289 First train ride

14th September 1574

Tudum, tudum, tudum.

Who would've thought that this familiar sound of the train's wheels jumping over the small gaps in the tracks could make me so nostalgic. Sitting in the very first carriage behind the power unit, as long as I closed my eyes, my mind would instantly take me back to the times when I took nearly the same road on the monthly basis, commuting between my family home and the one I where I was renting the room as a student. 

With my hand inevitably reaching to where my blouse pocket would house my phone, I hit myself in the side, instantly opening my eyes and returning to reality. 

The ride was not nearly as comfortable as even the worst type of train that connected those two cities in the future. With how New Tarnow has yet to find out the proper ratios for making proper spring steel, I simply had no way to create proper springs that would soften up the ride. Yet, just from the look of amazement clearly written on the faces of literally every single other passenger, they were far from having this kind of doubts.

"This is… It's insane…"

Even though Elia already knew that this kind of commune would be extremely common in the future, seeing how she was gripping the base of the table that decorated our seats, I could tell that travelling at speed far higher than what a normal horse could achieve was still a scary experience for her.

"Don't worry. I made the workers triple check every single track they laid to make sure they won't be any problems. Trust me, there is no need to worry about anything!"

Reaching with my arm, I grabbed her further shoulder, before pulling her a bit closer in this side hug. 

"I have to admit, sir. Even while I was working on the design… I never expected for this thing to be so great! At this rate, we will be in Krakow in like…"

Due to how stable the speed of the train was, Henry had no problems just standing up and walking over from his seat. Yet, before he could finish his calculations, I already opened my mouth.

"In about a quarter of an hour."

While it was nothing more but a rough estimate, with how many times I took this path in the future of this world and my personal past, I could roughly compare the speed of the train that I would take back then, to how quickly we were moving right now. Obviously, with the way greater resources and technological background than the real inventors of the train had, just the first model already reached speeds that were unavailable for any of the classic early steam trains, bringing our travelling rate to nearly twice as fast as a galloping horse could move. But even with that said, the route that would take me at most seventy minutes in the future would take at least two hours right now!

"Incredible…"

And just like I said, about ten minutes after I announced that we would be reaching Krakow soon, the speed at which we were travelling started to decrease. At first, it was clearly induced by limiting the prowess of the engine, but by the time the walls of the city finally appeared on the horizon, the train was moving only due to its momentum. 

"We will be arriving shortly, sir!"

With a noisy clang, the metal doors that separated the power unit from the passenger carts opened, showcasing one of the lucky workers that won the position of the charcoal feeder. Just a single look at his presence was enough to tell his job, with how every single inch of his clothes and exposed skin were covered in the black dust.

"Good, let's hope the preparations on the Krakowian side are ready."

Acknowledging the message with a simple nod of my head, I opened the window and pulled nearly half of my body outside of it. In a single moment, an agonical pain shook my shoulder, reminding me that even after all this time since I was injured, my body still has yet to fully heal. 

Ignoring the pain and the powerful fist of the air that constantly fought against the muscles of my stomach. But by leaning outside so far, I could finally confirm that it was just a matter of minutes before we would arrive in place.

"Okay, everyone. If I were to be perfectly honest, laying down those tracks and constructing this train was the easy part. Are you prepared for the upheaval that is about to come?"

Despite how there was still a few kilometres left for this train to cover, even with its speed halved at this stage, it would only take a few minutes before we would come to a complete stop. And from the very moment the train would be confirmed to be idle, we would be swarmed by the people willing to sell their daughters just for the chance of using it once!

"We are approaching the station!"

Due to the charcoal feeding worker leaving the doors between the units open, everyone could clearly hear the words of the Train's captain, despite the constant noise of the machinery working on the idle gear.

"Are you ready guys?"

Dropping the formality for the sake of encouraging everyone, I looked at their faces. There was no sign of hesitation, but surprisingly enough, rather than being excited, they all had their eyes filled with determination.

But why was this surprising, someone might ask?

For me, this day would mark the return of the times when I would have to waste my time for the prolonged talks with the great nobles, all the while trying to placate everyone interested in my train for whom I couldn't find enough time to deal with. On the other hand, for the people responsible for the creation of this communication mean, it was supposed to be the greatest day of their life!

Starting with the glory of marking the history with their names, through the great fame that they would gain amongst their colleagues, all the way to many nobles surely attempting to approach and poach them with offers that I couldn't overbid. In short words, the moment the train would stop, those people that filled the wagon with me would enter the peak of their lives, while I would be bound to not only lose a huge amount of skilled officers but accept the fact that a lot of the knowledge would leak out!

Because as stupid as it was if I were to increase the wages of everyone who worked in the train project, all the workers and officers who were busying themselves with other projects were bound to demand the same kind of treatment. And while I could afford to pay more to a single group, doing so for the entirety of my workforce would sap my financial prowess within a few months at most!

"Sir, you don't need to worry about anything."

Out of nowhere, Henry pushed the people that happened to stand between me and him away, harnessing all the attention of the most important passengers of the first train ride in the world on himself.

"It's pretty easy to understand what troubles your head, sir. But seeing you being so distressed by this glorious moment instead of enjoying it with us, is not only souring our mood but also could be taken as an insult!"

At first, I thought that this smart man would at least attempt to improve my mood, but with just a few words of his, he managed to prove that he couldn't care less about my emotional state. Instead, what I thought to be a heartfelt confession aimed at cheering me up, instantly turned into a lecture!

"Not even a single person in this wagon could ever achieve anything close to what we just did, without all the help and opportunities that you provided us with, sir. Even if anyone were to offer us better wages, titles or honours, in the long run, it would mean leaving the train… heh… I think this kind of sentence will stick!"

Suddenly bursting out laughing, Henry managed to diffuse the tense atmosphere he created a moment ago. For some reason, maybe due to how this kind of saying already existed in the future, even the corners of my own lips inevitably went up!

"Anyway. Anyone who would be stupid enough to take the offer from the other nobles, from the people that used all their wealth and power to stop us from ever achieving anything greater than what we already had, would inevitably leave the train of the inventions that are centred around you, sir. Without the backing of the enormous industrial power of New Tarnow, creating a train would require one to invest way more gold into the basic elements of the industry than any of those stupid nobles could ever bother to do. While they are bound to be jealous of this train and many others that I can already see appearing on all the tracks that we will lay down, they simply lack the means to facilitate our knowledge and abilities even if they wanted to!"

Just as the man shouted right in my face, as if he was angry that I dared to doubt their loyalty, the train slowed down considerably, finally coming to a full stop.

"I see."

Against Henry's words, I had no way of rebutting them. Everything that he said was the obvious truth, that I was simply too overwhelmed with everything that was going on around me to notice. 

But this kind of lashing, this kind of lecture was something that I required to regain my mental footing in the situation. Nodding my head to Henry, I conveyed my thanks to him, before shaking my face around to get rid of the useless thoughts and clarify the sentences that I had to produce in this historic moment.

"Everyone. I'm sorry. As strange as it might be for your employer to apologise, Henry was right. Rather than asking you to stay and keep building the future me, let me put it in other words. If anyone here is dumb enough to leave just as we are getting started, you are free to go!"

Shouting those words, I felt as if certain unnamed weight suddenly fell down from my shoulders, freeing me from its burden. Yet, despite how harsh those words sounded, I have yet to find a single face that would twist in an even slightest grimace of anger!

"So, without further ado, let's rock and roll!"

Letting go a bit too much, I shouted a phrase that only I could understand, yet I was sure that the tone of my shout was more than enough to convey the message behind those words. 

Taking just a few steps forward, I could see the entire crowd of people parting ways before me, all the way to the doors of the wagon. But rather than opening them graciously, with the respect for how important this moment was in terms of history, I simply grabbed the metal railing of the doors and unceremoniously pushed them open, revealing the insides of the train carriage to the outside world!

UWA!

In one moment, a sudden burst of ovations engulfed me, nearly making me take a step back and close the doors behind me. Withstanding the initial wave of the cheers from the enormous crowd gathered at the northern outskirts of the city, I took a few breaths before letting go of the doors and using my now freed hand to gesture at the crowd in an attempt to calm it down for a moment.

"Welcome everyone! We came here from Tarnow!"

Those two sentences were more than enough to make everyone erupt in cheers once again.