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gang and sent into the hills to mine metal or cut lumber to fuel New Chicago’s technological machinery.
The next year was, indeed, a grim one. But the riverboat was nearing completion, and though Capone had decided to turn it into a floating brothel and casino, its presence offered hope to many of our scientists.
On the night before the Belle Dame’s test voyage, they staged a revolt. Using crossbows they had made in their spare time, they shot the guards on the building where I and the other technocrats were quartered and set us free.
It took seconds for them to explain their mad plan. We would seize the riverboat and set off to start a new technocratic state. This time we would not repeat the mistakes that had brought Capone to power. This time we really would create a perfect world.
To make things short, Capone somehow found out about the rescue attempt. He sent the bulk of his men to stop us—to kill us, rather, since the riverboat was finished. If none of the scientists could be trusted, our usefulness to him was ended.
It came down to hand-to-hand fighting. I had written about it, had studied fisticuffs, but still found myself little prepared for true mortal combat. One of Capone’s lieutenants slashed my belly open with a sword. I fell, unconscious.
I awakened here, aboard the Belle Dame. A handful of men had rallied around my fallen body, fought their way free to the riverboat, and launched. We were searching the river for another suitable site for our technocracy when you encountered us.
THE MERRY MEN OF RTVERWORLD
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Robin sat in thought when Jules Verne finished his tale. Every word of it rang true; he had no doubts about its veracity.
“What you are looking for,” Robin said at last, “is a place like the last one, with abundant metals and wood, with easy access to the River, and a Provider—what we call a grail.”
“That is correct.” Veme leaned forward again, wincing a bit from pain. “Do you know of such a place?”
“We’ve traveled thousands of miles along the River, always heading upstream,” Robin said. “I’ve kept an eye out for metal along the way, and I know of places where lead and copper have been found. But iron ore? No, there’s none.”
Verne sank back, face ashen. “Then perhaps we truly are lost,” he said. “Providence led us to that spot, and in our pride we failed to see the dangers we courted.”
“Providence may be brought us together for a reason. Don’t you wonder at the convenience of it all?”
“What do you mean?”
Robin stood and began to pace. “You have been driven from your town by a thug and his men. After that you meet me, a man with a band of loyal followers who are looking to fix the wrongs of the world. Can you think of a more appropriate partnership?”
“Are you thinking what I am, sir?”
“If you’re thinking we might be able to wrest control of New Chicago from Capone—then yes.”
“I must think on it,” Verne said. “Violence has never been the answer to the world’s problems.”
“But sometimes it is the only solution,” Robin said.
Verne closed his eyes. “Find Claude,” he said. “I will have him bring your men aboard. We will talk again later.”
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* *
That afternoon Will Scarlet, who had spent a year training as a medic before dropping out of the program, went to see Jules Verne. Robin hoped he’d be able to help the technocrat. Will was the closest thing to a doctor on board.
While they waiting for the prognosis, Robin met with Little John in the salon. It was a beautifully decorated room; the tables all had floral designs inlaid with ivory taken from the bones of the giant fish that lived at the bottom of the River. Robin had seen such fish only twice… once when a twenty-foot-long corpse had washed ashore; another time when a fisherman had been devoured whole while Robin and his men were passing through his town. Robin wondered how Verne had gotten so many of their bones that he could afford to waste them on decorations. Perhaps the riverfish were more numerous around New Chicago.