Perceptions Of Time

Four thirty. Jacobi and Gaius stop at the base of the Rheinturm.

Vello and David catch up.

Ah! says Jacobi. Two minutes late. This is a bad start. Why are you red in the face?

We were drinking altbier in the sunshine, says David.

Jacobi looks disapproving.

What about Terence? asks Gaius.

What about him? snaps Vello.

This will never do, says Gaius. He'll be running wild in the hotel social space.

He was staring at a ceramic parrot, says Vello. What are you doing here? With a bicycle!

Friedrich has kindly lent me his, until I receive mine from Arthur, says Gaius.

So you two are friendly, says David.

We know one another, says Friedrich. I have an interest in natural history.

Did you know, says Vello, that it is easier for a human to lie than it isn't?

Did you know, says Jacobi, that people who are bilingual experience time differently than people who only speak one language?

Did you know, says David, that team bonding is not going to happen between team members who snipe at one another?

Are you suggesting, says Vello, that we were two minutes late because we speak more than one language?

Of course not, says David.

I meant him, says Vello.

I think I'll call Freddie, says Gaius. See if Terence is all right.

He takes out his phone. He has a missed call and several messages.

He calls Freddie.

Hello Freddie, it's Gaius. Secundus! Yes, me! What? Ageless? Yes, let him. Dear me! No I shall certainly pay for it, if I can't mend it. But I do have some excellent glue. Roman bull glue. No no, I insist upon trying.....

Is Terence all right? asks David.

He has broken the ceramic parrot. says Gaius. But I offered to mend it.

With bull glue. We heard, says Vello.

Well, this is nice, says David. What is this structure we're standing under, Jacobi? It's jolly high.

The Rheinturm, says Jacobi, is a telecommunications tower. Two hundred and forty metres in height. The observation tower, at one hundred and seventy four metres, is open to the public. Would you like to go up there?

With bikes? says Vello.

Tonight, says Jacobi. It remains open until eleven thirty. A light sculpture on the shaft works as a digital clock. There is also a restaurant. Shall we dine there? I should be honoured to pay for my fellow team members' first dinner in Düsseldorf.

I assume I am invited, if I pay for myself? says Gaius.

Nonsense! says Jacobi. I think of you as a fellow team member, Gaius. In fact I have bonded more closely with you than the others. But that of course can be rectified.

David looks sour.

Vello looks sourer.

Gaius looks pleased.

I shall bring Terence, says Gaius. He will enjoy the light sculpture. It will be educational.

It will be an intelligence test for all of you, says Jacobi, smiling at Vello. Not everyone knows how to read it.

Vello smiles back at Jacobi, baring his teeth.