- William Tenn, „Of Men and Monsters“
„I told you that Dilara and Sean visited me in the hospital and to pass the time I asked them to tell me everything about the founder of the Gemini Foundation“, Mr Tuniak said.
„You mentioned it, yes“, I said. „But you haven't told me yet, what they actually did tell you.“
„I know“, Mr Tuniak agreed. „That's what today's meeting is partly about.“
There were three people in the little room. Alexander was lying on the bed, Dilara and Sean had sat down on two chairs right next to him. On the little table next to the bed, there were grapes and each of them picked one from time to time.
„Caileen is often called the founder of Gemini, but actually she hasn't founded it, nor was she ever a member“, Dilara began. „Gemini was founded after her death and posthumously she became a member. Like a guest of honour, you could say.“
„We don't know exactly when Caileen was born, but it was probably either 1848 or 1847“, Sean continued. „In hindsight, she was probably born about a hundred years early. The few things we know about her, show quite clearly that she was ahead of her time. It is also the reason why there was a big quarrel with her family, which led to her parents disavowing her. She left them when she was eighteen.“
„It would have been a big scandal, but her father did everything in his power to keep the whole thing quiet“, Dilara said. “That's also when she changed her name to Caileen Neoneach.”
„She only had one ally left in her family, her grandparents“, Sean said. „They were born during the time of the Scottish Enlightenment, so they were quite progressive people themselves. They accepted Caileen and what she wanted to do.“
„Rumour has it, that Caileen originally wanted to join the police, but of course women were not allowed to do that at that time“, Dilara explained. „With some financial help from her grandparents, she attended the university of Edinburgh. She never finished any studies, but she visited many of the lectures there.“
„It's also where she first met Charles Babbage who was visiting the university on a lecture tour.“ Sean again. „The last few years of his life she worked very closely with him. His family didn't approve of that, although there is nothing to suggest that the relationship was anything other than professional. Nevertheless, when Babbage died, Caileen was not invited to his funeral. His eldest son tried his best to ignore her. Babbage's funeral is also often cited as the first spark, the beginning of Gemini, because there she found...“
„Stop there“, Alexander interrupted him. „Don't tell me about that.“
„Why didn't you want to know, what Caileen discovered there?“, I asked.
„Because I had already decided then that I wanted to visit Caileen“, Mr Tuniak explained. „And you already know that I appreciate some surprises. I wanted to discover what she had found myself. A lot of newspapers wrote about Babbage's funeral, so it was easy for me to go there and find her. Which is what I did, once I was able to walk without help again.“
She hadn't gone to the funeral itself. The family of the late Charles Babbage had expressly told her that she was not welcomed there. But she had waited outside until the ceremony was over. She had tried to talk to Babbage's oldest son, but he had made it clear, that he had nothing to say to her. Nobody was interested in what she had to say.
Alexander had watched her from a distance. He followed her, when she left the funeral and went to a café. She sat down on a table alone, ordered some tea and started to read the newspaper. The other guests looked at her for only a moment, critically, and then ignored her.
Alexander went to her, closing in on her table from behind her and wanted to introduce himself, when she suddenly said: „Please, sit down.“ She turned and looked at him. Alexander saw that she was holding a small spoon in her hand which she had used as a mirror. „You have been following me for the last three streets, it would be polite by now to introduce yourself.“ She sounded genuinely curious.
„Alexander Tuniak“, Alexander said and sat down on a chair on the opposite side of the table. „And I have been following you for the last four streets.“
Caileen laughed out loud. „Where you at Babbage's funeral?“, she wanted to know.
„No“, Alexander said. „I didn't know him. But you seem to have known him better than his family.“
Caileen shook her head. „I wouldn't put it like that.“
„Then why are you apparently the only one who knows about a secret house, Babbage owned in Italy?“
„I was talking too loud, wasn't I? Especially for a funeral... But I only know about that, because I took a closer look at his documents than seemingly anyone else. Given time, I'm sure some else would have found it too.“ She leaned on the table. „But why are you interested in that?“
„I didn't know Babbage personally, but I have read a lot about his work“, Alexander said.“If fifty years ago he was really working on a secret project, I would be very interested. And if you have to go to Italy to find out more about that... I would be able to finance such a journey.“
Caileen looked at him critically. „Where are you from? I know you are no Italian, but I can't really place your accent.“
„I was born on Crete“, Alexander lied.
„No, you were not“, Caileen immediately replied. „But if you really want to help me to get to Massa di Somma, then I guess you are allowed to keep one or two secrets about yourself. Sooner or later, I will discover them anyway.“ And again she laughed. „You have to know: I like mysteries.“ She took the bag that had been standing next to her chair. She took several documents and laid them out on the table. „Those are the contracts Babbage signed in 1827. He bought an old house and he used it to built something big there, but there are no clues as to what that thing was.“
„You worked with him. Did he not mention anything?“
„You really didn't know Babbage. If I had become too nosy, he would have locked me out. You must have heard about all the complains he lodged against other people for... really minuscule stuff.“
„Of course, I didn't really have any money, I never have, but I contacted Philip and luckily he was able to help me out... as he usually does“, Mr Tuniak said. „Unfortunately, he was in East Asia during that period, so it took some time before I was able to have access to his funds. Several months passed before we could start our journey.“
„You stayed with Caileen the whole time?“, I wanted to know.
„Not during the preparations, no“, Mr Tuniak said. „But I had to travel by train with her to Italy, otherwise, she would have become suspicious... That journey felt like the longest one I had ever done.“
They had finally arrived in Massa di Somma. A new year had begun not long ago and a cold wind was blowing through the streets. They rented a horse-drawn carriage, because the house they were looking for was a bit outside the village, sitting right on the slopes of Vesuvius. It was built using only white stones and the windows were nailed shut with wood. The door was locked, but Caileen very quickly opened it anyway.
“You are not asking, where I learned to unlock doors?”, she wondered, while they were lighting their gas lamps.
“You let me keep my secrets, I'll let you keep yours”, Alexander answered. But he did wonder what Caileen was thinking about him. He knew that during their long journey he had accidentally let slip references to things not yet invented or discovered and he knew that Caileen had noticed every single instance.
“Who are you?”, Caileen asked, after she had entered the house.
Alexander followed her and immediately saw what she had discovered. Behind the door a human looking figure was standing. It reminded Alexander of a robot, but he realised that that word would be used only later and it took him a moment to find the appropriate term. “It's an automaton to open the door”, he said.
“And here is another one”, Caileen said and pointed at another metal figure. “I guess it's supposed to take your coat and... Yes, look! It's on wheels, so it can put the coat away.”
On the floor and on the automatons a thick layer of dust had collected. No one had been in this house for a very long time. Caileen and Alexander followed a long corridor and found a kitchen, a living room, a saloon and finally a library (although the books were missing and all the shelves were empty). Everywhere the furniture was protected by a piece of cloth and everywhere the automatons were standing like silent guardians. With some their purpose and functions were immediately clear, with others not so much.
“There must be something in the cellar to control all these machines”, Alexander observed, because he couldn't find any other way that it could be done.
“Probably”, Cailinn agreed. “Look at that!” They had entered the sleeping room and she had noticed that there were wheels like clockwork under the bed. “What do you think that is for? Do you think it's possible the bed can massage your back, while you are sleeping?”
Looking for a way down to the cellar, they got into a study. Another automaton was sitting behind a massive wooden desk, a feather pen in his hand and a glass of dried up ink in front of him. There was also a slot on the surface of the table. Caileen looked at it for a while and then opened something which she thought to be a drawer, but which turned out to be a small door. Inside the desk there were again countless cog wheels.
“You put your problem in the form of a data card, feed it into the slot here and then this automaton should solve it for you”, Alexander said. “It may even be able to draw things.”
“It's one of Babbage's analytical engines”, Cailinn added.
Eventually they found the door that led to the cellar. It was a single, huge room, several storeys deep. And it was filled with big and small cog wheels, so it felt like stepping inside a giant clock.
“I don't know where he thought he would get the power necessary to power all of this, but if he had... The whole house could be run by machines, no servants necessary”, Cailinn said. “Oh, why didn't I bring a camera? Apart from the fact that I can afford one, of course... This here is brilliant!” She took the small drawing board she had carried with her and started to sketch their surroundings.
Alexander, in the mean time, had found the beginnings of a tunnel that led away from the cellar. “Do you know what lies in this direction?”, he asked and pointed at the unfinished tunnel.
“Down here, no... Up on the surface... Vesuvius, I think”, Caileen answered.
“Then I know where Babbage planned to get the power from”, Alexander said. He pointed at something that were clearly the parts of several big steam engines, not yet built.
“Nice! He wanted to use the volcano”, Cailinn said in clear admiration. “Just wait, till the world knows about this!”
“A whole house, completely automated and built in the nineteenth century?”, I said. “Why have I never heard about something like that before? What happened to it?”
“It was built right next to a volcano”, Mr Tuniak answered. “What do you think happened?”
„I told you that Dilara and Sean visited me in the hospital and to pass the time I asked them to tell me everything about the founder of the Gemini Foundation“, Mr Tuniak said.
„You mentioned it, yes“, I said. „But you haven't told me yet, what they actually did tell you.“
„I know“, Mr Tuniak agreed. „That's what today's meeting is partly about.“
There were three people in the little room. Alexander was lying on the bed, Dilara and Sean had sat down on two chairs right next to him. On the little table next to the bed, there were grapes and each of them picked one from time to time.
„Caileen is often called the founder of Gemini, but actually she hasn't founded it, nor was she ever a member“, Dilara began. „Gemini was founded after her death and posthumously she became a member. Like a guest of honour, you could say.“
„We don't know exactly when Caileen was born, but it was probably either 1848 or 1847“, Sean continued. „In hindsight, she was probably born about a hundred years early. The few things we know about her, show quite clearly that she was ahead of her time. It is also the reason why there was a big quarrel with her family, which led to her parents disavowing her. She left them when she was eighteen.“
„It would have been a big scandal, but her father did everything in his power to keep the whole thing quiet“, Dilara said. “That's also when she changed her name to Caileen Neoneach.”
„She only had one ally left in her family, her grandparents“, Sean said. „They were born during the time of the Scottish Enlightenment, so they were quite progressive people themselves. They accepted Caileen and what she wanted to do.“
„Rumour has it, that Caileen originally wanted to join the police, but of course women were not allowed to do that at that time“, Dilara explained. „With some financial help from her grandparents, she attended the university of Edinburgh. She never finished any studies, but she visited many of the lectures there.“
„It's also where she first met Charles Babbage who was visiting the university on a lecture tour.“ Sean again. „The last few years of his life she worked very closely with him. His family didn't approve of that, although there is nothing to suggest that the relationship was anything other than professional. Nevertheless, when Babbage died, Caileen was not invited to his funeral. His eldest son tried his best to ignore her. Babbage's funeral is also often cited as the first spark, the beginning of Gemini, because there she found...“
„Stop there“, Alexander interrupted him. „Don't tell me about that.“
„Why didn't you want to know, what Caileen discovered there?“, I asked.
„Because I had already decided then that I wanted to visit Caileen“, Mr Tuniak explained. „And you already know that I appreciate some surprises. I wanted to discover what she had found myself. A lot of newspapers wrote about Babbage's funeral, so it was easy for me to go there and find her. Which is what I did, once I was able to walk without help again.“
She hadn't gone to the funeral itself. The family of the late Charles Babbage had expressly told her that she was not welcomed there. But she had waited outside until the ceremony was over. She had tried to talk to Babbage's oldest son, but he had made it clear, that he had nothing to say to her. Nobody was interested in what she had to say.
Alexander had watched her from a distance. He followed her, when she left the funeral and went to a café. She sat down on a table alone, ordered some tea and started to read the newspaper. The other guests looked at her for only a moment, critically, and then ignored her.
Alexander went to her, closing in on her table from behind her and wanted to introduce himself, when she suddenly said: „Please, sit down.“ She turned and looked at him. Alexander saw that she was holding a small spoon in her hand which she had used as a mirror. „You have been following me for the last three streets, it would be polite by now to introduce yourself.“ She sounded genuinely curious.
„Alexander Tuniak“, Alexander said and sat down on a chair on the opposite side of the table. „And I have been following you for the last four streets.“
Caileen laughed out loud. „Where you at Babbage's funeral?“, she wanted to know.
„No“, Alexander said. „I didn't know him. But you seem to have known him better than his family.“
Caileen shook her head. „I wouldn't put it like that.“
„Then why are you apparently the only one who knows about a secret house, Babbage owned in Italy?“
„I was talking too loud, wasn't I? Especially for a funeral... But I only know about that, because I took a closer look at his documents than seemingly anyone else. Given time, I'm sure some else would have found it too.“ She leaned on the table. „But why are you interested in that?“
„I didn't know Babbage personally, but I have read a lot about his work“, Alexander said.“If fifty years ago he was really working on a secret project, I would be very interested. And if you have to go to Italy to find out more about that... I would be able to finance such a journey.“
Caileen looked at him critically. „Where are you from? I know you are no Italian, but I can't really place your accent.“
„I was born on Crete“, Alexander lied.
„No, you were not“, Caileen immediately replied. „But if you really want to help me to get to Massa di Somma, then I guess you are allowed to keep one or two secrets about yourself. Sooner or later, I will discover them anyway.“ And again she laughed. „You have to know: I like mysteries.“ She took the bag that had been standing next to her chair. She took several documents and laid them out on the table. „Those are the contracts Babbage signed in 1827. He bought an old house and he used it to built something big there, but there are no clues as to what that thing was.“
„You worked with him. Did he not mention anything?“
„You really didn't know Babbage. If I had become too nosy, he would have locked me out. You must have heard about all the complains he lodged against other people for... really minuscule stuff.“
„Of course, I didn't really have any money, I never have, but I contacted Philip and luckily he was able to help me out... as he usually does“, Mr Tuniak said. „Unfortunately, he was in East Asia during that period, so it took some time before I was able to have access to his funds. Several months passed before we could start our journey.“
„You stayed with Caileen the whole time?“, I wanted to know.
„Not during the preparations, no“, Mr Tuniak said. „But I had to travel by train with her to Italy, otherwise, she would have become suspicious... That journey felt like the longest one I had ever done.“
They had finally arrived in Massa di Somma. A new year had begun not long ago and a cold wind was blowing through the streets. They rented a horse-drawn carriage, because the house they were looking for was a bit outside the village, sitting right on the slopes of Vesuvius. It was built using only white stones and the windows were nailed shut with wood. The door was locked, but Caileen very quickly opened it anyway.
“You are not asking, where I learned to unlock doors?”, she wondered, while they were lighting their gas lamps.
“You let me keep my secrets, I'll let you keep yours”, Alexander answered. But he did wonder what Caileen was thinking about him. He knew that during their long journey he had accidentally let slip references to things not yet invented or discovered and he knew that Caileen had noticed every single instance.
“Who are you?”, Caileen asked, after she had entered the house.
Alexander followed her and immediately saw what she had discovered. Behind the door a human looking figure was standing. It reminded Alexander of a robot, but he realised that that word would be used only later and it took him a moment to find the appropriate term. “It's an automaton to open the door”, he said.
“And here is another one”, Caileen said and pointed at another metal figure. “I guess it's supposed to take your coat and... Yes, look! It's on wheels, so it can put the coat away.”
On the floor and on the automatons a thick layer of dust had collected. No one had been in this house for a very long time. Caileen and Alexander followed a long corridor and found a kitchen, a living room, a saloon and finally a library (although the books were missing and all the shelves were empty). Everywhere the furniture was protected by a piece of cloth and everywhere the automatons were standing like silent guardians. With some their purpose and functions were immediately clear, with others not so much.
“There must be something in the cellar to control all these machines”, Alexander observed, because he couldn't find any other way that it could be done.
“Probably”, Cailinn agreed. “Look at that!” They had entered the sleeping room and she had noticed that there were wheels like clockwork under the bed. “What do you think that is for? Do you think it's possible the bed can massage your back, while you are sleeping?”
Looking for a way down to the cellar, they got into a study. Another automaton was sitting behind a massive wooden desk, a feather pen in his hand and a glass of dried up ink in front of him. There was also a slot on the surface of the table. Caileen looked at it for a while and then opened something which she thought to be a drawer, but which turned out to be a small door. Inside the desk there were again countless cog wheels.
“You put your problem in the form of a data card, feed it into the slot here and then this automaton should solve it for you”, Alexander said. “It may even be able to draw things.”
“It's one of Babbage's analytical engines”, Cailinn added.
Eventually they found the door that led to the cellar. It was a single, huge room, several storeys deep. And it was filled with big and small cog wheels, so it felt like stepping inside a giant clock.
“I don't know where he thought he would get the power necessary to power all of this, but if he had... The whole house could be run by machines, no servants necessary”, Cailinn said. “Oh, why didn't I bring a camera? Apart from the fact that I can afford one, of course... This here is brilliant!” She took the small drawing board she had carried with her and started to sketch their surroundings.
Alexander, in the mean time, had found the beginnings of a tunnel that led away from the cellar. “Do you know what lies in this direction?”, he asked and pointed at the unfinished tunnel.
“Down here, no... Up on the surface... Vesuvius, I think”, Caileen answered.
“Then I know where Babbage planned to get the power from”, Alexander said. He pointed at something that were clearly the parts of several big steam engines, not yet built.
“Nice! He wanted to use the volcano”, Cailinn said in clear admiration. “Just wait, till the world knows about this!”
“A whole house, completely automated and built in the nineteenth century?”, I said. “Why have I never heard about something like that before? What happened to it?”
“It was built right next to a volcano”, Mr Tuniak answered. “What do you think happened?”
NEXT WEEK
All that mankind has done, thought or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books.
All that mankind has done, thought or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen