MIR, the sentient Wyvern.

Contact

Kim looked worriedly at the screen with Commander Tanner.

"Yes, Kim, that's right. It's a train and it's electric!

Machines are being unloaded and construction equipment resembling what we have on Earth is at work. It's technology from a century ago. But it's very close to the Middle Ages. The site at the dam is vast and they are transporting heavy equipment. The whole town seems to be industrialising and there are even wind turbines!

The roads are under construction, and machines are tarmacking!

And some kind of runway is being built near the capital!

Machine guns on the towers and artillery!

Then they zoomed in on the northern duchy and the burning city.

"They bombed with some kind of zeppelin!" It's a huge contrast to the rest of the world! . I hope Maxime and Sacha aren't involved. All our plans have been turned upside down!

"

Kim "What do you mean Commander?"

"Our weapons and numbers could do like the conquistadores and take over an area with ease but if the creatures below are hostile and have modern firearms and they do, they might resist us knowing they might have surprises for us.

They have energy, gases and weapons of destruction. It doesn't take much for them to have missiles and delivery systems to threaten us.

We're up against a modern organised society.

kim: "What if it's Professor Brilliant?"

Tanner: "Brillant is long dead. If you add 35 years since he disappeared plus the journey that took 40 years, that's 75 years, and if he was 64 when he disappeared, that's 140 years. And with medicine, that's just about right, and if he's here, there's no chance unless we have a cryo system, which I doubt, because that was invented 10 years after he disappeared. What we're looking for would be his notes or his assistants, but I doubt we'll find anything.

On the other hand, we're going to try and find the lab in orbit, if it hasn't fallen in the last 40 years."

We're going to drop a transmitter near where our two children are.

Then Kim zooms in on a strange construction near the workshop.

"What's that?"

Tanner : "It's a radome! It can be used as radar, a means of communication and also a radio telescope." It's well proportioned, so it must have electronic components.

The technology is getting even closer, 1945!

Kim: "What do we do?"

"Prepare the shortwave radio and switch to analogue mode. I can't wait to analyse their signal"

"What about Sacha and Maxime?"

"Prepare a discreet night drop. Their LED will flash the closer they get. We don't know what their intentions are..."

I was at the dam supervising the installation of the huge turbine, checking the blades one by one, their alignment and using magic to inspect for defects and impurities.

The winch lowered the turbine onto the bearing cages, the bearings tight on the axle and well caulked to keep out all the grease.

Once everything was in place, the technicians tightened the bolts" What a pleasure to use such tools. It's a thousand times better than forging!

The axle was then coupled to a gearbox with regulating synchros, which was attached to a huge generator coil.

Then, when the casing was closed, I circulated the water and the typical noise of a generator was heard.