When Alden returned home that evening, he found that a hastily penned missive had been pushed under the door to his apartment. He immediately recognized the crude penmanship as belonging to Miss Oxley, whose approach to writing was as robust as the rest of her. A fact which had, over time, left some indelible marks in the wooden shop counter downstairs. As for the contents of the message, apparently a lad had come calling to recite a memorized message. A message which stated that Ada Waller had run the calculations, and would be happy to present them to him at his earliest convenience. With a nod, Alden decided that he was due another visit to Corner House. The next morning, Alden caught a steam tram down to Proud Street. He wasn’t much used to taking the tram. It was cheap enough, but up until recently Alden had been very tight with his money. But as cramped and as noisy as it was, it took what would be a two hour walk and turned it into a brisk twenty minute journey, so Alden decided that he could afford the nine pence it cost him. Despite the early morning, Corner House had clearly long since started its day. The lads were out washing the facade, and the butler arrived almost instantly when Alden tugged on the bell-pull. “Welcome back, sir. Is there anything I can assist you with?” “Simply continuing my investigations. You certainly seem to be having a busy morning.” “The inheritance court cleared the transfer of the property last night, making Mrs. Juliet Baines’ ownership of the property official. Happily, she chose to renew the contracts of the entire staff, but she did ask that we make sure the entire house is properly presentable. I believe she is rather anxious to move in.” “So soon after her Uncle’s death?” “Mrs. Baines is a very practical woman.” “Well, I suppose that’s not really any of my business. Is young Ada available? There are some matters I need to discuss with her.” “Of course, sir. Our instructions to remain at your disposal to whatever extent you require still stand. If you make your way to the tea room where you conducted your interviews the other day, I will go tell young Ada you have need of her.” “Thank you, Mr. Hope. I will head there forthwith.” Alden had barely found his way back to the little tea room when Ada came hurrying in, carrying a large sheaf of papers covered in neat blocks of machine-typed numbers. She put them down on the table in front of him with a rather proud smile. “Here you are, sir. I done figured out how to run the machine. Not just the calculations what was on it already, but the whole set it was prepared for, sir. Dr. Rawleigh done set it up to run a bunch of different variations within a set of boundary numbers, sir. All with a bunch of different variables and things, sir. So I ran the lot of them.” Alden eyed the stack of papers. There had to be at least four hundred sheets in all. “And you managed to figure out how to run that all by yourself?” “Well, sir, as I said, I’d seen Dr. Rawleigh running calculations on the thing lots of times. So once I was able to spot what the set boundaries were, I just had to run through all the iterations, sir.” “You know, Ada, I’m starting to suspect you’re really quite clever. If not for your religious convictions, I do believe you could have done rather well for yourself in the world of academia.” The young woman beamed proudly at the praise as Alden looked through the endless blocks of neatly printed numbers. “And if you can make heads or tails of all this, you’re certainly better with numbers than I am. What am I looking at here, Ada?” “Well, sir, this here is the negative mass of the object, this is the gravitational repulsion, and this here is the friction with the air. Here is the acceleration, sir. It’s in feet per second per second, I’m sure. And this here is the speed, that’s in feet per second. And then that there is the distance in feet from the ground. See along this set of calculations, sir? As time passes, the distance increases, the speed goes up, and the friction goes lower, because of the air is thinner high up, but the gravitational repulsion gets lower, on account of the thing is further from the Earth, sir.” “My word… How do you know all this?” “I told you sir, Dr. Rawleigh knew I liked numbers. So he would often tell me about numbers and calculations and things. Didn’t tell me what it was all for, but he taught me a bunch of formulae and things. I think he liked teaching a lot, sir.” “Ah, but since his work was so very secretive, he didn’t have anyone to teach.” “Nobody but me, sir.” Alden looked through the massive stack of papers thoughtfully. “What’s a foot per second in miles per hour?” “One mile per hour is one point four and a third feet per second, sir.” Alden’s eyes widened. “Good gods! Some of these calculation would have the object absolutely plummeting into the sky!” “Yessir. Like freefall but upside down, sir.” “And these calculations go up to a pretty stunningly far distance… Tell me, did Dr. Rawleigh have any reference books on astronomy?” “Dunno, sir. Can’t read. I don’t know what his books is about.” “Right, of course not. But I remember seeing quite a few books in his laboratory. I believe we are due for another visit.” “Right you are, sir.” Once they had made their way down to the laboratory, Alden quickly made his way to the various bookcases standing over by the big desk. And he couldn’t help but feel a little proud of himself when he found that there was indeed an enormous selection of astronomical reference volumes. Including, he noticed, an extremely recent work on the topic of calculating the masses of celestial objects and other related calculations. And within it, he found a number that was very close indeed to what he’d been looking for. “Ada, I’m going to need a slide rule.” Once the maid had supplied the device, Alden sat down with a pen and some paper and started working on the problem before him. He wasn’t exactly a genius with numbers, but these particular calculations were not too difficult. “Ada, I would like you to run a new set of calculations. Take the final results from each of the calculations on the stack, with the speed and mass, but assume that they are heading towards an object large enough to cause gravitational repulsion. Here is the distance to the object, and its mass. But please note that the second object is also in motion relative to the Earth, here’s the speed and heading. I want to know how much mass must be jettisoned from the travelling object to make its negative mass significant enough that the gravitational repulsion will slow it’s speed down to close to zero as it hits the object it is heading towards.” “What about the air friction, sir?” Alden quickly glanced through a different reference book. “Assume none or next to none.” “All right, sir, I’ll work on it. But it will take a long time. There’s a lot of calculating needs to be done, and there’s a bunch more variables to be taking into account. And I’m not really sure how to make it calculate properly with the target also moving, so I’ll have to try and figure that one out… Oh, and the machine is running out of ink and paper.” Alden almost nonchalantly tossed her two pounds, trying very hard not to consider just how freely he’d been spending his money of late. “That should get you all the ink and paper you could possibly need. Take your time, Ada. I think I already have what I need for my investigation. This is more a matter of finishing Dr. Rawleigh’s work.” Ada stood up very straight. “Right, sir! I’ll figure it out! Just you wait and see!” Alden nodded. This was probably outside the scope of what he was supposed to be doing, but he felt like he somehow owed it to the late Dr. Rawleigh to do as much as he could to see his work finished. Besides, Ada was much too clever a girl to be stuck working as a simple maid, and if she was able to figure this out, it might open some doors for her in the future. As Alden opened the front door of Corner house, ready to head out, he heard a surprised exclamation as a woman hastily stepped back to avoid the door hitting her in the face. The woman looked to be of early middle age, which was mostly visible in the crow’s feet around her eyes and the laugh lines around her mouth. She was fairly short and pleasantly plump, with a well cared-for complexion accentuated by a subtle yet attractive use of cosmetics, and her enormous swell of curly auburn hair was almost certainly dyed, given the intensity and lustre of its colouration. She was also dressed in an extremely fashionable fur-lined coat, and her gold and emerald earrings were a twin of the silver and sapphire ones that Lucille Baines had been wearing on the night Alden met her. “Oh, my apologies.” Alden said quickly. “I certainly didn’t mean to assault you with the door in such a manner, my dear lady.” “Oh, think nothing of it! No harm done. You must be Mr. Stowe, correct? The man Lucy hired to look into my Uncle’s passing.” “The very same. And you must then be Mrs. Juliet Baines, nee Rawleigh. I’m sorry for your loss.” “Oh, don’t waste your condolences on me. My uncle and I were never very close.” Alden’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really? I had heard that he was quite dear to you. So much so that you had considered him to third for your marriage in case you desired children.” The woman burst out laughing, and it took a moment for her to regain her composure. “My word, is that what people are saying about us? The rumour mill truly is something else, let me tell you! I suppose it’s because he was bond-binder at our handfasting. But no, we were never close. He was simply the only family member Lucy could pester into taking up the role. After all, she has no family to speak of, and my own parents would sooner die than openly support my marriage. Besides, if there’s one thing Lucy and I are completely agreed upon, it is the fact that children are the last thing we would ever want.” Alden didn’t let it show on his face, but he was less than pleased to hear that he had been misled. It was high time, he decided, to have a bit of a chat with his employer. “I see. It seems I have been misinformed.” “Oh, completely. Third to our marriage, the very thought! I can’t imagine what sort of woman would want a crusty old stiff like my uncle to third for her, even if she did want children. Still, it was lovely meeting you, Mr. Stowe. Lucy was very invested in my Uncle’s work, and she was quite distraught at his sudden demise. You seem a reliable sort, and I do so approve of anything that might help my dear Lucy find some peace of mind.” “On that topic, Mrs. Baines… Ada Waller, the personal maid of your late Uncle, is currently working on some matters that are of import to my investigation. I would appreciate if she could be excused her regular duties until further notice.” “Oh, the illiterate young woman? Certainly, if you think it will help. I was going to hire more maids anyway, so if you need her to work on whatever it is you’re working on I’ll be sure to tell her to focus all her efforts on that.” “Much appreciated. On another note, would you happen to know if your lady wife is available for a meeting this evening? There are matters I need to discuss with her.” “Well, she’s taking her supper at the Blue Blood Club this evening, but she’s almost always home by nine. I’ll simply tell her you’re coming over.” “Much obliged, Mrs. Baines.” Alden arrived at the Baines residence late that evening. The small but fine townhouse was situated in one of the upper-class areas of old London, so the streets were brightly lit by gas lighting, and there was not so much as a single loiterer or ruffian to be seen. Alden gave the doorknocker a few smart raps, and was soon greeted by an old woman dressed in hard-wearing matronly attire. “Ah, right. You must be that Mr. Stowe fellow. The lady is waiting for you in her office.” Alden nodded and followed the old woman inside. She quickly led him through the house, and up to the largest room on the second floor. Stepping inside, Alden found a large, well-appointed office lined with bookshelves and cabinets. Lucille Baines was seated behind the desk, but Alden barely recognized her at first. A far sight from the silken finery of their first meeting, Lucille was currently wearing an old tweed suit. A pair of reading glasses rested atop her forehead, and her hair was bound in a simple, tight braid. Her earrings were the same, however, and rather clashed with her current no-nonsense mode of dress. She looked up as the woman closed the door behind him, and shot him a prim smile. “Ah, Alden. It’s good to see you.” “Lucille.” Lucille’s smile took on a more cheerful cast. “You remembered.” “About your dislike for formal titles? I certainly did. Do you really have a grandmother who goes by ‘Mistress Baines’?” “My sole living relative. And quite a formidable woman, at that. Eighty-seven years of age, and she still works as a dominatrix at the Iron Rose. But never mind that. Please, have a seat.” Alden sat down, trying and failing not to imagine an eighty-seven years old dominatrix. Consciously keeping himself from grimacing, he turned his gaze to Lucille. “There are some matters we need to discuss.” “Related to the death of Dr. Rawleigh, I assume? Have you made much progress in your investigations?” “Some. However, I feel like I would be better able to continue this investigation if you would tell me what exactly was missing from the safe in the laboratory.” “I’m not sure what you mean. There seemed to be nothing missing from the safe. I informed the constabulary as much.” “Yes, but you were lying to them, much as you were lying to me when you first approached me about this matter. Contrary to your assertions, neither you nor your wife were particularly close to the departed Dr. Rawleigh, at least socially. She only helped him with the furnishing and decoration of Corner House because she was set to inherit it after his passing. And your sole interest in Dr. Rawleigh was his work. The results of which, unless I’m very much mistaken, should have been in his safe. But they weren’t, were they?” Lucille hesitated for a moment, then huffed. “You really are quite perceptive, aren’t you, Mr. Stowe? You are correct. All of Dr. Rawleigh’s research notes were missing from the lab. They should have been either on his desk or in the safe, but they were not.” “And what exactly was Dr. Rawleigh researching, Lucille?” “I can’t tell you that.” “Is that so? Then I suppose I have no choice but to start asking around on the topic of lunar travel.” Lucille’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s been talking to you about lunar travel?” Alden slammed a fist down on the armrest of his chair. “Nobody! And that’s the damn problem! I’m supposed to be investigating, but you’re not telling me half of what I’m actually investigating! But I have, nevertheless, discovered several things. Like the fact that Dr. Rawleigh, despite being possibly the most dispassionate and unsentimental man on the planet, nevertheless had a keepsake that perfectly mimics the full moon on a hazy London night. A keepsake that he brought into his lab every damn day! Or the fact that his lab was set up for experiments with phlogiston, a substance most commonly used in the field of aeronautics! Or, most importantly, the fact that he was running calculations on gravitational repulsion working on negative mass objects! Calculations that specifically calculated out to the distance where the gravitational impact of the moon would be larger than that of the Earth!” Alden took a deep breath, pushing down the rising tide of frustration he was feeling. “These are all things that I’ve been spending time and energy discovering, puzzling out, trying to connect the threads together. And they’ve led me to a conclusion you could simply have told me from the start.” Lucille gave him a long, thoughtful look. “I do believe you’ve been selling yourself short, Alden. You certainly are far more perceptive and intelligent than you made yourself out to be. And you’re right. Dr. Rawleigh was researching the viability of lunar travel.” “Thank you. From now on, would you please stop keeping secrets about the case you are employing me to investigate?” Lucille smiled wryly. “I’ll certainly make an attempt.” Alden snorted. “I suppose that’s the best I’m going to get.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the portrait of Li Tao, handing it over to Lucille. “This is Li Tao, a man who makes frequent trips between London and the capital of Han. I am almost completely certain he is responsible for Dr. Rawleigh’s demise. I suspect he has gained access to the laboratory on at least two occasions, presumably by means of picking the locks. Once to install an aetheric transmitter on the back of the laboratory’s phlogiston detector, and once directly after Dr. Rawleigh’s death to pilfer his research notes. Unless I am much mistaken, he caused Dr. Rawleigh to combust by means of some form of novel poisoning, possibly by adding an unknown substance to his food. I currently have people out searching for him, and I expect to hear from them in the near future.” Lucille simply stared at him for a long while. “…And you couldn’t have led with that?” She asked at last. “I had a point to make, Lucille. If you wanted me to find Dr. Rawleigh’s stolen research notes, then you should have employed me to do just that instead of leading me on with half-truths and outright lies.” Lucille seemed deep in thought for a moment, then she pulled a small bag from her desk drawer and tossed it to Alden. Opening the bag, Alden found another hundred pounds worth of golden coins. “What’s this for?” “Consider it a further advance.” “I’ve hardly worked the full twenty days you’ve already paid me for.” “Then consider it a raise! I want you to put your every effort into this investigation. Spare no effort or expense!” “And may I ask why exactly this is so important to you?” Lucille hesitated, but only for a second. “Not to me, to our very nation! For the last few decades, England has enjoyed remarkable prosperity thanks to our technological advances. But the rest of the world is catching up. Industry, engineering, aeronautics, the global community is quickly putting itself on par with us on all these fronts. For many years now, our prosperity has been dependent on purchasing raw material cheaply from other countries and selling products back at a premium. But as other nations start seriously competing with the quality of our output, that business model is going to become less and less viable. We need resources, mineral resources especially. And we are hoping the moon will provide.” “For queen and country, then? Is that why you were taking your supper at the Blue Blood Club? To discuss this matter with the royal family?” “Now that, I really can’t confirm. But you’re free to make up your own mind. Find me this man, Alden. Before he can get those notes back to Han.” “I take it his nationality is particularly troubling to you?” “Han has been nursing ambitions of world conquest for well over a millennium. Of late, they have set their sights on air superiority. Certain parties have been trying to stymie them on that front by making sure they can’t establish a sufficient supply of phlogiston, but rumour has it they have discovered some means of producing the substance with remarkable efficiency. At this point, all that’s keeping the Han from creating a veritable armada of military airships is the fact that their mines are depleted from many centuries of constant warfare.” Alden raised an eyebrow. “So what you’re telling me is that you want me to ensure that the Han can’t start mining operations on the moon, because it would allow them to create a world-conquering fleet of airships? At what point did my life turn into a penny dreadful?” Lucile chuckled, then penned a telegraphic address on the back of the portrait, handing it back to Alden. “We live in interesting times, Alden Stowe. Now, go find me this Li Tao. And if you ever need to reach me in a hurry, send a telegram to this address. It will reach me with minimal delay.” Alden nodded and pocketed the piece of paper. He said his goodbyes with all due courtesy, but his head was absolutely spinning as he started making his way home. He had come here hoping to get to the bottom of the lies Lucille had told him. But somehow, the truths he had received in turn were far more befuddling.