Flint, Eric Ring of Fire SS anth Grantville Gazette Vol 1

Odnośniki

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Schmidt was not a good rider. He didn't like to ride. He also didn't like going around in circles, and the
Ring of Fire had produced a ring of cliffs facing in or facing out all around itself, with only a few places
where it was easy to pass. All this was bad enough, but the things he had seen en route were worse. It
was one thing to talk about people from the future, even to consider what powers they might have
gained. But to see a road that wide and that flat, and put it together with what they called the
"APCs" . . .
These people were rich almost beyond measure. The civilian APCs parked along the way really brought
it home. The civilian APCs weren't a special case, they were the norm for these people. Their money
worked, that was easy enough to see. The question this left Karl Schmidt with was whetherhis money
was good anymore. Karl was not the first to ask that question.
The Higgins estate itself was divided into two parts. One was fenced with a kind of heavy gauge wire
fence held up with what appeared to be metal bars. Along the top were strands of a different wire with
spikes on it. There was a gate made in a similar manner that was open, and a smallish boxlike building
next to the gate that looked like it might be made of painted metal, or perhaps the plastic he had heard
about. Farther back, he could see rows of really small buildings: flat topped boxes set side by side, each
no larger than a largish outhouse. They too might be made of metal, or perhaps plastic.
The other section had a more familiar, but still somewhat strange house on it. They appeared to have
built out, rather than up. It was a single story, with an attic that he wouldn't put a servant in. The roof was
flatter than it should have been. From the extension of road that led to the large door, and the APC
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
parked in front of it, one section of the house was for storing APCs. Why wasn't the APC in the room
that was clearly designed for it? Was there another APC in it, or was it being used for something else?
There were too many windows and those windows were too large. The more he looked, the stranger it
got. The place was short, no more than ten feet from the ground to the eaves. On a day like today, with
no airspace, it must be stifling in there. They seemed no more concerned with winter than summer. He
could see no chimney, just a little pipe sticking out of the roof.
He sat his horse for a little while, mopped his brow, and thought it out. He finally decided that, since this
was a matter of business, he should go to what appeared to be the business part of the estate.
* * *
Ramona Higgins had, after her initial start, let the whole Ring of Fire mess sort of slide by. She was fairly
good at that, having had quite a bit of practice. Her way of dealing with a world full of complexities that
she couldn't quite manage had always been to let them slide by while concentrating on those matters she
could handle. Her self-image had never been all that strong, and it was primarily based on what others
wanted from her.She wasn't lazy, just easily confused. If what people wanted from her was something
Ramona could readily supply, she felt good about herself and liked the person. If not, she felt bad about
herself and didn't. The exceptions to that unconscious rule were few and far between: her mother and her
sons were about all. But Mom and the boys went to some trouble not to ask things of her she could not
readily provide.
From her mid-teens, in addition to a willingness to work hard at anything that didn't confuse her, the
other thing that Ramona could provide was sex. She had a tendency to like guys better than girls. She
was a moderately attractive woman in her late thirties. There were some lines, but not all that many, nor
all that deep. Her figure, by modern standards, floated between lush and overweight. She fully filled her
bra, her hair was sandy brown or dirty blond depending on who you asked, and the lighting at the
moment. She had good teeth, no pockmarks, and clear light blue eyes.
In short, by the standards of the sixteen-thirties, she was stunningly attractive.
Karl was stunned, not just by her, but also by the environment. When he entered the mobile home that
served as an office, it was cool. Karl had never experienced air-conditioning. What was actually
Ramona's nervousness at dealing with a down-timer, seemed to him the very epitome of feminine
modesty and deferential courtesy. Everything seemed almost magical in nature. He had wandered into a
fairy tale, complete with fairy princess. With some difficulty, because he spoke only limited English and
she spoke virtually no German, it was determined that the Higgins Sewing Machine Company was
handled by her mother; assisted, so Ramona chose to see it, by her son. The place he needed was the
main house.
Karl did something then that the solid staid man hadn't done since he was in his twenties. He kissed a
lady's hand. She blushed quite prettily.
Karl was not a particularly handsome man, but he was big and strong, and had a certain presence. At
least it seemed that way to Ramona. Perhaps it was the unlikely combination of the big, almost ugly man,
the polite formality, and the kissing of her hand, but he seemed quite charming.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
August 12, 1631: Delia Higgins' House
Karl didn't seem all that charming to Delia. Since the Ring of Fire, strange large men on horseback were
not calculated to make her comfortable. Still, when it was made clear that this had to do with the sewing
machines, she called Johan. David and Donny were with Brent and Trent, at Dave Marcantonio's shop,
while Sarah was watching her little sister at home. So it was left to Delia, with the help of Johan, to deal
with Karl.
Her attitude remained reserved. Partly it was because Karl Schmidt seemed wrong to her: shifty and
hard at the same time. She didn't realize it, but in a number of important ways he seemed, and was, much
like Quinton Underwood, and more than a little like Delia Higgins. They talked about the sewing machine
factory. Karl picked up on the what's and the why's of it all more readily than she had. Not the
mechanics, since he got to see the sewing machine working but not disassembled; still, he got the part
about machines to make machines quite readily.
* * *
What he didn't get, was why they had to wait for the kids. It seemed to Karl that it was an excuse, a tool
to manipulate him, probably to lower his prices.
It was some days later before a deal was made. The deal was made because the Schmidt family had the
best shop for what the kids wanted. Not the only one, but the best. By the time the deal was made Karl
was less sure that the kids were a ruse. They actually seemed to know what they were talking about.
August 12, 1631: Dave Marcantonio's Shop
David Bartley, the proud uncle, watched Brent, Trent, their father, and Mr. Marcantonio new daddies
all gathered around at the birth of their machines. Triplets, but not quite identical. David, as was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

zanotowane.pl

doc.pisz.pl

pdf.pisz.pl

angamoss.xlx.pl