logical explanation. Maybe a repair job of some kind, although Newton didnât look like a handyman.
He seemed absorbed in the steel structure, and didnât notice Ian approach, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
It was as if Ian had lit a fire. Newton jumped back, and stared at him, appearing to come to from some semi-conscious state.
Ian would not have been surprised at a blast of anger. Instead, Newton smiled. Softly.
Very strange.
Newtonâs complexion was not ruddy, but freshened, pinkish, and there was life in his eyes.
Ian could only assume it came from the strange communion heâd observed. The communion with the turbine tower.
âLike to see the batteries?â
It was like being asked to see his etchings.
Ian was stunned. It was the last thing heâd expected after the brush-off heâd received every time heâd approached Newton.
âYes. Iâd enjoy that.â He wasnât sure whether he would or not, but followed Newton into the dome, the place where Hy had almost been killed the year before. An unusual house, built for an unusual person.
As Ian had expected, the batteries to store the energy captured by the wind turbine and solar panel were ringed around the perimeter of the dome.
Newton became quite animated as he explained how his system worked, as if the batteries were energizing him. Ridiculous, of courseâ¦
They ended up having a perfectly normal conversation, over a cup of tea that chased away Ianâs unscientific imaginings.
âWhatâs your field?â
âThatâs immaterial. I think itâs obvious that my interests are the new energies â wind and solar power. Although I should say current, not âânew.ââ Theyâve been here longer than we have. I should say ânewly exploited.ââ
âYou think itâs exploitation?â
âNo, thatâs just a term. A term you could apply to other energy sources. A lot of exploitation goes on in the oil fields.â
âYouâre an environmentalist, then?â
Newton frowned. âNothing of the sort. Solar and wind make sense. The sun and the wind are bountiful, and they come as a harmonious package. Oilâs running out and itâs politically problematical.â
âThat is an environmental position.â
âYes. It doesnât make me an environmentalist.â
âYou say youâre not, yetâ¦what did you say your field was?
âI didnât.â
Whatever had spurred Newton to invite Ian in had worn off. His skin was greyish again, his eyes without light.
âIf youâll excuse meâ¦â Ian scraped his chair back. âI must leave. Thanks for the tea.â
Ian left the dome thinking exactly the same thing he had been thinking on the way in. Very strange .
âYouâd think heâd created wind power.â Ian polished off the glass of Chardonnay and grabbed Hyâs for a fill-up.
âHe talks about âmy studies, my conclusions, my research.â Wind and solar. Heâs planning a whole bank of panels along the cape.â
âPeople wonât like that.â
âEspecially Paradis. Heâs already pissed off about that trailer.â
Ian was still fuming about Newton.
âHe wonât say what kind of scientist he is.â
âDoes it matter?â
âNot really. It seems ridiculously evasive. He says heâs not an environmentalist.â
Hy looked out the window at the turbine.
âYou coulda fooled me.â
âYou could look at that two waysâ¦as a form of energy thatâs easy on the environment, wind power could be a good thing.â
âBut then thereâs the human element, the effects on our health.â
âAnd itâs a big problem for birds.â
âIt seemed like a good thing at first, a real environmental option, then all these problems.â She shrugged. âRock and a hard place.â She smiled
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