Grantville Gazette-Volume XIV Page 27

  Marshall steepled his fingers. "How so?"

  "I doubt very much that your king cares what happens to you. Because he has already given up North America to the French."

  "The French!"

  "Yes, by the Treaty of Ostend, which we learned about shortly after the Battle of Dunkirk. Charles discovered that in the Grantville history books, some of the American colonies revolted successfully, and so he was willing to let them be Richelieu's problem."

  "You have proof of this?"

  "Sorry, no, but you may question the crew or the colonists," David said.

  "You can do better than that," Maria interjected. "Didn't you save the newspapers? You said you would save them until the Spanish had been defeated!"

  David swore. "You're right, of course. " He dug them out and handed them to Marshall and Scott.

  When they finished reading, he added, "Charles also found out that, according to those history books, he gets into a fight with Parliament, which ends with his head on the chopping block. So he's brought in mercenaries to control London, and he's been arresting anyone who the up-timers' books identified as a Parliamentarian. Indeed, anyone he thinks likely to have such sympathies."

  Marshall winced. "Do you know anything of the Earl of Warwick?" Maria shook her head.

  "Warwick, Warwick," mused David. "Oh, Robert Rich. Well, what I know about him, is that he is a big investor in New World colonies. Bermuda, and Providence Island, off the coast of Nicaragua. And, yes, Richneck Plantation, on the James, is his. I spent a few weeks in Virginia in March of '33. Why do you ask?"

  "He is our chief benefactor," Marshall admitted. "And a Puritan, as are we."

  Scott didn't look happy. "He is on the outs with the Court. Opposed the forced loan of 1626. And Laud's repression of the Puritans."

  "So what you can expect," said David, "is that either your colony, too, will be turned over to the French, or it will be given as a reward to one of Laud's or Wentworth's cronies."

  * * *

  Heinrich coughed. "Begging your pardon, Madam Vorst, but the captain wants to see you."

  Maria looked wistfully at the half-painted scarlet ibis. She doubted it would hang around waiting for her to finish the captain's business, whatever it was. Answering a gardening question for colonists, perhaps. She knew that she wouldn't have had the opportunity to study the natural world of Suriname if it weren't for the colony, but sometimes her role of "science officer" was irksome.

  She rose to her feet, and the sudden movement startled the bird, causing it to take flight. "Help me gather up my things, will you?"

  * * *

  The captain didn't beat around the bush. "Scott's staying in Gustavus, as the representative of the Marshall's Creek colonists."

  Maria raised an eyebrow. "As a hostage, too, I imagine."

  David nodded. "Marshall's going back upriver on the Eikhoorn, to explain the situation to them and see if they wanted to throw in with us."

  "Really. Then perhaps I should go upriver with him. Their fort is on the fringe of the rainforest. I might be able to find rubber trees with their help. Or at least the help of their Indian allies."

  "Are you sure? We don't know how they'll react to the news. The crew of the Eikhoorn will be outnumbered."

  "Captain Marshall seems a man of honor; I will make sure that I am traveling under his protection. And even the Spaniards, when they attack a foreign colony, will usually spare the women."

  "You'll be the only woman there."

  "I am sure there were Indian women around, they just stayed out of sight on your last visit. And as I said, I will be with Captain Marshall."

  David hesitated.

  "It's not just that the USE needs the rubber. If I find them a new product to sell to us, that will help reconcile them to the 'Swedish' presence down river. Or whatever you want to call it."

  "Okay. You've convinced me."

  * * *

  "This is so slow," said David.

  "Slow but sure," Maria replied.

  They were watching latex slowly drip from the gash in the tree, into a waiting cup. With the aid of Maria's sketches, themselves based on illustrations in the Grantville encyclopedias, the Indians had been able to locate several different trees of interest. One, the Hevea guianensis, produced true rubber. Another was what the encyclopedias called Manilkara bidentata. Its latex hardened to form balata. Balata wasn't elastic, but it was a natural plastic, which could be used for electrical insulation.

  "Why don't we just chop the tree down and take all its latex at once?"

  "Several reasons," said Maria. "They aren't that common, just a few trees an acre, so we would have to go further and further out to find more. If we tap them, each tree will produce rubber for twenty years or more. And finally, it just won't work. The latex is stored in little pockets. It's not like there's a big cavern inside you can chop your way to. If you want a quick return, you need to find a Castilla elastica, it has nice long tubes."

  "Well, this is too slow for me. It's as exciting as watching paint dry," David declared. "I think it's time for me to head out."

  "Back to Gustavus?"

  "No, on to Trinidad and Nicaragua. And pick up a Spanish prize or two along the way, if we're lucky."

  "If we must," said Maria with a sigh. "But I have such a horrible backlog of plants to study. Lolly told me the rainforest was diverse, and I thought I knew what she meant, but the reality is inconceivable if you don't see it with your own eyes."

  "Who said you had to leave?"

  "You need me to find the Castilla in Nicaragua."

  "No, I don't. I have Philip."

  Maria opened her mouth, then shut it without saying anything.

  "And he has to come with me because he has to go home at the earliest opportunity. Even if he is dreading the parental punishments which await him."

  * * *

  "Philip."

  "Yes, Maria?" He eased the rucksack he was carrying down to the ground. "As you can see, I am packed and ready to go back to sea."

  "I am sorry it didn't work out. Couldn't work out. You and me, that is."

  Philip didn't quite meet her eyes. "I know. I made an idiot out of myself."

  "Don't feel bad. You're a teenage male. Teenage males, by definition, are idiots. Whatever century they were born in."

  "Thanks. I think."

  "Anyway, I have a present for you." She brought forward the object she had been hiding behind her back. It was one of the blank journal books she used for drawing.

  "You can use this to keep track of what you see and do. Perhaps it will make you famous. And . . . and I will enjoy reading it one day."

  He took the journal, brushing her fingers as he did so. "Thank you. I mean it. And good luck."

  He paused. "Heyndrick seems like an okay guy."

  "I think so, too."

  * * *

  David studied his cousin. "You're determined to stay here in Suriname?"

  "Yes. I think there is a lot of opportunity here," said Heyndrick, straight-faced.

  "You're blushing."

  "I am not," said Heyndrick, coloring still more deeply.

  "I am naming you as acting governor, but—you intend to escort Maria on her explorations?"

  Heyndrick nodded.

  "I thought so. We need someone to keep a steady hand here in your absence. I think I will appoint Carsten Claus as your deputy."

  "The ex-sailor? Ran away from the farm as a kid, and later thought better of it?"

  "That's right. He is CoC. An organizer of some kind. He is chummy with Andy Yost." Andy was the owner of the Grantville Freedom Arches, the first headquarters of the CoC.

  "And you let him come on board?"

  "There's CoC money invested in this colony. And the up-timers are counting on the CoC to make sure we don't make any, uh, imprudent investments."

  "Buying slaves, you mean?"

  "That's right. I will leave you one of the yachts. You and Maria can use it for exploring. You'll
have to keep the captain, of course, I don't have good reason to deprive any of them of command. Which one do you want?"

  "The Eikhoorn."

  "I am not surprised." Heyndrick blushed again. The Eikhoorn was commanded by Captain Adrienszoon, a man thirty years older than Heyndrick, while the Hoop had a young, unmarried skipper.

  Heyndrick pulled a map out of its case, and flattened it out. "Are you sure you shouldn't stay until July? See the colony through the end of the first wet season?"

  "No. If I wait, I will be in the Caribbean in the hurricane season. Not a wise idea."

  Heyndrick found Trinidad on the map, grunted, and rolled the map up again. "That's true . . . However . . . David, I have sailed with you for a long time. And there is something I think needs saying, although I doubt you'd like to hear it."

  "Out with it, cuz."

  "You want to be a patroon. But we know how often colonies with absentee owners have come to grief. Someone like Jan Bicker can afford a loss, but you can't. You're terrific at managing sailors and settlers and Indians, but you need to manage yourself. After a few months, you go crazy and want to sail off. And next you know it, your colony, your investment, will be gone."

  "So what do you suggest?"

  "I know you have to, what's the American phrase, 'get the ball rolling' in Trinidad and Nicaragua. And then you want to get the rubber and tar to the Americans as quickly as possible. But after that, please plan on coming back here, and staying as governor. At least for a few years."

  "I'll think about it. But it is a waste of my skills as a shiphandler."

  "Then perhaps you need to forget about being a patroon, and stick to what you do best."

  * * *

  To be continued in Volume 16

  Radio Killed the Video Star: Mass Communication Development in the 1632 Universe

  Written by Jay Robison

  As we have seen so far in both fiction ("Waves of Change" Grantville Gazette, Volume 9) and non-fiction (articles by Rick Boatright and others), the mass media of radio and television are bringing big changes to seventeenth century Europe. In this essay, I will explore the creative and commercial aspects of radio and television, and why I believe that radio will be king in the world of 1632, at least for the foreseeable future. This essay will not touch on the technical aspects of manufacturing televisions versus radios or expand on the problems of transmission already covered by more knowledgeable writers in previous Grantville Gazette issues. Rather, I hope to cover some non-technical reasons why the manufacture of new televisions may be a ways off in Grantville and the shape mass communication policy debate may take in the USE.

  A Question of Standards

  The first issue that's going to have to be resolved before television can spread will be the broadcasting standard—how many lines of resolution will new television sets be equipped to display? If you've ever wondered why you can't play a DVD or video tape purchased in Europe on your U.S. or Canadian television set (or vice versa), then you've encountered the problem of competing standards. It would be easy to say that new television sets will copy the standard already used in up-time exemplars, and this may well be the case. But this does not mean there won't be a vigorous debate.

  Consider how the broadcast standard used in the United States, known as NTSC, came to be. A standard American analog television has a resolution of 525 lines. This was a compromise reached in 1941. In 1936, the Radio Manufacturer's Association (RMA) recommended the U.S. adopt a standard of 441 lines. Perhaps not coincidentally, David Sarnoff, head of RCA, was a major force in the RMA, and RCA's television sets had a 441-line resolution. The NBC television network, owned (surprise!) by RCA, broadcast using the 441 line standard.

  Philco, one of RCA's competitors, actually wanted a standard with a far better resolution, between 600 and 800 lines. The agreed-upon standard split the difference. The USE will also have to agree upon a uniform broadcast standard. When television does achieve the kind of market penetration in the USE that it has in many countries uptime, it would never do for a station in, say, Magdeburg to broadcast in a standard that viewers in, for instance, Stockholm will never be able to view. Given that the single operating television station broadcasts in the 525-line NTSC standard, and the existing television sets receive the same, there will no doubt be a lot of people who will push to keep the NTSC standard as new televisions are produced and new television stations come online. But it's by no means set in stone, and if a wealthy and powerful nobleman (or men, or women) back a manufacturer who wants to use a different standard, expect a lively and contentious debate mirroring the VHS versus Betamax wars of the early 80s in our timeline or (for younger readers), the current battle over the next generation of DVD technology.

  Radio doesn't have this problem. Crystal sets either have to be tuned to a single radio station, or have a tuning circuit to receive multiple stations (see Rick Boatright's "Radio, Part 3" and Iver Cooper's "The Sound of Mica" in Grantville Gazette, Volume 9 for a more in-depth exploration of the technical aspects involved in making crystal radio sets). With radio there won't be those pesky format issues that television manufacturers will have to face. Not to mention the fact that crystal radios are cheap enough for even the very poor to make (Goodlett and Huff, "Waves of Change")—not something that will ever be true of television sets.

  A Question of Production Values

  There's no question as to which medium offers the best bargain for production dollars. It's radio, hands down. Enterprising radio producers able to get anyone with a little woodworking skill will be able to make sound effects equipment, some of which—like the slapstick—will probably already be known to seventeenth century theater-goers.

  And radio will offer a great opportunity to aspiring composers and musicians to gain the notice of a large audience. Being the house orchestra or string quartet for a radio theater company may lack the prestige that patronage from a high-ranking nobleman or church official might bring, it might be more lucrative in the long run.

  The aspiring radio producer will be able to make do with a smaller performing company than a television producer, especially if they can find talent who can create multiple voices for multiple characters. If you're very fortunate and find a talent comparable to Mel Blanc, the voice of every Looney Tunes character, Harry Shearer, who voices about a dozen characters on The Simpsons, or even Peter Sellers, who starred in The Goon Show on radio before crossing over to film, you practically have an entire cast in just one performer! Even a talent like Peter Sellers couldn't carry an entire television show or movie by himself, though at times he came close.

  For the time being, television will do well with live or taped performances of plays, something that started not long after the Ring of Fire, with high school performances of Shakespeare's plays providing some of the earliest WVOA programming (1632). Television addresses by important leaders like Frank Jackson ("Breaking News," Grantville Gazette, Volume 5) and Emperor Gustavus ("Mightier Than the Sword," Grantville Gazette, Volume 6) will certainly be inspirational to those who can see them, and pictures will add an extra dimension to instructional programming that radio won't be able to match. Still, there's no question that radio will provide the better bargain.

  A Question of Editing

  Another problem television in the 1632 universe will face is editing pre-recorded content. Equipment probably won't be much of a problem. We know there's at least one digital video camera in Grantville, and there are probably a number of analog camcorders floating around as well. But it's less likely that the type of recording equipment generally used even for amateur video productions would be available. Items such as a portable digital audiotape (DAT) recorder with a boom microphone, or similar equipment would probably not have been in Grantville, except by extremely wild coincidence. The built-in mikes on video cameras will not capture sound nearly so well, though they'd probably be serviceable for "talking head" type programs, and if shooting on location outdoors there will be no way to block out un
wanted noise.

  Editing pre-recorded material on tape will be a challenge for both media, but much more so for television than radio. To talk about editing, we have to talk about "linear" versus "non-linear" editing systems.

  Editing analog sound or video requires what's known as linear editing. Basically, you have to edit in the order you record. For sound, this is done with tape on a reel-to-reel system. Editors have to physically splice tape together. Videotape used to be edited the same way, until the advent of "helical scan" videotape, which is what the VHS machine in your home uses.