The Argo Goes West

10, Giant boar hunting in Calydon, part 7

With the sun at their backs, the Bonnies moved slowly through the wilderness. They are in no rush because they care about Slim, who has both legs injured. Still, the vibration echoed through the wound, and Slim frowned. The Mad Bomber suggested riding a horse on his stomach, but Slim declined, saying it looked like a corpse being carried away by a bounty hunter.

Finding water, they decided to rest. At first, Slim insisted on staying on horseback. He didn't want anyone to help him get off or get on it. They persuaded him to let the horse rest, and they dismounted him.

As Bonnie submerged her round canteen in a puddle and refilled it, Orpheus approached and whispered softly into her ear.

"Slowly look behind you. Someone is watching us in the distance."

Bonnie stood up naturally, pretended to fix Gwendolen's saddle, and looked in the direction he had shown her.

Orpheus was right. About 500 yards ahead there was a twosome in black.

"How long have they been here?"

Bonnie asked, stroking Gwendolen's mane, without looking at Orpheus.

"I noticed just before I got here".

Bonnie looked at them again. The short man is wearing goggles.

"Are they participants in the wild boar hunt? Did you see them in the square?"

"If they were there, I would remember them. Their appearance stands out."

"Me too. By the way, I can't see the horse."

"Yes."

"Are they on foot, perhaps?"

"They were in a vehicle."

"Really?"

Bonnie rode Gwendolen, feigning a warm-up, running around and back.

"You were right. A motorcycle with a cart on the side."

"That's called a sidecar."

It was a word Bonnie had never hear.

Bonnie and Orpheus told their fellows about a suspicious twosome.

"Maybe the railroad company recruited additional participants?" Slim said.

"Then I'll ask if you'd like to join us." Bonnie was about to ride, but Lou stopped her.

"Don't. If they want to join us, they'll tell us so."

"Or maybe they're going to take it after we've had the hard time defeating it," said The Mad Bomber with a sour look on his face. "Well, I won't let you do that."

They came to the conclusion to be wary of the twosome, but leave them alone for the time being.

The party started moving again. A twosome in black on a motorcycle also followed them at a considerable distance.

It was a strangely shaped machine that looked like a donut hardened with sugar on top of a bronze cylinder. A man with a mustache under his nose and a thin chin turned on the control panel from a distance. At that moment, a purplish white light sparked from the tip of the needle stuck in the donut. It resembled lightning. Instead of the rumble of thunder, a high-pitched bee-like roar was playing some tune.

"It's a resonant transformer accelerator that I invented," the man began to explain. "This circuit can be used for lighting, wireless telegraphy, and even wireless transmission of energy."

The discharge extended further and reached the floor, ceiling, and walls. Sparks popped where it hit. Each time, Roosevelt cringed. He was associated with the thunderbolt of Zeus reigning over Olympus. Nikola Tesla still gleefully boasted of his invention. But Roosevelt had had enough of the demonstration.

Roosevelt asked Miss Craig after Nikola Tesla pulled out.

"After all, what did he come to say?"

"He want all the Argo power distribution to be AC."

"What is AC?"

"It's about Alternating Current."

"Then do it."

"Can not do that"

"Why?"

"Because the phone inside Argo uses DC-Direct Current."

"Can't you change that?"

"Impossible. That's because we ordered it from Edison."

At that time, Edison and Tesla were arguing over whether direct current or alternating current was superior. Opinions were also split on which one to adopt for the Argo power distribution system. It would have been better to leave it to one or the other, but there was no time to do so. Electricity distribution was performed by Tesla, which excels in thermal efficiency, while Edison was commissioned to handle internal telephone calls and to shoot and record documentary films. Of course, Edison did not readily accept it. Tesla was originally an engineer who worked under Edison, so he was angry that his pride had been hurt. Andrew Carnegie persuaded Edison. Both Edison and Tesla did what their sponsors said.

"So you're telling me to ask Carnegie again this time?"

"Yes."

Roosevelt was depressed. Since the annexation of the Philippines, he has been in a hostile relationship with Carnegie, who belongs to the American Anti-Imperialist League. (Needless to say, Roosevelt was an imperialist, like President William McKinley). This time there was a temporary truce due to an unprecedented national crisis, but due to the rivalry between inventors, they were reluctant to bow to Carnegie.

"They shouldn't say AC or DC, they should say 'I See.' "