Chapter 96: Explaining how Telegraph Works
King Edward stared at him for several long seconds.
"Minutes?"
"Yes."
The king frowned.
"That isn’t possible."
"It isn’t possible today," Ernest replied calmly. "But I believe it can be."
The office fell silent once more.
Lord Ashford slowly lowered the papers in his hand, his eyes fixed entirely on Ernest. Hollen looked from one person to another, convinced he had somehow missed an important part of the conversation.
Finally, the Prime Minister spoke.
"You’ve mentioned this... what did you call it?"
"A telegraph."
"Telegraph," Lord Ashford repeated, testing the unfamiliar word. "And what exactly is a telegraph?"
Ernest looked around the office before his eyes settled on the large map hanging on the wall.
"May I?"
King Edward nodded.
"Go ahead."
Ernest stood and walked toward the map. Taking a stick of chalk from a nearby tray, he drew two circles.
One over Belfast.
The other over Northport.
"Imagine these are two military headquarters."
He then drew a single line connecting them.
"Today, if the commander in Belfast wishes to send an order to Northport, he writes a letter."
He mimed writing.
"A courier mounts a horse."
His finger followed the line.
"The courier rides for three days."
Another tap.
"Only then does the commander in Northport receive the order."
Lord Ashford nodded.
"Correct."
Ernest looked back at them.
"Now imagine that instead of a horse carrying the message..."
He tapped the line.
"...the message itself travels."
Neither man spoke.
Hollen scratched his head.
"Messages don’t have legs."
"They don’t need them."
The forge owner looked even more confused.
Ernest smiled.
"Tell me, Your Majesty."
"Yes?"
"When lightning strikes a tree, does the tree burn immediately?"
King Edward blinked.
"Of course."
"It doesn’t wait three days?"
"No."
"It doesn’t wait until tomorrow?"
"No."
"It happens immediately."
The king slowly nodded.
"I suppose it does."
Ernest continued.
"Nature already demonstrates that certain things move incredibly fast."
He looked toward the fireplace.
"Heat spreads through iron."
Then toward the windows.
"Light travels from the sun."
Finally, he looked back at the king.
"And lightning races through the sky."
Lord Ashford folded his arms.
"You believe lightning can be controlled?"
"Not lightning itself."
Ernest shook his head.
"But the same invisible force."
That statement immediately captured everyone’s attention.
He picked up a silver spoon from the tea table.
"Have either of you ever rubbed amber with cloth?"
The Prime Minister frowned.
"Amber?"
King Edward answered instead.
"As a child."
"What happened?"
The king thought for a moment.
"It attracted bits of straw."
Ernest smiled.
"Exactly."
Lord Ashford looked surprised.
"I’ve seen that as well."
"It appears to be some sort of invisible force."
"It is."
Well...
Close enough.
Ernest wasn’t about to explain electrons to people who hadn’t yet discovered the scientific method.
Instead, he chose something they already understood.
"In my workshops, I have experimented with similar natural phenomena."
That was only partially true.
He had experimented with magnets and static electricity while trying to determine what knowledge this world already possessed.
"I believe that force can travel through metal."
King Edward frowned.
"Metal?"
"Copper."
"Copper wires?"
"Exactly."
The Prime Minister slowly leaned forward.
"You’re saying this invisible force could travel through a copper wire."
"Yes."
"And carry information?"
"Yes."
Hollen finally interrupted.
"I’ve completely lost track of this conversation."
That earned a smile from everyone.
Ernest walked back toward the table.
"Think of it another way."
He picked up two empty teacups.
"If I connect these cups using a hollow tube..."
He pretended to join them.
"...and pour water into one end..."
He tilted one cup.
"...where does the water go?"
"The other end," Hollen answered immediately.
"Exactly."
He placed the cups down.
"The copper wire is simply the tube."
Lord Ashford frowned.
"And the water?"
"The invisible force."
Understanding slowly began appearing.
Not complete understanding, but just enough for them to get the gist of it.
Ernest continued before they could interrupt.
"Now imagine placing a small device at each end of the wire."
He pointed toward Belfast on the map.
"A man presses a lever."
Then toward Northport.
"The device at the other end immediately moves."
The king frowned.
"Without anyone touching it?"
"Yes."
The room became quiet again.
The Prime Minister spoke carefully.
"If that is true..."
He stopped.
Then began again.
"If that is true, a commander could send messages across the kingdom almost instantly."
"Precisely."
King Edward slowly walked toward the map.
His eyes never left the line connecting the two cities.
"What kind of messages?"
"Any message."
"Military orders?"
"Yes."
"Requests for reinforcements?"
"Enemy sightings, and unexpected information that the men gathered in the battlefield, you can send a message to the headquarters about it and act accordingly."
The king looked back.
"How?"
Ernest picked up the chalk once more.
He drew two symbols.
A short line.
Then a long line.
"The device only needs two signals."
He tapped the first.
"Short."
Then the second.
"Long."
He began drawing combinations beneath them.
Short.
Long.
Short-short.
Long-short.
"Each combination represents a letter."
Lord Ashford stared at the board.
"So instead of writing words..."
"You transmit letters."
The Prime Minister’s eyes widened.
"And the operator at the other end writes them down."
"Exactly."
The office fell completely silent.
King Edward looked toward the chalkboard.
Then toward Ernest.
Then back again.
For nearly a minute, nobody spoke.
Finally, Hollen broke the silence.
"So..."
Everyone looked at him.
"...you’re telling me that instead of waiting six days for a horse..."
He pointed toward the map.
"...you want messages to travel through metal."
"Yes."
"...using invisible lightning."
"More or less."
The forge owner sighed deeply.
The king laughed.
Lord Ashford laughed.
Even Ernest couldn’t help smiling.
But unlike Hollen, the king’s thoughts had already moved beyond the explanation.
His eyes remained fixed on the map.
If what Ernest described truly worked...
An army in the field could report enemy movements immediately.
The capital could issue new orders before a battle even ended.
Fleets could coordinate with coastal fortresses.
Governors could report rebellions the moment they began.
Trade.
Administration.
Taxation.
Defense.
Everything would change.
King Edward slowly turned toward Ernest.
His expression was no longer amused.
It was serious.
Deadly serious.
"Baron Teucher."
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
The king spoke quietly.
"Can you truly build such a machine?"
Ernest met his gaze.
"I believe I can."
Lord Ashford slowly exhaled.
For the first time since entering the office, the Prime Minister looked genuinely shaken.
Because if Ernest succeeded...
The Kingdom of Belfast would not simply gain another invention.
It would gain something every ruler in the world desired.
The ability to command an entire kingdom almost as quickly as a man could think.
"Well very well before we get to that, the promise I gave you, you can choose a land anywhere, Ashford, bring the map."
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