14:08 (Paris Time)
Thursday, October 6, 861 C.E.
Air terminal of the Toulouse Tower
Human Expansion outpost of Toulouse
Ann Shelton gave a look of encouragement to Count Raymond, who stood with Jean de Chambriand at her side in the passenger arrival lounge of the Toulouse Tower’s air terminal.
‘’Don’t worry, Count: Governor Tsu is a fine woman and a very reasonable and decent person. Besides, this visit is mostly meant to inspect MY work in Toulouse.’’
‘’But so much could depend on this visit, my friend. To get her approval for all the projects you discussed with me would mean a lot for my county and my people.’’
‘’And that is why I like you, Raymond: you think about the good of your people, contrary to too many rulers around Francia.’’
Ann then concentrated back her attention on the shuttlecraft now sitting inside the arrival hangar of the tower. Three persons soon came out of the craft, two women and one man, and walked towards the arrival lounge. Ann then walked out of the lounge with Count Raymond, Jean de Chambriand and Ben Corbin, the general manager of the tower, to greet her visitors half way. She first saluted with her head Lynn Tsu, then Commodore Ferguson.
‘’Madam Tsu, Commodore Ferguson, welcome to Toulouse.’’
‘’Thank you, my dear Doctor Shelton. May I present you Miss Lana Tensing, my personal aide?’’
‘’Pleased to meet you.’’ Then said Ann while shaking hands with the woman in her mid thirties following the Senior Administrator before returning her eyes on Tsu. ‘’May I in turn present you Count Raymond of Toulouse, his personal advisor Jean de Chambriand and Mister Ben Corbin, General Manager of the Toulouse Tower?’’
There was another round of handshakes, then the group went into the lounge, followed by a shuttlecraft crewman pushing an anti-gravity cart full of luggage. As they made their way towards the hotel of the tower, also situated inside the 400 meter diameter saucer section supporting the landing platforms, Tsu spoke to Ann in a gentle tone.
‘’I must say that I am impressed with your work here in Toulouse, Doctor Shelton. You accomplished a lot here, including on the diplomatic front.’’
‘’But a lot of that was thanks to the work of my assistants, Madam Governor. Mister Corbin has managed the activation of this tower and of its facilities in a masterful way, while Doctor Vyyn Drelan has had quite a lot of success in her world quest for foodstuff.’’
‘’Talking of Doctor Drelan, where is she now with her corvette?’’
‘’She is presently in Japan, where she is in the process of discussing a commercial deal with the local authorities. She is hoping in particular to secure a deal for the acquisition of significant stocks of rice and tea there. Her next stop will be Guangzhou, the present-day city of Canton in China. According to our historical files, Guangzhou is presently a major trading port that receives many foreign ships and merchants, most of them Arab or Persian.’’
‘’Then, we should reasonably hope that Doctor Drelan will be able to secure important quantities of rice and other foodstuff there, in view of the size of the Chinese population, no?’’
Ann hesitated before answering, making Lynn Tsu and Henry Ferguson look sharply at her as they walked together.
‘’Well, could there be problems there, Doctor Shelton?’’ Asked Tsu, making Ann nod her head.
‘’There could be, Madam Governor. Our historical files also mention that the second part of this century saw a series of droughts and floods that caused terrible famines in China. Those famines caused in turn a number of peasant revolts that rose in response to the lack of care from Emperor Yizong’s government and to the crushing taxes he was imposing on his subjects to sustain his own, luxurious lifestyle. Unfortunately, our historical files don’t give precise years for those famines and revolts. The only firm date we have about that period of troubles is the year 878, when an army of rebels led by a Huang Chao besieged Guangzhou and subsequently massacred thousands of foreign merchants living there, on top of sacking the city. If China proves to be presently in the grip of a cycle of natural disasters causing famines, then it would be immoral in my opinion to go there and buy large quantities of rice, rice that could feed starving peasants instead.’’
‘’But,’’ cut in Henry Ferguson, ‘’if there are indeed famines now inside China, then the warehouses in Guangzhou will be empty. Thus, Doctor Drelan should not encounter a dilemma there, apart from finding nothing to buy.’’
Ann vigorously shook her head at that apparently logical reasoning.
‘’Unfortunately, things don’t work that way in this time period, Commodore. Guangzhou is a trading port geared towards the exportation of goods towards foreign lands. If there is rice and other foodstuff on sale in the warehouses of Guangzhou, it will have come from the collecting of taxes, which are mostly paid by peasants in grains and produces. The profits made on the sale of those goods to foreigners in turn go mostly to the coffers of the Emperor and of his regional military governor in Guangzhou. History tells us that the taxes levied on the peasants and merchants in China were not lightened in times of shortages and famines. Thus, Doctor Drelan will probably find sizeable quantities of rice and other foodstuff in Guangzhou, irrespective of the present plight of the Chinese peasants. The worst part is that, even if we don’t buy that foodstuff out of moral misgivings, others will then buy it.’’
Lynn Tsu then stopped walking, forcing the whole group to stop in the middle of the hallway they were following, and looked somberly at Ann.
‘’I see where you are going, Doctor Shelton. I would also feel bad at profiting from the misery of others. Unfortunately, short of basically taking over by force the whole planet, it will be hard to avoid such dilemmas in the weeks and months to come. I want to be just and compassionate, as you obviously are, but I do have presently close to three millions of our citizens that are awake and need to be fed. Do you have a suggestion for me on how to handle that problem?’’
‘’I do, Madam Tsu, and it would apply to the whole planet, not only to China. Basically, I say that we should buy what we can within reasonable limits and without unsettling the local food supply, but to also put aside a small percentage of the foodstuff we collect, to be used to help those in true need. Even one percent of what we collect could be enough to improve dramatically the situation in given regions. Heck, even the county of Toulouse could use some help in that fashion.’’
That last sentence made Tsu and Ferguson look at Count Raymond, who nodded his head.
‘’As proud of my county as I am, I must agree with Ann, Madam Tsu. With the recent depredations of the Vikings across the kingdom, the situation of many is quite precarious. One premature period of frost or a drought would be enough to push many peasants to severe malnutrition or even starvation. Even in the best of times, there are still plenty of people in Toulouse and in other towns of my county that have barely enough to eat, like widows and old people without families to support them. Not having anymore to levy royal taxes on behalf of King Charles does help a lot, but I still don’t have any significant reserves of grain in hand to counter any sudden shortages.’’
Tsu was left pensive for a long moment as Raymond, Jean de Chambriand and Ann waited, watching her. The ex-Governor of the Kyoto Alpha Province finally pointed a finger at Raymond.
‘’Count Raymond, I would like you to show me the situation of your poorest citizens. I came here to see how things are going in Toulouse and that is what I will do.’’
‘’I will be most happy to give you a guided tour of Toulouse, Madam Tsu.’’ Replied Raymond while bowing to her. ‘’When would you like me to guide you around?’’
‘’How about right now? Doctor Shelton and Mister de Chambriand will also accompany me and Commodore Ferguson. Miss Tensing will take care of our luggage in the meantime.’’
Ann nodded her head, most satisfied by that decision, and looked at Ben Corbin.
‘’Mister Corbin, could you guide Miss Tensing to the V.I.P. suites of our distinguished guests while I go into town with them?’’
‘’Of course, Doctor Shelton! If you will please follow me, Miss Tensing.’’
Splitting away from the duo with the luggage cart, Tsu’s group took place in the nearest elevator and went down all the way to ground level. As the doors of their cabin opened into the luxurious reception lobby of the tower, Ann smiled to Lynn Tsu.
‘’If you don’t mind, Madam Tsu, I would like for us to first walk to our new market place, which could be part of the solution to this local food dilemma. I will explain once there.’’
‘’As you wish, my dear! I need some exercise anyway: I have been buried inside my office in New Auckland for far too many days now.’’
While not saying a word then, Raymond and Jean de Chambriand exchanged sober looks: King Charles would not have shown any interest in witnessing the plight of his own people in the first place. As for walking long distance, Charles would have commandeered either a horse or a sedan chair instead in order not to tire himself. Those people from the future were decidedly completely alien in their way of thinking, compared to the average Carolingian noble. Walking out of the tower, the group followed the paved road leading north to the new bridge linking the island of Le Grand Ramier to both banks of the Garonne River. They crossed that bridge to the right shore while continuing to discuss, with Ann reviewing with Tsu the amounts of foodstuff already acquired during the last week.
‘’…our catches in fish in particular could help us a lot in providing a food supplement to the needy, Madam Tsu. The success of our two allotted fishing vessels has been greater than even our wildest dreams, with an average of 840 tons of fish, mostly cod, mackerel, sardines, salmon, tuna and shrimp, brought back to Toulouse for processing every day.’’
‘’I certainly agree on that point, Doctor Shelton. Our other fishing vessels have also been catching record amounts of fish, so fish and seafood are actually the one domain where we already fulfill easily our needs. We are in fact enjoying a surplus in fish products. You thus have my blessing to keep in reserve or distribute to the needy ten percent of the catches that your two vessels bring daily, plus two percents of the meat from the wild game your teams take. I will do the same with the fish and meat brought to New Zealand, but will have those reserves turned into canned food, for a longer shelf life.’’
That exchange stunned Raymond of Toulouse, as a happy Ann Shelton noted down that directive on her electronic notepad: 84 tons of fish a day, plus a few tons of meat, would be more than enough by itself to alleviate any food shortages in his county.
Passing by the mass of the Novotel Inn once they had crossed to the right bank of the Garonne, the group then bifurcated on the road linking the hotel with the new market place, which had recently been completed. A tender smile appeared on Lynn Tsu’s face when she saw the more than one hundred young children playing with enthusiasm in the playground of the market place, laughing and running around. The children were a mix of local and Centaurian children, watched by their respective mothers. Both the children and the adults seemed to mix without trouble.
‘’Children will always be the same everywhere. This sight truly warms my heart, Doctor Shelton.’’
‘’Mine too, Madam Tsu. Now, if you look to your left, you will see the row of commercial stands and shops that are reserved for Human Expansion businesses and offices. Some of these concessions will be restaurants and food counters due to be run by our citizens living in the Toulouse Tower. Other restaurants and food counters around this square will be run by local Toulouse residents. All those shops will be regularly inspected and will have to abide by our public hygiene standards in terms of cleanliness and food safety. What I have in mind is to use some of those food counters, preferably run by our own people, to serve either free or subsidized food to the certified needy people of Toulouse and to the less wealthy merchants and visitors to this market.’’
‘’And why not simply distribute free foodstuff to those in need instead?’’ Asked Henry Ferguson.
‘’I will actually wait until Count Raymond makes you visit a few hovels before answering you on that, Commodore. You will then understand better the local situation.’’
‘’As you wish, Doctor Shelton. Well, Count Raymond, we are all yours.’’
‘’Then, please follow me inside the town.’’ Replied Raymond.
Going through the Narbonne Gate, the small group then followed the Saint-Rome Street, the main street of the medieval city. Lynn Tsu and Henry Ferguson immediately wrinkled their nose at the stench from the raw sewage and garbage covering the streets of the city. Tsu nearly gagged at one point and covered her mouth and nose with a tissue to filter the worse of the smell, while eyeing with dismay the conditions around her.
‘’Is this considered normal as conditions go inside your city, Count Raymond?’’
‘’It is indeed, Madam Tsu. In fact, you will find that all the cities of this kingdom lack in what you call public sanitation. Ann has however discussed with me a few oncoming projects that should improve greatly the situation…and the smell.’’
‘’Well, it certainly won’t be a luxury!’’ Said Tsu as she looked with disgust at what she had just stepped on with her right boot. Raymond stopped the group forty meters down the street and pointed the miserable-looking, poorly built three storey building made of red bricks and wood that they were now in front of.
‘’This is a house used to provide low cost rented rooms to some of the poorest citizens of Toulouse, typically widows and old people devoid of family support. If you will follow me inside.’’
A mature woman came out of a ground floor room as soon as Count Raymond had entered the building, the rest of his group in tow. She then bowed respectfully to her lord after one bewildered look at the group.
‘’Milord, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?’’
‘’I simply wished to show to some distinguished guests the living conditions of the poor in Toulouse, my good woman. Do you mind if we tour your building?’’
‘’Not at all, Milord! I will accompany you, in case you have questions about any of my tenants.’’
‘’A good idea indeed. Lead on, woman!’’
Taking first the time to grab a candle holder and lighting it, the woman then made the group look in succession inside the six small rooms on the ground floor. None of those rooms had any furniture in them, save for either a pile of hay or a couple of wool blankets acting as bed. Lynn Tsu, like Henry Ferguson, eyed with dismay the last room as the female superintendant just finished giving them some information on the occupant of the room.
‘’You say that a widowed woman is living here? But, there is no furniture, no cooking utensils and not even a fireplace to cook food or warm oneself in Winter. Where does that poor woman eat?’’
‘’At one of the cook shops around the Place du Salin, a bit down the street, Milady. All my tenants use those cook shops to eat every day, since none of them own cooking utensils and are too poor to buy some.’’
Confused by the terms used by the woman, Tsu looked questioningly at Raymond.
‘’What is exactly a cook shop, Count Raymond?’’
‘’Something that is common to all the cities and big villages in this kingdom, Madam Tsu. Cook shops are either fixed or mobile kitchens where passersby can buy prepared, ready-to-eat food at most hours of the day or night. Since the majority of my urban citizens are too poor to own cooking utensils or even buy firewood to cook, they get most of their meals at such cook shops, sometimes as late as past midnight. The food prepared in those shops is generally cheap, but is also often of dubious quality, with the meat and pastries served there being frequently spoiled or moldy. My seneschal often has to slap fines on owners of cook shops who serve bad food or defraud their customers by overcharging them. An old proverb actually says that, while God sends the food to men, the Devil sends the cooks. By far the most common thing my people eat is bread, which is the main staple of everyone’s diet in and around Toulouse and other cities. Meat is actually too expensive for most people to buy.’’
Ann then hurried to jump in the conversation at that point.
‘’This is why I was hoping to use the food counters that will open soon at the new market to help feed the needy of Toulouse, Madam Tsu.’’
‘’I certainly can see the merit in your idea, Doctor Shelton. Could we go visit one of those cook shops after this?’’
‘’No problem, Madam Tsu!’’ Replied Raymond at once. ‘’But let’s first complete the tour of this building, if you don’t mind.’’
The next level up showed more of the same, but they did encounter a room that was occupied by a woman, two young children and a baby. All of them looked emaciated and the children were also lethargic, probably because of severe malnutrition. The woman, who was maybe 25 years old and was busy spinning some wool by hand, looked up with bewilderment at her unexpected visitors. She was starting to hurry to get up on her feet when a gesture from Raymond stopped her.
‘’Please, woman, stay sitting: we are only paying a quick visit to this house. What is your name?’’
‘’Marie, Milord.’’ Said the woman in a weak voice.
‘’And you are a widow, I suppose?’’
‘’I am, Milord. My husband died from a fever nine months ago. I then had to move out of the house we lived in previously. Now, I spin wool to earn money in order to buy food…when I can.’’
Raymond then saw Lyyn Tsu lower her head, with tears rolling on her cheeks. Even Commodore Ferguson seemed to be moved by the words of the poor widower. Opening his belt purse, Raymond took out of it a handful of silver deniers and, gently grabbing the left hand of the widower, put the coins in her palm.
‘’Please accept these coins, so that you could go buy some decent food for you and your children. My advisor will accompany you to make sure that nobody steals your money. Jean, go with her!’’
‘’With pleasure, Milord!’’
‘’Wait!’’
All eyes turned to Lynn Tsu, who still had tears on her face but had raised her head.
‘’I believe that more can and should be done to help her and the others in Toulouse that are in the same predicament. Doctor Shelton, I believe that your latest report mentioned the fact that local carpenters and construction workers had been hired by you to help build the facilities around the new market place and that you were planning to have them build prefabricated housing elements to help shelter those made homeless by the Vikings, correct?’’
‘’You are correct, Madam Tsu.’’
‘’Then, you can add one priority project to your plans. I wish you to have built a number of hospices near the market place, hospices that would be able to house the widows and old people in need presently living in this county. Those hospices are to include communal kitchens that will serve free meals to their tenants. A school should also be built as part of that new complex.’’
‘’Did you say ‘county’, Madam Tsu?’’ Asked Ann, getting a firm nod from Tsu.
‘’You heard me well, Doctor. Count Raymond, do you see objections to this project?’’
‘’Uh, of course not, Madam Tsu!’’ Replied a stunned Raymond, ‘’I must praise you incredible generosity in offering such a gift to my poor citizens.’’
‘’Put it on the account of simple humanity, my dear Count. Until those hospices are built and ready for occupation, these needy people will be lodged at the Novotel Inn. Doctor Shelton, could you organize and supervise the selection and move of these people, in coordination with Count Raymond, of course.’’
‘’I will be most happy to, Madam Tsu.’’
Raymond looked alternatively at Lynn Tsu and Ann Shelton, humbled by such compassion and generosity.
‘’When I think that the Church accuses you of not being good Christians…’’
09:09 (China Time)
Friday, October 7, 861 C.E.
Port area of Guangzhou (future Canton)
Guang Prefecture, China, Tang Empire
‘’So, when are you planning to return to Baghdad, my friend?’’
Abu’l-Qasim Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Khordadbeh, better known to his friends and family as simply ‘Ibn Khordadbeh’, was thoughtful for a moment before answering the question from his friend Omar al-Khindi, an old Arab merchant who had been living in Guangzhou for over twenty years and who could speak fluently the local language.
‘’Well, I must say that visiting this country has been a truly fascinating experience for me, but I really should return soon to my work in Baghdad. I think that I will take the next ship that will depart for Basrah. However, I will make sure to travel on a better ship than the one that brought me here two months ago.’’
Omar laughed with Abu’l-Qasim about that reference to the way the latter’s ship had barely survived a storm, only to limp into port in Guangzhou and sink at quayside.
‘’Yeah! It would be sad for the Caliph to lose his best geographer in such a way.’’
A growing concert of terrified women’s screams and exclamations in many languages suddenly erupted in the port area, making the two men snap their heads around. Pointed fingers then made ibn Khordadbeh and al-Khindi raise their heads, in time to see a huge, nearly spherical object overfly the city at a tremendous speed. Khordadbeh’s jaw dropped wide open as he followed with his eyes the impossible flying ship as it performed a wide turn to come back over Guangzhou while losing speed and altitude. He however stayed where he was, contrary to most of the other people in the port area, who ran to go hide anywhere they could: this was too fantastic an event to miss any detail about this sight. The flying ship then came to a hover some 300 meters above the waters of the Pearl River, allowing Khordadbeh to have a good look at it. It was basically shaped like a wide, flattened cone with a rounded top and bottom and was at least three times larger than the biggest ship present in Guangzhou’s port. It was also painted a sky blue and white pattern and bore a number of inscriptions and an insignia that the geographer could not read or even recognize. Whatever it was, it was definitely something that someone built. A kind of large door opened after a few seconds on one side of the flying ship and a much smaller flying ship came out. Khordadbeh felt blood rush to his brain when he saw the smaller ship turn towards the docks area he stood on, approaching while losing altitude, all in near silence. A quick glance told him that his friend Omar was still close by, albeit crouched behind a pile of big dried tea bags. As for the few Chinese soldiers that had been on guard duty in the port area, they had vanished from sight, something that didn’t surprise Khordadbeh: the soldiers of the military governor of Guangzhou were much better at extracting bribes and bullying foreign merchants than at fighting. He kept watching the small flying boat as it landed smoothly and silently on the docks, a mere thirty paces from him. Khordadbeh could now clearly see at least two people through the front windows of the boat, which were covered with glass panes. More people then became visible as they started coming out of the boat via a rear ramp that had just opened. The four first persons to come out were certainly foreigners, and of a rather fantastic aspect at that: two of them, including a woman, wore a sort of suit that closely molded their bodies, plus complicated-looking helmets. The two others were even more of a fantastic sight, being huge and wearing formidable-looking steel armor that completely covered their bodies and heads. ‘Warriors, no doubts!’ Thought Khordadbeh of the two last newcomers. Then came out three more persons, two of which confused him to no end: one was a teenage boy and the other an old man, escorted by a warrior in full armor. The teenage boy wore contemporary clothes that marked him as a Christian barbarian from the West, while the old, bearded man wore what looked furiously like a rich Muslim robe and a turban. His curiosity now at its maximum, Khordadbeh started slowly walking towards the landed flying boat while keeping both of his hands visible, attracting an alarmed question from his friend Omar.
‘’Hey! Where are you going like this? You’ll get killed!’’
‘’He who doesn’t seek does not discover!’’ Was the answer of the Persian geographer as he kept advancing towards the newcomers. One of the strangers, a beautiful young woman with blond hair, stared at him with interest as he walked towards her. Exchanging first a few words in an unknown language with her companions, the woman then addressed Khordadbeh in what sounded like the local Cantonese language. The geographer, who spoke only a few words of Cantonese, shook his head before replying in Arabic.
‘’I am sorry, but I don’t speak Cantonese. Do you understand me?’’
After only a brief pause, the woman answered him in good Classical Arabic, while the old bearded man approached, obviously interested in the exchange.
‘’Yes, I do! I suppose that you are a merchant that came from Arabia?’’
‘’Close: I am a geographer on a learning trip and my name is Abu’l-Qasim Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Khordadbeh. And who might you and your companions be, coming in such fantastic fashion to Guangzhou?’’
Before the woman could answer him, the old man stepped forward, a big smile on his face.
‘’Ibn Khordadbeh? The famous geographer working for the Caliph of Baghdad?’’
‘’Uh, yes! You know me?’’ Replied Khordadbeh, both surprised and flattered.
‘’From reputation only: I read a copy of your ‘Book of Roads and Kingdoms’, a most excellent book. Let me present myself in turn: Abbas ibn Firnass, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer at the court of the Emir of Cordoba.’’
‘’Abbas ibn Firnass? I read one of your treatises on geometry and mathematics at the Bayt al-Hikma{13} of Baghdad.’’ Said Khordadbeh, pleasantly surprised, before his mind returned him to the reality of his present situation. ‘’Uh, who are these people and how come you are with them?’’
‘’These people have come from the stars…and from three millenniums in the future. This flying ship, which is only one of the smaller ones in their fleet, visited Cordoba six days ago to buy fresh foodstuff. That was when I met Doctor Vyyn Drelan, to my right, who graciously offered me to tour the World with her.’’
Those words left Khordadbeh speechless for long seconds before he could speak again, pointing at the teenage boy, who seemed to be of strong character.
‘’And who might that boy be? He is obviously not from the future.’’
‘’You are correct, my friend. This is Prince Alfred of Wessex, who is also accompanying Doctor Drelan on her World food quest. She picked him up at the court of the King of Wessex in Winchester, before coming to Cordoba.’’
Vyyn then jumped in on the conversation, smiling at Khordadbeh.
‘’Mister ibn Khordadbeh, I also happen to know you from your writings: your ‘Book of Roads and Kingdoms’ was required reading while I was studying Middle East history at the university. We will certainly talk further together soon but know this first: me and my people came to this century by accident and are in the impossibility of returning to the future. Furthermore, we have millions of refugees with us that need to be fed, thus the reason for my World quest. Do you know something about the food situation around Guangzhou and the rest of China? Are there reserves of food available for buying?’’
‘’Since I am only a visiting traveler and can’t speak the local language, I am unfortunately ill-suited to help you in this, Lady Drelan, but I happen to have a friend here that would be able to help you.’’
Turning around, Khordadbeh shouted out loud while waving at his merchant friend.
‘’OMAR, MY FRIEND! COME HERE! THERE IS BUSINESS TO DISCUSS!’’
Reassured partly by Khordadbeh’s invitation and also attracted by the word ‘business’, Omar left his hiding place and cautiously came to join the geographer and the newcomers. He gave a nervous smile to Vyyn while bowing to her and speaking in Arabic.
‘’What may I do for you, lady?’’
‘’While I do speak Mandarin Chinese, I would need the services of someone who has knowledge about the present state of the food market situation here. Know that I am here with the hope of buying very large quantities of foodstuff..if any is available.’’
‘’I will certainly be able to help you in that matter, lady: I have been living here and doing business for the last 21 years. I also speak the local language. My name is Omar al-Khindi, at your service.’’
‘’Excelle