Collision Course by R.A. Spratt

Author:R.A. Spratt [Spratt, R. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781760148621
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

The next morning, Friday and Melanie went out early to get groceries. The only thing in Dr Barnes’ cupboards was an empty jar of instant coffee and a mouldy bottle of pasta sauce. An hour later, they were wandering back towards the apartment lugging several bags of shopping each. It was a beautiful blue day. It was cold, but the sky was so clear it was nice to be getting sun on their faces. The campus of CERN was a lot like a university campus. It was a clutter of drab functional architecture that belied the ground-breaking experiments being worked on by some of the greatest minds in the world behind those shoddy, weatherboard walls. Given that thousands of people worked at CERN, it was surprising how few people were visible. Friday supposed they were all more or less like her mother – so focused on their work, it wouldn’t occur to them to take advantage of a rare mild sunny day.

‘I can’t believe we’re stuck here for two weeks babysitting my mother,’ said Friday.

‘Switzerland is a pretty nice place to be stuck,’ said Melanie.

‘Really,’ said Friday. ‘There’s nothing scenic about an office complex.’

‘No,’ said Melanie. ‘But, look, there’s a helicopter.’ Melanie pointed to a distant dot in the sky. ‘That means there must be a helipad nearby. The ski slopes would be only minutes away by helicopter.’

‘We can’t keep an eye on Mum if we’re skiing,’ said Friday.

‘We can if she comes with us,’ said Melanie. ‘She’d love skiing. It’s all about physics. Gravity, friction, acceleration – all those things are involved.’

‘She’s a theoretical physicist,’ said Friday. ‘She’s not interested in real-world experimentation. At least, not herself. That’s for experimental physicists. Theoretical physicists view experimental physicists as being the intellectual equivalent of a pool cleaner.’

‘I’ve known some very lovely pool cleaners,’ said Melanie.

‘You’re thinking of human pool cleaners,’ said Friday. ‘Mum would think of an experimental physicist as having the intellectual capability of a motorised pool cleaner.’ Friday paused and looked up at the helicopter. It was much closer and getting closer still. ‘It looks like that helicopter is coming here.’

‘Excellent,’ said Melanie. ‘Then CERN must have its own helipad. Even better! I’ll ask Daddy if he knows any local pilots.’ Melanie’s father owned an airline so he most likely would.

‘Why would a helicopter be coming here?’ said Friday. ‘This facility runs experiments that take place over years. Everything is planned meticulously. There’s never anything urgent about it.’

Friday had to stop speaking. The helicopter was now so close it was too loud to talk over. Melanie looked around behind them. ‘I don’t think there is a helipad. I think it’s going to land on that field.’

There was a large lawn opposite the residential building. It looked like a park, but it was probably earmarked to be the site for another residential building eventually. Friday instinctively began to duck her head. The helicopter was still a couple of hundred metres away, but they could feel the down draft and ducking was what people always did in movies when helicopters approached.

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