Untimely losses, p.19
Untimely Losses, page 19
part #3 of Yesterday's War Series
“Obviously, I want all of the older engines removed immediately and taken out of service. We are not going to risk another life with them.”
“We are in the process of doing this already. But that still leaves us with forty engines in our inventory of the older design. What do you want us to do with them, Sir?”
Harold knew that he had a lot of money tied up in those engines. Even with his considerable wealth, he could not afford to waste his resources. This was one of the reasons why he was so successful in the twenty-first century. Harold never let anything go to waste.
“I need for plans to be drawn up for an unmanned aircraft that can use a single jet engine of the older design. We may not want to put a pilot in it. But we could use these aircraft as expendable drones for reconnaissance or target practice. I also want provisions made to place a high-explosive warhead and a terminal guidance system inside. This will allow us to use it to attack enemy targets without risking a single pilot.
The key elements will be that the drone aircraft will be very inexpensive to build and easy to fly by remote control.
Do you have any questions?”
“No, Sir. I will see to it right away. At least, we can salvage something out of all of this.”
“One other thing, what about Dorothy’s ejection seat? Why did it not work?”
“I don’t think that she tried to use it until it was already too late. I know how much Dorothy obsessed about not losing a single one of your aircraft while she was the pilot. I know that she jettisoned the canopy which is required before firing the ejection seat. But from what we have learned from the wreckage, the control cables to the rear control surfaces appear to have been burned through by the engine fire. That probably caused Dorothy’s aircraft to go inverted before she could escape.”
Harold grimaced as he wondered if his decision to bar Dorothy’s access to the secret database ultimately led to her death. In any event, there was nothing more to do except to try to use this tragedy to save the lives of future pilots.
“Then we will have to make some changes to the overall design to reduce the vulnerability of the control runs and fuel lines. We have to make our aircraft survivable as possible because we know that they are going to take hits.
Dorothy would want us to do all that we could to make sure that our pilots would be able to come home after a flight, preferably with their aircraft relatively intact.”
“I will have the engineers get to work on it right away, Sir.”
“How is our other new project going?” Harold asked.
“You are talking about our aircraft refit project, I suppose. We have been upgrading about a dozen aircraft a month with new engines and other systems. We still are suffering from our usual roadblocks of limited facilities, manpower and supply of new engines though. The work is interesting, however.”
“Well, keep at it. I will try to see if I can find alternate supplies of engines from other sources to help with the process. With the war over in Europe, we may even be able to convince some of the refugees to come settle here, especially those with some skills in manufacturing and engineering. I’m sure that will help you some. At least the government is willing to take in new emigres from there.”
“That is great. But if we have too large of an influx of people coming in, there could be difficulties in feeding them. A lot of the area around here is still very arid.”
“I understand, Theo. I am developing some means of providing more useable water for agriculture and other human needs already. But the technology is still not very mature and will take some time before it potentially could be implemented. But I will do what I can, I promise.”
One of the technologies that would be needed to provide more fresh water for a growing technology will be a ready source of affordable energy. This would be required to run a desalinization plant.
In order to provide that power, Harold had already started work on designing what would be the world’s first nuclear fission power station. This project would be constructed on the same grounds at the existing Derby coal-fueled power generation plant. This particular project was probably the most expensive task that Harold had ever undertaken.
In fact, it was so expensive that Harold actively solicited funding from the Australian government to help pay for the reactor. In return, Harold promised to provide some of the electric power to communities outside of Derby.
“I am looking forward to seeing this new technology that you are referring to, Sir. Everything else that you have suggested has proven to be extraordinarily successful.”
A few moments later, Janice knocked on the door and opened it to tell Harold that one of the aborigine chiefs had come in to speak with him.
“I’m done with everything here, Sir.” Theo quickly said.
“Thank you, Theo. Please let Janice know to send the chief in while you are leaving.”
“No worries, Boss.” Theo responded with a quick smile.
As soon as Theo left Harold’s office, a short, dark-skinned aborigine man with a very slight build walked in. Harold could never properly pronounce the young chief’s actual name because it consisted of close to thirty letters and nearly a dozen syllables, but everyone in town simply called him Tony for short. But Tony was known among the aborigines as being a bit of a mystic.
“Hello, Tony. How have you been doing? It has been quite a while since we last spoke.”
“Yes, Mister Cavill. I have been on ‘walkabout’ for a while. But I returned to the territory here a few weeks ago.
“What brings you here then today, my friend?” Harold pleasantly asked. He was certainly very curious why Tony wanted to see him at this time.
“I have known you all of my life. I also know that you have lost a great deal recently, especially with the death of your wife. But I wanted to make sure that you have also not lost your way as well, Mister Cavill.”
“What do you mean?” Harold asked.
“My father’s father told me that you came here from beyond the mists of time to save us all from destruction at the hands of foolish men.”
“I still am committed to that. It is a very difficult thing because there are so many uncertainties with each piece of the future that I change, I am afraid.”
“I understand this. You have already done many good things for my people. It is also my understanding that you have also saved many innocent lives elsewhere with your acts. There is still much work to be done. You are not alone. Your family is there to help you and your family with your mission long after you have passed from this world too. My people are also there to help you as well, if you or your children need it. Please do not forget this, my friend.”
Harold pondered Tony’s words for what seemed like hours as he looked into the young aborigine’s eyes, even though it was less than a minute in reality.
“No, I have not lost my way. I may not understand each twist and turn that the world takes along the path before me. But I still know that my purpose is to save this world and all of humanity from a terrible fate.
Thank you for reminding me of this, Tony.”
Chapter Sixteen:
White House Oval Office
Washington, DC
August 14, 1947
“I don’t know where the Japanese are getting fuel for their jet fighters, but those new warplanes are making it much more difficult for us and the Americans to conduct heavy bomber raids over the Japanese mainland. The Japs also have a bunch of new propeller-driven aircraft that they are using against us. As a result of this, we have lost several dozen heavy bombers during raids over Japan.
Our intelligence has been looking for those new fuel sources and the means that the Japanese are using to transport it. Our forces have already been forced to go to nighttime raids over Japan to avoid their fighters. That has significantly dropped the accuracy of our bombs. Our general in charge of the heavy bomber force in the Pacific, Curtis LeMay, has decided to adopt British bomber tactics to hit the Japanese cities as a result.” Secretary Marshall reported to President Dewey.
“I remember that the British started hitting German cities at night with large numbers of incendiary bombs shortly after the beginning of the London Blitz in retaliation.” Dewey replied.
“Yes, Sir. General LeMay is doing the same thing to the Japs now. With the highly flammable nature of Japanese cities with their largely wooden construction, General LeMay has chosen to employ mostly incendiary bombs against the Japanese to maximize the effectiveness of his bombers. Unfortunately, he is unable to mass enough bombers to hit Japan because of the extreme ranges involved.
There are also very few fighters that can escort LeMay’s bombers for the same reason. He has lost at least twenty percent of his heavy bomber force due to Japanese fighters because of the lack of long-range fighter escorts. We have asked Lockheed to increase production of their P-38 Lightning fighters to help provide additional escorts for out bombers.”
In this timeline, the P-51 Mustang had never been developed by North American Aviation because the Army Air Corps did not need them in Europe.
“The idea of firebombing whole cities seems very extreme and inhumane. But with the germ warfare attacks against the West Coast, we are being forced to employ extreme measures to try to end these attacks against our own civilian population.
We also have to do something more about the Philippine Islands. I know that FDR promised the Philippine people their independence after the war. But if the Japanese are able to continue to occupy the islands while we do nothing to help, our credibility will be severely damaged as a result. But we still have the problem with domestic sensitivity to heavy casualties.”
“We might have a solution though with the proposal that Prime Minister Menzies presented during your meeting with him in Cleveland. We could use Australia as a base for launching quick commando raids against Japanese targets in the Philippines and elsewhere. There are some officers in the Army and the Marines who have also suggested some very radical tactics against the Japanese.”
“What do you mean by ‘radical’?” President Dewey asked.
“They want to feed in large amounts of small arms and other infantry weapons to Philippine rebels to further fuel an insurgency against the Japanese. The Australians are already doing this to a small degree using some elite troops of their own. But if we were to significantly fund an expansion of this program and supply some small infantry units like the new Rangers to train and lead these insurgents against the Japanese, they could have an effect far in excess of the numbers of American troops that we send.
The injection of more supplies and Ranger support would help General Vicente Lim’s guerillas significantly, we believe. But the Army is still not going to like having the cream of their soldiers skimmed off for what some of the senior staff consider a harebrained scheme.”
You already know how sensitive that the American people have become concerning casualties. The Australians have a lot fewer people available, so the loss of each of their soldiers hits them far harder. But with these commando tactics supporting native resistance fighters, the Australians don’t appear to be losing very many soldiers during their operations.
Still, it seems ideal for us, especially in the aftermath of the bloodbath on Guam, Sir. We won’t be committing many of our troops. The Philippine resistance fighters will actually be doing most of the fighting. In many ways, it will be a lot like what General Patton is supposed to be setting up in China.”
“Maybe, but Americans are also inpatient when it comes to wars now. This sort of operation sounds like something that could take years to complete successfully, if at all. Will such an operation do anything more than kill a few more Japanese soldiers?”
“According to the plan’s proponents, it will. By increasing pressure on the Japanese garrisons, it will force Tokyo to either send reinforcements that we can interdict with air and naval forces from North Faluku and Australia or to withdraw their troops from the Philippines altogether.
As commander in chief, ultimately it is your decision though to go ahead with this program, Sir.”
“I want more information first. Set up a briefing for later this week on this idea. But unless someone convinces me otherwise, I am inclined to approve it. But we are probably going to have to do much more than helping the resistance in the Philippines. We still have American civilians and military personnel being held prisoner in the Philippines. We have to do something to help them, especially with the reports of those people being held under very poor conditions.
We have to also continue to hit the Japanese war machine hard, even if we are not planning on invading their home islands. For that, we are going to need additional help from another great power.”
“You are talking about England, I’m sure. But Mister President, we are going to have a hard time getting that help with their fiscal situation. Our sources say that their military is in the process of a major reduction in the size of their military. They will probably be even smaller than they were in the mid-thirties.”
“We will have to find a way to convince the British to send what forces that they have available to assist us.” President Dewey replied thoughtfully. Obviously, he already had something in mind.
Harold Cavill’s Home
Derby, Western Australia
August 19, 1947
Harold came home from work late that afternoon, only to find all four of his children sitting in the living room waiting on him. They all had a certain knowing smile on each of their faces, as though they had discovered something unexpected that they wanted to share.
“Hello, Dad. We hope that you had a good day at work. We have come up with an idea to preserve the database information for as long as we want.” Judith explained.
“What do you four have in mind?” Harold asked.
“We want to build a new computer device to copy all of the information to as a means of ensuring that we never lose it to mechanical failure.”
“It is impossible to build a new computer like mine with the technology that we have available. We don’t even have the ability to build the machines necessary to manufacture a portable computer of any sort.” Harold countered.
“We don’t need to build a small computer like yours using the technology from the time that you came from. In fact, it would be to our benefit if the machine that we construct is rather large. This way, no one can possibly come in and steal it or the information that we will copy onto it.”
Harold thought about Judith’s suggestion for a few moments before he came up with a few points of his own.
“We still don’t have the ability to build many of the advanced components. Anything that we build will be hideously slow compared to my portable computer.”
“We know. But we can begin to build the first generation computer with the technology that we already have. If we begin to construct some slightly more advanced components like the transistors that Mum tried to sell to that other company, then we can begin the process to improve the machine’s capability and capacity. Any new technologies that we incorporate can still easily be ahead of the rest of the world because as far as anyone else knows, they are purely experimental. No one will know that we already have components that have been proven decades earlier because we won’t tell them and will not be selling them to anyone either.
Little by little, we will copy the information into this new computing device as we continually upgrade it. It can be done without disrupting the timeline, Dad. I’m sure of it.”
“Well, children. We certainly do not have the space inside our secret room for something like that.”
“We will need to build a new facility that will be known as a research laboratory, Dad. But we are going to be the only ones who will actually know what is in it.”
“If we are going to do that, I would suggest that we take one of the existing underground storage areas that I had constructed earlier. We have a few that are no longer in use for a variety of reasons.”
“That sounds perfect, Dad. We will also need to build some sort of video screen to view the information from the new computer, a device to print out content from the database and a keyboard to enter in manual data. I don’t think that we should use those punch cards or tapes like so many of the early computers used. Just because we have to use some primitive components doesn’t mean that we have to go all the way back to ‘caveman technology’ on everything.” Beatrice said to the amusement of all of her siblings.
“Yes, Sweetheart. I would have to agree with that as well. I wouldn’t want to work with purely ‘caveman tech’ either.” Harold said with a smile before continuing.
“But WE are going to have to do the actual work on constructing and maintaining this new computer. While I can have other people and companies build individual components without telling them what they are for or how they work, we cannot afford to let anyone else see or learn about what we have actually built.
When I mean ‘we’, I am talking about myself and all of you four children. Somehow, I think that you already know this however.”
“Yes, Dad. It sounds like a grand project. We can get the designs for the earliest computer models from the database. Then we would adapt them to technology that is roughly appropriate to this era. I’m sure that we can find a way to explain the slightly more advanced components that we will need too, especially since we will only need a relatively small number of them. Then we scale everything up until we have sufficient capacity and capability. ” Judith enthusiastically responded.
James then excitedly spoke up as well.
“Dad, we can also put a few of the ‘black boxes’ that we talked about before to make this new machine even more capable. Since it will be located someplace where we will be the only ones to have access, then what the machine can do won’t be seen by anyone anyway.”
“You have all come up with some very good ideas. But, it will still be a lot of work. You will not be able to skip out on your schoolwork, your household chores or the time that you are spending learning from our engineers at the factories either. The time that you spent with them is going to be especially important if you are going to be able to assemble this new device.” Harold said with a stern look on his face.
“We are in the process of doing this already. But that still leaves us with forty engines in our inventory of the older design. What do you want us to do with them, Sir?”
Harold knew that he had a lot of money tied up in those engines. Even with his considerable wealth, he could not afford to waste his resources. This was one of the reasons why he was so successful in the twenty-first century. Harold never let anything go to waste.
“I need for plans to be drawn up for an unmanned aircraft that can use a single jet engine of the older design. We may not want to put a pilot in it. But we could use these aircraft as expendable drones for reconnaissance or target practice. I also want provisions made to place a high-explosive warhead and a terminal guidance system inside. This will allow us to use it to attack enemy targets without risking a single pilot.
The key elements will be that the drone aircraft will be very inexpensive to build and easy to fly by remote control.
Do you have any questions?”
“No, Sir. I will see to it right away. At least, we can salvage something out of all of this.”
“One other thing, what about Dorothy’s ejection seat? Why did it not work?”
“I don’t think that she tried to use it until it was already too late. I know how much Dorothy obsessed about not losing a single one of your aircraft while she was the pilot. I know that she jettisoned the canopy which is required before firing the ejection seat. But from what we have learned from the wreckage, the control cables to the rear control surfaces appear to have been burned through by the engine fire. That probably caused Dorothy’s aircraft to go inverted before she could escape.”
Harold grimaced as he wondered if his decision to bar Dorothy’s access to the secret database ultimately led to her death. In any event, there was nothing more to do except to try to use this tragedy to save the lives of future pilots.
“Then we will have to make some changes to the overall design to reduce the vulnerability of the control runs and fuel lines. We have to make our aircraft survivable as possible because we know that they are going to take hits.
Dorothy would want us to do all that we could to make sure that our pilots would be able to come home after a flight, preferably with their aircraft relatively intact.”
“I will have the engineers get to work on it right away, Sir.”
“How is our other new project going?” Harold asked.
“You are talking about our aircraft refit project, I suppose. We have been upgrading about a dozen aircraft a month with new engines and other systems. We still are suffering from our usual roadblocks of limited facilities, manpower and supply of new engines though. The work is interesting, however.”
“Well, keep at it. I will try to see if I can find alternate supplies of engines from other sources to help with the process. With the war over in Europe, we may even be able to convince some of the refugees to come settle here, especially those with some skills in manufacturing and engineering. I’m sure that will help you some. At least the government is willing to take in new emigres from there.”
“That is great. But if we have too large of an influx of people coming in, there could be difficulties in feeding them. A lot of the area around here is still very arid.”
“I understand, Theo. I am developing some means of providing more useable water for agriculture and other human needs already. But the technology is still not very mature and will take some time before it potentially could be implemented. But I will do what I can, I promise.”
One of the technologies that would be needed to provide more fresh water for a growing technology will be a ready source of affordable energy. This would be required to run a desalinization plant.
In order to provide that power, Harold had already started work on designing what would be the world’s first nuclear fission power station. This project would be constructed on the same grounds at the existing Derby coal-fueled power generation plant. This particular project was probably the most expensive task that Harold had ever undertaken.
In fact, it was so expensive that Harold actively solicited funding from the Australian government to help pay for the reactor. In return, Harold promised to provide some of the electric power to communities outside of Derby.
“I am looking forward to seeing this new technology that you are referring to, Sir. Everything else that you have suggested has proven to be extraordinarily successful.”
A few moments later, Janice knocked on the door and opened it to tell Harold that one of the aborigine chiefs had come in to speak with him.
“I’m done with everything here, Sir.” Theo quickly said.
“Thank you, Theo. Please let Janice know to send the chief in while you are leaving.”
“No worries, Boss.” Theo responded with a quick smile.
As soon as Theo left Harold’s office, a short, dark-skinned aborigine man with a very slight build walked in. Harold could never properly pronounce the young chief’s actual name because it consisted of close to thirty letters and nearly a dozen syllables, but everyone in town simply called him Tony for short. But Tony was known among the aborigines as being a bit of a mystic.
“Hello, Tony. How have you been doing? It has been quite a while since we last spoke.”
“Yes, Mister Cavill. I have been on ‘walkabout’ for a while. But I returned to the territory here a few weeks ago.
“What brings you here then today, my friend?” Harold pleasantly asked. He was certainly very curious why Tony wanted to see him at this time.
“I have known you all of my life. I also know that you have lost a great deal recently, especially with the death of your wife. But I wanted to make sure that you have also not lost your way as well, Mister Cavill.”
“What do you mean?” Harold asked.
“My father’s father told me that you came here from beyond the mists of time to save us all from destruction at the hands of foolish men.”
“I still am committed to that. It is a very difficult thing because there are so many uncertainties with each piece of the future that I change, I am afraid.”
“I understand this. You have already done many good things for my people. It is also my understanding that you have also saved many innocent lives elsewhere with your acts. There is still much work to be done. You are not alone. Your family is there to help you and your family with your mission long after you have passed from this world too. My people are also there to help you as well, if you or your children need it. Please do not forget this, my friend.”
Harold pondered Tony’s words for what seemed like hours as he looked into the young aborigine’s eyes, even though it was less than a minute in reality.
“No, I have not lost my way. I may not understand each twist and turn that the world takes along the path before me. But I still know that my purpose is to save this world and all of humanity from a terrible fate.
Thank you for reminding me of this, Tony.”
Chapter Sixteen:
White House Oval Office
Washington, DC
August 14, 1947
“I don’t know where the Japanese are getting fuel for their jet fighters, but those new warplanes are making it much more difficult for us and the Americans to conduct heavy bomber raids over the Japanese mainland. The Japs also have a bunch of new propeller-driven aircraft that they are using against us. As a result of this, we have lost several dozen heavy bombers during raids over Japan.
Our intelligence has been looking for those new fuel sources and the means that the Japanese are using to transport it. Our forces have already been forced to go to nighttime raids over Japan to avoid their fighters. That has significantly dropped the accuracy of our bombs. Our general in charge of the heavy bomber force in the Pacific, Curtis LeMay, has decided to adopt British bomber tactics to hit the Japanese cities as a result.” Secretary Marshall reported to President Dewey.
“I remember that the British started hitting German cities at night with large numbers of incendiary bombs shortly after the beginning of the London Blitz in retaliation.” Dewey replied.
“Yes, Sir. General LeMay is doing the same thing to the Japs now. With the highly flammable nature of Japanese cities with their largely wooden construction, General LeMay has chosen to employ mostly incendiary bombs against the Japanese to maximize the effectiveness of his bombers. Unfortunately, he is unable to mass enough bombers to hit Japan because of the extreme ranges involved.
There are also very few fighters that can escort LeMay’s bombers for the same reason. He has lost at least twenty percent of his heavy bomber force due to Japanese fighters because of the lack of long-range fighter escorts. We have asked Lockheed to increase production of their P-38 Lightning fighters to help provide additional escorts for out bombers.”
In this timeline, the P-51 Mustang had never been developed by North American Aviation because the Army Air Corps did not need them in Europe.
“The idea of firebombing whole cities seems very extreme and inhumane. But with the germ warfare attacks against the West Coast, we are being forced to employ extreme measures to try to end these attacks against our own civilian population.
We also have to do something more about the Philippine Islands. I know that FDR promised the Philippine people their independence after the war. But if the Japanese are able to continue to occupy the islands while we do nothing to help, our credibility will be severely damaged as a result. But we still have the problem with domestic sensitivity to heavy casualties.”
“We might have a solution though with the proposal that Prime Minister Menzies presented during your meeting with him in Cleveland. We could use Australia as a base for launching quick commando raids against Japanese targets in the Philippines and elsewhere. There are some officers in the Army and the Marines who have also suggested some very radical tactics against the Japanese.”
“What do you mean by ‘radical’?” President Dewey asked.
“They want to feed in large amounts of small arms and other infantry weapons to Philippine rebels to further fuel an insurgency against the Japanese. The Australians are already doing this to a small degree using some elite troops of their own. But if we were to significantly fund an expansion of this program and supply some small infantry units like the new Rangers to train and lead these insurgents against the Japanese, they could have an effect far in excess of the numbers of American troops that we send.
The injection of more supplies and Ranger support would help General Vicente Lim’s guerillas significantly, we believe. But the Army is still not going to like having the cream of their soldiers skimmed off for what some of the senior staff consider a harebrained scheme.”
You already know how sensitive that the American people have become concerning casualties. The Australians have a lot fewer people available, so the loss of each of their soldiers hits them far harder. But with these commando tactics supporting native resistance fighters, the Australians don’t appear to be losing very many soldiers during their operations.
Still, it seems ideal for us, especially in the aftermath of the bloodbath on Guam, Sir. We won’t be committing many of our troops. The Philippine resistance fighters will actually be doing most of the fighting. In many ways, it will be a lot like what General Patton is supposed to be setting up in China.”
“Maybe, but Americans are also inpatient when it comes to wars now. This sort of operation sounds like something that could take years to complete successfully, if at all. Will such an operation do anything more than kill a few more Japanese soldiers?”
“According to the plan’s proponents, it will. By increasing pressure on the Japanese garrisons, it will force Tokyo to either send reinforcements that we can interdict with air and naval forces from North Faluku and Australia or to withdraw their troops from the Philippines altogether.
As commander in chief, ultimately it is your decision though to go ahead with this program, Sir.”
“I want more information first. Set up a briefing for later this week on this idea. But unless someone convinces me otherwise, I am inclined to approve it. But we are probably going to have to do much more than helping the resistance in the Philippines. We still have American civilians and military personnel being held prisoner in the Philippines. We have to do something to help them, especially with the reports of those people being held under very poor conditions.
We have to also continue to hit the Japanese war machine hard, even if we are not planning on invading their home islands. For that, we are going to need additional help from another great power.”
“You are talking about England, I’m sure. But Mister President, we are going to have a hard time getting that help with their fiscal situation. Our sources say that their military is in the process of a major reduction in the size of their military. They will probably be even smaller than they were in the mid-thirties.”
“We will have to find a way to convince the British to send what forces that they have available to assist us.” President Dewey replied thoughtfully. Obviously, he already had something in mind.
Harold Cavill’s Home
Derby, Western Australia
August 19, 1947
Harold came home from work late that afternoon, only to find all four of his children sitting in the living room waiting on him. They all had a certain knowing smile on each of their faces, as though they had discovered something unexpected that they wanted to share.
“Hello, Dad. We hope that you had a good day at work. We have come up with an idea to preserve the database information for as long as we want.” Judith explained.
“What do you four have in mind?” Harold asked.
“We want to build a new computer device to copy all of the information to as a means of ensuring that we never lose it to mechanical failure.”
“It is impossible to build a new computer like mine with the technology that we have available. We don’t even have the ability to build the machines necessary to manufacture a portable computer of any sort.” Harold countered.
“We don’t need to build a small computer like yours using the technology from the time that you came from. In fact, it would be to our benefit if the machine that we construct is rather large. This way, no one can possibly come in and steal it or the information that we will copy onto it.”
Harold thought about Judith’s suggestion for a few moments before he came up with a few points of his own.
“We still don’t have the ability to build many of the advanced components. Anything that we build will be hideously slow compared to my portable computer.”
“We know. But we can begin to build the first generation computer with the technology that we already have. If we begin to construct some slightly more advanced components like the transistors that Mum tried to sell to that other company, then we can begin the process to improve the machine’s capability and capacity. Any new technologies that we incorporate can still easily be ahead of the rest of the world because as far as anyone else knows, they are purely experimental. No one will know that we already have components that have been proven decades earlier because we won’t tell them and will not be selling them to anyone either.
Little by little, we will copy the information into this new computing device as we continually upgrade it. It can be done without disrupting the timeline, Dad. I’m sure of it.”
“Well, children. We certainly do not have the space inside our secret room for something like that.”
“We will need to build a new facility that will be known as a research laboratory, Dad. But we are going to be the only ones who will actually know what is in it.”
“If we are going to do that, I would suggest that we take one of the existing underground storage areas that I had constructed earlier. We have a few that are no longer in use for a variety of reasons.”
“That sounds perfect, Dad. We will also need to build some sort of video screen to view the information from the new computer, a device to print out content from the database and a keyboard to enter in manual data. I don’t think that we should use those punch cards or tapes like so many of the early computers used. Just because we have to use some primitive components doesn’t mean that we have to go all the way back to ‘caveman technology’ on everything.” Beatrice said to the amusement of all of her siblings.
“Yes, Sweetheart. I would have to agree with that as well. I wouldn’t want to work with purely ‘caveman tech’ either.” Harold said with a smile before continuing.
“But WE are going to have to do the actual work on constructing and maintaining this new computer. While I can have other people and companies build individual components without telling them what they are for or how they work, we cannot afford to let anyone else see or learn about what we have actually built.
When I mean ‘we’, I am talking about myself and all of you four children. Somehow, I think that you already know this however.”
“Yes, Dad. It sounds like a grand project. We can get the designs for the earliest computer models from the database. Then we would adapt them to technology that is roughly appropriate to this era. I’m sure that we can find a way to explain the slightly more advanced components that we will need too, especially since we will only need a relatively small number of them. Then we scale everything up until we have sufficient capacity and capability. ” Judith enthusiastically responded.
James then excitedly spoke up as well.
“Dad, we can also put a few of the ‘black boxes’ that we talked about before to make this new machine even more capable. Since it will be located someplace where we will be the only ones to have access, then what the machine can do won’t be seen by anyone anyway.”
“You have all come up with some very good ideas. But, it will still be a lot of work. You will not be able to skip out on your schoolwork, your household chores or the time that you are spending learning from our engineers at the factories either. The time that you spent with them is going to be especially important if you are going to be able to assemble this new device.” Harold said with a stern look on his face.
