The liquid in the shallow dish ignited, releasing a burst of yellow-green fire. The audience, a curious mix of Tuscan scholars and glitterati, applauded. Lewis Philip Bartolli acknowledged the applause with a briefly lifted hand. "This lovely green reveals the presence of the element boron, which was not known to the ancients. The liquid is [...]

Part I November 1633   A bright sun and a cool breeze made Copenhagen the best place in the world as far as Sergeant Karl Andersen was concerned. He strolled with the three members of his city watch patrol through the open air market. They paused occasionally to gossip with the shopkeepers. Karl anticipated stopping [...]

In October of 1633 Al and Sam Morton became instant heroes when they sank six enemy ships at anchor in the River Trave just down river from the city of Luebeck. But that was then.It took all of a couple of weeks before the city fathers reconsidered the status of the Mortons. In their careless [...]

Eric Flint prefers to write two chapters at a time, so we'll be offering that in every other issue, starting with Grantville Gazette, Volume 23. Unless something changes, of course.

Late November 1634 Near the City of Nijmegen, Netherlands"Innkeeper, we need a wet nurse." One of Henrich's company—probably his daughter, the timing was right and she looked just like him—had a fever. The stout lass was down and likely would not be getting up. She had been no help with loading the mules for three [...]

Chapter TenMarc Kronzburg pushed the overlapping canvas flaps out of the way as he made his way into the Thuringen Gardens outside patio. Or formerly outside patio. The original patio had been outside. Now, a massive roof was supported by four thick stone walls that contained six oversized coal-fired fireplaces, which allowed it to be [...]

Sheremetev laughed. "Leontii is a fine man, but not nearly subtle enough for this. The new political officer for the Dacha is . . . Anya." **** It was all Anya could do to keep her face still, even though she knew that very stillness was a tell in its own way. Sheremetev had to have done [...]

Magdeburg, April 1635 Andrea Abati moved down the hallway with a light step. This was one of Marla Linder's lesson days, and he didn't want to be late. Working with Marla was such a joy to him. As a gentilhuomo—or castrato, as he and those like him were more vulgarly known—his life in Italy had [...]

Part II: Goals of Sailing Ship DesignThe designer of a sailing ship must give it sufficient capacity and speed to carry out its mission, yet without unduly compromising its seaworthiness. And seaworthiness itself is a complex concept, embracing watertightness, buoyancy, stability, hull strength, weatherliness, handiness, and freedom to enter shallow or constricted waters. Capacity and [...]

Introduction The benefits of growing usable plants near your sleeping place—as opposed to having to search for them whenever you need them—are so obvious that people must have started the first gardens as soon as they discovered that plants would grow from seeds, and that seedlings could be transplanted. In the Germany of 1632 every [...]

Frankfurt Main, late May 1631, just another street corner:"Special Edition! Special Edition! Town from the future in Thuringia ! Read everything about the year 2000: horseless carriages, lights with no flames, guns that shoot ten times without reloading. Only in the Allgemeine Zeitung. Don't miss the woodcuts of scandalously short skirts on page 3!"Okay, I [...]