Chapter 3

As the leading scientists and engineers of Germany, Great Britain and the United States cooperated in Edison's Moon Project (and, incidentally, deepened the ties among those three nations), it should be noted that not all the denizens of St. Lucia came from nations that were prospering in these heady times, or necessarily had the best interests of some or all of the three partner nations' at heart.

At the time, the United States was still somewhat puritanical in its outlook on intelligence gathering, although President Grant's newly established Secret Service, with operatives such as James West and Artemus Gordon, was proving useful. Still, the United States had no government spies on St. Lucia. J.P.Morgan, however, had hired a couple of Pinkertons to keep a stealthy eye on his investments, and the East India Company employed a few individuals whose job it was to look behind closed doors and into locked curios. In addition, Great Britain and the German Empire both had dispatched spies to keep a look out for trouble. Although all four groups operated independently, there was a certain amount of unofficial cooperation among the four, and a list of "persons of interest" was shared by the groups.

Heading that list of "persons of interest" was Claudette Dubois and Consul General Kido Aritomo.

Officially, Claudette Dubois was the guardian of eighteen year old Marie Olivier who, depending on your source, was the daughter of a major or minor noble, legitimate or 'natural', of the now defunct Second French Empire. The National Assembly was in turmoil, Paris was in the hands of the Commune, and whether France would find itself in the hands of a monarchist or republican government by year's end was anyone's guess. Claudette and Marie (a beautiful, well-educated and well mannered young woman of petite stature, firm limbs, prominent bust line, and long hair favored by our story's hero, James Davidson, with her hair being a curly, luxurious dark brown, and her eyes being a warm dark brown a man could lose himself into) lived in a small cottage, depending on a stipend provided by the British government and donations from British aristocrats who did not wish to see a fellow noblewoman wanting. Marie was innocent enough, it was presumed, but the powers that be suspected Claudette of being an agent for at least one of the major factions in France and possibly Czarist Russia as well.

Officially, Kido Aritomo was the consular general for the Empire of Japan, which was, thanks to the Meiji Restoration, dragging itself into the nineteenth century. Officially, Japan had opened a consulate in St. Lucia since the island was becoming a major commercial, industrial and scientific center. But it was an open secret that Aritomo was there as the eyes and ears of the Emperor into the Moon Project. Aritomo had been a naval officer educated in England, and was a man who could move easily between his old world and his new one. Aritomo had left most of his family at home, though he had brought his youngest son, eleven year old Akihiko, to expose him to western influences. Acting as Akihiko's governess was his eighteen year old sister, Kumiko, who had had an English tutor, but was in many ways the stereotypical shy, young Japanese maiden with doe-like eyes that Westerners picture when they thought of Japan. (Oddly enough, Kumiko also possessed the physique favored by Mssr. Davidson, i.e., petite, trim, "stacked", and with long, dark silky straight hair).

Both Aritomo and Claudette would be watched carefully tonight, as both would be at the pre-launch party at India House. Young Akihiko was disappointed that he would not be able to attend, as he relished every chance he got to meet the ethernauts, and hoped someday that he could become one. Akihiko took solace, though, that he would be present for the launch of the Prometheus tomorrow.

After some consideration, Aritomo and Claudette decided to allow their female wards to attend, with the strict instructions to remember that they were young ladies, to keep within sight of their guardian, and to keep their eyes and ears open. For what, neither Aritomo nor Claudette elaborated. But a young ethernaut might let something slip in a conversation with a pretty young woman that he might not repeat in front of her parent/guardian. Such opportunities could not be missed.

At India House, preparations were being made for that night's event

The official celebration was, of course, in honor of tomorrow's launch of the Prometheus. But there would be a 'small' corner of the celebration in honor of the head of the ethernaut corps, James Davidson.

This wasn't just to honor Mssr. Davidson, though he was a favorite of the British delegation, both governmental and commercial. His friendship with Lord Brent was seen as symbolic of the growing friendship between Great Britain and the United States. The "birthday corner" was also being hosted by Prince Wilhelm II and the German Legation, both of which were now firmly in the British camp, in no small part due to James' attention to the Prince.

A number of people would be very happy to see James' birthday and his participation in the Moon Project celebrated.

Especially one Lady Sarah Brent.

Like a number of the women on St. Lucia, Sarah had entertained romantic notions about the dashing young ethernaut. And like them, though, Sarah was realistic about the non-existent chances of those notions reaching fruition. She had even said as much in a conversation with her brother a few weeks ago:

"Sarah, dear," her brother had started the conversation, "you know, if you ever thought of establishing a more ... er, hum ... permanent liaison with Mr. Davidson, I'm sure mother and father could be convinced. Oh, I'm sure they would make a fuss, especially mother, but James is a man with prospects, as father would say. He's done, and posed to do, both country and Company a turn of good, and one can hardly dismiss a man mentioned favorably in The Times."

"Don't be silly, Willy," Sarah said with an affected laugh that masked the pang she felt at what she knew was a false hope. "Even if I had inclinations of that sort, Mr. Davidson would prove as rigid on matters of rank as any Peer of the Realm. Mr. Davidson sees me as above his station, and above his approach."

"James is an American, Sarah, a breed that can be as republican as any blood crazed Froggy."

"James is a gentleman, Willy. He may consider himself your equal in one of your flying contraptions, but trust me when I say that our Mr. Davidson will not let such a notion cross the mortar of his honor. Now, let us change the subject of our discussion to a less ridiculous proposition."

In truth, Sarah wished she could have entertained the notion of being married to James, but station was station, and both she and James had to honor their respective positions in life.

At the moment, Sarah was in her suite of rooms at India House, as her maid, Kalyani Gupta, helped her get dressed. Kalyani's family had worked for the Brents in India for generations, and Kalyani had been Sarah's companion, servant and friend since both were little girls.

"So how do I look, Kalyani?" Sarah said, spinning around.

"I think you and Mr. Davidson will make a splendid couple," Kalyani replied. "I am very envious."

Sarah gave Kalyani a pointed look. "I think you, Kalyani, like half the women on this island, have more than a passing interest in Mr. Davidson." Kalyani blushed prettily, and then replied, "And you can include yourself in that half, mistress. Deny it if you will, but we both know that to be true!" Kalyani replied with a laugh, which brought a blush to Sarah's cheeks.

"Well, he can be a charming rogue when he wants to be," Sarah replied. "Still, I don't think you can put me into the league of his sighing admirers."

"He is always so brave and polite and dashing, no matter who is involved. There was the Chinese woman he defended, even though it was against a hundred brigands..."

Sarah laughed. "That numbers grows leaps and bounds in each telling. When next I hear it, James will probably have defended her again the ghosts of Blackbeard and his murdered crew."

"Still, a woman can be thankful when Mr. Davidson comes to her rescue," Kalyani replied, with what Sarah called Kalyani's mooning lovesick cow look.

"I don't think Mr. Davidson minded at all rescuing you, Kalyani," Sarah replied with a smile. Which was true enough. Kalyani was a very lovely woman, 'built' along Sarah's own lines, though Kalyani's smooth complexion was an olive brown, and her hair thick and black. Part of Kalyani's duties was often to serve as Sarah's tailoring 'dummy', when Sarah herself was unavailable to be fitted. Kalyani's beauty had occasionally gotten her into trouble, as some of the visitors to India House thought that liberties could be taken with the young servant, despite her protests of virtue. This had come to a halt when Sarah's brother had threatened to make it point of honor when one visitor wanted to press the matter, James had offered to serve as her brother's second, and when the miscreant who had acted offensively toward Kalyani had responded that it was silly to get in such a huff about a "bit of wog fluff," James had pulled the man out of his chair, tossed him out into the street, and proceeded to beat him senseless, much to the amusement of the younger men of India House. From that point on, anytime James entered a room with Kalyani, she would stare at him with wide, adoring eyes, much to the consternation of James and the amusement of Sarah's brother.

"I'll make sure Mr. Davidson pops in for a few words with you, Kalyani." Sarah covered her ears at Kalyani's squeal. "Just try not to get his attire damp with your drool."

"You are very evil, Lady Brent, for suggesting such a thing. Now, if I may attend to one of the laces on your sleeve?" With that, Kalyani put the finishing touches to Sarah's dress.

"How are things going, Fufa?"

Sonya Kowalevski looked up with a smile as James Davidson stuck his head into her office. James was one of the few members of the Moon Project who called her 'Fufa', or bothered to learn a few words of her native Russia. Sonya had to admit that, not unlike more than a few women on St. Lucia, she harbored a small crush on the American ethernaut. The fact that James had taken the trouble to learn a few phrases of Russian didn't hurt. Or that he fully supported her position as chief mathematician of the Edison Project.

Twenty-four year old Sonya reflected on the implausible journey that had brought the second daughter of a Russian artillery officer from Moscow to the island that hosted the cutting edge of modern science. Born the second child of General Vasily Kovalevskaya, Sonya had always demonstrated a talent for mathematics, a talent that had been nurtured by her father and mother, who had gone so far as to hire her a personal tutor. However, women were not allowed to attend university in Russia. Undeterred, Sonya left Russia under the guise of a purely fictitious marriage to Vladimir Kovalevsky (a paleontologist who would later gain fame for his collaborations with Charles Darwin) to attend university at Heidelberg and later would earn her doctorate at the University of Göttingen. It was her doctoral thesis on elliptic integrals and the dynamics of Saturn's rings that would bring her attention to the newly established Edison Moon Project. Her radical political beliefs (radical by Czarist Russian standards) had precluded her gaining a professorship in her native Russia. So at the recommendation of her 'sponsor', legendary German mathematician Karl Weierstrass, Sonya took the position of chief mathematician for the Edison Moon Project.