by Chris Hechtl
He chuckled, nodding at her dig. “Indeed, indeed.” He held her hand. She smiled again as his fingers stroked hers.
Zara glanced at her sister. There was so much love between the couple, something that surprised and pleased her. Deidra however looked away.
Ryans cleared his throat after a moment. The couple and the audience looked to him. “Right, so when the planet is facing the light, it is day, and the part facing away is night.”
They turned to him. “What was that?” the man asked, blinking. They dropped their grip. “Night and day?”
“Yes, when a planet turns, it is also orbiting the stars you see. The suns,” he pointed out the window to the sky. His audience nodded. “Right well, when they do they face the sun for a time, but as they spin....” He spun the fruit in his hand slowly.
“Part of it is in shadow. Look,” He walked over to the window. “See?” He oriented himself so one face of the fruit was in sun, while the other was in shadow.
“Ah,” Deidra nodded, blinking. She wasn't sure where he was going with this concept.
“Fascinating,” the astronomer murmured. He took a fruit from the bowl and went over and tried the experiment himself. “I had never thought of night and day as such.” He held the fruit up and examined it.
“Right.” Ryans nodded.
“Wouldn't the night side be dark like when it is versus obscurus nox?” Zara asked tentatively.
“True dark night?” Ryans asked, puzzling that out.
Zara nodded. “A time when the night is pitch black.”
“Oh. That must be when there isn't anything reflecting light back to the night side,” Ryans said. He nodded turning to Zara. “See other objects reflect light to various degrees. Like your gas giant out there.” He waved to the window.
The astronomer's wife nodded. “Indeed. And the other moons? Is that why we can see them? They are reflecting light?”
“Exactly. And some of that light reaches here for you to see.” He was a little amazed that people of this culture were getting it so quickly. Of course this couple had been thinking about it for years probably. She smiled indulgently at him in the class.
“So that explained it,” she grinned to her husband and held up two fingers. He rolled his eyes. “That's two you owe me,” she said wickedly, eyes gleaming with mischief. Zara giggled, hand over her mouth.
When the others looked at her in surprise she stopped. “Sorry,” she said regaining her composure.
“Right well, ah...” Ryans took fruit from the bowl, then went over and took others from a set of hanging wicker baskets. He laid them out on top of a desk covered in scrolls and then frowned and laid them out on the floor.
“See, here are your suns,”he pointed to each of the stars in turn. “This is a model of your solar system as I know it. Things will change as we learn more.”
The husband and wife team nodded. Deidra frowned, and then cocked her head. “These are?” she asked, pointing to a large fruit.
“Right, this is your gas giant, this is your world,” he said. He pointed to each in turn. “Now remember, this isn't to scale. Things look small far away but are really quite large.” He looked at them.
Deidra and Zara frowned. The wife blinked. The husband was crouched over studying the model.
“See when you're close up things are the right size, but when you move away they seem to shrink. It's called perspective,” Ryans explained.
The women looked at him in confusion. He sighed. “Princess... er, princesses.” He nodded to each. “When you are in the highest tower of the castle, when you look down, don't the people look like ants?”
Deidra nodded. “But in truth they aren't that way,” she said. She waved. “I see your intent if not your full meaning. Continue,” she ordered regally, shaking her hair out. She nodded her chin to the model on the floor.
“Right, well, when your world spins, it has a cycle of night and day. But things are a little more complex than that.”
He moved the fruit representing their planet around the gas giant fruit. “See it also moves around the gas giant.”
“Ah? I thought it was the other way? That the suns and other worlds moved around us?” The wife asked.
The husband nodded. “Indeed we see it in the sky.”
“But you see a reset right? Each night it moves across the sky, then back right?” Ryans asked. The husband slowly nodded.
“That is because the world you are on is moving just like they are.” He picked up the second fruit and moved it around the suns.
“See when your world moves around the gas giant and the suns it creates your seasons. When they are close to the stars you have your summer for that is when the suns are the brightest and therefore the air gets hotter.”
Zara started to bounce. “So when they move closer to that point or away that's when we get spring and fall! I get it! It is so simple now!” she grinned excitedly.
Ryans nodded. “Right. You’re catching on nicely princess,” he said smiling encouragingly to her. “See when the gas giant and your world move further and further away from the stars you get winter.”
“When it is cold and we have snow,” Deidra murmured, eyes narrowed in thought. “The oceans and coast lines are battered with terrible storms in the summer time. Is that because of this?” she waved to indicate the model.
Ryans nodded; glad she was picking it up and no longer bored. “Right. The tides, the in and out pull of the waves are controlled by your moons and the gas giant. They constantly tug and pull at each other with gravity. The force that makes things fall.”
“Ah,” Deidra blinked looking lost. He held up a spoon then handed it to her. “Drop it.”
She blinked again, then did so. It fell to the floor and clattered. “See the force that pulls the spoon down is called gravity. Every object has it. Even the suns.” He tapped each fruit. “They are so big and so strong that they pull the planets around them in a circle or ellipse. Around and around.” He used his hands to move the planet models around in circles.
“But this pull also causes weather?” the wife asked.
Ryans nodded. “Right. As they pull and as the air gets hotter or cooler it moves around. This moving around causes some of your weather. Also, when the sun warms the water it evaporates some of the water into the air. This steam rises into the air and forms your clouds. When the clouds hit cold air the steam turns suddenly into...”
Zara grinned. “Rain!”
“Or snow depending on the season,” the husband said smiling and nodding to the princess. “Indeed a most illuminating discussion.”
“Yeah, learning new things is intoxicating,” Ryans smiled.
“How will this help us?” Deidra asked slowly. She waved to the model on the floor. The astronomers looked crestfallen.
Ryans smiled slightly and nodded to her. “Well, for one thing, having a better understanding of your world and how it works makes it easier to understand and predict things. How long a winter will be, when weather will peak, and so on.”
“Ah. So we can predict weather?”
“Well, if we could get science teams out then you could create an almanac. Later if we could get satellites up we could launch them to orbit this world to watch the weather and predict it.”
“Ah,” Deidra nodded. She wasn't sure what he meant but she had heard of satellites before. She just wasn't sure what they were and was determined not to ask.
“It may not be an immediate thing but it will help in the long run princess,” he said. She shrugged.
“But in the short run we can look into applying what we know to make better tools. Both for astronomy and for vision, to see far,” he pointed to the primitive telescope. The class nodded as one.
<==={}------------>
Some of the lords in house had heard about the technical wonders. They demanded the Terrans and da Vincis set up various luxuries in their own castles and homes. Perry was disgusted by the distraction. “Let's fight the raiders of
f first folks, the luxuries can wait,” he snarled in court. His voice was gruff from his poisoning.
Reluctantly Duke Rojer agreed. The Queen did so as well. She pulled the Terrans aside and told them they had a problem. With the King ill the Duke was taking on more and more power. With their young son dead there was an inheritance problem. “The succession is in doubt. In short my standing, our standing is in jeopardy.”
Perry pointed to the princesses sitting in the courtyard below with their ladies in waiting. The Queen disagreed with a hearty sigh and a flutter of her feathered fan. They heard swords clashing and looked. Zara, the youngest princess was practicing. Perry pursed his lips. “Real firebrand you've got there,” he muttered.
The Queen chuckled in appreciation. “My thanks. Our daughters have always stood out. We have warrior women, but the demands of womanhood are different to manhood.” In truth her daughters had had only a passing interest in arms before their recent misadventure. Now both were showing keen interest in arms, much to her dismay. The distraction was eating into the time they could use to help cosset and spy on the lords.
He nodded. “Medieval society, so it’s patriarchal right?” he asked. She looked confused. “Only the King can rule? They won’t accept you? Even though you’re the rightful heir?” he asked softly.
She hesitated and then nodded looking away. “When the King dies.” Her voice caught and she looked away. She folded the fan and clenched it for a long moment.
“When Andreas passes the throne passes to our next in line. Since Balthazar is dead and the girls are not married...” She looked away. “His uncle Duke Rojer has a claim to the throne,” she said. She sighed, shoulders hunched.
“Which is bad?” Perry asked. Damn it now he was worried. Rojer was nice to your face but he'd caught some of the guy's smarmy looks. He was a snake, he'd fit right in with some of the bottom dwellers.
“He's... not very good. He's more interested in his own selfish interests than the good of the people. Or the Imperium,” she hesitantly said. “He's Machiavellian, but not anywhere near the level he thinks he's at. Court intrigue would swallow him alive. While he was caught up in it the Imperium would suffer from neglect or from his cronies' mismanagement,” she said looking away. Perry snorted eying her. “We need an heir,” she finally admitted and then sighed.
“Are your girls betrothed?” Perry asked, looking out the balcony once more. The metal on metal clashing had stopped. Zara was now kneeling at the feet of a swords master with her opponent. They cleaned their blades while listening quietly to his critique.
“No, the betrothals were broken. Zara would have married Günter, but he died from an infection when he was eight. Deidra was to marry Rojer's eldest son Luthor but he died in a hunting accident last year,” she grimaced. “It's not good for the blood to marry so close to the bloodline. I hadn't wanted it but Andreas had worked out a deal for Rojer's support early in his reign,” she sighed, looking away and biting her lip.
“It's put a strain on the family. Rojer wanted her to marry his youngest son, but she put that down firmly,” the Queen said. She didn't sound like she blamed her daughter. She shook her head. “I can't blame the girl, after all, being betrothed to a filius? Quadrimus?” She looked like she was ready to snarl. It took a moment for the translator to pars that out. A four year old, he thought. Yeah he couldn't blame the girl. “With her uncle as regent? The babe wouldn't live to take the throne,” the Queen continued.
Perry nodded. “Talk about robbing the cradle,” he sighed in sympathy. “So that’s it?”
She looked away again, this time at a tapestry, and then seemed to come to a decision. “There is another law. Newcomers are important. Gaijin like you and Ryans. Fresh blood for the bloodline is sacrosanct. We need it,” she said with stubborn determination. He was a little surprised that they were so knowledgeable about inbreeding. “Coupled with the three rescues... there is precedence. Vitas Sodalis.” She looked to Ryans as he sat quietly near the doorway.
“Oh hell, now we're talking about robbing the cradle,” he said gruffly, looking up from a paper he had been reading. He had been trying to ignore where the conversation had been going but that last bit had and a kick under the table from Perry had drawn his attention to it. Perry gave him a look. “Besides, your daughter may do it out of duty, but I have no intention of remaining here for long,” he snarled. “I have no intention of being put on the throne, waiting for someone to stick me in the back or poison me,” he growled, waving to Perry who winced. “And I don't want to live in a loveless marriage. Deidra has made it clear she wants no part of me.” He shrugged then got up and paced. The Queen's lips pursed then she sighed patiently.
“From our records the portal skips around on both sides. It could end up anywhere,” she said softly.
Perry nodded. “The ensign told us that. We'll have to wait and see next year. We've got some gear to detect it, and a general idea on how to contain it. Besides, if the others on the other side don't hear from us they'll send help right?” He looked over to Ryans.
Ryans frowned and then shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not, it depends on money and politics,” he said. Perry winced. He sighed at Perry's disgusted look. “I know the rule about not leaving a man behind Perry, but the powers that be, hell even I wouldn't send people through without some intel. For all they know the next batch could end up floating in space somewhere. Or in the middle of an ocean, it was sheer dumb luck we ended up on that plateau. If we don't report back...”
Perry nodded. “A meat grinder. Like sending good money after bad. I gotcha,” he sighed running his hand through his hair.
“Well, I need to talk with the general, we're working on an intel dump, we should have something of a briefing later today,” Perry said after a moment. He got up and stretched. Ryans nodded. “Sergeant Waters said some of the guards are coming along. He wanted to pair them up with some of our boys and girls and do some recon and hit and run,” Perry said as he gave the Queen a look, and then turned the questioning look on Ryans.
Ryans shrugged, lips twisting into a wry smile. “You're the military expert Marcus, your shop. If you can do it, do it, but try to get our people back in one piece. We need them as the core to train and stiffen the army,” Ryans said.
“Yeah, don't I know it,” Perry said from the doorway. “And Sergeant Waters or the Gunny will want to go with them,” he said shaking his head at that idea. He sighed again. “No way in hell. I can't spare them from training and if I'm stuck behind a desk shuffling paperwork they aren't going to go out and play past their bed times,” he chuckled at Eugene's grin. “See you.” He gave a jaunty wave as he left.
The Queen nodded. “Your people are informal,” she said after a moment turning her attention to him.
“Most of us are from a republic.” She looked confused. “Um...” he paused trying to think of a frame of reference.
“Like the Greeks and Romans?” she finally asked. She smiled at him. He cocked his head.
“I'm surprised you know of them,” he said surprised.
“Our Imperium was founded by an escaped Roman slave and many people from many countries over the past four thousand years and beyond. Why there are tales of great monstrous beings with mashed up faces that lived in this very valley at one time,” she said. He blinked at that. “A few survive to this day in the high mountains or in small enclaves in the woods.” He nodded.
She must have been describing Neanderthals. If she was it was something he would have to tell the others and have Nate check on. It would be one heck of a find to run into a living one. That was if they survived the experience to report back he thought wryly. She cleared her throat, interrupting his train of thought.
“Sorry, wool gathering,” he said then took a sip of wine. “We are a democracy. The people in our nation elect our leaders and vote on laws. Both small local governments, state governments, and federal governments.”
She cocked an eye at this. “And this works?” she asked po
litely but a little strained. She fluttered her fan again. He had said such things before but she hadn't truly believed it.
He nodded. “For over two hundred years and fifty years, yes. Our country is now the strongest on Earth. It has the largest and strongest military, with the strongest economy and technology you can hardly believe,” he said and then smiled. She looked shaken.
“When you give people a chance at something, a chance at a better future for themselves and their children they will excel to new heights and strengths. For instance farming.” He waved to the distant hills. “Farms in my country are giant. A handful of people manage farms as large as your entire Imperium,” he explained. She blinked at that, seemingly shocked. “And we've got thousands of farms like that.” She stared at him, mouth opening in shock.
He smiled. “Remember the machines we came in?”
She nodded. “The metal carriages? The ah, cars?” she asked.
He nodded in return. “Machines like them have been built to plow fields, harvest grain, dig for metals, and carry materials from one place to another. We have many things like that. Our world is crisscrossed with roads, many made of cement.”
She smiled. “I would like to see these machines.”
He nodded. “When your majesty would like to schedule some free time I would love to show you.” She nodded as a page cleared his throat in the doorway. Her eyes turn to the young boy and then she nodded to him. “Yes, I see we have other business. You are dismissed,” she said regally, aware of the audience. He bowed his head slightly as he rose from the desk and then left.
Chapter 10
Sue, the Queen, Wanda, and Charlie the chemist, the princesses, and the ladies in waiting got together for a girls night a month after their arrival in the castle. The natives were a bit confused by the pajama party but Doc used the opportunity to counsel the princesses. The Queen let her hair down, literally and figuratively and they girl talked.
They traded tips on hygiene and makeup, and even watched a movie on Sue's laptop. Sue explained about makeup and how it can be dangerous to their skin with long term exposure. “Charlie here found dangerous levels of mercury and lead in your makeup. The talc you use is okay but it's blocking your skin. It's great as a sun block I guess but it's also cutting into your vitamin D production. That's not good for your body over long periods of time.”