"Chaos often brings life, when order brings habit." - Henry Adams.
Part I: Midway Sunk.
Monday, April 15th, 1912. 12:47 AM. R.M.S. Titanic, Labrador Current, Mid-North Atlantic Ocean. One Hour and Thirty-Three Minutes Remaining.
Officer Boxhall sent up the first distress rocket; heading up nearly a thousand feet in the air before it exploded, shining a bright white light as it did so, but it was to get the attention of a "Mystery Ship" about 10-15 miles away.
Some of the passengers gasped at the newfound sight of the glare of the flare heading back down towards the cold Labrador Current in the Mid-North Atlantic.
Phillips was still sending distress messages as fast as he could and he was reaching ships; including the R.M.S. Olympic, Titanic's sister ship, even though she was 505 miles off of her position at that current moment in time.
As for the other ships; the S.S. Asian was 300 miles west, the S.S. Frankfurt was 172 miles south, the R.M.S. Baltic was 243 miles east of her, the R.M.S. Virginian, sailing under the flag of the Allan Line, was 178 miles north, the S.S. Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm was currently 150 miles north, the S.S. Birma was 70 miles south, the R.M.S. Carpathia was 58 miles east, the S.S. Trigger May was 56 miles east, the S.S. Mount Temple was 50 miles west, the S.S. Jacksonian was 49 miles north and the S.S. Californian was only about 15 miles north of the sinking Titanic.
As chaos was only beginning to erupt on the Boat Deck, Phillips sent yet another message; this time to Evans on the Californian, sending it three times:
"TITANIC TO CALIFORNIAN. CQD. CQD. POSITION: 41.46N, 50.14W. WE HAVE STRUCK AN ICEBERG. REQUIRE IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE."
Cape Race then tried to contact the Californian:
"CAPE RACE TO CALIFORNIAN. SOS FROM MGY. CQD IN: 41.46N, 50.14W. WANTS IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE!"
But Operator Evans on the Californian didn't respond, nor did the crew know what the hell exactly was going on.
Eventually, Caronia responded to all ships with:
"CARONIA TO ALL SHIPS. STOP TRANSMITTING. BALTIC. CQD. TITANIC STRUCK ICEBERG. REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE."
Balfour on the Baltic then responded to Titanic with:
"BALTIC TO TITANIC. ARE YOU IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE?"
Now, Phillips sent another message:
"TITANIC TO ALL STATIONS. CQD. CQD. THIS IS TITANIC. I REQUIRE IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE. POSITION: 41.46N, 50.14W."
Moore, back on the Olympic, responded with:
"OLYMPIC TO TITANIC. THIS IS OLYMPIC TO TITANIC. DO YOU REQUIRE ASSISTANCE?"
Phillips sent the Wireless Operator of the R.M.S. Virginian, William James Cotter, a message:
"TITANIC TO VIRGINIAN. CQD. HAVE STRUCK ICEBERG. POSITION: 41.46N, 50.14W. REQUIRE IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE."
Cotter replied back with:
"VIRGINIAN TO TITANIC. HAVE ADVISED CAPTAIN. ALTERING COURSE TO YOU. ABOUT 178 MILES OFF."
Cotter then sent a message to Cape Race:
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The Lost Signals.
Historical FictionTHE LOST SIGNALS: An Alternate History Titanic Tale. By Lord Wittham. When the R.M.S. Titanic sets sail for her sea trials, four young men are hired as Marconi Wireless Operators, systematically handling the telegraph, on the new and luxurious ship...
