The Rangers Are Coming

by Phil Walker

  1848–1858: California Gold Rush. 1849: The first boatloads of gold prospectors arrive in California, giving them the nickname 49ers.

  Arcadia smiled, “The gold is going to be discovered. It’s the best homogenizer of people I can imagine. Let ‘em have their fun.”

  She scrolled on.

  1849: The safety pin and the gas mask are invented.

  1849: Earliest recorded air raid, as Austria employs 200 balloons to deliver ordnance against Venice.

  1850: The Little Ice Age ends around this time.

  1850–1864: Taiping Rebellion is the bloodiest conflict of the century, leading to the deaths of 20 million people.

  1851: The Great Exhibition in London was the world's first international Expo or World's Fair.

  “I don’t suppose we want to take part in this, asked one of the staff?

  “Tempting, isn’t it,” said Arcadia? “However, the secrets of America are far too important to be fizzled away at a public exhibition.”

  1851: Louis Napoleon assumes power in France in a coup.

  1851–1852: The Platine War ends and the Empire of Brazil has hegemony over South America.

  1851–1860s: Victorian gold rush in Australia

  1852: Frederick Douglass delivers his speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" in Rochester, New York.

  1853: United States Commodore Matthew C. Perry threatens the Japanese capital with gunships, demanding that they agree to open trade.

  1853–1856: Crimean War between France, the United Kingdom, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia

  1854: Battle of Balaclava and the Charge of the Light Brigade.

  1854: The Convention of Kanagawa formally ends Japan's policy of isolation.

  1854–1855: Siege of Sevastopol; city falls to British forces.

  1855: Bessemer process enables steel to be mass-produced.

  1856: World's first oil refinery in Romania

  1856: Neanderthal man first identified. Age still unknown.

  1857–1858: Indian Rebellion of 1857. The British Empire assumes control of India from the East India Company.

  1858: Invention of the phonograph, the first true device for recording sound.

  1859: Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species.

  1859–1869: Suez Canal is constructed.

  “None of this is relevant to our current activities or technical progress,” said Arcadia. “It’s true that the Industrial Revolution in Europe has a full head of steam. We would have to expect them to make progress in some basic areas, but we are so far ahead of them, we really can’t risk revealing our true capabilities until we’re ready. We have a full head of steam too, but our schools, research facilities, and labs are starting to turn out some technology that rivals or actually exceeds the technology of my time.”

  “Speaking of which,” said President Gallagher, “do we have an inventory of where we stand today?”

  Arcadia turned to her Director of Infrastructure and said, Got the report?”

  “Mr. President, this is the report we deliver to the Chief Executive each year. It’s fairly lengthy, as you can see. What it does is to give you the current state of our infrastructure, technology achieved, financial numbers of our national wealth, and projections of where we are headed in the next five and ten year period. You can read the entire report at you leisure, but I have a synopsis that I can give you now.”

  “Please proceed, Arcadia,” said Gallagher.

  A display appeared on the screen and began running numbers:

  ••Total current population of the United States 31 million

  ••Number of Federal employees 10,556

  ••1844 Federal Budget $31 Million

  ••1844 Revenues from Individuals $60 Million

  ••1844 Revenues from Businesses $206 million

  ••1844 Gold Reserve $1.2 Billion

  ••Gross Domestic product. Total of all goods, services, and incomes. $4.62 billion.

  ••Annual Corn Production 30 million bushels

  ••Annual Wheat production 40 million bushels

  ••Total electrical production from all sources 5 million mega-watt hours per day. Currently 65% of electricity is produced by natural gas, 25% by coal, 20% Hydroelectric.

  ••Number of power plants 452

  ••Total railroad miles constructed 106,000

  ••Total Highway miles constructed 98,000. 95% asphalt.

  ••Number of railroad engines 1152, 85% diesel.

  ••Number of diesel powered heavy trucks 6,786

  ••Total number of universities with research centers 132

  ••Total number of students in universities 140,523

  ••Number of steel hulled freighter ships powered by liquefied natural gas 315

  ••Number of Navy warships 3, original power source classified 37 new, LNG powered with 73% of original firepower. 1 original submarine, power source, classified. New submarines 14, 61% of original firepower.

  ••Defense forces. 3 brigades of Rangers, total force 10,115 soldiers

  ••Number of airplanes, 250, with that many more under construction. Mostly they are two engine planes with a passenger capacity of about 50, but the new planes, have four engines and will carry up to 250 passengers. We have airports at every state capital. There is word the technos are working on an entirely new mans of aircraft engine uses high-speed air pushed through a thruster. It’s called a jet.

  ••Finally, we are making a tidy profit with Panama Canal. This year’s revenue will exceed $10 million.

  “Those are basic numbers, Mr. President,” said Arcadia. “We have not included the heavy equipment such as we constructed for the building of the Panama Canal. We are still exporting ten times as much as we import. We have about 10,000 private companies in the country. Our crime rate is extremely low, I think mostly because we spend our Sundays going to church. The Christian ethic of the country is so strong that we have not had to apply a single Federal dollar to the poor, the sick, and the helpless. The churches and their associated organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, handle it all.

  In the past 50 years, the life expectancy of Americans has gone from 42 to 71 years old. We now have 30 national Parks open for business, and we offer low cost packages of train, bus, and guest accommodations for them all. We think that Americans should be able to vacation as hard as they work. We’ve established a very active sports program. We have the national soccer team, basketball, and track and field. We run national programs for all those from grade schools to high schools to universities to professional teams.

  We didn’t make some of the same mistakes we did in the original history. We have a very good electrical infrastructure with four main grids, and all the cables buried in the ground and interconnected. We recognized the value of natural gas much sooner and we have the world’s biggest reserve. Gas does not pollute like coal.”

  “In short, Mr. President, we have a 1950 economy for power, transportation, agriculture, and consumer goods. 90% of the homes in America are heated by gas and have telephones and radios. Our medical community is almost up to 2000 standards.

  “Perhaps best of all, we have at least a dozen research centers at the universities that are working on micro-technology. The transistor is the basic tool for the computer. In the next ten years, the researchers are going to start figuring out how to miniaturize these circuits on boards, and you will end up with that,” she pointed to the plasma screen monitor on the wall, “available in increasing numbers.”

  “It all looks so wonderful,” said the President. “And best of all, the rest of the world has no idea of what we have.”

  “That’s our ace in the hole, Mr. President,” said Arcadia, “and believe me, we are going to need it all, if we are going to prevent the horrendous world wars of the next century that you’ve seen in graphic detail.”

  “How are we going to prevent it,” questioned the President?

  “I’
ll give you an analogy,” said Arcadia.

  “Suppose a race of peaceful beings from another planet discovered the earth in 1912, minus the power of the United States. What if their superior technology was so seductive the powers of the world knew two things. One, the aliens could physically prevent the great powers from warring with each other because of superior weaponry, and two, offered to share their technology with the world in exchange for a negotiated peace. What do you think the world would do?”

  “I imagine they would think it over and take the advanced technology.”

  “That is my hope and prayer as well,” said Arcadia. Only there will be no alien visitors, there will be the United States. We will be like a big, friendly elephant that just leans on the great powers until they go our way. Remember we have almost two centuries of peaceful trade and non-interference in global affairs going for us. The world is envious of us and curious as hell about how we supply such marvelous products, but we aren’t anyone’s enemy. We do not threaten the sovereignty of any country, but they all have the sneaking suspicion we could if we wanted to.”

  “Alright then,” said the President, “I appreciate all you and your people do, Arcadia. I know that God is watching us and I pray every day for his guidance and blessing.”

  “Me too,” said Arcadia.

  “I’ll start the projects of the medical teams and their anesthetics, as well as devising a plan to deal with 5 million new Irish immigrants.”

  “I think that should keep you busy for a while, in addition to running the country,” smiled Arcadia.

  As the meeting broke up and the team filed out of the conference room, Arcadia stayed behind. “Have you given any thought to your new vice president?”

  “I have a national search out for him right now.”

  “Don’t forget that half the people in this country are women. Now might be the time to pick one.”

  “I’ll give that careful consideration. If the number one candidate turns out to be a woman, I’ll choose her.”

  “Stay healthy, Chuck, your big moment will come when you are about 62.”

  Arcadia left it at that and didn’t elaborate.

  39

  London, England

  St George's, University of London had its origins as a medical school in 1733. It was the largest and most advanced school in England in 1846.

  Word had come to the Chancellor of the school in late 1845, from the office of the Prime Minister and he had gone to Number 10 Downing Street for a special meeting with Robert Peel.

  Chancellor Homer Dobkins was ushered into the office of the Prime Minister. Peel welcomed him and invited him to have a seat.

  “Chancellor, I’ve called you here today to present you with a rather extraordinary proposal. Heaven knows the United States is the preeminent trading nation in the world, but they do not permit any one to establish embassies in their capital of Washington, so the world doesn’t really know much about that huge country, and believe me we have tried to get more information. Their intelligence service is first rate and all our spy missions have ended up in failure. We have even had spies who have reported back that America is a wonderful, magical country and they are going to stay. It is one of the world’s greatest mysteries, this colossal United States.”

  “Now it seems that the United States has gotten word of our development of anesthesia with Ether for surgical operations, and are offering to send a team of doctors to instruct us in a more advanced form of anesthesia. The U.S. Ambassador would only say that it was a purely humanitarian gesture by America, and one that would save many lives. They offer the instruction and demonstrations for free, along with an initial supply of their drugs and the manner in which they are administered.”

  “With respect Prime Minister, don’t you think it’s rather presumptuous for these Americans to lecture us about medical practices? England is the premier country in the world in medicine.”

  “But what if we aren’t,” said the Prime Minister? “Who knows what kind of magic the Americans have been cooking up sealed behind their borders? And besides, they are sending medical teams to France, Spain, Germany, and Austria-Hungary at the same time, all in the name of fairness and equality. We would be foolish to not accept these doctors with open arms and seek to learn as much as possible from them.”

  “I suppose you are right, Prime Minister, but I’m not sure my colleagues will be as open and magnanimous. They are quite proprietary about their skills and training and you know as well as I do what inflated egos, most of them have.”

  “It will be your job to keep this hostility under control, and accept the teaching these doctors offer. It is not in the best interests of the British Empire to insult the Americans. Make that point clear to your fellow doctors.”

  “I shall endeavor to make their visit as pleasant and go as smoothly as possible, Prime Minister.”

  Doctor Dobkins left the Prime Minister’s office with a flurry of mixed emotions. How the Americans dare presume to lecture us on medical procedures, he thought. Then he reasoned, but what if their techniques are of great value? We would be serving our patients most admirably. Anyway, once the Americans leave we can use their techniques or not, and claim the credit for them. That last part seemed like the best approach to his surgical colleagues, and he returned to the hospital and school and began bringing in a few of his most trusted friends first, and then widened the announcement to the entire staff of academic doctors. He even contacted a few key doctors from other medical schools in England and extended an invitation for them to view the demonstration.

  Doctor Don Rippert had his team gathered in the wardroom of the “Mississippi”, just before they disembarked in London. The ship just barely had the clearance to make the passage up the estuary of the Thames, but the alternative was to load all their delicate equipment onto carriages and endure the bumpy roads to the capital.

  “All right, let’s just make sure we are all on the same sheet of music. Our goal is to instruct these doctors in modern anesthesiology. We will use our standard masks and also the IV drip methods. Since none of these guys have ever seen a needle and don’t really know the first thing about sanitation in an operating theater, we are going to have to give them some instructions in the importance of keeping the areas we are working sterile. This will no doubt cause a flurry of questions. Try and keep your answers confined to the procedures we are demonstrating. Most of the equipment we will be using will be foreign to them”

  “Bear in mind that we are playing in their home court and I imagine there will be more than a little hostility over our being here. Just remember our mission is one of humanitarian support and treat the natives with dignity and respect, even though they are really no better than witch doctors, 3rd class.”

  “All our supplies are carefully packed to handle rough treatment and all you need to do now is to gather your personal effects. Remember there is Cholera in the city, so don’t drink any unfiltered water, and use your hand sanitizers every chance you get. Here we go.”

  The team of six American doctors stepped off the ship. It was a steel ship and had attracted a huge crowd of spectators, who had never seen such a ship before. They were met personally by Dr. Homer Dobkins, “How do you do gentlemen, welcome to London. I am Dr. Homer Dobkins, Chancellor of St. Georges.”

  Dr. Rippert shook hands with the doctor and said, “We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate in the world of medicine with such a distinguished person such as you. Thank you for your hospitality.”

  “Not at all,” said Dobkins pleasantly. “We’ve made special arrangements to insure the safety of your equipment and its safe delivery to the hospital. If you and your team will step this way, we will handle your luggage and proceed to your quarters at the school.”

  The first thing that Rippert noticed when he got off the ship was the smell. London fairly reeked of garbage and human waste. The humans themselves didn’t smell a lot better. Everywhere he looked, he, saw muddy pools that looked
like petri dishes filled with the worst bacteria in the world.

  They had their luggage taken and stacked on a wagon, while two large carriages, pulled by horses were for the team of Americans and their host. They wound their way through the crowded streets of London. The sight of so many ill-fed and sickly looking people made Rippert sick, and the air was filled with the smoke of factories that were pouring out black smoke from coal-fired steam engines.

  Finally, they pulled through the gates of the hospital and school. At least this had a more healthy quality. There were lawns and flowers and the driveway was paved with stones that almost made the ride seem smoother, than the jolting and bouncing they had experienced on the streets of London.

  Dr. Dobkins led them into the wide entrance of the main building and up two flights of stairs to a long hallway. He stopped at the first door and opened it, handing the key to Dobkins. “These are your quarters, Doctor,” said Dobkins. “Your colleagues have rooms along this hall. When you are settled, please come back to the main floor, we have prepared a luncheon for you and some of the medical staff of St. Georges.”