Eradani and Dr. Richter followed the man with twenty five identical green suits and five identical green top hats (complete with green canes) into the only entirely green house they had ever encountered.
Eradani was no longer wearing her pyjamas, having persuaded Mr. Tompkins to stop off at her flat so she could grab some clothes and other assorted items. Why ever she had agreed to go and spend the night at his house she had no idea. It all seemed totally ludicrous to her, especially seeing as she would have to get back to her room sometime tomorrow in order to vacate it. Why couldn’t they talk about all this employment business the following day? Or the following week? Why was Dr. Richter getting involved? Who was Mr. Tompkins? What was going on?
Ordinarily, the house itself would have come as a severe shock to Eradani, but she was by then too tired to take much notice of it. The thing about it was that everything was green. The paintwork, the furniture, the decor, even the television set. Curiously, the only thing that wasn’t green was the only thing that was supposed to be: the lawn. That was pink.
Eradani and Dr. Richter were shown to their rooms, which were, needless to say, green. Dr. Richter was later to humiliate himself by revealing that he actually liked the greenness.
After sleeping happily for the remainder of the night, they got themselves ready in the morning and went downstairs to the lounge to discuss with Tompkins his proposals.
Separately, of course. Dr. Richter was up at the crack of dawn as usual, bright and cheerful and ready to face the day ahead. He spent the morning walking around the 12-acre landscaped grounds that came with the house. Eradani struggled down the stairs at half past two, barely able to keep her eyes open. She met Dr. Richter in the lounge (if that’s the right word - museum might be a more adequate description of the room for it was filled to bursting point with antiques, period furniture, genuine oil paintings and so forth).
‘And what time do you call this?’ demanded Dr. Richter, tapping his watch.
‘Wuuh? said Eradani.
‘This is disgraceful. Half past two! You should be up with the Sun, brisk and early. You’ve wasted half the day already.’
‘Leave her be,’ said Tompkins, entering the lounge from, presumably, the kitchen. He carried a large tray of tea and biscuits. ‘She’s had a hard night.’
‘That’s no excuse. She had plenty of time for sleep. Six hours is all you need. Besides which, I think your clock is running a bit slow.’ He indicated the ornate grandfather clock that formed the focal point of the room.
‘I find that highly unlikely,’ responded Tompkins with more than enough conviction to prevent Dr. Richter pursuing the matter further. ‘But now let us discuss the matter at hand. You know, you are allowed to sit down.’
‘Ah, yes, thank you,’ said Dr. Richter, aware for the first time that both he and Eradani were standing around rather awkwardly. They sat down on the lush green sofa and instantly disappeared almost straight into it, becoming consumed by tidal waves of big soft cushion.
‘I’m sorry about the settee, I ordered extra soft. A bit of a mistake on my part, I think. It’s usually alright as long as you don’t jump onto it.’
‘Thanks,’ said Eradani rather vaguely, obviously not completely awake yet.
Tompkins poured everyone out a cup of tea, playing the part of the kindly host. There was a brief discussion on the merits of green crockery followed by a bout of biscuit consuming. Eradani was pleasantly satisfied with the breadth and quality of the biscuit selection on offer. She was, as she freely admitted, somewhat of a connoisseur. When Tompkins was finally satisfied that everyone had had enough (and that Eradani had finally woken up), he changed his manner to that of a businessman. The change was quite astonishing. Instead of the vague, bumbling host he had been a few moments before, he became a sharp, confident professional ready to negotiate.
‘Right,’ he said, ‘to business. As you know, I have been following the development of Cofomaristics right from the start.’
‘From the start?’ asked Eradani. ‘How did you even find out about it?’
‘I think it’s a fabulous discovery,’ he continued, obviously not impressed enough by Eradani’s question to consider it worth answering, ‘but it needs application.’
‘I’m sorry?’ Eradani said, playing with her hair.
‘As a theory, it’s all very nice and very exciting, but it’s just that. Just a theory. To fulfil its very great potential it needs to be applied. It needs a project. A project grand in scale and breathtaking in audacity.’
Eradani leaned gingerly back in her chair and studied Tompkins. As far as she could tell, he was being serious. Although she didn’t know what he intended to do with Cofomaristics, she was certain she wasn’t going to like it. ‘Look,’ she said, ‘this fancy talk is all very nice and it creates a nice, moody atmosphere, but just get to the point. What are you trying to say?’
‘I have a dream, Eradani. A fantastic, wonderful dream. I see a future where mankind expands his knowledge of the Universe a thousand-fold, a future where trips to nearby stars are commonplace. I see a future where humans colonise the Galaxy.’
‘I think perhaps you’re being a bit optimistic,’ suggested Dr. Richter.
‘No, no. Not at all. My dream will come true, Doctor. I am certain of it.’
‘Will you please get to the point?’ asked Eradani, getting frustrated with Tompkins’ ambling babbling.
‘I intend to build a starship,’ he said, getting to the point.
‘A starship? Huh? How?’
Tompkins stared at her with such intensity that she thought solar flares were going to sear from his eyes. ‘With your, and Dr. Richter’s, help,’ he said.
‘What - you want us to build a spaceship?’ she said incredulously.
‘That is correct. With your knowledge of Cofomaristics and your grounding in physics and astronomy you will be invaluable advisers to my project and...’
‘Can I just stop you there,’ interrupted Eradani, ‘and ask exactly what part Cofomaristics plays in all this?’
‘The spacecraft’s engines will be designed to take advantage of Cofomaristic effects,’ explained Dr. Richter. ‘You remember the speed of light experiment?’
‘You can’t be serious?’ she said. ‘You want us to build a spaceship that... goes backwards?’
‘Exactly,’ said Tompkins. ‘Don’t you see? It’s so simple, so perfect. Everything about it is so elegant. For the first time, we have a practical way of traversing interstellar distances. It’s astonishing.’
‘Yeah, but it’s not going to work, is it? I mean, it’s obviously complete rubbish. You can’t expect a spaceship to slowly reverse to another star. It’s ridiculous.’
‘But it’s not, Eradani. You yourselves have demonstrated the soundness of the theory, so why not put it into practice? Come on, help me build this thing. You have nothing else to do, and don’t forget the financial incentives we are offering.’
Dr. Richter suddenly perked up. ‘Yes, you mentioned our remuneration last night.’
‘I did indeed. My terms are most generous.’
‘I see,’ said the physicist. ‘So, how much exactly were you intending to offer?’
‘I thought about starting at ten thousand,’ said Tompkins.
‘Per year?’ said Richter, not totally impressed.
‘No, no. Per week.’
Dr. Richter’s mouth started to have convulsions. It opened and closed rapidly, but failed to make any sound.
‘Both of us?’ asked Eradani.
‘But of course. You will share equal status on this project. Obviously, you will be provided with accommodation and transport in addition to your wages.’
‘Accommodation?’ asked Eradani. ‘In what sense?’
‘I have arranged for you both to move into small residences just down the road. They are only four bedroomed cottages, but I’m sure you will manage.’
‘And the transport?’
‘I have spoken to a retailer. You may go down whenever you choose and pick any car that you so desire.’
To Eradani, this sounded like quite a good deal. To Richter, it sounded like paradise. Neither of them said anything for a while. Tompkins became a bit worried about this, assuming they were not happy with his offer. ‘If my terms aren’t agreeable, I’m sure we could come to some other arrangement,’ he proposed.
‘No, no,’ said Eradani instantly. ‘It’s fine. We accept, don’t we Dr. Richter?’
‘Yes, yes. Absolutely, we accept,’ he babbled. He could see Tompkins relax noticeably. Their appointment was obviously important to him.
‘Well, I have to say you have made a simple man very happy,’ he beamed. ‘I was concerned that you would perhaps refuse my offer.’
‘Understandable. Such a decision is never easy to make,’ lied Dr. Richter, suddenly adopting a needlessly grandiose tone. ‘One can’t just throw one’s self into such arrangements willy-nilly.’
‘But of course, Doctor, of course. Such decisions should not be taken lightly. Anyway, enough of your appointment, let’s start work.’ He moved to get up, but before he had left the chair Eradani had piped up.
‘Start what?’ she asked.
‘Let’s start work,’ repeated Tompkins briskly.
‘What, right now?’ asked Eradani.
‘But of course. The sooner we get this finished, the better.’
‘But why right now? There are so many things I haven’t sorted out yet - my course, my room...’
Tompkins smiled at her gently and stood up. ‘All taken care of. Your personal belongings have already been transferred. You’ll find everything is in order when you retire to your new homes tonight. Now, please stop worrying about such trivial matters and follow me. We must start work right away.’