Somewhere Else Entirely -135-

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Despite being freshly married Garia's days are filled with the same demands on her time as before. Some important matters are resolved before she joins the rulers in debating the future of the Great Valley.

Somewhere Else Entirely

by Penny Lane

135 - Oaths and Decisions

Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2011-2015 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.



The space was just as inscrutable as ever, but she was beginning to recognize some of the strange shapes, even if she still had no idea what they might be.

Garia: Hello?

Senusret: Greetings, youngling! I wondered if you would be able to appear here soon.

Garia: Well, I still have little idea how I do it. My days have been somewhat busy lately, as you no doubt already know.

Senusret: I do, youngling. In most human societies, mating is an important ritual and I would have been surprised if you had not devoted all your attention to it. I assume this is presently your nocturnal phase?

Garia: My what? Oh, you mean I am asleep. I guess. I mean, I think so. I haven't had the time or opportunity to meditate since all the other rulers came to the palace.

Senusret: That is what I meant. Some Emerged individuals undergo periods of quiescence similar to sleep so I understand the process.

Garia: So, has anything happened while I was away? What about the project?

Senusret: That is why I am pleased you are here, youngling. I can tell you that we have verified what we are attempting to do and all preparations have been made. Timing is important as several of the steps take measurable amounts of time as you perceive it and we must be ready to take advantage of the substitution opportunity on Earth.

Garia: Can you tell me any more? What will I find when I get to Earth? What are my parents going to say when I wake up from a coma?

Senusret: I cannot give you any information about what will happen on Earth, youngling. It is important that you behave in the correct manner as events come to pass. There will already be sufficient uncertainty concerning the substitution and we are anxious not to raise suspicions.

Garia: Oh. Yes, I understand. If I already knew something then my reactions would be different. [A mental shrug] Darn.

Senusret: There are things I can tell you, however. It seems that my idea of placing your existing Solid manifestation into stasis as a reserve is not practical. It could be done, true, but we would not be able to revive you as I originally proposed. Therefore you will be given a new body just as when you originally came to this world.

Garia: Not practical?

Senusret: This may be difficult to explain, youngling. The essence which makes up the you I am conversing with is separate from the physical manifestation. It... does not have a Solid counterpart. [Ponders] Perhaps this essence is what your Earth people call their soul. Some Eastern religions call it the chakra, others call it mana. Whatever the name, the essence is not what anyone on Earth believes it to be. When a transfer is made, we must integrate the essence with the new body, which is why we seek out those who are in the process of ending their Solid existence.

Garia: Ah! That's why I can only be in one place at a time, isn't it? I see.

Senusret: Quite so, youngling.

Garia: Wait a minute. Is that why it is so hard to transfer living things? Because they all have this essence thing attached to them?

Senusret: Indeed, youngling, you understand. So far as we know, this essence is what separates life from non-life. For beings such as ourselves it is very much easier to relocate the thread of essence, as it were, than it would be to do the same for a vegetable or a very small creature, although as I explained before it is still a complex operation.

Garia: That is why there are no Earth plants here, isn't it? You can't transfer the seeds. And Anmar has enough insects and small life of its own, hasn't it? It all becomes clear now.

Senusret: On Earth you have seen what happens when inappropriate organisms are introduced to parts of that world and cause problems. We only transfer that which is absolutely essential for the end result. [considers] I can also tell you that you will return to this world in about eight to nine of this world's months. There are various probability factors which mean I cannot give you a closer estimate.

Garia: As long as that? Well, of course, I don't know what will happen when I get back to Earth, do I? Can I let anybody here know that time period?

Senusret: You can inform those who know of my existence, youngling. Of course, they have probably already estimated as much by themselves.

Garia: That's a shame. It means I'll miss two visits to Blackstone.

Senusret: Indeed, youngling. You need not concern yourself. Your mate will undertake those visits on your behalf. He feels to be as bound by your oath as you are.

Garia: Can you tell me anything that will happen here while I'm gone?

Senusret: I would rather not, youngling. While I trust you not to tell anyone there is always the chance of an accidental disclosure.

Garia: Oh. And I might change the future by doing so, is that right?

Senusret: Quite so, youngling.

Garia [distracted]: What? Stop that, Keren! I'm trying to have a conversation here!

* * *

Garia couldn't be annoyed by Keren so she merely thumped him on the chest.

"Barbarian! I was deep in a conversation when you woke me up!"

"What? I thought you were asleep so I kissed you, that's all. It seems I like kissing you."

Garia looked at Keren then melted back down beside him, snuggling against his chest.

"You're hopeless, and so am I," she replied. "Of course I like kissing you and I like being kissed by you!" She gave him an exasperated look. "But I was having an important conversation with Senusret when you put your hand somewhere sensitive."

"Senusret? But... Oh, of course. You originally spoke with him in your dreams, did you not? I'm sorry, my love, I didn't realize." He chuckled. "I also did not realize I would be sharing my marriage bed with a bisken. At least he does not take up too much room."

"I would try and limit my conversations to meditation periods, but you tell me when I've had a chance to meditate recently!"

"Aye, my love, that is the truth. We have just been too busy. Mayhap we will have more time once we reach Dekarran."

Garia's voice was small. "We need all the time we have left, husband mine. One day soon I'm just going to go pop and I know it will cause you pain."

His grip tightened around her. "I know, my love, but I am a Prince, one day I will become King and I must learn to deal with sorrow as much as with joy. Besides," he brightened, "it is not as if you will depart forever, is it? We have Senusret's word that you shall return."

"Yes, well, that's one of the things he wanted to talk to me about. You remember he said they would keep my old... this body and wake me up if things went wrong?"

"Aye, he did."

"It seems that won't work the way he thought it would. It would still mean I'd be in two places at once and that isn't possible. Sorry. What you'll get is a whole, fresh me when I return."

"I'm not sure whether I like that notion or not, my love. I am content with the wife I have, I deem. What else did the bisken say?"

"Not a lot else. Perhaps he might have if I hadn't been so rudely interrupted -"

He poked Garia in the ribs and she squeaked.

"Ouch! You wait, barbarian! I'll get you for that!" She thumped his chest again and then added, "Senusret did say that I'll be back within eight to nine months. You can tell that to anyone who knows about him but nobody else."

"Eight to nine months? No closer an estimate?"

"They are looking into the future, you know. Most things are probably well determined but what the Beings are attempting is unprecedented. There's bound to be some uncertainty."

"As you say." Keren's expression became soft and solicitous. "Tell me, what was it like for you, last night? It was nothing like I expected at all."

She hitched herself up higher in the bed, so that her head rested on his upper arm and she could look at him properly.

"We-ll, I did have some idea," she replied slowly, "because we're taught all that in school, though it's really all about how babies are made. Nobody mentioned the amazing feelings or the smells." She grimaced. "There was some - um, it's not your fault, believe me! It hurt a bit but I didn't mind that at all. I've been told that that's just because we're using parts of our bodies for things they haven't been used for before."

"Ah, I'm sorry, my love. I didn't know." He looked at her expression. "Aye, parts of me were sore as well. How were either of us to know?"

"Well, that's what they say, isn't it?" she responded lightly. "We need to practise if we're going to get this right."

"Does it worry you now that you're a girl? What I mean is, you never expected to find yourself in this position."

"That's true," she said, meditatively. "No, not at all. I'd hardly have married you in front of all those people if I wasn't sure what I wanted, would I?"

"I hope you are right, my love. I will treat you as I would have treated any other bride, but I will always respect that your past makes you different." He smiled down at her with a glint in his eyes. "Perhaps we need to practise some more. This morning, no-one will disturb us until we call and I intend to make the best use of the time we have."

She smiled back at him with anticipation. "Ooh! The barbarian has brains! I think I might like that idea."

Breakfast that morning was late and taken in their chambers.

* * *

The Receiving Room held a special audience that morning, since no other room was large enough for the gathering. Taking their thrones were Robanar and Terys while Garia and Keren sat beside them in positions of honor. Two more chairs were occupied by Eriana and Merizel, who had a reedlet and pad in front of her. Behind the chairs stood eight maids. Against one wall sat Terinar, Milsy, Feteran, and Merek, against the other sat Gullbrand and Bleskin with the others who had traveled down from Blackstone. Near the door stood Kendar with a group of other people. Merizel stood and read from her pad.

"This special court of Princess Garia, presiding as Baroness Blackstone, is now in session. King Robanar and Queen Terys attend as guests. As most of those here have other duties this day the proceedings will be kept as simple as possible. Before the first matter may be determined, certain oaths must be made to the King. Would Braskath of Chidrell, Sorin Labslayer and Korf Woodsman stand forth before the King."

Dressed today for the first time in the ordinary clothes of Palarand, the three former Yodans came forward and went down on one knee.

Robanar said, "I must needs ask each of you formally, are you prepared to renounce completely your present allegiance to Yod, its rulers, its people and its lands?"

Each replied, "Your Majesty, I am."

"Are you prepared to serve me as your King, forsaking all others, while you yet remain alive?"

Again they replied, "Your Majesty, I am."

"Do you swear to honor the laws of Palarand, follow its customs and traditions and obey the orders of your superiors and betters?"

"Your Majesty, I do."

"Are you prepared to defend Palarand in whatever ways you may be able, against all its enemies, now and in the future, even at the cost of your own life?"

"Your Majesty, I am."

"Heard and witnessed!" said Kendar in a loud voice.

"Then rise, and join your fellows as true Palarandis from this moment forward."

The three rose and made a low bow to Robanar, their new ruler.

Robanar acknowledged their obeisance and then said, "I am a man of my word. Braskath, Sorin and Korf, you have given me your trust and I shall repay you with mine. There shall be no stain on your character for anything you have told me nor I you. You have betrayed nobody, only followed your consciences. I wish there were more in the world of your ilk. Now I believe Baroness Garia asks another oath of you."

They turned and went down on one knee again, facing Garia. She smiled at them.

"This won't take long," she reassured them. "If Lady Merizel would read the oath, please."

Merizel read, "Do you, Braskath, swear to join House Blackstone and take Baroness Garia as your liege?"

Braskath answered, "My Lady, I do."

"Do you agree to accept all instructions and commands from Baroness Garia, or any of her appointed officers?"

"My Lady, I do."

"Do you swear to keep secret any and all that you may learn while in the service of Baroness Garia, save only what you are permitted to tell others?"

"My Lady, I shall."

Kendar said, "Heard and witnessed!"

Garia added, "I shall swear in turn that House Blackstone shall provide suitable clothing, food, work and lodging for you, keep you while you are ill and protect you from harm, as much as I am able."

"Heard and witnessed!"

This formula was repeated with Sorin and Korf, followed by a signing ceremony where the three were able, by reason of the lessons they had received, to sign their names to an official document for the first time. Garia stepped forward and wrapped a sash in Blackstone colors around the waist of each man.

"Welcome to House Blackstone," she told them. "I'm afraid that not much will change to begin with but when we leave the palace you'll be moving out with me. I think you had better go and stand over there with the other Blackstones until the business we have here is finished."

"Thank you, My Lady," Braskath replied for the three. "We shall not fail you."

As the former Yodans moved off to join the other watchers Kendar spoke again.

"Would Count Terinar and Mistress Milsy stand forth before Lady Garia!"

This had been the subject of some intense discussion between Garia, Keren, and the King and Queen, but nothing had yet been said to either of those who now approached them. There was puzzlement, therefore, on the faces of both. Garia stood and moved toward them. As she was now a Princess, she no longer had to curtsey to Terinar, but she decided to shake his hand instead.

"This is going to be a total surprise to both of you," she began. "You see, up until now I've just run House Blackstone as its head, as everyone would expect, but now I have other responsibilities," she rolled her eyes and the two grinned at her. "Unfortunately, there's the problem of succession to the barony. Until Keren and I have children, there is nobody who would automatically be a successor to House Blackstone. The documents setting up the house are both specific and peculiar, at least to my way of thinking."

The two expressions were serious, now.

"You want someone to run Blackstone if something happens to you," Terinar said. His eyebrow raised. "Are you thinking of me, since I would be third in line to the throne?"

"Well, not exactly," Garia said. "The throne is a whole other set of rules, actually, which I didn't know about myself. Because of the way the Blackstone charter is written, I would prefer to have a female head, if that were possible."

"Me?" Milsy gasped. "You want me? I can't do that, Garia! I'm not even a noble!"

Garia grinned. "Neither was I when I was made Baroness! But I understand your problem, Milsy. What I'm suggesting is that you do become temporary head of House Blackstone if I have to be absent for any reason, and you'd inherit the title should anything, um, permanent happen to me before I have children. Because you're married to Tarvan there's no conflict with the throne. I know you'd be overwhelmed by the management side of things, which is where Terinar comes in. I want you, Terry, to act as a kind of Guarantor for House Blackstone, seeing as how you'll shortly be married to one of the two people who run the place anyway."

The two looked at her, dumbfounded. Whatever they thought they had been asked here for, it certainly wasn't that. They looked at each other and then back to Garia. Terinar's voice was low.

"Is there something we should know, Garia? I understand you have to nominate a successor but this seems... strange somehow."

Garia shook her head. "No, this is something that maybe Kendar should have pointed out to me when he thought up the charter for the barony. Until recently there wasn't really a need for a successor to be nominated but," she shrugged, "with my marriage I have to do things a little more formally now. What do you think?"

"I don't believe you," Milsy said, her voice low, "but I deem you have sufficient reason for honoring us so." She grinned. "Do I get to be called Baroness, then?"

Garia grinned back. "Huh! Not content with raiding my treasury you're after my coronet now! No, no title unless you've seen my body on the pyre, and not before. But you'd have the rank and authority of Baroness in your dealings with everyone."

Milsy thought briefly. "I think I can accept that, Garia. Does this mean you're thinking of taking a trip? Maybe upriver with Eriana?"

"That was part of the thinking, yes, that there could very well be occasions in the future when I might have to travel somewhere distant. You could also think about what happens when I'm about to give birth as well. I'm going to be somewhat distracted around about then. We've thought long and hard about the problem and this seems to be the most sensible answer."

Milsy curtseyed. "Then I would be most honored by your trust in me, Your Highness."

Terinar added, "I see what you mean, Garia. If I can be of assistance in a time of need, then of course you may call on my service. As you have said, I am already in some respects doing what would be required."

Garia let out a breath followed by a smile. "Great! That's a big problem off my mind, and thank you both for volunteering. I'm sure it won't ever happen but you know we have to do these things just in case. It's only like fire precautions, after all."

Terinar spoke for both of them. "We're always pleased to help, Garia." He looked at Milsy. "I think you and I and our respective partners ought to sit down somewhere and talk this through, do you not?"

"Aye, Milord. I'm sure Lady Merizel will arrange something."

Garia spun on her heel and curtseyed to the King and Queen. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Count Terinar and Mistress Milsy have agreed to the proposition."

Robanar bowed assent but stayed silent, leaving the detail to Terys. The Queen replied, "As you say, my dear. As you know, I have some reservations concerning this arrangement but it seems my fears may be groundless. Kendar, if you would make the necessary arrangements."

Kendar bowed. "As Your Majesty commands." He then turned and added, "Would Captain Bleskin stand forth before Baroness Garia!"

Bleskin shot to his feet with a start. As for Terinar and Milsy, the request was unexpected. He came forward and saluted.

"Captain. You heard what I just said to Milsy and Terinar?"

"I did, Highness. It seems to me to be a sensible precaution."

"As you say. Now, if something should happen, then I would expect you to carry on as normal as the Steward of Blackstone, using your own judgement until either I return or a new Baron or Baroness is appointed. Does that sound reasonable?"

"Highness!" Bleskin turned to glance at Milsy and Terinar, who were still standing beside him. "I must protest, you make it sound as if you desire to leave us."

"Not at all, Captain. Now, I know you are doing a great job in the town, since Lady Merizel tells me everything that has been happening up there and I'm anxious to come and see all the changes for myself. But, bearing in mind all the attacks there have been on me, a certain amount of contingency planning has to be made, doesn't it?"

"As you put it that way, Highness, then I must needs agree." He considered. "Aye, you have shown us the path and we are progressing as I would never have believed possible. Why, the Community Hall -" He broke off. "Ahem! This is not the proper place, I deem. Highness, if those are your wishes, then of course I will do as you ask."

Garia gave him a warm smile. "That's all I'm asking, Captain. Milsy and Terry can look after this end and you and the Town Assembly can look after the other. That's settled, then."

Garia made a sign to Kendar, who banged his staff. "This court is ended! All rise!"

Robanar and Terys stood, gave a nod to Garia, and led the way out.

* * *

After lunch Keren, Garia, Jenet and Fulvin shared a carriage on a ride out to one of the new engineering workshops near the pipe-making facility. Behind them in another carriage came Milsy, Tarvan and Bursila while a third carriage carried Senidet, Molleena and Rosilda. Garia had decided that they wouldn't be getting dirty enough to wear their 'Inventor' outfits but compromised and Jenet had a bundle of leather aprons 'just in case'.

Waiting for them were some faces now becoming familiar to Garia. The modes of address had been carefully considered.

"Your Highness, Guildmistress, Masters, Guildswomen, Mistresses, welcome."

"Master Turan, so good of you you let us come. I know your own time is limited."

"Aye, Guildmistress, we are as busy as you are, if I may say such a thing. If you would all follow me, we will waste no more of your own valuable time."

Inside the workshop, which still smelled of sawn wood and smoke, the visitors were led over to a bench on which rested an object made of soldered brass sheets, strips and sections. Fulvin began the explanation.

"As you can see, Guildmistress, these are merely functional models so that we can determine the proper way to make the individual parts work together. I think we have done enough to show that we understand what is required. When we make the first true models we will, of course, enclose the moving parts in either brass or steel plate to begin with. Casting such a casing as you described is not possible for us at the moment but we have a group working on such methods."

"I think you'll find it won't be that hard to make your castings but that's a subject for another day, Master Fulvin. Let's just concentrate on the workings first."

"As you desire, Guildmistress. Firstly, Turan will run the sewing machine without thread so that you can observe the action."

The flywheel was a spare pulley which had a short rod of brass welded to it. This rod held a turned wooden handle to make the machine go. Turan turned this and the internal parts, all plainly visible, burst into motion. On the left a rod with a needle attached went up and down while a plate moved backwards and forwards under it to advance the cloth. Below, the shuttle holder swung backwards and forwards, just missing the needle as it descended.

Turan said, "We think this is how it is supposed to work, Guildmistress. From your description the operator turns the handle with her right hand and feeds the material through the left side, is that right?"

Garia nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what is supposed to happen."

Turan stopped and took a strip of cloth handed to him by an assistant. "Then we understood the original description correctly. Guildmistress, we were not sure if that was what you intended."

"All I did was describe a common machine from my home lands, that is all. I didn't intend anything."

Turan bowed. "I am corrected, Guildmistress. My apologies." He laid the strip of cloth on the base of the machine and lowered the foot. "The next step was to ensure that cloth would travel smoothly through the machine."

He turned the handle again and everyone watched as the cloth was pulled through. Turan removed it at the end and handed it to Garia who saw a neat line of holes running the length of it.

"Yes, that's exactly what I would expect to happen." She looked at Turan, puzzled. "But there is some problem with the thread, I take it."

"Indeed, Guildmistress. If we use thread... perhaps it would be easier to show you."

With thread from a bobbin on the top, fed down to the needle and more in the shuttle Turan once more placed the cloth and turned the handle. It was obvious immediately that something was wrong.

"Oh," Garia said. "Can I take a look at that?"

"Of course, Guildmistress. Do you wish me to remove the cloth?"

"No, just leave everything as it is."

Garia peered down and tried to understand what had gone wrong. This was difficult since Gary had never operated the original machine, just stood by as a very young interested observer while his grandmother mended some clothes with it. She closed her eyes and tried to remember exactly what her grandmother had done to set the machine up before sewing. Finally she nodded and turned to the waiting guildsmen.

"I'm sorry, it seems I left a couple details out when I described this machine. First, you'll have to turn the needle so that the eye is at the side, not the front."

One of the other guildsmen stepped forward. "See, I told you -"

Turan gave him a glare but then turned to Garia apologetically. "He is right, Guildmistress, but I regret our opinions differed. Even Senidet argued that the eye should be to the side but -" He flushed. "I am still uncomfortable with receiving suggestions from a woman, even though she has proved her worth time and again. It shall not happen again."

"I see. So, you tell me, why should the eye be to the side?"

"Guildmistress, I could not see a reason. If you would explain."

It was apparent that Turan, although obviously able at constructing complicated items out of brass and steel, was not able to visualize how the things he made worked in the first place. He simply constructed them according to drawings that others made. Such people would be necessary in the future to come but in a workshop like this imaginations were required. Garia resolved to have a word with Parrel at their next meeting.

"If the eye is to the side, then when the needle goes through the cloth the thread will be to the side. That is where the shuttle will go through the loop between the needle and the thread."

The guildsmen gathered round and considered her words. The one who had spoken before nodded.

"That is what I suggested, Guildmistress. The shuttle does nothing if it does not pass around the other thread."

"That's right," Garia confirmed. "There's another thing though, that might be harder for you to fix. There should be another lever in the top which actually makes the loop. I forgot about it before." She pointed. "Look. When the needle comes down the thread's going to be tight, isn't it? The needle is pulling it down through the cloth. There's no room for the shuttle at that point so you have to wait until the needle is just rising. So there should be another lever up here which keeps the thread down to give some slack, and then it takes up the slack once the shuttle has passed."

She mimed the action and Senidet leaned forward.

"Guildmistress, would that be another arm connected to the same crank? If so, I deem it will be an easy change to make."

"Well, I dunno. See, it has to drop after the needle goes down and then come up after the needle rises again."

"Ah, so it is tied to the position of the shuttle? Of course." Senidet nodded. "It will take me the rest of the day to consider the motion and draw up the required modifications, Guildmistress. If you could return tomorrow and see the changes?"

"Ah, I don't think that's going to be possible, Senidet. We're going to be busy tomorrow, aren't we, Keren?"

"Aye, Garia. Shabreth returns to Plif tomorrow and some of the others are leaving too. We'll be too busy to come here again for a day or two."

Garia turned to Senidet. "I'm sorry, as you can see we're up to our eyeballs in all kinds of meetings and happenings. It looks as if you'll have a few days to experiment with the new parts I've described."

"As you say, Guildmistress. Father has told me that it is always better to consider what one is building rather than hurrying and making mistakes."

Garia grinned. "He hands out good advice, Senidet." She turned. "So, if we can't do any more with the sewing machine, what else can you show me?"

"Guildmistress," Turan said, "The new knitting machine is a more successful project so far, as you can see over here." He gestured. "We do not have to concern ourselves with flywheels, gears, cams or levers to make this machine work so progress has been rapid."

The group clustered around the device which had been built on the adjoining workbench. Garia could see that it had already been used that morning for tests and was loaded with a spool of undyed wool, with a short length of knitted fabric dangling from the line of gleaming needles. The main body of the prototype was brass but the needles had been formed from steel wire, stamped and shaped as required before being tempered to prolong life.

"Can I have a go?" Garia asked, bending to examine the device closely.

"Of course, Guildmistress."

She put a hand lightly on the slide and ran it slowly in front of the row of needles. Each one in turn rose up, opened and accepted the wool before lowering. As the needles dropped they passed below the material already made so that the yarn was pushed through, making the next row. She nodded.

"That looks good, Master Turan. You already know that you can knit with it, all you have to do now is refine your mechanism as required. Smaller needles closer together to make finer fabric or larger needles to make traditional knits. As many needles as you like to make the output as wide or as narrow as you need. Oh! Or," she added thoughtfully, "How about this? Instead of making a long straight machine, how about making a circular one? That way you can make hose, sleeves, anything else that is a tube. And don't forget that knitting isn't just for clothes, there are many other things you can do with this sort of cloth."

"A circular machine, Guildmistress?" Turan's brows furrowed. "I do not understand... What you suggest seems impossible."

"Master," Senidet said respectfully, "I think I know what the Guildmistress is saying. If you were to construct the machine around a section of brass pipe, perhaps, with a shaped rail -"

Senidet then went on to describe a circular knitting machine she had thought up on the spot from Garia's simple statement. Turan looked at Senidet with amazement and then annoyance.

"Master Turan," Garia said when Senidet had finished, "If you feel yourself unable to follow designs submitted to you by someone in your team, then perhaps you are not the right person to be in charge of this project. For any work like this an open mind is essential."

Turan flushed, then bowed. "Perhaps you are correct, Guildmistress," he said stiffly. "I must consider my position here, if that is what you suggest."

Garia waved her hands. "That is properly a matter for the Institute, Master Turan. My position is somewhat unusual so that although I have the rank of Guildmistress, I'm limiting myself to suggestions only. However, I have seen circular knitting machines in my own country so I know they are possible, and it seems that Senidet can visualize such things in her head. If you do not take advantage of the talent you have around you then you're just wasting everybody's time."

Turan bowed again. "I am rebuked, Guildmistress. You are of course correct and I must needs change my ways if we are to make progress. After all," he gave her a small smile, "without your suggestions we would not have either knitting machine nor sewing machine at all."

"Indeed," Keren put in. "So, Master, you understand now what is required of you?"

"Highness, I do," Turan replied, knowing that he was speaking to the next King of Palarand, and one who was obviously interested in matters previously reserved for Guild members. "You may rely on me." He turned. "Senidet, if you would make a drawing of this circular machine, we can discuss ways in which it may be constructed. But first, there is the sewing machine to consider. I deem that has the higher priority."

Senidet inclined her head. "As you command, Master Turan."

"Then we'll leave you to it," Garia said. "You've made more progress than I expected, actually. I'm not sure when I'll next be able to come for another look but no doubt Senidet will keep me up to date with your projects."

"As you say, Guildmistress."

Everybody bowed and the party took their leave.

* * *

This time, the rulers hadn't bothered with separate tables in the Receiving Room but simply gathered their chairs in a large circle in the center of the floor. Although not rulers, Garia and Keren had chairs in this circle. Around them, their aides and advisors sat, some with small tables to support their documents and notes, others just with pads of paper or parchment on their knees.

"If I may," Keren said. The rulers turned to look at him. "Duke Wallesan is right. The folk of the river are one people, even if they may have different rulers above them. Plif is the same and although most of Vardenale is beyond the end of the river, most of its folk are of the same stock as ourselves." He shrugged. "Having separate rulers makes little difference, I have seen this as I traveled along the Sirrel meeting many of you who join us today. Our own people have Barons, Counts and Dukes above them, having a Grand Duke or a King is but another step of the same kind. The Sirrel binds us together through ties of language, custom and kinship. If we take my father's suggestion seriously we are only restoring what, historically, personal argument once drove apart."

Chorvath said, "And yet you would have us bow down to another, what? An Emperor, mayhap, as ruled the Sirrel before?"

"We're not suggesting that, Your Eminence," Garia replied. "All we're saying is, there are other ways of doing this that wouldn't involve any of you bowing to anybody. There are examples from Earth I could tell you about, although some of them you probably wouldn't care for."

"I have heard some of your ideas," Mariswin muttered. "This Congress of yours, for example. It seems to me that you would have no need for any of us under such an arrangement."

Garia responded, "That was how my own country works, Your Grace. I know that won't work here because the circumstances are completely different. However." Here Garia paused to catch the eye of each of those in the circle. "However, I would like to point out that, as the population of each of your countries grows, and more and more of your people come to live in towns and cities and work in industry instead of on farms, they are going to want a bigger say in how their country is run. They are going to want to elect representatives who will present their arguments to whatever form of government you decide. If you ignore them, they will likely overthrow you."

There was a murmuring around the circle as each of them understood her warning.

Robanar grunted. "Aye, Garia has the right of it, my friends. We each think that our ways of governing our people is the right one and in most cases we would be right - today. In the future, as our population grows, there will be problems we can scarce understand presently and what we seek, in agreeing some plan for the future, is to ensure such problems do not happen. That is why we speak of Congresses, elections and the other matters. There is little point us gathering our peoples together under one arrangement if all must be changed again at some later date."

Bardanar added, "That was one reason I sought the union of Brugan with Palarand, brothers. I can see the future approaching and I can also see the chaos it would cause if we remain apart as we are now."

Shabreth leaned back, then raised a hand. "Robanar, Wallesan, count Plif in your planning, if you would. We are but a poor land on the edge of the Great Valley but the changes will come to us in time whatever we do. Palarand has ever been a good neighbor and the discussions we have had so far have only shown good sense. I would that my country be part of whatever you decide."

Mariswin stared at Shabreth. "You would give up your sovereignty so easily, brother?"

"Of course not, brother, any more than one of my Barons gives up his sovereignty. We would each govern our lands and render to this... Sirrel Confederation, or whatever it will be named, as much or as little as it will require of us. For myself, I do not feel threatened by such an idea, though I grant that richer lands may have cause to think more carefully."

"Aye." There were nods from around the circle.

Bardanar said, "Brugan makes two, Robanar. Who else will cast their lot into the ring?"

Wallesan said, "I will venture Joth, Bardanar. But we shall not shame our fellows into joining. It must be done of their own free will."

Saram looked at Fard before addressing Robanar. "We do not have the authority to make such an undertaking, as you must realize, Sire. For Ferenis, I believe that your proposal will be considered favorably, especially so soon after the war with Yod."

Fard added, "Forguland has much to thank Palarand for, Sire, in the same conflict. Such a proposal will be unexpected but I can assure you all it will be given careful consideration."

Wallesan looked at the two men, then around the circle. "There is also the matter of Yod to consider, brothers. As victors to a defeated land we may decree what is to happen there but I deem that makes us no better than they. Have we some remedy? I am loth to see their poison rise again."

The rulers all looked at each other but no-one spoke. It seemed they were of the same mind, that they wanted Yod to participate peacefully, as a means of keeping it in check, but could not see a way to do that without seeming as oppressive as Yod itself had been. Finally Keren spoke.

"Your Grace, perhaps we may make use of an example from Garia's world for Yod. Let us create in that land what Garia calls a democracy, that is, every official in that land, high and low, should be elected from among the people and by the people. If every Yodan has a voice in the governance of his land, they cannot say that they are being oppressed by us. We, in turn, can examine such an arrangement as it progresses should our own lands require something similar in the future."

Wallesan objected, "And what of the Confederation? Shall we yoke them to ourselves without their consent, or should we leave them outside?"

Simbran replied, "Your Grace, logically, if we allow them to elect their leaders, then they must decide among themselves whether to join the Confederation or not."

Garia added, "If those we captured are any guide, I don't think you'll have much problem there, Your Grace. To me they seemed like fairly normal people, it was just the few at the top that had such odd ideas."

"Then that is what we shall do," Robanar decided. "Another meeting, I deem, to set out the conditions, then we can watch with interest what happens."

Bardanar looked at Simbran. "What of Faralmark, brother? Do you consider we of the remote east to be fools to think such ideas?"

Simbran smiled. "I find, as Shabreth has said, that the proposal is of good sense. It seems the east is not as remote as one might think, Bardanar, and if Her Highness is right, we may travel to Palarand in the future in but a day or so. We will be too close together to be unaware of what happens in each other's lands and to come together again is, I believe, inevitable. All we have to do is to design a method of government which will keep us and our people all happy."

Jarith asked him, "Your Grace, what of the lands around your own? What of their temper? Vardenale is indeed far to the east, presently, and word of what happens beyond Yod is difficult for us to hear."

Simbran considered. "Lower Fanir and Upper Fanir have both been under the yoke of Yod and may wish to enjoy their renewed independence a while, I deem, but when I return home I will of course take Robanar's proposal to them. As for Hordelend, Upper Faral, Pakmal, Zebrin, Benmond, Thesk and those even further upstream, why..." His voice trailed off as he thought about the problem.

He shook himself. "Aye, I deem that your strategy should be thus, brothers. Make your Confederation in the lower Sirrel, then spend the time making sure that what you build functions as it should. Then, I believe, you will find a line of rulers desiring to join themselves to it."

Wallesan asked with a smile, "And yourself, brother?"

Simbran nodded. "Aye, Wallesan. We will be part of this new adventure. We will make Faralmark an example for other upstream countries to follow."

"Good." Wallesan turned to Jarith. "Though you are not yet ruler of your own lands, Highness, you can yet tell us how Vardenale may view our deliberations."

"As you say, Your Grace, I am not yet King of Vardenale. Were I King, I would consider your proposal most carefully. It offers much of advantage to us but, as you all know, we face the ocean rather than mountains and the Sirrel is little distinguishable from the sea. Though we always keep an eye on what our friends, our family, are doing along the river we have other concerns and, if Vardenale is to be part of what you propose, you must also think of matters beyond our borders, and how they may influence all of us."

"Well said," Robanar agreed with a nod. "I do not personally think that such a Confederation as we propose would in time be limited to the Great Valley only, Jarith. It is likely that others will desire to be a part of our family, as you name it."

"Indeed? Then, Uncle, I will carry your words to my father and discover his thoughts for you. We are already cooperating in the matter of the mining rights, I see this as but a beginning for closer friendship."

Bardanar raised an eyebrow. "Mining rights?"

Robanar waved a dismissive hand. "Another time, brother. We also share a border with you, perhaps this is something else of mutual profit to discuss, but not today."

"So, that leaves but Chorvath and Mariswin." Wallesan grinned at the two men. "No pressure, brothers, but tell us what concerns you have, that we may have overlooked."

Mariswin replied, "I would be more relieved, brothers, if I knew how such a Confederation might be ruled. It seems to me I must bow the knee to another or become an irrelevance in my own lands."

Robanar turned to Garia. "It is time, I think, for you to tell us what you remember of such arrangements on Earth, my dear."

"As you command, Sire." Garia turned to the others. "In a part of the world... ah, Earth, that is, a long way away from where I lived, there is a country called Malaysia. They are made up of a number of -"

* * *

Keren was sitting on his bed, reading a letter, when Garia and Lanilla emerged from the bathroom. Lanilla was somewhat red-faced and gave a quick curtsey to both Keren and Garia before scurrying from the room. As the door closed, he looked up at Garia, one eyebrow raised.

"What was that about?"

Garia smiled. "Lanilla hasn't yet learned what goes on between a man and his wife, it seems."

Keren put the letter on his night-stand and stood, discovering that Garia wore a fluffy robe... and nothing else.

He smiled. "Ah, I see. What was wrong with the gown, then? Did it get torn, or something? If it did, I didn't notice."

"No, I just decided that it was getting in the way."

His eyebrow rose again. "That is... one way of describing it, I deem."

"Besides," she said, coyly, "I've discovered how addictive the touch of bare skin is. To feel your body against mine is... just amazing!"

"As you say, my love." He reached for the tie on his own robe. "Perhaps it is time for you to be amazed yet again."

Their robes fell on the floor at the same time.

"I thought you'd never ask!"

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Comments

Interesting

The usual problems with balancing the federal with state rights will need to be heavily considered of course. It will not be as easy as all this.

The point here is to not make

The point here is to not make the mistakes that the founders of the US made, by allowing Alexander Hamilton and John Adams to throw away the Articles of Confederation in favour of their new 'super state' document, the Constitution. (Before you throw stones, keep in mind that there was NO Bill of Rights. Then consider what things would have been like under what they wanted). You want an overarching government, yes, but you need to severely limit its powers to commerce, war, and money. That was the purpose of the Articles, but they forgot the taxation section. (Yes, the 'Constitutional Convention' wasn't supposed to be one. It was supposed to add taxation to the Articles of Confederation. That's it)

The individual 'states' could have many different types of governments, but still have a common structure for dealing with their neighbours that didn't involve knives and guns.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

As a minority I can't agree

For the US, Federal power has helped empower minority protections, be it race or gender. It is the lack of Federal will that has lead to Trans rights being left in the dust, leaving us having to claw our way through city by city and state by state. There is a wider role to play for Federal power which conservatives are loathe to acknowledge given they are majority white in the US.

And as for taxation

It is ironic it is the southern states, where the conservatives are most entrenched that get the most benefit out of taxation as they benefit more from entitlements then they are taxed.

Not all of them. Texas, for

Not all of them. Texas, for example, maintains more federal roads than they get money for. Also, a lot of those 'entitlements' have HUGE catches.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Not roads

If I read it correctly, we are talking freebees like food stamps, medicare, medicaid, welfare etc. We can argue about roads being entitlements or corporate welfare that is called 'oil depletion allowance' till the cows evolve to become sentient but then you said you live in Houston.

I'm sorry, but you can remove

I'm sorry, but you can remove medicare from your "freebies" list. I and all others, including you, if you work or have worked, pay/paid into medicare at an approximate 6.5% taken out of your paycheck each time you get/got one. This IS NOT what you also had taken out for Social Security taxes; which I might add you WILL get taxed on again when you start drawing it at age 62+ if you make too much for the year.
What frosts me the most is our politicians especially trying to convince others how those on SS and Med-care are getting an entitlement "free" from the government. NO WE ARE NOT. WE pay into BOTH programs from our pay every day and do so for our entire working life.
The two programs would not be in the mess they are in, IF a) Congress had not in the late 1970s changed all the rules, took out of the Social Security Trust Fund some 250 Billion dollars and replaced it with IOUs, which they KNEW at the time they would NEVER repay. They did not then and they certainly can not now due to our massive debt problems. Further, they have also depleted or nearly so, the Medi-care Fund in the same manner, plus had the added issues of NEVER checking for FRAUD, THEFT of funds, and a whole host of other issues to correct those theft stealing areas.
You can not put two politicians in a room, without getting 25 different answers to your questions, IF they even bother to answer the asked question and skirt the issue by blabbing and spouting off on an entirely different subject in a manner to draw attention away from the actual question.
Okay, off my soap box now. Sorry,
PEACE, Janice Lynn

Social Security, Medicare are NOT freebies

All Through my 45+ years of working, I paid into those funds, so I am entitled to those benefits full stop!!!

Gwen

they are pyramid schemes

they are pyramid schemes and we have no legal claim on what was paid in.

They were a form of savings accounts

Initially they were savings accounts, where the principle (taxpayer contributions) were used to generate interest that was repaired into the fund. What happened was, starting in the 60's, the government started taking the principal and writing worthless IOU's to the funds. In effect, they have established a pyramid scheme. However the rules as originally set forth require repayment of the principal to those of us that paid in (and are still paying in). That gives us the robbing from Peter to pay Paul situation we are in now. Note: both political parties have participated in this fraud.


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Yes - in _taxes_ paid to the

Yes - in _taxes_ paid to the federal government. Go look at the interstate road mile payments. Last time I looked, _Mississippi_ was given more to maintain their small amounts of interstates than Texas was. Those are roads that are supposed to be maintained by the Feds, but Texas does most of it. (one of them, I-45, has been under continuous construction for 40+ years now)

It balances out, and yes, it's difficult to calculate.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

there's more!

there's more!
I-69A, I-69B and I-2 are both under construction in Texas.

The problem with that

The problem with that attitude is that many of the 'minority protections' aren't. They're reverse racism. (I could give real examples, but there's no point. You'd argue the sun was green if it suited you :) )

Especially given that white males are _not_ a majority any more.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Really now

Attitudes have to change starting somewhere. For Trans people it means slogging through every damn jurisdiction, every hamlet, every two bit holler to get protection under the law. You would probably call that reverse cis-gender prejudice.

Oh and silly me

Houston just rejected such protections didn't they? Oh dear.

I'm not allowed to vote there

I'm not allowed to vote there. Only about 2 million of the 10+ million people that generally say they live 'in Houston' can vote there. What's referred to as the Greater Houston Area is approximately 100 miles wide, and 80-90 miles tall.

You've already pointed out that you think that everyone that lives in and around Texas is a religious zealot racist, so what's the point? I simply said that most of the affirmative action that's been taken is actually reverse racism. Heck, for that matter, the 'white male' is a minority in the Houston area.

Oh - I will say this - the City didn't do a good job of advertising what the propositions were supposed to do, and were seriously overshadowed by the constant "Men in women's bathrooms" ads - which drove me into a rage.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

The ONLY Government That Is Fair Is NO GOVERNMENT AT ALL !

That is my opinion !

The second one assigns one's rights and freedoms to any state, party, or group of "We Know Betters", one creates a situation where others have power over one, and as both history and the current state of affairs all over this unhappy and overpopulated planet proves,

"Power Corrupts, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely! "

The Truth is, that humans are from nature social animals, nearly all of whom prefer to live in groups and to work together to achieve things that alone they could never achieve. This natural co-operative instinct makes anything such as Laws, Courts, Police and Prisons superfluous.

Of course people will often have different ideas and opinions, and they can discuss their differences and try to reach an agreement or compromise. The minute someone decides that He or She knows best and demands to be the Leader, the King, the President, or whatever fancy title they demand, immediately everyone else loses out. We do not really NEED a specially-armed group of thugs to FORCE us do what we do not want to do, nor to stop us doing what we like to do. Left to ourselves we come to a satisfactory arrangement anyway.

The kind of society I describe here is known as an Anarchy, a word which mean No (an) and Archy (government), This does NOT mean disorder, chaos, or any of the other dreadful things that those who believe in governing others want the People to think it means.

The evolution in human societies towards ever more interfering governments is closely associated with the invention by some humans of mythical, magical, superior beings called gods, and the spreading of special groups who try to get people to believe in them and in the organizations that spread such beliefs.

Just look at our world how it is and anyone with a brain can see immediately that neither are there any such superior beings, nor is there really any need for a ruler over the rest of the folks in a society.

That aside. Penny's wonderful saga is a really great piece of fiction, and it illustrates how even the kindest and best of rulers can eventually feel the corruptive effects of power, though having someone who has to be the King or Queen for their whole life, and who is trained from birth to see their role as a Duty rather than a Privilege, is far better than an upstart that grabs the power to govern after a farce called an Election, or a Conquest with Arms, can ever be.

Thank you Penny for giving this brilliant masterpiece to us all. You brighten every day whenever a new chapter appears.

Briar

I am unsure if this has been asked before

and if so, my apologies. What would happen if Garia were to become pregnant? I imagine that might cause a wrinkle in some of the plans that have been discussed, might it not?
As always, a great story that captivates and draws me in.

Pregnancy

Given the mechanism that would be involved, I think that any pregnancy would be lost.

Unless she is very sensitive to such matters, Garia will disappear long before there are any signs to see (or feel).

Of course, once she returns, she can start afresh... including adapting to periods again...

Penny

Beings Said She Needs to Be Mated

In chapter 127 during a meeting with the beings, the Director said:

Direct: We understand. For the proposal to succeed it is necessary that you are mated but you would only have a small number of diurnal cycles together before you must leave. All factors have been considered. If there is a problem at any point in the process which cannot be solved immediately then there are alternative procedures which can be followed. We believe we have thought of everything.

I didn't understand at the time why this was necessary (and still don't) unless their future forecasts only worked as they wished if that was the case (that she was mated). It almost sounds like they wanted her pregnant.

One mechanism...

...might be something similar to the Council of Europe (one of the three arms of the EU legislature), in that rather than a permanent assembly, the leaders of the various constituent nations get together a few times a year. Although travelling to wherever the summits are to be held would be more difficult for the Lower Sirrel leaders than the EU leaders, at least they won't need to bring an army of translators with them - and they'd probably get away with bringing far fewer civil servants with them as well!


As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

Once a train is run down each

Once a train is run down each side of the Valley walls, transport shouldn't be a problem.

You don't want to run trains anywhere close to the centre - that threatens arable lands. Yes, one train won't, not directly, but everything that grows up next to a long train _will_. Run the trains _across_ the centre of the valley, but not down.

The other reason, even more important? Long term, trains are best put over bedrock, not silt and clay. It reduces maintenance by a large margin. You still have to create rail beds, but you don't have to dig down, fill, and pack as much.

I wonder how long before she points out the eventual future of rail - seamless track.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Trackbed location

"trains are best put over bedrock, not silt and clay"

Unlike the Severn Valley Railway (which, as its name suggests, runs alongside a valley connecting the riverside towns en-route), which suffered from flooding-induced landslides in 2007 (an image search should pull up several images of large sections of track 'flying' in mid-air) - although to be fair, the line was built in around 1860 and hadn't suffered anywhere near as much damage before in its history.


As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

Still battering away at prejudices

Misogyny is still alive and well. Senidet is starting to make inroads. It is sad to see that women in tech even in our modern still are poo pooed by the male majority. If you read websites like hardocp.com, their is the usual falderal of women not deserving of being in tech because they are always crying wolf about discrimination.

Politics

I guess Garia is going to have to bring back some history and geography books. In addition, Sun Tsu's The Art of War, and Machiavelli's The Prince would be good reads. You need to know how to do dirty politics to keep others from doing dirty politics upon you.

For the Sirril Brotherhood, they should not look at the American way of doing things. Rather, they need to closely study the United Nations and the European Union.

The U.S. was originally a bunch of land inhabited by hunter-gatherer tribes, then colonized by European nations. Our founding fathers kicked out the remote governance and worked hard to install 'a more perfect union.'

The U.S. model might work well for Yodd, since they are installing a brand-new government into a power vacuum. They should look at the original intent of the Articles of Confederation, the 'unite or die' ideals, the original constitution and bill of rights, and the slow centralization of power.

As for bringing democracy into the current kingdoms, they might want to look at the United Kingdom. They are still officially a monarchy, but they they vote and have a parliament.

Keren on Earth

Dear Penny,

I was planning on using my Puppy Dog Eyes of Doom and begging you to send Keren to Earth. Alas, It looks like it's not going to happen.

And anyhow, I don't have any puppy dog eyes of doom to flash.

Why?

Well, this is BCTS, so it's just natural that we should let Keren experience life on the other side of the fence.

More fun, though, is running around in your daily routine and thinking, "What would Keren think of this?"

If Keren was here as I walk up to the automatic door, would I raise my hand and intone, "Open Seasome?"

Would Keren be frightened as I take the car up to fifteen miles per hour? Then, we move out into traffic and head for the freeway.

Sooooo many fun things. Keren's soul can be implanted into the body of the accident victim a couple rooms down. After all, the original inhabitant is no longer using it. Then, Keren... I mean Karen and Gary can become close as they go through rehab together.

And since Karen's family all died in the car crash, it's only natural that Gary's family will take her in.

And life is short, so they can get married in one of those Los Vegas wedding chapels -- which would be quite an experience for someone from the middle ages.

Or, there could be a change of plans and two girls can appear at the side of the road or in a campground or whatever, complete with driver's licenses, debit cards with fat accounts, and a marriage license.

But the reason that the 4D beings would want to do it is so that the future king of Palarand can see, first hand, the good, the bad, and the ugly that comes with technological advances, population growth, and the ability for a few people to support lots of people.

And they both can take online classes (Khan Academy, for example) and watch instructional videos in YouTube.

But the real thing that they need to bring back is a bunch of very graphic documentaries on the horrors of the nuclear bomb.

I strongly suspect that the cold war would have gone nuclear if we hadn't had such a vivid example of the horrors of the bomb. Perhaps Hiroshima and Nagasaki taught the world the necessary graphic lesson that kept us from pushing the button. It came way too close way too many times.

And once someone knows that it is possible, someone is going to build it.

And they aren't going to get out of their own solar system without nuclear energy. After all, look where we are after about half a century. We would have colonies on the Moon and Mars if we were using nuclear rockets.

Also, they need to get off of fossil fuels sooner rather than later.

They can do that if they don't make the same mistakes we made.

We could have built our nuclear infrastructure upon thorium, which is much safer and doesn't have near the problem with nuclear waste.

Why did we use Uranium instead?

Well, it has this nifty by-product, depleted uranium, which makes nifty bullets. Also, the mining and refining infrastructure that makes reactor-grade enriched uranium can also make weapons grade uranium.

To be fair, we made those decisions just after having fought a very difficult war. And the Red Threat was looming.

But Garia is coming to Earth to help prevent some of those errors.

Oh, and the beings really ought to go trolling the old folks' homes. If they can find an old and dying electrical engineer that started as a ham operator in the era when the hams even made their own vacuum tubes, they can bring him back for another loop around the wheel.

A lot of the earlier radio and electronics technology came from hams. This old geezer turned pre-teen girl (adopted by the prince and princess) could start an amateur radio service on Palarand and pull lots of potential nerds out of the woodwork -- or fields, actually.

Complete Agreement About Keren

terrynaut's picture

Hi Ray!

I thought the same thing and posted a comment about it in an earlier chapter. I thought it would make the trip back to Earth more interesting and fun. It doesn't look like it'll happen but there's still time left. Who knows what'll happen? Hm?

- Terry

Send Keren to Earth...

We need to start chanting:

Send Keren to Earth
Send Keren to Earth
Send Keren to Earth
Send Keren to Earth
Send Keren to Earth
Send Keren to Earth

lol

The reason we're using

The reason we're using uranium is actually simpler than having the nifty byproducts. It's that the alternatives, while much more efficient, are even _better_ at creating weapons grade materials. Breeder reactors create the least amount of 'waste', but create additional plutonium, all the better for a bomb. (although no reactor creates that much waste. Most of the 'nuclear waste' is anything that comes out of the plant - like old desks, filing cabinets, etc. Because it _might_ have come in contact with some radiation, somewhere, it's called low grade nuclear waste).

The other problem with nuclear energy is the FUD that was created by our government in the early days of radiation testing. They lied about how much radiation people were being exposed to, so people still think that low doses of radiation cause enormous amounts of cancer and other issues.

Me? Put the reactors in the middle of the continental plates, close enough to a major river for water to be transported. Those are the dead zone areas that don't have earthquakes, tend to be close to bedrock, and you can move the 'waste' to a nearby mountain, drill a deep hole, and stuff it in. Once full, plug it with 100 feet of concrete. In general, most reactors only require refueling about every 15 years, and can continue to operate for decades with minimal structural maintenance. The key to building more (here) is to limit the regulations once construction has begun. (Here, they'll actually change the regulations then require the 90% constructed reactor to be torn apart and rebuilt with the new regulations in mind.)


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Why Uranium ?

Dear Ray,

why indeed !

Thorium is more than twice as common in rocks on Earth, than Uranium. Its breakdown products from nuclear fission are not nearly so dangerous as those from Uranium, which include elements that remain radioactive for over a thousand years, from much longer half-lives. Yes "spent Uranium" is stuff that has been used to penetrate armour when fired in shells, but it also contains a small amount of Plutonium. In Iraq it was used in the 2nd Gulf War by the US invaders. There are now thousands of mis-formed children in Iraq as a result. The Plutonium was spread by the sandstorms and will never be got rid of.

The reasons why countries prefer to play about with Uranium include that when it is separated (enrched) to collect certain very reactive isotopes, it can be used to make Atom Bombs, and when used in reactors to heat water to make steam to power turbines that make electricity (!) one of the waste products is Plutonium, an extremely radioactive substance that is also highly poisonous to ALL Life-Forms and that does not occur on earth in Nature, nor outside the residue from nuclear reactors fuelled on Uranium. Using Plutonium in a bomb makes a Nuclear Fusion explosion, which is to an Atom Bomb as an Atom Bomb is to an ordinary chemical explosive.

In my younger years I worked in a laboratory where I used radioactive iodine in an experiment where I was trying to follow the journey of an antibody we were developing against a family of parasitic diseases. Back in those days there were no rules and regulations about Safety at Work. I just went down to the Stores with my signed chit and gave it to the Storekeeper who handed the radio-iodine to me. Back in the lab \i prepared my labelled antibodies and administered them to the animal and was pipetting tiny doses into the wells in a plate using a mouth pipette, when an air-bubble got in and I swallowed a mouth-full of it.
Big panic in lab. I was rushed to sick bay and forced to drink Sodium Fluoride - Fluorine being more reactive than Iodine it tends to push the iodine atoms free and they can be excreted rapidly in one's urine. A Geiger Counter was used to check how radioactive I had become - instead of clicking it screamed. After being kept in overnight I was allowed home next evening, by which time blood and urine were no longer very radioactive. I was not ill in any way but from then on my metabolism became somewhat strange. My cholesterol levels are half the bottom of the normal human range, I have twice as many Macrophages (white blood cells that drift around the body and gobble up anything that should not be there, like invading bacteria and virus particles). At 78 I still have all my hair and it is the same colour as it always was, naturally. I have no wrinkles, and if bruised I heal as fast as a teenager. Physiologically and biochemically I am still in my twenties at the most. What was harmed were my reproductive cells.

When my third baby was in the womb something was not right. When she was born she was all built wrong, with things she ought not to have had and other bits missing. She screamed in pain for about a half hour before she died. It hurt so much that my until then lovely marriage fell apart. My two other daughters were by then at college, she was a surprise not a planned baby - the doctor where we had moved to had a religious objection to contraception and conned us into accepting a mini-dose pill, that we found out later had a built-in failure rate !

As someone who has been personally affected by a radioactive substance, I am of the opinion that we should keep well away from all of them. Radio-activity and Life are incompatible. My later research involved the development of other ways to mark cells or compounds one is following, using bioluminescence, enzyme markers, and so on.

After the two bombs used on Japan, it is true that the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) prevented the big powers in the Cold War from fighting each other directly. But I doubt this would deter lunatics like the Iranian and the ISIL terrorists, or Al Qaida etc.

Briar

re: uranium

In the 1950's when the Soviets had Czechoslovakia mine Uranium using prison labor, males were sterilized after 2 weeks in the camp. This was their solution to prevent birth defects.

Updated 15.11.7
Please realize the commies considered political prisoners the lowest forms of life. As such, their lives meant NOTHING and were used for the worst slave labor tasks and medical experiments that would make Mengele seem like a saint.

Some of the deliberate

Some of the deliberate misconceptions here hurt.

1) Depleted uranium does _not_ contain plutonium unless it's made from recycled spent fuel pellets. This is such a small quantity that it's unlikely to be used. The bulk of DU is a byproduct of the enrichment process. This has no plutonium. The main risk of DU is that it is a heavy metal, and can cause issues if not treated with chelation. (Heavy metal poisoning. Same with mercury, lead, etc)

2) Radiation at low levels isn't destructive. In fact, it's been studied to be beneficial. (Radiation hormesis) - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2477686/ In fact, we _live_ in a constant radiation field. Geiger counters have to be adjusted for the local background radiation before they can be used in any environment, because if you just turned one on, it would go nuts. (cosmic radiation) So, you have to be careful when talking about using one during an exposure.

3) Testicular genetic damage from somatic radiation damage.
https://hps.org/hpspublications/articles/pregnancyandradiati...
(Skip down to Radiation Exposure to the Sperm from Diagnostic X-Ray Studies )
The main complication is sterility or infertility. After about four months, all of the damaged sperm is flushed out and has been replaced. If it's years later, then the damage was unlikely to have been caused by the radiation exposure, and simply was a pregnancy that did not self-abort, which is what happens to the bulk of damaged pregnancies. (My wife had a miscarriage in the second trimester, as well as, we think, several that were disposed of shortly after implantation. (late menstrual periods) )

4) Plutonium is not an 'unnatural' product. If it can be produced in a lab, it HAS been produced in nature, even if in extremely small amounts. At least four different plutonium isotopes have been discovered in the wild, as it were. It's simply that as a radioactive compound, it's half life determines how much is left. Uranium on it own has a long half life, so large quantities are left. (See the natural nuclear reactor)

5) Thorium isn't radioactive enough to be used in a reactor. You have to use uranium to enrich it. So it's basically a uranium reactor. (I'm skipping much of the article, because a lot of it could be tossed out as pure bias)
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/23/thorium-n...

True breeder reactors, which create more fuel as a main byproduct, aren't built because of the risk of people stealing the byproduct and making nuclear weapons. That's it.

The other big problem is NIMBY. Not In My Back Yard. There are several US states that could store thousands of tons of it without risking any water sheds, crop growing areas, or people, but those states still scream bloody murder about it. (Mostly they're desert ones with mountains. Go to a mountain, dig a big hole, drop it in. You're half a mile above a water table, nothing lives there anyway, and anyone trying to get there without specialized equipment is NUTS)


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Tantalizing Tidbits

terrynaut's picture

I'm looking forward to the journey back to Earth. I think it'll be very emotional and intense.

I like how the meetings with the other beings give out little bits of information. It's all a very good tease and one of the many things that keeps me reading.

Thanks and kudos (number 123).

- Terry

Other times, other places, other customs

I do enjoy this series very much (although the Great Minds segment is, for me, an extra that does not fit !)

This particular episode seems to have more comment than many others as different people display their tolerance (or lack of it) to other people's suggestions for democracy, governance, control and the like.

Those who are interested in some differing ideas could read the novels of Christopher Stasheff. The stories of Leo Frankowski (Conrad Stargard) are fun as well. Various alternative histories from Frank Sturgeon, H Beam Piper and Harry Turtledove are also good.

It will be very interesting to se how this series develops.
Alys P

Governance

The issues of future governance have proved especially tricky for me. Gary Cambell is American, and naturally has an American viewpoint on how the world ought to be run. Indeed, he knows no other way. I, on the other hand, am British, and I of course have an entirely different way of looking at the world. We have readers from all over the world who live under different methods of governance.

I didn't want to get too involved in the nuts and bolts of how the new confederation will be run. From the point of view of the main story, it is merely colorful background which involves Garia simply because she has knowledge of methods not used on Alaesia - so far as anyone knows. So far I've just been pointing out potential problems and letting the rulers get on with it.

The situation won't be resolved before Garia leaves Anmar. I'm just intending to leave it to the reader's imagination, although there is scope for future stories to give hints about what happens.

Thank you for your observations.

Penny

protection of intellectual property rights

I believe that protection of intellectual property rights (patents, copyrights) handled by the guilds/engineers and enforced by the rulers (crown) would go a long way towards spreading knowledge and wealth throughout the lands while promoting innovation. Best of all the government systems don't have to change quickly.

Perhaps, Julina should have been sent to Dekarran for Merizel's wedding where she could have been presented to the rulers as a succesful innovator and inventor. Showing off inventions and businesses that she profits from would have astounded many. Maybe Bleskin will or did make a presentation along these lines about Julina.

for some reason i keep

for some reason i keep getting a bad feeling about Garia going back to earth especially as she will be returning to being male then switching back again coming back.
my biggest concern is did they ever figure out how she switched genders in the first place and will they be able to duplicate it.
the part I don't understand is they now say they can't keep her current body in stasis, but then how do they have gary's body waiting for him in a coma back on earth if they can't be in two places at the same time.
if they haven't got it figured out its going to be a little awkward if she comes back as a male, its going to be a little hard for her to be a princess married to the prince then, let alone having kids.

Body switching, etc

The Beings know why the machine generated the wrong body but they have imperfect control over the process. It was only recently that they even realized that it was happening at all.

In normal circumstances switching genders would be of little utility to their planning but in this case they must get a specific result, twice, for their desired result. You can be sure that they won't allow anything to go wrong!

In the case of Gary's body, remember that the Beings look for people about to die as transfer candidates. In his case he is brain dead and in a purely vegetative state. That is the only reason they were able to manipulate the 'essence' and attach it to the new body... they didn't expect the old body to survive at all. Yay medical science!

You are right to be concerned about Gary returning to Earth. You'll have to wait a couple chapters to see how that pans out.

Penny

re: VMBs growing a new body (nearly cloning)

re: VMBs growing a new body (nearly cloning).
From story and comments it is a fact that the VMBs do not have PERFECT control when growing a new body. We know that even identical twins have their differences.

Hence, I would not be surprised if the NEXT Garia version has different hair or eye color, is taller or has a change in body type.

Realizing that changes may occur naturally, I can't wait to see what, if any, physical changes are given to the new Garia.

In the meantime, does Garia have concerns along the lines of coming back female but, with some physical differences?

Maybe

It all depends on how such tinkering will affect the probability matrix of her descendants. A change may or may not affect certain key characteristics that will affect a descendant's ability to survive and further the change Anmar is only just starting to experience. I dare say by the time Garia has passed on to become a VMB in say 80+ years time (maybe Keren might evolve too? *shrug*) Alaesia will surely be a lot more advanced, vacuum tubes at the very least though there is the outside chance of primitive transistors. It all depends on what knowledge is brought back from Earth.

Of course, then being a VMB herself, she will become a queen of Palarand Emeritus and may even 'seance' with her descendants. She will get he envious ability to see the product of what she has set in motion.

Vaccuum tubes and transistors

They can make vacuum tubes right now. If there is a good reason, they will do it. They're busy with sewing machine, typewriter, printing press, paper mill, and stuff like that. So many ideas, too few engineers. That's why I recommend that they have an Anmar version of ham radio -- to attract more nerds. The fact is, they need to find a way of identifying the gifted nerds of the land and offering them all a free scholarship.

They can probably bypass a lot of the tubes and go straight to transistors. Point contact transistors are relatively easy to make. If they manage to get a couple old electrical engineers from Earth, they'll be able to get to 70s or 80s level technology in about ten years. If they recruit enough talented people from their populace, they'll be able to advance from there faster than Earth has, because they'll have a better idea about where to put their efforts.

They can have broadcast radio and television in ten years, and they can actually use it for education first and entertainment second. Give them another ten years to have relatively clumsy but usable cell phones, along with a good start to the Internet. Since they will already know that fiber optics is the way to go, they can, as they develop faster electronics, speed things up by the simple expedient of swapping out the electronics at the ends of the cables (including the boosters, of course.)

Speaking of radio...

On Earth, worldwide communication via radio is accomplished at frequencies below 30 MHz, for the most part. That's a gross simplification, and the higher frequencies are less reliable, but that's essentially the case.

For example, you can hear stations on the AM broadcast band (0.55 to 1.6 MHz) pretty much worldwide. FM Broadcast radio (88 - 108 MHz) is pretty much line of sight.

But... there is a nebula near Alasia. That has to be doing all kinds of weird things to the ionosphere. Any ham that gets imported to the place will be cackling gleefully about all the good propagation (skip) that they'll be getting over there.

Don't think one would want to be that close to that nebula

The veil nebula is a supernova remnant so Anmar is extremely lucky not to have had its atmosphere or biosphere destroyed if they are that close to a supernova explosion as the minimum safe distance is 50 to 100 light years. Supernova explosions are not symmetrical so hopefully the veil will spread in a vector away from Anmar. One can imagine how bright such an explosion was on Anmar as it is.

Crude tubes I guess

Creating a good vacuum is not trivial. A good vacuum tube takes a while to figure out believe it or not. Even now, vintage audio vacuum tubes are still known for their superior performance and life span compared to 'modern' respins of them.

They need the tubes for the transmitters and audiophiles out there will not forgive you if they do not get their tube sound if tubes never get into home audio equipment :).

The main issue is the engineering theory will take time to develop. Without that, implementing a good transmitter and receiver etc will not be optimal. At this point they are still trying to figure out basic passive electronic components like capacitors. They will need to understand their own version of norton, thevenin circuits and stuff. All that takes time and like you said, the requisite brain power is not there yet.

But yes, I guess I am a bit pessimistic but the idea of a cell network by the time she passes on is .... maybe. In any case, I think the development of the computer will wait until transistors come out as vacuum tube ones was a dead end.

Luckily there is no RCA corporation to block the rapid development of FM for those Alaesian audiophiles.

Developing electronics

Yes, it will take a while to get the details right. That's why I suggest that the 4-D beings go trolling the old folks' homes for an electrical engineer with ham radio experience.

If the knowledge is available, it takes about four years to get an electrical engineering degree. Drop the humanities stuff and you'll shave off maybe half a year.

Anmar just got the decimal numbering system. Garia, if she has time, can probably get them started with algebra. To start getting any real engineering done -- electronic or mechanical -- they need geometry, analytic geometry, vector algebra, calculus, differential equations, matrix algebra, and the like. Then, they can actually do stuff with Thevenion, Norton, Maxwell's equations for electromagnetic radiation, and the like.

And then, there is relativity and quantum mechanics -- both of which are used in electrical engineering.

Garia needs to bring home a couple hundred pounds of text books. Or, maybe a bunch of books on sd card -- which will have to be transcribed before the charge leaks away on the media. They have to be translated and reproduced anyhow, so why not bring it over the easy way?

I'm figuring that they will be busily working on that information for years. It's not trivial stuff.

Skipping straight to

Skipping straight to transistors is a bad idea. Thermionic deposition is a key step in integrated circuits, and understanding vacuum tubes is pretty important to that. It's better to do _all_ of the steps in order, at least with electronics. You can speed them up, but skipping past ends up with people not really understanding what they're doing.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

changes, how much of a concern can they be?

changes, how much of a concern can they be?

So far, transferees showed up where no one knew them. Will the NEW Gary look more like his own brother (you look almost like my Gary but you aren't my Gary). If this is a concern, then send someone 3 weeks in advance to prepare things.

I propose Merizel for this task.

Thanm you Penny.

Hi GR - the VMBs in S E E

I think that Penny has managed to reveal sufficient about the VMBs to suggest that they have it all in hand when it comes to the transfers.
A swift zoom through the Timeline suggests to me the following incidents that Penny told us about:

In #8, the VMBs detect the anomaly - that Garia awoke rather than Gary
In #29, Garia mentions them
In #61, we learn that the 'anomaly' has actually given the VMBs a greater chance of success
In #76, and more so in #77, we learnt more of the consequences of their plan, and indeed the consequences of knowing there is a plan
In #101, then we get a great deal more

At some point, it was suggested that the VMBs transferred Marilin to Joth, at least partly, as an attempt to DELIBERATELY change the gender of the transferee. An attempt which was successful.
So I am relatively confident that the double transfer shall be the success they all expect.

One other thing occurs to me after these swift re-reads, and that this tale is, at least on one fundamental level, about the VMBs and not necessarily about Garia - Garia is the mechanism which our esteemed authoress has determined to be the best way to get over the point of the tale. Garia has been a HUGE instrument of change, bringing the world of Anmar to Industry Level Four far quicker than the VMBs originally predicted.
Thus, in one way, the return of Gary/Garia to Earth is largely irrelevant to the ultimate destination of the tale - it could also be argued that once Garia disappears, then the Tale has come to an end.
It would leave us all tearing our hair out, of course, but, assuming the success of the double-transfers, then Garia's job (as a teller of tales) is effectively ceased, and any 'reporter' could be used to put us out of our misery, our misery born of curiosity.

But perchance I am slightly biased, as I am using Julina in exactly that way to keep up with the developments in Blackstone; Julina is merely a reporter.

I would far prefer to have a continuation of the story at the level dear Penny has been giving us for so long now.
I think I would track Penny down and do something nasty if I never found out how many children Keren and Garia have, how the Sirrel Confederation grows and affects other nations around, whether other continents are ever discovered (and in which way the discovery is done - Alaesians going overseas, or overseas 'aliens' arriving on Alaesia.)

Oh, there are a host of other questions that are now bombarding my poor brain, so I shall post this now ......

Never before had the VMBs

Never before had the VMBs needed to concern themselves with recreating an exact duplicate after 2 transfers and twice no less.

G-m(a) to G-f(a) to G-m(a) and back to G-f(a)
[G-m(a) = Gary - male, version a]
[G-f(a) = Garia - female, version a]

It will be interesting to see how it all works out.

The Sagas of Einland

Garia never mentioned a difference in size between Anmar and Earth (Consider any of the Edgar Rice Burroughs books on Mars or any of the movies based on the Moon). Surely if there were a significant difference, Garia would have noticed and mentioned it. Therefore, there must be at least one continent out there somewhere!

I find the Einlanders to be interesting. However, there isn't much room on the Siril for a good Einlander Saga. If we assume Garia's plan for one of the available Einlander ships happens, there are two (2) ships available and two (2) appealing characters needing "adventure on the high seas".

Imagine brother/sister rivalry, two brave crews setting out across the unknown seas (and maybe an angry king sailing with a fleet in pursuit!). You now hear the theme from The Long Ships playing in the background! (I wonder if Richard Widmark and Maureen O'Hara are available?)

There is a Big Closet serial that would fit in well as the civilization on another continent (See the Felicia series by Shineris). The premise is different (reincarnation vs. Anmar's "Worm Hole Aliens"), but both would fit together seamlessly.

The Felicia story is a hilarious romp through the medieval era staring a young girl (who was originally an Earth man) who introduces "modern" (I.e. More Advanced) technology including flintlock pistols and "lollipops"!

Einnlanders and other matters

The size of Anmar is approximately the same as that of Earth. I haven't made any determination as to actual diameter or density, etc, but you can assume the two worlds are "similar".

I also haven't -carefully - mentioned any other continents, but you can assume they are out there somewhere... with weird animals and transferees of their own. There's pleny of scope for other Anmar tales, should anyone be interested.

Torulf must return to Einnland before the year is out as he is next in line to Einnland's throne. It has already been noted that the next in line after Torulf would not be a good choice so he has to go back and face Daddy.

Eriana, on the other hand, isn't going back. She will take the Visund upstream in another side tale - if I ever find time to write it - and has an interesting future waiting for her when she returns.

Yes, I've seen the Long Ships, although it has been many decades. There will be voyages across Anmar's oceans, but not for some years yet. Those voyages will likely be undertaken in steam-powered welded steel hulls unlike anything the locals possess now.

Penny

Einnlanders

Okay, but sailing across an unknown ocean in Viking longship is more impressive (dangerous) than a steam powered ship (probable equipped with a Marconi device).

My limited knowledge of the Middle Ages tells me that Viking nobles (and kings) did go on raiding expeditions. Torulf could go on a voyage after returning home.
Whateley universe has multiple writers, Anmar could benefit from the same.
As a long time Civilization player, I find the Anmar type stories more interesting than the Whateley type stories.

Hopefully they'll figure out

Hopefully they'll figure out about sacrificial anodes.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Einnlanders

Okay, but sailing across an unknown ocean in Viking longship is more impressive (dangerous) than a steam powered ship (probable equipped with a Marconi device).

My limited knowledge of the Middle Ages tells me that Viking nobles (and kings) did go on raiding expeditions. Torulf could go on a voyage after returning home.
Whateley universe has multiple writers, Anmar could benefit from the same.
As a long time Civilization player, I find the Anmar type stories more interesting than the Whateley type stories.

You mean a Tesla device, like

You mean a Tesla device, like a spark gap transmitter?


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Marconi Device

On Anmar "Arabic Numerals" are called "Garian Numbers".

Radio was invented (on Earth) by an Italian called Marconi.

I was trying to point out to Penny that exploring an unknown ocean in a Viking (Einnlander) longship is more impressive than a metal steamship equipped with Radio and advanced navigation equipment not available to Einnlanders.

Sagas of Einnland

When Torulf returns to Einnland, he must face an angry King (his father) for losing one of his father's trusted retainers and failing to return with his sister. In addition he must compete with his younger (and stronger) brother for the right to succeed his fearsome and dangerous father. What better way to demonstrate his fitness to ascend to the throne than leading a successful expedition across the "unknown sea". Throw in a competing expedition led by his wayward sister and you have the basis for an epic novel...

Torulf's uncle was arrogant...

Torulf's uncle was arrogant when he attacked his niece. First, he brought a knife to a gunfight. Second, he lacked the element of surprise when he faced his niece-- now a trained and combat seasoned warrior who also commands a commando unit.

Radio was invented, and

Radio was invented, and patented, on Earth by a Serbo-Croatian immigrant named Nikola Tesla. Marconi was a student at a university where Tesla lectured on wireless transmission of information, and subsequently got backing to build Marconi branded radios. Tesla and his backers sued, and won - because of the long pre-existing patent.

Even 80 years after the lawsuit and evidence, textbooks persist in calling Marconi the inventor of radio. He invented radio like Edison invented the light bulb. That is, not at all. He, as did Edison, developed a newer version of it, better in many ways. That's it.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Lightbulb

Edison invented a version of the incandescent lamp that actually works for more than a few seconds. Arc lamps predate the incandescent lamp, so nobody really can claim that Edison invented the first electric light source.

In 1879, Edison invented a carbon thread incandescent lamp that lasted 40 horus. In 1880, he in vented a 16 watt lamp that 1500 hours.

In 1885, the incandescent mantle lamp was born -- the same thing that people use for camping today. (I have some Coleman and Primus mantle lamps out in the garage that run on unleaded gasoline or propane -- depending on the lamp.)

Edison tested thousands of materials for use in an electric light. He succeeded after years of work, so no one need sneer about whether not he made the very first one. He made the version that, rather than being a laboratory curiosity, is an actual practical light source.

Of course, a lot of effort is going to be saved by the fact that Garia will let them know that tungsten is the material to use.

And the LED lights

say 40 years later?

The most important thing that

The most important thing that Edison did in terms of the light source didn't have anything to do with the filament at all. It was the pumping out, flash discharge, then pumping again. Obtaining that close to a perfect vacuum has been key to a lot of things. The previous incandescent bulbs were made of all sorts of things, but they oxidized too quickly. (Yes, there were pre-edison _bulbs_, not just arc lights)

Diodes - LED's are an extension of diodes. They're not that simple to develop, no matter what politicians think. My father discussed that with me years ago. The red ones were easy, yellow/orange a bit more difficult. Scaling up the colour spectrum increases in difficulty, and the pure white/blue ones needed for good light took quite some time before they were both bright enough and inexpensive enough to think about.

They -STILL- need insane heat sinks. Those ugly bulb bottoms? Those are the heat sinks. The flashlights I have? If you leave them on more than 10 minutes, the whole light gets noticeably warmer - and unlike incandescents, the warmer they get, the shorter their life span. Tungsten doesn't particularly care about the difference between 75 degrees F and 250 F.

However, maybe they can skip most of the CFL fiasco. Mercury is just not a great product to use, and a bugger to recycle. Sodium Vapor, on the other hand..


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

LEDs

The first obstacle is coming up with the right material to get the desired band gap. The band gap controls the color. It's a quantum mechanical thing.

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is one of the materials used for red LEDs. Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) goes into some blue LEDs. There are dozens of compounds used. Lots of time was used coming up with them. If Garia brings home a list, it'll save them lots of time.

But that isn't the whole story. Older LEDs were less efficient than incandescent lights. It took a few years to get them to their current level of efficiency.

Fluorescents, on the other hand, were invented in 1926. They are definitely easier to make. With Garia there, a strict policy of recycling will no doubt be implemented. That will solve most of the problems with mercury.

Pre-industrial societies, as

Pre-industrial societies, as Penny has written Palarand to be, already have a huge focus on recycling. Without mass production, everything is expensive. Leather takes a lot of work, and nobody really wants to be near a tannery, or glue factory. Everything is used as much as possible. If a leather lace breaks, you shorten it and tie it together. When it's too short to do that, you use it for something else. It's only when it's too rotten to use that you toss it. Shoes? You re-sole, not remake. For extensive scuffing, the leather is refinished. Metal? That's hard to get out of the ground, and it's easier to re-forge a hinge, or iron strap, than to make a brand new one. Forging swords into plowshares isn't as likely, because 1) Swords aren't cheap, and require special training to make, and 2) plowshares are built totally differently, and require a lot more metal - and a different set of skills. So, someone might reforge a broken sword into another sword, or a few knives, but not anything else. Horseshoes get melted down and re-forged, nails get straightened and re-used, etc.

The point is to keep that mindset going, while dealing with consumerism. For example, much of what we have now would last ten times longer if the gears were made of steel or even aluminium, rather than nylon. I just changed the belt in my washing machine. $15 belt, 9 year old washing machine, running almost like new. Why aren't the belts in cd-rom drives that easy to change? It's the most frequent dying part in a computer - it's when it stops wanting to eject. The drive works fine, the belt just slips, so it can't push out the tray. Tomorrow I'll be changing the vent mechanism in the dishwasher. The problem there? It's a 20 cent part, at best, that's gone wrong. However, you have to buy a $95 assembly to get the 20 cent part. I'd love it if they had offered me the 20 cent part at 2 dollars, even though I'd need to use a soldering iron. I have one of those. (Even so, the assembly probably cost $5 to make, and was used in a huge number of Frigidaire dishwashers. They should be selling it for 45 or less)

The truly sad part? Both of those parts I've mentioned, for the washing machine and the dish washer, took less than 2 minutes to pull out. People now just don't _want_ to try to do it themselves; they'd rather pay someone 150% for the part, and another $100 to put it in. A Do It Yourself book from the Time Life Series is less than $20 from the used book store, and can let you save thousands over the years. (Heck, replacing a $100 toilet, I ended up doing about $1,000 worth of work, if I'd paid a plumber to do it. It took a total of a week for everything (that includes removing rotten concrete, letting it dry, then putting in new concrete with reinforcement, and letting THAT fully dry), plus about $50 in tools and supplies. So, I spent about five hours of my time in that week, and saved a thousand dollars.

THAT'S the reason to learn to do it yourself, as well as the Reduce, Recycle, Reuse.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Gears

That is why one should never buy black and decker weedwhackers, those gears are all non-metal and break after one season of use.

Want stuff fixed?

Get rid of all the glue being used to hold the innards together of so much of our modern portable devices.

Recycling Fluorescents

Interesting note illustrating how the US does recycling. My last job was in a printing plant. 80%+ of our lighting was color-corrected fluorescent lamps. For a long time (years) we properly recycled our fluorescent tubes - specialized bulb crushers, sealed debris containers, permitted shipping as hazardous waste, select (expensive) recyclers, etc. VERY expensive!

When the OSHA-licensed recyclers quit accepting this hazardous waste our safety engineer asked them what we could do, the recycling company replyed, "Throw them in the trash. It's what everybody else does." It seems that if we quit treating them as hazardous waste and just chucked them in the trash going to the city landfill the feds were perfectly happy with that. So all that mercury-contaminated waste was just buried in the ground and OSHA smiled on us and was happy. And we all died happily ever after.

That was the point I just said "P**s on it," and quit recycling unless there was something in it for me.


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Einnlanders

Hi Josette,

From your comment, I detect that you have an interest in the Einnlanders - it suddenly occurred to me that you might not have seen the three-part series (first part about twice as long as the other two) which relates the 'original' Einnlander arrival (Eriana's expedition) and the use the Palarandis made of the soldiery in their war against Yod. It was written by Di Wonder and a link to it can be found from my Index thingie. Towards the end of the index there are links to every chapter of every tale so far posted on this world. There is a skip up near the beginning to take you directly down to the links.
Di called her tale "The Saga of the Warrior Princess" and it is sometimes referred to by the initials 'WP'. The skip to the chapter links is the entry that begins with the word 'tenthly'. Use that skip, then scroll down until you find the bold characters W P
Alternatively you can use the earlier link to the LAST chapter and from there use the BCTS navigation links to get to the first of the three chapters.

Here is the URL to the Index:

http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/fiction/48235/julina-blackston...

I hope this helps

As for some others who have commented here, I wonder where they get their ideas from.
Certainly not from the tale we all enjoy so much.
Torulf has no uncle that we know about, no uncle has been mentioned, and yet that seems to have become an 'established fact'. The man who was killed by Eriana and her pistol was simply a scheming Einnlander noble.
Admittedly he was indeed arrogant, and didn't take the time to learn about his new environment.
I just felt I needed to correct any false impressions you might have gained.

Have a good week

Julia

Garia v2

Wonder if she can get an upgrade under the hood instead of it being a plain ol' cloning?

She has already proven her worth so internal upgrades like a bit more lifespan, strength and stamina and intelligence and maybe a smidge more height to 5'3" or 4 (over the next few years so it would seem natural.) There are also non-human genomes in our DNA so wonder if the disease causing parts could be edited out.

Garia v2

Faster than a speeding bullet! Stronger than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

Trouble

I am having trouble figuring out how long Garia will be gone im Earth terms.

hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna

Is Southwest...

Aine Sabine's picture

Considered up-river? The reason I ask, is that east and west seemed mixed up in this chapter. Maybe I misread, but it seemed that towards Yod was east and the coast was west. Which is mixed up. Can someone one confirm or deny what I read. It's the meeting of leaders section.

Wil

Aine

I don't have the map handy,

I don't have the map handy, but if you check Penny's author page, there should be a link to it.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Valley direction

Yes, it is right. The Great Valley runs roughly from the South-West to meet the Shan Ocean towards the North-East. Since the Sirrel runs almost the whole (unspecified) length, that makes the South-West upstream.

I occasionally get muddled up with the directions. It is even easier to get confused when you consider this all takes place in the Southern Hemisphere!

However, if you do spot something that appears inconsistent, that is because it probably is. Editing something this size is a long job and there is always something that gets overlooked. If you find something you think is off, then I would be happy to receive a PM.

I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

Penny

Thank You!!

Aine Sabine's picture

I finally found the map I was looking for er needed. Anyway, it finally gave me the information I needed to understand the locations. Thanks.

The maps need a distance bar. Like how far is it for the length of Palarand? Just curious.

Wil

Aine

Distances on the map

Di Wonder would probably be able to answer this better than I am, as she drew them for me.

I can tell you that the Great Valley is supposed to be about 60 marks wide, and since a mark is about a kilometer then call it ~40 miles. The Sirrel is said to be five marks wide at Dekarran. Use that as your guide.

That of course was how I wrote it, and it now appears to me that I should have made the Great Valley a little wider. However, it doesn't make a lot of difference to the story as written. A number of the journeys made sound either too quick or too slow, and I plan to make some adjustments in due course.

Penny

Thanks! That helps.

Aine Sabine's picture

I was thinking it was some where round that a 30 - 40 mile ride a day is not unheard of. Which was about my take on it. Except for the Palar valley. On the maps it seems a little long, but to be sure, I'd have to go back and count the number of days traveled to or from Blackstone. Thanks again!

Edit:

Actually, Palar Valley maybe fine. It's the Great Valley that may be wrong unless riding a freyan is slower. 2-3 days to Dakkaren on a rhino, er freyan from Palarand City would be a problem time wise. Hmmmm! Not sure. Maybe it's the Hippos (can't remember the name) slowing it down.

Wil

Aine

A man on foot generally does

A man on foot generally does 20 miles a day. A man on horseback can go 30-40 miles a day. An army, or a wagon train, is lucky to do 10.

Most of the trips that they make would be at the speed of a dranakh, which means 5-8 miles per day. (I'm basing that on the fact that hippos are larger than oxen, so their movement speed would be somewhat slower).

So, you can assume that most of the trips that Garia takes are at a speed of roughly 8-13 MPD (Marks Per Day).

Part of the reason for the speeds is the amount of time it takes to get things set up for night, plus get ready for the day - and you have to do almost all of that in daylight.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

If that is the case...

Aine Sabine's picture

Then I was right the first time, the trip up the Palar Valley from Dekarran to Blackstone may have been a little fast if the mal is scaled right. The map I mean is the Great Valley and Palarand Political Boundaries map. It makes Dekarran to Blackstone route look almost as long as the Great Valley. That would be almost 2 - 3 weeks travel itself. That is believing it is 3 days from Palarand City to South Slip.

Wil

Aine

"muddled up with the directions"

WillowD's picture

Try reading the Wizard of Oz series. At some point during the series the publisher put a mirror image of the map of Oz in one of the books. And ever since then east and west keeps flipping back and forth, depending on which version of the map the author was using.

No, it was...

Aine Sabine's picture

My fault. I didn't see the best political map at the bottom of the page. That one gave me what I needed to know. Fixed my mixed up directions right up.

Wil

Aine

Re-reading this story

WillowD's picture

It is so nice to see people are still reading and commenting on this story. I absolutely adore this story. I got about one third through re-reading it at one point, then I got distracted. I am planning to do a complete re-read "real soon now".

Thank you so much Penny for writing and sharing this story with us.

Sticking point

Jamie Lee's picture

Once the bugs are workined out of the sewing machine and loom, seimtresses everywhere will wonder how they got along without them for so long. And perhaps a seimstress will come up with an idea to improve one or both and new businesses will start because of that idea.

The rulers have been independent rulers for so long that a Federation or other form of central Government will cause many to pause at the idea.

They have a hard time understanding how they will remain rulers but be joined under one roof. That is the sticking point which must be discussed until a working model can be found.

And they're right about Yod, since the citizens basically helped overthrow the rulers. The citizens of Yod have shown they want to decide who rules Yod, and not some self appointed butt head. The proposition for Yod sounds good, but will the citizens of Yod think so?

Once again person exploration continues within their room, bringing both joy and pleasure to the couple. They have no idea how soon they have until they are separated, so making the best of their time together may help when they are separated.

Others have feelings too.