Grantville Gazette.Volume XVII (ring of fire) Read online

  Phillip shook his head. "There is no one else, Michael. Hans and Kurt are both occupied getting the Halle facility up and running. With Hans in Halle I've been forced to not only waste my valuable time supervising operations in Jena, but I've also been forced to endure the illiterate fool who is Hans' temporary replacement.

  Well, that hadn't worked. Michael could well imagine how his boss might be suffering in Hans Saltzman's absence. Hans had developed from a scared teenager into one of the four best alchemists at HDG in the three years he'd been the doctor's personal laborant. That was why he was helping Kurt Stoltz, the last of the four, set up the new Oil of Vitriol facility in Halle. Remembering Kurt stopped Michael's train of thought in its tracks. He grinned. "Doctor, I think I might know of someone suitable as a temporary replacement for Hans. He's a hard worker here at the Spirits of Hartshorn facility. He has steady hands, and he lived in England for a few years and has been living and working in Grantville for nearly two years, so he has a good command of both written and spoken English."

  Phillip looked interested. "English is good. Frau Mittelhausen has been unable to find anyone suitable who can comprehend the up-time material. But is your man literate?"

  "Of course. I wouldn't suggest him if he wasn't fluent in Latin."

  "So, who is this paragon?"

  Michael grinned. "Kurt Stoltz."

  "What? But Kurt is running the Halle operation. He can't be… oh! Another Kurt Stoltz?"

  "Yes, Doctor."

  Michael watched Dr. Gribbleflotz worry his goatee and then polish his spectacles. Both well known signs that he was deep in thought.

  "Would he be willing to move to Jena?"

  Michael nearly burst out laughing. His Kurt Stoltz had been bothering him for months about a transfer to head office. To actually work as the personal assistant to his hero, even just for a few months until Hans returned, would be more than he could ever have hoped for. "There should be no trouble persuading my Kurt to move to Jena as your temporary personal laborant, Doctor. He has read everything you've written about your exploration of the invigoration of the Quinta Essentia using your special pyramid."

  "He is interested in the invigoration of the Quinta Essentia?"

  Michael wasn't surprised by Dr. Gribbleflotz' reaction. The doctor was well aware that a number of his senior laborants were non-believers. Kurt Stoltz the Second though, he was as close to a true believer as Michael could believe existed. Apparently he had been a follower of Johann Valentin Andreae, and was into spiritual alchemy . "He is most interested in your work, Doctor."

  ***

  Michael returned from seeing Dr. Gribbleflotz out of the office and glared at his sister. "Are you happy now?"

  "It won't be too bad, Michael. Lettie and Celeste have done all the hard work. All you have to do is take their production methods and increase the volume. Your biggest problem will probably be making the Kirlian Imager. "

  Michael glanced down at the drawings. "It doesn't look too hard. I'll get Kurt to help. If he knows something about the apparatus he'll be more useful to the doctor."

  "And with an expert right there in Jena, Dr. Gribbleflotz won't need to ask you to travel to Jena to help every time something goes wrong," Maria Anna suggested.

  Michael grinned at his sister. She knew him so well. "The thought never crossed my mind."

  A few weeks later

  Michael looked down at the finished prototype Kirlian Imager. Things had not gone smoothly in its construction. First, he'd been unable to procure a suitable transformer, so he'd been forced to improvise. That had resulted in a decision to build a big Wimshurst generator, which of course produced its own problems. The main one being that they didn't have any of the special discs large enough for the task. Fortunately, one of the laborants at the fuel tablet division had been experimenting with some of the surplus waters of formalin. Georg Heinz had been able to reproduce an up-time material with useful properties by using a cheat sheet and chemicals from the gas works. He'd been making "bakelite" insulators for several weeks now. Learning how to make suitable bakelite discs had taken over two weeks of expensive experimentation. However, the imager was finally ready for testing.

  "Kurt, switch over to the safe light, please."

  With just the red safe light to see by, Michael took a sheet of photosensitive paper out of its light proof envelope and placed it on the thin sheet of rubber that covered the small sheet of copper that was the main electrode. Then he attached an earth to the specimen to be examined and placed it on the photosensitive paper.

  "All right, you can start the generator now."

  While Kurt pumped away at the treadle of the Wimshurst generator Michael counted the sparks snapping across the air gap until he thought there had been enough discharge to make an image. "Stop! That's enough." If the theory was right and the Kirlian Imager was properly constructed, the photosensitive paper should now contain an image of the aura of the object on the paper. Michael removed the coin and took the paper next door where a simple photographic laboratory had been set up. He could feel Kurt breathing over his shoulder as they watched the images appear.

  ***

  Michael didn't see the fascination the Kirlian image had for Kurt. It was just a simple photograph of a coin. The books had much better pictures. Maybe it was the fact that he'd helped make the image.

  Kurt looked up. "Could we try making a Kirlian image of a human hand?"

  Michael had a quick look at his pocket watch. There was time. "Sure. I assume you're willing to donate the use of your hand?"

  Kurt smiled and rolled up his sleeves. "Which one would you like? Or, better, why not both?"

  ***

  Michael looked at the images of Kurt's finger tips. They were, to put it mildly, disappointing.

  Kurt sighed heavily. "It doesn't look as good as the images in the up-time books."

  Michael nodded. They didn't look very good. That was probably due to a lot of things. "The paper probably isn't sensitive enough."

  "The books say an earthed subject's image is stronger. Maybe if we were to earth me?"

  "Kurt, the books also say that you shouldn't earth a live subject."

  "But, Herr Siebenhorn, I am willing to take the risk. What harm can it do? You have said yourself that you have been stung by the lightning from the generator, with no ill effect."

  Michael bit his lip. He didn't like going against safety warnings, but Kurt was right. Most of the laborants had been stung by sparks when playing with the doctor's Wimshurst generator, with no ill effect. However, the new machine was significantly larger. It generated more electricity with a higher voltage, and could make much longer sparks. Further it had a huge capacitor. It was entirely possible they could electrocute someone. Michael thought about the description of the up-timer Benjamin Franklin killing a turkey with a similar device. "Very well." He quietly adjusted the spark gap to make it smaller. The zaps, while more frequent, would be less dangerous.

  ***

  Zap!

  "Ouch!" Kurt jerked his hand off the imager.

  Michael stopped spinning the generator and removed the wasted photosensitive paper. "Kurt, are you sure you want to do this?"

  Kurt nodded. "It was just the surprise, Herr Siebenhorn. I'll be ready for it next time."

  Michael sighed. He wasn't sure this was a good idea. He made a minor adjustment to the spark gap and drew another sheet of photosensitive paper from the light proof envelope. "Right, let's try again."

  When Kurt put his hand on the paper Michael started the generator spinning. He could see Kurt twitching as the current hit him again and again. "For God's sake, Kurt! Hold still or we'll never get an auroral image. The coin didn't move. Neither should you."

  ***

  Kurt was still rubbing his hand as he examined the damp photograph. "It looks much clearer."

  "Yes, it does. Would you like to try the left hand now?"

  Kurt nodded. "Yes, Herr Siebenhorn. Herr Siebenhorn, could I please keep
the images of my hands?"

  Michael suppressed a sigh, Kurt, for all his experience with English, didn't seem to understand the concept of the rhetorical question. "Of course, Kurt."

  A few weeks later, HDG Laboratories, Jena

  Kurt still couldn't quite believe he was actually working as his hero's personal laborant. Even if it was just until his regular laborant returned from an important job. When Herr Siebenhorn made the offer, Kurt had been overcome with emotion.

  He gave the safety glass of the fume cupboard a final polish to remove the last speck of dust and stood back to admire his handiwork. The fume cupboard was sparkling clean. Now to collect the various items for Dr. Gribbleflotz' next experimental session. Kurt's eyes lit up as he read the requirements sheet. Another experiment with the Kirlian Imager.

  ***

  Phillip walked into the small laboratory and nodded in Kurt's general direction "Are we all ready to proceed, Beta?"

  With two Kurt Stoltz' being employed by in important positions there had been several instances of confusion. Phillip had solved the problem by telling Kurt that, as the late comer, he was to no longer respond to the name Kurt Stoltz. Instead, he should only respond to Kurt Stoltz Beta or Kurt Beta. Or, as it turned out, just "Beta."

  Kurt had no problem with this. If learning not to respond to the name Stoltz, and answer to Beta was what it took to remain as Dr. Gribbleflotz' personal laborant, he was willing to adapt.

  "Yes, Doctor. The envelope of the big sheets is in the top drawer on the table. The trays in the darkroom have been filled with chemicals and are at the correct temperature. All is ready for your experiments."

  Several weeks later, the public seminar room, HDG Enterprizes, Jena

  Phillip held the static-charged rod close to the stream of water. There was an "oh" of astonishment from the audience as the stream of water bent away from the rod. Phillip started recharging the rod on the handful of wool in his other hand and smiled at his audience. He really enjoyed it when he got that reaction of amazement. "That was a demonstration of the repelling force of an electrical field. It is interesting to note that the same charged rod can also attract." Phillip passed the recharged rod above some small pieces of paper on his demonstration table. The paper leapt up to the rod.

  The audience applauded the demonstration. "You have seen me use inanimate materials to make my electric fields, but did you know your own body also generates electricity?" He looked around his audience sympathetically." I see a number of heads shaking. Yes, it is true. And now, using the wonders of the up-timer science of Kirlian Photography, I shall prove it."

  Phillip nodded to Kurt that he was ready. While Kurt made preparations Phillip returned to his audience. "A gifted up-time philosopher, Semyon Kirlian, continuing the work of the great Nikola Tesla, discovered that he could photograph the life force, or aura, which surrounds all living beings, as I shall now demonstrate. Could I have a volunteer from the audience, please?"

  ***

  Phillip stood back while Kurt hung the wet prints to dry. Each was carefully labeled with the volunteer's name so that they could take their own Kirlian image home with them, and they were crowding Kurt so they could see the images.

  Once the images were hung up, Kurt opened the heavy blackout curtains and turned out the red safe light. Phillip waited for his audience to return to their seats.

  "As you can see, the Kirlian Imager can detect forces invisible to the human eye. Proving the existence of a field around our bodies.. ."

  "Yes, but what use does it have, or is it just another useless party trick?"

  Phillip froze. Was someone suggesting his Candles of the Essence of Light demonstrations were nothing but a "party trick"? He stared at the speaker. Could he be an agent from the university sent to try and discredit him? There was a gentle cough from his assistant. Phillip looked over at Beta. It appeared he had something he wanted to say. Well, Beta had spent a lot of his own time experimenting with the Kirlian imager. Maybe he could silence the critic. "Would you like to explain, Beta?"

  Kurt nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, and I have a number of Kirlian Images that I would like to show everyone."

  Phillip turned to his audience. "My assistant has made a personal study of the uses of the Kirlian Imager. If you will wait patiently for a few moments while he gathers some materials from the laboratory, he will attempt to answer your question."

  ***

  Kurt approached the rostrum with his folder of notes and Kirlian images. This was his opportunity to impress his hero with his level of scientific knowledge and comprehension. He coughed gently into his hand to clear his throat and looked around at the curious faces and took a last steadying breath before starting his very first public presentation.

  He held up an image of a modern coin so everyone could see it before passing it around the audience. "In this image of a coin we can see how the Kirlian image of the corona is regular and symmetrical. The life force follows the curvature of the coin." He passed out a second image. "This is the image from the same coin a week later. Notice how the 'flames,' those fine short lines radiating out from the edge of the coin, are the same."

  He held up a new image. "And this is a Kirlian image of an old, well-used and abused coin. Notice how the corona is not symmetrical, showing the damage inflicted on the coin. Again, although I don't have a second image available to show you, the corona from this coin doesn't change.

  "However, when we examine a living being, things are different." Kurt passed around some images of his own hands. "Look at the coronas around each finger. Compare the same finger on different images. Notice the variation. That is evidence of the life force interacting with the world. We as human beings have the greatest variation in our Kirlian images, clearly demonstrating the greater complexity of the human spirit.

  "It has been my privilege to investigate many Kirlian images. In the course of my investigations, I have determined that no two images, even of the same person, are ever the same. I have found that the variation is due to several things. First, just like the stream of water can be moved by the charged rod in Dr. Gribbleflotz' demonstration, other life forces can influence your aura. Second, what you eat, drink, or even wear, can influence your aura.

  "My investigations suggest that the flames of the corona should be symmetrical around the surface being photographed. This would indicate a spirit in its ideal state. By carefully analyzing the placement and the ratios between various lengths of the flames of the aura, one can analyze what is required to transform an individual's aura to its ideal state. Not, of course, that it is possible to actually achieve a true ideal state, not as long as there are other life forces able to wield influence. But my investigations have shown that one can 'manipulate' the forces acting on one's aura to arrive as closely as possible to the ideal state, where one is truly in balance with the universe, even by such simple things as changing the color of the clothes one wears on a given day."

  Kurt held up his left hand so the audience could see the chased copper bracelet he was wearing. "Of course, sometimes a little more effort is necessary to bring a person's aura into balance. But since I have been manipulating my aura towards the ideal state I have improved not only my health, but my prospects. Clearly, an unbalanced aura is an indicator of poor health and vitality."

  Kurt could feel that he had his audience in the palm of his hand. So this was why Dr. Gribbleflotz continued to give his seminars. The feeling of euphoria as everyone listens attentively to one's every word. "Of course, just looking at the fingertips doesn't tell us a lot about how our life force interacts with the world. Fortunately, Herr Dr. Gribbleflotz has a special Kirlian Imager that can record much larger images." Kurt unrolled a large Kirlian image and stuck it to the seminar back board using magnets. With Dr. Gribbleflotz' pointer in hand he stepped aside so everyone could see.

  "This is a Kirlian Image of my head." He ran the tip of the pointer around the corona surrounding his head. "We can clearly see the 'halo' whic
h is present around all of us. Obviously the head is not round, so the flames are not symmetrical, however, by analyzing the ratios of the length and density of the flames we can draw some conclusions as to what the individual must do to move their aura to the ideal state."

  Kurt wasn't sure where the words were coming from, but he let them continue to flow. Anything to maintain the interest of his audience and the feeling of euphoria.

  ***

  Phillip wasn't sure what to think. Beta had made a most enthusiastically received presentation. Even that dissenting voice was currently begging Kurt to interpret his Kirlian Image and explain what he had to do to return his life force toward its ideal state. He shrugged. It seemed Beta had things well in hand. Meanwhile, he had papers to read and write. So Phillip left Beta to deal with the people crowding around him.

  ***

  Kurt knocked diffidently on the door. He had a request that he hoped the doctor would approve.

  "Enter."

  Kurt pushed the door open and stepped into Dr. Gribblefltoz' personal office. He passed an envious gaze of the shelves of books that lined one wall.

  "Ah, Beta, a most impressive presentation."

  Kurt flushed with pride. Dr. Gribbleflotz had been impressed. "Thank you, sir."

  The doctor gestured toward an easy chair. "Take a seat. What is it I can do for you?"

  Kurt gingerly lowered himself into the soft easy chair. Previously he'd only been invited to sit on one of the hard wooden seats. He must have really done well. Maybe Dr. Gribbleflotz would be receptive to his request. "After the seminar today, sir, several of the attendees asked if I could take Kirlian Images of their halos, and then interpret them so they could move their auras towards the ideal state. I was wondering if you would permit me to use your large Kirlian Imager to take the required photographs, and also allow me the time to interpret the images."