CHAPTER 2
WILTON STATION
Franklin took the arm, smiled, and they stepped inside, receiving stares from a smattering of the passengers, but mostly being studiously ignored by the commuters poring over their morning papers.
What did they think? No doubt, some were absorbed in the news and simply did not see them pass. Those who stared, did they wonder at all? Did any of them think anything more than, “What next, must be some sort of event in the city. Pretty good likeness of Franklin, though.” And were there some who only appeared to be studying the Times or the Journal and were in fact determined not to give that nut in the costume the attention he craved?
“Well then, I owe you an explanation of the so-called internal-combustion engine, and more particularly, first, how its combustion process is initiated, and second, how the resulting explosive force is harnessed for transportation,” said Edward, all the while eyeing Franklin for signs of unease.
But the banquette, though too close to the one next forward for Edward to straighten his knees, was ample for a man of Franklin’s size, and this seemed to help him relax once again.
“Yes, exactly, do proceed,” said Franklin.
Pausing to gather his thoughts, Edward found himself thinking that, in all probability, all who listened were quite ready to assume their conversation was nothing more than the rehearsing of lines, or perhaps some kind of a gag.
“In a cylindrical combustion chamber, said Edward, concentrating to wall out his sensitivity about what the surrounding passengers were thinking, “fuel and air are mixed and then ignited by a spark.”
At this moment, the train got under way. In the usual fashion, this began with a backward jerk, followed by a wrenching forward motion.
Franklin stiffened, but as he observed the slow, easy acceleration, relaxed again, and Edward decided not to comment.
Resuming, Franklin said, “That explains initiation, now what about control?”
“As in the case of Watt’s steam engine, the chamber contains a piston, which is driven downward by the explosive force. The piston is attached to a crankshaft, and as the crank turns so do the wheels of the car.”
“Yes, of course, so in fact the whole process is as imagined in my times. Why, we could have built it!”
“And in a way, you did. Watt’s was the contribution of your generation, with each successive generation contributing a little more. By about the year 1900, the first personal motorcars were being offered for sale. Even now, nearly a hundred years later, refinements are still coming along every few years. For example, when I was a boy, starting the engine in freezing weather could be a struggle. Finding the right fuel-air mixture was mostly a matter of chance.”
“But now, a new component has been developed that solves the fuel-air problem in all weather conditions,” Edward continued. “Cold-weather starting is no longer a problem, even in the depths of winter.”
Franklin now seemed truly comfortable as he absorbed these words. The compartment seemed unusually quiet, but perhaps this was Edward’s imagination. His fellow riders barely spoke to one another from day to day, even though they saw, as he did, the same faces boarding the train each morn.
Edward paused. Wanting to give his companion all the time he needed, he waited until Franklin spoke.
After gazing out the window at the passing houses and back walls of shopping centers, Franklin said, “Shall we proceed on to the workings of the train, then? I concede that we have only scratched the surface of the workings of the car. For example, it might be interesting to know more of this new fuel-air regulator. And yet, things are happening so fast,” said Franklin, meanwhile gazing out the window as the buildings of the seven-story Merritt-7 office complex came into view, “that I fear we have time for only the most superficial descriptions.”
“Yes, I see what you mean,” said Edward.
The train took on more passengers, filling up for its express run to Grand Central. The moment came when a gentleman in a beige trenchcoat came walking down the aisle, stopped beside them, and said, “Is this seat taken?” pointing at the few inches of space between Franklin and the armrest.
Quick on the uptake once again, Franklin replied, “Not at all, sir. Not at all,” and moved toward the middle of the banquette. The new arrival squeezed in, opened his briefcase in his lap, took out his newspaper and surrounded himself with its pages.
Franklin looked back at Edward, plainly implying the question, what is the matter with him – no greeting? No conversation?
Edward, anticipating Franklin’s surprise, had opened his shoulder bag, fumbled out his pen, and scribbled on a piece of scrap paper, strange new custom – no offense intended – I’ll explain later.
When Franklin had read this, Edward said, “Now, as to the train,” but Franklin raised a hand slightly to indicate a question.
“It’s just come to me that this compartment is lighted, but I have no idea how. Would you mind another digression to explain how this is accomplished?”
“Not at all. These are electric lights. A generator produces electrical current, which is transmitted to the lighting units you see above you. Each unit contains a couple of tubes. In the tubes is a gas that is excited to luminescence by the electrical energy.”
“Aha, electricity! And does the generator operate in any way resembling the experiments of my time?”
“It most certainly does. In fact, its development owes much to the experiments you yourself conducted. As the train moves, a small part of its energy is used to turn the generator. The generator contains components that produce an electrical field. The components I’m a bit hazy on, not being an electrical engineer, but I believe they are either …”
“Brushes? Wire windings?”
“Yes …”
“So it is indeed as we imagined … one is tempted to conclude that all of these wonders come from the thinking of our age.”
“There are some yet that may seem to be entirely new, but yes, ultimately, the thinking was there in your age. I am reminded of Newton’s famously modest remark.”
“Sir Isaac Newton?”
“The very same. He said, ‘If I have seen far, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.’”
It occurred to Edward that one of those giants was just now sitting here beside him. Did this mean that, someday he, Edward, might also see far?
Then Edward paused, and, when he resumed said, “But that is not entirely fair. Allow me make amends. Having cited that overused line, I hasten to acknowledge that the subject of electricity has particular associations for you. Being given this opportunity – this very sudden opportunity – to see these lights, which are but one of the outcomes of your work, to react by clapping one’s hands in delight makes perfect sense.”
“Thank you, and if I may so, you have a bit of a way with words. Now, as to the luminescing gas, how is this accomplished?”
“You are right to ask for more than my assurance on that point, but again, the answer is too technical for me. Certainly one does not simply put electrical current in the presence of a gas and, presto, luminescence. But that you probably learned in your own experiments…”
“More probably from correspondence through the Royal Society and the Académie, but do go on.”
“Inside the tubes is a device called a ballast, but alas, that is as far as I can go – I only know the name of that device and nothing of its working.”
“No matter, there is plenty of time to fill in the details from the more technical sources,” said Franklin, but then they both looked at each other and frowned.
“Is there time, or is there not time?” said Franklin.
“I suppose there is no way of knowing,” answered Edward.
“But suppose there is not, is that not also good?” asked Franklin, hastening to add, “Even if I am, like Moses, only to have just a glimpse, that is itself nothing but a delight, as you noted a moment ago.”
“Yes, yes,” said Edward. “I see what you mean. And it is as true for me as it is for you.”
“A perceptive observation: the chance to speak firsthand with the past.”
Neither spoke for a moment, and the compartment was quiet as before. The train inched over a grade-level crossing where the bright headlights of a waiting truck glared at them through the window.
Franklin took the arm, smiled, and they stepped inside, receiving stares from a smattering of the passengers, but mostly being studiously ignored by the commuters poring over their morning papers.
What did they think? No doubt, some were absorbed in the news and simply did not see them pass. Those who stared, did they wonder at all? Did any of them think anything more than, “What next, must be some sort of event in the city. Pretty good likeness of Franklin, though.” And were there some who only appeared to be studying the Times or the Journal and were in fact determined not to give that nut in the costume the attention he craved?
“Well then, I owe you an explanation of the so-called internal-combustion engine, and more particularly, first, how its combustion process is initiated, and second, how the resulting explosive force is harnessed for transportation,” said Edward, all the while eyeing Franklin for signs of unease.
But the banquette, though too close to the one next forward for Edward to straighten his knees, was ample for a man of Franklin’s size, and this seemed to help him relax once again.
“Yes, exactly, do proceed,” said Franklin.
Pausing to gather his thoughts, Edward found himself thinking that, in all probability, all who listened were quite ready to assume their conversation was nothing more than the rehearsing of lines, or perhaps some kind of a gag.
“In a cylindrical combustion chamber, said Edward, concentrating to wall out his sensitivity about what the surrounding passengers were thinking, “fuel and air are mixed and then ignited by a spark.”
At this moment, the train got under way. In the usual fashion, this began with a backward jerk, followed by a wrenching forward motion.
Franklin stiffened, but as he observed the slow, easy acceleration, relaxed again, and Edward decided not to comment.
Resuming, Franklin said, “That explains initiation, now what about control?”
“As in the case of Watt’s steam engine, the chamber contains a piston, which is driven downward by the explosive force. The piston is attached to a crankshaft, and as the crank turns so do the wheels of the car.”
“Yes, of course, so in fact the whole process is as imagined in my times. Why, we could have built it!”
“And in a way, you did. Watt’s was the contribution of your generation, with each successive generation contributing a little more. By about the year 1900, the first personal motorcars were being offered for sale. Even now, nearly a hundred years later, refinements are still coming along every few years. For example, when I was a boy, starting the engine in freezing weather could be a struggle. Finding the right fuel-air mixture was mostly a matter of chance.”
“But now, a new component has been developed that solves the fuel-air problem in all weather conditions,” Edward continued. “Cold-weather starting is no longer a problem, even in the depths of winter.”
Franklin now seemed truly comfortable as he absorbed these words. The compartment seemed unusually quiet, but perhaps this was Edward’s imagination. His fellow riders barely spoke to one another from day to day, even though they saw, as he did, the same faces boarding the train each morn.
Edward paused. Wanting to give his companion all the time he needed, he waited until Franklin spoke.
After gazing out the window at the passing houses and back walls of shopping centers, Franklin said, “Shall we proceed on to the workings of the train, then? I concede that we have only scratched the surface of the workings of the car. For example, it might be interesting to know more of this new fuel-air regulator. And yet, things are happening so fast,” said Franklin, meanwhile gazing out the window as the buildings of the seven-story Merritt-7 office complex came into view, “that I fear we have time for only the most superficial descriptions.”
“Yes, I see what you mean,” said Edward.
The train took on more passengers, filling up for its express run to Grand Central. The moment came when a gentleman in a beige trenchcoat came walking down the aisle, stopped beside them, and said, “Is this seat taken?” pointing at the few inches of space between Franklin and the armrest.
Quick on the uptake once again, Franklin replied, “Not at all, sir. Not at all,” and moved toward the middle of the banquette. The new arrival squeezed in, opened his briefcase in his lap, took out his newspaper and surrounded himself with its pages.
Franklin looked back at Edward, plainly implying the question, what is the matter with him – no greeting? No conversation?
Edward, anticipating Franklin’s surprise, had opened his shoulder bag, fumbled out his pen, and scribbled on a piece of scrap paper, strange new custom – no offense intended – I’ll explain later.
When Franklin had read this, Edward said, “Now, as to the train,” but Franklin raised a hand slightly to indicate a question.
“It’s just come to me that this compartment is lighted, but I have no idea how. Would you mind another digression to explain how this is accomplished?”
“Not at all. These are electric lights. A generator produces electrical current, which is transmitted to the lighting units you see above you. Each unit contains a couple of tubes. In the tubes is a gas that is excited to luminescence by the electrical energy.”
“Aha, electricity! And does the generator operate in any way resembling the experiments of my time?”
“It most certainly does. In fact, its development owes much to the experiments you yourself conducted. As the train moves, a small part of its energy is used to turn the generator. The generator contains components that produce an electrical field. The components I’m a bit hazy on, not being an electrical engineer, but I believe they are either …”
“Brushes? Wire windings?”
“Yes …”
“So it is indeed as we imagined … one is tempted to conclude that all of these wonders come from the thinking of our age.”
“There are some yet that may seem to be entirely new, but yes, ultimately, the thinking was there in your age. I am reminded of Newton’s famously modest remark.”
“Sir Isaac Newton?”
“The very same. He said, ‘If I have seen far, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.’”
It occurred to Edward that one of those giants was just now sitting here beside him. Did this mean that, someday he, Edward, might also see far?
Then Edward paused, and, when he resumed said, “But that is not entirely fair. Allow me make amends. Having cited that overused line, I hasten to acknowledge that the subject of electricity has particular associations for you. Being given this opportunity – this very sudden opportunity – to see these lights, which are but one of the outcomes of your work, to react by clapping one’s hands in delight makes perfect sense.”
“Thank you, and if I may so, you have a bit of a way with words. Now, as to the luminescing gas, how is this accomplished?”
“You are right to ask for more than my assurance on that point, but again, the answer is too technical for me. Certainly one does not simply put electrical current in the presence of a gas and, presto, luminescence. But that you probably learned in your own experiments…”
“More probably from correspondence through the Royal Society and the Académie, but do go on.”
“Inside the tubes is a device called a ballast, but alas, that is as far as I can go – I only know the name of that device and nothing of its working.”
“No matter, there is plenty of time to fill in the details from the more technical sources,” said Franklin, but then they both looked at each other and frowned.
“Is there time, or is there not time?” said Franklin.
“I suppose there is no way of knowing,” answered Edward.
“But suppose there is not, is that not also good?” asked Franklin, hastening to add, “Even if I am, like Moses, only to have just a glimpse, that is itself nothing but a delight, as you noted a moment ago.”
“Yes, yes,” said Edward. “I see what you mean. And it is as true for me as it is for you.”
“A perceptive observation: the chance to speak firsthand with the past.”
Neither spoke for a moment, and the compartment was quiet as before. The train inched over a grade-level crossing where the bright headlights of a waiting truck glared at them through the window.
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