Napoleon
Page 19
“Not to worry. I am not working directly with either of these men. I have my own lab and correspondence is done through letters that appear to be coming from Paris. Had anyone suspicious revealed themselves at the Paris location, I was prepared to change my entire operation, which was actually nowhere near Paris.”
Naffi nodded. “Good. We need to continue to take precautions.”
“When you and Vara return to establish manufacturing, you'll want to do something similar, where you conduct business with a few layers of separation.”
Vara said, “I have a suggestion. Since Naffi is a titan of business, and since you, Reno, are a titan of science, perhaps my efforts should be geared toward apprehending and holding the clone of Marwal. He is leaving a trail with all his counter moves to ours. Allow me to track him as he has been doing to us. Doing so is right along the lines of what I used to do for you, Naffi.”
Naffi smiled. “I do like this suggestion. I'll ready a clone for your use while you study the archives for Marwal. Ultimately, a capture and hold of him would be ideal, but do not place yourself at risk. And always remember he is aware of our ability to track him the same way he follows us. So beware of traps.”
Reno moved back from the console. “Please, Vara, begin your studies.”
Chapter 22
_______________________
Vara's clone walked down a street in London, ducking into doorways and around corners. She followed a man who was shadowing Humphry Davy. He was just coming from a lecture at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, where he had discussed his latest achievements in elemental isolation. She moved in close as the man took the scientist by the shoulder and pulled him to a stop.
“Excuse me, sir. Are you Humphry Davy?”
“I am. And please unhand me.”
“My apologies. I'm trying to locate a colleague of mine. You would know him as Marc Lamonde. I was wondering if you knew his whereabouts?”
“I do not. And I do not make it a habit of divulging private details of the lives of others. Good day.”
As the scientist abruptly turned away, the man took another grab. “It's important, sir. It's about his ill mother.”
Davy pulled his shoulder away with a scowl and hurried off with his chin in the air, casting fleeting glances over his shoulder to make certain he wasn't being followed. When a street corner was reached where a policeman was standing, a cane was waved back in the man's direction. The harasser ducked around a corner before the policeman had him in sight. Humphry Davy, after another minute of lodging his protest, strode away.
Vara forwarded the playback. “So we know they are being watched. I followed the man to a pub where another met him and paid him a few coins. From there I followed the other man to a home where he went inside and retired for the evening. The next morning he was meeting with another man and they both made their way into a store and into the back. A minute later the first man walked out. I followed him to a horse track where he spent the afternoon. He was a dead end.”
Reno asked, “And the other man?”
“I watched the store for two days. He did nothing but the normal clerical work you would expect. So I turned my efforts back to following Humphry Davy. It took me another three days before I detected another follower. I was then witness to a heinous murder. Davy was savagely butchered by a gang of thugs as he walked home after an afternoon out. I suppose you'll have to shift your focus to Michael Faraday.”
The recording ended.
Naffi asked, “You felt there was nothing further to be gained?”
“The men who butchered him were paid ahead of time. And it wasn't by the store clerk as he never left. My advice would be to keep looking over your shoulder when you're dealing with Faraday. Marwal is using middlemen, and there are plenty who are willing to do that work. I don't think we'll see him again until he has one of us in sight.”
Reno said, “Well, we have our safehouses set up, along with generous bank accounts, perhaps it's time we focused on science. Reno, are you ready to again inspire Mr. Faraday?”
“I am, but I think you need to take this turn. Develop the electric findings Faraday just achieved. Power up France and then the Empire. We have the basic discoveries in place to do so. Anything after will only be accelerated due to those achievements.”
Vara nodded. “I would agree. It's time the groundwork was put in place to exploit these advancements.”
“Very well. I'll ready a clone for myself.”
Naffi left the room.
Reno looked to Vara. “You moved around back there so calm and confident, as if a Human cat stalking a small bird.”
“I find it liberating. Other than capture by Marwal, there is no danger. It's like nothing I've ever experienced. It's as if life is disposable.”
“I've had some of the same thoughts, but a part of me is now repulsed by the disposable aspect you just mentioned. These are actual lives we are dealing with. They aren't Opamari, but they are sentient, breathing beings. And most don't realize this, but many of our cultural norms are patterned after them. During the Human Renaissance of ten thousand years ago, you might have found it difficult to distinguish the two cultures. I find it increasingly difficult now to separate my life here from my lives in the past.”
“I suppose there is some of that to contend with, but I don't feel compelled to dwell on it at this time. I just know that I like interacting with these people. Most are actually quite pleasant. And the few who aren't, well, the worst they can do to me is end the life of my Human.”
Naffi returned a short while later with a new clone. Preparations were made and the clone sent back through time to the year 1811. Selecting a new name of Charles Ducat, the Naffi clone got to immediate work at building his companies. The first was to make wire cable and transformers for electric power distribution. A second company organized crews to begin installation of the power poles and lines. And a third company focused on the expansion of rail.
Charles Ducat, dressed in a cutaway tailcoat, a fitted waistcoat and white linen shirt, hessian boots, and a beaver top-hat, strolled into the parlor of a hotel where a meeting with the Mayor of Paris was to take place. He entered an ornately decorated room where the Mayor was waiting on a silk, patterned sofa.
“Ah, Mr. Ducat. I hope you bring news of progress.”
“Good day, Mayor. And I do.”
A seat was taken and a glass of sherry offered and accepted.
Charles rested his cane and hat on a small table in front of him. “I'll get right to the numbers as I am certain your time is as valuable as mine.”
The mayor smiled. “Very well.”
“As you have noticed throughout the city streets, poles for electrification are being installed. I expect this to continue for the next three weeks. From that point we will begin the installation of transformers, which will take another three weeks. And finally the power will be switched on. From that moment on, crews will be made available for individual hookups. Can I take it you saw the demonstrations six weeks ago?”
“Oh, indeed I did. And I can't be more thrilled at the prospects. Imagine a city that can be awake at all hours. No more will we be strictly ruled by night and day.”
“There are big changes coming, Mayor. With these modernizations, our lives will be enhanced. Lighting the night is only one small aspect of this coming phenomenon. Baking goods without a flame, heating and cooling of homes and businesses, even entertainment, broadcast over radiowaves. In a decade you will wonder how we ever did without these things.”
“I eagerly look forward to each and every one. And I must say, Mr. Ducat, you've positioned yourself well for this event.”
“I have the backing of the Emperor. He too sees the benefit of this endeavor and the national treasury is being used to fund it. Will my company profit from this? Absolutely. And from those profits more goods and services will spring forth.”
The mayor squirmed on the sofa. “Which is another reason I brought you here today.
As I am certain, you are aware of the monies my family has available? If so, I would like to make our interest in investing known. Although, I would like to know more about you first. You seem to have sprung from nowhere.”
Charles returned a pursed smile. “I must apologize, Mayor. My associate was supposed to send word of there not being investment opportunities. You are more than welcome to take advantage of any opportunities that arise from this electrification, but, at this time, we are not taking monies from those with political connections.”
A scowl covered the mayor's face. “I don't understand the exclusion, Mr. Ducat. I was freely elected by the people to represent them. Why would I not do that here?”
“This was not my decision, Mayor. It is the wish of Napoleon himself. My company contracts are with the Empire. And as such, I answer only to the Empire. There is ample opportunity for businessmen to profit from the coming electric devices. I would suggest you partner with someone to manufacture stoves or toasters or water heaters or perhaps even radios. Think of any manual work that must be performed by a person now and imagine a product that could do that for them. Be inventive, Mayor, don't just try to latch onto the coattails of another's hard work.”
“I'm not educated in this discovery of electricity, Mr. Ducat. Where would I begin?”
“Begin by allying yourself with a brilliant scientist or engineer. You have the financing, as you suggested, many of these brilliant minds don't. But they do have the ideas. And all of the benefits of electric power and how to make use of it are being released as we speak. Every institute and university will be teaching courses in such.”
The mayor stood and walked over beside a fireplace. “I see. So there is no way for me to profit from your works. You have exclusive rights to distribute power. It seems an unfair advantage.”
“I am merely building the distribution network, Mayor. The Empire will control the actual power generation and any future fees that may be associated with that. Napoleon has asked that it be readily available to all. Who profits from it from that point is solely up to those who try.”
Charles stood, grabbing his cane and hat from the table. “Now. I must be seeing to my business, Mayor. Good day and good luck to you on your investments.”
The clone strode from the room, leaving a politician who was less-than-satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.
Naffi sped through the recording. “I'll save you all from a similar speech with the mayors of the surrounding cities. We'll stop at the lighting of Paris after seven weeks. As an added incentive to bring excitement to the public, an argon arc-lamp, created by Humphrey Davy before his murder, was added to each of the electric poles.”
Reno asked, “Since these were British inventions, why was Paris selected for first light over London?”
“That should be obvious. It is a French empire. But as a consolation, London will be lit in the coming week. Now, I bring you dusk in the Tuileries Gardens, turned into day. You will see the light as it comes on from the center stage where a symphony will be conducted. Both the elites and commoners of Paris have been invited to the event.”
Crowds could be seen standing about under the dimly lit sky of the evening. Ducat looked to either side as members of the Conservatoire National de Musique prepared to play a number of civic songs while a chorus of singers would add their vocals.
At the tick of 8 pm, Charles turned toward the chorus and raised a hand. A conductor took over with a harmony of alto voices singing a single note in unison, grabbing the attention of the crowds. They held their tone for twenty seconds before the sound of arc-lamps popping to life filled the trees around them. As the grounds and crowds came into view with reflected light, the sounds of the symphony filled the air.
Naffi shook his head. “It was a stunning moment. Even though I have been privy to those technologies my entire life, there was something about being there, something about seeing all those faces gazing about in wonder. The feeling is almost difficult to describe. I think it might have been a bit of pride about being Human.”
Reno frowned. “A feeling that has been lost among our own people.”
“I was left feeling patriotic for the Empire. I was told later that Napoleon had watched and listened from a nearby residence. It was said that he wept for the entire first song.”
Naffi continued to talk as the concert played out in the background. “I was up the entire night as were much of the town. The people came out in droves, packing the gardens to the point of everyone being almost shoulder to shoulder. And there were no fights or quarrels. The people were genuinely celebrating, including the elites all the way down to the beggars.”
“No sign of Marwal?”
“I had guards, and he would not have gotten close.”
Vara asked, “And the following day?”
“I slept most of the morning before boarding a train to Calais. From there I took a steamer to London. The people were crowded into Kensington Gardens for the lighting. A similar symphony was set to play. And I can tell you here and now, it was an equally thrilling event. The faces of the people, the jovial moods, the camaraderie. It was an event to behold. I wish each of you could have been there.”
“Are there not more of these to come?”
“There are many more, but none that could be as spectacular as the first few.”
Reno said, “You were there for another year. What else was accomplished?”
“Rail from London to Portsmouth, over to Bristol and up to Liverpool, Manchester, and Leeds. And each of those cities were electrified. And word came from New York, Boston, and Philadelphia that each of those were electrified as well. So our friend Marwal has been busy.”
Naffi sped through the playback. “Back in France, each of the major cities were powered up. Our arc-lamp factories in London and our high-tension power cables factory in Madrid were struggling to keep up with demand. I took the initiative to expand both of those by opening factories in Berlin and Constantinople within the year, with more as far south as the city of Tiptur on the Indian peninsula. The Chinese and Indonesian provinces will have electricity the year after, along with the rail expansions.”
Naffi paused the playback. “Not that I was checking your work, Reno, but I was told the initial coal-powered plants would be getting replaced by natural gas within five years. Is that assessment correct?”
“Those were the orders that were given. And with luck, in another fifteen years we will switch to nuclear and finally, in about thirty years, to fusion. Unfortunately it will take us that long to develop those technologies, but we will be off coal in the near term, if orders are followed.”
Vara asked, “You only have a short bit of recording left. What happened?”
Chapter 23
_______________________
Naffi slowly shook his head. “Marwal happened. And this is important. If you surround yourselves with guards, which I recommend, you should also enlist a second set to keep eyes on the first. And I'm now recommending a third set. I had an infiltrator. I can only imagine he was feeding intel to Marwal.”
Reno frowned. “Can I guess this infiltrator was in your second group?”
“You can. Which is why I believe I must add a third, thereby having a group to watch each group. The second will watch the first and the third the second, leaving the first to watch the third. And all three groups will now watch me.”
“How did Marwal find your second group of guards?”
“I have no idea. I'll play the incident back so you can see how it transpired.”
Charles Ducat, the Naffi clone, was seated in the study of a palace that had previously belonged to a former Prussian King. The new owner, Dirk Gunnar, was running the arc-lamp factory in Berlin. Ducat was visiting to receive personal updates on the factory's progress.
Dirk paced back and forth in front of an electric heater. A heavy snow was falling outside. “I must have the machines for making the argon gas. This delay is why we are not producing.”
Dirk stopped at a window, looking out at the falling snow. “Heaters, lights, ovens... what can't this electricity do?”
“We are only limited by our imaginations. Is there anything you have ever dreamed of that is not currently possible?”
“I have always wanted to fly like a bird.”
“That will one day be possible, and commonplace... well not exactly like a bird, but for man to fly using the same principles.”
Dirk slowly nodded his head as he took a sip of wine from a goblet in his hand. “That would be an achievement I could celebrate, Mr. Ducat. To soar in the heavens would be... well heavenly I suppose.”
A footman came into the room. “Mr. Ducat, there is a gentleman here to see you.”
Dirk turned a curious eye. “In this snow? Please, invite him in.”
The footman gave a slight bow. “I am sorry, sir, he insists on Mr. Ducat coming to the door. I believe he may be one of his guards.”
Charles rose from a chair with a sigh. “I should only be a moment.”
“Good,” Dirk replied with a smile. “I look forward to our continued conversation.”
Charles walked to the door where the footman opened it to the snowy outside.
The guard, facing away, was looking over his shoulder and then back at the snow beyond. “Sir. You must come now. You are in danger.”