The Dinosaur Feather

science, about research; the other is about friendship. Friendship and science are two irreconcilable entities. Lars would have done the same, he said. Everyone puts pressure on you. That’s just how it is. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And the times are truly desperate.’ Dr Tybjerg gave her a fraught look.
    ‘But
why
? Seven thousand kroner a month for three years. That’s serious money.’
    Dr Tybjerg momentarily looked stunned, then he shrugged.
    ‘To fund my research. I’ve already said so.’ He took another step into the dark and Anna pursued him.
    ‘How did you blackmail him? Come on, help me out here.’
    Dr Tybjerg shrugged again.
    ‘I discovered that Lars had an illegitimate son. His name’s Asger.’
    Asger. The name rang a bell.
    ‘Asger used to be my friend, but not even Asger knew he was Helland’s son. It was a scandal. Or rather, it would have been, had it become known that Professor Helland had had an affair with one of his students. She was a nineteen-year-old undergraduate and Helland was her tutor. Asger’s mother hasn’t told her son who his father was.’ Dr Tybjerg suddenly looked horrified at Anna. ‘Asger attended lectures given by his own father and he never knew, can you imagine? Asger and I aren’t friends any more. He changed when he lost his job. Grew strange. He used to be good. The best. He was a coleopterologist; still is, I suppose. He sailed through his studies. His PhD was approved, he wrote his doctoral thesis, the whole shebang in record time. He was the youngest staff member in a tiny department whose elderly professor was about to retire, leaving the Chair vacant for Asger. The future looked bright. And do you know what happened then? The Faculty Council closed the department. They claimed they had sent Asger a letter, but it appeared to have gone astray. We were still friends then. When he came back after the summer holidays, ready to start a new term, to teach andresearch, the department was no longer there. The end. Terribly sorry and all that . . .’
    ‘How did you find out that Asger was Helland’s son?’
    Dr Tybjerg looked in two minds, then he sighed and continued.
    ‘Asger’s mother is a professor here, but she works in a different department. One day I saw her with Helland. They were having a row, which was clearly personal. It happened in a corner right by the entrance and I watched them from the stairs, unnoticed. It sounded like Asger’s mother was threatening Helland – she was very angry. At the time, I had just finished my PhD and my dream was to research, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to go about it. I don’t know what prompted me, but shortly afterwards I dropped a hint to Helland. We were working together – over there, as it happens – by those long desks, and it was a chance shot. Turned out to be a bull’s eye. I could see it in his face. He went as white as a sheet and his reaction told me I had stumbled over something much bigger than I had initially suspected. I brought up the subject every time we met, until he asked me outright to keep quiet. I agreed, of course. Shortly afterwards I was given an office in the basement. Helland arranged it. Remember, I wasn’t demanding astronomical sums of cash and all sorts of perks. However, I could see how government cuts were affecting us, we were all hanging on by the skin of our teeth and I feared redundancy. I have devoted my life to reaching this level of expertise, and there’s no way I’m joining a retraining scheme for the unemployed.’ He sounded outraged now. ‘So I suppose you could say that I twisted Helland’s arm a little. But like I said, we struck a deal. I did him a favour by keeping quiet, and he did me a favour by sending work myway. I got a small office, which no one else wanted, and an invitation to join in his research. That’s why we did so many things together, papers, posters and research proposals. But it wasn’t the only reason. It was killing two birds with one stone, see? We worked within the same field and together we made a strong team. One of the strongest in the world. Over time, my arm twisting faded into the background.’
    ‘Why didn’t Helland want it known that Asger was his son?’
    ‘Well, why do you think? Number one, he would have been fired on the spot and number two, his wife would have been less than thrilled.’
    ‘Who is Asger’s mother? Do I know her?’
    ‘Possibly. Her name is Hanne Moritzen and she is a