. ‘Of course I remember you,’ he said. ‘But that was a long time ago and best forgotten. Besides, I am under strict instructions. Complete the deal, then leave. There is no time for personal sentiment. Much as I would have liked …’
    ‘How long are you staying?’
    ‘I plan to wrap up tomorrow.’
    ‘Tomorrow!’ I shrieked, standing up abruptly and rounding on him. ‘You are going to do a deal for my project by tomorrow? You don’t even know what you’re buying.’
    ‘Of course we do. We’ve been studying the proposals for months.’
    I must have seemed shocked, or perhaps he thought I had a slightly murderous air, and he went all official on me again. ‘This is not appropriate. You must talk to your employer; you are not authorised to talk directly to me.’
    It didn’t matter. He had told me enough already. I swept out in tearful triumph. An hour later, I got the letter of suspension. Hanslip was one step ahead of me.
    *
    It goes without saying that I never had the slightest intention of turning up to his ridiculous disciplinary committee. It was pretty obvious, after all, that it was going to be filled with his creatures. He would pronounce, anything I said would be ignored, and then I would be bundled aside to clear the way for his nasty little plot. The stuffed toys he surrounded himself with would nod and agree to anything he wanted, and I would be locked out of my own work as he handed it over to Oldmanter and his team of overpaid half-wits.
    So I had two priorities. The most important was to hang on tomy property; the second was to prevent the entire universe being reshaped in the image of a bunch of thugs and reduced to ruin. I was on the verge of a major breakthrough in understanding. I wasn’t there yet, but if I was right, then a fascinating experiment could well metamorphose into the most dangerous discovery in the history of humanity. It would be better, in my opinion, to be sure before letting other people play around with it too much. Oldmanter’s lot would not be so cautious. Already I had seen alarmingly covetous looks in Hanslip’s eyes as