‘Yes. Then you must know that motion is relative and not absolute. And according to Jack, all we needed to do was to find a frame of reference from which the speed of light is attainable. So if we find a moving frame of reference, the velocity would add up and it would be easier to attain light speed. Do you get what I am trying to say?’
‘I am afraid not,’ I said.
‘Right. Think of it this way. You remain stationary and a train approaches you. You feel that you are stationary and the train is moving because the platform is the frame of reference. But say the platform is moving at half the speed of the train, what will you feel then? You will find that the train is only travelling at half its velocity, is it not?’
‘Yes, I think I get your point. Pray go ahead,’ I said. I seemed to get what he was trying to say and it seemed quite possible.
‘So Jack had built a rotating frame of reference traveling at half the speed of light and a rotating chamber that rotated in the opposite direction at half the speed of light.’
‘But even half the speed of light is not possible,’ I pointed out the only flaw I could see.
‘Jack was a genius. He was able to reach that speed with a combination of atomic fission and fusion. It was like using a nuclear bomb, but only that this was quite safe.’
‘But if he had managed such a great thing, it would have been a discovery in itself. Why has it not been known to all of us?’ I asked. It was my last defense.
‘Well de never did have a chance to tell the world, did he? I will tell you about that presently. He told me that I was invited to witness the first man to travel time. But I was worried stiff about the safety of that thing, you know. But once he assured me that none of my words would stop him from making that journey, then I knew had no choice.’