March: A Tale of Salmon and Swedes (The Glothic Tales Book 4) by Derek Haines Read Free Book Online Page B

bedroom and grabbed his THE, and entered, water + bathroom .
    Water on Earth is controlled by rudimentary methods and devices, including valves, faucets, taps and stopcocks. These devices are usually operated by manually turning them either anti-clockwise for on, or clockwise for off. They are very often difficult to manipulate and require the use of hand strength to operate them. After use, they should always be turned fully in a clockwise direction to avoid flooding. References: Noah – Ark – Plumber – How to run a bath.
    March clicked on the last reference and carefully watched the instructional video, before returning to the bathroom and then successfully getting hot water to run into the bath. With the assistance of THE, March solved a number of other bathroom mysteries, including how to operate the bath plug, use towels, how to flush a toilet and how to make a hairdryer work. However, a much bigger dilemma awaited him after his bath. When he opened his wardrobe, he gasped in shock.
    *****
    March found Trys in the kitchen, making supper.
    ‘Oh, you look much more presentable,’ she said, when she saw him walk in.
    ‘These feel like something that should contain potatoes.’
    ‘Jeans are fashionable casual wear here,’ she replied, and March noticed that without her beanie, her hair was long and silver, and that she looked a little younger than when he first set eyes on her in the park.
    ‘They are rather uncomfortable.’
    ‘I’m sure you’ll adapt to the little changes on Earth. Anyway, can you take this tray through to the dining room and I’ll bring the tea.’
    ‘Yes, of course.’
    When they sat down at the dining table, Trys poured the tea. ‘Help yourself; you must be hungry after your long journey. So, how is your father?’
    ‘Um, he’s fine,’ March said, and took a bite of his sandwich.
    ‘He’s a fine man and has become a very wise Supreme Potentate, and he always sends me a kind message every time I submit my reports. He’s a stickler for detail, and politeness. You look very much like your father too.’
    ‘Our genes,’ he managed, with his mouth full.
    ‘Well, I’m looking forward to getting home to Gloth in a couple of years. I could have returned a few years ago, but I don’t know, I quite like it here and it’s a good job, so no need to rush into retirement just yet.’
    ‘Do you miss Gloth?’
    ‘Sometimes I suppose, but I have enough here to keep me busy. Perhaps I miss the colours. One can have quite enough of blue skies, seas, oceans and rivers after a while, although here in London, a blue sky is a rarity. Grey is the most common colour here, so yes, I have to admit that I do miss our lovely magenta skies on Gloth.
    Anyway, enough about all that. You’re here to do some work, and I’m told that salmon and caviar are on the top of your list.’
    ‘Precious metals, technology and arms are on my list too. But after my experience in getting here, I think having polar gates or entry ports installed in the force field wouldn’t be a bad idea. However, my father doesn’t seem to be in a hurry, as he is still of the mind that the Erdean gene should be kept totally quarantined.’
    ‘Perhaps you need a little time to understand his concern, as I’m sure you will be in for a few surprises here, especially during the next couple of weeks. When I first arrived, I thought people here were absolute savages, but I have tempered my opinion, well, a little over the years.’
    ‘So what’s your opinion of them now?’
    ‘Confused mostly, because they are so easily convinced by convenient lies and manipulated history, yet awfully reluctant to be persuaded by truth. They seem much more content with fantasy than fact, and have a value system that would be totally foreign to those who live in the rest of the Twelve Sun Systems. I believe it stems from their enforced isolation by Gloth, so I can’t be too harsh on them for not understanding what they don’t know about.’
    ‘My