“I went down to the workshop,” I said in a rush, “just to make sure I had tightened all the nuts and bolts and screws and connectors ’cause Corbin says I’m too weak to get them tight enough and the professor got mad last time and I just wanted to do things right, and—and Corbin was there and he was working on the clockworks with a file and—and then he took a punch and knocked a hole in the boiler and I said, ‘Hey, don’t do that,’ and then he was hitting me and so I—so I…I…kicked him.”
Jarvis looked at me as if frogs had been jumping out of my mouth. He pointed at us and said, “You two stay right there. Don’t move.”
It didn’t take long before the professor and all the boys were standing around in our room all talking at once. Finally the professor said, “Quiet! Everyone quiet down. Jarvis has gone down to the workshop to check on Corbin. We’ll get all this sorted out when they return.”
But they didn’t return—at least, Corbin didn’t. Jarvis hurried in by himself, his eyes wide. “Corbin’s gone. Can’t find hide nor hair of him, and there’s one of those funny lamps on in the workshop.”
The professor started to say something, then stopped. I could almost see the gears in his head turning as he thought things through. Finally he looked at me and said, “Donny, come along. I think we better have a look at the Clockwork Suit.”
It wasn’t just me and the professor that made it down to the workshop—everybody in the house came along to find out what had happened. I followed the professor into the special room where we kept the emperor’s suit. Professor Widget grabbed the Ruhmkorff lamp Corbin had been using and cranked the handle until it shone bright. Then he leaned in close and went over the suit of armor inch by inch.
I pointed to the place where Corbin had been punching a hole in the Steam Chamber. I think everybody was holding their breaths as Professor Widgerty looked in and around the shining suit. I know I was.
Suddenly he stood up and bellowed, “Sabotage! That little bastard has sabotaged my creation. The whole thing would’ve blown up in the middle of our demonstration right in front of the emperor!”
I realized that Corbin had solved all of my problems. He had ruined the Clockwork Suit, and it would be months before the professor could get another appointment. Plus, he had gotten himself removed from the workshop and taken all the blame with him.
I should have been happy—things couldn’t have turned out better. But I still wanted to know why.
“Why would he do it, Professor?” I asked.
The professor’s face grew dark and I saw a look of hatred that scared me. “Schneider,” he said. “That bastard must have gotten to Corbin…bought him with a bag of gold and silver, no doubt. He’s been out to ruin me for years. He has had his spies watching my workshop from the very first day. He is an unscrupulous, untalented, shortsighted cretin. But thanks to you, Donny, we may have caught him in time. Russell, you know where Algert lives. Run and fetch him. You other boys, get some lamps lit and start up the boiler. No telling what we may need.
“Donny, you and I will get to work setting things right. We’ll stay up all night if we have to, but we will get the Clockwork Suit running in time for the appointment with the emperor tomorrow.”
It was a long night of everyone pitching in together to get the suit repaired in time for the appointment the next day. When Russell got back with Algert, we exchanged a few looks, but neither of us could figure out any way of stopping or slowing down the repairs. Both the professor and Algert were watching everyone closely and checking and double-checking everything we did.
I was deep inside the suit with a Ruhmkorff lamp just inches from my face, trying to tighten every bolt and nut and screw, when I saw where Corbin had cut a deep notch in the axle for the main cogset assembly. It wasn’t enough to keep the clockworks from running, but I could tell that if it got under too much pressure, if Algert tried to lift something heavy, the axle would break.
Corbin was smart. He didn’t rely on just one or two things to stop the Clockwork Suit; he made sure something would break or slip or fall apart sometime in the middle of the demonstration. The professor had found all of the other problems Corbin had caused, but this one, this was too far up inside and he would never see it.
I closed my eyes and thought for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to tell the professor. He would never be able to fix the axle before the appointment, too many cogs and sprockets connected to the assembly. But if he knew about it, he could just postpone the appointment, and we would have to do it all over again.
But what if I didn’t tell him? What if I kept my mouth shut and left things as they were? The axle would break, all of the cogs and sprockets would slip out of place, and the whole thing would just stop. The professor would lose his commission; he would have to start all over with something else, something better…something really worth the emperor’s money.
I looked more closely at the notch Corbin had made…perhaps…yes, as soon as Algert tried to pick up something heavy, the axle would break; I was sure of it. I nodded to myself and yelled, “Everything looks good in here, Professor.”
As I climbed out of the suit, I said, “Corbin couldn’t get to any of the nuts and bolts deep inside. They’re all still tight.”
“Excellent, Donny. Excellent,” the professor, said rubbing his hands together. “Now, if Algert can get the Steam Chamber up to pressure, we may still make our appointment.”
Algert worked almost until dawn sealing up the hole Corbin had put in the compression chamber. He stood back from his work and scratched his bald head. “Well, it’s not as good as new, but it should hold long enough to impress the emperor.”
“Excellent!” the professor said, clapping his hands together. “Capital!” He took a closer look at the patch and asked, “And you think it will hold long enough to do the demonstration?”
“I’ll try not to slam around too much,” Algert added. “Patches are never as secure as solid unbroken metal, but I’ll go slow and easy just to be sure.”
“We’ll just have to be extra careful loading and unloading,” the professor said. “I can make up some excuse for why we have to take things easy…or perhaps I could even tell the truth!”
He and Algert broke into a fit of laughter.
I looked at Russell and saw the worry on his face reflecting my own.
We got things patched up and in working order just in time to load the suit onto a strong wagon, then head off up to the palace. It was a long worrisome ride for me and Russell. I kept hoping that the Clockwork Suit would just fall off the wagon. But no such luck.
We arrived just a few minutes behind schedule. As we were unloading the suit, I noticed that both the professor and Algert were trying hard to look confident and cool, but I could tell that they were nervous.
We were led into a big hall with a paved stone floor and told that the emperor would be with us shortly. We unstrapped the suit from its wheeled hand truck and stood it upright. Algert filled the boiler and lit the burner; it would take several minutes to build up steam.
Russell and I unlocked and swung open the chest and girdle plates so that Algert could get in. The whole insides with all the gears, cables, pressure plates, and levers were open to view.
Finally the emperor came in along with an entourage of attendants, advisers, and military men. We lowered our heads until the emperor was seated upon a raised dais. I don’t think it was an actual throne, but it was good enough for me. He nodded and one of his attendants turned to us and said, “You may begin your demonstration.”
I was standing at attention, kind of half bowing, waiting for the professor to tell me what to do. I looked around and saw that Russell looked as if he might faint, but the professor and Algert both had big smiles and looked as if they did this sort of thing every day.
The professor stepped forward and said, “Your Imperial Majesty, thank you for this generous opportunity, and welcome to the future. Today we will demonstrate only a fraction of the potenti
al abilities of our wonderful Clockwork Suit of Armor. We must apologize to you in advance; late last night, a former employee damaged several, um, internal workings of the suit, particularly the Steam Chamber, and we have only just managed to put things right again. Have no fear, the suit will still function properly, only not for the full length of time we had planned, owing to the particular damage, as I said, to the Steam Chamber itself, which is essentially the pumping heart of the machine and which drives the suit.”
Some of the military men and advisers began to grumble to each other, but the emperor’s face maintained its look of mild interest.
“Again we apologize, Your Majesty. However, we will endeavor to show you what we can and hope that it is enough to impress you and your advisers on the absolute necessity of funding our research so that we can equip our soldiers with the very best equipment and protection to defend this great country of ours.”
He looked at Algert, who was standing behind the suit as it chug, chug, chugged along, building steam. Algert looked at the compression dial and nodded back to the professor.
“Come along, lads,” the professor said. “Help Algert into the suit.”
We stood to each side so that Algert could put his hands on our shoulders as he climbed into the suit. Once he was in, we closed up the greaves, the cuisses, the thigh plates, the faulds, then the breastplate, and watched as the professor lowered the visor.
“Careful, now,” the professor said just loud enough for Algert to hear, nothing too exciting.
We got everything snapped and locked down, then stepped away. The slow chug, chug, chug of the suit began to build until it was as if the suit had been sleeping and suddenly woken up. Steam began to rise and the clockwork mechanism began to spin as Algert and the suit took a step. The clang of his footstep rang throughout the hall even over the noise of the steam engine.
He took another step, then another until he was walking around the hall in a halting, unsteady gait. Finally he stopped in front of the emperor and bowed, then clanged over to the heavy hand truck we had used to load and unload the suit. With one hand he lifted it over his head and tossed it across the hall. The emperor and his advisers cheered and applauded.
Then the professor, smiling wide, nodded to Algert and said, “Your Majesty, as I said, this is only a small portion of what the Clockwork Suit can do. I hope it was enough to satisfy both your curiosity and your requirements for a positive evaluation.”
Russell and I ran over and began to release the snaps and locks so that Algert could climb out. The professor turned down the boiler and released some of the steam from the compression chamber. I’m sure he and Algert thought that the demonstration was over—I know I did—but just as Algert was climbing out, the emperor stood up and came down to the floor. His advisers followed.
“Tell me,” he asked Algert, “how do you make it work? From the inside, I mean. Is it difficult?”
“No, Your Majesty,” Algert said, bracing himself on my shoulder as he slid his left foot free of the suit.
The professor stepped up quickly. “You Majesty, if I may…” He pointed out the pressure plates and said, “You see those small plates there and there and there? They are designed to activate the cables and pistons automatically whenever you lift your leg or arm. And around back, we have a gyroscope, which helps to maintain balance.”
The emperor nodded, tapping his lips with a ringed finger. “Could anyone, for example, one of my average soldiers, learn to operate this Clockwork Suit of Armor?”
“Unless he is either too large to get in or too small to reach the plates, yes, certainly.”
The emperor nodded as he walked around the suit holding his chin and tapping his lips. “You and I are of the same size, are we not? Do you think I am smart enough to operate this suit?”
I saw the professor’s eyes widen and his mouth open. The one thing none of us wanted was to have the emperor climb inside the suit. But the emperor had laid his trap well, and the professor had to bite his tongue before smiling and saying, “Oh, absolutely, Your Majesty.”
“Good, then that is what I shall do.”
We were not the only ones who thought this was a bad idea. All his attendants and advisers suddenly surrounded him, offering all sorts of reasons why the emperor could not possibility do such a thing.
“Silence!” The emperor gave everyone a dangerous look. “If I am to give this man such an enormous sum of money for his invention, then I will know all that I can know about it. I must be able to say, ‘Yes, I have actually worn a Clockwork Suit and I know what it can do.’ Now stand aside.”
Worried looks passed through the crowd of advisers, and from Algert to the professor and back. Everyone seemed to freeze in place for a moment, until the emperor took off his fancy coat and said, “Well, help me into this contraption.”
Russell and I automatically moved to stand on either side just as we had done with Algert, and before anyone could do or say anything, the emperor put his hand on my shoulder and stepped inside the Clockwork Suit.
Even as I was helping him get inside, I knew that it was the wrong thing to do. I started to tell the emperor that he shouldn’t get in, that it wasn’t safe, that something bad could happen, but Algert pushed me out of the way and began telling the emperor more about how the pressure plates and mechanisms operated.
I stepped back, my stomach twisting into knots, and watched as the professor hurried around to turn up the boiler and charge the compression chamber.
Finally Algert waved us over to close up the Clockwork Suit of Armor. As we fastened the chest plate, Russell looked at me and mouthed, “Do something!”
I wanted to, I really did, but it was too late. If I said anything now, the professor would know I had lied to him. He would beat me worse than Corbin had. I would just have to wait and hope the suit broke in a way that wouldn’t hurt the emperor.
Algert looked both worried and elated, and the professor’s face was practically glowing with excitement. I was sure he thought he had the commission in the bag.
I glanced at Russell. He looked as if he was about to cry, or run, or explode, and that made my stomach twist even more. This was not what I had planned. The suit was supposed to fail, yes, but not with the emperor inside.
If the professor ever found out I knew about the axle, he would hurt me bad, but if I let the emperor get hurt, I might end up dead. I eased around back where the professor was watching the steam gauge. I took a deep breath, then reached out and tugged at the professor’s sleeve.
“Not now, Donny,” he said, his voice carrying a dangerous edge.
“But, Professor.”
“I said, not now, you little cretin! Can’t you see we’ve got the emperor in our suit!” His face looked as if it were lit with fire, bright and glowing, and hot. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and he was in no mood to hear anything from me. “You and Russell get out of the way.”
I walked over to stand next to Russell. “Did you tell him?” he asked in a loud whisper. I shook my head, and we both crossed our fingers.
The chug, chug, chug of the boiler began to build until finally the professor nodded to Algert, then moved around in front of the suit. He put on his biggest false smile and gestured for the emperor to take his first step.
The first step was shaky, but the next was more sure. Soon the emperor was walking almost as well as Algert. He made it over to where Algert had thrown the hand truck, then bent over and tried to lift it into the air. Algert had failed to warn him about how the added weight would disrupt his balance, and the emperor had to take two quick steps to keep from falling.
There was a loud ping! and then some grinding, clanking sounds. The added weight and the quick motions were apparently just enough strain to snap the axle in two. The Clockwork Suit began to shake and tremble…and then the emperor began to scream.
“Help! Help! Get me out of here. Something is wrong with this infernal contraption. The machine is eating me alive!”
When they finally pulled the emperor free of the suit, he was completely shirtless and bleeding from some nasty-looking cuts and scrapes on his back. His trousers had gotten caught on something and they had to rip and cut at the legs just to get him out.
I looked inside the suit and saw that when the axle broke, the gear cluster had shifted forward, and one of the big sprockets of the clockwork mechanism had somehow slipped down, gouging into the emperor’s back, the points digging and twisting and winding around in the fine white cloth until the whole shirt was ripped right off his body.
The sprocket itself was covered in blood, and there were pieces of torn shirt and skin clogging up most of the clockworks.
The palace guards rushed in to surround the professor and Algert. There was a lot of shoving and yelling, the professor protested loudly that he was not to blame, that Schneider had sabotaged his creation, and that he still deserved the commission regardless of the emperor’s injuries. “My research must continue! Science must move ever onward!”
He was still bellowing at the guards as they tugged him and Algert out of the hall. Russell and I stood beside the Clockwork Suit for a while in a daze, not knowing what we should do. Nobody seemed at all interested in us. I guess we were just too small and insignificant for them to worry about. We watched the surgeon tend to the emperor’s wounds until a guard walked over and told us, “You lads run along home, now. We can handle things here.”
We slowly made our way over to where another guard stood holding open the big double doors leading outside. I think we were both a bit shaken, surprised and amazed that we could just walk away. I wanted to break into a run, feeling I should get away before someone realized that we belonged with the professor, but I held myself back.
Clockwork Fairy Tales: A Collection of Steampunk Fables Page 25