"Disastro? Is it really you?"
"Yes, Nevals. I've come back." Astro slowly circled the room. His stride was casual, but his aim unwavering. He allowed himself a faint smile; he had waited a long time for this moment.
"But that's impossible! I -- I saw you drink that vodka sour two years ago. There was enough Rejra powder in that glass to kill any ten humans. Where in the galaxy did you find the antidote?"
"On Bliffid, just as you said it would be. I was very nearly dead when I got there. Even after consuming the antidote, it was several weeks before I was well enough to return to Azzak and begin to dismantle your organization."
"So it's been you all this time. You've been the pebble in my shoe these past two years."
"The pebble in your shoe, then the thorn in your side, and finally the knife in your chest. You're finished, Evad." Astro motioned for Nevals to back away from the desk. He had had enough of Nevals's tricks. Nevals rolled his chair back, and swiveled it to face Astro.
Nevals's face took on a look of concentration. He was carefully poring over a sequence of events he had not recalled in some time. The dinner. Fixing the drinks. The carefully staged distraction that gave Nevals the time to pour in the Rejra powder and stir before serving. The toast, and the drinking itself. There could be no doubt Astro had swallowed the poison. "I can't figure it out," he said at last. "You should have been dead in thirteen hours. Maybe sooner. It's a 37 hour flight to Bliffid even at light speed. How did you get there in time? Why are you still alive?"
It was Astro's turn to be surprised. His eyes widened in disbelief, and then came the first long, loud laugh that Astro had had in months. "Dr. Nevals, you disappoint me," Astro said when his laughter subsided. "Do you mean to tell me that you completely neglected the effects of time dilation and length contraction?" Astro had another realization. "Of course. No wonder my escape from your compound was so easy. I was barely even limping when I reached my ship. Your attempt to keep me here was merely token, because you thought I had no chance to reach Bliffid in time."
It seemed impossible that Nevals should appear horrified only upon thinking about events in the past, when it was the present and the future that were bleak for him. Nevertheless, he turned pale. "Relativity," he said quietly. "Ultron's Mystical Aura, it was relativity." His arms fell limp over the arms of his chair.
"Yes, relativity. That flight took 39 hours of your time, but only twelve hours my time. You really should get out more, Nevals. You've been holed up in this compound hatching your plans for twenty years, and you've forgotten everything you ever knew about space travel." He took Nevals by the arm. "Come on. Let's go. I'm taking you to the penal colony on Vaccrom, where you'll be spending a long, long time. In any reference frame."
Nevals stood up. He pulled his arm away from Astro, and Astro let it go. Nevals turned toward the door and walked out, with Astro close behind.
"All my plans laid to waste. By relativity." Nevals shook his head as he muttered. He paused and turned to Astro.
"I forgot the time dilation, and it cost me the galaxy."