Apparatus 33 by Lawston Pettymore (bearly read books TXT) 📕

Plop, plop, fizz, fizz

Nicolaus awoke Zerrissen at the makeshift drafting board again, passing out drunk from the night before, noting that, though his consumption has increased, he remained functional. Nicolaus would broach the subject of Zerrissen’s drinking when that time came.

Zerrissen rubbed his eyes, tasted his tongue with some displeasure, and focused on Nicolaus flourishing his hands, theatrically like a stage magician.

From his expensively tailored trouser pocket, Nicolaus produced two packs of cigarettes. Each pack had a false lid made of cigarettes tips. They contained twelve transistors wrapped in tissue paper, each in its own cardboard sleeve. Six were of the type called “power transistors,” and six performed some magic called “switching.” The power transistors were the size of poker chips shaped like yield signs on the autobahn. On one side, there was a rounded dome, housing whatever magic made transistors possible. The other side was flat with two short and stiff leg-like leads.

The switching transistors also hid their mysteries (some form of mineral called germanium) inside aluminum cans. One could easily imagine a small light switch inside, but it was hard to imagine the small leprechaun living inside, flipping that switch on command. The switching transistors were the same size as the top hat piece found in a popular board game dedicated to indoctrinating the young in the art of suppressing the proletariat. Three wires protruded from under the hat. They were longer than those on the power transistor, but not as stiff. Why one had two leads, and the other three, Zerrissen could not even guess.

Fortunately, the ever-resourceful Nicolaus had spirited the data sheets and carefully folded them inside the cigarette packs. He explained to Zerrissen the usage and limitations of each type. The data sheets were in English, and Nicolaus spoke English fluently, in three different accents. But even he could not translate some of the highly scientific terms. The most important information, however, was written in the universal language of mathematics from which he was able to build a simple amplifier that could read bits of magnetized ones and zeros on the tiny cassette tape of Nicolaus’ pocket voice recorder.

As promised, the switching transistors were fast, completely cool, and abstemious, unlike his older sequencer of vacuum tubes that could melt a chocolate bar at ten centimeters and burn through a car batter in ten minutes. However, the switching type of transistor was not muscular enough to operate the pneumatic valves needed to propel and steer the craft. For this, power transistors would need to intercede. Though not as clever, the power devices could summon the amperage to energize the electro-magnets to open or close whatever valve the eerie tones on the magnetic tape requested from the smaller switching devices. As with any society, be it Capitalist or Marxist, the brains at the top direct the muscles that perform the actual work while the frail elite listen to music.

Zerrissen would be lying if he said the exercise did not transport him twenty years back to his rocket navigation project. Both projects had size constraints, and both used deductive reckoning for navigation. That is, both would guide the craft on laws of time and velocity, where distance equals time multiplied by velocity. Success with this sequencer also had further, more subtle implications. If he could get this version to save lives, doing so might shed light of honest intent on his failure to replace Todtenhausen’s Apparatus 33.

Nicolaus made no attempt to hide his delight with Zerrissen’s miniature controller, even at the expense of his pocket recorder, available only in Japan, and not likely to ever be replaced. Checking a mental box, Nicolaus turned the group to the remaining barrier. “Time to clear out the duct!”

“Clear it out? How do we do that exactly? Hire a pool boy? A kreigsmarine frog man?” Occupied with other issues, Zerrissen had given the matter exactly zero thought.

Nicolaus glanced over at the schiff, which was beginning to take the shape of a snake and fish chimera but was still in many pieces. Many heavy pieces, including steel, aluminum, wood, and some plastics.

“Could the schiff do it? It’s heavy, and the duct angles slightly downhill. The sides appear to be slippery with moss. Actually, it would be a decent test of your sequencer. You could sequence it to swim to the river and stop. Then we wench it back using the block and tackle on the ceiling.”

Zerrissen did not want to admit it out loud, but this was resourceful thinking. The schiff was going to be tested anyway before risking anyone’s horrible death by prolonged entombed drowning. The idea of being caught in the schiff, unable to go forward or backward, was spine-tingling. The hairs on the back of his neck stood.

“What if it gets stuck?” Zerrissen, ever the pragmatist, asked.

“That would be bad. I can’t steal any more materials. Questions are already being asked. Besides, we’re running out of time.”

Nicolaus and Zerrissen traded knowing glances. This meant the KGB and the Stasi were getting closer to him.

Though against his first instincts, Zerrissen decided to be helpful. “We have the last sewer pipe. Instead of the schiff, we could send the spare sewer pipe through.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far yet. Maybe pull it through the opening in the Spree with a block and tackle.”

In an odd reversal of roles, Nicolaus was the one casting doubt on the enterprise. “We’d be seen rigging a tripod and pulley system on the riverbank. That would attract a lot of attention. And besides, we don’t know exactly where the opening is, or whether it’s been sealed up.”

There was a moment of silence as the issue was pondered. The only sound came from the radio; a symphony by a Russian composer was broadcasted, interspersed with propaganda announcements, and bits of news and football scores from Moscow. The Russian chess master was scheduled to play his American counterpart for the International Title. Poland lost to