Part 4 (2/2)

'And on what do you base this argument?' Dobbs demanded. He glanced at Gaddis, then at Lord Urton who sat silent and impa.s.sive.

'On my own experiences.'

'On your extensive travel?' s...o...b..ld asked.

'Indeed. My sister and I have been to places you have never dreamed of, seen sights that would leave a so*called rational man gibbering and insensible.'

'And does your sister share your enlightened point of view?'

'She does. As she would tell you, were she able to join us.' Nepath's expression seemed to soften at the mention of his sister. 'But sadly she is rather tired from her journey.' He shrugged and seemed to attempt a smile. 'I must show you my collection, gentlemen. Forgive me if I seem a little intransigent, but if you see something of the pieces I have collected on my travels perhaps you will begin to appreciate my enthusiasm for this dialogue.'

Mrs Webber was back now. She cleared away the soup bowls and began to serve the main course.

Nepath continued to speak. 'I must also apologise for the fact that my extensive collection is partly the reason why there is no room for you to lodge here. It takes up a lot of s.p.a.ce, I fear.' He cut into his meat with vigour. 'But I understand that you will not be in the area long.'

'That depends,' Gaddis told, 'on what we discover.'

Nepath gave a short snort that evidently implied he thought there was nothing to to discover. discover.

'May I ask what your own opinion is on these strange events and phenomena?' s...o...b..ld asked.

'I have no opinion.'

'I find that hard to believe,' the man beside s...o...b..ld said lightly. Again, Nepath glared at him.

'For your information,' Nepath said, 'there is obviously nothing to investigate. A few earth tremors that have opened a crack in the ground. A late warm spell, some thunder storms. Locals who are more superst.i.tious than objective and still smarting and sensitive from the loss of their livelihood. Nothing that your science cannot explain in a morning's work.'

Dobbs sighed. 'I think, from what I have heard so far from yourself and Lord Urton, that this may indeed be the case.'

Nepath smiled again. But neither Lord Urton nor his wife commented. They continued to eat slowly and mechanically.

It was the man beside s...o...b..ld who responded. His voice was low, but forceful and hard*edged. 'You will forgive me, Mr Nepath,' he said, 'but it seems to me that you are seeking to explain the inexplicable.' He paused to take a mouthful of food. 'To a.s.sign meaning to that which is beyond meaning,' he went on, his voice slightly indistinct as he chewed. He seemed oblivious to Nepath's face darkening with anger as he stared back at the man. 'To trivialise with science that which transcends such human concepts and boundaries,' he finished.

There was silence for several moments. s...o...b..ld was surprised, and also a little amused by the man's comments. He had a.s.sumed, since they entered together, that this man was a friend or at least a colleague of Nepath's. But there was no friends.h.i.+p in the stare that Nepath had fixed on him.

'And on what do you base this suggestion?' Nepath asked. His face was thunder*dark and his voice grated with anger.

'I too have travelled,' the man replied, meeting Nepath's gaze. 'Extensively, I expect.'

'You don't seem very certain,' Nepath said.

'Only scientists are certain. Those of us who have travelled, explored, discovered, who have been to places undreamed of, seen sights that science cannot and never will explain, we keep an open mind.'

They ate in silence for several minutes. Mrs Webber returned and cleared away again. s...o...b..ld took several opportunities to examine the man beside him. He tried to glance at his neighbour without the man noticing, but was embarra.s.sed to see that every time, the man met his gaze with piercing blue eyes that shone with intelligence. His face was young, yet s...o...b..ld got the impression he was older and more experienced than he looked. The man's hair was long and dark, curling almost to his shoulders He wore clothes that almost made him seem overdressed. But beneath the long velvet jacket, the waistcoat was showing threads, and the cravat was torn where the single tarnished pin stuck through it. By contrast, the wing collars of his s.h.i.+rt emerged brilliant white from beneath the dark cravat.

The man caught s...o...b..ld's eye again, and raised an eyebrow. He nodded, almost imperceptibly, towards Lord Urton at the head of the table. His head tilted slightly to one side, questioning. s...o...b..ld followed the man's glance. Lord and Lady Urton's stoic reticence worried him as well, and he struggled to think of a way of reopening the conversation such that they might join in.

'You mentioned the loss of livelihood,' he said at last, addressing his comment to Nepath, but including Lord Urton with a quick glance. 'I understand that you are intending to reopen the mine. Indeed, that you have already begun some preliminary work.'

As s...o...b..ld had hoped, Urton answered. But only after a look from Nepath that might have been a warning. Or permission. 'That is correct,' he said. His voice was flat, devoid of the enthusiasm and excitement that s...o...b..ld remembered had accompanied their conversations about his plans for the mine in the past. Before the dreadful realisation that whatever Urton did, the mine was worked out, that there was no more tin to be found however deep or wide they dug.

'And you have some new stratagem for making a profit?'

'Mechanisation,' Nepath replied.

'I see.' s...o...b..ld continued to speak to Lord Urton despite Nepath's intervention. 'And you believe that will help?'

'What has been the problem?' Gaddis asked politely.

'The problem is one of quant.i.ty,' Urton said. 'With the new mining machinery now available, we can remove the ore with less overall expense and thus we need less in order to turn a profit.'

'But surely the equipment, the machinery is itself costly,' Dobbs suggested. 'I saw a demonstration recently of a new powered drill and trepanner for use in mining coal. It was an enormous and enormously expensive piece of machinery.'

'Capital expenditure,' Nepath snapped. 'The variable costs will plummet.'

'You still need to raise the capital,' Gaddis pointed out.

The man beside s...o...b..ld cleared his throat. 'There is another consideration,' he said. 'Since we are speaking of livelihood.'

'And what is that, Mr Nepath broke off. 'I did not catch your name, I'm afraid.'

'The only way that your variable costs will be lower than when the mine operated before is if you intend spending less on the running of the mine.'

'Obviously.'

'And, I would suspect, for a labour*intensive operation such as this, that cost would be mainly labour. Am I correct?'

s...o...b..ld could see where the man was going with this argument. 'You intend to employ fewer people.'

The man nodded. 'Many fewer, if you are to more than offset the running costs of the new machinery.'

'You seem very well informed,' Nepath said, his eyes narrowing.

'And those who are employed,' the man went on, 'will be slaves to the machines. They won't be directly productive, hewing the ore from the rock themselves. They won't be taking pride in their achievements, literally weighing their success each day. They will become machines themselves, mechanised. The group becomes more important than the individual.' He sighed, as if deeply saddened by the thought. 'So it begins,' he murmured, so quietly that s...o...b..ld alone heard him.

'And where on your extensive travels did you forge this particular opinion, sir?' Nepath demanded icily.

The man smiled back pleasantly. 'Oh, here and there. It is more of a synthesis of ideas than a single thought. And please,' he continued, 'call me Doctor.'

'Doctor?' Nepath said. 'Just ”Doctor”?'

The Doctor seemed not to have heard. 'But tell me, where on your own travels did you find you formed most of your opinions and thoughts? Which location was the most inspirational? I am fascinated to discover what a fellow traveller has found.'

Nepath leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in front of him as he considered his answer. 'Inspiration is to be found in all manner of places, all manner of experiences,' he said.

'Perhaps just an example then?'

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