Chapter 4: Engine Checkout
Rondel, the next morning
In astronomy, a Red Giant star will give off a number of indicators before it explodes. It will reach a specific mass, change in volume and temperature, and one might see a sudden spike in neutrinos as some of the heavier elements undergo nuclear fusion. Despite all of these things, it is the eternal frustration of astronomers that they lack the means of determining precisely when that will happen. In astronomical terms, "soon" could be as much as ten thousand years, by which point humans might very well visit the star in magnificent spaceships to witness the event in person.
For Professor Shirai, the atmosphere in Rondel was like watching one of those Red Giant stars. The potential was there, he could hear it in the words of most of Rondel's citizens, and that morning he could see it in their press.
When Shirai had first visited Rondel, most books and publications were still created by hand. The mere introduction of Earth's printed copy, even things as simple as public service brochures, had sparked the idea of printing presses, and the one that Shirai was now observing had been in operation for three years.
Before him, one worker dictated a handwritten note to a low level magician, who, focusing crystal in hand, was moving tiny letter stamps from a typeset box to the press' frame at a pace far more rapid than it would have been, had it been done by hand. Not only was it amusing to watch the waterfall of pieces rise out of the typeset box, but the typeset box itself was a wonderful source of nostalgia for Shirai. He could still recall using such a device himself while working on his first college degree, back when computer capabilities were limited, punchcard programming was common, and printers were expensive and rare.
Flat's wife, Arpeggio, hated the new technique. "All those years," she sighed. "I'll never be asked to copy another book. I've been made obsolete."
"But you used to hate the hours," Flat recalled. "And now that it's like this, you can go back into research. If the Focus Crystals are any clue, Alchemy and Mineral Science will only grow in demand."
"But there was an art to it," she pressed. "And it was an accomplishment. This? It's impersonal! They may as well use Dr. Shirai's Kamigumi."
The "Kamigumi" was a desktop laser printer that Shirai kept in the observatory, but Arpeggio had taken to calling the device by the brand, printed in bold Japanese lettering on the front.
As Shirai watched, a messenger ran in shouting, "Halt! Halt the press!"
The fountain of letters stopped, and the magician asked, "What now?"
"Imperial Soldiers at the City Hall!"
Shirai's blood went cold. He had been hoping that the matter would be settled without a confrontation, yet here it was. He quietly backed out of the printing shop and joined the people on the street thronging towards the city center.
In a square before the hall, a dozen Imperial soldiers had assembled and were facing the stairs leading up to the front of the hall, where Chairman Delsus and a number of other councilmembers had gathered.
"Chairman Delsus," the captain of the soldiers stated, stepping forward, "We have orders stamped with the seal of Empress Pina Co Lada and signed by Countess Sherry Tyuelli, demanding that you fly back with us to Sadera for questioning regarding the rejection of the motion set by the Senate, the death of Cicero La Moltose, and the attempt on her highness's life."
Even from a distance, the Professor could see Delsus's eyes narrow, and he watched as the man said, "The rejection of the Senate's motion on secession was the will of the people. If princess Pina is willing to pull her nose out of her Japanese artwork, she is welcome to come here herself and ask them."
This provoked laughter from the crowd and nervous glances from the soldiers, whose hands were starting to drift towards their swords.
"As for the rest, we expressed in our message to the Senate that our representative acted unilaterally." Delsus added. "Even if we disagree with the Senate, we would prefer to avoid violence if it's an option. Are we denied that option, or are your men reaching for their swords in error?"
The captain glanced back at his men and waved them off, but only some of them complied. "That depends on you, Chairman," he said. "Come with us, and we'll settle things peacefully."
The Chairman folded his arms. "I decline. You have no power here. I know it, your men know it, and the fact that Pina sent such a small force is demonstrative of how blind she is to the real world. Begone, the lot of you!"
He turned to go back inside, and the Imperial Captain finally drew his sword. His men followed and formed up, spreading out into a semicircle. "Chairman Delsus," the centurion shouted, "This is your last chance!"
But the Chairman didn't seem to care. He raised a hand, snapped his fingers, and the air before the City hall steps shimmered, then whirled as a magic-induced illusion vanished, revealing two dozen Rondel guards, in two lines, each holding…
Shirai's jaw dropped. Impossible! He thought. Where did they make them? How did they make so many?
"FIRE!" The leader of the guardsmen shouted, and two dozen muskets went off at once. Shirai ducked, knowing the historic inaccuracy of such weapons. A few seconds later, he looked up again to survey the damage.
Most of the soldiers were dead or dying, and the three who appeared untouched had dropped their weapons out of shock. These last few were seized by the crowd, and Chairman Delsus spoke once more. "People of Rondel!" He shouted. "Look at how Sadera tries to impose its will on us. When their stupid papers stop working, they resort to violence! When they fail to get their way, they demand hostages! Is this truly a government representative of the people? I hereby call for a state of war to exist between Rondel and the Saderans, until they yield to our demands for a free state! I hereby call for a retaliatory strike!"
A roar of assent went up from the crowd, and Shirai found himself backpedaling away from the square, then turning and outright dashing back in the direction of the observatory. Old as he was and unused to running, his lungs and legs ached, and he had hardly made it twelve blocks when he collapsed on the pavement.
As luck would have it, the first voice he heard was in Japanese. As luck wouldn't have it, it was the voice of Dr. Nguyen.
"Professor Shirai! Professor Shirai! Can you hear me!?"
"Call—army—" he wheezed.
"Call the JSDF? Surely a little slip and fall isn't worth troubling Alnus—"
Shirai held up a hand, coughed, and tried again. "Delsus—shot soldiers—wants war—call—" and that was as far as he got before collapsing again.
"Woah, slow down Hitoshi! Especially at your age, you shouldn't be pushing yourself like that. Let's get you over to the side of the road."
A few minutes later, Shirai had regained his breath, and was explaining what had just happened to Nguyen, who seemed increasingly surprised.
"And here I was hoping that they'd solve this nonviolently," he said with a shrug. "I was with WHO in the Congo a few years back, so while the rush to war doesn't surprise me, I truly thought that both sides might be civilized enough to do it with more tact."
Shirai shook his head and said, "Tact is not their strong suit, or has no one told you of Zorzal El Caesar?"
Nguyen gave a simple smile and said, "Regardless, as United Nations observers, what can we do? It seems like these people want war, will getting involved bring any good from it?"
"Then go tell the UN!" Shirai stated. "Perhaps they would form a coalition—"
"Professor, Japan and America fought tooth and nail against letting the World Health Organization into the Special Region, and now you expect them to permit a multinational peacekeeping force? Or perhaps you see a war-weary America or Japan taking up the slack? An intervention will not happen, Professor Shriai, so we can only hope that the people of Falmart settle their differences as quickly as possible and with minimal civilian damages."
But now the Astronomer stood, shook his head, and said, "No, I must tell them. I must do something!"
"Like what?"
Shirai didn't have a good answer, so he did what he had been doing before. He ran.
Italica
The trader's wagon bumped against a rock and threw Ellie out of her nap into sudden, panicked alertness.
They had been traveling for well over a day after debarking at a coastal town. Since then, she had tried to catch up on a night of missed sleep—difficult to impossible in the shaking cart, but she was tired enough that she was, periodically, at least, able to pull it off.
Across from her on the wagon, Hector gazed out the window, smoking on a pipe of something with a pleasingly sweet scent. Noticing that she was awake, he gave her a curt nod and said nothing more.
As she was about to ask where they were, and how much further it was to the next city, she became aware of a curious noise. It started as a dull whistling, then a rumbling, then finally a roar. Fearing a dragon attack, Ellie stuck her head out of the wagon and, blinking in the bright sunlight, tried to identify the source.
She eventually found it in a spot of gray against the clear blue… but unlike the airplane she had seen at her villiage, which had glided ponderously out of the sky to a landing, this one was fast. She watched it skirt the horizon, bank left, and then rocket directly over them with a thundering that shook the whole wagon and prompted a loud protest from the horses up front. In a flash, she could see the details of the flying machine—an all-metal body and guiding flaps, a small glass canopy, and a hole in the back that spat fire as it pushed the airplane faster than anything Ellie had ever witnessed before.
"Is that—" she wondered aloud, but Hector answered for her.
"The Men in Green," he said. "We heard them the night before the Men in Tan threw the Godwrecker at us."
"How can you tell?"
"We were told." He nodded towards the front of the wagon. "Italica's just up ahead."
This time, she scrambled around to the front of the wagon and stuck her head out between the driver and guard, hoping to get a good look.
Originally, Italica had sprouted as a town at a crossroads between Sadera, Rondel, Alnus, and the sea. With the introduction of the Japanese, its role remained the same, but its importance exploded in scope. Buildings appeared to be going up everywhere, and the streets were choked with wagons as traders from all over Falmart flooded in to trade at the last official stop before Japanese territory. By the southern gate, Ellie noticed a curious building, slightly elevated and made of materials she couldn't recognize, and a road coming out of it that led over the horizon and back to Alnus. The most curious piece of the road, however, was the series of ropes that appeared suspeneded above it by large metal poles.
Noticing her gaze, the driver remarked, "Ah, yes, that was built by the Japanese for their Densha."
"Their what?"
"It's...I'm not sure how you would describe it. It's like many wagons, but tied together. Anyone visiting Alnus usually goes aboard that."
"How do you get in?"
"That place has a spot for buying a visitor's card. You pay them for the card, and they let you on to the Densha."
"Could you drop us off there?"
The driver agreed, and Hector and Ellie found themselves in front of their first builiding from another world. Before it flew a banner on a pole, a red circle on a white field, and Ellie wondered if it was a symbol of the group, or the Japanese as a whole. A signpost outside, written in both familiar characters and unfamiliar Japanese ones labeled the spot as "Italica Station."
But if the outside was strange, her experience of entering the building was otherworldly. She identified what appeared to be a sliding door on the front of the building, and, on reaching forward to grasp it, was shocked when the door slid open on its own.
Ellie jumped back, alarmed, and crashed into Hector. "Did you see—" she began but Hector set her back on her feet.
"So the door moves," Hector said, unimpressed. "A magician with a clever ward can do the same thing. Move, girl. If you're this alarmed by cheap tricks, we'll never reach the Men in Tan.
At the magician's prompting, she walked up to the door, ran through them (lest they close on her in the middle) and was assaulted by even more challenges to her senses.
The first and most immediate was that the inside of Italica Station was cold. Not in an uncomfortable sense, but certainly cooler than the air outside. For the middle of the summer, this seemed impossible. More magic, or a machine? She wondered. She looked around the room, trying to figure out where the cold air was coming from, but had no idea what to look for.
The next thing that occurred to her was that she was standing in a brick and stone building with remarkably few windows, yet the room was as brilliantly lit as if they were standing under a cloudless sky. The source for this was easier to identify—strips of light attached to the roof, but these emitted the same cold, consistent white as Braccius''s torch, rather than the flickering of a torch or oil lamp.
Finally, and most alarmingly, the air was filled with music, played on unfamiliar instruments. Like the cold air maker, the performers were absent, and the noise of their performance seemed to flow from tiny boxes mounted to the walls.
Together, the pair joined a queue of humans and demihumans waiting to be attended, and Ellie continued to look around at the pictures and posters on the walls, the strange machines, and, eventually, the people standing around the perimeter of the room.
"Do you supposed that any of these people are Americans?" Ellie asked Hector.
The magician looked around, and shook his head.
"Why not?"
"The Americans have sky-ships, correct? Why would they use this place?"
He had a point, and as they approached the end of the queue, Ellie was directed to a desk at the end of the hall.
Here, at last, was her first Japanese person. It was a woman, about half a head shorter than Ellie, with features that reminded her of a traveler or two from a place further to the east of her home. "Welcome, take a seat," she said, "I'll be with you in just a few moments."
The woman began interacting with an object in front of her, a flat panel with keys like on a musical instrument, and the clattering they made as she struck them was almost musical in its fluidity. As she did, she seemed to be staring up at another box in front of her, and would occasionally stop and narrow her eyes at whatever she was seeing on her side.
As the woman continued with her box, Ellie suddenly noticed the man standing behind her. Like the woman before her, the man was also clearly Japanese, and had similar features, but wore a green outfit and objects on his eyes that seemed to be made of mirrors. She couldn't see his eyes through these, but she felt his gaze on her anyway. The strange pole object slung over his shoulder completed the final element of her suspicions; this was a member of the Japanese army.
"Let's get started," the woman said. "What is your name?"
"Ellie Fe Agne?"
More fluid strikes on the keys, followed by, "And how old are you?"
"Sixteen."
"And your demihuman background is Siren or Monarch?"
Ellie was impressed that the woman knew to ask that question, since one could easily be mistaken for the other. The difference was simple; Monarchs could fly, Sirens couldn't, or were very poor at it. "Monarch."
"Have you been to Alnus before?"
"No?"
"Have you studied the Japanese language?"
Ellie shook her head.
"May I have the name of your home village?"
She gave it, and the woman's brow furrowed. "I've never heard of that place before. Is that a part of the Empire?"
"It's in the Seiraf Kingdom, across the Avion sea, to the east of here."
"Would you be able to point it out to me on a map?"
"Sure!"
The woman reached under her desk and pulled out a larger roll of paper which she spread out on her desk to reveal…
Ellie gasped. She had seen plenty of navigational charts before, but none with such crisp lines, vivid text, consistent colors, and accuracy at a level that only a master cartographer could hope to match. Not only that, the map was complete. It showed every land in the world, even lands that Ellie had only heard about as hearsay, or were speculated on as folktales. Even the great sea-ice to the south was shown in its entirety, and, as far as she knew, no one had ever ventured so far into there.
Noticing her stunned expression, the woman said, "Inventions and discoveries from Earth have been known to give people from this world lightheadedness, panic attacks, nausea, and fainting in rare instances. If you feel any of these things while in Alnus, please move to the side of the road, sit down, and take a few deep breaths until the feeling passes."
"It's just—I've never—"
"That's perfectly normal. Now, your home town?"
Ellie pointed to the location and the woman continued working with her machine. She had a few more questions, like how long Ellie was going to be in the area, political affiliations, education level (including a few simple math problems), if she had any weapons or magic abilities to declare, (Ellie displayed her hunting knife for inspection) and then finally she said, "Okay, we're almost done. Look over here, please."
She pointed to a black circle on the side of the box facing Ellie. The circle was strange… the inside was dark, and it was covered by a dome of glass that reminded her of something like a fish's eye.
"Thank you," the Japanese woman said. "While we print your ID, there are a few quick rules that we need to cover that you must follow during your stay in Alnus…"
The list only contained a few items, but the content of each item was very detailed. Some parts seemed like common sense, like not pulling weapons on other people. Some were amusing, like instructions on where and how to urinate and defecate. Some were even a little scary. "The JSDF base is off-limits. If you are caught attempting to break into the base, you will be imprisoned. If you succeed in actually getting in, you may be shot on sight, depending on the discretion of whomever finds you."
"Is it safe to fly over there?"
"There's a lot of air traffic, and I wouldn't recommend it...oh, your card is ready."
The woman handed her what at first appeared like a small piece of paper, but the material was sturdy, stiff, and had a reflective sheen like the inside of a seashell. It was covered in more of those Japanese letters and, to her continuing shock, a small portrait of herself! The image was a funny one, perfectly reflecting the curious expression on her face as she examined the eye-circle. "Please keep that on you at all times, and be ready to present it at all times," the woman said. "The next vehicle will arrive in ten minutes, and departs from the platform through the red doors on your right. We hope you enjoy your time in Alnus Prefecture!"
Still slightly stunned by the whole experience, Ellie left the table and looked around for Hector. The magician must have been sent through a similar process so he should have been right behind her.
On looking at the service desks again, she noticed that one of the positions was now blocked off by another two Japanese soldiers. Both had their hands hovering above black objects strapped to their waists, and, for a moment, Ellie was afraid that something had happened. Despite this, moments later, the guards dropped their hands and stepped back, allowing Hector through. Warped as his face was, he seemed to Ellie like he was locked in deep thought, his brow furrowed and his eyes with a faraway look to them. He glanced back once to the two soldiers and, in unison, they bowed to him, then walked away.
"What happened?" Ellie ashed him.
"They brought the guards over when I mentioned that I was from Carenth," he explained. "Once I told them that I was a victim of the Godwrecker, however, their attitudes changed. More importantly, they gave me the name of someone to talk to who they said could get us an audience with the leader of the JSDF at Alnus… and maybe the Americans as well."
"That's wonderful!" Ellie said. "And they said that our trip leaves soon from the platform over there. I wonder what these Densha things are like."
The platform had only a few other people on it, and was empty, save for a few benches and a set of big signboards suspended from the roof. As Ellile watched, tiny lights on the signboard morphed from the Japanese characters to her own, and read "Next trip departs in five minutes."
"See?" Ellie said. "Here you were saying that the Japanese and Americans are fearsome warriors, but I think that the truth is that they're just like us...but with more advanced technology."
"In warfare, technology makes a world of difference," Hector said. "A kingdom with steel armor and siege engines would laugh when confronted by barbarians with clubs and spears. Do you suppose that the Japanese were laughing at the Saderan army as they marched into Japan?"
He raised an eyebrow at her and added, "The kindness between two peers is different from the kindness from an adult to a child. Surely someone in your life has taught you that, girl."
Her thoughts turned to Andromache, and Ellie shook her head to clear her mentor's mantras again. Even out here, she couldn't escape them. Kindness from and adult to a child. Hector had already inferred on the boat that he didn't take her quest to Alnus seriously, and that only made her want to find the truth behind the Night Triangle even more.
"Do you imagine that anyone laughs when they use a Godwrecker?" Ellie countered.
That settled Hector slightly, and he looked away from her. "I suppose so. I'm not sure how I would feel if they didn't."
Before Ellie could press further, a voice boomed from the ceiling overhead.
"Mamonaku ichiban sen ni, Arnus yuki ga mairimasu. Abunai desu kara kiiroi sen made osagari kudasai.
"A densha bound for Alnus will soon arrive at platform one. Please stand clear of the yellow line until the vehicle has come to a complete stop.
"Densha ga mairimasu."
This was followed by a repeating musical chime, and Ellie looked to Hector to ask what was going on, but the older magician looked equally puzzled.
"Do you suppose—" he called over the noise, but was halted by a loud honking from the far end of the platform.
As with everything else, the Japanese seemed to have taken the idea of a supply caravan, burnt it down, and built something otherworldly out of it. A series of large metal carts, hauled by a house-sized behemoth that hissed and purred, then screeched as it ground to a stop. At the very front, Ellie could see a pair of Japanese men checking a series of switches and levers, and wondered how such a huge structure could be managed by so few when every large sailing ship seemed to require dozens of sailors to control.
Another hissing noise, and doors on one of the carts slid open, just like the doors in front of the station, and invited them into a room furnished with long couches and handholds.
Hector and Ellie exchanged a glance before Hector straightened up, muttered, "It's just a vehicle, after all," and strode aboard. Ellie followed him, in a trace, her brain exploding with questions. What moves it? Where did they get all the metal from? Do only two men control it, or are there hidden ones? What was the loud honking noise for, and what made that? And there are lights and cool air in here too!? How does one even go about building such a thing?
She took a seat by one of the large windows, and was about to voice some of her questions to Hector when another invisible voice announced, "Please stand clear of the doors," and all the doors to the platform snapped shut.
"Curious," Hector muttered. "No crew anywhere. That seems to be a theme with these Japanese… a task that takes us two-score men to complete seems to always be reduced to a single man and a big machine."
"If they have all these machines to work for them, what do you suppose all the people do with their time?"
The magician shrugged. "Bored people will always find things to do."
The cart shuddered with a start, then jumped into motion with a level of acceleration that shocked Ellie. Looking out the window, she watched the poles at the side of the track speed past at first a walking pace, then a horse's gallop, then at such a speed that she began to wonder if she could keep up by flying in any pattern other than a dive.
"You must agree, if we were making this trip by cart, we wouldn't arrive until tomorrow," Ellie pointed out. "There is clearly more to these people than war and destruction. They make good things too—maps, air-voices, cool-air makers..."
Hector snorted, "The example is not always indicative of the whole."
"But this Densha..."
"You don't suppose that soldiers could be loaded onto one of these? The only difference between a cargo vessel and a troop transport is the banner it flies."
"I think you're just afraid of new things."
Hector returned a sardonic smile. "Possibly. Or, possibly I know how easily new ideas can be abused."
"How can you ever be happy with the world if you think like that?" Ellie asked.
Hector leaned back into the cushions of his seat and replied, "Used to be that someone you trusted would be the first to abuse them. Do you trust the Americans and Japanese? I don't."
"But—"
"Quiet, girl. Who knows if we'll experience such luxurious conveyance ever again. I wish to enjoy it."
Ellie sighed and looked out the window, as shrubs and tress zipped by at a frenzied pace. She thought back to the station, and the Japanese woman's dry response at her reaction to the map.
The kindness between two peers is different from the kindness from an adult to a child. Thinking back on it, the woman's tone was not far off from Andromache's bored replies to her own excitement. Hector, she supposed, was the same way.
"I have a name," Ellie protested. "Stop calling me 'girl'. I deserve that much."
Hector chuckled to himself and shook his head.