Captain Nemo_ The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius - Kevin J Anderson [142]
He treated his wife well, and she proved to be a warm companion for him. When Nemo came in after a day’s hard work, Auda would rub his shoulders, bathe his feet, and wipe cool perfumed cloths over his forehead and neck. She spoke a little English, much to Nemo’s surprise, and over the following year and a half she taught him to be fluent in Turkish, while he reciprocated by teaching her French.
Late at night, while he stared at his blueprints and calculations by lamplight, Auda often sat by his side and studied the drawings herself. Not until she began to make insightful and relevant suggestions did he realize that she understood the intricacies of his diagrams. Though he had accepted her as his wife, he’d never imagined Auda might be as educated or clever as his beloved Caroline.
“I studied in Ankara, my husband,” Auda answered. “I learned mathematics, astronomy, alchemy, and even some surgery. The eunuch in my father’s house was fond of me and shared his books. But my father, Caliph Barbicane, abhors science -- especially if it is taught to women. When he discovered what the eunuch had done, he executed the man and banished me here to Rurapente. He considered it a great punishment to place me in the clutches of Caliph Robur.”
When she smiled at Nemo, her sepia eyes glittered like mysteries in the yellow lamplight. “But it is no punishment after all. I find each day with you to be a reward, my husband. You treat me as a friend and teach me even more. How could I have hoped for so much?”
After that evening, Nemo made a point of discussing the sub-marine development with her, though she warned him not to mention their conversations to the other engineers -- and most particularly not to Robur.
Auda explained how, in the politics of the Ottoman Empire, the great Sultan was pulled in various directions by his military advisors, the caliphs, who often held secret and enormous power. Some caliphs, like Robur, wanted Turkey to become a modern nation, comparable to the European states, while others -- conservatives such as her father -- wanted to return to rigid Islamic principles and blindfold their people to changing times.
Now Nemo understood why Robur so often disappeared from the isolated industrial compound to ride inland for days. He was running back to Ankara to sit in the Sultan’s palace and advocate his new weapons and technology. When Robur returned from his sojourns in a foul mood, he roared at Nemo for not making sufficient progress. “Your men must complete the sub-marine boat in time to show the Sultan its wondrous power. My own fate depends upon it -- and yours as well.”
Nemo and his men developed a metal-walled chamber to be submerged in the deep cove of Rurapente. It was not meant to move, simply to test the hull metals and the water-tightness of the seals. The first unmanned test chamber broke apart in the deepest water, its window panes shattered.
The caliph wanted to behead the glassmaker whose work had failed, but Nemo stood up for the man, placing himself in mortal danger. Robur grudgingly backed down in his rage, and all the captives looked relieved.
After the second experimental tank retained its integrity, Caliph Robur insisted that a “volunteer” slave be placed inside for the third test, as a demonstration of human endurance. The chamber sank to the greatest depths of the channel and remained intact. Unfortunately, it took Nemo and his engineers several hours to raise the vessel again . . . by which time the poor man inside had suffocated. Conseil, who had designed the air-storage systems, shuddered with guilt over the man’s death.
Though Nemo and his team learned a great deal from each experiment, Robur considered the failures