1632 Snippets
1636 The China Venture – Snippet 37
1636 The China Venture - Snippet 37 Fuzhou, China The Rode Draak and the Groen Feniks sailed to Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province, escorted by Admiral Zheng Zhilong's victorious fleet. On arrival, Zhilong sent word ahead to the port authorities that he had important foreign guests and would be gratified if they were permitted to visit the city. They granted permission--Zheng Zhilong's name had great power in Fuzhou--and directed the foreign vessels to Mawei harbor. After some further cajoling and judicious gift giving, the port...
Council Of Fire – Snippet 13
Council Of Fire - Snippet 13 Chapter 9 Convulsed with madness The Atlantic Coast It would have been more to Admiral Saunders' liking to sail to New York himself, with Prince Edward on his own deck; but in the absence of Admiral Knowles and most of their two squadrons, he was obliged to remain in Nova Scotia and in command of what was left. There was no reason, however, to detain the prince there. It was unclear what his role might be, but without question he was the man with the highest social rank on this side of the ocean--he might even be...
1636 The China Venture – Snippet 36
1636 The China Venture - Snippet 36 Chapter 23 Zheng Zhilong's office, Zheng Family Compound, Anhai, China Jim Saluzzo cleared his throat. "Admiral, one of the issues that we've debated a lot is how to persuade your countrymen, particular those in positions of power, that we--the residents of Grantville, that is--are from the future. As opposed to just people with some advanced technology, or magical powers. "Now, back in Europe, anyone who wanted to could visit Grantville. They could see the Ring of Fire and how it formed a perfect circle,...
Council Of Fire – Snippet 12
Council Of Fire - Snippet 12 Chapter 8 This might be a matter of our own survival Halifax If there was any doubt regarding the changed circumstances of the expedition, it was resolved two days later when HMS Magnanime, a 74-gun warship, reached Halifax harbor. Even to an untrained eye, it looked as if it had been through hell: its sails were patched and it had a badly-damaged foremast; Wolfe and Saunders could see that the mainmast had been restepped as well. Magnanime was in good enough order to pipe the admiral and general aboard in proper...
Council Of Fire – Snippet 11
Council Of Fire - Snippet 11 Part II: Awakening April, 1759 The change came not like a wave but like a creeping fog: it took time for men of all kinds to realize what had happened, and why their world would never be the same. --John Quincy Adams, The Time of the Change: A Chronicle, 1814 Chapter 7 You are the man you have always been The Maritimes The days had been long. The nights were longer, it seemed; they sailed close-hauled, avoiding ice floes bigger than Neptune itself--it was as if some great sheet of ice had separated itself and...
1636 The China Venture – Snippet 35
1636 The China Venture - Snippet 35 "Prepare for hot inflation," Mike warned the ground crew, and waited for them to nod acknowledgment. Several of them came over and stood on either side of the basket, ready to hold it down if the balloon started to lift off before Mike was ready. Mike knelt in the space between the basket and the burner, so he could access the burner controls. He angled the burner a bit upward and sighted along it, confirming it was pointing down the throat of the envelope. He pushed down repeatedly on the pump handle,...
1636 The China Venture – Snippet 34
1636 The China Venture - Snippet 34 Chapter 22 Island of Jinmen (Quemoy), in Liaoluo Bay, near Xianmen (Amoy) "Set it down over here, please," Jim Saluzzo ordered. The sailors carried the crate over to the designated place. "Here, sir?" "Yes, thank you," said Jim. There were three crates in all, holding all the parts of their hot air balloon. One held the envelope itself. When inflated, it would be fifty feet in diameter, seventy feet high, and hold almost seventy thousand cubic feet of hot air. The envelope was carefully pulled out of its...
Council Of Fire – Snippet 10
Council Of Fire - Snippet 10 Chapter 6 An enjoyable way to start the day Fort Johnson, Colony of New York As she now often did after realizing she was pregnant, Molly Brant rose earlier than usual and spent some time just wandering through her new home. You could hardly call it a "house," in the way white people normally used the term. The edifice her Anglo-Irish husband Sir William Johnson had built a decade earlier in the town of Amsterdam was called "Fort Johnson"--and for good reason. The large two-story stone building served Johnson as a...