The Grantville Gazette - Vol 3 Part 1

Grantville Gazette.

Volume III.

Preface

By Eric Flint

First, I need to apologize for the long delay between the publication of Volumes 2 and 3 of the magazine. That was due to several factors, only one of which-my own heavy writing schedule this past summer and early fall-was predictable. The others involved illnesses to two key people involved in thework, and the recent decision by Baen Books to issue a paper anthology which will contain about one-third of the material that had originally been planned for this volume. That decision, while it was one I welcomed, required us to do another round of story selection and editing. (The current working t.i.tle for the anthology, by the way, is1634: The Ram Rebellion . I hope to have it turned in by the middle of next year, in which case it should be published sometime in 2006.) Fortunately, however, the material for Volume 4 is already put together and needs only the final rounds of editing and copy-editing. So there shouldn't be the same long delay between publication of this volume and the next. It should be available sometime in late January or February.

People who've read the first two volumes of theGrantville Gazette will notice that I've added a section ent.i.tled "Continuing Serials." In this section, I'm placing those stories whose episodes are clearly and definitely not stand-alone stories. In this issue, we conclude the short novel "An Invisible War," which was begun in Volume 2, and we continued the episodes of Enrico Toro's "Euterpe." (Episode 3 will appear in Volume 4 or 5.) I readily admit that there's a very gray area involved here, because some of the "stand alone" stories in this issue either continue a story thread begun in an earlier story-as, in this issue, Gorg Huff's "Other People's Money" continues with the story begun in "The Sewing Circle," which appeared in Volume 1-or are beginning a new one. An example of the latter is David Carrico's "The Sound of Music." The story that David begins here will continue. The immediate sequel is ent.i.tled "Heavy Metal Music" and will appear in Volume 4, and he's at work on yet another...

Just to make things more complicated, a number of the stories in the magazine do and will continue to intersect and overlap with other stories. That's been happening since the very beginning of this series, starting withRing of Fire. So, determining exactly where one story "ends" and another "begins" is awfully tricky.

Still, there's a basic difference between a story like "An Invisible War" and "The Sound of Music."

David's story does work as a stand alone, and while "Heavy Metal Music" will be a sequel, it can also be read on its own terms. Whereas Part II (the conclusion) of Danita's short novel is not a "sequel," it's the second half of the same story.

Finally, I need to make an announcement. Beginning with the next volume of the magazine-actually, she picked up halfway through this one-Paula Goodlett is replacing Cheryl Daetwyler as the a.s.sistant editor of the magazine. This is a sad announcement for me to make, not because I don't think Paula won't do an excellent job, but because the reason I had to make the change was because Cheryl suffered a stroke a few months ago. Those of us involved with the 1632 series have all been hoping that she'd recover soon, but unfortunately it's now become clear that her recovery is going to take a lot of time and effort.

As I said earlier, part of the reason for the long stretch between the publication of this volume and the last volume was the uncertainty concerning Cheryl's condition after her stroke. Finally-and reluctantly-I decided to find a new a.s.sistant editor, once it became clear that Cheryl would not be recovering quickly. I simply can't manage this work without an a.s.sistant editor, and Paula was the obvious choice as Cheryl's replacement. I'll ask all of you who are friends and fans of this series to wish Cheryl the best and give her your prayers if you are religiously inclined. And please welcome Paula Goodlett.

Eric Flint October, 2004

STORIES:.

Pastor Kastenmayer's Revenge

By Virginia DeMarce

April, 1635.

Ludwig Kastenmayer would never forget the day.April 11, 1634 , by the reckoning of these up-timers, who had adopted the pope'scalendar.The day that one of them had stolen his daughter. It was the worstthing that had happened to him since Count Ludwig Guenther a.s.signed him to the new parish ofSt. Martin 's in the Fields after the Rudolstadt Colloquy.

The man should not even have been in Grantville. He was an officer in the military of the New United States and should have been inErfurt , where he was a.s.signed.

Jonas-Jonas Justinus Muselius, the youngest teacher at the Lutheran elementary school attached to the church and a friend of several of the up-timers-had said that he was on "R and R." Even after Jonas had explained it to him, Pastor Kastenmayer found it peculiar. There was far more to do inErfurt than in Grantville. Theological lectures by guest professors.Organ concerts.Choral performances.Sermons by visiting pastors. The man should have stayed inErfurt for his holiday.Erfurt was a magnificent city.

Kastenmayer had greatly enjoyed all four of his visits there.

That man should not have come to Grantville and, within less than two weeks, seen Andrea on the street, walked up to her, introduced himself, persuaded her to accompany him to a public restaurant for a meal, and-married her! Six weeks before the end of the school term at Countess Katharina theHeroicSchool next toSt. Martin 's, leaving her younger sister Maria Blandina to manage all of the youngest children by herself. Still, there were only eighty-three of them, after all. There had been little reason for Maria Blandina to complain so bitterly.

Barbaric, this idea that couples could marry in three days' time and without the consent of the parents.

Especially when anyone who thought about it should have realized that the parents would not consent.

The man was-well, ultimately, to put it plainly- Catholic.

At least he hadn't insisted that Andrea convert to his church. That would have been the final embarra.s.sment. Nonetheless, it had been difficult to explain to the consistory in Rudolstadt.Extremely difficult, to say the least. Better yet, they had not married in the Grantville Catholic church. Pastor Kastenmayer had derived some minimal satisfaction from discovering that St. Mary's forbade such an absurdity as manifestly disastrous mixed-confessional matrimony on three days' notice, even if the civil laws did not. They had married before the mayor at theRathaus , the man saying casually (Pastor Kastenmayer had heard second hand; he had not been there in person) that they "could get the religious stuff sorted out when they had time."

Additionally, Salome, his second wife, suggested that it was his own fault for not having arranged marriages for the daughters of his first marriage in amore timely manner. Indeed, she had commented that it would not be entirely surprising if Maria Blandina chose an equally unsuitable spouse. She hadn'tquite said that the girls were both self-centered young snips with pretty faces... not... quite.

Pastor Kastenmayer had duly sounded out Jonas about Maria Blandina. It would have been quite suitable; the father of young Muselius had been his second wife's half-brother. But he had received a courteous refusal.Too bad. G.o.d had blessed Pastor Kastenmayer greatly-five children from his first wife, all surviving (and the two oldest earning salaries, one as a city clerk and one as a junior pastor, which was also a great blessing).Eight children from his second wife, seven surviving. And, ah, of all those, currently, three sets of board, room, and tuition at the university in Jena; two sets of board, room, and tuition at the Latin school in Rudolstadt, and two boys still not old enough for Countess Katharina the Heroic. All on the salary of a parish pastor, with a bit of tutoring here and there. Salome had recently informed him that they were to be blessed again.I am supposed to find a dowry for Maria Blandina just where?he asked himself. He sighed most gloomily and considered lengthening his morning prayers. But Jonas, although refusing the offer of a wife, had suggested an alternative. What he called a "payback."

Jonas felt very responsible for the remainder of the village he had led into Grantville. A few old people, a couple of young mothers, and quite a few children. Well, some of the children had been adolescents in 1631, and most of the adolescents had been girls. The older boys had stayed behind with their fathers to fight the delaying action against the mercenaries from Badenburg. The boys lay dead with their fathers, in a ma.s.s grave next to the burned-out church. Now, in 1634, the older girls were becoming-at least at the ages the up-timers considered suitable-marriageable.Also without dowries. The arable lands of Quittelsdorf had been removed toWest Virginia , Herr Gary Lambert had told Jonas. At least, that was the up-timers' best guess as to where G.o.d had chosen to put their fields. G.o.d moved in most mysterious ways. If they had not fled from the mercenaries, they too, presumably, would have been removed toWest Virginia . It had been a good day to work in the fields.

"So," Jonas had said, "if the Habsburgs can do it"-he quoted the proverb about "happyAustria " waging matrimony rather than war, in Latin, of course-"then so can we. We must ask 'die Krausin.'"

Margaretha Krause, widowed with three children, had gone into service as housekeeper and cook for a middle-aged American whose wife had been left up-time and shortly thereafter had married him.

Before the construction ofSt. Martin 's in the Fields, be it known. Pastor Kastenmayer had had nothing to do with it. The man was not Lutheran. On the other hand, he was a skilled artisan with a regular position, owned a house, and did not interfere with her church attendance. He had allowed her to have their daughter baptized Lutheran atSt. Martin 's. Things could be worse.

"But," Pastor Kastenmayer had protested, "I do observe the truth that the different churches and their pastors of this Grantville appear to survive in this parity arrangement without excessive conflict. But still-if we try to pluck away their members. That will certainly cause offense. Which Count Ludwig Guenther does not wish tocause. They are his allies. He is part of their confederation."

Jonas c.o.c.ked his head to the side a little. "More than a third of these up-timers belong to no church at all."

"You mean that they do not enforce attendance?"

"No.People who do not belong to any of the churches in the town. They arenot only not Lutherans. They are not evenheretics ."The honest sense of scandal that had enveloped Jonas when he first discovered this was still plain to be heard in his voice. "But, anyway. We steal their men, but we don't steal them from any of their churches. How can the other pastors complain if we convert the heathen?"

From the perspective of his sixty-five years, the first forty-five of them spent among the feuding theologians ofSaxony , Pastor Kastenmayer predicted grimly, "They'll find a way."

But it had been irresistible. He called upon "die Krausin," now known to the Grantville public as Mrs.

Burton Vandiver. He did not overreach. The weapon that G.o.d had forged to his hand consisted of, after all, a dozen quite ordinary village girls, even though they had been given two or three years more schooling in Grantville. His requirements were basic. He needed a list of up-time marriage candidates: just, "no constant drunkards, no brawlers,no lazy louts who will expect their wives to support them."

One more year.Palm Sunday, 1635.Harvest time coming in the spring. He smiled upon his congregation from the pulpit. "Today we welcome into fellowship through the rite of adult confirmation... Herr Ryan Baker, Herr Derek Blount, Herr James Anthony Fritz, Herr Mitch Hobbs, Herr Michael Lewis Jenkins,Herr Errol Mercer, Herr Roland Worley..."

The men stood in front of him, closely shaved, their hair cut very short with the exception of Herr Mercer, who had grown his to a respectable length for an adult man since leaving the army, wearing "neckties" and, most of them, the semi-stunned expression of guys who have not fully a.n.a.lyzed the process by which they got themselves into their current situation.

According to Herr Lambert, the "neckties" were a good omen, indicating that the men were taking their oaths seriously.

The girls of vanished Quittelsdorf had done well in the service of their Lord. Indeed, one was also betrothed to the stepson of "die Krausin," but that young man, like his father, was a church member elsewhere; another was betrothed to a colleague of Ryan Baker, but that man also belonged to an up-time church. Still, he had seven."Seven at one blow," he thought, as the story of the brave little tailor flitted through his mind. Four of the Quittelsdorf girls, prompted by Jonas, had even made their chosen husbands go back to school and get the magic "GED" before they agreed to marry.Jonas was, after all, not merely a school teacher, but their own former teacher, from their lost village; they listened to him . Pastor Kastenmayer proceeded through the liturgy in a dignified manner, but part of his mind was on other things.

Things Could be Worse: Ryan Baker andMagdalena Heunisch

May, 1634 Ryan Baker had gotten out of the army-stupid amount of paperwork involved with that, it turned out-and gone for a beer.Where he had found the girl.Magdalena. He called her Meg-Magdalenadidn't come off his tongue very well. Four hours later, he asked a little doubtfully, "Don't you need to go home, or something? Won't somebody be worried if you don't turn up? What about your mom and dad?"

She wasn't any more than five feet tall, if that.Narrow little shoulders; flat little chest; tiny little waist; a bit more in the way of hips, but not a lot. Now she crossed her arms on the table, put her chin on them, looked at the mug of beer he had bought her, and said, "Dead."

"Ah?Dead?"

"Fatherdead . I was little girl.Had stepfather. Dead when the soldiers came.Had brother. Dead when the soldiers came.Mother bigger than me.Strong.Worked hard.Stayed to fight the soldiers. Brave.Dead."

She picked up the beer mug.

It was dawning on Ryan that there might be situations in the world worse than the one in which he found himself. He had never been particularly fond of Dayna Shockley, who had already been his stepmother for ten years as of the Ring of Fire. It wasn't that she was awful-just that if Dad hadn't married her, hewould never have talked to the woman. But his mother was left up-time, so there hadn't been much option except to move in with Dad and Dayna after the Ring of Fire until he finished high school.

He graduated in 1633, did his basic and one year in the full-time military, and really, really, didn't want to move back in with Dad and Dayna now that he was getting out and had a job as a trainee at the Grantville-Rudolstadt-Saalfeld Railroad and Tramway Corporation.

Meg was continuing."Things maybe worse. Have little sister.Half-sister.Still alive.Lives with me.

No-lives with Maria. I live with Maria. Maria is stepsister. All live in "refugee housing" with Maria's aunt. She is alive, too. She has two daughters still alive."

She lifted her chin."Things maybe worse.If everybody else dead, much worse."

Ryan admired her for being so upbeat about it all.

"Maria's aunt not worry where I am. Too much work, too many girls, too busy. I am the end one to worry about."

Ryan put his arm about her shoulders, in what he intended to be a friendly and comforting manner. She cuddled her head against his neck. Her light brown hair was slick and smooth. He realized that he had a key to Mitch Hobbs' parents' empty house.

The next morning, she was quite friendly and cheerful.Which was good, all things considered. She'd been a virgin and she might have gone all tearful on him. Instead, she climbed out of bed, fixed porridge and said, "I go to work."

"Where?"

"Kitchen at Cora's.Peel vegetables. Peel fruits.Peel, wash, peel, scrub. Peel more." Her hands moved descriptively.

"Ah." Ryan paused.What next? "Ah, what time do you get off?"

"When done.Cora pays overtime." Meg beamed brightly.

"Ah. I'll be off first, then. If I come pick you up..."

He stopped rather awkwardly.

"We could go see Maria's aunt. Give her this address. Tell her where you're living now."

He wasn't one hundred percent sure of that, but he was pretty sure that Mitch wouldn't mind having him rent a couple of rooms. The upstairs in theHobbs house had two bedrooms that you got to on a really narrow and steep staircase. Mitch probably wouldn't be using them after he got out. There was only one bath and it was downstairs, but at least there was a bath. Some rent would help pay Mitch's taxes. And Meg would be areally good reason not to move back in with Dad and Dayna.Once Dayna found out.

He thought he'd tell Dad first. Maybe let Dadtell Dayna.When he wasn't there.

September, 1634

Maria Krause looked at her stepsister with exasperation. "You're urping in the morning because you're pregnant, that's what."

Meg nodded quite cheerfully. "Ja, okay."

"You're pregnant and you arenot married."

"I told Ryan. He says we'll go to theRathaus and get married right away. It's all okay." Meg was not about to admit to her stepsister that she had been happily surprised by her boyfriend's reaction to the news.

Walpurga Hercher said, "No!"Very forcefully.

Maria looked at her reproachfully. "No? She is lucky that she will not be suffering for what she has done.Why not?"

"Because it won't help Teacher Muselius's project.Pastor Kastenmayer's project.Magdalenais one of us.

We must make our husbands Lutheran for them. IfMagdalena just marries Ryan at the city hall, it won't help."

Maria's answer would have been better placed in the barnyard.

"She can always fall back on city hall if he won't go along with it," Walpurga conceded.

Ryan was very startled to discover that although Meg was (when not morning sick) just as friendly, cheerful, and pleasant as ever, she didn't jump at the prospect of immediate marriage. Meg, truth to tell, would have preferred to jump at it, but she found Walpurga Hercher rather intimidating. So she said, "Want to marry by Pastor. See Teacher Muselius. You be Lutheran."

It was weird, really. Hugh Lowe, the big boss at work, had thought it was a good idea to see this Teacher Muselius. "You might as well find out what you're letting yourself in for, kid. Besides, they outnumber us. They're most of our customers. It can't hurt us to have an in with them, when we're looking for workers and supplies."

April, 1635

Ryan had quickly come to the conclusion that Pastor Kastenmayer moved through life at a stately pace.

The confirmation instructions had been excruciatingly step-by-step. It looked like this wedding was goingto be a prime example of what Hugh called just-in-time scheduling. Meg was so little, to start with. As the months went by, there had seemed to be more and more baby, with less and less Meg to go around it, like she was shrinking. He'd had the marriage license for three weeks, just in case she started popping before today. And he'd called the mayor, who had agreed to run over to the hospital and marry them off before the kid showed up, in an emergency.

He stood in the front ofSt. Martin 's, his mind wandering as the liturgy flowed over him.

Dad and Dayna were here for the confirmation and wedding. Well, Dad came and dragged Dayna with him. Theynever went to church. Plus his sister Sam, who didn't ever go to churcheither. Plus Dayna's two kids. Plus, somehow, Dayna's ex, LeVan Jessup, and his wife, who was German and went to church here, plus her kid and their kid. Teacher Muselius had been very glad to see them. He'd led them to one of the front pews; introduced them to several officers of the congregation.