“No, I really think it’s possible. I've ruled out wood blocks; they’re too soft to print the number of copies we’d need. But if we get enough bronze—”
“Listen to yourself, William. Did Lester ask you for a budget?”
“Yes, how did you know?”
“He’s a smart man, our boss. You should have followed his instructions. If there was plenty of metal, don’t you think farmers would stop complaining about the lack of sturdy plows? Or that tradesmen would have sharper tools? Or that every man could shave when he wanted? Which reminds me, your cheeks are looking a little too fuzzy, young man.”
“My face is fine.”
“If you say so. But young ladies like Melissa prefer their men clean-shaven. It’s a sign of prosperity.”
William ran his fingers over the wisps that covered his chin. “What’s Melissa got to do with it?”
She wagged a finger at him. “You can’t fool me, William; I’ve lived longer than you. Young love isn’t a new story to me.”
“Okay, but why can’t—”
“William, you’re a smart boy, otherwise Lester wouldn’t have selected you. Can I help you reach the conclusion you would have made on your own eventually?”
“Well…okay.”
“Imagine you could get all the metal you wanted for free. How long would it take to make one plate?”
“Um…a day, I guess?”
“It would take two days. Melting and cooling are slow processes. But let’s say it’s only one day.”
“But then we could print as many pages as we wanted!”
“William, in the twenty years I’ve been here, we have never made more than fifty copies of anything. How many pages can you print in a day by hand?”
William shrugged. “Forty or so.”
“Really? No wonder Lester put you on research. I can write a hundred pages, Melissa about twenty more than that. And I’m sure you’ll get better soon.”
William tapped his pen against his fingers as he pondered Jessica’s words. “So it would be more expensive, no matter what.”
Jessica smiled. “It might be different if we printed a thousand copies, but that will never happen.”
William grunted. “Maybe it should.”
Jessica took the pen from his hand and put it away. “We’re Librarians, William, not merchants. Now let’s get these books tidied up so you can get home.”
The next morning William wrote a report for Cairns that included a passionate plea for increasing the number of copies of certain books that they printed. It was articulate, well-reasoned, and he tossed it on the brazier that warmed his office. The next version described his unconvincing epiphany that a printing press was a luxury the Library could not afford.
William’s work on bandit activity consumed most of his time during the next few weeks. The Town Guard had submitted hundreds of reports, and more had been sent from towns along the coast and down river. He was almost ready to compile the information into a single report when he made a discovery.
Jessica found him again, this time in the records room, leaning against the cold granite wall, staring blankly at the report in his hands, surrounded by dozens more strewn about the floor. “William, dear, you can’t leave these papers on the floor like this, they—oh, my.” She hurried away and returned shortly with Melissa.
“I found him here, like this,” said Jessica with panic in her voice. “Should we look for Lester?”
Melissa scanned the mass of documents around William. “What’s he been working on?”
“Oh, that project for the Duke, the bandit thing. I told him he was working too hard—”
“No, that’s not it,” said Melissa. “I think I know. I wish I had known he was working on this, but he hasn’t spoken much to me lately. Will,” she said, shaking his shoulder.
William came to and groaned in embarrassment. “Sorry. Have you been here long?”
Jessica stomped on the floor in frustration. “You frightened me out of my wits, William! I wasn’t sure if you were—”
Melissa stopped her. “He’s okay, Jessica. I can guess what you were reading, Will.”
“Yeah, I should have known I would find this, but it came as a surprise.”
Jessica pulled a reading glass from her blouse pocket. “What is it?”
“My father’s death report,” he said, handing her the paper. Jessica read the report while William and Melissa shared a look. William knew they were both reliving that day years before, just as he had done for the last hour.
Jessica covered her mouth in horror. “Nine years ago…I didn’t realize. You poor thing, to be reminded like this. No wonder you reacted that way. Still, you shouldn’t have scared me like that.”
“Sorry.” William grinned despite his heavy emotions. “Part of it was the shock. But there’s more to it…”
Melissa brushed some papers aside and kneeled in front of him. “What?”
William became conscious of her hand on his arm, unsure how to react, but hoping she would keep it there. “This seems silly, I know, but I’d always imagined myself becoming a Guard like my father. And when I found this report it was almost like seeing him again…and I didn’t want him to see me here. I wanted him to see me with a sword in my hand, not a book.”
Jessica exchanged a glance with Melissa, then whispered in her ear. Melissa nodded, and Jessica retreated upstairs, leaving the two of them alone.
Melissa sat and leaned against the wall beside him, her honey-brown hair spilling over his shoulder. “It’s not silly, Will.”
“The truth is, I’m happy here. I like the work. I didn’t expect to, but I do. So why should I feel like this?”
Melissa pondered for a moment. “I don’t know the answer to that. But I do know one thing.”
“What?”
“He would be proud of you,” she said, squeezing his hand.
For a few seconds he saw only her face, the room and the books forgotten. “Thank you,” he said. He stared into her eyes, felt her breath on his face, and for a brief, terrifying moment, considered kissing her.
Melissa jerked her hand from his. “We’d better get this mess cleaned before Lester comes back.”
William stood and stretched the stiffness from his back, pretending the moment never happened. “Where is he?” he asked.
“Meeting a new client at the docks. She’s coming in from Faywater Port. Another big project for you, no doubt.”
“I’d better finish this one, then.”
Although a shadow remained over his mind, he was fully composed when Lester returned from the docks. With him was the darkest-skinned person William had ever seen. Jack was darker than most people he knew, but compared to this woman Jack was nearly as pale as William. Nor had he ever seen hair like hers, so curly it refused to fall to her shoulders. Her wide smile came easily and contrasted against the darkness of her face, lighting up her hazel eyes.
She was beautiful.
“William, meet Maya Melchior, from Faywater Port. You may have heard of her parents, Catherine and Caspar. They run the Faywater Clinic.”
“Pleased to meet you Maya,” said William, shaking her offered hand. “I’m sorry…I haven’t heard of your parents.”
“Oh, it’s no big deal, it’s just a little hospital.”
“Maya, your modesty does you no credit. William, the Faywater Clinic is famous for its remarkable success in treating illnesses that mediocre physicians find baffling. Catherine Melchior’s skill is sought by the nobles and elites of Ibyca, while Caspar has developed many new medicines…Maya, am I embarrassing you?”
“Oh, only a little.” She giggled and hid her face under her hand.
“Good then. Maya has followed in her parents’ footsteps and is here to conduct research on their behalf at Duke Vincent’s request.”
“Really? What sort of research?”
“The problem with the Faywater River,” she said.
“Problem? What’s wrong with the river?”
“Maya’s parents have found…no, I’m sorry, you tell it, Maya,” said Cairns.
“Very well. We’ve noticed an increase in damage to flora and fauna along the river and the coast.”
William scratched his chin. “What kind of damage?”
She counted each item on her fingers. “For starters, we’re alarmed at the number of dead fish washing up on our shores. Crops watered by the river have withered, as have wild plants along the banks. Small animals are dying near the river, and worst, acute poisoning cases at our Clinic have increased. What these all have in common is contact with the river.”
“Poisoning? What kind of poison?”
“That’s the problem; we don’t know what it is or where it comes from. That’s why I’m here.”
“The poison is coming from here?”
“Well, not the Library itself. Did you think Lester had something to do with it?”
William turned red. “What? No! Why would you say—”
Maya flashed her smile at him. “Relax, I’m just teasing you. You’ll get used to it. In fact, it’s my most endearing quality. No, I’m starting at the Library for research purposes. But yes, we think it’s coming from upstream.”
“I don’t understand,” said William. “If the poison came from Marshland, wouldn’t we see damage here too?”
“That’s part of what I’m here to check,” said Maya.
“I haven’t seen anything like that here. Are you sure about this?”
Cairns gave William a stern glare. “Maya, William will provide you with whatever reading material you request.”
“Yes, of course,” said William, blushing slightly.
“Also, you will need to share your workspace with Maya. Melissa and Jessica both need room for their work.”
“Absolutely. Maya, I’ll help you get set up.”
“I’ll leave you both to it.” Cairns retreated to his office.
William helped carry Maya’s bags into his work room. “I didn’t mean to question your work. I was just surprised; I really haven’t seen any sort of damage near the river.”
Maya began setting up a workplace at the table. “That’s okay. Doubt is good; it forces you to verify your facts. But doubt should never stop you from looking for more data.”
Over the next several days Maya spent most of her time reading the books that William retrieved from the basement, leaving him free to finish his report for the Duke. Occasionally she brought a sample of water from the river and tested it using equipment William had never seen before. Despite his doubts about the poison, Maya’s systematic approach fascinated him, and he asked plenty of questions about the tests, learning much from her patient explanations. William realized that though his mother had provided him a decent education, there was still much he did not know.
In the meantime he had work to do, and during one of Maya’s absences he completed his report. He was confident about his work, but since it was his first report he wanted a second opinion before delivering it to Cairns for approval. Melissa agreed to read it, and he wandered around her work room, looking at her drawings while she read his work.
“How is your work with Maya going?” asked Melissa. Her gaze never left the page as her slender fingers rapidly traced the lines of text.
“Oh, good I guess. Not that I’ve done much. Just brought her books and stuff. But her experiments are interesting. Did you know that if you burn sodium it glows yellow? And copper makes a bluish green flame.”
“Fascinating,” she said dryly. “Then you should enjoy working with her. This is fine.” She handed his report back to him. “There’s a spelling mistake on page five, and your conclusion is a little too strong based on your data. Also, you’ve paid too much attention to the latest reports and not enough to the old ones. New things can be attractive, but you shouldn’t forget what was here before. Other than that it’s okay.”
“Um…thank you…” He stared as she ignored him. He became mesmerized as she rapidly sketched the outline of a flower. “What are you working on?”
“It’s a flower.” She barely glanced at him before returning to her work.
“Okay,” he said, not sure how to take her reaction. “Thanks again…” He was confused. He knew he often missed subtle nuances, but something in their conversation exceeded the concept of subtlety. He had to admit it: she sounded jealous. But that implied there was something to be jealous about. Was there really something between them? Was the attraction mutual, or was it only wishful thinking?
He wanted advice, the kind of advice sons ask of their fathers, but he had only two father figures in his life: Cairns, who would evade the question, and Sir Kevin, whom he hadn’t seen in months. Jack was the only person left who came to mind, but he knew Jack would take over the situation and manage it for him, and he wasn’t ready for that kind of invasiveness.
He knew what he had to do. He just didn’t know how.
The rapid decline in post-Arrival scientific endeavor had two immediate causes: first, the Colonists no longer had access to large scale industry that was responsible for the manufacture of precision equipment necessary for research. Second, the majority of Colonists were forced to devote their time to survival activities, particularly farming. It was not until the reign of King Stephen that a resurgence in scientific inquiry occurred.
Planet of Hope: A History of Esperanza
“Look!” Maya held the paper in front of William’s eyes. “I’ve taken measurements for two weeks now, and if anything the numbers have increased.”
William looked at the numbers. “Are you sure whatever you measured is harmful? Do you even know what it is?”
“No,” said Maya. “I don’t know exactly. I haven’t seen those colors in the flame before, but that’s what worries me. If it wasn’t there before, and it is now, how can that be good?”
“But you said yourself, theories have to be tested.”
“Hypotheses, Will, not theories. A hypothesis is a question; a theory is an explanation.”
“Hypothesis, then. You’ve tested how much stuff there is; have you tested whether it’s harmful?”
She threw the paper aside. “I don’t need to test it, Will! I’ve seen what it does back home. For whatever reason, it hasn’t had the same effect here…at least not yet.”
William threw his hands up. “Maybe it’s not the same thing. There could be two different effects.”
Maya sunk into her chair, her eyes wide with surprise. “King’s whiskers…you’re right. I just assumed they’re the same.” Maya drummed her fingers on the table. “Okay. I’ll need twelve plants. Same type, same size, or as close as possible. We’re going to turn your office into a nursery.”
William laughed. “Oh, good. That won’t be inconvenient at all. Why twelve?”
“Three for control; they’ll get rainwater. We’ll divide the others into three groups. Group one will be watered with plain river water. Group two will get river water boiled to half, which will double the concentration of…whatever this is. The third group gets concentrated ten times.”
William shook his head. “Sounds complicated.”
“No, it’s actually simple, but it has to be double blind. That’s where you come in.”
“Hang on…what’s ‘double blind’? Being blind once is bad enough but—”
Maya threw her head back and laughed. “No, Will—it means both of us are blind to what the other knows. I’ll prepare the water, but I won’t tell you which batch is which. You’ll group the plants, and pick which group gets which water.”
They decided on lettuce, partially because it grew quickly, but also because food was a more meaningful test subject than flowers or reeds would be. William’s secret reason was that he didn’t want to bring flowers into the Library in case Melissa misunderstood their meaning.
Maya’s hypothesis was right in the end. After only two weeks, the lettuce with the most concentrated river water had died. After another week the second group had noti
ceable blotches and stunted growth. The other two groups appeared unaffected.
“There,” said William. “The plants that got plain old river water are just fine.”
Maya rolled her eyes. “Will, just because they don’t show damage doesn’t mean they’re free of poison. We proved the contaminant harms the plants at some concentration, and we proved concentration affects how quickly they get sick. The others would probably have shown the same signs eventually.”
“Okay, but does that prove it will harm people?”
Maya pulled a leaf from one of the unaffected plants. “Here…want to be the subject of our next experiment?”
William stared at the leaf for a moment, then stuffed it in his mouth. “Okay, set the hourglass. I’ll let you know when I get sick.”
Maya’s mouth hung open. “Will! How could…you could die from that. We have no idea…why in the King’s name are you laughing?”
He laughed. “That was from the group that got rainwater.”
“You!” She pointed at him with a shaking hand. “You…you would make a lousy scientist.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, hanging his head in mock shame. This was fun. “As an apology, may I offer you a salad?”
Maya burst out laughing. “I have my data,” she said, gathering her books. “Thanks, you’ve been a great help.”
As she left, William chided himself. Why couldn’t he relax and banter with Melissa like that?
Maya was still at the Library the following week, but he was not involved in anything she did. In fact, he had no idea why she was still there. She had gotten her answers, and whether or not he agreed with her assessment he knew she had made up her mind.
Early one morning, Cairns called William into his office. Maya was already there, and William had a hunch he was about to get bad news.
“William,” Cairns said, “You’ll recall that when you came to the Library, I told you part of your job would be research.” Cairns removed a kettle from the brazier and filled a teapot. “Not all research involves books, as Maya has demonstrated. By the way, please do something with those plants; your office is a mess.”
The Defender of Rebel Falls: A Medieval Science Fiction Adventure (The William Whitehall Adventures Book 1) Page 5