Conrad's Time Machine by Leo A Frankowski Page A
Authors: Leo A Frankowski
Tags: Science-Fiction
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over the place.
"I see that you gentlemen made it."
"Quite a setup you have here, Jim."
"Thank you. It's quite necessary, I assure you."
"Look, what's with the guards and bank vault doors?" I asked.
"My friends, you must understand that when you convert twelve thousand dollars into something in excess of twenty-six million within six months, people are bound to ask questions. For obvious reasons, it is preferable that they do not receive accurate answers."
"Twenty-six million!" I gasped.
"At present. Six times that amount by this time tomorrow, if all goes well." Hasenpfeffer said.
"How in the hell did you do it?" Ian rasped.
"The stock market. The race tracks. And real estate. I asked you both here to sign several warranty deeds. We have four closings scheduled this afternoon, but I have arranged them at forty-five minute intervals so as to interrupt your schedules as little as possible."
"Like, what schedules? We work and we sleep."
"Jim," Ian said, "With the staff you have here, what do you need with our help?"
"In most things I can act in your names with relatively little difficulty, but when a major corporation pays thirty-one million dollars for a parcel of oil producing land, they naturally expect a clear title."
"Hey, back up." I said. " Our signatures? You mean I own a piece of this?"
"One third, of course. This is a group venture."
The year before, Hasenpfeffer had taken my four-channel, two-gigahertz, delayed sweep Textronics storage scope and dropped it down the basement steps. It was at this moment that I finally forgave him.
"But we must hurry," he continued. "It is imperative that we finish by 4:15. Soybean futures will be hitting a three year low this afternoon, Great Stag will be paying thirty-seven to one this evening, and Mitsubishi will be announcing a three to one split at 11:30 local time. Come, now."
Hasenpfeffer led us quickly to the corridor.
"Is that all?" Ian was having trouble keeping up with Hasenpfeffer's rapid, jerky stride.
"Of course not. There's the heavyweight championship, National Robotics is going public in the morning, and Exxon will announce an inexpensive shale oil recovery process. It won't prove to be practical, but there will still be plenty of money to be made in trading its stocks for a few months." Hasenpfeffer broke into a trot. "We'll be receiving fifty-five million dollars in certified checks, which must be in the bank before it closes."
"Hey, calm down," I said. "The universe will still be here."
"If we upset today's schedule, we'll slow our growth by four months. So many highly profitable things are happening today! We are at a cusp, and there is a sea tide in these things. We must not miss it!"
The office was empty except for the angel.
"Where are they, Haskins?"
"Standard Oil called from Chicago. They'll be at least an hour late, Dr. Hasenpfeffer," the angel said.
"Reschedule this afternoon's appointments."
"I've been trying to, sir. I haven't been able to contact the Texaco group or Bradford Development. Mobile will get here on time, but not before. And they are the last of the four."
"Most annoying. Keep trying, Haskins."
When she left, Hasenpfeffer said, "Shit!" and flopped down on a couch. "Oh, yes. There is the matter of your new laboratory. I have taken the liberty of having a moving company clean out your present quarters. I think the new facility in Arizona will be very much to your liking."
"New facility!" Ian cried. "What on earth for? We've got pretty much what we need right where we're at."
"Primarily for security. Your coming here has announced your presence. We can not have our project known to the public."
"Security! Damn it, if you think that I'm going to let a gang of armed thugs into my lab . . ." I said.
"Tom, security forces are the lesser of the possible evils. Your staff can isolate you from any unpleasantries."
"Staff?" Ian said. "Jim, one of our primary goals with the time field was to keep it to ourselves. With a
"I see that you gentlemen made it."
"Quite a setup you have here, Jim."
"Thank you. It's quite necessary, I assure you."
"Look, what's with the guards and bank vault doors?" I asked.
"My friends, you must understand that when you convert twelve thousand dollars into something in excess of twenty-six million within six months, people are bound to ask questions. For obvious reasons, it is preferable that they do not receive accurate answers."
"Twenty-six million!" I gasped.
"At present. Six times that amount by this time tomorrow, if all goes well." Hasenpfeffer said.
"How in the hell did you do it?" Ian rasped.
"The stock market. The race tracks. And real estate. I asked you both here to sign several warranty deeds. We have four closings scheduled this afternoon, but I have arranged them at forty-five minute intervals so as to interrupt your schedules as little as possible."
"Like, what schedules? We work and we sleep."
"Jim," Ian said, "With the staff you have here, what do you need with our help?"
"In most things I can act in your names with relatively little difficulty, but when a major corporation pays thirty-one million dollars for a parcel of oil producing land, they naturally expect a clear title."
"Hey, back up." I said. " Our signatures? You mean I own a piece of this?"
"One third, of course. This is a group venture."
The year before, Hasenpfeffer had taken my four-channel, two-gigahertz, delayed sweep Textronics storage scope and dropped it down the basement steps. It was at this moment that I finally forgave him.
"But we must hurry," he continued. "It is imperative that we finish by 4:15. Soybean futures will be hitting a three year low this afternoon, Great Stag will be paying thirty-seven to one this evening, and Mitsubishi will be announcing a three to one split at 11:30 local time. Come, now."
Hasenpfeffer led us quickly to the corridor.
"Is that all?" Ian was having trouble keeping up with Hasenpfeffer's rapid, jerky stride.
"Of course not. There's the heavyweight championship, National Robotics is going public in the morning, and Exxon will announce an inexpensive shale oil recovery process. It won't prove to be practical, but there will still be plenty of money to be made in trading its stocks for a few months." Hasenpfeffer broke into a trot. "We'll be receiving fifty-five million dollars in certified checks, which must be in the bank before it closes."
"Hey, calm down," I said. "The universe will still be here."
"If we upset today's schedule, we'll slow our growth by four months. So many highly profitable things are happening today! We are at a cusp, and there is a sea tide in these things. We must not miss it!"
The office was empty except for the angel.
"Where are they, Haskins?"
"Standard Oil called from Chicago. They'll be at least an hour late, Dr. Hasenpfeffer," the angel said.
"Reschedule this afternoon's appointments."
"I've been trying to, sir. I haven't been able to contact the Texaco group or Bradford Development. Mobile will get here on time, but not before. And they are the last of the four."
"Most annoying. Keep trying, Haskins."
When she left, Hasenpfeffer said, "Shit!" and flopped down on a couch. "Oh, yes. There is the matter of your new laboratory. I have taken the liberty of having a moving company clean out your present quarters. I think the new facility in Arizona will be very much to your liking."
"New facility!" Ian cried. "What on earth for? We've got pretty much what we need right where we're at."
"Primarily for security. Your coming here has announced your presence. We can not have our project known to the public."
"Security! Damn it, if you think that I'm going to let a gang of armed thugs into my lab . . ." I said.
"Tom, security forces are the lesser of the possible evils. Your staff can isolate you from any unpleasantries."
"Staff?" Ian said. "Jim, one of our primary goals with the time field was to keep it to ourselves. With a
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