Author's note: Bear in mind that this is an alternate steampunk universe, so more than a few liberties are being taken with historical figures. British titles and addresses differ slightly than in our universe and, as in any reality, Americans can never get them right anyway! And all of this is just setting the groundwork, as it were, so the "good parts" are coming and, when they do, all participants will be at least 18. Enjoy!
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August of '74 found James Davidson relaxing in Daniel's Cafe Americana, located in the American Emporium hotel. The hotel (which included a number of services, such as a barber shop, laundry service, etc.), was the home of all of the American members of the Ethernaut Corps, as well as a few of the foreign members. Cafe Americana had become the unofficial watering hole of both the members of the Ethernaut Corps and the members of the international press. This included one Patrick O'Sullivan, who worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Patrick was a hard-drinking, hard nosed writer who nonetheless knew when to keep things "off the record" when bending an elbow with the ethernauts at the Cafe Americana, and made sure his fellows did the same.
Patrick's pride and joy, his eighteen year old daughter Katherine, was also with him. She was as sassy and funny as her bright red hair, blazing green eyes, and smattering of freckles would make you believe. But as bold as she was, she knew when to keep an ardent admirer at bay with a well-placed quip or an even better placed kick. To date, the furthest an ethernaut or a journalist had gotten with Kate was a stolen kiss.
The American Emporium Hotel, the brainchild of the American immigrants (who had been immigrants themselves to America before relocating to St. Lucia), was a smashing success. It was part hotel/part boarding house, with a restaurant, a delicatessen, a small dry goods and luxuries store...in short, everything for the American expat who was feeling homesick. The partnership was made up of the Fioravanzo and Meynard families, as well as the Wongs, a family of Chinese immigrants. Dayo Wong, the patriarch of the Wong family, had originally brought his family to San Francisco twenty years ago, and had slowly moved eastward. Mr. Wong often joked that he would eventually return to China from the opposite direction that he had left it.
The Wong family was basically invisible, providing the services at the American Emporium (as well as a third of the capital). Anti-Chinese biases weren't as strong on the East Coast of the United States as they were in the West, but they were still present, even in the American community on St. Lucia. It was because of this bias that James would friends with the Wong family through their eighteen year old daughter, Cuifen.
A band of American merchant sailors on leave had exited the Cafe Americana and literally bumped into Cuifen. Normally, Cuifen wouldn't have been where she was, but an unusually large American delegation had put a strain on the hotel's linens, and she was hurrying to gather more soap for her father's laundry.
The sailors, driven by drink, bigotry and desire, quickly cornered the helpless Cuifen. She would have faced being violated at the very least, and possibly worse, if James hadn't stepped out of the Cafe Americana at that particular moment. Outnumbered, James still launched himself into the crowd of sailors. The following ruckus drew the attention of the remaining ethernaut corps in the bar. The following fight was quick and very one-sided.
After that, the Wongs, like so many other families, adopted James Davidson. In addition, James was the recipient of the shy, quiet hero worship of Cuifen Wong. James was a guest at many Wong dinners, where he listened with fascination to the stories of the Wong patriarch, from his days as a boy in the Guangdong province to his adventures travelling across America.
Cuifen was absolutely stunning, with her soulful brown eyes, long dark hair, and stunning figure. Again, James might have been tempted to be more than just the recipient of Cuifen's hero worship, but it wasn't in the cards. As much as the senior Wong liked and admired the American ethernaut, he knew neither his culture nor James' would approve of a match between the two. Dayo Wong had decided to match Cuifen with the scion of a wealthy Chinese family living in New York.
But back to the here and now.
James was sitting at a table across from Alfred Nobel and Otto Lilienthal, both of whom had been drawn to the Moon Project. Although both men had only come to the program less than a year ago, both were already in charge of their respective departments. Thanks to Alfred Nobel, the new head of the Projects propulsion and engine division (and a major investor to boot), James thought that landing a man on the moon before the end of the century had become a very real possibility. But as important as Nobel's contributions had been, Otto's contributions were even more significant, at least in the sphere of politics.
Otto Lilienthal and his brother Gustav had come to St. Lucia to work on the project's parachutes. Otto and Gustav, though, were quickly redirected to the Project's burgeoning heavier-than-air aircraft. It was Otto's involvement in the project that had drawn the newly unified German Empire into the Moon Project and also achieved what was considered impossible: thwarting the machinations of Otto Von Bismarck.
Bismarck had separated the young Wilhelm II from his family, planning to eventually use the prince as a political tool against his parents. When a German contingency of inventors and engineers left for St. Lucia, they took along with them the thirteen year-old Wilhelm II. Wilhelm expected to be made an honorary ethernaut based upon his position. Much to his dismay (as well as that of the diplomatic corps of Great Britain, the United States, and the German Empire), the director of the ethernaut corps, James Davidson, informed the Emperor's heir that there were no honorary ethernauts, but that he would give the young German prince a chance to eventually earn a spot.
At the beginning, the young German prince resented what he considered the blatant lack of respect due to him. But within a year, young Wilhelm had become the unofficial mascot of the ethernaut corps, with each member giving the young prince tutelage in a wide variety of subjects, from the physics of dirigibles to the nascent mathematics associated with rocketry. Lord Brent and James treated the young prince as a favored younger brother, much to Wilhelm's delight. Wilhelm knew it would be years before he could get into the ethernaut corps, but he wasn't disappointed. After all, none of the other ethernauts had gone into space yet, but all were involved in the many experiments happening on the island, including Otto's heavier-than-air aircraft. The Anglo-German alliance looked as if would thrive in the future rule of Wilhelm II, with the United States now forming the third corner of that international alliance.
But again, back to the present moment.
James made his farewells to Otto and Alfred, making his way back to his room. It was going to be a busy week. First, there was his birthday coming up, his 29th. His friends and fellow ethernauts, Lord Brent and Prince Wilhelm (as odd and as inseparable as three friends could be) had already explained that they had his birthday mapped out for him. And then there was the launch of the Prometheus. With the completion of the launch rail system going up the side of Mt. Gimie, the Moon Project was ready for its most ambitious project to date: the launch of a probe into the ether. No one was exactly sure what the qualities of the ether were, but several theories were waiting to be tested, and several devices were placed on the probe to recover ether and bring it back to earth.
As James made his way back to his room, little did he realize that his first birthday present was waiting for him.
James made his way to his room, reflecting on a conversation he had had on the Mountain (which is what everyone on the island called the launch rail and the associated Moon Project facilities) with his best friend, Lord Brent. Lord Brent had pointed out to him that it simply wouldn't do for the head of the ethernaut corps, the leading candidate to be the first ethernaut in space, and the de facto assistant director of the Moon Project to remain single. When James pointed out to Lord Brent that he himself was unmarried, Lord Brent merely shrugged and observed, "Apples and oranges, Davidson. Apples and oranges. Besides, mother is picking me out a nice, dutiful wife even as we speak."
James had no objections to the institution of the matrimony. It was just that James didn't have any prospects. Scratch that, he mentally corrected himself. He had no prospects that were both feasible and palatable.
There was Lady Brent, who was not only gorgeous, but a lady in every sense of the world. Shy and retiring as she was, she still made anyone in her presence feel comfortable. But James knew he had no chance with her. She was the daughter of a member of a cadet branch of the British monarchy, and thus forever beyond his reach.
Then there was Katherine O'Sullivan, the daughter of that Irish reporter from St. Louis. She was smart, funny, spirited, and lovely. And ambitious. Katherine had let it be known on more than one occasion that she was going to be to journalism what Florence Nightingale had become in modern nursing. That meant never bending her will to the demands of matrimony.
There was Cuifen Wong. Shy, demure, radiant, lovely, and doting on James' every word and whim. But Cuifen was Chinese. And James couldn't jeopardize his career with a non-white wife, even if Cuifen was almost worth the sacrifice.
The same was true with Sophia Fioravanzo. She was funny, sassy...and Catholic. Of course, James could convert to Catholicism, but then he could kiss his career goodbye in the same move.
