ole affair was a direct reflection on his authority
as a parent, of course, and that's why he was so upset. He's a man who
isn't used to being crossed."

"I know. He's been on top here so long, with everyone following his
orders, that he can't understand how someone could disobey and jump
ship--especially his own son."

"I hope _you_ don't have any ideas of----"

Alan clipped off Kandin's sentence before it had gotten fully started.
"I don't need advice, Art. I know what's right and wrong. Tell me the
truth--did Dad send you to sound me out?"

Kandin flushed and looked down. "I'm sorry, Alan. I didn't
mean--well----"

They fell silent. Alan returned his attention to his breakfast, while
Kandin stared moodily off into the distance.

"You know," the First Officer said finally, "I've been thinking about
Steve. It just struck me that you can't call him your twin any more.
That's one of the strangest quirks of star travel that's been recorded
yet."

"I thought of that. He's twenty-six, I'm seventeen, and yet we used to
be twins. But the Fitzgerald Contraction does funny things."

"That's for sure," Kandin said. "Well, time for me to start relaxing."
He clapped Alan on the back, disentangled his long legs from the bench,
and was gone.

_The Fitzgerald Contraction does funny things_, Alan repeated to
himself, as he methodically chewed his way through the rest of his meal
and got on line to bring the dishes to the yawning hopper that would
carry them down to the molecular cleansers. _Real funny things._

He tried to picture what Steve looked like now, nine years older. He
couldn't.

_As velocity approaches that of light, time approaches zero._

That was the key to the universe. _Time approaches zero._ The crew of a
spaceship travelling from Earth to Alpha Centauri at a speed close to
that of light would hardly notice the passage of time on the journey.

It was, of course, impossible ever actually to reach the speed of light.
But the great starships could come close. And the closer they came, the
greater the contraction of time aboard ship.

It was all a matter of relativity. Time is relative to the observer.

Thus travel between the stars was possible. Without the Fitzgerald
Contraction, the crew of a spaceship would age five years en route to
Alpha C, eight to Sirius, ten to Procyon. More than two centuries would
elapse in passage to a far-off star like Bellatrix.

Thanks to the contraction effect, Alpha C