“No new cases, your majesty,” Phipp reported at the council meeting. “It has only been a few days, but with that rye gone, we have not seen any further worsening of symptoms or reports of new issues. Some of the families that were suffering say they are in less pain. I am hopeful that this is behind us.”

“Not completely behind us,” Alex butted in. “You still need to decide if we are going to confiscate all rye,” he told Jason.

“That was my plan,” Jason replied. “It’s becoming pretty clear that we found the culprit.”

“Speaking of which, we need to discuss the baker,” Tyler spoke up.

Alex continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “Rye is a food that serfs and peasants rely on to fill their bellies. It is cheap, grows plentifully, lasts a long time, and along with barley and oats, and whatever vegetables they can grow, it makes up a good portion of their diet.”

“Okay,” Jason said, “can you remind me of the difference between serfs and peasants?”

The former merchant shot his king a confused look but obliged. “Serfs are tied to the land,” he stated. “They cannot leave without buying their freedom. They also owe the lord a tax or a certain amount of their labor per week for the privilege of working the land they’re tied to.”

“Sounds a lot like slavery to me,” Jason commented with furrowed brows.

“Not at all,” Alex contradicted him, “Serfs have rights, and they cannot be sold like a slave can. Peasants, on the other hand, can move freely and look for work wherever they want to.”

“How many serfs do we have in Unity?” Jason asked, still stuck on the point.

“None, actually, your majesty.” Alex answered him. “At least that I know of.”

“Really?” Jason asked. “How did that happen?”

“The unclaimed lands had no ruling lords or ladies until you came along,” Phipp joined the conversation. “Most of the settlements and villages grew slowly as free peasants, craftsmen, or minor nobles emigrated to the new lands. Our village was rather unusual in that a merchant guild sponsored the building of the town, so while we didn’t have a lord, we had to pay agreed-upon taxes to them.”

“Phipp is correct,” Alex continued. “The unclaimed lands were rather unusual. In fact, the entire region is different from the rest of the continent. There may be some barons around the nearby cities in charge of a town or two, but most noble titles are landless. The monarchs of the nearby cities have about as much wealth as a duke in a kingdom elsewhere on the continent, they just don’t have to answer to anyone else. So far, the city-states have not consolidated their holds on the surrounding towns.”

He paused, and then corrected himself. “Well, at least they had not before the Silver City declared themselves a kingdom. I would not be surprised if Brighton did the same shortly. But that’s not what we were originally talking about,” the man reminded the rest of the group. “We were talking about rye.”

Oops, Jason thought. I got sidetracked. But I’ve been here for months and I still find myself missing vital knowledge about how this society works. If I want to change it, I’ve got to understand it first. And a class structure like this is going to hold back my industrial revolution.

“So we have a bunch of peasants,” he paused, “that normally buy rye. You were going to tell me why we shouldn’t destroy it all to stop the spread of this,” he fumbled for the word, “disease? Plague?”

“Of couse, your majesty,” Alex started again. “If rye is suddenly unavailable, you’ve removed a cheap option, and they’ll have to buy a more expensive grain.”

“If they can afford to,” Samantha spoke up.

“Yes,” Alex sent an annoyed look her way, “If they can afford to. But what happens after that? Increased scarcity of those other grains like wheat will drive those prices up even further, making the problem worse.”

“Good point,” Jason said. “But wouldn’t the effect of leaving the rye in circulation be even worse? You saw how horrifying the effects were.”

“They were terrible,” Alex agreed, and several council members grimaced or shuddered at the memory. “And we absolutely should make sure any tainted grains are destroyed. But if we do that, and spread the word that we believe that this is what caused the illness, we will have done our duty.”

Jason thought about that for a minute while the council watched him. I’d hate to not do everything I could to protect my people. But Alex has a point.

“If everyone is aware of the issue with the affected rye,” he thought out loud, “then some people will naturally choose other grains if they are able to pay for them. Others will probably make sure to inspect the grains thoroughly before they are milled, to reduce the risk. And others may simply not change their habits at all.

“It’s that last group that concerns me the most,” he stated, “but I suppose that’s their risk to take. Assuming we’re right about all of this - and I’m more and more convinced we are every day - it’s not even like a plague where their careless actions could spread it to others.”

“I think you’re making the right choice,” Phipp opined. “Now that we know the cause, anyone irresponsible enough to bake bread with tainted rye won’t be in business for long, and that’s even if you don’t punish them.”

“And we avoid any famine,” Sam agreed. “Hopefully.”

“And I don’t have to say, ‘Let them eat cake,’ and lose my head,” Jason laughed, ignoring the confused expressions on the other’s faces. “We all win.”

“Now, if there’s nothing else, Otto and I have a project we need to get to.”

---

It’s ugly, was Jason’s first thought when he saw the early prototype, but that didn’t restrain the broad smile covering his face. A new, small, concrete-walled building had been erected above the town, adjacent to the water pipes.

The residents were amazed by the town’s new water system, and those who had access to it were quickly adapting to the new normal. Less than a quarter of the city’s residents had been hooked up to the system so far, and after multiple reports of bribes being given to receive priority, Jason decided it was time to overhaul the system.

He set up an auction-like queue for the order of installation. Residents could offer any amount of money they liked to the city coffers, and installations would proceed in order of greatest amount to smallest. The wealthier inhabitants offered significant sums for that priority, making the whole project less of a strain on the city coffers. Alex had been exstatic when the money began to flow in.

Only minor grumbling had been heard from those not at the front of the line, though Jason asked his council to keep an ear out for any issues. Everyone benefitted when the wealthy residents voluntarily paid for public works, he justified the process to himself, though he realized that it still might not feel the greatest when that pipe initially passes by your home.

Jason noticed an unintended consequence of his water tank location up on the hill above the town soon after he had tested it. He hadn’t calculated the force of the water with that much elevation gain. When a valve was opened, the water shot out of faucets with a force that made washing your hands directly under a spigot potentially dangerous. It wasn’t a big deal to the residents who were used to hauling water with buckets or pottery - the water pressure didn’t harm the objects - but in Jason’s view, they needed a fix. There needed to be some way to slow down the water before it reached the resident’s houses.

It didn’t take long for Jason to decide to try and kill two birds with one stone. Water pressure was an advantage, or rather, a necessity for the turbine he wanted to build. The water would be piped through the turbine, taking advantage of the pressure. Piping would then take the runoff to a smaller tank, which would supply the town as originally planned.

The contraption in front of him was the result of that effort. “Walk me through it,” the king requested of the proud smith standing near the device.

“Gladly,” Otto replied. “To start with, water flows in through this pipe towards the turbine. We’ve made sure not to include any unnecessary bends in the pipe, as you requested, so we’ve positioned it in line with the pipe coming down the hill. The water then flows through the nozzle,” he pointed, “and hits the cups we welded on to the wheel.”

The burly man scratched his head. “Let me tell you, that was a hard one. Heating only a small section of such a large part over a forge… it is not for the faint of heart.”

“Looks pretty good, though,” Jason said, and reached out to spin the vertical Pelton wheel on its shaft. “It spins well with minimal force.”

“Took a lot of balancing and some grease to get it perfect,” Otto replied, “and even more patience. But I think it will work well.”

“Me too,” Jason agreed as he watched the wheel slowly come to a stop. “All the same, we should probably make sure no one is near when we start it up the first two times. If a weld is weak and some part breaks off, it will likely shoot off like a bullet.”

Otto took in a deep breath and nodded. “No need to risk our lives if there is no benefit,” he agreed, then resumed his explanation.

“As you requested, the nozzle is aimed at the cups towards the bottom of the wheel. I’m not sure you ever said why, though,” he continued.

Jason spoke up, “I think it will clear the water out of the wheel better, before the cup comes back around to pick up more. We might have to experiment with that, though, and different orientations of the wheel itself.”

The smith gave a short nod. “Never an end to potential improvements,” he agreed. “Anyway, the chamber housing the nozzle and wheel can collects the water and drains it through these pipes on the bottom to the water tank outside. It is not as big as the tank at the intake, but should be large enough for its purpose. An overflow pipe prevents any issues if the residents aren’t using enough water to drain it, since we don’t want it backing up into the turbine.”

Otto saw Jason open his mouth to ask another question, and prempted it. “And there is a valve on our intake pipe that allows us to divert extra water directly into the tank if it’s getting low, so the turbine doesn’t constrict the town’s water supply. We never could figure out how to do that without someone turning the valve, though.”

“We’d need someone monitoring and guarding this place anyway,” Jason stated. “They’ll just have to be trained to monitor the water levels too.” I probably should have guards stationed at the inlet, as well, he thought. Sabatoge would be all too easy in both locations.

“That sounds like a wise precaution,” Otto agreed. “Anyway, this shaft is where your generator will be attached, eventually. Still need to finish that. But what do you say we close the case and spin this up for a test?”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Jason replied with an excited gleam in his eyes. “Let’s do it.”