Arnold Clairmont

To say I was impressed would be an understatement. The Barony of Bicman wasn't as impressive as the capital's grandeur. It was amazing because, by all accounts, this place should be run-down, and the people should be half-starved like the rest of his county. As we entered his county, the temperature began to drop. Eventually, it was cold enough that I realized it would decrease the growing cycle, and he would never be able to gather as many crops as the rest of the kingdom. I even heard the soil was not as good as the fertile lands of the capital. It was no wonder Vaspar was willing to give it up. It must be difficult to support a large population here.

However, instead of being pathetic like I imagined, the barony seemed to thrive. There was an immediate change as soon as we crossed the Nore River. Impressive guard towers with a gate had been built on the north side of the river, and the wooden fortifications were being replaced by stone. A large garrison of men was there to make sure nobody crossed illegally.

We were detained at the border for a day. The excuse they gave us was that they had to check our health. Several refugees who had recently come here had spread disease, and Lord Bicman was adamant about protecting his people. We were told that due to our status, we would not be checked as thoroughly as commoners, but a man in a white coat, gloves, and wearing a mask still observed us for any physical signs of disease. They had built a home to house visiting nobles while they were at the fort. The accommodations were quite nice. Even our guards and servants had better quarters than some of the places we had to stay at during our travels.

The road north was impressively wide—two cart widths—and it looked like they put great effort into making it straight. It did wind around some of the larger hills, but you could tell that the original road crossed its path a lot. They had also pushed back the tree lines on both sides.

I asked the Bicman guard who was escorting us about the posts with numbers. He explained that those were kilometer markers. They counted down the distance to Bicman Village. When I told them I had never heard of a kilometer, he said that it was a measurement system that the lord had come up with. He did not know much about it, but he noted that all measurements were based on the pinky nail of Lady Emily Paper. This seemed to be a source of pride for the soldier. To me, a whole system of measurements based on a pinky nail seemed ridiculous. It made me think the Lord was eccentric or possibly even insane.

Maybe he was a good fit for my sister.

Due to the straightness and smoothness of the road, the trip to the village of Kerisi was only a day's travel. The village itself was another shock to me. I had never seen any place built in such an orderly manner. There was a high palisade with a walkway for the main village. And all the streets were straight. They were labeled with names on tall posts, and each house had a post with a number on it. It made no sense. Why label everything if peasants couldn't read?

What's more, although most homes were what I would expect of a peasant, some were built in a style that I had never seen before. They called it half-timber, and apparently, the exposed frame gave added stability. The cost and time needed to produce that many beams seemed like they would not be affordable.

The peasants were dressed in well-worn but clean clothes that looked like they were made for this type of weather. How could peasants in what was supposed to be the poorest barony in the kingdom afford such clothes? Everything became clear when I met the headman. Paul said that the Lord subsidized the cost of the clothing to ensure that all the residents survived the winter.

This whole situation was surreal. It was like walking into a story from one of the bards.

When we finally arrived in Bicman village, I saw the same thing as before. A palisade surrounded much of the village, with neat and orderly homes. The people seemed happy, and the children appeared well-fed. We passed through quickly as we were eager to meet the count. To my sister's relief, the messenger that the garrison had sent to Bicman met us in Kerisi, and the count invited us into his home without any reservations.

As we entered the grounds of the manor, the first thing I noticed was that they were simple yet neat and well-maintained. The second was the bizarre stone surface that the carriage rode over. It was large slabs of completely smooth grey stone. I had never seen anything like it. There was a turnabout near the entrance to the manor with a pool of water in the center. It looked as if the pool had been made of various types of stone mortared together. I couldn't help but walk over and observe the fish swimming around lazily in the pond. The bottom had a layer of dirt, and plants grew there; they looked like they were specifically arranged. I shook my head in amazement as all my expectations were destroyed.

The outside of the home looked like half-timber, but it seemed to be decorative, as the timber only went up part way. Upon entering the manor, I noticed a mosaic of the Bicman crest made of polished black stone, and as we walked down the hall, I saw that it was lined with exquisite pictures. Mainly of scenery, but there were a few portraits as well. They were incredible. I would have taken my time to look at everything, but we had an appointment with the count, and it was best not to make him wait.

The steward escorting us knocked on a door in the hall, and I heard a deep baritone voice invite us to enter.

When I entered, I was once again amazed, and barely heard the steward announce us, as I was too busy observing the room. There was an unusual table behind which the man sat. One side had legs, while the other side was held up by a block of wood. The table had several sheets of the whitest parchment I had ever seen.

To the side, there was one of the new dip pens on a stand as if to show it off. There was nothing special about it as far as I could see. In fact, I had seen much better ones in the capital. Another one sat next to the pieces of paper. There was some sort of odd copper contraption on the other side.

The large man in front of us greeted us with a kind and what appeared to be a genuine smile. His build was that of a warrior, not a scholar. The count couldn't have been more than twenty years old. Twenty-one at the most.

"I understand you have traveled far. Thank you for coming all this way. It is always good to meet new people," he said.

Amos

The two people in front of me were certainly brother and sister. They had strikingly similar features, and they couldn't have been more than a year apart. They were most likely about my age. Both were on the shorter side, and both had the glossy black hair of a noble.

"So what brings you to our humble county? We rarely get such esteemed visitors." I asked.

"We are both scholars of Mathematics. The Vaspar number system has reached the capital, and we were hoping to meet the inventor. We first went to Vaspar but discovered that it originated here," Jewel Clairmont said.

"That is true. I figured the number system would not be taken seriously if people thought it originated in a barony, which was unknown at the time."

"So, are you the creator, or was it possibly one of your people?"

"It was me."

"And the abacus?"

I suddenly noticed that along with some sheets of parchment, she was also holding an abacus close to her chest.

"Guilty as charged," I said with a nod.

She probably didn't know what I meant, but when I nodded, her expression changed. Suddenly, I felt like I was in the presence of a star-struck fan girl who was about to ask me to sign an autograph. Instead, she rushed to my desk and started setting down pieces of parchment.

She started to speak rapidly. "My lord, it is a huge honor to meet you. I have some ideas on how to use the zero with fractions and higher math. It has been a debate among scholars in the capital and-"

"Sister!" her brother hissed at her.

Suddenly, Jewel froze, turned bright red, and jumped back as if she was about to be attacked by a snake. Then she stammered out an apology.

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I waved it off and said, "Do not worry. I am not the least bit offended. I have never seen someone so excited about me drawing a circle."

This caused her brother, who seemed to be trying to keep a serious demeanor, to laugh. Causing his sister to turn an even deeper shade of red.

"But I am quite intrigued to see what you have come up with," I said. "Let's take a look."

What she handed to me made absolutely no sense.

This isn't a math problem; this is an English paper. Or rather a Falmoren paper.

Okay, it was more like a paragraph with numbers scattered throughout it. I had no idea what I was looking at. How was this higher math? After staring at it for a while, I tried to cover my confusion by saying, " To be honest, Lady Clairmont, I have simplified my method of calculations for so long that you will have to show me how you came to your conclusion."

She ignored my ineptitude and was all too eager to show me her skills. It took a few examples before I got the basic idea, and when I did, I was absolutely appalled at the ridiculousness of this primitive form of math. I suddenly realized that the sentence "this thing added to the number 4 is equivalent to 5 multiplied by this number" was in fact "x+4=5•x" and this was the simplest one. Don't even get me started on division, and they expressed everything in fractions that were not similar to how I did them. There was going to be a huge mathematical language barrier.

"I now see the form of math you are using. I have developed a more efficient and simple way to do math."

At this point, Arnold spoke up, "Forgive me, my lord, but this is the approved method of scholars not just in the capital but throughout the kingdom as well as Turabe."

I considered how to win this argument for a moment. I had an idea, but I didn't know how well it would work.

"Ok, Lord Clairmont. I want you to write out an equation, which I will translate into my version. Then, Lady Clairmont and I will try to solve it. We will see which method is faster."

We experimented with this five times. I have to admit she was better at math than I was, but by the fifth problem, I was beating her soundly. Then I went up against Arnold and did even better. Their method of division and fractions slowed them down significantly. After I had convinced them of the errors of their ways, we finally sat around my desk and got to work on showing them how math is really done.

The first thing I wanted to teach them was long division because, seriously, their method sucked. It was half the reason that they were slower than I was. They were quick to understand how it worked, but it still took them an hour to use it with proficiency. Since some of the problems had remainders, I also went over fractions.

"You asked how I would implement the zero into higher math. One thing I have done is replace fractions with a decimal place," I said, and drew out some numbers and then fractions below it. "These are the same number but represented as what I call a rational number."

At least I think that is what my teacher called numbers with decimal places. I guess it doesn't really matter since nobody here is going to tell me I am wrong.

This discussion ended up taking us past dinner time. It was frustrating for all of us.

"I don't understand why you call the zero a placeholder," Arnold said in frustration. "I don't understand the point of all this."

Jewel was less vocal as she tried to figure it all out. I personally wanted to pull my hair out. How did teachers do this? Oh, yeah, they didn't have students who had been using something completely different their whole lives...and alcohol, probably a lot of alcohol. Maybe it was like when I was learning Spanish. I couldn't wrap my head around using the adjectives after the noun. My brain refused to do it.

"Ok, let's try it this way. We will have the silver penny represent the one place, the copper crown represent the tenth place, and the copper penny represents the hundredth place. Let's say you have one silver penny and five copper pennies. How would you write that in decimals?"

After that, it only took a half bell for them to get it. Arnold was the first to get it, but Jewel had a better reaction.

"My lord, I got it! I- I think I got it," she said questioningly.

"Yes, that looks right, and I think we still have time for me to take you to the evening class."

"Evening class?"

"Basic arithmetic and writing are taught in the great hall. Let's go." I said.

We exited the door to my study, which led to the great hall. I remember when it was just Emily, Jacklyn, and me sitting around a table going over letters. Now, every table was full of students, both adults and children. As I entered, everyone stood and bowed. There was a chorus of, "Good evening, my lord."

"Good evening, everyone. Please continue. I am just showing my friends the future Bicman scholars." I said.

This got smiles from everyone because I often called them my scholars—kind of one of those jokes that wasn't actually a joke. Looking around the room, I saw future engineers, mathematicians, chemists, biologists, physicists, and any other -ists I could think of.

My people went back to work, and my guests and I stood there and watched in silence. Since we didn't have a chalkboard, on each table were sheets of paper with the information Jacklyn was teaching.

"Now, if you will all look at example two. Can anyone tell me what place the number five is in?" Jacklyn asked. A dozen hands rose into the air.

Finally, Arnold turned to me and said, "These are all commoners."

This must have been like entering the Twilight Zone for these nobles.

"Yes, most are the staff or serfs here in Bicman, but there are a couple from each village as well. They will go back and teach the peasants in each village." I said proudly.

"But they are farmers and servants. What- why…" his look of confusion only grew.

"For a few reasons. First is the new plow developed by the king. The one that may double yields. Being from the capital, I am sure you have heard of them."

"Of course, but they haven't been implemented. There is no proof yet. Actually, I am surprised you have."

I smiled. "So if they haven't tested it, why are they so sure it will work?"

Jewel's eyes went wide. "It was invented here."

"Of course not. As the king said, his scholars invented it. But it was tested here. We have about twenty plows."

Before they could ask any questions, I said, "Grain goes towards three things: feeding the peasant and their family, replanting, and taxes. Our fields produced twice as much this year. That surplus can feed two and one-half extra people. If we store half an extra bustle and then feed two extra people, then we will have less need for farmers. What will those people do?"

I did not mention that I was actually planning for ten times more grain than is needed.

"So you plan to make them all scholars?" Jewel said.

"I plan to make sure they are capable of any form of employment that is best for them. In order to maximize their potential, a basic education is needed. Some of my people have developed solutions to problems that I couldn't. How much more might they be able to accomplish if they can think like a scholar?"

I could tell they were not convinced, but I didn't expect them to be. The fruit of my efforts would speak for itself, and that would take up to a few generations. Soon, they lost interest in me as they listened to the lesson on decimal places. Really, I couldn't wait to fix how they did algebra.

After the lesson, I showed them to their rooms.

"Once again, thank you," Jewel said, graciously.

I needed to move people around to accommodate them. Since their stay was temporary, I gave them the best room. The steward's room had become the guest room. So now Benjamin, Emily, Catherine, and Elizabeth were all on the nobles' side of the house. I had planned to build a guest house, but that project had been put on hold.

This was one of my favorite parts of having guests. I loved their reaction to the guest quarters. The main room had a table with two chairs and a smaller version of the desk I had in my office. Two of my best paintings hung on the walls. After that, we entered the bedroom, where I got to show off the armoire, dresser, and end table.

There was now one more piece of furniture in the room that this civilization hadn't developed yet: a stand that held a large glass bowl and a shelf underneath that held the best glass pitcher Tumlus had ever created. Above the stand was a polished brass mirror that could be tilted to view one's appearance better.

Arnold was his usual self, not showing much emotion but being curious about everything. Their clothes had already been hung up in the armoire or put away in the drawers. He kept swiveling the mirror. I shouldn't have been surprised that Jewel was not really paying attention to anything. She was completely lost in thought, muttering meaningless math jibber jabber.

I couldn't be too hard on her. She was a math junky, and I had dumped a whole lot of ideas on her today. A C-type personality with hyper focus. She was the type of person who would be responsible for launching people to the moon just for the satisfaction of figuring out the math that it took to get there. I had a feeling this girl's math obsession might drive me insane if I didn't just dump all the math I knew into her lap and convince her to leave.

"Well, I will let the two of you get settled, and I will see you in the morning," I said as I departed.

I sighed with relief after leaving the twins. Arnold seemed pragmatic and level-headed. All his questions were about practical applications of the new math. I couldn't wait to show him the standard units of measurements. Although his sister had a logical brain, her obsession would probably drive her future husband insane.

The next morning at breakfast, I immediately started talking to Arnold about his scholarly pursuits so that I wouldn't have to field any questions from his sister. As we were discussing an architectural project he had been working on in Falmore under the supervision of some famous engineer, Emily, Catherine, and Elizabeth came into the great hall. They were chatting amicably with one another, and I was glad to see they were getting along.

I noticed that Jewel suddenly stopped eating and stared at the three of them as they approached. Suddenly, she jumped from her seat, allowing her chair to clatter to the floor. Her face turned bright red, and she pointed at the three of them. "YOU!" she shouted in a force that sounded more like a growl.

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