The Mean Time of Greenwich

By Christopher J Clarke

Poppy is a Quantum Physics genius and time is her friend.

 

She wants to make a difference in the world but before that, she yearns to save her Mum who died in an accident when Poppy was only 6 months old.

 

Nearly 30 years later she Lectures in Greenwich, the home of time, and only has her Grandpa left of her close family, but will her impending actions mean that soon that will not be the case.

 

Will Poppy control the variances of time or will the Universe and its cruel humour be too powerful for her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christopher J Clarke
• Release date: May 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201726485

Christopher J Clarke

Christopher J Clarke lives in Brighton, England and is a writer of Fantasy & Sci-Fi Novels, Short Stories, Novellas and Novelettes.  Christopher blends his love of creatures, nature, technology and robots with his disdain for the human race, into tales of survival, mystery, action, death and love.

Book preview

Thanks go to:

All of the sci-fi authors I love reading, in particular Isaac Asimov, Douglas Adams, Philip K Dick and Ray Bradbury.

Oh and my beautiful wife and two daughters.

Warning: I wish to confirm that although I have a large interest in quantum physics and have read several books on the subject I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert or even someone who knows what they are talking about. All science in the book is fiction made up in my ever emptying head and should not be used at home, without a safety net and especially if unsupervised.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places or events are entirely coincidental.

The Mean Time of Greenwich.

First Edition. 31st May 2021

Copyright © 2021 Christopher J Clarke

Written by Christopher J Clarke

Thanks go to:

Chapter 1 - Day 0

Chapter 2 - Day 0

Chapter 3 - Day 0

Chapter 4 - Day +2

Chapter 5 - Day 0

Chapter 6  - Day minus 10972

Chapter 7 - Day minus 10971

Chapter 8 - Day minus 10970 to 10790

Chapter 9  - 0

Chapter 1 - Day Zero

Poppy was not having a good day, it started when she couldn’t get the kink out of her hair, which meant she was wearing a beanie in the hot mid-morning sunshine making her sweat profusely, and she couldn’t see the error in the 85 line quantum equation that she had written on her 1960’s style chalkboard.

She didn’t think her day could get any worse, but it did,

Hello Pop can I have a quick word, it was Derek, damn Derek, what the hell did he want?

Hi, I am a bit busy at the moment, can we catch up later.

He smiled, it will only take a moment.

She knew that was not true, nothing ever took just a moment with Derek. He was the Head of the Science Faculty at the University of Greenwich, where she had worked as a lecturer for the last 5 years. Her area of expertise was Quantum Physics and as most people had no knowledge of this area, including most lecturers, she was normally left to her own devices.

However, Derek seemed to think he knew it all, but she had soon learnt that what he knew about Quantum Physics you could write on the back of a small doll’s matchbox.

Derek was in his early 60’s, dressed in a wrinkled vintage dark suit, had mad curly hair and a face that would give any young child nightmares.

In addition, if you got too close to him you would receive not only his wandering hands but also the present of the nauseous stench of mothballs. She had found no redeeming features in him including his ability as Head of Faculty. She assumed the only reason he had risen to that position was his public schoolboy background.

He walked down the stairs of the large lecture room I have a small favour to ask of you Pop, can you cover a lecture on advanced Mathematics on Friday as Brian needs the day off and I don’t want the Freshers missing out on the basics?

She hated being called Pop, it wasn’t her name and it just added another nail in his coffin, that’s a problem for me, why does he need the day off, he is never here?

Derek moved next to her and put his hand gently around her waist, he has some friends over from Oxford, surely just one favour for your favourite Head of Faculty my dear? he said smiling in her face and sharing his dry smelly breath.

She knocked his hand away and took a step back moving out of the cloud of stench that followed him like the dark rainy cloud above Charlie Brown,

She remained calm managing to keep the anger out of her voice, no, I can’t do it, as you know I agreed 2 days a week maximum, I have my other work to focus on. Brian will need to change his plans, I am sure he can miss one afternoon of juvenile boys games!

Derek did not look happy but she didn’t care, the lecture work was useful for the money but no more than that, so she wasn’t worried about being blunt, and anyway where else would they find someone else of her ability. He stood for a moment considering what else to say but turned angrily and strode out of the room.

She looked back to the chalkboard that she had insisted on having erected in her lecture room. She hated modern whiteboards or screens, you couldn’t work equations on