Gran Colombia, H2/1910

[The Rock Doctor]

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

"Last I heard, you were all hot and bothered about new armored cruisers, Admiral", President Rey Alizandro commented.  "But I'm looking at your plans for next year, and I'm puzzled by what I see."

Admiral de Irujo, having heard much the same thing from Ricardo Alizandro earlier in the month, explained, "Armored cruisers are a definite priority, and we have been putting some effort into expanding our capacity to build and maintain them.  You will recall that I had intended to have two sisters to the Luchador laid down at the beginning of 1911.  I was advised recently that we are close to introducing a new generation of turbines - engine machinery - that would provide the armored cruisers with a significant increase in speed.  While we could proceed with construction, we would either end up with the original design, with already-dated machinery, at the end of the process, or we would have to interrupt construction to install the new machinery."

"You can't just build everything else and install the engines at the end?", President Alizandro asked.

"No, Senor President.  The machinery is typically installed by cranes part-way through the process, before the decks above the machinery rooms are built."

"Oh", the President replied.  "Okay, so what're you doing in their place?  I've seen enough of these plans to recognize the abbreviations for protected cruisers and submarines, but all of these are unfamiliar.  Armored somethings?"

"Auxiliaries, Sir", de Irujo corrected him.  "For some time, the Armada has not put much priority on a fleet train, which would be required for distant deployments - because there were no distant locations to warrant major deployments.  We now have two, Polynesia and, in particular, Coquimbo, plus whatever requirements come about through our alliance with Iberia.  As seen in the Second Pacific War, isolated outposts such as Polynesia can be targetted for attack by an enemy for strategic or political reasons.  We have to be able to defend them, and since we only station modest squadrons in these locations now, this means sending a relief force out after fighting has commenced - possibly while the ports at the destination are in enemy hands."

"Why not station heavier forces there and make life easier?", Rey asked.  "The Rohirrim have a battleship down south of Coquimbo, after all."

"The Rohirrim* have a larger fleet, and have done precious little besides build capital units in the past few years, Sir", de Irujo replied.  "Our lesser resources dictate that we concentrate our military power centrally, closest to the Heartland and the Greater Antillies, where the bulk of our population and economy are located.  For all their political value, neither Polynesia nor Coquimbo contribute significantly to the economy.  Therefore, we maintain squadrons that are adequate for peace-time patrol and defensive missions, and as war-time trip-wires."

"So what are we talking about, then?", the President asked, adding, "In terms of auxiliaries, that is."

"For the first half of the year, I'm directing construction of two new colliers, two new oilers, and a pair of attack transports - the latter being required if we find it necessary to seize a port at our destination."

"And the second half of the year?"

"One of two scenarios - either the turbine development is completed, and I order the two new armored cruisers laid down, or I defer them to 1912; this is a decision I should be able to make within the first two weeks of January.  In the latter scenario, the budget is freed to lay down a similar number of auxiliaries, provided the slips are available.  Most likely, two or more depot ships for torpedo-boats and submarines, and some combination of additional attack transports, colliers and oilers."

Rey's head wobbled from side to side, as if weighing up the options and their relative merits.  "Very well, I can accept that.  But we do need some emphasis on capital ships, Admiral."

"You will have that, Sir", de Irujo confirmed.  "The armored cruisers will be laid down no later than January 1912, and planning is well underway for the next generation of battleship."

"I'm glad to hear it", Rey said.  "At least you're not diverting resources to more minesweepers and patrol ships."

"Minister Alizandro and I are satisfied that we've built up a sufficient level of force to withstand nine months of war attrition - by which time emergency war-time construction would be able to churn out new vessels to replace our losses.  The original two Orinoco class minesweepers will be assigned to the Training Squadron next year so we can build up a cadre of reservists familiar with minesweeping techniques - it's a speciality one doesn't pick up in the basic training programs."

"I'll take your word for it, Admiral", the President replied.



*With apologies to Ithekro, but it's just the kind of reputation Rohan has, rightly or wrongly, in GC political circles.

[The Rock Doctor]

2 September 1910:  Kaapstad, Orange

Another city, another country, but much the same kind of arrival:  a few newsmen, two or three hundred curious onlookers (who, of course, might well be looking for some of the other passengers on the ship, rather than him), and a small collection of officials.  Leading the Orange delegation was Hendrik Timmermans, the Foreign Affairs Minister for the Government of Orange, whom Eduard Torres recognized from file photographs.  The gentleman standing next to him was not familiar, but Torres had a hunch it was Senator Baradlay.

"Senor Torres:  welcome to Kaapstad", Timmermans greeted him, extending a hand to shake.  "I am Hendrik Timmermans.  This gentleman is Senator Rijkaard Baradlay, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee."

"Good day, Sirs", Torres replied.  "Eduard Torres.  Thank you for this warm welcome."

"You are welcome.  I understand that the ship had troubles of some kind?", Timmermans inquired.

"I was advised that something had happened in the engine room, but without specifics", Torres replied.  "Hence the delay of one day.  I do apologize if this has thrown the itinerary into disarray."

"Not at all.  We've pared out a bit of fat, and re-scheduled a couple of meetings to coincide with meals.  Come - we have a motor car waiting.  My staff will see to your people."

"Allow me to snare my assistant", Torres replied, "Then we can be on the way."  He gestured across the pier to his aide, Simon, who was engaged in a discussion with a couple of Orange bureaucrats.  The younger Colombian scurried over and Torres said, "Let Pedro deal with matters here - you will accompany me."

Timmermans led Torres and Baradlay, with Simon the aide trailing, towards a row of automobiles.  The second one, longer than the others, fairly sparkled under the noon sun.  "Impressive", Torres remarked.

"It's a Rolls and Royce Golden Spectre, just weeks out of their factory", Baradlay explained.  "Based on the eighty horsepower Golden Ghost model, but longer, to accommodate even more distinguished passengers. 

"Lovely", Torres replied.  He glanced over to his aide, who was having difficulty not gawking at the vehicle.  "Simon agrees, I daresay."

"Rolls and Royce are the finest producer of automobiles in the nation and, I would gamble, the world", Baradlay noted. 

The car's driver was waiting for them, and opened the door on the right side.  There were two leather-clad benches behind the front seats, and Torres slipped into the rear-most, sliding over to the left side.  Simon took a spot ahead of him, in the middle row.  Timmermans joined Torres, while Senator Baradlay sat beside Simon.  The driver shut the door gently, moved around to the other side of the vehicle, and started the engine.  "More quiet than I would expect", Torres commented. As if cued by the engine, other Gran Colombian and Orange officials hastened to the remaining automobiles.

"You'll enjoy the ride all on its own", Baradlay said, looking back at Torres.  "We're heading into the city centre to the Presidential Mansion.  We decided to merge your meetings with President Szemere and Chancellor van Osterkamp in the interest of saving time - the two conversations would have been rather similar anyway." 

"That is perfectly acceptable", Torres confirmed as the large Spectre accelerated away from the pier, following the lead Rolls-Royce and trailed by another pair.  Two turns brought them to a major thoroughfare, and the convoy merged into traffic.  "Is this amount of automobile traffice normal?"

"It is", Timmermans said.  "It started with Kronje plague and the Zulu War, which were both heavy on animals.  Cars sold well in the aftermath, as there was a shortage of mounts and draft horses.  They also proved to be a better replacement.  In the cities, they are significantly cleaner than horses, and take up less space than a pair of horses and a carriages."

Baradlay added, "Every year, more and more people can afford them.  Even a few bruinmense own one.  Is it much different in your land?"

"There are considerably fewer automobiles on our roads, and the designs more...basic", Torres said.  "I am not certain why, as the middle classes can afford them.  I suppose there simply is not that much production."

"Your industry was too busy in that grand ditch-digging exercise to refine their products", Timmermans suggested with a grin.  "I am golfing with Royce next Tuesday; perhaps I should suggest that he send a shipload of their automobiles over to Cartagena."

"If he does so, do ask that one be reserved in my name", Torres said, running his hand along the polished wood paneling beside him.  "My government car will never seem the same after this." 

[The Rock Doctor]

2 September 1910:  Kaapstad, Orange

The Gran Colombian embassy was located in the Gardens suburb of Capetown, just south of the city centre.  Despite its status as an embassy, the overall Colombian mission to Orange was relatively small compared to those in the Americas or Europe, so was contained nicely within a converted three-storey mansion, built a century earlier by a shipping tycoon.

"Welcome home, Sir", one of the guards at the gate said to Eduard Torres as he stepped inside the compound. 

"Thank you, Corporal", the foreign minister replied.  "I suppose this is the only Colombian soil in Africa", he said to his host.

Baltasar Obregon, the Gran Colombian ambassdor to Orange, replied, "Yes, it is.  I can only hope we're able to secure as nice a property in Pretoria when it comes time to move."

"We have at least two years; why not buy a lot and build?", Torres inquired.

"If you can get Finance to authorize that, I'd look into it", Obregon sighed.  "However, they keep telling me to come back to them in 1912.  It'll be a bit late at that point.  I don't think they understand what's happening to Pretoria's real estate market."

"I will have a word with the Minister when I return to Cartagena", Torres stated.  "We do not need to be in the same predicament in Pretoria that the Orangers bureaucracy has here.  Their productivity can not be helped by the crowded conditions within their offices."

"Or the fact each Ministry is scattered across several buildings in different parts of the city."

Torres nodded.  "Or that."

"How was your meeting with the President and the Chancellor?"

"Good", Torres replied.  "We spoke at length about western Africa, Mesoamerica, the Swiss and other exotic locales.  I think we understand each other's positions and views on each."

"So western Africa...?"

"We will stay the course I previously communicated to you", Torres said.  "At least, that is my expectation.  A final decision is no doubt weeks or months away."

By this time, the two were inside the embassy itself, approaching the spiral staircase that would take them up to Obregon's third-floor office.  "Tonight's ball - we should go over the known attendees, so you know who you may be meeting", Obregon noted.

"Is there any chance this Cassandra woman will be present?  It would make for a most intriguing conversation."

"I rather doubt it she was invited", the ambassador replied.  "She is something of a loose cannon, and would probably not want her to go off in your proximity."

"Odd, considering that this Kranitz fellow is on the list", Torres noted.

"Kranitz is tentative; apparently, he's been out of country, and I've not heard whether he's back.  But yes, he has something of an unsavory reputation", Obregon said.  "The key, however, is that he has influence, and and is unlikely to launch into a paranoid rant about monarchist conspiracies.  Though he may try to sell you something."

"Real estate?"

"Artillery."

[The Rock Doctor]

At last!

5 September 1910: Kimberly, Orange

The road to the mine office passed by an enormous hole in the ground, which Eduard Torres, his aide, South African Mines Minister Dirk Abrahamzoon, and his aide examined with interest. "Is that the mine? I see no activity", Torres noted, as the car approached the security gate at the mine's perimeter.

"That is the open pit", Abrahamzoon replied. "It was abandoned some time ago - the current operations are well below that, underground."

Security was tight, with several armed men in and around the checkpoint. "Typically visitors are required to change into issued clothing, under supervision.  When they return to change back into their own clothing, they're subjected to full cavity searches, so that there's no possibility of smuggling out stones", Abrahamzoon noted. "As the minister of mines I can over-rule that provision, and in this case, I certainly shall."

"We will behave ourselves", Torres said wryly.

The car continued on after Abrahamzoon had finished signing some paperwork. They arrived in front of a two-storey clapboard building and the driver shut off the engine. "We'll be back in two to three hours", Abrahamzoon stated as the driver came round to open the passenger door. "Remain with the car, please."

"Very good, Sir", the driver replied.

Inside the office, they met up with the mine's chief geologist, Rutger Korthals. Introductions were made, and it was readily apparent that Korthals and Abrahamzoon were well acquainted - then again, Torres recognized, it was likely that Abrahamzoon often ferried foreign VIPs here for tours.

"Gentlemen", Korthals said, "We're starting a little later than I had expected, and I'd like to ensure we're down before the noon shift change rolls around, as the cage'll be busy. So if you don't mind, pick out a set of coveralls, hard hat, and overshoes that fit you and put them on. We'll walk over to the headframe as soon as you're all set."

Soon, with canvas coveralls over his silk suit and rubber overshoes over his leather loafers, Torres followed Korthals down the road to a tall, angular building. They crossed over narrow rail tracks, entered into the building, and climbed up two flights of stairs before stepping onto a metal platform three and a half meters above the ground. "There are two cages, each with two levels - the upper is used for moving people, the lower for moving ore cars", Korthals stated, raising his voice above the noise of machinery. "With this particular set-up, we can load and unload both levels of the cage at the same time."

An unseen winch reeled up the cage, which turned out to be appropriately named. Bells rang and the cage operator opened up the gate inside the cage and then on the platform. Two miners stepped out and nodded to Korthals, as a tiny electric locomotive arrived below them to remove the ore cars. Two minutes later, the cage was descending into the darkness, the monotonous sound of the descent occasionally interrupted by a whoosh as they passed a tunnel entrance.

Eventually, the cage came to a jerky stop at a tunnel illuminated by electric lighting. The operator let them out and Torres stepped onto the dirty floor.  A pair of rails ran down the centre of the tunnel, disappearing from sight as the excavation curved gradually to the left.  Muffled clattering and shouting rode a dry, warm breeze blowing from the far end of the tunnel. 
"So", Korthals said, "The Kimberly diamond mine was discovered in 1871.  As with other diamond mines around the world, it was initally assumed that the diamonds were hosted in river gravels or alluvial deposits.  Soon enough, it became evident that they were confined to what we call 'blue ground', and the company began excavating that pit you saw as you came in.  After twelve years, the pit was four hundred feet deep, but so steep-sided that there were constant rock falls, making safe mining untenable.  At that point, the company starting underground development, following the steep, pipe-shaped body of blue ground."
"At this point, the mine works are almost three thousand feet down at their deepest.  We ourselves are currently on the twenty-seven hundred level - designated as such since we are two thousand, seven hundred feet below the surface."

"The rocks don't look blue...", the Colombian aide, Simon, remarked hesitantly.

"And that's because it isn't.  If you develop critical mine infrastructure like the shaft or ventilation raises in your ore, eventually you'll wipe it out by mining out the ore around it.  So you develop in the surrounding country rock, then push tunnels sideways into the ore body."  Simon nodded.

"What is the blue ground?", Torres asked.

"It's thought to be a volcanic rock", Korthals replied.  "It is possible that similar rocks are the original source of the diamonds in India, Brazil, and elsewhere, but they've not been found - or if they are, they're not described in the literature.  Follow me - we won't enter the main workings on this level, because it's rather busy, but there's a smaller cut following a narrow sheet of blue ground that we're working by hand."

The five plodded along the tunnel, passed on three occasions by black workers pushing dusty metal cars filled with angular chunks of grimy rock.  "It doesn't look very exciting", Simon commented.

"It's not like copper or iron ore where the metal constitutes a significant and visible proportion of the ore.  If you have a thimble-full of diamonds in a tonne of rock, you're looking at high-value ore", Korthals answered.

"But this is what's making you guys rich?"

Minister Abrahamzoon smiled.  "It's one of many things contributing to Orange prosperity.  God franted Orange a magnificent bounty of natural resources when He created the world - not only do we enjoy ninety percent of world diamond production, we also produce over twenty-five percent of its gold, from the Witwatersrand."

"Ninety percent of global diamond production?  I did not realize it was that great a proportion", Torres exclaimed.

"Oh, yes". Abrahamzoon confirmed.  "We have the capital, the technology, and the science to exploit the blue ground deposits as we find them.  The industries in India and Brazil do not enjoy any of these - though I suppose your new investments in Brazil may change things a bit."

"You still aren't going to add much market share", Korthals stated. "But you'll fare better than the Indians.  Production there's just about dried up entirely.  They've not exported a carat since they lost a shipment several years back to that Sparrow fellow."

"Perhaps one of the European states with enclaves on the subcontinent will set about rejuvenating the diamond industry there", Torres suggested.  "France, the Baltickers..."

"Anything's possible", Korthals conceded, "But it'd be a lot cheaper just to import from Orange."