Chapter 382
Chapter 382
The guards accompanied the three guests to the head office. The dwarfs were radiant with happiness! They locked their fingers in admiration, put their hands to their chests and looked at Zosimos with sparkling eyes like his devoted fans. They seemed to have been given the honor of accompanying Thor himself!
Eve and Leila had not spoken a word since Zosimos said the secret password. They couldn’t wrap their heads around what had happened. How could their father provoke such an emotional reaction from the dwarfs! Why were they being escorted directly to the head of the plant? Wasn’t it too much honor for an ordinary person without a family name?
Five people entered the elevator. When the guard pressed a combination of buttons, it did not go up, as one would expect, but forward, judging by the thrust, with great speed! Eve was a little scared, but she quickly understood what was going on and calmed down.
The ride took about a minute. Then the elevator stopped.
Two turns and the guests saw a massive steel door.
«May I shake your hand, sir?» – One guard asked, hopefully.
«And I! May I, please? I’m begging you!» – The other guard exclaimed, ignoring the decorum.
«Yeah, sure…» – Zosimos shook their calloused hands and entered the office.
«He shook my hand! He shook my hand!» – The first dwarf sobbed with happiness.
The second guard dropped to his knees, grabbed his wrist and raised his hand as if holding a divine treasure: «I will never wash it! NEVER!»
Eve and Leila exchanged embarrassed looks once again. It was insane!
Inside the office, Kyon saw a short, black-bearded old dwarf in his 60s.
«Greetings, Gennady. It’s me.» – Kyon smiled broadly.
The dwarf looked up from the periodic table and looked at the visitor over his glasses. Gennady ran up to the man a bit too briskly for his age, grabbed him by the cheeks and asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of his voice: «Isn’t it you… You’re Zosimos? Zosimos! It’s you! Ha-ha-ha-ha! I can’t believe my eyes! You’ve come at last, old friend! Long time no see! Ha-ha-ha! I hardly recognized you! Ha-ha-ha!»
They shook hands, laughing loudly. The bearded dwarf looked tiny against the healthy man. The girls would remember this scene for a long time, grunting and snorting.
«Is it really you? You’ve changed so much! You’re a different man!»
Gennady had recently answered the frequency that could belong only to Kyon. The dwarf was informed about the reasons for his change, but Gennady couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the pot-bellied man! He looked differently… He had a different voice and different eyes… Even his smell was different! This man had nothing in common with Kyon.
«I agree, I’ve gone a little bald and grown a belly… But it’s still me! Remember when I gave you a hundred copies of the iron making technique? And taught you to shoot at the shooting range? How I…» – He gave some more examples only Kyon could know.
«There you are! Now I have no doubt it’s you!» – Gennady laughed loudly. He walked to the table, hit the button with his fist and shouted. – «Xena! Bring a barrel of elite ale and hot mead to my office! And call Lenny! Quick! We have an important guest!»
After that, the dwarf approached the two charming guests in veils and uttered the phrase that Kyon had told him to say:
«My dear Eve and Leila! You’ve grown so much! The last time I saw you were eight years ago! Do you remember old uncle Gennady?»
Eve shook her head, and Leila protested: «Who’s a baby here?»
«Gennady, tell me what progress you have made in mastering my technologies?» – Kyon hurried to change the subject.
The dwarf put his hand on his chest and said passionately: «It’s… It’s just amazing! Zosimos, you and your students worked miracles here! I used to think that we are geniuses in the world of tall monkeys! I thought that dwarfs knew things that humans would never understand! I was mistaken! I was a frog at the bottom of the well! You made me realize that there was much more to the world I had known! It took us years of hard work to have mastered molecular physics, thermodynamics, electrodynamics, and electricity!»
Eva and Leila exchanged blank looks. Electrodynamics? Electricity? Molecular physics? They had never heard of them before! And the dwarfs owed it all to Zosimus and his disciples?
«You seem to have managed to put a lot of it into practice.» – Kyon had known and seen everything through his “scientists.” A bunch of his copies had been teaching the dwarfs at Boston factory for a whole year! They moved to Dantes just a few days ago because their long-distance communication via formations had a limited range.
«We… We have transformed the whole factory!» – Gennady barked, spraying spit. – «It has changed beyond recognition! Its effectiveness has increased tenfold, not to mention the powerful weapons we have started to produce! We use electricity absolutely everywhere, except maybe by flushing! Who knew that this type of energy was so underestimated? It was a real eye-opener. Thank you, Zosimos… Thanks to you, I have alone united all the dwarfs of Rosarrio under my leadership! My younger brother Lenny used to be the head of the factory. He was happy to hand over the reins to me. Now almost all the dwarfs from the seven kingdoms have moved to Dantes.»
~knock knock~
The servants brought in a keg of cold ale and mead. The girls were offered the sweet drink, and the men the stronger one. Before they left the room, a frisky old muscular dwarf of about 70 years old rushed inside. He had a black beard and small but piercing eyes that immediately noticed the tall guests.
«Is he the man we owe everything to?» – The dwarf asked suspiciously. Contempt, bewilderment, and respect followed each other on his mobile face.
«It’s him! Let me introduce Lenny, the ex-head of the factory! This is Zosimos, who we owe new knowledge and technologies to!» – Gennady introduced his benefactor with a happy face.
«Hm… I thought he would be younger? You told me his name was Kyon!»
Gennady coughed loudly: «Kyon was Zosimos’ best student!»
Eve turned a suspicious glance at Zosimos, but he didn’t raise a brow at the black-bearded dwarf’s strange behavior.
Lenny approached the man almost twice his height and asked inquisitively: «What is the atomic mass of hydrogen?»
«1.6735 x 10-24 g.» – Kyon answered at once.
«Ha ha! Wrong! It’s 1,00784 amu! I got you, impostor! Who are you? What do you want here, tall ape?» – The old dwarf turned red and took a boxing stance.
Kyon rolled his eyes. Eve flinched. Leila, on the contrary, stretched out.
Gennady stomped his feet and yelled: «Lenny! Thor’s hammer on your head! Do you have any idea what amu is?»
A change passed over Lenny’s face. He thought for a while, then said uncertainly: «Ehm… I think it’s an atomic mass unit…»
«And how is it defined, tattered tees?» – Gennady continued pressing his brother for an answer.
«Well… As a mass equal to one twelfth the mass of an unbound atom of carbon…»
«And how much is it in grams, fucking anvil?»
«Uhm… I guess I forgot…» – Lenny scratched his head, feeling guilty.
«1 amu is equal to 1.66 × 10-24 g, idiot! Multiply this by the one you said and you will get 1.6735 x 10-24 g! That’s exactly what Zosimos said!» – Gennady was enraged by his brother’s stupidity.
Old Lenny gasped and then exclaimed suddenly: «I get it! I GET IT! Thor’s hammer on my head! Ha ha ha! I am an idiot!» – He had foolishly forgotten that atomic mass could be expressed not only in amu but also in grams. As for the mass of elements, he had never bothered to memorize it.
Meanwhile, the girls looked like their brains were boiling over a slow fire. Zosimos and the dwarfs seemed to be talking in a broken demonic language! It was hard even for Eve to figure out what it was about. Leila felt sick from the big numbers. She drank mug after mug of mead to find peace of mind.
«Did you have a good laugh, junior?» – Gennady asked sternly. – «Now apologize!»
Lenny caught his breath. How could he call the hope of the dwarf race a tall ape? He fell on his face in front of the pot-bellied man and said pitifully: «Oh, great Zosimos, forgive this fool! My beard can only wash floors! I am sincerely sorry I annoyed you with my stupidity… Please, forgive me!»
«Okay, okay. Stand up. Let’s forget all about this.» – Kyon waved him off.
«Thank you!» – Lenny wiped off his tears, standing on his feet.
«May I ask you something?» – Leila suddenly talked to Gennady.
«Of course, my sweet. What would you like to know?» – The dwarf asked kindly.
«Why do you call Lenny your younger brother? He looks much older than you.»
Gennady grinned: «Don’t judge the dwarfs by human standards! We measure our age by experience! When molecular physics, electrodynamics, thermodynamics and other advanced sciences became essential for our family business, I took my rightful place as the head of the plant. I’ve just proved that Lenny is my younger brother. Hehe…» – And he drank a glass of dwarf ale in one go.
«I agree with him! It is hard for my old brain to understand all this difficult knowledge. I am experienced in forging, smelting, and processing! But no one really needs them anymore… A single generator can work better and faster than me… Oh, heartless modernization…»
~brrring~
The head of the factory answered the sound transmitter: «What is it, Xena? WHAT? They will be here in fifteen minutes? Thor’s hammer on my head! I can’t believe it! Okay… Alright… Tell all the dwarfs at the factory to get ready for the most important guests! And tell the guards to inform me of their arrival at once! I will meet them in person! Yes… Yes…Thank you! Ugh… It’s my worst nightmare…»
«What’s the matter?» – Kyon asked. Usually, dwarfs meet even the most powerful people without much reverence, but Gennady was so agitated as if he were holding a firearm for the first time.
Gennady heaved a deep sigh and said: «Zosimos, I understand that every second of your time is priceless, but we need to show three guests around… Three guests of extraordinary importance! The three great dwarf brothers! We need your help!»
Kyon opened his mouth in surprise. He had come in time! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect!
«Who are these three dwarf brothers?» – Leila couldn’t hold back her curiosity. She was still holding a mug of hot mead in her hands.
«The three great dwarf brothers are living legends! The third brother is Dorin. He presides over all the factories in the Landan Empire. The second brother is Baladin. He is the head of the factories in the Vatican Empire. The first brother is Gimli! He runs all the factories in the Saturn empire! The three of them represent the dwarf authorities in the first three empires! Each of them is second only to Thor! They embody the ideal representatives of my race. All dwarfs, young and old, dream of being as skillful as they are, but no one can hold a candle to them… My younger brother Lenny was in charge of the factory in Dantes for twenty years because he had no equal in the entire Rosarrian empire, but even with his seventy years of experience, he is no match for the three brothers. And they are not old yet! Even the miserable humans on the throne of Saturn, Vatican, and Landan treat them with respect. They patronize them as the Russells patronize us. They order the best custom weapon for themselves and their offspring because it’s the strongest and sharpest weapon in the world!»
Although the dwarf said pretentious things, it was no secret that ancient precious weapons were much better than the three brothers’ best works.
Gennady turned his stern gaze at Zosimos: «Six months ago, my brothers and I presented firearms at the world assembly of dwarfs. It’s needless to say that it made a sensation. We took first place at once, leaving the rest of the competition far behind! Everyone wanted to know what bearded genius had invented alpha gunpowder and launched a projectile using compressed gas! However, when I told them that it was a man’s doing, they refused to believe me… They took my words with skepticism and mistrust. I told them about advanced technologies, that electricity is the future, but they didn’t take me seriously, some dwarfs even laughed! I was humiliated and upset… In despair, I tried to convince my fellows that we lived in a new era of progress and prosperity, that they had to unite and move to Rosarrio to master new technologies, but they just kept making inappropriate jokes and comments, not believing a word of mine… Gimli once told me a universal truth: “Our kin follows the best,” which means those like him. And yet, he promised to visit our factory soon and see for himself the reason for my enthusiasm and faith in the great future of the dwarf race. Since then, I’ve been engrossed in my studies and achieved some results… I’ve become the head of the factory in Dantes and turned it into the center for future technology!»
Gennady seized Zosimos by his belt: «Everything we have achieved we owe to you! All the dwarfs have pinned their hopes on you, you are our way to live in the era of prosperity! If we organize a world dwarf center in Dantes, then the best minds and hands of the world will come here! Then our success in mastering your technologies will increase a hundredfold! I might be able to see our great future before I grow old. It’s my dream! Please help us!» – The head of the factory pleaded.
Lovr was touched by Gennady’s sincere, passionate speech. However, he pursued mainly his selfish goal – weapons! Powerful and destructive weapons! A hydrogen bomb or something even more powerful! That’s what would help him get rid of the enemies that didn’t let him take a step in this world. With the best minds on the planet, the deadliest weapons in history would appear much sooner!
«Gennady, you can always rely on me.» – Zosimos winked cheerfully at him.
~brrring~
The dwarf grabbed the sound transmitter and exclaimed excitedly: «The main entrance! They are waiting for us!»
«Let’s go!» – Leila proclaimed, marching to the door with a swaying gait and a red face.