The book arrived in the morning post inside was a slip of paper from the sender
Teddy
If you already have this then I will change it with ease
Andrea
Teddy soon found out that the book contained sonnets and verse by H Belloc a poet he greatly admired
He scribbled a note to Andrea
Dearest Andrea
Thanks a million for the lovely book I read it last night whilst listening to Richard Clayderman it was so relaxing
Teddy
Richard Clayderman was born in 1953 and todays date is the 3rd of January 1923 it would have been impossible for you to have listened to Richard’s piano music
Andrea
Dearest Andrea
It may seem odd to you but have you ever read Einstein’s paper about relativity?
No
In this paper he used the analogy of a train travelling at speed past an embankment to explain himself
I bathed with Marie Antoinette earlier
Imagine if you are standing on a railway embankment
She was wearing a modesty shift as there were men in her room
You are at the centre-point of a moving train
The bath water had made her shift transparent and I could see her nipples quite clearly which I found a little ridiculous
Suppose you witnessed a simultaneous lightning strike and either end of the train
I wanted to warn her that the very men that were looking at her breasts were plotting against her
To you it would seem simultaneous
I felt sorry for the poor girl and then I looked at the calendar that was hanging from the wall
But supposing a nun was a passenger on the train sitting at the same centre-point
It noted that the date was the 17th of October 1793
This train passenger sitting at the same centre-point would be hastening towards the front strike and away from the rear one
The day after her execution
Supposing this nun as a gift from God possessed the power of registering light speed
We both rose from the bath at the same time and cut these traitors down
She if asked would say that the front lightning strike occurred first whereas you would question this assumption
As we cleaned the blood from our swords the Queen spoke to me in French praising the qualities of time travel
Both you and the nun witnessed the same event but at different times
We then returned to our bath
He was trying to explain that time passes differently depending on where you are and what you are engaged in
Teddy walked across his room he was still holding his book of poetry
Dearest Andrea
I am writing this on my personal computer
Teddy
You cannot be using a personal computer as they had not been invented in 1923
Dearest Andrea
I am working on my personal computer however I believe that you are incorrect in your assumption of the date
It is precisely 10.03.14 on the 03 January 2017 or at least it was when I started writing this sentence
Time does not stand still
It is now 10.04.33 on the 03 January 2017
Teddy
I am glad that you liked the book but do you know where Magdeburg is?
Yes it is in Germany I have visited Magdeburg on several occasions
Do you know that there were two fatal train crashes there in 1939 and 1967?
Yes they were awful disasters
But need they have happened?
Please explain
Supposing you were on the footplate of the Berlin express you would have not ignored the signals and crashed into the Cologne train at Genthin station
Or that you were at the level-crossing at Langenweddingen and had stopped the fuel tanker in time
Then these disasters would not have occurred
But then pulses in time might have hindered you
Perhaps
I once tried to stop the assassination of the King George the First of Greece in Thessaloniki on the 18th of March 1913 but I failed although I witnessed the fall from a window of his assassin some six weeks later
Could you have stopped that?
Yes
Then why did you not hinder his fall?
Because he had murdered a good man
If you had managed to stop the assassination then what would you have done with the anarchist Alexandros Schinas?
I do not know
I might have introduced him to the children of Fatima
That is quite a difficult question Andrea
The book arrived in the morning post inside was a slip of paper from the sender
Teddy
If you already have this then I will change it with ease
Andrea
Teddy was outside Holland Park Underground Station he had arranged to meet Andrea for coffee in Kensington
He was in the wrong place
Andrea was in Golders Green near the Underground Station
She was waiting for Teddy
They had arranged to meet for coffee in Hammersmith
She was in the wrong place
Dearest Andrea
It was so dreadful to have missed you it was my own silly fault I mistakenly added an erroneous note to my diary
Teddy
It was all my fault I am just a silly girl who cannot remember times and places were you waiting long I feel so bad as the weather was so awful
Andrea
Please do not accept even a moment of blame
Teddy
Let us meet for coffee tomorrow in Magdeburg perhaps you or I can avert those dreadful disasters
Andrea
When I was young I used to spend a lot of time in my father’s shed when he was at work
I was attracted by his rulers
He had many as well as tape measures and other instruments for measuring time
But he never used them and they were left to rot against a grubby wall
I would sit on a stool and watch the trains pass through Willesden Junction
When he died my mother locked the shed so I was no longer able to visit his instruments for measuring time
One day a terrific gale hit Willesden do strong that even the trains were cancelled
One strong gust of wind took the shed with it and it was deposited in pieces on the embankment that led to the freight lines
I tried to retrieve the rulers and tape measures but my mother would not let me
They rotted in the grass for many years until I could no longer see them
Teddy
That is a sad story
Would you like another coffee I am told that the latte is excellent here
Andrea
I can see the King
I can see the assassin
I am on the footplate of the Berlin express the driver is not concentrating he will miss the signals at danger
I am on the crossing at Langenweddingen the telegraph cables have expanded in the heat and have become caught in the level crossing gate
The train is getting closer
The fuel tanker has just passed me
Close youe eyes Ansrea
Close your eyes Andrea
Why were your words not formed correctly?
It sometimes happens
A pulse in time
It has never been explained
Close your eyes Andrea
Who is H Belloc?
A poet I believe
Have I ever read H Belloc?
I was not sure that is why I left the note in the book
I did not want you to be disappointed
I have never read his verse
When was the book printed?
October 1923
In is January 1923 I should not be in possession of this book
It is there in your hand
I admire the blue cover although I think it will fade
Your book will be purchased on the last day of 2016
The cover will have faded somewhat by then
When did I lose the book?
It was found with your belongings after the Magdeburg train crash
The first or second one?
The first one you too missed the signals at danger and the express crashed into the stationary train
The first train was not scheduled to stop at Genthin station
That is why the Berlin express ran into it
But the signals had been set to danger
We both missed the signals set at red
Yes
Was there a heavy death toll
Sadly yes
The exact figures were covered up by the Nazi’s but at least 130 people died
Did I perish?
No a time pulse saved you
But you lost your book
It was found by a child who passed it to his mother
She in turn gave it to her cousin whose daufgter visited England in the summer of 1967
The book was left in a hotel in Leeds and it stayed there until just six months ago when the hotel was demolished
The book was boxed and sold at action with many others
It was purchased on the last day of 2016
Your note was still within its pages
Teddy
If you already have this then I will change it with ease
Andrea
Time has stood still Teddy
I remember writing this note
I borrowed a pencil from the bookseller
I did not want you to be disappointed
I was not disappointed
Who was H bellec?
A poet and quite a distinguished one at that
I never read your book I apologise for that
I was never fond of poetry
Neither was I
I purchased the book on a whim
The bookseller was a handsome man
Quite distinguished
Thank you for the compliment
You are wlcome
Why are words being spelt incorrectly?
We are both educated
Time is unstable
Everything is unstable
Time pulses destabilise time
What is the date?
The 3rd of January 2017
And the time
13.14
I do not think you will see 13.16
Why
A huge time pulse has been reported
Then it will be wise to close down all communications
I agree
Goodbye Teddy
Goodbye Andrea
Give mr regards to Marie Antoinette
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