valise and handed one to Scaglia and another to Rockox. For several minutes the men read with little comment beyond a mild exclamation or two.
When Scaglia was done he looked over at Rubens and smiled. "So let me guess. You have promised the infante that the wonderful mechanics and men of science of the Spanish Netherlands can make this elixir, this . . ." He glanced down at the manuscript again and pronounced the final word slowly and carefully. "Chlo-ram-phe-ni-col. Am I right?"
Rubens nodded. Scaglia looked over at Rockox. "Well Nicolaas, what do you think? The Acontians?"
"Perhaps," said Rockox dubiously. "But even then . . ." He shrugged. "There are too many unknowns here to say for sure. We need an expert's opinion."
Rubens cocked an eyebrow at Scaglia. "Acontians?"
The suggestion caught him by surprise. The Acontians were followers of Jacobus Acontius, an Italian Protestant from the last century who'd settled in England. He'd written Satanae Stratagemata in 1565 calling for the renunciation of violence in religious affairs. The Acontian society was established to further his ideas on religious tolerance and science. Rubens thought of them as similar to the Baconians; more tolerant and less dogmatic, yet more secretive. They were particularly strong in England and the Low Countries.
He knew who they were, of course, but he wouldn't have thought of them as being possibly helpful in this situation.
Rockox suddenly sat forward in his chair. "Ah, I remember now! I believe I know someone who can help us. He would never admit his Acontian connections, but I know he has been very interested in the new science coming from Grantville. And he lives close by, in Vilvorde."
"Vilvorde?" said Scaglia. "Hmmm, is this the man who did the experiment with the tree?"
Rockox nodded. "Yes, Johann Baptista von Helmont. His wife, Margaret van Ranst, is a distant cousin of mine."
Scaglia glanced out the window, noting the position of the sun.
"Let's pay him a visit, shall we? Vilvorde is less than four miles away and it's time for my afternoon carriage ride anyway."
Rubens smiled. Perhaps this wasn't such an impossible fool's errand after all. Together the three men rose and walked towards the front door.
* * *
"What you ask is impossible, gentlemen," said Johann Baptista von Helmont. "Or at least, impossible within any time span that will do the infante's army any good. Five years, at a minimum. Perhaps ten."
Rubens shook his head in dismay. Five years!
"But surely you can get other Acontians to help you? Wouldn't that speed up the process?"
"Perhaps if they were still in the Netherlands. But they have all left, including my young and adventurous son, Francis Mercury! Those that haven't gone directly to Grantville are working in Essen for the Essen Chemical Company, or teaching or taking classes at the new applied sciences university in Bochum that the Republic of Essen has established. If you want their help, you will have to provide them more incentives than Essen is offering, and that will be difficult."
Von Helmont shrugged. "From what my son writes me, the governor-general of Essen, Louis de Geer, has gone to considerable lengths to attract the best scientific minds of Europe, particularly those young people like the Acontians who haven't been weighted down by the Aristotelian nonsense that passes for science education at most universities across Europe."
"But surely the manuscript can help," said Scaglia. "It appears to be quite explicit with regards to the ingredients and apparati needed to make this chloramphenicol."
Von Helmont shrugged again. "Oh, indeed it helps, gentlemen. But the devil is in the details, to use one of the Americans' proverbs."
Von Helmont brought out the manuscript to make chloramphenicol that Rubens had given him. "For example, take the ring nitration phase of this process. Not only do I need very pure sulfuric and nitric acid, which are themselves quite difficult to
When Scaglia was done he looked over at Rubens and smiled. "So let me guess. You have promised the infante that the wonderful mechanics and men of science of the Spanish Netherlands can make this elixir, this . . ." He glanced down at the manuscript again and pronounced the final word slowly and carefully. "Chlo-ram-phe-ni-col. Am I right?"
Rubens nodded. Scaglia looked over at Rockox. "Well Nicolaas, what do you think? The Acontians?"
"Perhaps," said Rockox dubiously. "But even then . . ." He shrugged. "There are too many unknowns here to say for sure. We need an expert's opinion."
Rubens cocked an eyebrow at Scaglia. "Acontians?"
The suggestion caught him by surprise. The Acontians were followers of Jacobus Acontius, an Italian Protestant from the last century who'd settled in England. He'd written Satanae Stratagemata in 1565 calling for the renunciation of violence in religious affairs. The Acontian society was established to further his ideas on religious tolerance and science. Rubens thought of them as similar to the Baconians; more tolerant and less dogmatic, yet more secretive. They were particularly strong in England and the Low Countries.
He knew who they were, of course, but he wouldn't have thought of them as being possibly helpful in this situation.
Rockox suddenly sat forward in his chair. "Ah, I remember now! I believe I know someone who can help us. He would never admit his Acontian connections, but I know he has been very interested in the new science coming from Grantville. And he lives close by, in Vilvorde."
"Vilvorde?" said Scaglia. "Hmmm, is this the man who did the experiment with the tree?"
Rockox nodded. "Yes, Johann Baptista von Helmont. His wife, Margaret van Ranst, is a distant cousin of mine."
Scaglia glanced out the window, noting the position of the sun.
"Let's pay him a visit, shall we? Vilvorde is less than four miles away and it's time for my afternoon carriage ride anyway."
Rubens smiled. Perhaps this wasn't such an impossible fool's errand after all. Together the three men rose and walked towards the front door.
* * *
"What you ask is impossible, gentlemen," said Johann Baptista von Helmont. "Or at least, impossible within any time span that will do the infante's army any good. Five years, at a minimum. Perhaps ten."
Rubens shook his head in dismay. Five years!
"But surely you can get other Acontians to help you? Wouldn't that speed up the process?"
"Perhaps if they were still in the Netherlands. But they have all left, including my young and adventurous son, Francis Mercury! Those that haven't gone directly to Grantville are working in Essen for the Essen Chemical Company, or teaching or taking classes at the new applied sciences university in Bochum that the Republic of Essen has established. If you want their help, you will have to provide them more incentives than Essen is offering, and that will be difficult."
Von Helmont shrugged. "From what my son writes me, the governor-general of Essen, Louis de Geer, has gone to considerable lengths to attract the best scientific minds of Europe, particularly those young people like the Acontians who haven't been weighted down by the Aristotelian nonsense that passes for science education at most universities across Europe."
"But surely the manuscript can help," said Scaglia. "It appears to be quite explicit with regards to the ingredients and apparati needed to make this chloramphenicol."
Von Helmont shrugged again. "Oh, indeed it helps, gentlemen. But the devil is in the details, to use one of the Americans' proverbs."
Von Helmont brought out the manuscript to make chloramphenicol that Rubens had given him. "For example, take the ring nitration phase of this process. Not only do I need very pure sulfuric and nitric acid, which are themselves quite difficult to
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