The Birth of Iconia

Chapter 10

At a booth to the left of the door, Jack and Allison sat with the object of their conversation. Merlin was dressed in a loose fitting shirt, jeans, and leather boots, which seemed to be out of place on him. However, he seemed completely comfortable with the look. He stood in respect to the newcomers, and waited until the ladies sat before he reseated himself.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Merlin," Henry said. "How is Jade doing?"

Merlin smiled at Henry. "The pleasure's mine, Dr. Deacon. Jade is adjusting. It's been quite a change for her, adjusting her diet from ancient Egyptian fare to Atlantis." He chuckled a bit at some memory. "Last night, she was quite affronted when she wasn't allowed to get a beer. You see, in ancient Egypt, beer and bread was a staple for commoners. I explained to her that the beer in Atlantis wouldn't be the same as she was used to anyway."

Holly asked, "Really? Why's that?"

"Beer in Egypt was brewed from barley bread. Rather than letting the barley sprout like is done now, a coarse bread was fully baked, then water was poured over it. This mixture was allowed to ferment." He took a sip from his cup. "It really was a very different drink. I'm afraid modern beer is quite bland by comparison."

Henry and Jack had a chuckle over the story. Then, Henry changed the subject. "Merlin," he said, "I'm really glad you're here. I've been working on some plans for a ship, and I really wanted to show it to you. I've got some questions on a re-fueling process that someone of your scientific knowledge could probably help with."

Merlin was intrigued. "Oh? I'd be happy to see the designs you've come up with. I have done a fair bit of space travel, myself, so ship design is something I'm keenly interested in."

"Well, this is something I just recently started playing with. I believe that if you could shield a ship securely enough, you could refuel it from within a star's atmosphere."

"Yes, Dr. Deacon. The Ancients did that with some automated exploratory vessels. They knew it wouldn't necessarily be possible for the ship to carry enough fuel for a long term run, and rather than having robots refuel the ship, why not have the ship refuel itself? It was an elegant solution."

Conversation stopped temporarily as their food came. Merlin asked for a refill of tea, and Jack and Allison both got more Vincespresso.

Henry finished with his sandwich, then took a clean napkin from the dispenser. He pulled a pen from his pocket, and started drawing on the napkin. The ship he was drawing was long, shaped somewhat like a spearhead. About three quarters of the way along it's length, it flared wide, and the superstructure got much taller. "This is the ship I've been designing," he said. "I haven't named it, yet, but I want to make it for both scientific purposes, and unfortunately but necessarily, for battle."

Merlin was staring at the napkin. His hand had frozen halfway to his mouth with the teacup in it. "Dr. Deacon," he said so quietly, his voice was almost a whisper. "We need to talk. Can you come to Atlantis with me? Now?"

Henry was unsure what was wrong, but he agreed. Then, the entire group went outside. Merlin had brought Jack and Allison over from Atlantis in a jumper, which was parked like a car, down the street a few doors. Fargo ran to explain to Tabitha that he would pick her up in a while, then they climbed into the jumper. Merlin explained that he wanted Henry to get anything he had, showing his plans for the new ship.

They stopped for a moment at GD, while Henry went to get the blueprints. He told Larry that he would be out for the rest of the day. Then they were on the way to Atlantis.

"What's going on?" Jack asked once they were on their way.

Merlin glanced back at Jack, then at Henry. "I know that ship, Dr. Deacon. It is very familiar, but we need to talk to Samantha first, before I tell you too much of what I know."