The Seeds of Time Read Online Free PDF Page A

said to me.
    ‘Certainly not,’ I protested.
    ‘You’re quite sure of that, darling?’
    ‘Darling,’ I said, taking her hand, ‘if all the other women in the world …’
    After a time Dr Gobie recalled our attention with an apologetic cough.
    ‘The real purpose of my visit,’ he explained, ‘is to persuade my niece that she must come back, and at once. There is the greatest consternation and alarm throughout the faculty over this affair, and I am being held largely to blame. Our chief anxiety is to get her back before any serious damage is done. Any chronoclasm goes ringing unendingly down the ages – and at any moment a really serious one may come of this escapade. It has put all of us into a highly nervous condition.’
    ‘I’m sorry about that, Uncle Donald – and about your getting the blame. But I am
not
coming back. I’m very happy here.’
    ‘But the possible chronoclasms, my dear. It keeps me awake at night thinking –’
    ‘Uncle dear, they’d be nothing to the chronoclasms that would happen if I did come back just now. You must see that I simply
can’t
, and explain it to the others.’
    ‘
Can’t –?
’ he repeated.
    ‘Now, if you look in the books you’ll see that my husband – isn’t that a funny, ugly, old-fashioned word? I rather like it, though. It comes from two ancient Icelandic roots –’
    ‘You were speaking about not coming back,’ Dr Gobie reminded her.
    ‘Oh, yes. Well, you’ll see in the books that first he invented submarine radio communication, and then later on he invented curved-beam transmission, which is what he got knighted for.’
    ‘I’m
perfectly well aware of that, Tavia. I do not see –’
    ‘But, Uncle Donald, you must. How on earth can he possibly invent those things if I’m not here to show him how to do it? If you take me away now, they’ll just not be invented, and then what will happen?’
    Dr Gobie stared at her steadily for some moments.
    ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Yes, I must admit that that point had not occurred to me,’ and sank deeply into thought for a while.
    ‘Besides,’ Tavia added, ‘Gerald would hate me to go, wouldn’t you, darling?’
    ‘I –’ I began, but Dr Gobie cut me short by standing up.
    ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I can see there will have to be a postponement for a while. I shall put your point to them, but it will be only for a while.’
    On his way to the door he paused.
    ‘Meanwhile, my dear, do be careful. These things are so delicate and complicated. I tremble to think of the complexities you might set up if you – well, say, if you were to do something irresponsible like becoming your own progenetrix.’
    ‘That is one thing I can’t do, Uncle Donald. I’m on the collateral branch.’
    ‘Oh, yes. Yes, that’s a very lucky thing. Then I’ll say
au revoir
, my dear, and to you, too, Sir – er – Mr Lattery. I trust that we may meet again – it has had its pleasant side to be here as more than a mere observer for once.’
    ‘Uncle Donald, you’ve said a mouthful there,’ Tavia agreed.
    He shook his head reprovingly at her.
    ‘I’m afraid you would never have got to the top of the historical tree, my dear. You aren’t thorough enough. That phrase is
early
Twentieth Century, and, if I may say so, inelegant even then.’
    The expected shooting incident took place about a week later. Three men, dressed in quite convincing imitation of farmhands, made the approach. Tavia recognized one of them through the
glasses. When I appeared, gun in hand, at the door they tried to make for cover. I peppered one at considerable range, and he ran on, limping.
    After that we were left unmolested. A little later we began to get down to the business of underwater radio – surprisingly simple, once the principle had been pointed out – and I filed my applications for patents. With that well in hand, we turned to the curved-beam transmission.
    Tavia hurried me along with that. She said:
    ‘You see, I don’t know how long