1636 The Viennese Waltz – Snippet 09
Chapter 4: Open Season
June, 1634
Higgins Hotel, Ring of Fire
Judy the Younger stretched on her bed in her suite at the Higgins Hotel. Mom and Sarah hadn’t moved to Magdeburg yet, but Judy wanted to get settled before they left. Getting to stay in Grantville had been a massive struggle, but worth it. She wasn’t staying on her own. Her parents wouldn’t go for that. But Delia Higgins was considered a good influence. Mostly, Judy admitted with some chagrin, because Delia wasn’t buying Judy’s schtick. Most adults, Judy could get around, one way or the other. Not Delia. “Some people just aren’t charmable,” Judy muttered resentfully, stood up, and padded across to her desk. Not that she was really all that resentful. She just felt that she was supposed to be.
Judy’s desk was oak, built since the Ring of Fire with a combination of up-time equipment and down-time craftsmanship and was a masterpiece. Literally. Judy knew the master. The whole top two floors of the Higgins was like that. Furniture, art, all made in a fusion of seventeenth-century craftsmanship and twentieth-century tools and techniques. Vernon Bruce, Delia’s Scottish interior decorator, would have nothing less in the penthouse, even if Delia didn’t care. Delia had given him his shot by hiring him to decorate the Grantville Higgins and now he was in high demand. She was his patron. Delia Higgins and David Bartley tended to do that . . . collect retainers almost against their will. So did Mike Stearns, come to think of it. They couldn’t all be natural leaders, could they? Well, Mike Stearns was. With Delia and David, though, it was something else. People saw opportunity in them and down-timers, especially, responded with personal loyalty. That happened to almost any up-timer who didn’t screw it up. Not all the time, but a lot.
It had happened to the Barbies, that was for sure. In a way, the American Equipment Company disaster had been a godsend, and not just because it had got them together with the Ken Doll. It had also done really good things for their reputation. Everyone knew that they bought that company after it was already a failure in a big way. The fact that they had gotten most of the investors out with their skin intact had done wonders for their reputation, both for fair dealing and for sharpness. Judy decided that she really did need to do something nice for the Ken Doll for coming to their rescue like that. Which brought Sarah to mind. For some reason Judy couldn’t see, Prince Karl was totally bonkers over her sister. The trick would be to get Sarah to notice.
In retrospect, Judy was amazed that Sarah had ever gotten together with David, because she didn’t think Sarah would notice even someone as blatant as David was. Karl was a lot more subtle. A lot more careful. So careful that there was no way Sarah would see what was going on. He understood the up-timer rules pretty well, but love and sex were delicate areas any time. So Karl was doing his friendly flirtatious bit as a sort of a shield. But it was a shield that would keep Sarah from realizing he was really interested in her.
Judy picked up the phone. There was no dial tone. Instead, after a slight pause — no more than a couple of seconds — a voice came on the line. “Higgins Hotel switchboard. How may I direct your call?”
“Hi, Elsbeth. It’s Judy. Would you set up a call to Prince Karl Eusebius von Liechtenstein for me and call me back when it’s through, please?”
“Sure, Judy. Anything I should invest in?” Judy could hear the laughter in Elsbeth’s voice. Elsbeth worked the switchboard and was training to be a concierge, but she didn’t invest in the stock market. It was a running joke between them with Judy touting the most ridiculous nonexistent stocks she could think of.
“Sure! Casein dildos are expected to rise, due to reports of a splintering problem with their nearest competitor.” Elsbeth would never tell a dirty joke, but loved to hear them. Judy could almost hear her blushing and could hear the suppressed giggling.
“You are so bad. I’ll get your call.” Then the phone went dead.
It was only a few moments later that it rang. “What can I do for you, Judy?” Prince Karl sounded a bit distracted.
“How’s your phone security, Karl?” Judy asked “Elsbeth won’t listen and wouldn’t talk even if she did. How is it on your end?”
“I suspect Frederic listens, but he won’t talk.”
It was an important question. Places like the Higgins and large properties like Karl’s Grantville estate, or Prince Vladimir’s estate, had live operators while the larger exchanges had electromechanical routers.
“Oh. I don’t think that’s good enough.” Judy checked her schedule. “How about dinner at the penthouse, say, Thursday night?”
“Is it important?”
“Maybe. I’m being a busybody, Karl.”
“Hm, I wouldn’t want to miss that. But I have a dinner with Stavros Thursday. Something about steam engines for Greek fishing boats. Could we make it Friday?”
On Friday Judy had a date, as usual. This one to a play at the Grantville High Theater. The Desk Set, reset for the new timeline in Magdeburg with the Spencer Tracy role recast as an Up-timer Girl and the Katharine Hepburn role as Down-timer Guy. It was the opening and Judy’s sources said it was a hoot. “Sorry. Booked up Friday and Saturday. What about Monday dinner?”
“That should work.”
Higgins Hotel, Ring of Fire
The elevator operator took Karl up to the penthouse of the Higgins, where he was met by a maid who took his cloak and showed him to the small dining room. Delia was there, overseeing the staff as they put out the first course.
“Welcome, Prince Karl. David’s in his office and Judy is on the phone, but they should be in anytime now.”
“Just Karl, please, Frau Higgins,” Karl said. “In Grantville ‘prince’ doesn’t seem appropriate somehow.”
“Then call me Delia, Karl,” Delia said as her grandson David Bartley came in.
“Good evening, Karl,” David said in Amideutsch. “What’s Judy the Baracudy up to now?”
“I don’t have any idea, but it will probably be profitable.”
“Just networking,” Judy said, coming in behind David. “Nothing sinister.”
David snorted in disbelief and Judy stuck out her tongue.
They took their seats and talk turned to business. The Higgins Hotel was doing well and getting a reputation as the swankiest hotel in the Ring of Fire area, though the new hotel that was to be built on the bluffs overlooking the south side of the Ring would probably beat them out for view. A new Higgins was under construction in Magdeburg and Karl spent some time lobbying to get one in Silesia. In return, Delia lobbied him to write King Fernando in the Netherlands about putting one in Amsterdam. They talked about the American Equipment Corporation debacle and Judy the Younger brought up Sarah’s objection to the whole deal, with Judy bashing Sarah, and Karl jumping to her defense. David spent his time being evenhanded, and Delia watched over the whole thing.
It will really be disappointing if Karl can move in on Sarah.
Dunno, it’d free up David for an interesting downtime match.
Not trying to be picky here but my interpretation of cannon (I think one of the papal books) Sarah and David are virtually married turning stoners chemical compary into ig farben together! So I assume this is before that period???
You’re thinking of Ron Stone and Melissa Jenkins.
Chirping in as well for the “No. Sarah and David were kinda built and designed to date each other” reaction.
…
…which is amusing considering that I think I know what the planned result is. It’s almost a trope, guys.
First Boy Wins?
Where is Noelle? And where is her Hungarian? In 1636, the Turks will likely be besieging Vienna, and eventually taking the city. Since this book’s setting so far is 1634, and we already have an idea that the star-crossed lovers didn’t meet in 1635 (her in Dresden, him in Hungary) it’s hard to see time for much romance in 1636.
Unless Karl and Sarah are to be the lovers. If so, NO FAIR.
Daveo, I think 1636 is too soon for the Turks to be investing Vienna, they are probably gathering forces in the Balkans.
I disagree.The Sultan’s plan, expressed in Baghdad in 1684, was to take Vienna next year. The Turks will be moving troops up to Belgrade as soon as there is enough fodder. And anyway, both sieges of Vienna, Sulieman’s and later one uptime were single year campaigns.
I should have said 1635
I’ve been wondering, since such a point has been made of explaining them in previous books, if the traditional logistics of a Turkish assault on Vienna that “everybody” knows still hold. Since the Turks have airships now, might the rules have changed? Would depend on speed over ground & payload capacity I suppose, but has anyone (in 1635-6) considered it?
According to The Saxon Uprising, the Ottoman Turks have blimps tarted up with keels. Not that efficient. They may be able to carry a large load of bagpipes—assuming anyone wanted a large load of bagpipes.
But provisioning an army? With glorified blimps? That’s filling a barrel teaspoon by teaspoon. Madness! What happens when bad weather grounds the airships? Double madness!
Is it cannon that Vienna is conquered?
**snerk/spoiler alert concerning major plot points**
I’m not actually going to give anything more away, but simply confirming some of the above is itself a snerk. But I feel i have to to point out that certain info is not suitable for the comments on snippets.
While the info in the previous thread can just about, at a stretch, be inferred from the published canon I think certain people are becoming careless in the comments and are referring to stuff they know will happen from the general plot that Flint has outlined at panels etc.
Can I please remind people that I believe we are meant to only refer to released books and snippets in these comments. NOT stuff only released in EARC form and definitely not Flints plot outlines of things which haven’t even got a publishing date set. Please discuss the snerks elsewhere.
I apologise if all the comments above were actually 100% genuine speculation, but a couple of them struck me as ‘reasoning back’ from info flint has revealed.
AFAIK the only thing that is canon is an attack on Vienna. I have no idea if anything has been mentioned about it’s outcome. Heck, I’m just speculating, I’m not even UTD on the Gazzette!
My understanding of the logistical problem the Turks face is that it revolves around fodder for the animals in the baggage train. You can’t really haul foddder in wagons, the teams doing the hauling eat too much of it. Fodder (hay) is high volume/low mass so a big enough blimp could carry a significant amount. Perhaps enough to allow a portion of the Turkish army to move sooneer than expected and take over strategic positions?
Also the Russians were fooling around with steam powered barges, what effect on the logistical situation might a few of those on the Danube have? (if the Turks have gotten them from the Russians)
All rampant speculation, I’m just wondering if the Austro-Hungarians might be surprised by the timeing and speed of a Turkish advance if there has been some change.
After all, it’s not what you don’t know that gets you. It’s what you do know that turns out to be wrong that’s the killer!
In 1636TSR, it’s implied that David Bartley is unattached since he is left fending off families with marriageable daughters in Tetschen after the 3rd Division leaves for Dresden.
Being chased by the matrons and daughters doesn’t imply David is unattached. Just that they’re hopeful
I imagine there will be a lot of time for Prince Karl to woo Sarah once David joins the Third Division
As I recall, in the summer of 1633 Judy had already moved into the Higgins Hotel and was briefly (July-September) friends and “serious-friends-but-we-can’t-get-any-closer” with William Cavendish, Earl of Devonshire (he was on his grand tour of Europe, they couldn’t get any closer because of the Ostend War). Maybe she herself gets into a triangle/tangle?
The EARC is available! The EARC is available! The EARC is available! …
Okay, in fact it was available yesterday but I’m still exited …
Long time lurker here … and I already read through it and liked it (yes, I am a very fast reader, but I’ll reread it in time).
Since we are not supposed to discuss the e-arc I’ll just say that timeline wise it ends were the other current books end (with Mike winning in Saxony) and comment on the maps, because they repeat a problem I have been seeing before: the borders of Silesia.
They change from one book to the other – or worse, within “the Eastern Front”, the maps within the same books contradict each other. Same with the text: It would really be nice to know whether Breslau now is polish (the Eastern Front) or the crown jewel of King Al’s Silesian domains, and how broad the current front between the USE and Poland is (with a big Silesia, the front becomes small enough that the Swedisch forces should be enough to hold it, maybe with some Danish and Saxon help (10.000 troops holed up in Leipzig are still available to secure Saxony’s eastern border), freeing all the USE divisions for the south) …
Specifically re: the E-arc, it might be helpful to add the Silesian and Bohemian towns/cities that are supposed to become railheads – with some historical maps I was able to find them, but your average reader would surely appreciate a little help there …
P.S. I guess the fact that Essen (and Nurnberg) does show up only as part of the USE for May 1636 is just “laziness” to simplify things and not the prediction of things to come? Personally, I think Gustav should never have let them become independent and sell dynamite to the slaveholding Ottomans …