Harry Cavendish (26 page)

‘Another thing, while you’re here…’

‘Oh goodness, I knew I shouldn’t have come…’

‘Something that’s been puzzling me. The Zargons can travel faster then light. I know they can. It only took me a week to get to Earth from Zargon 8. I timed it on my watch. And Zargon 8 must be many light-years from Earth.’

‘The Zargons can travel faster than light?’

‘Must be able to.’

‘No, no, no. You got your timing wrong. You would be suffering from some kind of relativistic effect. If you were travelling close to the speed of light, time would have slowed for you of course.’

‘But I remember the cow saying the ship would take a week, and that’s consistent with the amount of time I’ve been away…’

The man with the Oxford bags was troubled now and He had his mobile out again and was punching the keypad furiously.

‘Most odd that they could do that without an Intervention Event. It’s not supposed to be possible. My physics does not allow it at all.’

Suddenly Cormack was aware of another presence within the room, a thing with a cheroot that smelt beery.

‘Holy Bejeesus,’ said the man with the bags. ‘What the…? Where did you come from?’

‘I think I might be able to help you with your little conundrum,’ said the thing with the cheroot.

‘And who might you be?’

‘A little more respect, I think.’

‘Come off it, chum. Respect for whom? I am the frigging Creator after all.’

‘You didn’t create me.’

‘I created it all. Everything in this whole Universe.’

‘But not me.’

‘I think I know who He is,’ said Cormack gently, and decided it would be politic to bow this time, after getting himself into so much trouble with his inadequate welcome to the Sixth Fold Entity that time before.

‘Welcome to my kitchen,’ he said, ‘O Mighty Avatar of the Fifth Fold Entity.’

‘That’s more like it,’ said the Fifth Fold Entity. ‘Not even the Child Emperor, when we first met in his bedroom all those years ago, bowed so low.’

THE END