episode_0146

Episode 146. Power in the Box (3)

****

Escrom sighed in relief and brushed the snow off his clothes as best he could. There was nothing he could do about the parts that were wet and melted or frozen.

Now that we’ve reached the village, we can live. At least we don’t have to worry about freezing to death in the snow. The warmth of the torch is clearly transmitted even through the snowstorm.

The torch smelled good, Escrom thought. The dogs also followed the torch.

It may provide light and warmth, but it is also made by attaching a small basket to the end of a branch and filling it with butter.

At least in the North, that was the case.

So, that means the torch smelled like butter. Escrom and his dogs chased the torches the villagers were holding.

“How long have you been here?”

“This amount will save thousands of people.”

The village chief looked at Escrom, who was holding the parcel as if he was carrying a baby or gold. It must be a parcel full of medicine.

“Is that it?”

“Yes.”

“There are more than a few sick people in the village. Who is it? A newly trained healer from the city said it was bacterial pneumonia. He said that something bad was spreading in the north.”

“What… … . The medicine has arrived, so everything will be okay. I brought it here anyway.”

“We will take care of the puppies. Take them to the church quickly. There are patients.”

The townspeople took the sled dogs, who might have saved the entire area, to the stables in the town hall.

Escrom headed straight to the church in the center of town, where the patients were gathered.

As he walked away from the torch, the cold set in again. Escrom ignored it and ran to the church. People would be waiting.

The church doors opened, and Escrom felt a warm breeze on his face. A warm wind that melted the frost on his eyebrows and hair.

On the other hand, the people inside the building would have been hit by the cold wind. The man went in quickly.

“Hey, close the door quickly.”

“No way. Did this medicine arrive?”

Escrom nodded, leaning against the wall, exhausted. The church’s healers busily opened the parcel that had just arrived from the imperial palace.

It took a long time to open the package. It was wrapped tightly with several layers of paper and string, in case there was a hole and the medicine was not delivered properly. It was a decoration befitting its contents, which were more precious than gold.

Only after one of the healers took a knife and opened the paper bag did they reach their target. Inside the paper bag were hundreds, or maybe thousands, of white pills.

“Oh my. I feel relieved.”

“If I had been a little late, I would have been in big trouble. But I’m glad you arrived on time.”

One of the healers took out a packet containing the medicine and read the card with directions for use.

-Penicillin. For patients suspected of having a bacterial infection, administer one tablet per day for two days after the condition has improved. Elderly patients should be cautious when administering the drug.

-Aspirin. Anti-inflammatory analgesic. Take one tablet every four hours as needed. Up to eight tablets per day. Elderly people should be careful when using it.

Escrom looked around.

Although the church was still full of sick people, the smell of buttered torches and the relieved looks on people’s faces gave it a warm feeling.

“Is that the package?”

“This is the new medicine that the imperial family made. I didn’t know it would come all the way here since it’s such a precious item. Oh, that’s really fortunate… … .”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Oh my, thank you so much.”

The box that the man brought, risking his life, contained something that could almost be called a miracle. I don’t know how many lives this medicine has saved by arriving here today.

****

I, Istina, and Professor Bernstappen were gathered in the laboratory of the Academy’s Physics Department.

In the center of the room was a voltaic cell, connected to wires. An experiment to transmit signals over long distances using electricity.

“So. This is it?”

“Yes.”

Professor Bernstappen scratched his head.

“You can send signals by connecting wires to the battery. But can you transmit information just by sending signals through wires?”

“Of course. As long as both sides share the same signaling system, you can transmit words or sentences with just one switch.”

“Really?”

I sat on the other side of the workroom and connected the switch to a wire. It was a structure where when a metal screw touches a metal screw, it connects the power.

I tried pressing the switch a few times.

“Does it work?”

“Yes. Maybe?”

Istina nodded.

It would be nice to have a light bulb, but that’s not the only way to transmit signals.

For now, I’m using a rather primitive method of looking closely at the electrical flashes at the joints of the wires. I’ll come up with a solution later.

“This is it, Professor Bernstaffen.”

“Please speak.”

“A wire can be on or off. It can send one of two signals. How many signals would be needed to distinguish 32 letters?”

“I don’t know.”

“If we assign one number to one letter, we can send letters as signals if we can display numbers from 1 to 32 on the wire. Do you understand this?”

Professor Bernstaffen took out his notebook.

“If the first switch can send two signals, and the second switch can also send two signals, then there are four different combinations possible by combining the two switches, right?”

This is the theoretical background of Morse code.

Actually, Morse code allows for signals of different lengths, so four spaces would be sufficient. But that’s a problem for later.

“Oh, I think I understand. So you need 5 signals to express 32 letters?”

“Yes.”

“Do you need five pairs of wires?”

No. I shook my head.

“To send a character signal at once, you need five wires. In reality, the receiver has to break it down into five pieces and look at it.”

Istina and Professor Bernstaffen nodded as if they now understood.

I moved on to the next thing I wanted to say.

“Simply creating a battery and wires is not enough. Beyond finding a concept, if you want to attract investment from the royal family or the entire empire, you need to be able to explain how to implement it. Even a child can understand it.”

Professor Bernstaffen smiled slightly.

“Well, it’s fine to explain to officials, but I don’t think children would understand.”

That’s a problem that needs to be thought about a bit more. This time, I was planning to go to the royal family and convince them that they should spread the telegraph all over the country.

Istina took out her notebook, wrote something down, and then looked at me with a curious look.

“There seemed to be something you didn’t say at the conference. You were hiding something like this.”

“It’s not hidden.”

I didn’t go into detail about Morse code. There was a kind of technology leak problem, and on the other hand, I thought it would be difficult to understand.

“The possibility of this being possible was mentioned in the conference, right? It wasn’t explained in detail because it’s not a physics or engineering conference.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, let’s get this sorted out. Professor Bernstaffen, you should prepare a presentation to the Imperial Court about this technology, not a paper.”

Professor Bernstaffen just nodded, then looked at me as if he had realized something.

“But how do I tell the imperial family- Ah! You said Princess Minaretia was your lover?”

Professor Bernstaffen clapped his hands. I opened my mouth to answer, but I couldn’t think of an answer, so I closed my mouth and nodded.

“Yes.”

That’s true. It’s not like there’s a need for explanation, or even a means to explain it.

“It’s fortunate that this discovery was made by someone who could enter the palace at any time and tell about his discovery. – Oh. What a strange coincidence.”

I scratched my head in embarrassment, and Professor Bernstaffen laughed again, as if he found it ridiculous.

“Right. Now I understand why so many people think Professor Asterix is a fraud. Unless you have a perfect understanding of academics, there must be many people who think it’s nonsense. I find it ridiculous too.”

“That’s how it turned out as I lived.”

These days, even when people say I’m a fraud, I don’t really have anything to say in response. If the situation were the other way around, I would think I’m a fraud too.

In the end, from an academic perspective, we have no choice but to show that this is a practical and feasible technology. Of course, if we prove it with technology, those people will be even more shocked.

****

I finished organizing the experiment and returned to the lab. I had to report the discovery to the royal family… … .

I held the pen and thought for a long time about what to write to the prince. He seemed not to believe in the invention of aspirin.

‘Again? Aren’t you trying to scam me?’

I wonder if the prince will listen if I tell him about the invention of electricity. If I ask Mint, it might work out somehow, but I don’t want to depend on her.

I decided to just give it a try.

-Your Excellency, Your Highness.

-hello.

-While studying the structure and function of nerves at the Academy, I invented a means to supply electricity stably without magic and to use it to transmit information from a distance.

-I will show you this technology when I visit the imperial family so that I can provide it to them first.

I put down my pen for a moment. No, no matter how much I think about it, it seems like I’m going to look like a fraud.