The Alchemist Chapter 27

 

Chapter 27

Operation “Public Dragon” was a go. I supervised the printing of about a thousand copies of a single page newsletter that, as simply as possible, described the horrors of dragon hunting. I used as few large words as I could, so that even if people only barely knew how to read, they would understand it.

The picture of the dying dragon was especially potent. It portrayed the dragon we had killed in its full glory, almost jumping out of the frame. The death was particularly gruesome, blood everywhere.

We printed hundreds of the propaganda pieces, enough to distribute to the entire city as a test run. Also, this was going to be the first time a “newspaper” of sorts was distributed.

We were about ready to distribute when I approached Rachel. “I want to do something,” I said. “Instead of giving away these fliers for free, why don’t we fill them with useful information and sell them? I think people will be more willing to listen to what we have to say if they believe it’s worth half a cris. If people pay for things, they’re more likely to put their faith in it.”

“If you say so,” said Rachel. “But what else are we supposed ot put in there?”

“How about a short story?” I said. “Have you ever read fiction?”

“I’m not familiar with the term,” said Rachel. “Do you mean, a written version of a play or a ballad?”

“Exactly,” I said. “Plus, we can add things like chess puzzles and crosswords.”

“Chess?” said Rachel.

I chuckled. “Chess is going to blow your mind,” I said. “Is there any board game that people play on a regular basis?”

“The nobles have Chrysanthemum,” said Rachel. “But it’s complicated and the equipment is expensive.”

“Chess is very easy,” I said. “I’ll introduce it in the first publication of our newspaper. Let’s call it the “Brownfield Times.””

“I’m sure you’re aware,” said Rachel, “That most people in this city can’t read.”

“I’m going to change that,” I said. “With the money I make from the printing business and plastic business, I’m going to set up schools wherever I can. Education is a path to a better future, after all.”

“I’ll go with you on this one,” said Rachel. She began jotting down notes. “So. Tell me about this “newspaper” idea of yours.”

“A newspaper takes current events and puts them in writing so that people can know what’s going on in the world around them,” I said. “Usually, the papers cost a small amount of money, and lots of them are distributed.”

“That sounds like a logistical nightmare,” said Rachel. “We could probably make it work with the magical communications network, but keeping up with all the important stuff would require a large number of people whose entire job would be looking for stories.”

“Exactly,” I said. “That’s the job of a reporter. They spend all their time fishing out stories that would make people more likely to buy our newspaper.”

“And you’re going to use this newspaper to push your agenda?” said Rachel.

“That’s generally how it works,” I said. “All newspapers have an agenda they’re pushing. It just so happens that mine is enlightenment and the cessation of dragon hunting.”

Rachel sighed. “I’ll get on it. Do you have anyone in mind that may be able to do the job of reporter?”

“Moray,” I said. “Moray will make the perfect reporter for our paper. He’s got a sharp eye and a mind for observation.”

“Then you’d better put the proposition past him,” said Rachel. She crossed her arms. “And I assume you want me to help you coordinate this.”

“I do,” I said. “You’re the one who is most familiar with our process. Even more so that I am.”

Rachel’s expression change to a softer smile. “Great,” she said. “This looks like it will be a profitable business venture, and that’s all I care about.”

“I’m glad we see eye to eye,” I said. I turned around. “I’m going to put this past Moray.” I stepped out of the shop and into the street.

Yonas was standing beneath an awning, out of the rain that had begun falling a couple of hours ago. I stopped. “It’s been a while,” I said.

Yonas frowned. “Too long,” he said. “Every day my brethren die.

“I’m working as fast as I can,” I said. “Also, I met some of your kin. They seemed to know you. They referred to you with a very long and complicated name that I don’t remember.”

“Dragons have draconic names,” said Yonas. “But enough about that. I want to make sure that my money has been placed in the right hands.”

I paused. “Do you want to work for me?” I asked.

Yonas looked perplexed. “Doing what?” he said. “I would not drop down to doing anything related to running a shop. I am not the kind of person to take on meaningless jobs just to earn a pittance of a wage.”

“No,” I said. “You’re going to be in one of the most exciting fields ever invented. If you want, you can become a reporter.”

“A reporter?” said Yonas. “Explain.”

“A reporter finds stories that make people interested and writes about them. Then I, the newspaper owner, publishes the story in a weekly newspaper.”

“Interesting,” said Yonas. “I am a curious individual. And I do know how to write. But how do you know that this venture will make money?”

“Strangely enough, that’s exactly what my business partner asked when she heard about the idea,” I said. “And, money is not an object when it comes to me. I can create as much precious metal as I need to finance whatever. The real goal I’m after is a lot more ephemeral and hard to reach than simple personal wealth.”

“You’re as strange as I heard,” said Yonas. He turned away. “Contact me via magic communicator if you’re still willing to give me that offer whenever everything comes together.” He walked away.

I turned towards the Royal Society building. I popped open an umbrella and walked through the rain. The rain was doing a great job of clearing the sewage out of the streets. I liked times like this, as it was the closest I would get to walking in a clean, modern street. I knew that, eventually, I would have to lobby for the construction of a sewer. I could probably even finance it myself. But that was a long way away, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it at the moment.

I entered the Royal Society building and headed to Moray’s office. I knocked on the door. No answer. I tried the knob and the door creaked open. Moray was sitting in a chair, asleep. I walked up to him, tapping him on the shoulder. “Hey,” I said.

Moray’s eyes opened. “Yes?” he said. He sat up straight, wiping his chin. “Ah, Markus,” he said. “You came at a perfect time. I’ve been working on some mathematics and I need your help.”

I examined the paper he was working on. Since I had taught him Earth math symbols, he had been using them.

“Ah, you’re worried about the law of Sines?” I said. I spent the next hour working out what Moray was missing. Eventually he would surpass me and my simple, high school knowledge, but for now what I learned in high school and one year of college was enough.

When we were finished, I put my proposition past Moray. “Do you want to become a reporter for my newspaper?” I said.

“Explain what you mean,” said Moray.

I explained.

Moray crossed his arms. “Hum,” he said. “I’m not opposed to it. I’ve always wanted to travel across the world on someone else’s dime.”

“Great,” I said. “Then come to my shop tomorrow and we can discuss terms.” We shook hands. I then left the office and returned to the shop. Rachel was working hard printing the anti-dragon hunting fliers. I looked at a finished example and approved it. These fliers, which were too sparse to be called newspapers yet, were going to be sold for two dence. A very reasonable price, one that almost anyone could afford. A meal at a restaurant cost five dence at the least.

When the papers were printed I admired the stacks.

“How are we going to distribute these?” said Rachel. “We can’t go hawking these at the market. I’m sure we could get some permits, but these don’t look like something you’d sell at the market.”

“I have an idea,” I said. “It will work double. Is there a place where we can hire day laborers around here?”

“You’re going to hire day laborers?” said Rachel. “They aren’t trustworthy. They’d just abscond with the product.”

“Not if we sell it to them,” I said. “We sell the papers to the day laborers at a distribution price. They sell it to people in whatever way they can, and make money on it.”

“An interesting business model,” said Rachel. “How are you going to convince them to buy into something they haven’t seen before?”

“Just wait,” I said. “I have an idea. We’ve proved that we can create high quality pictures with my camera and printing method. Let’s create some pictures that anyone would want.”

“Um, what?” said Rachel. “This technology is too new for me to see its potential.”

“Cat photos,” I said.

“What?” said Rachel.

“Cat photos,” I said. “Let’s take some pictures of cats and bundle them with the newspaper.”

“Okay?” said Rachel. “I … I don’t see how that will make things different.”

“I can think of one other thing to add, but in this world, with this world’s morals …”

“Okay, okay, cat photos it is. I have a pet cat at home. Do you want me to bring him?” said Rachel.

“Of course,” I said. “If he’s okay with it.” I sniffed. “I’m allergic to cats, though. So we’re going to need to keep him away from me.”

“You’re the only one who knows how to operate the camera.”

“That’s far enough,” I said.

“I’ll start working on it,” said Rachel.

“We’re going to print these at poster size,” I said. “I’m going to work out how to do that. If our first issue comes with a poster, we can establish a reputation as a useful business. Then people will be more likely to buy into our strategy. And, once they do, we’ll dose them with a liberal amount of information about the horrors of the dragon hunting industry. Muckraking journalism is good.”

Rachel directed the people in the shop to keep working, and then left the room to find her cat. I sat down in a comfortable chair and watched the rain fall outside. It had been a productive day, and tomorrow, when the newspaper would be released, I would change people’s opinions on the important things in life.

Rachel brought her cat by half an hour later. It was a cute tabby, black and white, with green eyes. I set up the camera and we took several pictures. I picked the best one and made a large-sized Woodburytype. The resulting photo was of great quality, and perfect for hanging up on walls.

I also put together an advertisement for kerosene. I had no reason not to call it kerosene as a brand name, and that’s what I did. I planned to register that trademark. Back home on Earth I would never get away with trademarking the word Kerosene, but this was a different place. I would be able to, at one blow, cripple the dragon oil industry. The horrific reality of hunting them, as well as the cheap availability of an alternative, would drive dragon hunting to extinction.

All we needed to do was carry out the plan.