Laws of Time part 3.

He was the owner of Connexions, the world’s largest telecom company and had business in every country of the world. And that also provided him numerous opportunities to conduct some unconventional business in a discreet manner. He had a fetish for guns. All kinds. His collection of guns was enough to put the armies of small countries to shame. And he himself could handle every one of those guns. A wonder with all automatics and a superb shot, he handled a bazooka with the easy nonchalance of a boy with a pea-shooter.
To keep himself in shape, he put himself through a rigorous routine somewhat like the triathlon. It is said that the triathlon is the toughest of all sports. The requisite endurance is phenomenal. It involved running through a distance of 14 kilometers and subsequent swimming of about 2.1 kilometers and then cycling for 40 kilometers. The strong and heavy muscular legs required for running had no use whatsoever in swimming and acted as a heavy burden. Similarly, the strong arms and shoulder muscles for swimming was nothing but a hindrance for cycling and running. At 20, it is a cruel sport and at 45,, it’s a wonder he was still standing on two legs.
And that’s what he was doing when his cell phone rang. Although he did not entertain interruptions during his fitness regime, his phone showed that Rick was calling. Anything for his son.
“Hello son, how the hell did you find the time to remember your poor dad?”
“Cut out the sarcasm, dad, I need some help.” said Rick, without any preamble.
Mr. Maclean heaved a sigh. Some things never change. Like his son.
“What kind of help?” It couldn’t be financial, that Mr. Maclean knew because Rick had a bank balance of billions.
“Dad, I need a large amount of power”, stated Rick.
Mr. Maclean was used to his son’s atrocious demands but he was very proud of his son. So he tried to give him everything he could. And that meant everything that was available.
“How much power, exactly?”
“27 million kilo-watts.” he said as if he was simply estimating the cost of a bag of potatoes.
“What? 27 million kilo-watts? What in the world can you need that much power for?” To say that the demand was ridiculous was a massive understatement. In spite of being used to his son’s demands, this particular demand really astonished Mr. Maclean.
However, the answer that comprised two words, dispelled all doubts regarding the feasibility of the demand from Maclean’s mind.
“Time travel.” said Rick, his voice quavering for the first time. It was evident that he had saved this newsflash for the last and his answer did have the desired effect and probably more.
Maclean couldn’t believe what he was hearing although he was the only person in the world who knew all the details of his son’s progress in building the time machine. He had to know, he was funding it. The sheer enormity of the claim unnerved him and to him, it completely justified the demand of power.
“You have completed it?” Maclean asked almost whispering.
“I have.” said Rick though his voice wasn’t much louder either. It seemed that both of them had forgotten that they were talking on one of the most secure lines in the world.
“You’ll have all the power you need. But don’t go public with your invention, at least not yet.” Mr. Maclean was sure that the Government would not hesitate a moment to make a new law and declare time machines government property. He wanted the time machine as his property.
“Sure thing dad, I’ll keep it quiet but when can I get the power?”Rick was already calculating how the machine would start. If his dad says he’ll get the power, then he will.
“I’ll need to pull a few strings, that’s a big demand, son, so give me two days and then you can conquer the world” .In fact, Mr. Maclean, whose whole name was Danny Maclean, was also planning to conquer the world when a stray memory suddenly opened up in his mind.