Yesterdays War
Author: Gerald Hall; Nijhia Serrano
Date: 2018-11-28T18:00:00+00:00
Description: James Stevenson was a billionaire Australian industrialist who loved to push the edge of science in the course of his business ventures. When one of his research projects opened a portal into Earth’s past, he had no idea that he would be using it less than a day later to escape a world doomed by a cataclysmic nuclear war. Now, James has had to assume a new identity on an Earth nearly a hundred years before he was even born. His quest is to somehow try to change history and prevent the devastating future war that only happened yesterday for him.
Publisher: Independently published

Yesterday’s War

By Gerald L. Hall

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Dedicated to my wife who is known to all as ‘Rev Bev’. She’s the good Shepherd that this old ‘sheepdog’ has been working together in love with for over twenty-two years.

I also want to dedicate this to LTC Albert Clark Welch, US Army (ret). He was a ‘soldier’s soldier’, my Battalion Commander and most importantly, my friend. May you now rest in peace.

© Copyright Pending 2017, Gerald Hall Image credits: Cover Art by Nijhia Serrano

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission by the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

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Prologue:

The year was 2040. Turmoil continued throughout the world. Various low-level conflicts raged over control of oil, water, arable land as well as the continuing Islamist offensives in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. But the world’s stabilizing force for the past century was no longer serving in that role.

America had withdrawn from the rest of the world behind an extensive border wall and her large remaining inventory of strategic nuclear weapons. Isolationism had taken control over American foreign policy, especially after a general collapse of the superpower’s financial system. America’s navy now largely remained in port, including her magnificent fleet of nearly a dozen nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The US Army was forced to place most of its troops into their reserves and National Guard and had stripped much of active duty force as an economy measure as had also the US Air Force. Much of the Americans’ advanced equipment now sat idle due to a lack of spare parts. The turn towards isolationism had taken place after a series of liberal administrations had essentially destroyed the US military with a combination of excessive military commitments and underfunding sustainment of the force. Morale within the US military sank dramatically while tens of thousands of experienced personnel left the services altogether. The new American leadership had closed its doors to the rest of the world after a series of terrorist attacks on its home soil by Islamists that had entered the US under the guise of being refugees.

China had taken advantage of America’s weakness by seizing control of Taiwan and virtually all of the contested islands in the South China Sea. China had even expanded its navy to include four aircraft carriers, though none of them were individually as capable as a US Navy supercarrier. Even so, the general worldwide economic downturn had adversely impacted even China. China’s neighbors were preparing to fight the Chinese behemoth in a move of desperation for all sides.

In Europe, Poland and a few other central European states were fighting a desperate holding action between an aggressive totalitarian Russia and Western Europe. Western Europe was increasingly being dominated by Islamists that had migrated from the Middle East and North Africa. Riots filled the streets while helpless Europeans huddled in their homes, afraid to come out any longer. The obstinate English had separated themselves from the rest of Europe. But even they were struggling against the tide.

But there were a few people in the twenty-first century still trying to make a difference and bring the world back from the brink.

Chapter One:

Stevenson Industries Test Site Number Four Halls Creek, Western Australia
December 14, 2040

It was a typically hot, dry day at the edge of the Australian Outback about five-hundred kilometers southwest of Darwin near the town of Halls Creek. The small town was at the southeastern edge of the Kimberley Plateau. Billionaire James Stevenson had just flown in on his corporate helicopter to see how the new high-energy physics project was progressing. The brilliant, handsome and youthful James had already expanded upon his late father’s mining business to create one of the world’s most lucrative conglomerates. Now, the red-haired industrialist was investing heavily in various scientific research projects that offered to create immense technological breakthroughs. He had already achieved a tremendous amount even though he had not yet reached the age of thirty-six. But everyone who knew James Stevenson would say that he was only just getting started changing the world.

James had quickly stepped out of the helicopter, carrying a large tan knapsack over one shoulder. One of the engineers on the project, Andrea Townsend, came out to meet James at the helicopter pad.

“Hello, Mister Stevenson. We are all pretty excited about this project and your visit here for the big test, Sir.” The tall, lanky brunette yelled over the noise of the helicopter.
“Thank you, Ms. Townsend. This is a very special project for me. The facility here has the potential of both exploring the mysteries of our universe and potentially solving many of our existing problems with dealing with toxic materials, even from nuclear reactors. It was a dream that my late wife Judith had as well. I brought some material with me about what she had been working on.”
After both James and Andrea walked far enough from the helicopter’s rotor wash, James pulled out a lightweight portable computer of his knapsack and switched it on without even bothering to connect to the facility’s internal wireless network. Andrea could see from her vantage point that James’ computer had a massive amount of internal storage capacity with data folders on thousands of subjects. James opened up just a few of those folders to display hundreds of individual files each.
“Mister Stevenson, you do have quite a large personal database there on your portable computer.” Andrea noted.
“Yes, I do. During my trips to the Outback, I am often outside of the range of cell phone towers or any other form of communication. I know that I could easily just bring a satellite phone and connected to the Internet through it. But I didn’t want to bother with all of the other distractions of the Internet while out there in the wild. On the other hand, I still want to have access to a wide range of data, whether it is for business research or simply because I was curious about something.
So I had my portable computer fitted with the latest in data storage technology. It can hold close to a petabyte of data internally. I also have a couple of external storage units that each have an equivalent a petabyte of backup data storage.”
“Sounds like you are trying to keep a copy of the entire Wikipedia inside your computer.” The engineer noted.
“Not really, Ms. Townsend. There are quite a few elements of the Wikipedia that I simply have no use for. However, I do have a very extensive scientific and geological database here. I also have a very large, wide-ranging set of historical records because of my personal interest in history. Who knows how many biographies that I have stored here as well. After all, I can’t connect to the Internet while I am hundreds of miles from the nearest Wi-Fi hot spot.” James said before pausing a moment and smiling slyly before continuing.
“Well, that isn’t exactly true. I could connect via my satellite phone. But it is much faster to just have the data already available at my fingertips, especially with the AI expert search engine that is on my computer.”
“I suppose that your journeys to the Outback are why you keep that big portable solar panel rolled up with your rucksack, Sir?”
“Well, I have to have some means of powering my toys out there.” Steven said with a smile before continuing to speak. “There aren’t a lot of power outlets available out there on horseback in the middle of the Australian Outback. But there certainly is a lot of sunlight available.”
“There may not be much more of that available with the way things are going between China, America and the Russians. I’ve never seen this much saber rattling before. They could be going to finally go to war this time.”
“The Americans have been able to hold their own against the Russians and Chinese so far without anyone shooting at each other. No one really wants to start a nuclear war. The consequences for everyone would be utterly disastrous.” James confidently answered.
“Rational people know this. But are all of the leaders out there rational? The damned Russians have been going back to a neo-Bolshevik police state ever since Putin came into power. They have been absorbing all of the former Soviet republics by any means necessary ever since. The Chinese Communists are little better with their continuing attempts to marginalize and overwhelm their neighbors. They have even instigated incidents with us in Australia. At the same time, the Pakistanis have resumed their saber-rattling against the Indians. The fission device that almost destroyed Tel Aviv was a Russian design, but was certainly manufactured by the Iranians. It is clear that Iran had been building nuclear weapons even before they finally admitted that they had become a nuclear weapons state. America has held the line for decades now, but they have dramatically weakened themselves with the fiscal mess that they have gotten themselves into.
I pray that all of these leaders manage to find a way out of this mess. It is growing more and more likely that one of these minor nuclear states will attack their neighbor. If the major powers go to war, who knows how far things will escalate. Even with all of the nuclear weapons treaties that have been signed, there are still thousands of those weapons out there.”
“Hopefully, what we discover here will help find a way to manage resources so that the reasons for going to war will be far fewer. That’s why I financed the Thorium power program here in Australia. The first five reactors have all worked well here. There is also hundreds of years of fuel available for them. Unfortunately, too many nations are wedded to using uranium-fueled nuclear reactors with all of the safety, waste and nuclear weapons proliferation issues that come with them.”
At that, James gathered up his computer and other belongings, then left the room.
“James, how was your walkabout beyond the Black Stump?” Jonathan Adams asked after James came back to the latter’s private office in the complex a few minutes later. Jonathan was James’ executive assistant as well as his best friend. They had met many years earlier while James was a young man walking through the Australian Outback. Jonathan had been a young aborigine who had a knack for organization that James quickly recognized. They became fast friends. It wasn’t very long before Jonathan found himself in a private high school, his tuition being paid by James’ family. They had remained close friends ever since.
“It was good to get away from things for a while, Jonathan. I remember walking around out there when I was a kid. It is just so peaceful out there. I would have stayed out longer, but I knew that the people here were about to do the full power test of the super collider. Judith wouldn’t have wanted me to miss this if she were alive.” James replied in an almost melancholy way.
“You know, it’s been nearly two years since Judith’s death. It’s past time that you went ahead and resumed your life. You need to get out there and start dating some. I know that you have a huge void in your heart still. It doesn’t do you any good to just leave it there unfilled, James.”
“I have a lot of work to do still to fulfill her dream though. Judith was the one who made everything happen in Israel to get their government’s financial support for this. But what she did in Tel Aviv cemented the deal and cost Judith her life.”
“Yes, she stopped that terrorist atomic bomb that would have destroyed the entire city. There is no doubt that Judith was a hero in the truest sense of the word. But all the walkabouts in the world won’t get her back.”
“I know, Jonathan. I was one of Judith’s three great loves. The other two were the State of Israel and this research project. I have to make this project work because of all of the good that it will do for the country that she loved more than life itself and in honor of her. Only then, can I even think about anything else.”
“Just don’t let it consume you, my friend. You have a lot more to live for than just this.” Jonathan said with a warm smile as he gave his friend a brotherly hug. It still did little to help with James’ continuing loneliness that he felt after losing the love of his life little more than a year earlier. James continued to smile and be sociable to the world at large. But deep inside, he was still full of pain after what was so suddenly taken from him.
It had appeared to be another normal day inside of the research facility when James walked into the control room.
“Good morning, everyone. How are preparations going for the next series of tests?” James asked Samuel Upton, the senior project manager.
“Very well, Mister Stevenson. We are about to do full power tests on the super collider with the Tokamak fusion power plant switched into the system tomorrow.”
“Are we still having those anomalous readings in the chambers between the Tokamak and the super collider, Sam?”
“Yes, Sir. We cannot explain what the cause of the readings or the strange images that our people have seen in those chambers during the earlier low power tests. A couple of our physicists believe that it could be an interaction between the magnetic fields of the super collider and the Tokamak. Our sensors have also been picking up a lot of exotic particles within that chamber including glueballs or guons. These are normally only associated with the super collider itself.”
“But weren’t they the same people who said that the Tokamak was adequately shielded from the super collider? We located the two devices right on top of each other to ensure that we could obtain sufficient power from the fusion reactor with a minimum of transmission losses.”
“Yes, they did. We are in uncharted territory here, I’m afraid.”
“Well, that is the whole point of this project, to explore the unknown here. I have invested nearly a billion dollars of my own money into this project. Our partners, including the Israeli government have invested even more. Unless someone can show me that this phenomenon is dangerous in some way, we are going to go ahead with the full power tests.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I want every sensor that you can drag in here monitoring every inch of this complex, especially where we are getting those anomalous readings. If we are in any danger, I want to know about it immediately so that we can shut everything down before something dramatic happens.”
Early the next morning, the entire team was on site making final preparations for the first full power run. James and the complex’s senior staff were all in the control room waiting to begin.”
“Switch the Tokamak to full power and begin particle bombardment of the target object.”
“We are at full power now, Sir. Feeding protons into the accelerator array now.”
A technician at one of the other control panels suddenly called out.
“The anomaly has reappeared. Only this time, it is much more powerful and defined.” “Where is it at?”
“C Level, Chamber 3. That is almost directly between the Tokamak and the primary accelerator core, Sir”
“Can we see anything on the video monitors down there?”
“The anomaly appears to be like an optical distortion that is roughly oval shaped. It is like looking at a dark picture off in the distance that is out of focus. Our sensors here can’t tell anything else more definitive from out here. The boundary of this distortion appears to be about three meters in diameter. For now, it appears to be stable.”
“Can we see anything on the other side?”
“No, Sir. But we can put a few sensors on the end of an arm of one of our remote maintenance robots. Then we can extend the arm into the anomaly and try to get readings from the sensors.”
“Then hurry up and make it happen. We don’t know how long this anomaly will last.”
Ten minutes later, a remotely operated vehicle about the size of a golf cart running on tracks entered the chamber. It was controlled by a long fiber-optic cable running back to the complex’s control room. The robot slowly extended a mechanical arm out towards the anomaly. On the end of the arm was a long metal pole with a large cluster of sensors attached. The sensors were connected by a fiberoptic cable to a radio transmitter on the robot itself.
The sensor unit began to penetrate the boundary of the anomaly. Almost immediately, data began to flow from the various sensors.
“We’ve got atmosphere, temperature and radiation readings coming in now, Sir.”
“How about visual?”
“We aren’t getting anything on visual sensors. It appears to be a near complete absence of light in the visual spectrum as though it were in the middle of the night. Infrared is picking up a few things. It appears to be a planetary surface, but very barren. It reminds me a lot of a desert here in Australia.”
“Well, this entire complex was built in what is essentially a desert. What are the other sensors saying?”
We have Earth-normal gravity, the atmosphere is essentially identical to here with the exception of some variation in trace contaminants and a bit less carbon dioxide. This is the sort of atmospheric conditions that I would ascribe to right here in Australia something close to one hundred and fifty years ago, in fact. If this is Earth we are looking at, then it has to be at least one hundred years ago because of something else I see on our instruments.”
“What’s that?” James asked.
“Earth’s atmosphere and everything else on Earth’s surface has been contaminated by certain radioactive isotopes that are the byproducts of the detonation of nuclear fission devices. There are absolutely none of those isotopes present in our sampling. That means if this is our Earth, it is in a time prior to even the Americans’ Trinity test at Alamogordo.”
“Are you telling me that we might have opened a door into Earth’s past right here?”
“It appears to be the case. We have to do a lot more research into what is happening here. But I can tell you one thing. I wouldn’t want to step through that anomaly for all of the money in the world, Mister Stevenson. If I am not right, who knows what we might find on the other side.”
A few moments later, a faint rumbling could be felt throughout the complex.
“What the hell was that?” One of the technicians in the control room quickly asked.
“Is there something wrong with the Tokamak?” James then asked.
“No, Sir. That happened a long distance from us. Somewhere in the vicinity of Darwin, I think.” Alan Caldwell, another one of the engineers responded.
“Could it been an earthquake?” James asked. The area around the test site was not known for seismic activity, but he had to consider the possibility still.
“No. It’s not, I’m sorry to say. It appears that a major military conflict has started in various parts of the globe based on the reports that I have just received. I’m afraid it is what we have all feared.” Clarence Whittaker, the chief communications officer for the Stevenson Corporation bitterly replied.
He then spent a more than an hour searching on his computer in addition to listening on a short wave radio in the control room. While Clarence attempted to find out more information, the entire control room was completely silent. This was in spite of probably the most important discovery in human history. Clarence finally looked up, his face pale, and began his report. Everyone else in the room was also in shock as he told them what was happening throughout the world.
“Here is what I have learned. The news started with reports of fighting between Chinese, American and Russian forces. The fighting then quickly spread among other nations including England, France and Japanese. There was a launch of strategic ballistic missiles by the Chinese against America. Of course, the Americans retaliated. The Russians then fired strategic missiles at the United States as well in support of the Chinese. The limited missile defenses of the Americans were being totally overwhelmed by the incoming Chinese and Russian missiles. From that point, things just got worse. Within twenty minutes, there were reports of large numbers of ballistic missile launches from every nuclear weapons power before all of the satellite communication networks just went off line.
The Pakistanis and Indians have also initiated a nuclear exchange between the two nations. I guess that the Pakistanis felt that they did not have anything to lose at this point by destroying the Indian rivals. The Iranians even launched missiles towards Israel, though the Israeli counterstrike will have surely destroyed Iran in return.
I have also been monitoring local activity as well. Based on what I have learned, I think that Darwin has been hit by a nuclear warhead because of the naval base there. We had received communications from Melbourne and Sydney as well, but now they have gone silent as well.”
“Do you have any communications at all coming in, Clarence?” One of the other technicians frantically asked.
“I’m getting some scattered reports coming in on the short wave. It is worse than you can possibly imagine. Virtually of the world’s major cities have been hit by nuclear warheads. Everything is on fire out there. Between the radioactive fallout and the smoke plumes, the indications are that Earth is going to be a dead planet in a few weeks. It is a virtual certainty that there will be a nuclear winter in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The initial predictions are already that it will last for more than a decade.
Even if a handful of people were able to find sufficient stocks of food and adequate shelter, they won’t be able to hold out until the skies clear up. There aren’t enough fully fueled nuclear reactors that survived the nuclear strikes to provide heat and power for the survivors either for the period. The small nuclear power station that we are getting power from is one of the few units still operating, I believe.”
“So we have managed to condemn ourselves to extinction, haven’t we?” James sadly asked.
“Yes, Sir. I’m afraid so…..the arrogant fools that we have become brought all of humanity down.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know yet. For now, shut the Tokamak and the super collider down.” James grimly replied.
After the equipment had all been shut down, most of the people sadly walked out of the control room, not knowing what they were going to do with the last remaining days that they had. The local news reports told of rioting and extensive looting in the cities and towns that had not been hit or had not yet been directly affected by the rapidly darkening skies.Chapter Two:

Stevenson Industries Test Site Number Four Halls Creek, Western Australia
December 15, 2040

James had a small office in the project complex that he often called home. It even had a cot in the back where he would sleep when he wasn’t away doing business or on one of his ‘walkabout’ sabbaticals. James went there and sat down at his desk, staring at his portable computer. There really wasn’t much to look at online anymore. Virtually all of the overseas Internet hubs had been destroyed in the nuclear blasts. There were a few local Australian nodes still online, but that number was growing fewer by the hour. As power failures and rioting destroyed even more of the infrastructure, there were fewer and fewer online resources available.

James was still sitting there when Jonathan Adams walked into the room. Jonathan had been James’ personal aide and confidant for many years, even before Judith’s death.
“James, are you alright?”
James continued to look down at the computer screen for a few moments. Then suddenly he looked up at Jonathan. The look on James’ face was not very far removed from how he appeared when he first learned of Judith’s death.
“I don’t know. I can’t just sit here and do nothing, even as hopeless as things appear.” James said before looking back at the computer screen.
“I know. You’ve always looked for solutions when everyone else around you only saw problems. You would come up with some off the wall idea that would somehow work. It’s just that now, the problems are so overwhelming that I don’t know if even the most radical solutions would work.”
The look on James’ face suddenly changed. It was the face of someone willing to do anything to accomplish the mission. Jonathan had seen this determined look before.
“Maybe I can do something, my friend. It may seem crazy, but these are not sane times anymore. I’m going to need your help in any event.
Jonathan had always been dedicated to James through both good times and bad. Now he was about to be tasked with helping his friend do the unthinkable while the world was ending around them all.
“Jonathan, I need for you to go to every single jewelry store that you can find and buy every single loose diamond and other precious stone that they have. The same goes for precious metals as well as any very old gold and silver coins that you can find. Don’t spare any expense.” James Stevenson told his loyal aide.
“What if they don’t want to sell?”
James almost laughed at the thought of a jewelry store owner who wouldn’t sell his goods in the face of imminent disaster.
“Tell them that I would much rather do the honorable thing of purchasing their goods from them rather than simply coming in and taking them by force. One way or another, I need them now.”
“They will want to know what you want the precious stones for. For that matter, I am curious about what you want them for, Sir.”
“Tell them whatever you have to. In any event, I am going to try to fix things and prevent our world from being destroyed, Jonathan.”
“How will you do that?”
“You don’t want to know. You might try to convince me not to go.” James grimly replied.
“Sir, you go do what you feel that you need to do. It’s not as though we have much left here anymore. I’ll go out and obtain whatever you feel that you will need.”
James began to gather everything that he thought that he might need if he were to survive going back in time through the portal. Food and water were a given. Of course, he had to try to be careful not to use items that would appear so far out of place as to draw unnecessary attention. Some of the selected items James felt that he absolutely had to have to survive on his own in an uncertain time. So he quickly took measures to conceal the modern appearance of much of what he planned to bring with him.
But there were other certain items that James needed to bring with him to give him the edge in the mission that he wished to accomplish, wherever he found himself. Chief of these would be his portable computer, a pair of backup data storage devices and the rolled up portable solar panel that James would take with him on his previous journeys into the Outback. These would have to be very carefully hidden from public view. He also carried a compass, a sextant and a device to purify any water that he found.
Jonathan came back a few hours later with three fist-sized black cloth bags.
“I bought everything that I could find.” Jonathan said as James opened up each of the bags to see what was inside. Inside were a wide variety of diamonds, rubies and sapphires, both cut and uncut. Most of the diamonds were fairly small in size, but there were a few larger stones of up to four carats in size. There had to be more than thirty million dollars of precious stones alone there.
James placed a few kilos of gold and silver, mostly in old coins but also some in very small bars, in a pair of leather purses and in his rucksack. Finally, he packed the hundreds of diamonds and other precious stones in various hidden pockets of this clothing. These were the most compact form of wealth that he could easily carry and still would be of value whatever period of time that he arrived in.
Finally, he opened up a locked cabinet hidden in the back of his office. James had kept a small collection of firearms that had belonged to his family for many years. Most of these firearms had remained hidden because of the draconian gun control laws that had been enacted in Australia during the early years of the twenty-first century. James pulled out a Webley Mark VI revolver in .455 caliber, a Norinco-produced replica Winchester Model 1887 lever action shotgun in 12-gauge and a Lee-Enfield rifle chambered in .303 caliber. He also pulled out and packed over one hundred rounds for each of the weapons.
After carefully packing everything in his rucksack and a couple of other bags, James then gathered up a few essential staff and went with them to the project control room.
“I need for you to turn everything back on for a full power run.” He told the assembled staff.
“What for? There is nothing to be gained here, not after what has happened out there.”
“There’s nothing to be lost either by doing this. How long will it take to get everything running, Sam?” James asked.
“It will take us about two hours to get everything up and running. Our external power has been coming from a nearby nuclear power station, so that should remain available for a while even with everything happening out there. We were very fortunate that the power station was among the few that were not targeted.”
“Good. Let’s get started immediately. I also want you to get that robot with its sensor pack ready as well. If you can set up a few more sensors on it to test atmospheric conditions, please do so. I also want a cargo pallet prepared to attach to the robot as well. Here is a list of supplies that I want included in the pallet.” James ordered before handing Sam a handwritten list, then turning to walk out the door.
It was just over two hours later when James walked back into the control room.
“Are we at full power yet with the Tokamak and the super collider, Sam?”
“In a few moments, Sir?”
“And the anomaly?”
“It has already started to reappear.”
“Good. Get the sensor pack on that robot into the anomaly and see if it is getting the same readings as before. Be sure that the batteries on the robot are fully charged. I also want the cargo pallet set up on the robot.”
“I am going down into Chamber 3 on C Level. In thirty minutes, I want everything permanently shut down. Whatever happens, no one else is to go into that chamber. Is that understood?” James ordered the half-dozen people still there at the control room.
Most of them still had a somewhat blank look of shock on their faces over the events of the past twenty-four hours. But all eventually nodded in agreement, even if only a little.
After the robot arm was inserted into the anomaly, a rapid flow of sensor data began to display on one of the control room consoles that had been set up to receive the information.
“The data coming in now matches up with the previous readings with over ninety-nine point eight seven percent correlation. We are also picking up some visual spectrum readings from our electrooptic sensors as well.”
“Let’s see them please, Sam.” James asked.
The image was all too familiar in many ways to everyone in the room. It was a hot, barren desert with scrub brush for vegetation with rocky hills in the background. But there were no signs of human habitation at all. The clear, blue skies were totally free of the long jet contrails from airliners that everyone had been accustomed to all of their lives.
“If I am successful, nothing of what has happened over the past few days will ever exist. But it is important that none of you go into that chamber after I leave, no matter what. It is just too dangerous. I wish you all the best back here. You have plenty of power available for now with both the Tokamak and the nuclear power station. Maybe you can build something to grow food and make it through the hard times to come. God be with you all.” James said in an authoritative voice tinged with anger, fear and sorrow.
James then left the control room, grabbed his bags and went down a stairwell to Level C. About one hundred meters down the hallway, he saw the control cable for the robot snaking its way around the corner to Chamber 3. James then followed the cable into the chamber.
There, he saw the anomaly with his own eyes for the very first time. It was a large shimmering oval surrounding a field of blackness. James’ view of the anomaly was partially obstructed by the tracked robotic vehicle that stood just over a meter in height. The robot had a pair of robotic arms, one of which was holding a long metal pole that held the sensors scanning inside of the anomaly.
James quickly pulled out a long cable with a control box on one end from one of the bags that had dragged down to the chamber. The control box was similar to one used by radio control airplanes except the box also had a multi-function LCD screen in the center. He then unplugged the existing control cable that had connected the robot to the complex’s control room before plugging in the new control box. Now, James was in direct control of the robot.
Back in the complex’s control room, the display and data stream from the robot suddenly went blank.
“What the hell is he doing?” One of the technicians asked. Like everyone else, he terrified about what was going on deep inside the complex as well as the outside world that was crashing around them.
“Who knows? All that we can do now is pray that Mister Stevenson is successful with whatever he has in mind.”
Another one of the technicians muttered, “If he goes back in time, he can ruin everything by changing history. Maybe even I will never be born as a result of Stevenson’s meddling with events.”
“I don’t know, mate. At this point, I really doubt that things would get any worse than they are now.” An older woman replied in response.
James loaded everything that he could not easily carry onto the cargo pallet mounted on the back of the robot. This included both the rifle and shotgun, most of the ammunition, food and water as well as a myriad of other supplies that James had gathered up. James carried the old Webley pistol in a leather holster on his right hip. James then began to work the controller’s joysticks to move the robot forward into the anomaly. The entire vehicle slowly crawled through the threshold of the anomaly and disappeared. There was a momentary loss of data, but then everything returned to normal.
James was still receiving data from the robot’s sensors, including those that were built into the robot itself. Everything appeared to be fully functional.
Still holding the controller to the robot, James put on his back the large rucksack that he brought with him along with another large bag that he carried in his other hand. He then took a deep breath and stepped through the anomaly.
Suddenly, James felt what appeared to be an electric shock running momentarily throughout his body. Then he stepped unexpectedly down about a foot to the ground below. He stumbled for a moment and almost fell with the bags that he had been carrying. But James was finally able to regain his footing and remain upright, about a meter behind the robot that had passed through first.
The desert heat hit James like a wave for a few moments before he became accustomed to it again. It seemed so much like the Outback that he had walked through dozens of times before however. He could almost see the same orange and black striped domes of the Bungle Bungles off in the distance that had often been his destination during the long walks of his youth. But more importantly, James could see another set of hills that he knew would be very close to the old town of Halls Creek.
James knew this because he saw a peculiar rock formation that had acquired the nickname of the China Wall because of its appearance was that of a large rock wall coming down the side of a hill. But first, he would need to find a place out there to hide the robot and the vast majority of his supplies for the time being.
“Now that I am here, what am I going to do to stop humanity from destroying itself?” James asked aloud. He had brought supplies, information on future events in addition to available resources and even enough portable wealth to give himself a good head start. James knew that he would need to establish some form of financial foothold if we was going to influence future events in any significant way.
But knowing what exactly to do in order to prevent the cataclysmic nuclear war that destroyed the future world that James came from was an entirely different matter. There were so many factors that contributed to the war, most of them the results of the Second World War’s outcome.
A neo-communist government had controlled the Russian Federation since the days of Vladimir Putin. Combined with the ninety year hold on power in the Peoples Republic of China and North Korea, they had been the drivers of the conflict that had led to the nuclear holocaust that James had barely escaped. It would be a tremendously difficult task to destroy the nascent Soviet Union. James knew from his historical studies that even with the Great Powers aiding the White Russians, the Bolsheviks managed to retain and expand their control. From there, Lenin and his associates managed to spread their political doctrine over dozens of nations, causing considerable problems even after the end of the Cold War. This included the Communist takeover of the most populous nation on the face of the earth, China.
James did not even consider America and Great Britain to be the cause of the war. Chinese and Russian aggression in the South China Sea and the former Soviet Republics respectively were only the lit fuse that started the fighting. After Russia and China began to launch their large nuclear arsenal of nuclear weapons, the West had little choice but to retaliate in kind. There was more than enough warheads used to cause the catastrophic nuclear winter as a result. The nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan that began left than an hour after the Russians and Chinese launched was little more than a footnote for the worldwide devastation that ensued.
There was the other key element of James’ history that led to the future destruction of humanity as well to consider. For all of the good that nuclear energy had provided to the West in the form of electricity generated by nuclear reactors, the destructive possibilities of the technology ended up in the hands of evil. The development of nuclear weapons and the amassing of tens of thousands of such weapons of mass destruction had led to the worst fears of Albert Einstein, Alan Oppenheimer and some of the other developers of the atomic bomb finally being realized. This was especially true with the focus on uranium-fueled reactors that had the secondary function of generating plutonium for nuclear weapons.
“Perhaps something could be done to prevent, or at least inhibit, the development of nuclear weapons.” James thought to himself. He wasn’t quite sure how he could accomplish this. Perhaps he could find a way to remove the primary motivation behind building nuclear weapons?
As he considered the possibilities, James’ thoughts went to his late wife Judith. She had told him about how so many members of her extended family had been killed in Europe during the Holocaust. There had been so many wasted lives as a result of that tragedy. The Nazi persecution of the Jews had also led to Albert Einstein’s immigration from Germany to the United States. Einstein’s letter to President Roosevelt had been one of the elements leading to the start of the Manhattan Project. Could Harold find a way to save all of those lives as well?
There had been much speculative fiction in the decades after the end of the Second World War about what history might have been like if Adolf Hitler had been assassinated before his rise to power. James considered that possibility as well. The Nazis were only one of the threats to peace that James would have to consider ways to deal with. There were still the Italians, the Japanese and the Bolsheviks to contend with as well as dozens of potential lesser players on the world stage. “Maybe I can save all of Judith’s family members who had died in the Holocaust if I can somehow prevent Adolf Hitler from coming to power.” James silently said to himself as he pulled out a few items from the cargo pallet on the back of the robot.
But before he could do anything like saving the lives of millions of people, James had to find his way to a town and back to civilization. Then he could begin the careful process of building up a new business empire to finance his aspirations. For now, this meant getting on the move while he still could.
James picked up the controller for the robot and directed it towards the east. It was easy enough to follow along at a comfortable walking pace. But this was only as fast as the robot’s tracks could take it without quickly draining its battery. It would take an entire day for James to recharge the robot’s batteries with the folding solar panels that he brought. He just didn’t have time for that however.
Even so, the robot had enough of a charge to travel over three more miles. That was just far enough to reach a readily identifiable boulder. James stopped there, pulled out a shovel from the cargo pallet and started to dig a hole to bury everything out of sight.
While James was in the midst of digging, he sensed something and looked up right at a middleaged aborigine man standing there just off to the side.
“‘G’Day, Mate. What are you doing way out here so far away from town?” the aborigine man said in English but with a bit of a native tribal accent that wasn’t all that far from that used by Jonathan Adams back in James’ original timeline.
James thought for a moment before answering. He obviously couldn’t tell the aborigine who he was or how he got there.
“I’m just out here doing a bit of prospecting, friend.” James answered.
“Bonza. That is a very peculiar-looking buggy that you have there.”
“It’s more of a cart for carrying things actually. It just has its own motor to help move it around, just as an animal has a heart.” A quick-thinking James explained.
“I have never seen anything like it. It is almost like a living creature in the way that it moves by itself. How much is it worth?”
“Not very much, I am afraid. It will not operate for much longer.” James answered while still trying to remember the tribal language lessons that James had taught him many years earlier.
“Is that why you are digging a hole for it?”
“Yes. I must bury it after all the life is gone from it.” James replied in the aborigine’s own language. James had finally figured out the words that he wanted to say.
“You know our language?” The aborigine asked, the surprise evident in his expression.
“A little. Obviously, I am much more comfortable speaking English though.” James said. In reality, he could not only speak the primary language of the Aborigines, James was also fluent in Japanese and German. He also had a working knowledge of a few other languages as well as a result of his worldwide travels.
“I understand. There are not many white men around here that can speak more than a few words of our language.”
“What is your name, Cobber?”
“People around here call me Johnny.”
James reached out his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Johnny. Can you tell me where the nearest station is?” Many of the small settlements in the Australian Outback were referred to as ‘stations’ rather than towns.
“I can show you to it, mate. It’s about a day’s walk from here.”
‘Thank you. I will need to get a few supplies from my cart and finish burying it. Would you like some food?”
“Sure. You brought food from one of the big cities like Sydney?”
“Something like that.”
“Bonza. That would be great, mate.”
“Could you tell me today’s date? I’ve been out here so long by myself that I have lost track of the days, I’m afraid.”
“Fair Dinkum. A man can certainly lose track of time if they spend too much time here in the Outback. According to how you white men account for time, this is the fourth day of April.”
“Thank you. Could you also tell me the year, just to humor a confused white man like myself?”
“Sure, mate. It is the year, 1918.”
“Thank you very much.” James said, trying hard not to reveal his astonishment at what he had just experienced. He also realized that the scientists at the complex were surprisingly accurate as to where and, most importantly, when the temporal portal had led.
“What thatthingoon your wrist, mate?” Johnny asked, pointing towards James’ left wrist.
James was embarrassed to see that he was still wearing his digital watch which also doubled as a personal video cell phone and Internet interface. He had forgotten to remove the device after he had stepped through the time portal. Now, James had to scurry to come up with an explanation for something that would not exist for more than one hundred years.
“Oh, that’s just a special bracelet that I got somewhere. It looked very unique when I saw it in the store so I bought it.”
“Fair Dinkum.I have just never seen anything like it. So, what were you prospecting for, mate?” Johnny asked.
“I was hoping to find some gold around here.” James lied.
“We haven’t ever had a real gold strike around here like they did down south.”
“Maybe I should travel down south if I want to find anything worthwhile. But first, let’s walk to the station. I need to do some tasks and arrange for transportation.”
“Sure thing, mate. I’d hate for a fossicker like you to run afoul of a bushranger and lose all of your things to him. You seem to be a nice enough bloke to me anyway.” Johnny said.
James and Johnny then began to walk towards the station after the former had filled up a knapsack full of supplies before burying the robot and marking the spot with a large stone.
The two men walked for a few hours, rested during the hottest part of the day, ate some food and then continued towards the station.
The following morning, they arrived at the station. It was little more than a handful of small buildings along with several fenced-in enclosures for sheep. James quickly noticed the wheels of a vehicle protruding from behind one of the buildings.
“Let’s go over there and see if there is anyone around to talk to.” James said, pointing towards the building with the vehicle.
A slender blonde-haired man ambled out from one of the buildings as James and Johnny continued towards the vehicle. The man’s rugged face looked like it had been out in the outdoors sun and wind for many years already.
“Hello, Gents. My name is Albert, but everyone around he just calls me Al. Is there anything that I can do for you?” The man politely asked.
“I found this fellow here who needed directions to the nearest station. He seems to have found something that has caught his fancy.” Johnny remarked while James silently continued to walk closer to where the vehicle was parked.
“That’s my old truck. Wait a moment while I take the cover off of it.” Al said as he quickened his pace to catch up with James.
The old Ford Model T stakebed was covered with a dusty tarp that Alt pulled off to show the vehicle to James.
“I bought this truck a few years ago, but it stopped working a few months ago. I never figured out what was wrong with it. I don’t know anything about fixing trucks, I’m afraid.”
“No worries, Mate. Mind if I take a look at it? I really could use a truck for some prospecting work that I want to do.” James finally said.
“Sure, Mate. Are you interested in buying that truck of mine? Right now, it’s not worth a Zack to me anymore.”
“Maybe I will after I give it aburl.” James replied as he lifted up the Model T’s bonnet and looked down at the engine. He spent a few minutes getting his hands greasy checking wires, hose connections and other parts of the truck. James had played around with rebuilding old automobiles when he was a teenager. So he knew his way around under the hood.
After about twenty minutes, James spotted a loose pair of wires that were certainly the reason for the truck not running. But before he reconnected them, he poked his head out from under the bonnet and asked.
“How muchmoolahwould you want for this old truck of yours? I’d like to take it off your hands if you don’t mind, mate.”
The two spent about ten minutes dickering about the price before finally settling on a few of James’ precious gold coins for the truck and about five gallons of petrol. Then James went back under the truck’s bonnet, reconnected the loose wires, used a Leatherman multi-tool to tighten up some fittings and make other adjustments then closed everything back up. After about five minutes, he set the throttle choke, walked around to the front of the truck and gave the crank starter a couple of hard spins. The Model T’s engine sputtered to life to the amazement of the aborigine standing next to James.
“You must be very good with machinery, Mate.”
“I’m fairly good with it. Fortunately, the problem here wasn’t too difficult to figure out. Now, I need to go back and pick up my property back where you found me. Would you like a ride back, Johnny?”
“I would like that very much, Mate. I have never ridden in a motor carriage before.”
The two men got into the Model T and began the trip back towards when James had buried the robot. A day long trek on foot only took a couple of hours to make while driving.
Once they arrived, James got out a folding shovel and began to dig the robot and other supplies out. About an hour after he started digging, James saw a lone dingo walking towards him. James stopped and watched as the native canine continued to close the distance, apparently not afraid of James or Johnny who was also still standing nearby.
“Well, I’ll be gobsmacked. Dingos around here are usually afraid of white men. This one is coming right at you.” Johnny said with surprise.
“I do have a way with animals.” James answered in an offhanded way as he stopped digging and stood there watching the approaching animal.
The dingo walked right up to James, sniffed at him and then sat down, watching him. James didn’t know if he still had an odor of the people and animals that he had contact with before he stepped through the portal. If so, it had to be something that appealed to the dingo who continued to sit and stare at James.
“Fair Dinkum, you are not like other white men that I have seen around here, Mate.”
“Thank you, Johnny. Could you do me a big favor? Please don’t tell anyone about me or what you have seen here. I really want to keep all of this private.”
“No worries. Anyway, you never did say what your name was, Mate.”
Johnny was still amazed that the dingo would be so friendly towards the stranger. Johnny hadn’t even bothered to ask the man’s name before.
“I know, Johnny. I wanted to keep my name to myself for a while longer.”
“Are you an outlaw like Ned Kelly? He was very famous a few years ago.”
James laughed for a moment before responding.
“No, I’m not an outlaw. But I am a very private fellow, especially since I’m new to this place. I might make a few mistakes on occasion and don’t want them to follow me along like this dingo here.”
“Many of my people would say that you have been touched by God from what I have already seen here.”
“Well, I hope that God does help me with what I need to do.” James replied while remembering the remnants of the world that he left behind.
“I need to go now, Johnny. I have a lot to do now. Perhaps we will see each other again sometime.”
“I hope that we will, Mate. I can already tell that you are a good bloke.” Johnny answered with a wave as James resumed digging up the robot and supplies. The aborigine then began to walk back in the same direction that James first saw him coming from.
After he finished digging up his equipment, James took a closer look at the little Ford Model T that he had bought. The vehicle’s data plate showed that had originally been built at the Ford factory in Geelong, Australia as a runabout. Obviously, it had later been converted into a stakebed cargo truck.
James finally loaded up all of the equipment onto the back of the truck and covered it with a tarp. Then with the aid of a map and compass, He began to drive towards the first gold mine on his data base.
According to the information on James’ portable computer, this mine had one of the richest veins of gold ore to be found in Western Australia during the late twentieth century. James chose this site for two reasons. First, it was relatively close it was to where he had arrived after travelling back in time. The other reason was because his historical records showed that the mother lode for that strike was close enough to the southern coast for easy travel. This mine would also be relatively easy to reach the mother lode without specialized equipment.
Along the way, James stopped by several stations or small settlements to pick up additional supplies like food, water and fuel. But he carefully preserved as much of his portable wealth as possible, hiding from everyone what he had brought with him from the future. First, James needed it for financing his plans for the future. Secondly, he did not wish to tempt anyone to attempt to rob him of the precious stones and coins that he still possessed.
James was able to navigate south to the first location with little difficulty using the map on his portable computer, a lensatic compass and the stars in the night sky. This was necessary because there were no GPS navigation satellites available like what had been the case in James’ original future. But James had done this many times during his earlier walkabouts. Eventually after days of driving on desolate dirt roads, he arrived at an area of rolling hills near what appeared to be an old river bed that hadn’t flowed in over a century.
James was driving up an old trail when he spotted the remains of a makeshift cabin at the site of the gold deposit. He stopped the Model T a couple of hundred meters short of the cabin and got out of the truck. James picked up his shotgun and ensured that his Webley revolver was still securely in its holster on his hip before beginning to carefully walk out towards the tiny cabin.
“Is anyone home?” James called out.
Hearing no answer, James slowly pushed open the rickety door of the cabin. Inside, he found a stack of shovels, pick axes and other hand tools. There were also a pile of maps and other documents in another corner of the room. Scattered around the dirt floor were dozens of empty cans of food as well.
James cautiously walked out the door and around to the back side of the cabin. There he found a man’s skeleton sitting with its back against the cabin wall. The sun had already bleached the bones that had been picked clean by ants and other scavengers. But the body hadn’t been there too long because numerous strands of red hair were still lying on the ground below the man’s skull.
He had obviously been in a fight because he still held an old Winchester lever action rifle in his hands. But his left leg had been shattered by a bullet. James reasoned that somewhere off in the distance, there was another pile of bones as well. Obviously, the dead prospector had managed to kill his attacker since his cabin had not been plundered by the person who had inflicted the ultimately lethal wound to him.
James went back inside of the cabin and began to look through the papers that lay in the corner of the room. He found several documents for a claim filed by the prospector that had been filed with the state along with maps of the area. The most interesting thing that James found was a thick personal journal. It was quickly apparent that the prospector had been writing entries about his life into the journal for at least ten years.
James read through the prospector’s handwritten journal with great sadness. Here was the only son of poor parents who had been trying to find his fortune. Now, Harold Cavill was nothing more than a sunbaked bag of bones, freshly buried in a grave near the mine that he had tried to eke a living out of. James learned a great deal about Harold from reading his journal though. Harold’s parents had died when Harold was a teenager, leaving him with little more than the clothes on his back.
It was with great sadness that James went back out after finishing with Harold’s journal and began to dig a grave for the dead prospector. Even so, James knew that he couldn’t afford to abandon this site. He would have to find a way to assume ownership of the claim and all that it had buried under the ground there.
Once James had buried the remains of the dead prospector, he took a hand pick and chiseled the prospector’s name on a large rock that James had placed over the top of the grave. James gathered all of the maps and tools from the cabin and placed them in the back of his truck along with the old rifle that he had taken from Harold’s corpse. James reburied the robot and most of material that he had brought back in time with him nearby for safe keeping.
Finally, James said a short prayer for Harold Cavill before getting in the truck and driving south towards Perth.
It took four days of driving before James arrived on the outskirts of Perth. He was amazed to see just how small the city of Perth was at that time. In James’ own time, Perth was a large metropolis with a population of over two million people. Of course, that was before the world destroyed itself. Back in 1918, Perth only had perhaps sixty thousand people living there. But there were a lot more opportunities for James to obtain resources and perhaps even more importantly, information during this visit to this coastal city.
The first thing that James needed to do was to find lodging and a place to get cleaned up. He had spent more than two weeks out in the Outback without a bath or having done a real change of clothing. There were several sets of clothes among the things that James had brought back with him through the temporal portal, but most of the clothes were unsuitable for hard physical labor. So James had kept them packed away.
James drove his truck down one of the unpaved streets until he found what appeared to be a well-kept two-story wooden frame lodging house with a sign up front that read ‘Land’s End’. The sign also promised running water and hot baths, both of whom James found very appealing at the time. He pulled up in the truck, stopped, parked in front of the building and then walked in.
James saw a young blond-haired man standing at the front desk as the time traveler walked inside.
“Hello, young man. Could you please tell me if you have any rooms available for rent?” James politely asked.
“Yes, Sir. I have two rooms available. How long would your stay be?”
“At least two weeks.”
“Very good, Sir. How would you like to pay for the room?”
“Is silver coin acceptable?”
“Of course, Sir.”
James then pulled out a couple of small silver coins from a pouch in his pocket. The pouch he carried only had a few diamonds and a couple hundred Pounds Sterling worth of silver and gold coins. He had carefully hidden the rest of the precious stones and coins elsewhere to avoid the appearance of being overly wealthy. James didn’t want to become the target of thieves, especially not in this time. The appearance of the big Webley revolver in the holster on his hip would still be a powerful reminder to most criminals that he would not be an easy target in any event.
“What is your name, Sir?” The clerk asked as he prepared to write in the register after pulling a key from the counter below him.
James remembered the name carved on the stone near the abandoned mine. The poor soul had come so close to reaching the mother lode before he died. Now, someone from the future was attempting to save humanity with the buried wealth that dead miner failed to reach.
“My name is Harold Cavill. Thank you for your assistance.” The time traveler then replied before reaching out for the key to his room. James Stevenson had now assumed the identity of that dead miner and become Harold Cavill as far as the rest of the world would know. The old James Stevenson had ceased to exist now. That man belonged to the future, not the world that Harold Cavill had been born into.
Walking up the stairs to his room, the time traveler was alone in his thoughts. He thought about the terrible future that he had left behind as well as the uncertain future that lay ahead of him. No matter how much information that he had, James Stevenson not only had to become another man, this Harold Cavill, he had to make his way in a world that he barely understood outside of what history books and Wikipedia had said.
Sitting in that small rented room, Harold spent days thinking about how he could possibly achieve his goal of changing history and preventing the war that ended humanity. Even with his mind occupied with the idea of how he might be able to change history to somehow save humanity, Harold felt so all alone in that room, much like the original Harold Cavill must have felt out there dying in the Outback. He had left everyone and everything that he had ever known behind in a devastated world.
But still the time traveler pondered the question of what he could do. Without the availability of nuclear weapons, the war that destroyed the world could never have happened, of course. But there were also the key players who caused the war as well. The vast majority of those were the descendants of the original Bolshevik Revolution. Something had to be done to put an end to the rise of Communism in both Russia and China. They were the powers whose aggression against their neighbors caused the nuclear exchange in the first place. It was hard to blame the Americans. The Americans knew that were going to be destroyed and could only think of vengeance when they launched their missiles at their nation’s executioners. But they had designed the damned Bomb in the first place.
After much thought, Harold came to the realization that he could not do this all alone. He would need a loyal core of people who would follow him without question.
The logical choice would be to enlist Australia’s aborigines to help. They had no power to speak of during this time in their own land. So, Harold could offer them a purpose by working for him. He could also offer them education, employment, housing even health care. Eventually, Harold believed that he could use all of this to eventually make the aborigines equal partners with the whites who controlled Australia.
This was not going to be a simple task though. The Aborigines had been traditional nomadic hunter-gatherers for thousands of years. Harold would have to find ways to quickly transform them into factory workers, farmers, even engineers and soldiers.
That would require a powerful motivation to get them to make such a fundamental change in the lifestyle that the Aborigines had lived for so long. Not even the English and other Europeans that had colonized Australia for over a century. Instead, the whites had often sought to exterminate the Aborigines or drive the natives from their own lands in order to possess it for themselves.
But Harold needed to be very careful not to reveal that he had traveled back from the future for fear of ending his mission before it even really began.
Or did he?
Harold’s knowledge of the future could and would have to be the means to secure the cooperation of the Aborigines.
The time traveler knew that he would have to find out information on significant events in the upcoming days. That would certainly establish his bonafides with one or more of the tribes.
Harold looked up a reference to historical solar and lunar eclipses in his portable computer for after April 1918. There was a major solar eclipse on May 29thin 1919. But unfortunately, it would not be visible in Australia. However, on May 18th1920, there would be a partial solar eclipse that would be visible in much of southern Australia. Harold had to find some way of using these astronomical events to show his knowledge of the future. There was one problem though. Scientists in the West were already able to predict these events through astronomical observations even in 1918. It would be all too easy for someone to claim that Harold had simply gotten his information from a contemporary astronomer.
There had to be some other way to convincingly show the Aborigines that Harold had a unique knowledge of future events.
So Harold then started to look in his computer database at the history of volcanic eruptions in the same timeframe. Then he came upon the massive eruption of Mount Kelut, a volcano located just east of the island of Java. The explosion would be certainly be of sufficient proximity and magnitude for it to be seen and felt by all of Western Australia.
But even that would be some months ahead in the future. Harold decided that he would make good use of that time. Then he would present his proposal to the aborigines.
Harold walked down to the front desk the next morning with his baggage in hand.
“Are you going somewhere, Sir?” the desk clerk asked.
“It is time for me to take my leave of this place. I have a lot of travelling to do right now.” Harold said.
“Where do you wish to go to first, Mister Cavill?”
“I think that I will start with Sydney first, then go to Hong Kong. But before any of this, I need to speak to some of our local aborigines.”
“You might want to talk with that fellow over there. He is an elder in the local Anangu tribe. His name is William Akuna.”
Harold walked up to the tall, slender Aborigine man.
“Good morning, Sir. I understand that your name is William. I would like to speak to you about certain matters of importance.” Harold began.
“We have already heard of you. You are the man with no name who appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the Outback. It was said that you came with a machine unlike anything that any of the other white men even have.”
Harold was quite surprised that word of his first appearance had spread so quickly among the Aborigines. But he needed to proceed with his plans.
”Yes, this is all true. But it is also something that the other white men must not know about. I have a great deal to accomplish here in this land. I need your peoples’ assistance in making these things happen that will benefit all people, including your own. I have come a long way to be here and have a special knowledge of what is to come.”
“What sort of special knowledge?” William asked.
Harold proceeded to tell William about several future events including the times, locations and details that no one else could possibly know. Harold had carefully researched these future astronomical and geological events from his computer database beforehand.
“I predict that all of these things will happen. But these are only a few of the secrets that I have brought with me from where I came. These special secrets, I will only share with you and your fellow aborigines. But I will need your help when I return from the other places that I must go to. When you see that I speak the truth of what I know, will you encourage your people to support me?”
“If what you claim to know of happens, we will see. But we need to know your name. We trust no one who will not reveal their own name.”
“That is fair. My name is Harold Cavill. When I return, I’m certain that I will have earned your trust by then, William.”
At that point, Harold turned and walked towards his truck parked behind the lodging house. He then got in and drove to the Port of Perth. Trading in a few more of his precious diamonds, he bought passage to Sydney. From there, Harold would travel to more than a dozen destinations over the next year and a half before returning to Australia.
In the course of this time, Harold was involved in a series of adventures as he worked to increase his wealth using the precious stones that he carried and more importantly, his knowledge of the future.
But this was still a very lonely time for Harold in spite of all of the people that he met during this travels. All that he could think about was the people that he had left behind. His only choice now was to focus on the mission that he set for himself. He needed to prevent the war that destroyed humanity in 2040.Chapter Three:

Port of Perth
Perth, Australia
December 19, 1919

Harold Cavill stepped off of the ocean liner docked at the Perth port pier. He had already radioed ahead for half a dozen trucks to be waiting on him there at the pier. He had brought back several large crates of equipment that he had purchased during his stops in England and America.

Harold also had arranged to have a significant amount of funds wired to a bank in Perth as well. After his business activities during the past year and a half, he could now afford to transport money in a far more conventional manner. Harold had constantly worried about someone stealing the millions of dollars of precious stones and metals that he had brought back from the future.

It took months to get that wealth converted into currency during his travels and secured in banks for safekeeping. At the same time, Harold looked for opportunities to build upon that wealth. He already knew that he would need every penny if he were going to succeed in changing the future. With his knowledge of the future, Harold was able to increase his wealth by nearly an order of magnitude through a series of shrewd investments. Of course, no one but Harold knew exactly how wealthy he had become. Harold had scattered his funds over more than a dozen banks, some under false identities. But he had access to it all.

Even before he had returned to Australia, he had hired several teams of people to prospect on land that he had purchased through agents. Harold already knew that they would find rich deposits of valuable minerals at these locations because of the information on his portable computer’s database. The immediate profits from the mining only added to Harold’s rapidly growing wealth.

When Harold walked onto the pier, he was faintly surprised by who he saw there. Several aborigine men were already waiting on Harold when he stepped out onto the pier. Harold quickly saw that William Akuma was among the men waiting on him.

“Hello, William. I’m very pleased to see you here. Who are your friends?”

“They are men from my tribe and others. We are here because of what you revealed to me before you began your journey from here.”
“What do you know of me?” Harold asked, the question directed not at William, but at the other aborigine men standing there with him.
“We had heard of you already, Mister Cavill before William came to us. Many learned of you from the man who first met you in the Outback. Other tribes have recognized your knowledge of the future after they saw what you had described to William. Some of our people already have worked for you at some of your mines also. But what you are doing here is far more than merely having strong men digging holes in the ground, is it not?”
“Excellent. I have a proposition for you and any others who are willing. I need many more good workers here. I’ll most certainly pay you fairly and treat you fairly if you work for me.”
“We need to be far more than merely people for you to make money off of our sweat.”
“This is very true. I will also certainly need far more than strong backs in my mines. I will need for your people to think and create while you work on farms to grow food for us and also in new factories. You will build things in those factories that will be used here and elsewhere. For that, I will need for you to be educated as the white men are. But it will also mean many changes in your way of life. ”
“That will be difficult for some of our people. Many of your people have hunted us like animals. It will be difficult for trust to be made after that.”
“I understand. But I am very different from those white men who hunted and killed your people. If you work for me, I will not only pay you fairly. I will also build a school where your children can be taught how to read, write and other skills. I will also ensure that you are properly housed, protected and cared for. Those of your people who work for me will be equals based on their work and their knowledge.”
“Will the other white people not object to you doing this? They have laws that keep our children from going to their schools.”
“This will not be one of their state schools. This will be my school. I will hire the teachers. All that I ask is that if you want your children to be educated there, that you come to work for me. The schools will also be available for all of your people, young and old, to be educated. This will be very important for all who wish to work for me.”
“We already know that you are special because of the signs that you have shown us. But this is another sign that we did not expect. If you do as you have promised, we will do all that you ask.”
“You can depend on me to fulfill my promises to you and your people, Sir.” Harold answered.
“We have much to do then, Mister Cavill.”
“Indeed, we do, my friend.” Harold agreed.
The next day, William and more than twenty other aborigines showed up at the small office that Harold had rented in Derby. There wasn’t enough room for all of them to crowd inside, so Harold stepped outside to speak to them all together.
“I am assuming that all of you here have come to work for me. I thank you for this. We have a great deal to do here.”
“What do you need for us to do, Mister Cavill?” One of the men asked.
“First, we need to build houses for all of you and your families to live in. You will need to learn the many skills necessary to do this. I have brought in carpenters, brick masons and other skilled tradesmen from elsewhere to begin the work and to teach all of you how to perform the same tasks. We will also teach your people how to read, write and do arithmetic. But after that, I will need for each one of you to bring in at least one hundred more of your men and their families to come work for me. You will be training each of them to do your jobs and more.
Some will have to learn to farm so that everyone will be well fed. But many others will have to learn how to work in factories, build vehicles and ships of steel, even construct flying machines. I will bring in the people necessary to train your people on these new tasks.
Together, we are going to be building a new future for both our peoples. I hope that together we will be able to save our future from a great darkness that will swallow up all of our people.”
“Will there also be white men working these jobs as well? Some white men do not want to work with us.” Another man in the growing crowd asked.
“Yes, there will be. They will be judged by the same rules that you shall be, no more and no less. Anyone who causes problems will be asked to leave, white or black. I expect much from all of you. I will give much in return, of course.”
“We have heard other white men make such promises, Mister Cavill. They never kept their word unfortunately.”
“You already know that I am very different from other white men. Just as I have shown you the signs of the future, I will also keep my promises as well.”
Harold could see heads beginning to nod in agreement. At first, there were only a few, but the numbers grew until he could see that virtually everyone there had accepted Harold’s offer and promise.
Harold knew that he would be a very busy man doing all that he could to fulfill his promises. If he failed to do so, he already knew what a terrible sight that the world would look like nearly one hundred and twenty years later. History would proceed as before leading to the ultimate extinction of humanity.

Chapter Four:

Derby Aerodrome
Derby, Western Australia May 14, 1922

Harold Cavill got off the small aircraft that had just landed near Derby, Australia without much fanfare. The past two years have been extraordinarily hectic for him. Harold had been intimately involved with the search for numerous mining locations, then registering claims on them and hiring crews to work the mines. But most importantly, he had been getting acquainted with the Australia of the early nineteen-twenties. It was one thing for Harold to read about life in Australia during the time that he was in from the historical files on his portable computer. It was a totally different matter to experience it firsthand. The nation’s society, politics and economics were, in many cases, far different than what the history files on Harold’s computer had indicated. These circumstances varied dramatically from one area to another as well.

Harold’s wealth had grown exponentially from the moment that he travelled back in time to 1918. The investments and the exploitation of the mines that Harold had ‘discovered’ added substantially to the financial resources that Harold knew that he would need to change the course of history. But it still wasn’t enough. Harold had to keep building upon his financial and business empire because what he wanted to do would take every dollar that he possessed and more. A terrible war was coming and with it, the potential for the ultimate demise of all humanity. In the satchel that Harold carried were a packet of handwritten notes that contained information from his portable computer.

His database had indicated that one of the area’s diamond mining sites was located nearby. He had already established himself in the diamond mining business, including on a site that in his time was known as the Argyle Diamond Mine. In Harold’s time, everyone had heard of the massive Argyle Diamond Mine, but that site was, by far, not the only such mine in Australia. But Harold also saw something else in the Kimberley area that interested him greatly. The natural harbor formed by the King Sound would be perfect for a shipyard in his view. The high tides of the area had inhibited the use of the natural harbor an obstacle to large scale commercial use of the King Sound by shipping. Harold was already very familiar with the high tides in the area even during his timeline. But he saw that they could be quite useful in the construction and launch of newly constructed ships. Harold had quickly developed some ideas of how to make those tides work for him. This was the reason why Harold had decided upon Derby for the center of his new industrial complex.

Even with the high tides, Harold felt that he could still use the King Sound as a route to bring in the materiel that he needed. It would also serve well in other ways in the years to come.
Harold also knew that he would need to build much more than just a shipyard. A war would be coming to Australia, one way or another. If the Japanese were not defeated without the massive intervention of the Americans, then it would be highly likely that the Bomb would still be developed. Harold already knew what that would eventually lead to. New ships alone would not suffice. Harold would have to build or purchase a variety of industries that could be readily converted to war production when the time came.
This would include vehicle, engine and aircraft production. Harold would need to purchase or build foundries to refine and process the metals from the ore coming from his mines. There were no weapons production facilities in Australia, so Harold would have to build a factory for that as well. There would need to be an oil refinery to turn the crude oil from the Sumatran oil fields into useable fuels like diesel and gasoline. Harold would even need to build electric power production stations to provide the electricity needed to operate all of these new facilities as well. The growing use of electronics would also be a field where Harold would need to invest. Radio technology during the time between the First and Second World Wars was very primitive compared to the sophistication of the twenty-first century, but absolutely vital for Harold’s mission. Harold would also have to develop and produce his own radio communications and detection equipment without obviously exceeding the historical state of the art for this period.
But all of this would not come without obstacles. Even in a country as young as Australia, there were entrenched interests who had no interest in what was best for the world or even Australia, only in their own pocketbooks and prejudices. So Harold realized that he would have to use his wealth and knowledge, sometimes quite ruthlessly, in order to achieve his personal mission, regardless of the cost.
Harold told himself that he would try to be as fair as possible. But he was determined to overcome any obstacles in front of him. The fate of humanity depended on it.
Harold had already started building an infrastructure to support the industries and people that he would have to rely upon to make his vision possible. To achieve this, Harold spent millions of Australian Dollars on infrastructure, primarily around the town of Derby. He even had engineers studying the nearby May and Fitzroy Rivers as well as Doctors Creek for locations to construct dams. Harold wanted the dams for hydroelectric power production and to provide irrigation water for farming. New and larger farms would be badly needed in the area to feed the growing population working for Harold.
All of this development created a tremendous construction boom in the area. To support this activity, Harold had a narrow gauge railroad line laid down between King Sound and Derby. Harold created his own bank and used it to loan hundreds of thousands of dollars to local businessmen to build stores, places for lodging and other business enterprises. Harold also built a small hospital, a school for young children in addition to a trade school.
The trade school was oriented around adult students. There, the teachers taught basic literacy and math in addition to trade skills like welding, metal working and other mechanical skills. Harold wanted his workers to be completely prepared for whatever tasks that would be assigned to them.
Harold hired the best people that he could find to run all of this. Naturally, there was some resentment from the places where Harold did his recruiting because of all of the people that he passed over. Many of them thought that he should have hired them for one reason or another. But, Harold had his own criteria for who he selected. Still, Harold paid top dollar for the people that he hired. All Harold expected was the best efforts that they had to offer and a personal commitment to being loyal to him. A candidate had to fulfill both requirements to work for Harold. The nature of what Harold’s plan was demanded no less.

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
December 21, 1922

He saw a thin stream of smoke as the small steam locomotive pulling a line of rail cars on a narrow gauge railway running from the pier towards the town approached. Harold had the rail line constructed to move the increasing amount of materials to and from the pier as his business enterprises continued to expand. Barges and freighters were docking at the pier at least once every week now, but the visits by cargo vessels were growing in frequency with each passing week.

Harold had bought up much of the land on the peninsula just north of the town. Much of the land was either hilly or consisted of salt flats with multiple streams running through them. It was here that Harold started building his factories. One of the first things that he did was to have the railway built from the peninsula to the town as well as to the nearby pier.

Less than a month after the first rails for the railway had been laid, there were more than a thousand aborigine men living there in Derby along with many of their families. New houses were springing up all over Derby as the town began to rapidly expand. Harold brought in over a hundred experienced tradesmen from elsewhere in Australia and other countries to apprentice the aborigines and the hundreds of whites who also came to Derby seeking work.

At the same time that the houses were being built for Harold’s new workers and their families, surveyors were preparing sites for a school, a hospital, a church as well as more than a dozen future factories. Much of the focus for the industrial complexes was around the peninsula as well as the shoreline of King Sound and the nearby Derby aerodrome. Land was also being surveyed for farms on the outskirts of the town. All of this land had already been previously purchased by Harold in preparation for this development. A series of lines running from poles already marked the beginning of a local telephone network connecting the town with the various outlying industrial sites.

At the same time, more than a hundred people a month came to Derby looking for work. While many of the newcomers were aborigines, some were also white Australians. They joined Americans, Britons and others from several European countries that Harold had brought in to work for him. In the latter cases, the majority of the people that Harold had brought in were engineers or skilled tradesmen that he needed to design new products or to train the other new workers.

Unfortunately, a few of the new arrivals were less than happy about having to work with the Australian aborigines.
Billy McGuire was one such person. He had traveled to Derby from Melbourne two months earlier after hearing about the new jobs there. The big Irishman quickly found himself assisting in the construction of several buildings alongside hundreds of other men, mostly aborigines. The work was hard, but the pay was decent. At least it seemed decent to Billy until he found out how much the aborigine men were earning.
“What the hell do you mean that the Fabos are getting the same pay as the white men working here?” Billy loudly complained to one of his fellow workers while working that day building a metal structure near the new railroad spur that was also being constructed from the King Sound towards Derby.
A couple of others echoed Billy’s sentiments, directing additional verbal insults towards the aborigines who were working nearby. But not everyone felt the same way about their co-workers.
“Hey, Mate. Just leave these fellows alone. They are just doing their job, just like the rest of us.” Another one of the white workers named Simon Collins said after walking up to Billy.
“They are just darkies. They don’t deserve the same pay that we get. Look at that ugly ‘goggles’ over there.” Billy said while pointing at one of the aborigines with particularly large nostrils while continuing to insult him. “He’s got to be one of the ugliest and most stupid looking bastard that I have ever seen in my life. How can you possibly work alongside these ‘animals’?”
“Some of these MEN have been working for the boss now for over a year. From what I see, they do just as much work as we do, maybe even more.” Simon replied.
“I don’t care. No black man deserves to make as much as a white man. It’s just not proper.” Billy angrily answered back, pushing his way towards the aborigines as though he was preparing to attack.
But before he could do anything, four armed men in uniform came rushing in, breaking up the brewing fight before it could really get started. These were men armed with pistols and shotguns whose job was to be the police for the property that Harold owned. Harold paid for the training, equipment and payroll of this police force that included both whites and aborigines. Obviously someone had picked up a telephone and called the police as soon as the argument began.
The policemen then started asking questions about what happened and who started the disturbance. Billy soon found several fingers being pointed directly at him.
“Could you come with us please, Sir?” One of the aborigine policemen politely but firmly asked Billy.
At first, Billy attempted to resist. But a shotgun muzzle pointed at his face quickly convinced Billy to comply with the policeman’s request.
The policemen then marched Billy all the way to Harold’s main office in Derby. They went inside to what appeared to be an administrative office with several large file cabinets surrounding a desk in front of an interior door. The door had a name plate with Harold’s name written on a brass placard on the door.
“Sit down here and wait.” The head aborigine policeman told Billy before begin led inside Harold’s office by the latter’s assistant. Billy was less than happy when he saw that Harold’s assistant was also an aborigine.
The policemen stood there silently while Billy sat in a chair for over an hour before Harold’s assistant came out of Harold’s office and told Billy to come in.
Harold was sitting there looking down at some papers when Billy walked in. Harold’s assistant was silently standing by Harold’s desk. After a few moments, Harold looked up and spoke to the worker standing in front of him.
“I understand that you had a problem at your worksite today, Mister McGuire.” Harold flatly noted. He personally wanted to nip these problems in the bud before tensions escalated between his white and aborigine workers.
“I didn’t have any problems, Sir. I just expressed my opinion about the unfairness of the pay situation here.”
“Did you feel that you weren’t getting paid adequately?”
“I don’t like that the Abos were getting paid as much as the whites working there, Sir.”
“I pay people on the basis of their skills and their productivity, Mister. I don’t care about the color of their skin. Neither should you.”
“But they are just primitives, Sir. They can’t possibly do as good a job as a white man.” Billy said, almost pleading in tone. He already could see that Harold wasn’t going to accept Billy’s arguments.
“Mister McGuire, I have quite a few of the aborigines here who have gone to my schools, have apprenticed with the best craftsmen that I could find and have learned to do just as good of a job as any white man here. What I can’t have here are people of any color who are going to cause problems.
You can pick up your pay on the way out. I will pay you up to the end of the week. But I want you out of here immediately. If you come back or try to cause any more problems, I will have you arrested, put into jail and sent out in irons on the first boat out of Derby. Do I make myself clear, Mister McGuire?” Harold said while looking Billy squarely in the eye.
Harold’s tone left no question as to his determination either.
Utterly dejected, there was nothing more for Billy McGuire to do but to quietly turn around and skulk out of Harold’s office, followed by Harold’s assistant, Thomas. A few moments later, the assistant walked back in and closed the door.
“Mister McGuire is on his way out, Sir. He’s been paid and given a ticket for passage on the next freighter going out.” Thomas told Harold.
“Please have our police keep a close eye on Mister McGuire until he actually gets on that boat, just to be safe.
I hate losing another trained worker, but this is the third incident like this in the last two months. I have to fight to keep tensions down somehow. The work that we are doing here is far too important to allow petty, ignorant racists like Mister McGuire to destroy the teamwork necessary.
Our aborigines have had a few problems themselves with some of their people being unwilling to learn their jobs or working with the whites. But the tribal leaders are dealing with these issues internally. In any event, I badly need for both groups to learn to work together. I am hopeful though that people like Billy McGuire will very soon be the exception, rather than the rule.” Harold noted.
“I hope so too.” Thomas replied.

Chapter Five:

Nationalist Party Headquarters Sydney, Australia
February 19, 1923

“How did that young fellow manage to get so wealthy in such a short period of time? He just seemed to appear out of nowhere.” Melvin Hunter asked. The National Party state organizer had been searching for more financial supporters for the party when he came across Harold’s name in the newspaper.

“Howard Cavill currently owns a large number of mines in Western Australia, as you know. It seems that just about every month, he would file a claim on a site with the government, pay the necessary fees, hire a crew and begin digging. Then his crew would always strike ‘pay dirt’ without fail. These mines have been incredibly profitable for him. It is also my understanding that Mister Cavill made a tremendous amount of money in foreign stock markets over the course of less than two years. There were a few news reports of Australian and British government officials having suspicions of improprieties in Mister Cavill’s business dealings. But no one was able to prove anything. The stories went away almost as quickly as they appeared.” Nigel Toland replied. Nigel was one of the party’s senior officials who had been involved in politics since before the turn of the century.

“Maybe he bought the newspapers too, Mate?”

“Maybe he did. I don’t know. But whatever else he is doing, Mister Cavill is making a lot of money and hiring a lot of people to work for him.”
“How much is he worth?”
“I have heard that he has well over one hundred million Australian Dollars in personal assets. Someone with that much wealth, can certainly wield tremendous power, if he wishes.”
“It seems that he wants to become an industrialist now. I understand that he is constructing several factories in the Western Territories near a town named Derby.”
“What could he possibly manufacture out there and for whom? There’s hardly any people living there.”
“I don’t know for sure what is happening there. But I have received reports that several large steamers have unloaded heavy equipment there at Derby in addition to whole shiploads of lumber imported from French Indochina that is being used to build houses and other structures. There have been significant numbers of Aborigines moving there from elsewhere in the territories. He has also been bringing in skilled Americans, Britons and possibly even Germans to set up the factories.”
“I have heard the same reports. At least he hasn’t tried to bring in any Asians. He has to be aware of our laws restricting who can come here.
In any event, all of this activity has meant that the town has more than tripled in size from what I understand. What the bloody hell is that man up to? He’s already one of the wealthiest men in all of Australia.”
“I don’t know about that. But I do know one thing for certain. Our Mister Cavill does not like socialists of any sort.”
“Why do you say that?” Nigel asked.
“Because someone from the local Labor Party office went to visit Mister Cavill to try to enlist his support. Apparently, he thought that because Cavill was hiring aborigines to work for him, that Cavill would be inclined to support liberal politicians. Cavill called him a ‘damned Bolshevik’ and had his personal armed policemen run the Labor Party man out of town at gunpoint.”
“So you think that his political views are conservative?”
“I’m not sure yet. He hasn’t taken a public stance although he may have contributed some money to certain conservative-leaning candidates, especially ones who were particularly keen on increasing our military spending.”
“Maybe if someone would use the right approach while approaching him, Mister Cavill might be convinced to be a little more flexible.”
“Perhaps we will send someone to talk to him in the future. We can always use someone with wealth on our political side. He can help us pay the bills around here.” Howard noted with a smile.

Lipshitz’ Kosher Shop Sydney, Australia February 28, 1923

Harold had started his work here in this old-new history with certain ideas that were at the time of his arrival very clearly defined. First, he needed to legally acquire as much wealth as possible in a short period of time so that he could begin the process of changing certain historical events. His ultimate goal was to prevent the detonation of thousands of nuclear weapons in the year 2040 and to therefore save humanity’s future.

But Harold still did not know exactly how he was going to be able to accomplish this, even with all of the wealth that he would soon possess. Yes, he was already building industries that will help Australia when the Second World War began sixteen years in the future. But what about all of the other possibilities? Could the world be changed for the better if just one man died, one of the evil ones like Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin or Mao Tse Tung? Harold had pondered the question along with many other subjects ever since arriving in 1918 from the devastated world of 2040. ‘What would Judith have done?’ Harold often asked himself.

Harold was thinking about his late wife Judith once again and how she would have changed the world when he encountered an older man wearing a dark coat and trousers in addition to a yarmulke at a local kosher shop during a business visit to Sydney. It was obvious from the little cap and the rest of his attire, that the man was Jewish, just as Judith had been. Harold still liked to eat kosher food, so he frequently shopped at that shop. While looking for a few particular items of food to purchase, Harold decided to start a conversation with the older Jewish man.

“Hello, Sir. How are you doing today? My name is Harold.”

“Good day to you, Sir. My name is Ezekiel.” The older man said while standing in line next to

Harold.
“What do you do around here, Ezekiel?”
“I work as a physician here in the community. I have seen you shopping here before, but never
attending synagogue. We have a very small Jewish community here, I’m afraid. But that also means that I know all of the Jews in our area. Are you Jewish?”

“No, Sir. I am a Christian. I do visit Sydney for business from time to time. But I live in Western Australia now. My late wife Judith was Jewish however. I still like to eat kosher foods, partly in honor of her and partly because I like that kosher food is prepared with great care. The quality of the food that I eat is very important to me.”

“That is very thoughtful, Harold. What happened to your wife, may I ask?” Ezekiel asked with a note of compassion in his voice.
“She died unexpectedly some years ago. But she saved many innocent lives at the same time through her sacrifice.” Harold replied. He didn’t want to reveal that Judith had died in a terrorist attack while visiting her hometown of Tel Aviv in Israel. This was because her death wouldn’t actually happen for more than a hundred years in a nation that didn’t even exist yet. Even so, the pain of her loss continued to haunt Harold.
“You must be very proud of her. I am sure that God is now protecting her in His loving arms. I have lost loved ones also, more than I can count, I am sad to say. I hope that I will be able to return to my peoples’ homeland before I do to meet my heavenly Father.”
“Where is that?” Harold asked.
“I was born in Russia, but the place that I am speaking of going home to is the ancient lands of Judea and Samaria. This is now under the control of the British in the land that they call Palestine. The British and the French promised that our land would be returned to us after the war. But we have seen little progress, especially with the Arabs creating such violent resistance out there.
I have long dreamed of our people returning to our true home in the Promised Land and living our lives as Jews without being subject to the cruel whims of our enemies. But alas, for Israel and the Jewish people to return home, it will take a miracle from God or a horrible tragedy, perhaps even both, I’m afraid.
There are many people in the West who politely say nothing unkind in public about the Jewish people. But in private, these same people are no less hateful of the Jewish people than the people who wish us to be wiped from the face of the Earth. This includes many very influential people in the West who still wear the veneer of civility like a cloak and hat.
I fear that something terrible will have to happen to my people to shame the West enough to force those quiet bigots to relinquish their objections to the Jewish people returning to their ancestral home in Judea and Samaria. We need a place where Jews can once again control their own destiny and worship God exactly as Abraham and Moses ordained. The only place that can truly be home for us is the land that the God of Abraham, the one true God, gave to the Jewish people so long ago.” The old Jewish doctor sadly explained.
It was at that point that Harold relinquished any thoughts of having Hitler assassinated as part of his plan to reshape the future. He realized that act would not serve to change the world that he wanted, nor would it have helped save his beloved Judith. He understood that for Israel to come to exist, Hitler must also exist to play his role, at least for a while. Hitler was not the only person who slaughtered the Jews during that period either. Josef Stalin had killed many as well and had planned his own ‘Final Solution’ for the Jews also.
Only after the horrors of the Holocaust had begun, could the shame of what had been allowed happen move the West into endorsing the creation of the State of Israel. Harold would certainly try to find a way to mitigate the death toll of Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’. But Hitler’s death prior to the beginning of the Second World War would not have stopped it. Harold already knew from historical records that Josef Stalin had planned a similar fate for the Jewish people, but had been prevented by Stalin’s own death a few years after the end of the war.
“Ezekiel, I hope that you will get a chance to go back to the Holy Lands. I am sure that within a generation or two, the Promised Land will be returned to its rightful owners. The one true God is always faithful to His promises to the children of Abraham.”
“I pray that you are right, Harold. My people have been waiting to return from the Diaspora for more than a thousand years.”
Harold quietly nodded in agreement as he continued his shopping. What Harold had learned from Ezekiel would certainly influence his views about the means that Harold would use in changing that particular aspect of history. Harold felt that he owned that to the memory of Judith and the country where she was both born and died.
Besides, Josef Stalin and Mao Tse Tung killed even more people than Adolf Hitler. It would do well for humanity to prematurely end the reign of terror and death that these two monsters of Marxism inflicted upon the world. Harold was confident that Hitler would be dealt with as well at the appropriate time, hopefully before the Holocaust took as brutal a death toll as was the case in the original timeline.

Derby Township
Western Territories, Australia March 17, 1923

Harold was looking over a pile of invoices and other documents on his desk when his aborigine assistant Thomas knocked on Harold’s office door.
“Sir, I have a Mister Allen Summersby here who wants to speak with you. He says that he is from Sydney and represents the Federal government.
“Does he have credentials, Thomas?” Harold asked. There had been a couple of incidents earlier where confidence men came to him attempting to obtain money under the auspices of being government representatives. The fraudsters found themselves behind bars after their ruses were quickly uncovered by Harold and his people.
“Yes, Sir. He has papers that say that he works for the Federals. The papers do appear to have all of the correct stamps and markings.”
“Send him in then, please.”
A well-dressed portly white man with a grey beard and thinning hair walked into Harold’s office.
“Please take a seat, Mister Summersby. How may I help you?” Harold politely asked.
“I’ve come from the Government House in Sydney to have a little chat with you at the behest of the State government there.”
“I am always happy to talk with our government officials.” Harold responded, not truly pleased about this man’s visit. Unless they wanted to buy some from his factories, politicians, past, present or future, always seemed to be more interested in unnecessary meddling or asking for money than anything else.
“Mister Cavill, may I ask you what you are doing with the Aborigines?” The politician from Sydney asked pointedly.
“I am employing them to work in my mines and other business concerns, Sir.”
“I know of this. But what about this school and the hospital that you have built for them to use? Are you afraid of what they might lead to?”
“What about them? The school, hospital, even the church are good business decisions for me. I need more than just strong backs to do physical labor at my companies. I need workers who can think and make good decisions. When I teach them how to read, write and other skills, these people are of far greater use to me. If they are kept healthy, their productivity is much higher as well. As far as the church goes, wouldn’t you agree that when the aborigines learn about the Good News of Jesus Christ that they will be far more peaceful and less likely to resort to alcohol or other intoxicants?”
“Maybe. But aren’t you worried that these primitives will become violent towards you and the whites that are in your employ? Some of these tribes have been very rebellious in the past, you know.”
“Not in the least. The aborigines that work for me are very dedicated to their work and are quite peaceful. If you treat people with respect, compensate them properly and give them all of the tools that they need to do the job, they will do what you need for them to do for you. They are also not nearly as primitive as you might think.”
“I don’t know, Mister Cavill. A lot of the Abos still live out there in caves and huts, don’t they? Most of them have no clue about how to read or write English either.”
“The aborigines can certainly be taught all of these skills though. The results of my schools have proven this. My assistant Thomas here is an excellent example of this. He has learned to read, write and do mathematics at one of my schools. Now, he works as one of my assistants here in my main office.
I am also building homes for the aborigines to live in when they come to work for me as well. I assure you that none of my employees live in a cave any longer. Instead, I build many of my factories inside of caves to make them more comfortable and secure. Perhaps my factories make my aborigine employees feel more at home there as a result.” Harold noted with a chuckle.
“Certainly your Mister Thomas here is exceptional among the natives that you have working for you.” A still incredulous Summersby responded.
“Not at all, Mister Thomas is only one of many of the aborigines who have performed very well at my schools. How do you think that I achieve such high productivity among my workers, many of whom are aborigine?”
The politician sat there silently for a few moments pondering the question that Harold had posed to him.
“I simply want to again caution you about the aborigines. We’ve had troubles with them in the past. The government simply feels that it is vital to protect the white population in Australia from any threats.”
“On the general idea of protecting people, I would have to agree. But I want to protect all of our nation’s people from all threats, foreign and domestic. It just happens that danger isn’t simply based on the color of one’s skin. I trust the aborigines here and welcome all who want to come here and give me an honest day’s work for an honest day’s wages.
“Well, Sir. I wish you luck there. I still think that what you are doing is a fool’s errand though.” Summersby replied with a note of sarcasm.
“It is my money that I am spending though. I can do with it what I bloody well please. It is certainly far better than having them all on the dole and drunk. Don’t you agree, Sir?”
“Well, it is the white man’s duty to take care of these natives while they still exist in this modern world.”
“So you belong to the Labor Party. Don’t you, Mister Summersby?”
“I actually belong to the Nationalist Party.” The surprised politician responded.
“It happens that I have a completely different view on how the Aborigines can be best taken care of than that of the Labor Party or even many in the Nationalist Party. It is most certainly not by making the aborigines dependent on the State and our fellow taxpayers. They are not ‘children’ for condescending adults to look down upon and pat them on the head.
The aborigines were here long before we were. They should be citizens with all of the rights and responsibilities of the rest of us. The time will come when we will need them to help defend our land, mark my words.”
“Sir, it appears that you agree with us in that we must have a strong defense as well as economic freedom. I’m not so sure if everyone in any of the major parties feels quite the same way as you do about the native aborigines however.”
“It doesn’t matter what they think. I’m going to educate, care for and employ them. I know that in the past, there have been attempts by some of the European settlers to exterminate the aborigines as though they were animals. You can be sure that no such activity will be tolerated here or anywhere else that I have business interests in this nation. My employees and their families will also maintain the means to protect themselves, just in case we have any criminals or other unsavory groups who decide to prey upon my people.”
“I see. Well, I must be going back to Government House. I do hope that you will support us in our efforts to lead Australia in these trying times.” Allen Summersby said, barely able to keep a frown from showing.
“What I hope, Mister Summersby, is that you and your party will not get in the way of my work here. We all have a lot more to think about than our minor petty interests. Be assured, I am most definitely thinking of our nation’s best interests as well. So if you wouldn’t mind seeing yourself out, I have a great deal of work to do here.” Harold curtly requested.
“Very well, Mister Cavill.” The politician said before he turned and left. The expression on Mister Summersby’s face made it clear that he was not happy about the meeting’s outcome at all.
A few moments later, Thomas walked into Harold’s office.
“They just don’t seem to understand, my friend.” Harold wryly commented.
“That’s the third politician that has come here in as many months, Mister Cavill. They all ask just about the same questions too. I think that they seem to want to try to understand you since you are so much different than most white men in Australia.”
“Yes. They want to understand me in order to try to control me. They’ve each come from a different political party too. But they will not control me or any of us any longer. It will not be so very long before we control these politicians and drive their policies. We will need that control if we are going to save the world for our descendants.
We’ve already started influencing some of our nation’s political figures with the currency that they understand best; money. When we finally decide to talk to the politicians, it will completely be on our terms, not theirs.” Harold grimly commented.Chapter Six:

Derby Township
Western Territories, Australia March 19, 1923

Harold sat in the living room of the modest home that he had built in the hills on the outskirts of Derby. The house was one of several dozen others in that particular area. But Harold’s home was quite different for a variety of reasons. First, the house had been built into the side of a hill and was largely underground. Because of this, for the casual observer, it was impossible to see the actual size of Harold’s home. A couple of small wooden buildings also were constructed on the twenty-five acre property to store Harold’s automobile and other items were far more visible to the public at large. The property had been fenced with a barbed wire fence for the two horses that Harold kept in a small barn that had also been built near his home.

There was a small stream that ran through the property that Harold had placed a small dam on to create a pond for fishing. Finally, there was a windmill on top of a nearby tower. Everyone assumed that the windmill was being used to pump water out of a well. But Harold was harnessing the power of the wind for something more than that.

An electric cable ran to the house from a simple DC generator attached to the drive shaft of the windmill. The cable was buried underground so that no one outside would see it. Inside an attachment to his house, Harold had installed a set of lead-acid batteries to store the power generated by his primitive wind power turbine. The room also held the disassembled remote-control probe that Harold brought with him from the future. Harold might not have been able to immediately set up a viable AC generating system to operate the equipment that he brought back with him from the future. But he could use DC current from the lead-acid batteries to recharge the probe’s internal batteries. That, in turn, allowed Harold to use the probe’s power circuitry to provide clean power for his portable computer. Eventually, he was able to obtain more lead-acid batteries that used contemporary technology. These replaced the high-tech batteries from the probe.

Behind a wall in the study in the rear of the house, Harold build a special room that had no exterior walls. In fact, even the door to that room was concealed behind a set of bookcases. Of course, Harold refused to allow anyone access to that room for any reason. To prevent anyone from breaking in, Harold also specified that the adjoining walls to the room be heavily reinforced and a steel-lined door be installed during the design and construction of his house. But from the outside, there were no indications that there was anything special about the house beyond its location in the hillside. This hidden room is where Harold kept his portable computer and all of the other materials that he had brought back with him from the future timeline.

Harold still had no way of printing out any information from his portable computer. But at least, he could use it much more frequently now that he had sufficient power available. What Harold was forced to do was to learn the old skill of manually drafting blueprints. He bought a drafting table and the necessary drawing instruments.

Harold had to then painstakingly reproduce illustrations of equipment designs that he wanted to have produced. Harold did not have the time to do more than a small handful of blueprints each month, so he had to limit his drawings to only the most critically needed material for his engineers. He also had to leave out critical details that would reveal too much of future technology. Harold had to let the engineers that he hired fill in the gaps with their own expertise.

Harold also produced a larger number of sketches that didn’t have the detail of a technical drawing, but were very useful in conveying ideas that he had pulled out of his computer database. These sketches would be used to give a more general direction for developing concepts in Harold’s new factories as well. But Harold did not limit his work to merely benefiting himself.

In the town, Harold had set up a steam reciprocating engine connected to a second electric generator, this generator much larger and far more powerful than the wind-driven generator beside his house. It was powering the lights and other equipment in several buildings that he had built along the shoreline. The steam engine was fueled by coal brought in by barge from a nearby mine.

Harold had purchased much of the land in and around Derby very shortly after his arrival back to Australia. The excess power from this first steam generator was being sold to several businesses in town as well as some residences that were wired for electricity. But this small electrical power station would soon be eclipsed by a much larger power production facility that Harold was planning to build further south along the Fitzroy River. It would be large enough to provide power for all of Derby and along with northwest coast. But first, Harold needed to obtain some important elements for the new power plant from an unconventional source.

Derby Township
Western Territories, Australia May 14, 1923

“That is one hell of a big hole that you are digging out there by King South, Mister Cavill. What are you going to do with it? One of the local Derby residents asked while watching a pair of steam shovels digging into the ground near the shoreline.

“I am building a new shipyard. First, I plan to use it to scrap old ships. But eventually, I want to build new vessels here. Of course, this is only one of my commercial concerns that I am developing currently.” Harold quickly answered.

The heavy excavation equipment was moving large amounts of earth out of the pit. Much of the soil was being moved out into the south to create a pair of breakwaters that would also serve as additional jetties. The rest was being used to create a large earthen berm around the caisson pit. The interior of the pit was already over two-hundred and sixty meters in length. Based on the location of the berms being built, the width of the caisson would be at least fifty meters.

“Well, it looks like you could put an entire bloody battleship inside of there, maybe even two of them. Are you planning to build one, Mister Cavill?” Clive O’Connor jokingly asked.
Harold laughed out loud.
“Of course not. Who would sell me big enough guns to properly outfit a battleship anyway? But it might be good business to be able to dismantle old warships with all of the disarmament treaties going on. They will have lots of good quality steel to melt down for other businesses to purchase.”
“I see that you have begun construction of several industrial facilities here as well. Will they be the recipients of the salvaged steel from the ships that you scrap, Sir?”
“Some of them may be. But I have not finalized all of my plans just yet, especially not the ones that I wish to keep confidential. I can’t be revealing important details that could find their way to my competitors, now can I?”
“No worries. I was just curious.”
“Of course, this is only the first excavation here. I want to have at least three large dry docks constructed as well so that I can build ships also. I will be able to employ thousands of people here and provide customers with modern, versatile ships to replace their antiquated vessels.”
Of course, Harold didn’t mention his ultimate goal for the shipyard that he was building. He wants to use it to build up the Royal Australian Navy in anticipation of the coming war against the Japanese Empire. But until he can get the Australian government to pay for warships and other military equipment, Harold would have to find other ways to finance his work here.
That will mean going back to his computer database and finding a few more mine locations to ‘discover’ and exploit to pay for everything that Harold is working on.
Two months later, the caisson was finally finished along with the breakwaters. All that was left now was to open the caisson to the waters of the King Sound. Harold’s workers had left a narrow piece of land intact at the mouth of the caisson to hold the water out while the rest of the excavation work continued. The caisson was only one of several excavation projects in the Derby area that Harold’s workers had been digging.
Harold stood at a safe distance away from the caisson while a demolition crew finished wiring up a detonator a few feet away from him. When they were done, they gave Harold a quick signal.
“Alight, Mates. Let’s finish the job.” Harold told everyone standing there by him.
They all took cover behind a makeshift bunker on the back side of the berm. With a nod from the demolition crew leader, Harold pushed down hard on the detonator handle. Less than a second later, a series of huge explosions rocked the narrow sliver of earth that held back the water that was now at high tide.
Large clouds of smoke and dust filled the air. At the same time, rocks and other debris showered down for nearly thirty seconds before the area finally went silent. Then a quiet rumble could be felt from the ground below. That last remaining strip of land began to finally collapse from the shock of the explosions and the tremendous force of the water at high tide.
First a trickle of water started to leak through the wall of earth. Then a few moments later, that trickle rapidly great to a flood as huge streams of water began to pour through gaps in the earth. Then with a great roar, the entire center of the earthen wall holding back the waters of the King Sound collapsed. The sides of that wall followed within a minute. The great caisson rapidly filled with water.
“OK, everyone. Great job. For now, we let the next few high tides finish the work for us.” Harold told his workers.
“What do you want us to do next, Sir?” The demolition foreman asked.
“I need for some of you to go to our excavation sites north of town to finish that job.
For now, the caisson would work as it is for the purpose of shipbreaking. But Harold was already making plans to have the sides lined with concrete and for a permanent steel and concrete lock to be built to make the caisson a real construction dry dock.
But for now, Harold has to arrange for the first occupant of this critical element of his new shipyard.

Government House Sydney, Australia January 5, 1924

“We are going to have to dispose of Australiain order to meet the Commonwealth’s obligations under the Washington Naval Treaty, I’m afraid. The Commonwealth just can’t afford to keep an obsolescent battle cruiser in commission when it would force us to exceed our treaty limits.” Rear Admiral Joseph Harper explained as he looked at a photo of the battlecruiser HMASAustraliathat was hanging on the wall in his office. He had served on the battlecruiser as a gunnery officer shortly after she had been commissioned.

“ Australia’sreally not all that old either. How do you propose that we dispose of her, Sir?” The head of the Australian Admiralty’s Plans Division, Captain Porter Jones asked.
The British already have enough of their overage capital ships allocated to be used as target ships to meet the new treaty obligations. That leaves us with only two other options. We either have to scuttle the old girl or we have to break her up for scrap. We were going to scuttleAustraliain the ocean depths,but now we have been given another option by that Harold Cavill fellow.”
“He’s that young mining magnate whose aborigine workers all seem to worship as some sort of shaman, isn’t he?”
“The very one. It appears that he is branching out into other industries as well as mining. He has proposed purchasingAustraliafrom the government and scrapping her at the shipyard facilities that he is building at Derby on the northwest coast.” The admiral noted.
“Lord knows that we need the funding that sellingAustraliawould generate. It would be a lot better than scuttling her. But would Mister Cavill be able to demilitarize that battlecruiser within the required six months?”
“He claims that he can. With what all that he has achieved after appearing out of nowhere a few years ago, I actually believe that he can.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I understand that Mister Cavill has already excavated a rather large caisson along the shoreline that could accept a vessel at least as large asAustralia. He simply dug out the hole and allowed those bloody high tides that Derby is famous for to come in and completely fill this caisson afterwards.
Our wealthy friend intends to use a tug to shoveAustraliainside the caisson, close off the coastal opening with a cofferdam, pump out the water and then start dismantling the ship. Once the turrets, armor and engines have been removed, then the treaty requirements will have been met. He is also building a variety of other shipbuilding and repair facilities within the same area as well.”
“Where did you get the information on Cavill’s new shipyard, Sir?”
“There have been a few disgruntled workers who had been working for Cavill that have provided my people with some very interesting information about his operations. I suppose that these former workers didn’t like that Cavill had been so accommodating to the aborigines. I have learned that he not only pays the aborigines the same wages for the same work as he does for whites, but that he has built a series of private schools and hospitals for the aborigines as well for anyone else who works for him.
If Cavill wasn’t so hawkish about national defense, the folks from liberal side of the aisle would probably put him up for Prime Minister. They have always been very supportive of such progressive social ideas.”
“What do you mean, Sir?”
“Somehow, I think that Mister Cavill is interested in playing politics, at least not the sort of politics that you and I are familiar with. In fact, he has actively disinvited any of the local socialists, much less anyone with any Bolshevik leanings. He is certainly not giving his money away to the Aborigines or anyone else there. He is most definitely expecting everyone to work for their money. Anyone who is not willing to work is on their own, it seems. Whatever he is, capitalist or socialist, Harold Cavill is a very strange fellow indeed.”
“Yes. From what you are saying, Sir, it certainly appears to be the case.” The captain replied.
“But Mister Cavill is also damned wealthy at the moment. So he can’t be ignored either.”
“So are we going to sell himAustraliato scrap, Sir?”
“I’m afraid that we don’t have much of a choice. It’s either sell that obsolete battlecruiser to Cavill to send to the breakers and make a little money or spend money that we can ill afford to spend to sink her ourselves.”
“When is it going to happen?”
“The agreement is going to be signed tomorrow. Mister Cavill’s people are already at the naval base waiting to escortAustraliato his facilities at King Sound the following day.”
“That’s very quick, Sir.”
“Apparently, Harold Cavill does not like to waste any time.” The Admiral said before preparing to leave his office for the day, preceded by Captain Jones. Neither of them were very happy. But they did not have any alternatives at this point either.

Sydney Harbor Sydney, Australia March 17, 1924

HMS Hood, the largest battlecruiser in the world, sat at anchor in Sydney Harbor during a part of its world tour from west to east. Her crew lined the decks while thousands of civilian onlookers watched from a nearby pier. Not far from her was also anchored HMASAustralia, the Australian Navy’s sole capital ship.

“Isn’t that one incredible sight, Mate? What a beautiful ship, that Hoodis. There is nothing else in the world like her. There’s a special magic in the name ‘battlecruiser’, I have to admit. It gives off a feeling of power and glory whenever you hear it.” Eric Portsmouth said as he watched from a nearby pier.

“It’s a bloody shame that we have had to break up the one battlecruiser that we had in our navy. I knew a few mates who had sailed on HMASAustralia. The officers onboard may have been asses, but the crew still loved their ship.” His friend Simon Kirk replied.

“You know what they said in the newspapers. If we hadn’t sent Australiato Mister Cavill’s ship breakers,Hoodhere would be escorting her out to deep water to be scuttled. That would have been a terrible fate for the old girl. Maybe this way, the steel fromAustralia’shull might end up being part of a new and better warship for our navy.”

“You know, that Mister Cavill is hiring a lot of people to work for him out there. Most of the work is out in the Western Territories, but he has bought mines and businesses elsewhere in Australia too. Have you ever considered working for him?”

“Working with all those primitives? I’m not so sure about that. I heard that there are thousands of aborigines moving from half the country to the Western Territories to work for him. That just sounds like trouble to me.”

“I don’t care who I would be working with, mate. If Mister Cavill’s money is good, the work is reasonable and the people that I have to work alongside are decent.”
“Are you going to go work for him?”
“I think so, mate. There are damned few decent jobs left around here outside of what he is offering.”
“Good luck to you then. At least,Australiawill still get a decent sendoff. I heard thatHoodwill be escorting her on her final voyage to the breakers.”
“I suppose that soon, I will be joining her. Not to the breakers, of course. But to where she is going in Western Australia to be dismantled.” Simon responded as he stared out towards the ocean towards the two battlecruisers.

King Sound
Derby, Western Australia March 24, 1924

It was near high tide when the three tugs pushed the retired battlecruiser HMAS Australiainto King Sound towards the entrance of Harold’s newly excavated caisson. HMSHoodhad just turned back seaward towards her next leg of its world tour after she had escortedAustraliato the mouth of King Sound. Harold watched from the nearby pier asHood’solder and much smaller predecessor was slowly maneuvered towards what everyone thought would be its final destination. All but a tiny remnant of Australia’screw remained on board to help steer the old battle cruiser. The rest had been evacuated by small boats to another Australian Navy ship lying offshore.

“They’ll have to move quickly to get that bloody big ship in before the tide goes back out.” One of Harold’s aborigine workers standing nearby said.
“I’m sure that they know their business. We will have to work fast ourselves to get the hull blocks in place and to get the earthen cofferdam set up as well. Then we have to get the heavy cranes moved to the top of the berm and anchored down. That will be no easy task either.”
“No worries, Mister Cavill. We’ll get the job done for you.”
“I’m sure that you will, Freddie.”
“You know, I had hoped thatAustraliawould not be the only ship occupying this caisson. There were a pair of incomplete German battle cruisers left over from the Great War that we could have done so much with,MackensenandGraf Spee. Unfortunately, both ships were already at the breakers of KielNordmole by the time that I had sufficient resources to potentially purchase them.”
“We would have gotten a lot of good steel out of those two ships, I would imagine.”
“Yes, we would have. Of course, we have a lot of work to do here. I want to turn this caisson into a true dry dock, fully concrete-lined and ready to handle the largest ships in existence.”
“That will take a lot of concrete, Mister Cavill.”
“Yes, it will. That is why one of the factories that I will build here will be a concrete plant. We will be able to make all of the concrete that we need for the many projects that I want to create here. What I build here, I want to last for a long time.”

King Sound
Derby, Western Australia September 22, 1924

Harold stood from the berm beside of the earthen caisson and looked over the hull that had been the battlecruiser HMASAustralia. His workers had worked night and day to strip her main turrets, the associated barbette structures, the ship’s steam engines and even the heavy belt armor that protected the warship’s hull. A pair of heavy cranes had to be brought in to lift the turrets and barbettes out of the caisson. Harold did not want to have them cut apart first, but removed intact. But in the end, some disassembly of the turrets and barbettes was required. But nothing was done to them that could not be reversed. Harold had other plans for them.

Harold then had hundreds of photos taken to prove that the obsolete warship had been thoroughly demilitarized. This was needed to show that Australia was complying with the requirements of the Washington naval disarmament treaty. The steel from the guns, turrets and armor would be eventually going to a foundry that Harold had recently purchased according to the documents that Harold provided to the Australian government. The recycled steel would then be recycled for other purposes.

Many of the documents intentionally misstated where the dismantled battle cruiser’s guns, turrets and barbettes would be going. Harold had some of his most trusted workers load these items onto flatbed rail cars. The battle cruiser’s main weapons were taken in the middle of the night to a site near the tip of the peninsula north of Derby where all access to the public had been blocked off by a series of fences. Harold did not tell anyone why he had not dismantled the old battlecruiser’s main armament any further.

What Australian government officials also didn’t know was that Harold had no plans on further dismantling the battlecruiser’s hull. While several thousand tons of steel was removed from the warship’s hull and sent to the smelters, much of that being her main armor belt and superstructure, the rest of the ship remained in the caisson. Harold also had something else in mind for it as well as for vessel’s steam boilers and turbines. But the empty hulk would have to sit idle in the caisson for a few years before he would resume working on it. Until then, he already had plans for the area around the caisson to keep his work there unobserved.

“Mister Cavill, the ship has arrived with the cargo that you asked for.” One of Harold’s aborigine team leaders informed him.
“Thank you, Johnny. Please assemble a crew to unload the ship. Get every truck that we have over there to bring the cargo here. We have a lot of planting to do.”
Within a few hours, hundreds of young saplings had been delivered along the sides of the earthen caisson. Over the course of the next week, the saplings would be planted all along the edges of the caisson, even on the cofferdam that held out the water from King Sound. These trees would grow large enough within a few years to conceal the battlecruiser’s gutted hull from the view of outsiders. But people simply assumed that the rest of the hull would eventually be dismantled too. Later, large camouflage nets on poles would be hoisted over the hull to further conceal the retired warship’s eventual reconstruction into something far more powerful than a mere battlecruiser.
In the two years after that, the caisson was gradually enlarged and lined with concrete. Pumps were installed to pump water in and out while a set of steel gates were installed to take the place of the temporary cofferdam holding out the waters of King Sound.
At the same time, Harold’s new concrete plant was also sending tens of thousands of tons of concrete not only to the excavation site on the peninsula, but also to the shipyard, the hillside tunneling and many other construction projects in the area.
“I imagine that you would have never thought that I would be doing all of this when you first met me in the Outback some six years ago, Johnny.” Harold told the tall aborigine before the latter left to gather the work crew.
“No, Sir. I wouldn’t have. But I could tell from the beginning that you were not only a good man but that there was something special about you. I am very pleased to see that I was right.”
“I just hope that I will be able to save this world from the terrible fate that my first world suffered.” Harold quietly replied before turning away himself to go back to his office.

Chapter Seven:

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
October 1, 1924

“I’ve hired an American to come here to help run the yard. His name is Alexander Portman. He will be ideal for what I have in mind. He has a degree in mechanical engineering from their Ohio State University as well as having been trained as a naval architect at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. My understanding of Mister Portman is that he is not only well educated but also has a very hands-on approach to his work.”

“When will he be arriving, Mister Cavill?” Eric Hanford, Harold’s latest hire from England, asked. “He is on a liner in route to Australia as we speak. He should be arriving here within the next month. Obviously, we will need decent housing for him when he arrives, Johnny.” Harold said while turning for a moment to his aborigine assistant before continuing his conversation with Eric.
“I will also be hiring perhaps several hundred more Americans and bringing them here as well in the next few months. We badly need the skilled work force for my projects. They will also help teaching our aborigines many useful skills for the shipyard and factories that I am building.”
“No one would have imagined the aborigines doing half of what you have them doing already. So I should not be surprised that you plan on them building ships in the near future.”
“The aborigines will be doing a hell of a lot more than that before I am done here. Mind you, I am not favoring them over anyone else. If you want to advance here, then you work hard and work smart, regardless of the color of your skin or where you came from.
I also expect loyalty from my employees as well. People who work for me, put in their best efforts and are loyal to me will be well rewarded. I will also show the same degree of loyalty to them as well. I will not allow anyone to treat any of my employees and their families unfairly. I can promise you that.”
“That’s very good to hear, Mister Cavill. From what I have already seen, you are a man of your word.”
“Thank you. That is truly important to me to have people be able to trust in my word.”
“Eric, I will need for you to run my new factory to produce firearms and other larger military ordnance. We really don’t have anything much in Australia to produce our own weapons. But I’m sure that our people would rather purchase from home rather than importing guns from overseas if they can. Of course, we would have to build quality products for our customers.”
“That’s quite a big task, Mister Cavill, especially for someone who has never built or managed a firearms factory.”
“A firearm, whether it is a pistol or a howitzer, is simply a tool. You create blueprints, manufacture and assemble firearms before testing and confirming that the device does what you need it to do. You have the expertise in the particulars of producing small arms and cannon that I do not specifically have. Now, I will give you the support that you need as long as you produce the results that I need.”
“Fair enough, Sir. I’ll get the job done.”
“Very good, Eric. I will warn you that I will be coming to you from time to time with some new ideas. I will want you to translate them into practical, working weapons in a relatively short time. But I will not ask you to do anything that I don’t already know is feasible.”
Eric started to worry that his new employer was going to meddle with this new factory of his. Little did Eric know that Harold not only knew what would work, he had actually seen it work in a world that was much more technologically advanced than the one that Eric was familiar with. So, for Harold, it was simply a matter of nudging Eric in the right direction.

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
November 5, 1924

Harold was waiting in front of his office when the truck carrying his new shipyard manager drove up. A short, stocky man in his late thirties with close-cropped brown hair got out of the passenger side and walked up. Harold immediately walked up and shook the newcomer’s hand as one of Harold’s clerks began to remove the latter’s baggage from the back of the truck.

“Good morning, Mister Portman. I trust that your trip here was not terribly arduous?” Harold politely asked.
“No, Sir. The liner that brought me to Melbourne was quite nice. The accommodations on the coastal steamer that brought me here to Derby were not nearly as luxurious, but were certainly adequate.” Alexander Portman replied.
“I’m glad. I wanted to have you flown here from Melbourne originally. Flying in would have given you the opportunity to get to work as soon as you arrived. Unfortunately, there were a number of unexpected events that prevented me from making that happen. The cargo capacity of the few aircraft that do come here was too limited to bring you and all of your baggage at the same time. Also, your lodging was not yet complete. However, I was very pleased when you indicated that you were bringing some materials that you needed for your work with you. We will need all of the extra resources that we can get out here.
At least, I hope that you had the small consolation of getting to see the beautiful Australian coastline and waters during your time on that coastal steamer, Mister Portman. I will be travelling overseas myself once again in the near future, I’m afraid. I have a lot to do in England in the next couple of months. Good luck with your new projects. I think that you will find them quite challenging.”
“I’m sure that I will, Mister Cavill.”
“Please remember that all of the work that you do for me and the information that I provide you must be kept in the strictest confidence. That is why I had you sign that document prior to your hiring in which you promised not to reveal any information to outsiders.” Harold warned.
“I have absolutely no problem with that, Mister Cavill. You sound like you might be working on something for your Australian navy.”
“Not exactly, at least not yet. But I do expect to be doing military work at my shipyard in the future. Who the customers will be, has yet to be determined. I do hope that the Australian Admiralty does choose to purchase ships produced here over those built overseas however.”
“Do you have any particular designs that you want to start to produce, Mister Cavill?”
“I don’t plan on doing direct copies of any existing designs. I will be providing you with basic parameters for the ships that I do want to build. Your job will include designing and constructing ships that meet those parameters.
I will try not to interfere with your work. However, I will periodically make suggestions on design features to fine-tune the ships that will be built at my shipyards. I think that you will find that I am very knowledgeable in a variety of technical fields. Will you have any problems with my way of doing things, Mister Portman?”
Alex thought for a few moments before answering. No good engineer likes it when someone over him begins to do what appears to be meddling with the engineer’s designs. It would be like saying that they didn’t trust in his judgement. However, Alex had to give his new employer the benefit of the doubt. Harold certainly appeared to be extraordinarily knowledgeable about technical affairs during his interview of Alex.
“Sir, you are the boss. I’ll do whatever you ask me to do as long as you don’t mind if I disagree with you on occasion. If I have a problem, I will tell it to you directly.”
“That’s fair enough, Mister Portman. But if you do choose to express a differing opinion about one of my suggestions, I will expect you to be able to back it up with some solid facts. I don’t mind being told that I am wrong as long as the person is being respectful in their presentation and can show me how they can do things better. We all want the same thing here. The best product possible for the customer while still turning a profit for my company.”
“Thank you, Sir. I think that we will work out just fine then.”

Billy Hughes’ Office. Sydney, Australia January 4, 1925

Harold had spent the last week on a coastal freighter to travel to Sydney. There were a variety of places that he needed to go for business purposes. But there was one specific person that Harold needed to meet. Billy Hughes had served only a few years earlier as Australia’s Prime Minister. He had also played a key role representing Australia during the Versailles Treaty negotiations. Not everyone loved Billy Hughes, but most certainly respected his determination to ensure that Australia’s interests were fully represented.

Even after Billy left the Prime Minister’s office under less than happy conditions, he still had a certain degree of influence. Harold discovered from his research of the historical files on his portable computer. If there was one man in Australia who would see things Harold’s way and had the connections to help Harold accomplish his goals, Billy Hughes was that man.

But would Minister Hughes be willing to cooperate? Those same historical records showed that he could be very difficult to get along with, even under the best of circumstances.
Harold was about to find out as he stepped up to the office front door, knocked and was eventually let in.
The short man with the deeply lined face and short chopped-off mustache was looking at some papers on his desk. When his assistant ushered Harold in.
“Good afternoon, Sir. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. What would you like to talk with me about, Mister Cavill?”
“Thank you for seeing me, Minister Hughes. I had some business in Sydney and thought that I would come have a chat with you while I was here. I know that you recently stepped down as Prime Minister, Sir. But you still have considerable influence in many circles here. I am hopeful that we can come to an agreement for a mutually beneficial relationship.”
“Earle Page has always hated me and pushed me out at the first opportunity. But he doesn’t have a clue about what Australia needs. But you are right. I do still have some measure of influence even if some people think that I am a socialist.
I remember that you are the fellow who bought our old battlecruiser for scrapping at a new shipyard that you built. Scrapping was probably a better fate than what was otherwise planned for the old girl. Just takingAustraliaout to the ocean and scuttling her truly felt like a waste to me. Still, what makes you think that you have anything to offer to me, Mister Cavill?”
“Because I have a growing number of businesses that employ an increasing number of people. It would help me and my employees to have a political leader who looked out for their best interests as well as those of Australia. If I succeed, more Australians are employed, more revenue is generated for the government and more funds are available for defense.”
“Those are laudable goals certainly. It galled me to no end that we had to have the Americans come in to fight against the Germans in the Great War. We had good men there, but seldom enough materiel to properly equip them. The Americans had a wealth of guns and ships. But they has no understanding of the need to work together with us. They always wanted to do things their own way, under their own generals.”
“I see that you are not very fond of the Americans, are you Sir?”
“Not particularly. While the Americans did finally enter the war with enough troops to turn the tide of battle, their leadership left much to be desired. This was especially true of their political leadership.
That leftist Wilson failed to understand that you have to put down militarists like the Germans hard so that they will never attack their neighbors again. I told that fool that we needed to bankrupt Germany for an entire century so that they would be unable to cause any more trouble in Europe. But he completely ignored me.”
Harold didn’t say anything to disagree with Minister Hughes because history had consistently said that the harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty led to a catastrophic collapse of the German economy. That, in turn, created the conditions for the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. What Billy Hughes demanded as Prime Minister during those peace talks were for every greater economic penalties against Germany.
But the ‘Little Digger’ would be a very useful ally in Harold’s mission if Hughes could only be convinced to provide Harold with badly needed political support. It wouldn’t do to start an argument with him about the Versailles Treaty obviously. So Harold continued on without disagreement.
“I understand that, Sir. But Germany is not the only nation with imperial ambitions in this world.”
“Quite correct, Mister Cavill. I worry quite a bit about the Japanese now. They took possession of several of the former German possessions in the Southwest Pacific over my strong objections. I also believe that they desire to acquire additional territory as well by any means necessary.”
“I worry about them too, Minister Hughes. Perhaps, we can help each other protect our nation against the threat of the Japanese or from anyone else who arises.”
“What exactly are you driving at, Mister Cavill?”
“I know that you favor a strong Australian military force to protect us. So do I. Let’s work together to achieve that end. I am pouring virtually all of my resources towards that end, in fact.”
“Yes, but I don’t need some youngster to tell me all of this. There are already too many wealthy people who have come to me trying to buy influence by telling me about all of the money that they pay in taxes.” Hughes growled.
For a moment, Harold was taken aback by Hughes’ sudden irritability. Then he noticed the old politician holding his stomach for a moment.
“You’ll have to excuse me. I need to take some bicarbonate. The doctors say that I suffer from something that they call dyspepsia. So they tell me that I must eat nothing but bland foods and drink no alcohol. How can a decent Australian bloke not be able to have a drink?” An obviously uncomfortable Hughes said as he reached into his desk for a small box of powder. Then he got up and poured himself a glass of water that he placed a couple of spoons full of powder into before drinking the water.
“I understand, Minister Hughes. Besides, I’m not really talking about the taxes that I pay. I’m actually referring to the investments in factories and other businesses that are creating jobs for our people. These are factories that can easily be converted to building the weapons that our troops will need in wartime. In fact, I have had to resort to unusual methods to find enough people to work for me.” Harold answered while trying to lower the tensions.
“I have heard about that. You have had to resort to hiring Abos even. There are some people who are very unhappy about that. At least, you haven’t tried to import any Asians or Africans here to work for you.”
“I have been hiring many Australians from all over our nation as well as talented workers from elsewhere. The current immigration laws here prevent me from bringing in Asians and Africans anyway. But in any event, I am training everyone who comes to work for me in a variety of industrial skills. That includes my aborigine workers.”
Minister Hughes looked with a critical squint in his eyes at Harold.
“I suppose that what you are doing is better than having the Abos drunk and on the dole. There are certainly people in the Country-Nationalist coalition who would like the aborigine problem solved very much, especially with our nation’s current fiscal situation.”
“Well, Sir. The solution that I have adopted has been working well so far. Provide them with work, treat them decently with respect and finally, to give them a purpose. The jobs are important, but all of my measures together, including bringing in Christian missionaries to work with the aborigines directly, have proven to be effective.”
“I’m glad that they are working for you, Mister Cavill. I will try to give you what support that I can as well. If we ever go back to war, Australia will certainly need your factories to produce weapons for our soldiers and sailors. I would be a fool not to help you maintain that capability. We can never sure if England or America will be ready to supply our needs in times of crisis.”
“I will do whatever I can to help protect Australia. You can be certain of that, Minister Hughes.” Harold firmly assured the former Prime Minister before leaving to return to Derby.
Of course, Harold already knew that war was coming, when and with whom Australia would be in conflict with. But simply having the possible support of a former Australian Prime Minister was not going to be enough. Billy Hughes would do whatever was necessary to improve Australia’s national security, but he was still a controversial figure who had powerful political enemies.
“Minister Hughes, are you familiar with the militias in Switzerland?” Harold asked.
“I’m afraid not.” Billy admitted.
“The Swiss have a very large armed militia network. It consists of a pool of Swiss male citizens that have been given military training, but otherwise maintain the lives of normal citizens except during wartime. Even though the Swiss have a small full-time army, their militia gives them a significant military force when mobilized. You have to admit that it is very effective because no one has dared violate Swiss neutrality or to attack Switzerland itself for more than a century.”
“You have a point to make, Mister Cavill?” Billy pointedly asked.
“I would like to form an equivalent militia organization in Western Australia to help defend our territory from any invaders. This militia would act as an armed auxiliary to our regular armed forces. Your support in this matter would be very helpful in achieving this. I already know of several leading members of the Australian Parliament who will be submitting a bill to authorize the creation of this sort of armed militia organization. Likewise, similar legislation is being prepared for submission within the Western Australia state legislature as well.”
Harold should know about these pieces of legislation, since his campaign contributions helped the sponsors of the militia legislation get elected. Having these politicians obliged to support Harold’s activities has helped considerably during the past decade or more. However, the support of a former Prime Minister like Billy Hughes would add considerable weight to Harold’s efforts here.
“I take it that you also want my help here as well, Mister Cavill.”
“Yes, Sir. I would. It would be for the good of Australia, Minister Hughes.”
“Yes, I suppose so. You’ll have my endorsement, Mister Cavill. I will simply have to trust that you will make the best of it.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Harold said as he shook Billy’s hand before continuing. “I really must be going now, Sir. I have to make the most of my trips away from Derby, I’m afraid. Good day, Sir.”
As he left Billy’s office, Harold was already thinking about his next steps. Harold would have to develop assets and influence outside of Australia as well the indigenous ones like Billy Hughes. Because of the extensive biographical and historical information on Harold’s computer database, he already knew who he would need to approach next. It would be another controversial figure with some powerful political enemies who would later become one of the greatest wartime leaders of the twentieth century. But to visit this man and win his support, Harold would have to travel halfway around the world.Chapter Eight:

Chartwell House
Westerham, Kent, England March 11, 1925

Harold Cavill got out of the rented automobile and began to walk towards the front door of Winston Churchill’s residence. Harold had been travelling extensively for the past four weeks already and was tired. But he still had so much more to do during this trip that he couldn’t afford to stop and rest for any length of time. Unlike his usual attire of working clothes, Harold was wearing a finely tailored three-piece dark grey suit and tie with matching formal hat. For this meeting, he needed to dress the part of a wealthy businessman.

After knocking on the door, Harold stood by and waited until the door was opened by a young woman, presumably one of Churchill’s daughters.
“Good morning, Miss. I’m here to see the Master of the house. Here is my card.” Harold said while handing the young woman a business card.
She quietly excused herself and closed the door. Harold continued to stand there for a minute or two before the door opened again. This time, the person standing there was Winston Churchill himself, already dressed a pinstriped suit with coat and tie.
“Good morning, Minister Churchill. I’m Harold….” The time traveler said before Winston interrupted him with a raised hand.
“I know who are you, Mr. Cavill. There have been several recent newspaper articles written about you here in England that I have read. You are that Australian chap who seemingly came out of nowhere after the Great War and discovered those fabulously productive mines in the Outback. At the same time, you multiplied your wealth through some suspiciously profitable stock transactions in the international markets.
After all of that, you leveraged your newfound wealth into the purchase or creation of several industrial enterprises in Australia and elsewhere that have also earned you a considerable amount of additional wealth. I must say, there are many people here who would pay dearly to know how you managed to predict just where to invest your money, much less how you just happened to find those mines.
The question that I have for you at the moment is why you wish to speak with me at all. After all, I’m not exactly the most popular politician in England at the moment.” Churchill said with a critical tone in his voice.
“At the moment, this might be true, Sir. However, you have been very influential in the past and will certainly continue to be in the future. I’m sure that there are many important people here who will still listen to what you have to say. There are some projects that I have been working on that would benefit the Commonwealth significantly. I am willing to invest quite a bit of my fortune in those projects.“
“Do come in then, Mister Cavill. We can talk in private inside. Tell me of these projects of yours and how they would be so beneficial to the Commonwealth.” Churchill said with the curious raise of an eyebrow.
Harold and Churchill walked over to a small study. Once there, Winston directed Harold towards a comfortable-looking chair.
“You don’t mind if I pour myself a drink and have a cigar, do you Mister Cavill? Please do continue with your proposal.” Churchill said as he began to pour himself a glass of sherry, then light up one of his favorite Havanas.
Normally, Harold abhorred smoking, especially something as pungent as the cigar that Churchill clearly enjoyed puffing. But this meeting was extraordinarily important to the time traveler. He knew that Churchill would still have very important contacts in both the Admiralty and the office of Exchequer. His assistance would be vital in Harold’s mission to change history and prevent the destruction of mankind. So Harold chose to say nothing in objection.
Harold’s research notes on the laptop also revealed Churchill’s great interest in cutting edge ideas like tanks and naval aviation. Harold needed to appeal to Churchill’s curiosity and love of innovation.
“Well, Sir. I am looking to make more investments in the defense industries. I know that it has been over ten years since the end of the Great War. But war is never too far in the future, I’m afraid. It is the nature of men that they would seek power and to try to gain it by force. There are also people and nations out there who would seek vengeance for perceived injustices from the last war. We must make preparations to deal with all of those things.”
“Although, I would be hard pressed to see how a thoroughly humbled Germany could be a threat to anyone in this generation or the next, I can see the logic in your desires. After all, who can truly predict the future?” Churchill replied.
Harold had to fight hard to resist giving away his knowledge of the future, even with something as subtle as a change in his facial expression. He had to remain in character, a wealthy entrepreneur and patriot, seeking to benefit both the Commonwealth and his wallet.
“You are very correct, Minister. Who can truly predict the future? However, a reasonable person with some small degree of influence and foresight can make preparations for the future, whatever it might be.”
“I suppose then that you feel that you are that very sort of person.” Churchill replied with a hint of distain. He came from wealth himself, but obviously didn’t necessarily like the newly wealthy. Little did Churchill know just how wealthy James Stevenson and his family had been before the beginning humanity’s final war. But that was another time and possibly another future.
“I could be. But let’s talk about other things for now, like how the Admiralty is having some difficulties with some of its current inventory due to the politicians’ desire to reduce military spending through treaty restrictions. An example of this is the situation with the remaining fourHawkins-class large cruisers.”
“What about them? TheHawkins’still have quite a few years of life left and are powerful units.”
“Yes, they are quite powerful by the previous war’s standards. But, they are rapidly being outclassed by the large treaty cruisers being built by the Americans and Japanese. I’m sure that the French and Italians will be building treaty cruisers of their own also. TheHawkins’main armament is certainly inferior in caliber and layout to the new large treaty cruisers, putting the former at a great disadvantage. The Admiralty has already made the decision to build the much more modernCounty- class cruisers instead of continuing with more of theHawkinsas you well know.”
“We are not likely to go to war with either of those foreign navies. They were, in fact, both allies of ours during the Great War.”
“Things can change, Minister Churchill. Mind you, I doubt very seriously that we will ever go back to war against the Americans. But the Japanese have their own ambitions that could eventually clash with the British Empire. But more importantly, as we, the Americans and the Japanese lead, other navies like those of the French, Italians and perhaps someday even the Germans will follow. The Hawkinswill become much more of a liability than an asset for the Royal Navy long before they are due to be retired as overage.”
“So, Mister Cavill, what do you propose concerning theHawkinsclass ships?”
“I know already that you have a keen interest in aviation, Minister. So it would be only natural that you would favor the extension of aviation to additional naval units to increase their capabilities. I know that with one of theHawkins, a small step has already been taken towards this. HMSVindictive was modified to carry a small complement of light aircraft aboard her. However, her conversion was only a half measure of what was needed to make the vessel truly capable of supporting aircraft operations.”
“Please continue, Mister Cavill.” Churchill said, his eyes keenly focused on Harold through the ever present cloud of cigar smoke.
“The current naval disarmament treaty does not consider vessels with flight decks as aircraft carriers for a nation’s tonnage limit if the vessel has a standard displacement under ten thousand tons, does it?”
“That is true, Mister Cavill.”
“What I propose is that HMSVindictiveand her remaining sister ships be taken out of service and disarmed as cruisers under treaty rules. Then the Admiralty should construct full flight decks and aircraft hangars on the hulls of theHawkins-class ships. This would give the Royal Navy four light, fast aircraft carriers that did not count against our treaty limits. Such vessels could be the heart of a new grouping of cruisers and destroyers that can patrol much larger segments of our trade routes. The combination of carrier-borne bombers and fighters along with a cruiser’s guns would threaten even the largest warships if the latter were encountered singularly. Add a fast capital ship to one of these groups as well and you have a very powerful and versatile naval formation.
There is something else to bear in mind about this concept. The treaty tonnage for cruisers that would be freed up by the removal of theHawkins-class vessels would allow the Admiralty to construct at least five modern cruisers armed with six-inch guns to replace them. The six-inch armed cruiser is what the Admiralty favors in any event rather than the eight-inch armed treaty cruisers, isn’t it, Sir?”
“That is quite correct, Mister Cavill. The Admiralty would prefer having more hulls so as to cover far more area. I must say that your proposition does sound intriguing. Even a relatively small number of aircraft can vastly increase the amount of area that can be searched. Torpedoes and bombs deployed from those aircraft could damage and even destroy enemy warships far beyond the range of a cruiser’s or even a battleship’s guns. I like this idea very much.
But what else can you do for us in England besides talk of high-minded concepts of naval warfare, Mister Cavill?”
“As you already know, I already own a variety of mines and industrial facilities in Australia. I would like to invest up to five million Pounds Sterling here in England. I was thinking of perhaps investing in a factory for the production of efficient, reliable, high-pressure steam boilers and turbines. They could be useful in the production of electricity for civilian use or for the purposes of ship propulsion. I have similar production facilities under development near the shipyard that I own in Northern Australia.
In addition to this, if the Admiralty cannot afford to do theHawkinsconversions in British shipyards, I am certain that I would be able to do the job at a significantly lower cost at my shipyard in Australia.
That could mean the creation of thousands of jobs for the unemployed in England if I built that factory. I don’t know if the Admiralty would be willing to allow theHawkinsconversion work to be exported to Australia, although the idea of saving scarce funding would be very appealing to them, I’m certain.”
“Indeed, it would. A lot of important people would be beholding to you. Others will be quite afraid of you as well, Mister Cavill, especially those who favor the current government’s focus on public works rather than military construction.”
“I am not surprised that certain entrenched interests like the current leadership in Whitehall would oppose my initiatives, Minister Churchill. But if my proposals provide jobs for workers in England and Australia, that will silence all but the most partisan objections, of course.”
What Harold didn’t tell Churchill is that the factory that Harold wants to build will be utilizing turbine designs that are far closer to the high-pressure designs used by the American navy, than the relatively low-pressure steam propulsion plants that the larger Royal Navy warships utilized. The adoption of such ‘radical’ technology would shake much of the Royal Navy’s design philosophy to the core.
Harold was more than capable as an engineer in addition to his other talents. Of course, it helped that he had a considerable amount of technical information on naval warship engines on his computer. The technology that he had available ranged from the prewar engine designs to those built well after the end of the Second World War.
Harold still planned to be quite careful about the introduction of new technology in this timeline. But his factory in Australia was already beginning to build modern steam propulsion units for the refitting of HMASAustralianeeMelbourne. The British Admiralty may not be terribly happy about this once they find out. For that matter, the Australian Admiralty might be more than a little concerned themselves. But Harold knew that he needed to introduce any reasonable technological advantages that he could before the beginning of the Second World War.
“I think that it would be a grand idea, Mister Cavill. Besides, I know a few of those people who would be bothered by your project. I would enjoy watching their discomfort, I must admit.” Churchill said with a grand chuckle.
Harold then decided on a gamble to continue Churchill’s willingness to utilize his influence on Harold’s behalf. Harold knew that the expenses of Churchill’s lifestyle frequently exceeded his income, even accounting for the money’s that he received for his writing.
“Of course, it would be only fair that you be duly compensated for your time and efforts assisting me with my projects. I therefore offer you a monthly consultancy fee of two hundred pounds Sterling. That should easily defray any costs that you might incur during this process, Minister.”
Harold was willing to go up to five hundred pounds per month. But he saw no reason to go that far initially. He saw Churchill’s eyes stare intently at him for a moment after the offer was made.
“Of course, if I were to help you with your project, I would have to undertake additional travel and subsequent expenses. I would also incur additional expenses as I would be hosting meetings and social gatherings necessary to garner the support that you desire.”
“That is completely understandable. Let me then offer a monthly sum of three hundred pounds. I would also pay up to two hundred pounds monthly additionally for whatever expenses that you incur on my behalf. I would require expense receipts for the latter expenses for business purposes, obviously.”
Churchill thought intently for a moment, then smiled.
“Mr. Cavill, I do believe that we have an understanding. Let us drink to our new business relationship.”
Harold spent several more hours at the Churchill residence, drinking sherry and listening to Churchill’s tales of his various adventures as a young man. Then, Harold got up and prepared to leave.
“Perhaps you will come visit us down in Australia someday? I’m sure that you will find many fascinating things in our country, Minister.” Harold said with a pleasant smile.
“No. I’m afraid that I will have far too much to do here. Besides, I don’t think that I am terribly popular in your country still after that Gallipoli business during the Great War. You are certainly welcome to visit again when you are on this side of the world. However, I do appreciate the offer, nonetheless.”
Harold then took his leave and rode back to London to begin a series of investments with one of the smaller investment companies. He did not want to go to a larger brokerage house because it would draw undue attention to his activities. Harold was already alarmed by Churchill’s comments concerning what the London newspapers had written about him. Too much attention could cause people to start asking Harold some very uncomfortable questions like about his early history.
Harold needed more time, to let any lingering questions about his past drift away like smoke in the wind. But Harold still needed to continue with his work because he knew that 1939 and the beginning of the Second World War would be upon him all too quickly. The course of history needed to change to prevent the need for the atomic bomb to ever be built. Otherwise, humanity would be doomed in 2040 once again.
There had been accusations in the past that Harold had somehow bought the silence of the Australian newspapers. None of that was true at the time. But this time, Harold knew that he needed to do something to control the information coming out about him and his businesses.
So upon his return to Australia, Harold would begin the process of managing his image to the outside world. Harold decided that he would contact intermediaries who already did business with him. Those representatives would create shell companies, none of whom had Harold’s name or ownership associated with them. That way, if anyone had been able to penetrate the shell company holdings, they would then see evidence that Harold was doing this solely for the purpose of advertising his products. Those companies would then purchase several newspapers on Harold’s behalf.
The newspapers would certainly have quite a few advertisements for the various Cavill Industries products to include firearms, tractors, trucks, ships and even aircraft. Whenever one of Harold’s companies would introduce a new product, reporters from these newspapers would be assigned to cover the event and write favorable articles about them. This was a ploy that had been quietly used by several wealthy individuals in the twenty-first century.
It was made very clear to the newspapers’ editors by Cavill’s representatives that there were certain areas that were very much off limits. This included any inquiries into Harold’s background, how much wealth that he truly had or how he had obtained it as well as any specifics about the military products that he was developing.

Chartwell House
Westerham, Kent, England March 25, 1925

Harold paid Winston Churchill one more visit before departing back to Australia. Churchill was far more welcoming this time when he greeted Harold at the door than during Harold’s first visit to Churchill’s home.

“Welcome back, Mister Cavill. I have been thinking a lot about what we talked about during your previous visit here. You made a lot of very well thought-out points when we spoke before. I wish that we would have a hundred more people in our senior governmental positions who were as insightful as you are.”

“I am afraid that there are some people who would still not make the right decisions even with over one hundred years of knowledge of the coming future.” Harold silently thought before continuing aloud. “Politicians can still make all of the wrong decisions for all of the wrong reasons even with the best information possible, I’m afraid.”

The subject matter that Churchill seemed to be most interested in talking about this time was politics rather than the military. Of course, the two subjects were very often intimately intertwined by the common denominator of money and how it was to be allocated.

The two men soon sat down and resumed their discussion in Churchill’s private study. “You know, Harold. You remind me of another one of your countrymen that I met over twenty years ago. Come to think of it, he was actually born in England but made much of his early fortune mining in Australia and New Zealand before moving back to England.

His name was William Knox D’Arcy. He was into investments as well as mining. He also developed the oil fields in Persia and profited quite handsomely from it. William’s ideas about the utility of oil were one of the main reasons why the newest of the Royal Navy’s capital ships are fueled by oil rather than coal.” Churchill commented as he drank another glass of sherry and smoked his accustomed Havana cigar.

“So he was the person who caused so much enmity toward England by the Persians.” Harold silently thought to himself before asking a question.
“What happened to Mister D’Arcy?”
“He died a few years ago after making and spending several fortunes over a very colorful lifetime. William was quite prolific in his spending habits, from the large dinner parties to his many days at the racing track. From what I understand, you are quite the contrast in that matter though.”
“Mister D’Arcy sounds like he was quite an interesting character.”
“Indeed, he was.” Churchill laughed as he subsequently poured both men each a glass of sherry. Politics soon became the topic of discussion. As usual, the discussion was very lively.
“You have been involved in politics for more than twenty years now, Mister Churchill. How the hell do you manage to maintain your sanity around so many idiots in suits and wigs?”
“Everyone has their own self interests in mind when they get into politics, Mister Cavill. No one ever does it for truly altruistic reasons. Politicians usually want power, fame and respect. A minority of them simply want to use politics as a means of gaining wealth at the expense of others unfortunately.”
“I suppose that power and corruption go hand in hand in far too many cases.” Harold replied, though fully conscious of some of his own activities being potentially considered corruption in their own right. Still, he felt that he was justified in how he was using his money to influence certain politicians and get others elected who shared a certain set of priorities. After all, Harold had a world to save and would do anything to accomplish this.
“I can tell though that you are a patriot from your keen interest in the defense of the Commonwealth, Mister Cavill.”
“I am doing what I can. But those fools in my country’s liberal party would have us disarm for the sake of their vote-buying schemes of freely handing out other people’s hard-earned money to their loyal constituents. Unfortunately, the people who are largely receiving those public funds are doing very little to contribute to society as a whole.” Harold opined after a third glass of sherry.
“I’m afraid that we have exactly the same problem with the Labour party here in England as well. They would rather that we be crippled by unsustainable debt and enslaved to the next foreign dictator than to give up a single shilling of payments currently being used to finance the public dole. Granted, we were spending a tremendous amount of money on the Royal Navy. We had to find some way to stop this tremendously expensive naval arms race. But perhaps they went a little too far this time.” Churchill replied. Churchill had far more to drink than Harold, but in spite of the alcohol in his system, was amazingly still capable of holding a perfectly articulate conversation.
Harold had been working behind the political scenes in Australia to promote the election of more conservative candidates. A few thousand Pounds Sterling in the right hands had proven to be decisive in more than one campaign. But Harold had to be careful in selecting candidates to support. They had to be firmly pro-defense as well as extremely discrete. Harold did not want his assistance to become public knowledge. The Commonwealth had to be strong enough to fend off the Axis powers without requiring the historically massive American contribution or the development of the atomic bomb. The first would inevitably lead to the second.
“I’m doing what I can to try to change attitudes among the ruling classes in Australia on a number of subjects, Minister. Some of them are also all too willing to dip into the public till and come back asking for still more.”
“I do understand. No one wants to accept a little pain in their purse, even if it is the long term benefit for the nation as a whole, I’m afraid. I’ve learned that most people are simply too short-sighted to understand or even be bothered with anything that impacts them more than a week in the future. So politicians make their appeal on what they can give to their constituents today, not on what it will cost the beneficiaries a month later.” Churchill replied between sips of sherry and puffs on his cigar.
“You just have to find the right people and give them the proper incentive to see things your way. Then they can lead the rest in the appropriate direction for you.” Churchill remarked.
“I am trying to do that now. That and managing all of my various business interests are some of the most challenging elements of my life.”
“I imagine that it would be. You have a great many different interests. I don’t know if I could possibly manage so many different tasks simultaneously myself.
Incidentally, I have already started working with some of the people that I know within the Admiralty concerning your idea about theHawkins-class cruisers. I do believe that getting the Admiralty to agree to convert the cruisers into aircraft carriers is achievable. I don’t think that the Admiralty here will allow any of the conversion work to be done outside of the country, however. There is a lot of political pressure to keep our own shipyards working and the limited funds available for naval construction inside of the country. The Admiralty is also reticent about putting ‘unproven technology’ into these ships.”
That was a small blow to some of Harold’s hopes. He wanted to be able to incorporate his new high-pressure steam turbines into one or more of theHawkinsconversions to improve their performance and demonstrate the technology to the Admiralty. But he had realized already that this was a long-shot at this time.
“Perhaps the Admiralty will rethink its position after I get my new design power plant fully tested and into production? I’m absolutely certain that it will show a substantial reduction in both size and fuel consumption as well as being suitably reliable. This will be particularly important when the time comes to build replacements for the Royal Navy’s capital ships.” Harold confidently said while taking another sip of sherry.
“Well, Mister Cavill. I do hope that you are successful. Personally, I think that a substantial part of the reason why the Admiralty is not supportive of your engine designs is because they still fear any semblance of new technology not invented by their own people.”
“Winston, perhaps you can remind them that these engines will have been developed in the Commonwealth, produced in a British factory and employed thousands of British workers. I’m sure that we can convince a few members of Parliament to relay the same message as well.”
“Somehow, Harold, I think that you have already started on that process.” Churchill said with a jovial laugh.
“Well, Winston. I must be going now. My ship will be leaving shortly for the trip back to Australia. I have a great many things that I have to accomplish, I’m afraid.” Harold said with a tip of his hat before turning to walk to his waiting Hackney.
During the trip back to London, Harold saw a flight of Fairey Fox biplane fighter-bombers fly overhead. The thought that the Royal Air Force would still be flying biplane fighters at the beginning of the Second World War absolutely horrified him, especially with the spectre of the Luftwaffe and its modern aircraft very nearly defeating the RAF in the Battle of Britain. But Harold was also determined that America not be pushed into developing nuclear weapons that would eventually bring an end to humanity.
Harold spent almost four weeks onboard an ocean liner during his return trip back to Australia. He had not dared bring his portable computer with him during his travels. There was just far too great of a risk of its secrets being compromised. There was also no reliable source of electrical power anywhere outside of Harold’s home in Derby. Instead, Harold used the opportunity to document as much as possible what he saw. This included people, places and products that he witnessed during his travels. He also documented any ideas about possible technology that he could perhaps introduce relevant to the period state of the art. He wanted to compare all of these notes with the data on his computer database.
Harold did not want to dramatically disrupt the technology level of this timeline. But he strongly felt that he would need to do more than merely copy existing historical designs for the factories that he was building to manufacture. But even Harold couldn’t build entire fleet, army and an air force all by himself to defend Australia.
However, Harold wasn’t going to let anything stop him from doing everything possible to redirect events. He did not want the Americans drawn into employing desperate measures against the Japanese and Germans once again. The history files showed that had the Germans not surrendered before the atomic bomb was ready, the Americans were planning on using the bomb on Germany first, not Japan.
There had to be an alternative to the development of nuclear weapons to finish the war that Harold knew was inevitable. He just hoped that preventing the development of the Bomb would not lead to something even worse.Chapter Nine:

Cavill Industrial Site #4 Derby, Western Australia May 14, 1925

Harold stood in front of the large new building that was being constructed almost midway between his Derby shipyard and the local aerodrome. There were also nearly a dozen other large buildings in various stages of construction also going up at the same time. But those buildings only represented part of Harold’s expanding industrial complex in Derby.

Some of Harold’s new industrial plants were not being placed inside traditional buildings. What was not apparent to the casual observer was there was much more construction occurring underground than above it. Harold was having his people excavate large concrete-lined underground chambers in the hillsides for much of the industrial equipment going into his new factories. Much of the spoil from the excavations was being transported by rail to the coast near the shipyard to create a new breakwater and pier. The rest was being transported and dumped to create a huge berm surrounding an area of wetlands. At the seaward end of that berm, there was another project underway with a lot of concrete being poured at the site. Very few people knew exactly what the purpose of that project was though. It just happened to also be where the turrets and barbettes of the old Australia battle cruiser had been taken.

There was a lot more electrical power available now in Derby since the construction of the new power station several kilometers up the river from the town. Three ofAustralia’sold steam turbines had been connected to electrical power generators there. The fourth turbine from the battle cruiser had been disassembled as was being studied for reverse-engineering and upgrade by several of Harold’s new American engineers. But there was already additional construction underway at the power station to provide space for more steam turbines and generators as well.

Electrical cables ran from towers from the power station to the town in addition to all of Harold’s industrial sites surrounding it and the new shipyard. Harold did what he could to minimize the smoke plume from the power station, but the coal smoke from the station’s boilers still was visible for miles from the site. At least the wind generally kept the smoke and its smell away from the town. Harold wanted to find a cleaner source of power but the technology and resources simply weren’t available at that time. Tidal power generators, solar panels and nuclear reactors were simply unheard of in the early twentieth century.

Harold knew that trying to introduce technology from the twenty-first century would draw all of the wrong kind of attention to his activities. Some attention was unavoidable with the nature of the rapid growth of Harold’s wealth. But the technology that he used had to be fairly close to that generally available at the time period. There was also the danger of other unintended consequences as well.

Harold worried every day about the long term impact of the things that he has been doing. But in his mind still, nothing could be worse than what he witnessed on that terrible day in 2040 when the world came to an end.

One of the new buildings under construction had a sign in front of it already proclaiming the building to be the new home of Cavill Propulsion Systems. Harold had just driven to the building after inspecting some work at the power station.

“What is this Cavill Propulsion Systems Company of yours going to be building, Sir?” One of the older white men standing nearby asked Harold. Jeffrey Kyle had been a resident of Derby long before Harold had arrived. Jeffrey also traced his ancestry back to some of the original convicts that had been sent to Australia during the colony’s earliest years.

“We are going to be building a wide variety of engines. Eventually, I want to be able to build engines here for all kinds of things; ships, aircraft, trucks, even farm tractors. We will be making the steel for all of this as well with the foundry and mill that I am constructing just about three kilometers southeast of here. I already have a supply of iron ore available from one of my mines, of course.”

“You are sure constructing a lot of buildings out here. Are they all for making engines like you said?” Jeffrey asked, not realizing just how truly extensive Harold’s new facilities would be, especially the underground excavations.

“No. My future plans also include the construction of an aluminum production plant although I am also interested in purchasing an existing plant if possible. Owning an aluminum plant will take advantage of the bauxite mines that already own. I will use electricity from my electrical power generators at the power station to refine the ore into aluminum. This will be available for sale as well as for use in some of my other industrial ventures.”

“What about all those caves that you are digging out of the hills? I heard that you made a lot of your money mining, but those big holes in the ground don’t seem like mines to me.” Jeffrey pointedly asked.

“We are doing a little mining there, but that is not the primary purpose of the excavations, Mister Kyle. I am going to put more factories, offices and warehouses inside of those caverns after they have been finished.”

“Won’t the people working down there feel like cave dwellers? I know that I would.” “Of course, not. The caves will be much cooler and more comfortable in the summer heat than a regular building. These caverns will also be well lit with electric lights in addition to having a plentiful supply of fresh air forced in via blower motors. I am certain that I can make them very comfortable, secure and productive places to work in.”
“I still think that they are a waste of your money, Mister Cavill.” Jeffrey persisted.
“Well, Sir. It is my money to waste, isn’t it?” Harold replied with a knowing smile. When the war came, these caverns would not merely be workplaces and warehouses. They would also be bomb shelters and defensive strongpoints. The warehouses would allow Harold to keep hidden from prying eyes the actual amount of equipment that he has produced as well.
In peacetime, the costs of heating and cooling these facilities would also be far less than for a conventional building, saving Harold an immense amount of money over the years as well. But Harold has been thinking very far in the future for a great many reasons.
Money was something that Harold needed to continue to acquire in large quantities to pay for all of these projects that he was building. For some of that, he had to invest overseas and use his knowledge of the future to make as much profit as possible. This money would be used to create the changes in historical events that Harold hoped would save humanity’s future.
Harold spent the next few years continuing to build upon his fortune and disproving the naysayers. But he stayed close to Derby for the most part, burying himself into his work and avoiding the limelight as much as possible. The reconstruction plans for the old battlecruiser, the secret projects north of Derby where theAustralia’smain guns were sent, the various factories that were under construction in and around Derby as well as the various projects to help the aborigines all took up a tremendous amount of Harold’s time and resources.
Harold also went out into the Outback by himself for his walkabouts whenever he had the time. He would tell his workers that he needed to go and think. But in reality, Harold felt that he needed the distance from the rest of humanity because of how badly he continued to hurt.
Even though Harold thought that he was all alone out in the desolation of the Outback, the aborigines were always watching him from a distance. Even they prayed for Harold in the own way as they heard him at night, crying out in terror during his nightmares.
The work was always there when Harold would return back to Derby though. There were some business activities that Harold had to do from a distance away from his center. The most important of these were the targeted investments of the profits that his various enterprises earned. These investments would eventually be plowed back into other important projects at the appropriate time.
The town of Derby continued to grow as Harold built more facilities for his various factories and other business entities. The town spread further out as well as more homes and businesses were constructed to support the growing population there.
The extreme tides of the King Sound meant that it was just too difficult to supply Derby by ship alone any longer. So one of the projects that Harold began during this time was the expansion of his rail transportation network from a narrow gauge line running from the port to the town to a standard gauge line. This new railroad initially ran parallel to the narrow gauge line. But then Harold expanded upon it to run along the coastline north and south. This railroad would continue to be lengthened in the decades to come.
This project and many others would fill Harold’s life up to the time of the Great Depression. That event affected everyone’s life in a dramatic way.

Chapter Ten:

Ocean Liner SS Bremen
Southeast of the Gulf of Aden November 5, 1929

As much as he hated to be away from Australia and his carefully hidden treasure trove of information, Harold needed to travel out of the country to personally take care of his investments now. He did not have the high tech means to communicate that people of the twenty-first century had available at their fingertips now. But the amount of earnings that Harold’s overseas investments had earned now needed his personal attention. Harold knew that the worldwide economic depression could devastate even his wealth if he did not intervene personally.

This latest visit to England would also allow Harold another opportunity to visit with Winston Churchill. While they had continued to correspond via letters and telegraphs, Harold knew that he had to reestablish the personal relationship with Churchill. That personal relationship would be vitally important in the years prior to the beginning of the Second World War as Harold would seek to influence Churchill to make certain decisions that would differ from what were made in the previous timeline.

Air travel was still in its infancy at this time, so Harold had little choice but to travel via ship. A week earlier, Harold boarded theBremenand took a first-class cabin onboard that ship. This gave him a lot of time to think about what he wants to do and to worry about what might happen. The time alone in a ship’s cabin also allowed him to think about how much he missed Judith.

By the time that Harold arrived in England, he was not in a very good mood at all. To deal with that, Harold tried to coldly focus on his work and his mission. But that limited focus for him would not last for very long.

London Financial District London, England
December 12,,1929.

Harold Cavill had just flown to an aerodrome near London after disembarking from the German ocean liner SSBremenat Bremerhaven. He then made arrangements to be picked up by a Hackney for the final few miles to meet with his London stockbroker. It had been over two years since Harold’s last visit to England. But he had continued to conduct business there through intermediaries that he corresponded with via letter and telegraph.

Harold’s Hackney stopped in front of the address that Harold had given its driver. “Please remain here until my return. I should be back in less than an hour.” Harold told the driver while giving him a generous tip.
Harold got out of the vehicle and walked into the small brokerage. There, he was greeted by an attractive young woman in perhaps her early twenties with long red hair and a pretty freckled face who sat at a desk in the front office. He also noticed that she did not wear any rings on her fingers.
“Good afternoon, Sir. How may I help you?” The young woman asked.
“Would you please tell Mister Bentley that Harold Cavill is here to see him, Ma’am?”
“Certainly, Mister Cavill. Please take a seat. I’m sure that it will only take a minute.” She said in a very pleasant voice before walking back through the hallway behind her.
The young woman returned with a slightly portly, middle-aged bearded man who appeared to have spent quite a bit of time hunched over a desk himself. While the young woman quickly sat back down at her desk, the man walked towards Harold with his hand outstretched.
“It has been a long time, Sir. Let’s come back to my office. I am sure that you will be very pleased with your current holdings.” Darren Bentley said before he and Harold walked back through that same hallway and into one of the side offices.
“I have had few clients who have given me such specific instructions as to where they wanted their assets invested as you have, Mister Cavill. But your business insight has been utterly remarkable. Every single one of your investments has been profitable far above that of any of my other clients.”
“I’m sure that they are. I appreciate that you have been following my instructions as I have requested.”
“I would like to be able to make the same recommendations to my other customers so that they may also benefit as well.” Darren pleasantly asked.
“Mister Bentley, I cannot allow you to make those recommendations or to share any of my information to any of your other clients. If you attempt to do so, I will have no choice but to have my barrister contact you with a legal writ to bring you to court. “A coldly furious Cavill quickly informed the stockbroker.
“Certainly, Mister Cavill. I was simply inquiring about the possibility of this. I would do nothing of the sort however without your permission. Clearly, you have made your preference very clear.” A clearly shaken Darren responded.
“Thank you. My business investment activity is something that I wish to keep confidential. Now, I would like to see a statement concerning the value of my current investments, Mister Bentley.”
“Of course, Sir.” The stockbroker quickly answered before going into a file cabinet and pulling out some papers. He quickly read through them and was clearly surprised himself by the numbers.
“Mister Cavill, it appears that your investments here are now valued at just under one hundred million pounds Sterling. I wasn’t even aware of just how much you had earned during the past few months, Sir.”
“Thank you, Mister Bentley. I’m sure that we will meet again concerning my investments prior to my return to Australia.”
Harold walked back towards the front entrance when he saw the young red-haired woman that greeted him initially. Just on impulse, he stopped and spoke to her again.”
“What is your name, Miss?”
“Dorothy Wilson, Sir.” The young woman innocently answered, a slight Scottish accent apparent.
“Well, Miss Wilson. I need someone to show me a good place to eat at. Would you be so kind as to join me for dinner this evening? I can arrange to pick you up at your convenience.”
Dorothy’s bright blue eyes twinkled as she stood up and looked at Harold. At a height of just over one hundred and seventy centimeters, Dorothy was very nearly as tall as Harold, but he didn’t mind at all.
“Of course, I would love to show you some great places to eat dinner at. Would seven o’clock this evening be too soon, Mister Cavill?”
Harold smiled.
“Seven o’clock this evening would be excellent. Where shall I pick you up?”
Dorothy quickly wrote down her address on a piece of paper and handed it to Harold. He folded the paper, stuffed it inside of one of his overcoat pockets.
“Thank you, Miss Wilson. I look forward to seeing you then.” He said with a tip of his hat before walking out of the brokerage.
At the appointed hour, Harold arrived and waited inside the rented Hackney outside of the London lodging house where Dorothy lived. A few moments later, the front door opened and Dorothy stepped out. She was dressed in the normal women’s attire of the day with a pretty blue and white dress topped by a matching hat.
Harold waved from the window of the Hackney. His wave was returned by Dorothy with a tremendous smile as she walked up to the Hackney’s opened door. She was obviously unafraid of meeting someone like Harold that she had just met without an escort of some sort. That sort of confidence was also very much like Harold’s long dead Judith, he realized.
Dorothy stepped inside of the Hackney and sat down in the seat beside Harold.
“Hello, Mister Cavill. How are you doing this evening?” Dorothy quickly asked.
“I am doing very well, thank you. I am pleased that you accepted my invitation for dinner. I do hope that you can help me find an excellent dining establishment in the vicinity.”
“Of course, Sir.” Dorothy replied before quickly giving the driver an address.
About twenty minutes later, they arrived at a small, quiet restaurant not far from the fisherman’s wharf that Dorothy had pointed out. It seemed to be very ordinary with most of the patrons appearing to come from the local merchants and professional craftsmen. Dorothy got the attention of one of the restaurant’s waiters and was able to get a quiet table in the corner.
“I suppose that you are quite familiar here, Miss Wilson. May I call you Dorothy?”
“Of course, Mister Cavill. My dad and mum would bring me here sometimes when I was younger. So I got to know a lot of the people who work here.”
“What do your parents do, Dorothy?”
“I’m afraid that both of my parents are dead now. My father died in the Great War. My mother died a couple of years ago of consumption, although I feel it was more due to a broken heart. She always said that my father was the love of her life.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I know what it is like to suddenly lose someone close to me. It sounds like we both have had enough sorrows for a lifetime.”
“It’s alright, Mister Cavill. I do still have an aunt who lives in Glascow and a few cousins living elsewhere in England and Scotland. But my dad and mum were originally from Edinburgh, Scotland. We moved down here to London when I was seven years old.”
The waiter arrived a few moments later and began to take their order.
“Well, Dorothy. Perhaps we can move on to a much more enjoyable subject. What would you recommend that I order for dinner then?” Harold asked Dorothy.
She pointed out several of the different entrees, of which Harold picked out one. Dorothy selected the same. Harold requested a bottle of sherry and a pair of glasses to drink from.”
“This is delicious, Mister Cavill.” Dorothy commented after her first sip of the sherry
“Thank you, Miss. I’m not exactly a connoisseur. But I do know a good vintage or two. One could say that I am very well read.”
“Are you a reader of Mister Wells’ writings, Mister Cavill?” Dorothy sweetly asked.
Harold was surprised that a woman of Dorothy’s time would be interested in reading science fiction. Even in the twenty-first century, science fiction had been largely dominated by men though women had significantly increased their interest in the genre.
“Yes, Miss Wilson. I am familiar with Mister Wells’ stories, though I must admit that I am not in agreement with his political philosophy.”
“How so, Sir?” Harold’s dinner guest asked with one eyebrow raised.
“It is well known that Mister Wells is a socialist. I personally have very strong objections to his political philosophy as result. Socialism does not address the real needs of the human heart or create a viable long term solution to fulfill a citizen’s physical needs. There are far better ways to improve the human condition than to make one’s fellow man a ward of the state.
At the same time, much of Mister Wells’ speculative fiction is quite visionary.”
Harold had to quickly stop himself from adding ‘for his time’ to his statement. Harold feared that his criticism of H. G. Wells was not going over very well with Dorothy. So he had to act quickly.
“What is your favorite of Mister Wells’ writings, Miss Wilson?”
“The Time Machine, of course. With all of the incredible technological developments occurring in our time, the possibilities for the future are endless. The aircraft and the wireless telegraph are only a couple of the newest inventions. Just think of what the future holds. Obviously, Mister Wells was looking at what would happen if the worst possible things happened. I’m sure that he is wrong about that, however. Don’t you agree, Mister Cavill?”
Harold hesitated for a few moments. Dorothy was correct about the technological wonders of the next one hundred years having so much potential for benefitting mankind. What did not see were the horrors that were also produced, ending with the nuclear holocaust that Harold had escaped only by the discovery of the temporal portal.
It was wonderful still to be with such an optimist once again. Dorothy was a lot like Judith. She was so hopeful and had so much energy. Harold found himself quickly falling for Dorothy Wilson. He still worried about how such a relationship could impact that mission that he had embarked upon. But his heart still had its own calling and needs that had to be met.
“Yes, Dorothy. The future has so many possibilities waiting for us. I hope that we can be a key part of them. But we must also be very careful about some of the things that we wish for. There will always be people out there who would take those same tools of technological progress and use them for evil purposes.” He said with a smile, but still feeling the sadness of the ruined future that Harold had left behind.
“What do you want to do to make the future better, Mister Cavill?” Dorothy asked while peering directly into his eyes.
“I want to make our two nations stronger both economically and militarily so that we are better able to resist our future adversaries without having to resort to extreme measures in order to survive. Perhaps, through strength and wisdom, we can deter future wars.”
“I have heard some people say that simply having more weapons encourages more wars.”
“Yes, that is true. Some people do believe that. However, I feel that is only the case if those weapons are in the hands of immoral people who are already inclined to use force. Those evildoers would still use whatever tools were at hand in order to enforce their will upon others and to murder others for the sake of an unholy philosophy.” Harold commented before continuing with a question.
“Are you familiar with the writings of Edmund Burke, Dorothy?”
“Of course. I read some of his writings while at University. I came across them in the University library while I was doing research on classical art. I had been training to be an artist before I had to change my focus to accounting. There weren’t too many jobs available for artists, I’m afraid.
Anyway, I had accidentally wandered into the philosophy section of the library and found myself transfixed by what I have learned there.”
“Incisive thinking can certainly have that effect on a person. There was one particular quote of Burke’s that I found especially compelling. In it, Burke said ‘All that evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing.’ I, for one, am going to do as much as I can to prevent evil from succeeding.
But Dorothy, working to strengthen our defenses is not all that I am doing by any means. I am doing a considerable amount to help the indigenous people of Australia known as the Aborigines. I have befriended several of their tribes and am employing a considerable number of their people. I have also arranged for first class education, housing and hospital care for all of the people who work for me and their families, regardless of the color of their skin.”
“That is quite remarkable, Mister Cavill. I would love to be a part of such an endeavor.” An awestruck Dorothy immediately answered.
Harold hesitated for a moment before speaking. Here he was, a man from another time trapped in the past and trying to change the future. Now, he has met a woman who was biologically at least a quarter-century younger than himself. Harold was finding himself strongly drawn towards this attractive and obviously very intelligent young woman. He had to do something.
“Maybe there is a way. Why don’t you come to Australia and work for me? Obviously, you are very intelligent and know how to work with numbers. That much is obvious from what I have seen at your current position. I believe that you are also very trustworthy from what I have seen as well, Dorothy. Is there any reason that would prevent you from accepting my offer?”
Both people sat at the table silently, interrupted only by the arrival of their meal from the kitchen. It was as though neither person knew exactly what to say next. Finally, Dorothy spoke.
“You are asking me to make a very big decision here. Even though both of my parents are dead now, I would be a very long distance from my friends and remaining family here.”
“This is quite true, Dorothy. But I promise you that you will be part of something very important to both of our nations. I believe in my heart that you want to make a positive difference in the direction of this world, don’t you?”
“How much longer are you going to be here in England, Mister Cavill?”
“I will be here for a month before I return back to Australia, Dorothy. I have several other meetings in England that I must attend before I leave.”
“I need some time to decide. Before you leave, I will let you know. I promise.” Dorothy answered, her eyes wide open and looking directly into Harold’s. He could tell that she was deeply interested in accepting his offer. Yet at the same time, she was obviously torn because of her ties to her home and family in England.
“I understand perfectly, Miss Wilson. Please take your time considering my offer. When you come to a decision, please contact me. You already know where you can reach me as well as when I will be returning to Australia.”
“I will. I promise.” Dorothy said with a smile that once again, melted Harold’s heart. Harold continued to think about her constantly even as he moved on to his next important meeting.

Chartwell House
Westerham, Kent, England January 3, 1930

“Good morning, Mister Churchill.” Harold said after being greeted by Winston Churchill at the latter’s home.
“Good morning, Mister Cavill. I am very pleased to see you again. Please do come in.” Winston told his guest.
“Thank you, Mister Churchill. I have been in England on an extended business trip to attend to some of my British business interests. I thought that I might come visit you again for a little chat if it is not a bother.”
“Of course, your arrival is no bother at all. Please do sit down.” Churchill said as he led Harold to Winston’s study and pointed him to a comfortable chair. Churchill then poured a pair of drinks, handed one to Harold and then sat down after lighting a cigar.
“You have heard about the latest proposals for a new naval disarmament treaty that is to be held in London, Minister?” Harold asked.
“Yes, I have. They want to make further restrictions on the navies of the major powers. Publicly, the purpose is to prevent more wars. Privately, the real reason why we are proposing this naval conference is so that the Labour Party can further reduce the Royal Navy expenditures by convincing everyone else to disarm at the same time. Obviously, the Labour politicians have other priorities that they would prefer using the public purse for rather than for defense.”
“Perhaps I might make a few suggestions that would both help the Royal Navy and the Exchequer at the same time.”
“You have certainly made quite an impression on people around here, Harold. I am certainly thankful for your suggestions that you made previously. I am convinced that it has put the Royal Navy on a much improved footing in case we find ourselves at war again. But what is your interest in HMSTiger? While it is a fine ship, it is armed with the lightest guns of any of our capital ships.” Churchill asked.
“The relatively low logistical costs forTigermake it a very good candidate for retention. I’m sure that there are still plenty of spares and ammunition forTiger’smain weapons with all of the older ships being retired that were similarly armed. So, there will be no need to purchase those items later in the ship’s lifetime. It is also a relatively young ship, so maintenance should be also comparatively inexpensive.
But what is most important about HMSTigeris that it is a fast, well-armed ship capable of hunting down and killing any lesser opponent. With a fully modernized propulsion unit, fire-control system and a modern dual-purpose secondary armament, HMSTigerwould be an ideal consort for our aircraft carriers. We could also use the opportunity to rectify any shortcomings in her armor protection with the tonnage saved through the modernization of her propulsion system.”
“What have proposed makes a great deal of sense, Harold. But how are we going to be able to afford to retainTiger? There are the treaty obligations in terms of capital ship tonnage that we must comply with, in addition to the sheer cost of maintaining an extra capital ship. Something has to be sacrificed.”
“I agree. What I would recommend is that one or two of theRoyal Sovereignclass battleships be placed in reserve, perhaps even disposed of. They are far too slow to truly be useful in the kind of naval war that the future promises, Winston. Perhaps instead of scrapping those battleships, they could be sold to another navy? Certainly a navy in South America like that of Chile would be very interested in purchasing aRoyal Sovereignclass battleship. The Chileans have been very interested for years in replacing that battleship the Royal Navy purchased from them to convert into the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. I’m absolutely certain that aRoyal Sovereignwould more than satisfy the requirements of the Chilean Navy. Such a sale would also recoup sufficient funds to not only keepTigeroperational, but also to perhaps build more destroyers that are not covered under the treaty.
Of course to accomplish this, we are talking about a new naval treaty to replace the current international agreements, of course. Language could certainly be incorporated to allow the sale of a limited number of excess warships to non-allied navies, I would imagine. These arrangements would not be banned like such sales were under the earlier Washington Treaty.”
“There still will be many senior officers in the Admiralty who would decry the loss of even one fifteen-inch armed battleship, especially for the sake of keeping a battlecruiser that is not as well armed or protected. The battle line has been the strength of the Royal Navy for more than a hundred years.” Churchill noted.
“The wars of the future will not be won by slow battleships firing at each other in long lines of battle, I’m afraid. That era has now past. Naval battles will be won by swift forces applying overwhelming force at critical points as I am sure that you are already aware, Mister Churchill. As I stated before, these forces will need to combine fast ships with powerful guns along with other warships providing the vast reach of carrier-based aircraft. But in any event, speed and radius of action will be absolutely vital to cover the vast areas of ocean that the Commonwealth is responsible for.
The Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers will need fast, well-armed escorts of all sizes to protect them from enemy ships and aerial bombers in any event. Of course, large warships can carry far more antiaircraft guns than a smaller ship as well as being able to support sufficient fire control equipment to maximize the effectiveness of the guns.
There is also the threat of enemy surface ships to a lightly armed aircraft carrier. The consequences of one of those valuable ships being escorted by a mere handful of destroyers and encountering an enemy battleship at close range or a large bomber formation would be catastrophic.” Harold pleaded, remembering from his research on the Second World War how the aircraft carrier HMS Glorioushad been sunk by a pair of German battlecruisers under exactly the former circumstances.
“Could we build an aircraft carrier with a sufficiently heavy armament so that it would be able to defend itself against enemy surface warships?” Churchill asked.
“No, I’m afraid that such a hermaphrodite simply would not work. I’ve already had experts look into that possibility. What you would end up with is a compromise vessel with the worst aspects of both the aircraft carrier and the cruiser or battleship. There would be a relatively small aircraft capacity for the tonnage, far fewer guns than a normal warship and all of the vulnerabilities of a fragile flight deck and hangar to enemy gunfire. The aircraft carrier’s medium caliber dual-purpose antiaircraft guns can fend off a destroyer, but nothing more. What are really needed are more dedicated aircraft carriers with fast, well-armed warships to support and complement them. The carrier’s escorts must be the vessels that deal with any surface threat to her.”
“I see your point, Harold. I was wondering about something though. Do your businesses perhaps plan on being involved somehow in this new naval construction program that you are proposing?” Winston asked after thinking for a few moments. He knew from long experience that people seldom make such suggestions for purely selfless reasons.
“They could be. However, the security of the Commonwealth is my primary concern. As a result, I do have people working on some new destroyer designs already. They would be just as useful for the Royal Navy as it would be for the Australian Navy. I believe that it would be mutually beneficial for my business and both our nations if my yards were to produce new destroyers for our allied navies certainly. Just because the Germans have been banned from having submarines doesn’t mean that the submarine threat has disappeared as you are doubtlessly aware.
The Royal Navy and the other navies of the Commonwealth are all critically short of smaller escort vessels. The Admiralty has placed its focus for years upon the maintenance of the battle line and the construction of replacement cruisers to protect our trade routes instead of destroyers and other anti-submarine escorts since the end of the last war.”
“You are quite correct, Harold. But what do you think should be done about this?’
“Perhaps the British Admiralty should reconsider their current lack of focus on smaller combatants. Submarines are still a tremendous threat to both the battle line as well as the merchant fleet. Modern destroyers could defend against the submarine threat, support the battle line in a surface engagement and provide supplementary antiaircraft support. The latter is especially possible when the ships are armed with high-angle main battery guns and multiple automatic cannons directed by modern fire control systems.”
“And you believe that you can incorporate all of these elements in the same ship design, Harold?” Winston asked as he looked intently at his friend and puffed on a Havana.
“Yes, I do. We have already started building a destroyer for one of the Latin American navies. We are using the secondary guns that we took off of HMASAustraliabefore we scrapped her to arm this ship. The guns will be put on modified high angle mounts to give them the ability to engage aircraft as well as surface targets. The construction of this destroyer will be fine practice for my workers and my naval architects for the future projects that I would like to pursue.”
“I would imagine that it would also earn some badly needed funds for your business interests as well.”
“Yes, it possibly could. But money is not all that is important to me at this point in my life. My various business concerns are more than profitable enough presently. However, my people need meaningful employment. I am going to give it to them. Later on, I intend to have them construct even more advanced designs in a variety of industries.”
“I would certainly like to see some of these more advanced items when you do decide to build them. I have already learned not to underestimate you or your ideas, Mister Cavill.” Winston said with a smile of delight. Harold had certainly gotten his attention with this proposal.
“One other thing, Mister Cavill. I understand that you will be taking home a new employee with you to Australia.”
“Yes, Sir. Miss Wilson had been working for my former stockbroker. She informed me two days ago, that she would accept my offer of employment. Of course, she had no idea that I was about to end my relationship with her former employer as well.”
“Please tell your Miss Wilson that I offer my best wishes upon her new employment. I’m sure that she will find her time with you to be quite stimulating. Our discussions certainly have been that way for me, but probably not for exactly the same reasons.” Churchill said with a sly smile.

Eastern Wharfs, Port of London London, UK
March 21, 1930

Harold Cavill stood by the wharf at the Port of London at the large ocean liner that towered over him. The scene was still impressive in spite of the grey skies above and light drizzle of rain that continued to come down over London. Harold had sailed onBremenonce before on the last portion of his latest trip from Australia to England. The more that he saw ofBremen, the more impressed that Harold became of that massive vessel of a bygone era, at least a bygone era for someone like Harold, who was originally from the twenty-first century.

The German liner SS Bremenwas one of the most modern liners in the world as well as one of the fastest. She would be making a long journey this time all the way to the South Pacific and back. Harold had already booked passage for two onboardBremen. He also would be shipping back a variety of industrial equipment in her cargo hold for his ultimate destination of Sydney. A crane was also loading a Heinkel HE12 floatplane onto a catapult aboard the liner.

As he stood there, Harold saw a Hackney pull up to the wharf. A familiar strawberry-blonde woman eagerly popped out from one of the vehicle’s rear doors while the Hackney’s driver began to pull out several bags from the vehicle’s boot. She was dressed for the typical cold, damp English weather with a long dark grey overcoat covering her dress. Harold quickly walked over towards the Hackney and its passenger, his umbrella already in hand.

“Hello, Miss Watson. I am very pleased to see you here. I have already made arrangements for your stateroom on the liner that we am traveling on.” Harold said with a pleasant smile on his face as he held the umbrella over Dorothy. He was truly enamored with Dorothy Watson.

“Thank you, Mister Cavill. How much will I owe you for the cost of passage?” Harold pleasantly chuckled for a moment before answering.
“Nothing at all, Miss Watson. Consider it part of your compensation for taking the position that I
have offered you.”
“Thank you, Sir. I appreciate this very much.” Dorothy politely replied.
“I’ll arrange to have a porter take your baggage to your stateroom. Perhaps you will join me for
dinner later this evening after we leave port, Miss Watson?”

“I would be very pleased to have dinner with you, Mister Cavill.”

Dorothy was already at a table when Harold arrived at Bremen’s large first-class dining room that evening. She was obviously dressed in her best dress. It was conservative in cut and inexpensive compared to the attire of many of the women also eating in the dining room. Still, the dress was very attractive on her. It was also clear that Dorothy Watson knew how to make the most with the limited assets that she had available.

Harold sat down at the small table across from Dorothy.
“I am very pleased that you were able to make it, Miss Watson.”
“Thank you, Sir. I wasn’t sure that I would be allowed in the ship’s first class dining room. But
apparently, you had already made arrangements for me.”
“You are quite welcome, my dear. Now, why don’t we go ahead and order our dinner. I
understand that the steak here is excellent, though the fish being served here has been freshly caught.” “Good evening,HerrCavill andFrauleinWatson. What would you like to have for your evening
meal?” The waiter formally asked. He had arrived at Harold and Dorothy’s table less than two minutes
after they had been seated.
“I think that I will take the steak.” Dorothy told the waiter.
“I believe that I will take the sea bass myself.” Harold declared with a smile after looking further
at the menu.
With a speed that Harold saw as remarkable even for a restaurant, his and Dorothy’s meals
were quickly brought from the kitchen to their table.
“I am very impressed with the efficiency of the staff here. The waiter addressed us both by
name from the very beginning.” Harold noted.
“I would agree. But I suspect that the staff here knows exactly who is sitting at each table before
they come to it. It’s just good planning.” Dorothy said before continuing.
“I have been thinking a lot about what I would be doing in Australia. While obviously, I have
already committed to the job that you offered me, I would like to learn more about what exactly my
new job would entail. I don’t want anyone to think that I am just being a ‘kept woman’ out here, far
away from home.”
Harold took a deep breath before answering Dorothy’s question. It was obvious that he was
strongly attracted to her. But he did not want Dorothy to think that he offered her the job in order to
seduce her. That was not his intent at all. He really did want her to work for him because of her obvious
business and managerial talents.
“It was plain to me that you were the real reason why Mister Bentley was as successful in his
business as he was. You kept his office running smoothly and were very well informed about all of his
business activities. I have a strong suspicion that you often advised Mister Bentley about certain
business decisions as well. I need a talented person like you working for me.”
Dorothy shyly looked down for a moment, a bit embarrassed by the praise that Harold had just
given her. He was right about the work that she had done for Mister Bentley. She didn’t know how
Harold had become aware of it though.
Harold quickly decided to break the silence before the conversation got too strained. “We’ve done enough business talk for now. Let’s get started with dinner, shall we?” Dorothy quickly smiled, “That sounds like a grand idea to me. I’m famished.” They ate their meal and talked, but the subject of why Harold wanted Dorothy to work for him
was never brought up again. There was far more than enough for them to discuss during this dinner and
the many others that they had together on the way to Australia.

SS Bremen
Columbo, Ceylon April 25, 1930

Harold was out on Bremen’saft deck when he heard the ship’s loudspeakers. First, it announced a message in German. Then apparently the same message was broadcast in accented English.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, please clear the area around the aircraft catapult. We are about to launch our mail plane in ten minutes. Thank you.”
Harold watched the Henkel mail plane being prepared for launch as the mid-ships catapult was traversed towards the port side of the ocean liner. After about five minutes, Harold heard the Heinkel’s engine rev up to maximum. A few seconds later with a loud ‘Woosh’ of high-pressure air fromBremen’s pneumatic catapult, the Heinkel roared over the side of the ship and into the air.
As he watched the Heinkel fly off into the distance, Harold was suddenly reminded of a book that he had once read about warships that were hybrids of two different classes of vessels in an attempt to combine the best features of both. There was a chapter about proposed ocean liners that had many features of an aircraft carrier incorporated. Harold was also certain that he had an electronic version of that book on his computer database back in Derby. He made a mental note to look up the information upon his return home.
But for now, Harold’s thoughts turned to his new employee and current companion on this voyage. He was already falling in love with Dorothy in spite of being old enough to be her father.
Harold and Dorothy spent much of the next three months together onboardBremenas she made her long journey. They talked about a great many things during that time including the businesses that Harold was in the process of building, their views on world politics as well as sharing in their personal interests. Still, there was one secret that Harold dared not share with anyone, not even with Dorothy.
Harold was falling more deeply in love with Dorothy Watson with each passing day. The sparkle in Dorothy’s eyes whenever she looked up at Harold told him that she was also falling for him as well. Before either of them even realized it, they were already saying “I love you” to each other every evening in addition to other terms of endearment. They were holding hands and kissing each other ‘good night’ as well.
It was just two days beforeBremenwas scheduled to make port at Sydney when Harold met with Dorothy once again for dinner. They sat down at the dining room table and ordered their normal evening meals.
“I have a very important question that I wish to ask you, my dear.”
“What is it, Harold?”
“Will you marry me, Dorothy?” Harold asked after getting down on bended knee and opening a small box to reveal a diamond engagement ring that he had purchased duringBremen’sstop at Singapore just a few days prior.
Tears began rolling down Dorothy’s cheeks as she looked down at Harold. She then smiled in the midst of her tears.
“Of course, I will. But how are we going to get married out here? It won’t have time to do anything once we get to Sydney with all of the things that you have to do.”
“We just take advantage of an old maritime tradition and get married today. I will make all of the arrangements. You just find the best dress that you have to wear. I don’t care what you are wearing, only that you love me and want to be my wife.” Harold said before taking Dorothy in his arms and kissing her.
The next few hours were a whirlwind of activity as both Harold and Dorothy hurried to make the necessary preparations for their wedding.Bremen’scaptain performed the marriage ceremony in the ship’s chapel. The wedding was attended also by a handful of other passengers that Harold and Dorothy had gotten to know during the journey.
They spent the rest of the time of the voyage in Harold’s cabin. They didn’t bother coming out even to eat. Harold simply ordered their meals to be delivered via room service.
The bellowing ofBremen’ssteam whistle announced the liner’s arrival at Sydney Harbor early that morning. Harold and Dorothy were still in bed though. The loud noise woke up the newlyweds, but they were in no hurry to get up just yet. At least one of them wasn’t in a hurry.
Harold looked over to see Dorothy’s face, still glowing from the previous night’s lovemaking. Her eyes slowly opened up.
“Hi, Sweetheart. Are we there yet?” She sleepily asked.
“Yes, Dear. We will probably be docking within the hour.”
“Do we have to get up now, Harold?”
“I’m afraid so, my dear. This is going to be a very busy day for us.”
A rented Hackney was waiting on the newlyweds at the dock along with a small truck. Harold and Dorothy then rode to the local aerodrome with the truck carrying their baggage following behind. A Ford Tri-Motor was already there being warmed up to fly Harold and Dorothy to Derby.
They took seats towards the front of the airplane while several hundred pounds of baggage and other cargo was being loaded into the back of the sturdy Tri-Motor.
Harold noticed that Dorothy looked a little nervous while she was sitting down next to him in the aircraft in preparation for takeoff. They were the only passengers on the flight.
“Is everything alright, Sweetheart?” He quickly asked.
Dorothy nervously answered. “Oh, yes. I have just never flown in an airplane before.”
Harold put his arm around Dorothy and tried to reassure her as she continued to stare out the window.
“There’s nothing to worry about. I have flown many times. This is perfectly safe.”
“How many times have you flown, Harold? I didn’t think that there were that many opportunities for people to fly, even for the very wealthy.”
At once, Harold realized the mistake that he had made. While flying was a commonplace means of transportation in the twenty-first century, it was still largely the realm of daredevils in the 1920’s. He had almost revealed his origins in an attempt to calm his bride’s fear of flying for the first time. Harold had to think quickly to cover for his oversight.
“I guess that I might have overstated things a little. I suppose that I have flown more than the average person though. We use airplanes a lot more in Australia because of the long distances between towns there.”
Harold heard the airplane’s three radial engines start up. A few minutes later after the engines had sufficiently warmed up, Harold could feel the pilot release the brakes and begin to taxi the TriMotor towards the runway.
Dorothy held tightly onto Harold as the airplane bounced on the grass runway, speeding up until with a great lurch, it rose into the air. Even though the airplane’s cabin was noisy, the flight became much smoother as the Tri-Motor climbed to its cruising altitude. Once there, Harold began to feel Dorothy begin to finally relax as she began to loosen her grip on him.
Just a few minutes after the airplane leveled off, Dorothy began to peek through the nearby window at the clouds above as well as the ground below.
“Are you feeling better now, Dorothy?” Harold asked with a concerned smile.
“Yes…. I am feeling much better now. I just didn’t quite know what to expect. But it appears to be fascinating now.”
“Flying can be a lot of fun. I’m sure that as the aeronautical engineers continue to improve airplane design, flying will become a lot faster and much more comfortable as well. Even now, we are travelling ten times as fast as all but the fastest passenger liners. While the air can get bumpy every once in a while, it is nothing compared to being in a ship in the middle of a big storm, bouncing around on the waves.”
“I’m beginning to understand that already. Thank you, Harold. You continue to amaze me with how much you are opening up my world. I love you so very much.” Dorothy said before kissing him.
Together, they sat and watched the beautiful Australian landscape pass beneath them as they traveled to Derby and their new life together.Chapter Eleven:

Derby Aerodrome
Derby, Western Australia June 5, 1930

After flying for three days and more than 4300 kilometers, with a dozen stops for fuel and rest, the weary couple finally arrived at the Derby Aerodrome. During the journey, Harold would point out the many unique features of Australia to Dorothy as they flew over the landscape. He could tell that Dorothy was enjoying every moment of this new adventure for her though.

The Ford Tri-Motor that Harold and Dorothy flew in on landed gently on the dirt airstrip and taxied to a couple of small buildings next to a hangar. A small handful of men waited by the hangar to greet Harold and to unload the aircraft.

“Well, Dorothy. It may not seem nearly as impressive as London or even Sydney, but this is the town of Derby, Australia.”
“Show me everything, Harold. I want to see it all.” An exuberant Dorothy told her new husband.
Harold drove Dorothy through the middle of Derby in a small Ford truck of his. This vehicle was a lot newer and in far better condition than the vehicle that Harold had purchased immediately after arriving in 1918 through the temporal portal.
“This is all so incredible, Harold. There are so many new buildings here with many more under construction.” Dorothy said, her eyes full of wonder.
“We need the new buildings with all of the new people moving here to work for me. Look over there to the left. That’s the new hospital. We’ve got hotels, shops, a town hall and all sorts of other structures being constructed. We’ve even got a church that we just finished building.”
“Who operates your new church? Is it Catholic or Anglican?”
“Actually, the church is being run by a pair of Methodist missionaries. One is from England while the other one is from America. They have already been busy preaching and witnessing to all of the newcomers here, even the Aborigines. I personally think that those two men and their wives are among the most important reasons why this town is doing so well. They give everyone here an outlet beyond alcohol and sexual promiscuity that is both healthy and gives everyone hope for a better life.”
“Harold, you are truly a blessing to this place and to me.” Dorothy said before leaning over and giving Harold a kiss on the cheek.
“I have to take care of my people if they are going to be able to take care of me later on. So it is a little selfish and self-serving on my part.” Harold said with a smile.
“I’ve seen a lot of wealthy business owners who did nothing for their employees. This might seem selfish to you. But I don’t think it is at all, my dear loving husband.”
They continued to ride on a road out of Derby until they arrived what looked in the distance like a small hill with a few small wooden buildings nearby. But as the truck got closer, Dorothy could begin to make up a door and several windows that appeared to be imbedded in the side of that small hill. There was a wooden fence that surrounded the hill and the nearby buildings.
Harold drove the truck over a bridge that went over a small creek. The creek fed into a farm pond within the fenced area. He drove up to a gate in the fence, got out and opened it before getting back inside of the truck and driving up to the hill.
Harold then pulled up to the front door, got out and went around to help Dorothy out of the truck.
“Harold, this is a very unusual little house. You can barely see any of it from the outside.” Dorothy noted with a hint of curiosity as she saw her new home for the first time.
“It may not seem like much from the outside. But, it is far larger and more impressive on the inside, I assure you, my dear.” Harold said before opening the door.
“Utterly remarkable. It is wonderful how the light comes in from those windows in the ceiling. Otherwise, it would seem very much like living in a cave. But for all of its uniqueness, I love it here in our home already. How many rooms does it have?” Dorothy joyfully said after walking in through the front door.
“Those windows are called skylights. They combine with the northern facing of the front windows to illuminate much of the house during the daytime. Of course, the house has sufficient electric lighting for use at night. Our home is also very comfortable no matter what time of the year because the mass of the earth around it moderates the temperature.” Harold explained. He silently chuckled when he thought about how Dorothy might have found the house similar to the homes in Tolkien’s writings. The Hobbits’ homes in the Shire were also largely underground as well. But the novel, ‘The Hobbit’ would not be published for some years to come.
“What did you make this house out of, Harold? Surely, it wasn’t simply made of earth.” Dorothy asked as she continued to look around.
“The walls and ceiling are all made of reinforced concrete for strength. My builders used a tar coating on the outside of the walls to prevent any moisture from seeping inside.
The house currently has four bedrooms, two bathrooms with their own water closets, a kitchen connected directly to a combination dining room and living room as well as a private study. The kitchen and bathrooms all have running water. Both bathrooms also have large tubs to bathe in as well.” Harold continued.
After they walked into Harold’s study, Dorothy couldn’t believe what she saw on the bookshelves that lined much of the room. There were numerous books on math, science, engineering, aviation as well as multiple volumes on history, military affairs and politics. There was also an entire shelf of the most recent novels of speculative fiction by authors like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne.
“I have never seen so many books in my life outside of a library. There are hundreds of books here. You must read a great deal, Harold.” A wide-eyed Dorothy said in amazement.
“I do when I can. But it hardly seems like I have enough time for reading though.” Harold admitted.
“This is very impressive for our home’s seemingly modest size, although I would have thought that a man as wealthy as yourself would have already built a great mansion. Building great edifices to their self-grandeur seems to be the only thing that many of the wealthy in England want to do with their money.“ Dorothy said with a momentarily stern look before quickly continuing with a smile and a hug.
“Of course, I didn’t marry you for your money or to live in a mansion, my brilliant, generous, loving husband. I would love you just as much if you were rich or poor, I’m sure.”
“I do not hold much value in appearance, Dorothy. In fact, I relish my privacy very much. The subdued external appearance of my home helps to fulfill my needs very well in that regards.” Harold said before his own expression turned serious as well. One of those unspoken needs that this house provided was security for some very special possessions of his.
“However, there is one room that you can’t see right now. In fact, no one but myself is to ever go into for any reason, my dear. I have carefully ensured that the entrance to this room is hidden from view on purpose. I am telling you about this room ahead of time though because of the importance of it remaining absolutely inviolate. Please do not even tell anyone of the existence of this room either.” Harold explained with a serious look in his eyes as he looked at Dorothy. He had thought for a long time about not telling her about the room at all.
“You don’t want me to see what is inside this secret room of yours, Harold?” She said, taken aback by his statement.
“No, Dorothy, not even you. I love you very much. But, there are some secrets of mine that must be kept away from everyone for the sake of the entire world, I fear. I hope very much that you will understand.”
“Why don’t you want me to see what you have in this secret room of yours? I would never do anything to hurt you or cause you problems.”
“There are just some things that are too dangerous for the rest of the world to know about. While you just might understand, I simply cannot afford to take that chance. It is much better that you not know what is in there. I especially cannot afford for anyone else to know the contents of that room. If those were to be discovered, our world could be utterly destroyed by it.”
Dorothy said nothing to her new husband after he had just shown what appeared to be a complete lack of trust in her. What could it be that was so dangerous and so important that Harold couldn’t even allow her to see it?
Dorothy took a moment to think about the situation. This man had brought her halfway around the world and had offered her the opportunity of a lifetime. She was still very much in love with Harold. So Dorothy decided to not argue any further about the subject. There would be time enough for that at the proper opportunity. For now, Dorothy would focus on her new job and her new life as Mrs. Harold Cavill.

Cavill Shipyard Main Office Derby, Western Australia September 21, 1930

After a short honeymoon, Harold was back at work while Dorothy was getting accustomed to life in Western Australia. Harold’s plans continued to run into obstacles as he tried to create the industrial infrastructure that he felt would be needed later on. Not everyone had the same confidence in Harold’s ideas as he did. So it was frequently necessary to do some convincing.

Harold was there in the small conference room with his chief naval architect, Alexander Portman and the manager of Cavill Propulsion Systems, George Cartwright. They were discussing Harold’s latest instructions concerning new ship designs coming out of the shipyard. There had been more than a few disagreements between the three men about this.

“Every other shipyard in the world, with only a few exceptions, is building their commercial and military ships with either triple-expansion steam engines or steam turbines connected to reduction gearboxes, Sir. Why are we going in a completely different direction here, Mister Cavill?” George asked.

“Because we need enough power for high-speed operations and long range. It is vital that we obtain the maximum amount of range per ton of fuel oil. We don’t know how available that fuel oil will be in time of war. It is also a certainty that modern ships will need an ever-increasing amount of electrical power as well. The electric generation system will allow for much more flexibility in powering the ship and all of its systems.”

“These designs that you want are going to be much more expensive to construct than current designs, Sir.”
“I understand that, though we will drive our costs down through economies of scale in the long run. I can handle the extra cost in the short run. But, if we are going to be able to build an efficient power train for our ships, we are going to have to go with a turbo-electric system. I simply cannot afford the time or resources to build the sort of facilities needed to manufacture large double-reduction gearboxes. So far the only people who have been able to do that kind of precision manufacturing have been the Americans with their vast amount of available financial resources. The applications for that equipment are also very limited as well. That limits our market and our potential profitability.”
Actually, Harold did have the necessary information to design such precision equipment available from his computer database. But creating the facilities and finding the skilled personnel to operate them would not only be extremely expensive, but would have such a specialized application that it would be obvious that they were for the construction of warships. Large electric generators and motors would have a wide variety of military and civilian applications. This mattered particularly because Harold had carefully developed his businesses so that at the very least, they could be portrayed as having civilian applications with the exception of his ordnance works.
In the latter case, the weapons produced there were primarily small arms and some lighter cannon suitable for naval or army use. The relative amount of earnings from that particular company were much smaller than the rest of Harold’s holdings. But the ordnance works could easily be justified as part of Harold’s corporate holdings, especially in this time period. There was always a market for guns somewhere out there.
“Mister Cavill, you are going to have additional power losses with a steam turbo-electric power plant through the transmission of power from the generators to the electric drive motors over that of a geared system. It will be a heavier system overall.” George noted.
“I know, but the advantages with flexibility in the power plant’s location in the hull itself, the ability to subdivide the hull more effectively and the elimination of reverse turbines should make up for most of those drawbacks by themselves. If we go for a superheated, high-pressure boiler and turbine set, we can more than make up for those power transmission losses as well.
Remember, the Americans are going to have to worry about the additional mass displacement with their naval treaty limitations. We will have no such limitations here, especially with our civilian ship production.
Therefore, we can afford the extra mass. Even so, I am certain that with the use of superheated steam in the 650 to 700 psi pressure range, our power plant will be compact enough to save a significant percentage of the additional mass that you are concerned about. The power plant will also burn fuel far more efficiently so that our ships will have a longer operating radius as well.” Alexander explained.
“I have seen some information on high pressure plants like that before. They will still be a challenge to design.” George replied.
“I am certain that you will succeed. I will provide you with whatever additional information that I am able to obtain on this technology to assist you with your work, Mister Cartwright.”
“Where do you want to build the land test unit, Sir?”
“We will set the equipment up inside the electrical power station near Derby. I will arrange for construction to begin on an expansion to existing structure under the auspices of increasing electrical power production at the plant.
Of course, we will be connecting our new high-pressure steam plant’s turbines to the power station’s unused electrical generators. That way, the power that we produce while we are testing our new steam plant can be put to good use throughout this area and support our cover story to the rest of the world. We don’t want the wrong people to get too curious about what we are doing.”
“If we are going to test the entire system properly as it would be when installed in a ship, it will mean that we will have to use oil-fired boilers, not the coal-fired units that you have currently at the power station, Mister Cavill.” George explained.
“I am fully aware of that, Mister Cartwright. I will secure a good supply of fuel oil in time for your tests, I assure you.”
“That will solve one problem. But we still have a lot more to deal with.” Alexander said.
“I know, Gentlemen. But I brought both of you here because both of you are very talented. I have complete confidence that you will be able to find solutions to all of the problems that you see now or might encounter later.”
“Thank you, Sir. We take pride in the work that we do.” Alexander replied. It certainly felt good to be acknowledged by one’s employer. Of course, Harold Cavill paid very well, especially to his top performers.
“Now, Alexander. Please tell me about the new fast cargo ships that I asked for.”
“The specifications that you gave us were quite interesting. I believe that my designers and I have come up with a satisfactory standard design that can be lengthened for additional cargo space if desired. The design’s engine room is also suitable for either steam or diesel propulsion units.” Alexander replied while pulling out a set of blueprints from a large set of wide, flat drawers.
He laid out the large sheets of paper onto a table and then began to point out certain elements of the mechanical drawings to Harold.
“Sir, you can see here how we have laid out the ship with a common engine room block that is large enough for either multiple diesel-generator units or a pair of steam-driven turbo-generators. There are actually four separate rooms in side-by-side pairs. But they would use a common electric motor design whether diesel or steam is used to generate the power going to the motors. The cargo and passenger blocks can be expanded by extending the length of the keel when the ship is laid down.”
“What is the gross tonnage range for this ship?”
“We can build vessels based on this basic design ranging from eight to fourteen-thousand tons. I also want to mention that depending on the engines installed, the maximum speed would range between eighteen and twenty-four knots.”
“That appears to be exactly what I wanted. Give me an estimate of the cost and construction time to produce two of the long hull versions of this design. They will need to be diesel-electric powered with a maximum speed of twenty-two knots. They will also need to carry enough fuel oil for a transpacific voyage plus the normal reserve.”
“Do you want these ships to be pure cargo ships or combination of cargo and passenger vessels, Mister Cavill?”
“Since we still move quite a few people by ship, we should plan to accommodate up to one hundred passengers in addition to the normal crew. Otherwise, plan on these ships being primarily cargo ships. That will require the usual cranes on deck to move cargo. Plan also on additional subdivision within the hull to increase survivability in case of an incident.
“Is there anything else that you want, Mister Cavill?”
Harold thought for a few moments. He knew that there would be times where it would be advantageous to be able to offload large cargos even without a regular port facility being available. There was a design for a ship that used something like a well deck to carry lighters or shallow-draft barges loaded with cargo. Then, the ship would ballast itself to flood the well deck so that the lighters could carry the cargo to shore. It would also be very suitable for amphibious military operations as well.
Harold then began to describe the concept to Alexander who listened very intently before responding.
“I would imagine that we could do something like that with the long hull design. It would take some extra time to design it, especially with this well deck and ballasting system of yours. Is there anything else, Sir?”
Just one other thing for now, Alex. I would like to also have reinforced points on the deck in these locations for all of the ships based on this design.” Harold said as the pointed to several spots on the blueprints.
“We can do that without adding to much extra cost or tonnage to the design.” Alexander confidently said.
What Harold didn’t say was the purpose of those reinforcements on the ships’ decks. While he knew that this could never be a true warship, Harold fully intended for this design to be able to defend itself in wartime against aerial and surface threats. He already foresaw the ship design being adaptable to a number of roles beyond a mere cargo ship. When the war would begin, this new ship design would be in demand for transporting troops and supplies quickly to the war zone.
Harold had also incorporated various features that would make this ship ideal for a fleet support ship like the GermanDithmarschen-class vessels that would later be built to support their navy during the Second World War. But most importantly, the ship was easily adapted for the role of escort aircraft carrier. In fact, it was faster than virtually any escort carrier built during the Second World War, making the ship a useful supplement to fleet aircraft carriers. The capability to carry a sufficiently potent defensive armament was a vital feature of these ships in the more military roles as well.
But for now, Harold was going to use the ships himself as part of his own small shipping line. That way, he could control the ships, test the designs and have the means of securely shipping out products to his customers without the prying eyes of others seeing what Harold was doing. To the rest of the world, Harold would simply appear to be adding to his financial and industrial empire.Chapter Twelve:

Harold Cavill’s Home Derby, Western Australia September 22, 1930

“They are all dead! Those bastards finally went ahead and blew it all up. Oh, Judith, what can I do?” Harold mournfully cried out while in the middle of one of his all too common nightmares. Dorothy had been growing increasingly worried.

“Harold! Are you alright, Sweetheart?” she asked ask Harold continued to cry out and thrash in the midst of this latest nightmare. She was finally able to wake him up after a few moments. Harold’s eyes flew wide open and he quickly looked around the room for a few seconds before Dorothy was able to calm him down.

“What happened?”

“You were having another one of your nightmares, Sweetheart. I had to wake you up because you were obviously in a very bad way.” Dorothy said as she held Harold close in her arms.
“I’m sorry, Dorothy. I guess that I woke you up too.” Harold sheepishly responded. He wasn’t aware of just how intense his nightmares had become.
“Did you serve in the Great War, Harold? I have heard that a lot of the men who had been in the trenches had nightmares for years afterwards.”
“No, I didn’t. I was elsewhere at the time and was unable to enlist.” Harold answered without telling the real reason. He had been born nearly one hundred years after the end of the First World War.
“I wonder what happened then? There is so much about you that I don’t know still. You’ve lived such an incredible life obviously, sweetheart. But I do love you very much, Harold. You know that, I’m sure.” Dorothy said, trying to reassure her husband.
“Don’t worry, Dorothy. I’ll be alright. It’s just a bad dream. We all have them from time to time.” Harold said.
“I still worry though, Sweetheart.” She replied, kissing Harold on the cheek as they lay together on the bed.
Harold was worried too. Would his nightmares reveal his secret to Dorothy, he wondered? Unfortunately, Harold didn’t know of anything that he could do about them.
Neither of them mentioned Harold’s nightmares the following morning at breakfast. Instead, the conversation was about Harold’s other relationships.
“I was looking at the envelopes in the mail yesterday, Harold. You correspond with some very interesting people, Sweetheart. I had read about Winston Churchill in the newspapers back in England. He was a very controversial person, I remember.” Dorothy commented as she ate breakfast.
“I know. If you have strong views on any subject, you are bound to stir up the passions of the people who have a different opinion. Winston Churchill certainly has many strong views on a variety of subjects.” Harold said with a quiet chuckle.
“So you are friends with him as well as the former Prime Minister of Australia. It is little wonder that you have some many visits by politicians, Harold.” Dorothy replied with a smile.
“Well, most of those visits here by politicians haven’t exactly been welcome. They either want money from me or they want to meddle in my business practices. There have been some politicians that I have met with who are interested in working with me on my terms. But there haven’t been too many of those yet.”
“Does that include that former Prime Minister? I think that his name is Billy Hughes. People around here refer to him as the ‘Little Digger’.”
“Yes, Prime Minister Hughes and I do share some common goals. He wants Australia to have a strong defense and to be able to stand up for its own interests in the world. This even includes our national interests separate from that of the Commonwealth.
But we certainly don’t agree on everything, Dorothy. Billy has been a committed advocate for organized labor and is considered by many people in this country to be a socialist. The labor unions can be beneficial to the workers in some areas. But left unrestrained, the unions’ demands always become excessive. The unions often fail to consider the long term effects of those demands, even if it means destroying the very companies that employ their workers.
Prime Minister Hughes is also an adherent to the ‘White Australia’ policy. That does limit my ability to bring in good people from outside of Australia to help build my businesses. At the same time, this policy is a major element of the discrimination being perpetrated against the Aborigines here as well.”
“Why do you think that the Australian government supports such a policy? It seems terribly racist.”
“I believe that involves more of a fear of the cultures from other areas of the world than of the actual color of their peoples’ skins. They are afraid that people who are not white Europeans will bring in different ways of doing things and different beliefs. They are also afraid that immigrants from places like Asia and Africa will not assimilate into the prevailing Australian culture which is based on European culture and Christianity.”
“What do you mean by ‘assimilate’?” Dorothy asked.
Harold quickly remembered that some of the terms that were being used in the mid-twenty-first century, were not necessarily used in the time that he had gone back to.
“It’s a term that means adopting the culture and values of the place that you have moved to. You could also say that assimilating is another way of saying ‘blending in’ with one’s neighbors.“ I’m sorry, Sweetheart. I forget sometimes that some of the words that I use aren’t necessarily well-known for everyone else.”
“That’s alright, Harold. I just wish that I knew more about your past. You are so brilliant and loving, yet so mysterious still.”
Harold smiled, but inside he hid the fear of what Dorothy might feel if she really knew his history and what he had in mind for the future. Of course, he had all of the best intentions in the world. But would she trust him if she knew who he really was? Harold still felt that he couldn’t take that chance with Dorothy or anyone else.

Harold Cavill’s Home Derby, Western Australia September 29, 1930

Dorothy didn’t want to just sit at home while Harold worked. So Harold found Dorothy a job with his corporation’s accounting office. She eagerly started working there less than a month after her arrival in Derby.

Dorothy had a short workday at the office and came home early. On those days, she would often go into Harold’s study and pull out one of his books to read. On this day, she spotted a copy of Jules Verne’s ‘Master of the World’ at the end of one of the book shelves. Then Dorothy spotted something unusual after pulling the book off of the shelf.

“What is this, I wonder?” She said as she reached out to touch what appeared to be a hidden switch at the end panel of the bookcase. She pressed the switch and immediately heard a quiet click. Then the entire bookcase began to swivel to the side slightly. Dorothy was then able to easily pull the bookcase and discovered it to be the door to Harold’s secret room.

She hesitated for a moment then opened the door. The room itself was rather small, less than the size of a child’s bedroom. There was a drafting table in the middle of the room with what appeared to be blueprints and a variety of unusual sketches on and around it. There was a desk in one corner with books scattered on it in addition to a variety of strange-looking electrical devices. The only thing that didn’t seem out of place in the room was the incandescent light bulb in the lamp on the desk.

Dorothy was absolutely astonished at what she saw. The drawings on the drafting table looked almost like they came from another world. There were aircraft, ships, vehicles and devices of all sorts that were depicted in the sketches.

She saw what appeared to be a strange looking typewriter. But there was no place to insert paper, just an attached flat hinged portion that was all black. An electric cable ran from the device to a set of large batteries. Another pair of cables ran to a set of small boxes. She had no idea that she was looking at an advanced portable computer connected to a pair of high-capacity data storage units. On the desk were also detailed notes about numerous world events that according to the dates had not yet occurred.

Dorothy very carefully placed everything back where she had found it. She didn’t want to accidentally ruin anything for Harold. She was frightened as she left the hidden room and closed the door to it. She was afraid of the mysterious objects, illustrations and notes that she had found there. But even more importantly, Dorothy was terrified because of the realization that she had so grievously violated Harold’s trust.

“What can I do now?” A shaken Dorothy asked herself. She could remain silent and hope that Harold never found out that she had been inside the secret room. There was always a possibility that he would never find out.
Of course, if Harold did find out without Dorothy being up front about what she had done would certainly destroy any trust that he had in her. If he did know from her that she was aware of his secrets, then perhaps she could do something more to help this mysterious man that she loved so very much.
Dorothy has a few hours to think about all of this before Harold was due to come home. Until then, she prayed and wondered. What would be the right thing to do? Eventually, the door would open, Harold would come in and Dorothy would have to make that fateful decision.
The time for that decision eventually did come, of course.
“Hello, Sweetheart. I have an admission to make. I found the entrance to your secret room today.” Dorothy told Harold when he got home from had been a particularly long day at work for him. Dorothy still felt very guilty about violating Harold’s trust and it showed in her expression and tone.
Harold was both shocked and terrified by what Dorothy had just said. What else did she do? What has she seen? He had hoped that the concealment alone would have been enough to keep anyone out, especially with the hidden switch to the door being the only other obstacle to entry.
“Did you go inside, Dorothy?” Harold warily asked.
“Yes, Sweetheart. I did.” She admitted before continuing. “I apologize for violating your request. But I just had to learn what you had inside of there. You have always been so secretive about that room. I knew that it somehow was related to the nightmares that you keep having.”
“Yes, Dorothy. I have been very secretive about the contents of that room…and for very good reason.” An angry and worried Harold replied, terrified of the potential of this ‘genie’ being let out.
“I understand why. You are right to be worried about what the world might learn. But I am not the world. I am your wife and would never reveal your secrets to anyone, especially what I have learned. It is plain to see that you are all that Wells and Verne wrote about and so much more. What is in that room has to be from another world….or perhaps another time? Isn’t it, Harold?” Dorothy asked with a look that silently pled for forgiveness and understanding.
“I don’t quite know what to do. It’s not like I can undo what you have done, Dorothy. What could come of this may be very dangerous for everyone, not just you or I.”
“You can choose to trust me when I say that I will never reveal your secrets here. It must be very important for you to be here, doing what you are doing. What I don’t understand is why you are here? I know that I can help you if I know what you want to accomplish here.
But I know your heart, Harold. I know that you are a good man. So, no matter what you tell me or show me, I will still always love you.”
Harold was angry and hurt that Dorothy would violate his trust in such an important matter. But he was also intrigued as well. She wasn’t shocked about what she had seen, even if she still did not know the entire story.
Now that she knows so much about what Harold brought back with him from the future, maybe Dorothy will understand why his work is so important to him, Harold hoped.
“Dorothy, if you must know about why I am here, I will tell you. But, no matter what, no one else must ever know. The fate of this world and the future of humanity is at stake here.”
Harold then led Dorothy to the secret room, opened the room and walked inside with her. He had Dorothy sit down on the one chair in the room. Harold sat on a stack of books in the corner.
“This is all going to seem utterly fantastic. But you might as well know the whole story now. Obviously, I can’t hide anything from you any longer.” Harold solemnly said.
Then he began to explain about the technology in the room, the future that he came from and what he wanted to accomplish.
Dorothy silently listened for over an hour as Harold explained everything, even as he emotionally talked about his late first wife Judith. Dorothy shed her own tears as Harold spoke of Judith and of all of the friends that he left behind on a dying Earth after the end of the nuclear war. After that, Harold explained his basic plans for trying to prevent mankind from destroying itself in the year 2040.
Then when Harold finally finished revealing all of his secrets, Dorothy only said one thing.
“Sweetheart, what can I do to help?”
The warm, loving smile that Dorothy showed at that moment wiped away any worries that Harold had about her knowing what he had kept hidden for so long.
“First, it is vitally important that you tell absolutely no one else about any of this. You can understand now why, I hope. Secondly, I really could use someone that I can talk to about all of this. Having a second opinion available can be very helpful, especially from someone else who knows the situation.” Harold replied with a relieved smile of his own.
“I will not tell anyone. You can be completely certain of that, my dear, incredible husband. Now, you haven’t told anyone else about all of this?”
“I have alluded to the fact that I have knowledge of the future to several of the Aborigine tribal elders. I needed the aborigines as loyal allies for the work that I needed to accomplish. I haven’t pretended to be a god to them or anything like that. I simply told them that I had knowledge of the future and that I needed their help.”
“That would explain how the aborigines look at you with what appears to be such awe. I’m quite astonished about what I have just learned myself in spite of being well educated. But for the aborigines, what you know has to seem like magic to them.”
“I know, Dorothy. While I haven’t told them my entire story, I also haven’t lied to the aborigines either. It’s their future that I am trying to protect as well as everyone else’s on Earth.”
“You mean that terrible war that you told me of will kill all of humanity, even the people down here thousands of miles away from Asia, Europe and the Americas?”
“Yes, that certainly appeared to be the case when I was preparing to go through the temporal portal. The temperatures were already beginning to drop very rapidly in most parts of the world. There had been predictions for many years that such a war would plunge the entire world into a new ice age and lead to mass extinctions. It would be too cold to grow crops, much less feed livestock. Billions of people who survived the bombs would either starve to death, succumb to diseases, or die from exposure to the cold. Very few people are even remotely capable of surviving such a calamity. There would not be enough survivors among humanity to keep our species from dying off within a few generations.”
“You truly believe that you can prevent this war that happens more than a century from now, Harold?”
“I pray that I can. I cannot believe that God would have allowed this door to the past to be created if He did not want someone to go back through it to save mankind. But first, we have to deal with the war that coming soon. That conflict will make the war that destroys humanity possible.”
“Another war?”
“Yes, my dear. This war will be the largest that mankind has ever seen and will encompass the entire globe. Tens of millions of people will die in it. But this conflict will also provide the reason for the development of the nuclear weapons that will doom our descendants one hundred years later.
Mind you, I have no problems at all with the development of nuclear power for peaceful purposes. But the technology has to be kept under control for the benefit of all mankind. Even rational people make irrational decisions that can cost the lives of billions. I know this all too well, I’m afraid.” Harold sadly said.
“I had read about the experiments with radium and pitchblende earlier, Harold. But I thought that making bombs that would destroy entire cities and poison millions of people to be purely fantasy that belonged in the pages of an H.G. Wells novel.”
“No, Dorothy. What the scientists and engineered created was most certainly no fantasy. During the next world war, single bombs using refined uranium or a new man-made radioactive element called plutonium completely destroyed two Japanese cities. Then for the next nine decades, nations built tens of thousands more of these terrible weapons, some a thousand times more powerful than the first nuclear bombs.” Harold grimly explained.
“These ‘nuclear’ weapons are the reason why you traveled back in time, Harold?” Dorothy asked while intently looking into Harold’s eyes. He could see the love, worry and strength is Dorothy’s eyes as she looked at him and listened to his incredible story.
“Mostly, but I also wanted to try to change some other things as well. The people that have been running Russia since 1917 spread their Marxist poison throughout much of the world in the decades to come. They tried to convince people that communism would make everyone equal. Instead, they enslaved the majority of their fellow countrymen to a tiny corrupt elite and instigated numerous wars of aggression. This led to many millions of unnecessary deaths even before the final war. This was also a major element in the war that doomed humanity in the future that I came from. I want to try to change things so that Marxism will be defeated before it can do so much damage to the world. Maybe with it and nuclear weapons gone, we can find a course that will take us away from all of this conflict.
I’d love for humanity to be able to ultimately focus its efforts away from war and towards travelling to the stars. That way, we all really do have a future this time.”
“Harold, that sounds like an incredible goal. I will do everything that I can to help you achieve it. But I am afraid that there is going to be a lot more war in the near future based on what I have been reading. You feel the same way too, I think. You are building companies that can easily make weapons of war, some of them are specifically oriented towards armaments.”
“You are right, Dorothy. But we in the civilized world cannot survive without the means of defending ourselves. I just don’t want us to go down the path of developing weapons that will destroy us all in the blink of an eye before we can stop the madness. There are far too many charismatic madmen in the world who would take that step regardless of the consequences.”
“Something tells me some of those charismatic madmen are already among us.” Dorothy insightfully responded.
“Yes, I’m afraid so. Unfortunately, even I cannot do anything about them at this point.” Harold admitted.
“Can we do anything about them now? Surely you know who they are.”
“Yes, I can research all sorts of information from my computer database on people like Josef Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and others like them. The problem is while they are very influential men, they are only part of the problem. The systems that each of them represents have to be destroyed. That is going to take a massive war to accomplish.”
You couldn’t just arrange to assassinate them? I know that would mean murdering them. But aren’t they already guilty of murder themselves by now?” Dorothy asked.
“Perhaps some of them could be killed. It would be very difficult because many of these evil men are already very well protected by their supporters. Also, if I try to attack them directly, it will draw unnecessary attention to me and my current efforts. There is also the possibility that someone will replace them who is even worse as well.”
“I understand. So you won’t be able to stop the war that is coming?”
“Not this one, I’m afraid. I just don’t have the power at this point. But maybe I can help save some lives and prevent other conflicts that come after this one. This war, like the one before, spread the seeds of many other conflicts, including the one that destroys the world in the future that I came from. Maybe I can do something about that.”
“That is certainly a worthy goal, Harold. I can see why are doing what you are doing then. It also probably applies your strengths as well. You are obviously very talented as a businessman but also you know the applied sciences very well.”
“Yes, this is all true. I studied at the University to be a mechanical engineer at a relatively young age which is where I received much of my technical training. But I also received minors in Business and Economics as well before I truly started my career.”
Dorothy then sat silently for a few moments before speaking.
“I am very curious about the wife that you lost while you were in the future. You told me some things about Judith. I dearly want to learn the rest of her story. How did you lose her? It must have been very hard on you because of how much you used her name while you had those terrible nightmares.”
Harold hesitated for a moment. Dorothy had asked a very difficult and painful question. But he knew that now was the time to be completely open and honest if she was going to truly understand him.
“Judith was Jewish, you know. In fact, she was what some people would call a Zionist. She believed so strongly in the continued existence of the modern state of Israel that she would often travel there and help the Israelis in whatever way that she could, no matter the danger. She even served as a volunteer in the Israeli Defense Force as a young woman. She saw the horrors of war and terrorism first hand. But Judith never shied away from what she felt needed to be done. Judith also beautiful, brilliant and extraordinarily talented. She was even more intelligent than I.
Well, she was visiting Tel Aviv, when an Arab terrorist plot was uncovered. The Islamic terrorists had planted a nuclear bomb somewhere in the city. Rather than run away, Judith volunteered to search for the device. She was on the team that found it. She stayed to try to disarm the bomb while the area was being evacuated.
They realized that they could not stop the timer on the bomb. But Judith still refused to leave. She attacked the device with whatever tools were at hand, hoping to damage it enough that it would not detonate. She very nearly succeeded. The bomb detonated finally. But because of the damage to it inflicted by Judith, the device did not reach critical yield. The explosive force was a tiny fraction of what it might have been. Instead of destroying virtually an entire city, the bomb only destroyed the building that it had been found in.
The Israelis told me that they knew that Judith had been the one who saved all those lives because what she did was all caught by a video camera.”
“A video camera?”
“I know. Video is still a little before your time. But it was essentially a small movie camera that transmitted the images electronically to a separate monitor screen, something like the screen on my portable computer here.”
“You had such wonderful devices in the future, Harold. I hope that I live to see all of them.” An amazed Dorothy remarked.
“I hope that you will too, my dear.”
Dorothy then asked, “You never got to truly grieve for Judith, did you?” The expression of love and concern clearly evident in Dorothy’s voice.
Harold hesitated before answering.
“No, I don’t think that I ever did. I was always so busy with my businesses and various other interests. I would sometimes take time away from it all and go on ‘walkabout’, but I still never really did properly grieve for her. There were so many things that we wanted to do including having a family. But all of that was taken away from us.”
“It’s time that you finally did. I understand that you loved Judith very much. She made her life mean something to the world and you want dearly to do that as well for her.”
“Yes, you’re right. But, it’s still not easy to do.”
“It sounds like she was a very special lady. I am going to do everything that I can to help you make that difference in this world because I love you very much. I may never live up to Judith’s selfless example, but I will certainly try my best.” Dorothy declared as she pulled Harold towards her and wrapped him up in her arms, tears rolling down her face. He was crying too as he thought about Judith and about how much he loved Dorothy too.
Before Harold knew it, Dorothy was literally dragging him into the bedroom. The next few hours proved to be very cathartic for Harold as well as being very pleasurable for both him and Dorothy. There would be many such pleasurable nights for both of them after this.
Dorothy soon changed jobs from the accounting office to Harold’s main office. There, she can work much more closely with Harold and assist him with any sensitive material that he had at his office. She also would deliver correspondence and materials to the various offices in Derby.
But most importantly, Dorothy got to spend a lot more private time with Harold. Harold used this time to describe humanity’s future as had happened in his timeline. Dorothy would engage in detailed discussions with Harold as they considered about how he could possibly change the future to prevent the final war and other terrible events from happening.Chapter Thirteen:

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
October 21, 1930

Dorothy Cavill drove up to the office in one of the company trucks after delivering some drafting supplies to the shipyard. She continued to increase her involvement in Harold’s companies since learning his secrets. While it pleased Harold very much to finally have someone he that could confide in, it also continued to worry him as well. He was still worried that Dorothy might slip up and accidentally reveal the source of his knowledge to someone else.

“Is Harold in his office?” Dorothy asked Harold’s office manager after walking in with her arms full of supplies.
“Yes, Ma’am. He’s inside right now looking at a new product. Do you want me to let him know that you are here?”
“No, Thomas. That’s alright. I will just let myself in.” Dorothy said before opening the door, stepping into Harold’s office and closing the door behind her.
Harold was standing there with a rifle in his hands, looking at it very carefully. He quickly looked up when he heard the door close and saw Dorothy standing there.
“What’s that, sweetheart?” Dorothy asked after she saw the rifle in Harold’s hands. The rifle was brand new, the one-piece wooden stock still shiny from a recent application of lacquer. In most ways, the rifle looked like a slightly enlarged M1 carbine, in other words, very traditional. But the large detachable metal box magazine and wooden pistol grip, both protruding from the bottom of the rifle, were the features that made the rifle stand out in appearance.
“This is one of the prototypes of a new rifle that I intend to produce.”
“That gun is very unusual looking. Is it a design from your future?” She quietly said.
“Not exactly, it actually borrows some features from a lot of historical firearms. I saw some material in my computer database on an early rifle designed by a Russian by the name of Fedorov. I was able to obtain an actual example of this rifle which could fire a single shot with each pull of the trigger and could also fire fully automatic rapid fire like a Maxim machine gun. All that was required to change to automatic fire was a simple flip of a lever switch on the side of the weapon’s receiver. These features were later incorporated into an entire class of firearms referred to as assault rifles.”
“That sounds brilliant, Harold. What else can you tell me about it?”
“Most of the differences involve a lot of technical details. But this rifle uses a short stroke gas system and a detachable box magazine that holds the ammunition. It uses a cartridge that in between the current rifle and pistol cartridges in terms of power. The firearm’s barrel is 51 centimeters long. That’s about 20 inches. The combination of cartridge power and barrel length will give this rifle an effective range of somewhere between three hundred and five hundred meters. Overall, the rifle will still be easy to carry since it only weighs about three kilograms fully loaded. We had to substitute some lighter materials into this rifle to make it easier to carry. That dropped this rifle’s weight down by over a full kilogram from the weight of the original Federov design.
This rifle will be easy to maintain as well as have the ability to select semi-automatic and fully automatic fire at will. In this way, it will have the best of both worlds. It can replace the old .303 LeeEnfield rifle as well as a variety of submachine guns that fire pistol caliber rounds.”
“So how are you going to be able to convince the world that it is just a rifle based on an obscure Russian design? It seems that this rifle would appear to be conspicuously out of place to someone who knows about guns, at least guns of this time.”
“This rifle will still use the same Japanese Arisaka 6.5 millimeter ammunition as the Fedorov weapon. The use of that intermediate cartridge was one of the best elements of the Fedorov design. It has a reasonable effective range, yet the recoil is mild enough to be controllable even in fully automatic fire. I’ve had our firearms designer also create a new cartridge variant that combined the Arisaka cartridge case with an aerodynamic spitzer bullet that can be used in our rifle as well. This new cartridge is superior in range and accuracy to the round that the Japanese use in their bolt action rifles and machine guns. But we can still use the standard Japanese ammunition with an easy manual adjustment to the gas system that a soldier can do with a simple twist of a knob.
It sounds like everything else about this design is still reasonably contemporary as far as I can tell. I suppose that the person seeing this gun will just be a unique combination of features that will eventually be recognized as being ahead of its time. But it just won’t be too far ahead.”
“Can I shoot it? It has been such a long time since you taught me to shoot using your older guns. It would be fascinating to fire something as futuristic as this rifle.”
“Certainly, my dear. Besides, it will give me a better idea of how well people of a lighter frame can handle this rifle. In the future that I came from, female soldiers frequently found themselves in battle using weapons such as this that fired an intermediate caliber cartridge. While the women weren’t front-line soldiers by any means, they usually performed admirably under the circumstances.”
“Are you planning on recruiting women to be soldiers?” Dorothy asked.
“No. I hope that we don’t have to take such desperate measures. However, if our men are all fighting elsewhere and we were attacked, women could be part of the local militia forces. Then, the militias would have a weapon that a woman could easily use if we have to defend our homeland in the case of an emergency.”
“That is very thoughtful, Sweetheart. I just hope that it doesn’t come to that.”
“I don’t either. But it is important to prepare for emergencies just in case.”
“I agree. It’s going to be enough of a challenge getting women integrated into the workforce at our factories over the next few years. A lot of our men are going to end up on the front lines or even defending Australia itself. So we will need our women to work outside of the home as well.”
“That sounds like things could become very desperate during this war that is coming soon. I truly pray that it doesn’t go that far.” A worried Dorothy responded.
“I hope you are right, Dorothy. But we have to be prepared because once history starts being changed by what we are doing, it will be very difficult to see exactly what direction events will take.”
“Do you have a name for this new rifle yet, Sweetheart?”
` “I wasn’t planning on anything fancy for it. Maybe, I will just call it the CR-1 for Cavill Rifle, Model Number One. Anyway, I don’t have anything planned for the next few hours, Sweetheart. If I remember your schedule correctly, neither do you. Let’s go out to the shooting range so we can try our new rifle out.” Dorothy eagerly said.
Harold smiled. There was still lots of empty land outside of town where they could go shoot without bothering anyone. This was very unlike being in any of the big cities in the future that Harold came from.
“Let me pick up some ammunition and paper targets. Then we can meet at the truck and drive out to the range to do some target practice.”
Harold was still pleasantly surprised to see just how enthusiastically Dorothy accept what he was doing and embrace the idea of him being from the future.
After arriving at the shooting range, Harold and Dorothy took turns shooting the new rifle for more than two hours. The smile on Dorothy’s face never wavered as she shot at the targets more than two hundred meters away after getting the rifle’s sights zeroed in.
“This rifle is fantastic, Harold. I love how comfortable it is. It is so easy to hit a target with this rifle too. How many do you plan on making?”
“I don’t know yet. This is just a prototype that still needs a lot more testing to work out any possible problems with it. But I would like to begin with an initial production of one thousand rifles once my firearms engineer and I are completely satisfied with the final design.”
“I am looking forward to seeing that final design. This rifle is really fun to shoot already though. It will be hard to make it much better, I believe.” Dorothy said before putting down the rifle and continuing to talk.
“You certainly do know a lot about guns and how to handle them, Harold. I also have always been curious about how you managed to take all of those diamonds into China to convert into gold. That certainly had to be very dangerous. Did you have to use your guns to save your life during that adventure?” Dorothy asked.
“Well, things did get a little hairy on a couple of occasions. I was starting to feel like a character out of some motion pictures that I remembered. He was an archeologist who would get in all kinds of adventures around the world, armed only with a pistol, a bullwhip and a considerable amount of knowledge of ancient history.
When I was running around in China, the only thing that I didn’t have was the bullwhip. But I did have to pull out my Webley on occasion. A couple of people thought that they would take possession of my diamonds without providing due compensation. So I had to forcefully dissuade them of the notion.” Harold said in a deliberately understated manner that Dorothy found hilarious.
“Obviously, you were quite successful in your endeavors out there during your early days in the twentieth century.” Dorothy laughed.
“Yes. Of course, I had a much better ‘treasure map’. Eventually, I also got the girl as well.” Harold replied before giving Dorothy a kiss.
“I thank God that you came into my life every day, Harold.” Dorothy replied as she drew closer to her husband from the future.

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
January 28, 1931

Harold walked into his company office after meeting with the shipyard manager earlier in the day. He was surprised to see that Dorothy was not at her desk as she usually was.
“Anyone know where my wife is? I thought that she was going to be at work today.” Harold asked.
“I think that she is down at the aerodrome.” Thomas, Harold’s office assistant noted.
“Was she going to take a trip somewhere?”
“I don’t think so, Sir.” Thomas said with a straight face. Obviously, he had no idea what Dorothy was doing either.
Harold thought about things for a moment before turning to Thomas.
“I am going out to the aerodrome for a short while. If anyone calls, please tell them that I will be returning soon.” He quickly said before heading out to his truck for the short drive to the aerodrome.
Just as Harold arrived, he saw Dorothy dressed in a blouse, slacks and wearing a leather flying helmet about to get into the front seat of a small biplane trainer. She smiled as the recognized Harold walking up from his truck but at the same time, Harold could tell that she was a little disappointed.
“Hi, Sweetheart. I’m sorry that you found me. I wanted to surprise you by learning how to fly an aircraft. I thought that by having a pilot in the family, we could fly ourselves around if necessary.”
“That is very thoughtful, Dorothy. But you know that we can easily afford to hire pilots when we need them.”
“I know. But I want to contribute more than just being an administrator in your office. Besides, this is already my third flying lesson. It is so much fun up here in the sky. Please, Harold. Let me do this.” Dorothy pled.
Harold just couldn’t believe how much of Judith that he could see in Dorothy. Judith was so daring and lived her life fearlessly. Here, Dorothy was doing the very same thing without ever really knowing Harold’s first wife from a future timeline. Like Judith, Dorothy wanted to be and do so much more than the vast majority of the women of their time. She learned to shoot, drove cars and had been exploring the unknown in the form of technologies depicted in a computer database that would have been invented for over half a century yet.
“Then I don’t have much of a choice, do I? Go ahead and learn how to fly. But, be very careful. I would hate to lose you too. Alright?”
Dorothy ran up with a huge smile on her face, wrapped her arms around Harold and gave him a passionate kiss.
“Thank you, sweetheart. I love you so very much. I will be careful, I promise.” Dorothy gleefully said before dashing quickly back to the plane. The flight instructor was waiting and ready to go. Within a minute, the little biplane was roaring down the runway and up into the skies.
Harold quietly prayed for Dorothy’s safe return before going back to his office. While Harold continued to work on the many projects that were on his desk, he continued to worry about Dorothy’s safety. He knew that aircraft were far less reliable during this era than the ones of the twenty-first century. Still, he would not stifle Dorothy’s desire to explore. It was one of the parts of her that reminded Harold so very much of Judith. How could he take that away from her without destroying what else he loved about Dorothy? So Harold forced himself to wait and pray for the best.
Harold watched anxiously as the small biplane flew overhead, performing a variety of maneuvers for more than half an hour before landing at the airstrip. The biplane’s wheels bounced a couple of times before finally settling onto the ground.
After the little biplane taxied back up to the hangar, Dorothy jumped out of the cockpit with a huge smile on her face. She grabbed Harold fiercely, then hugged and kissed him.
“Did you see that, Sweetheart? The instructor actually let me land the airplane this time.”
“He let you land it after only three flying lessons?” An incredulous Harold asked.
“Oh, yes! He said that I was a natural pilot. Isn’t that exciting, Harold?”
Harold thought for a few moments before responding. This was, of course, a time when people sometimes built their own aircraft and taught themselves to fly. The aircraft of this era were also much slower. The biplane that Dorothy was in, an old Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, had particularly benign flight characteristics and a very slow landing speed.
“I’m just glad that you are alright. You had me a little scared when you landed and bounced.”
“Oh, that was nothing, Harold. I’m sure that I will do a lot better the next time that I fly.” The smile on Dorothy’s face was even broader than before. She was totally fearless and absolutely in love with flying airplanes, it was obvious to Harold.
“Please be careful, Dorothy. I don’t want to go through losing another woman that I love so very much.” Harold said while looking directly into Dorothy’s eyes, his love and concern clearly evident.
“Don’t worry, Sweetheart. I want very much to see the coming future with you. But, I while I will be careful, I will not put myself in a glass cage either. There is too much to live for to be either too cautious or too reckless either.” A confident Dorothy quickly replied.
“When you plan on taking your next flying lesson, Dorothy?”
“Tomorrow, if I can.”
“Alright then. It would come in handy to have a pilot in the family, I would imagine.” Harold said with a small smile.
Dorothy quickly hugged and kissed Harold once again.
“Oh, thank you! I love you so very much!”
“Just don’t make me regret this, OK?”
“Of course, not. I want you to be as proud of me as I am of you.” Dorothy said with a twinkle in her eye and an expression that spoke volumes as to how much she adored Harold, her mysterious man from the future.

Harold Cavill’s Home Derby, Western Australia March 14, 1931

Harold and Dorothy were sitting in his secret room looking at material off of his portable computer’s screen. Because the small room was so crowded with papers and equipment, there was barely enough room for the two of them to sit.

“This is just so utterly remarkable, Harold. It is still very difficult for me to imagine all of the wondrous things that will be created in the future. Yet, this ‘computer’ of yours and all of the information that it holds within it are proof of such incredible possibilities.” Dorothy said, her eyes wide open in astonishment as she viewed the images on the computer screen.

“I was so accustomed to the technology of the future that I came from that I took it all for granted. But I was very worried that you would be overwhelmed by this knowledge. A noted author from my past and your future once said that ‘any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic’. I am very glad to have been wrong about you in that regards.” Harold noted with relief.

“I’m sure that for most people of my time, this would still be considered ‘magic’. But even this one device offers so many possibilities for us.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know how long this technology will be available to me. Even this machine will eventually cease to function. When it does, all of the information that it contains will be lost, perhaps forever.”
“Maybe we can write down or draw some of the most important information to save it? I saw that you have already tried to do some of that.”
“Yes, but we have to be very careful in what we save. I am trying to establish a priority system for the most important information so that we can transcribe it first. I could certainly use some help. I believe that you mentioned that you took some art classes while you were in school.”
“Yes, I did. I also took shorthand classes as well to help me in Mister Bentley’s office. I believe that will help me copying down notes from your computer machine as well.”
“Yes, Sweetheart. I’m sure that it will help considerably.”
“When do you want me to get started illustrating some of the images from your information storage device, Harold? Now that I have finished my initial flight lessons and have received my official pilot’s license, I have a lot more time on my hands.”
“Hopefully, very soon. Things have been a little hectic at work lately. We have several major projects going on at the same time. Plus, we have had to deal with several annoying government bureaucrats who don’t like that we are caring for, educating and employing so many of the aborigines here.”
“Bureaucrats can be such idiots. Of course, it is the nature of big government to meddle in places where it doesn’t belong, isn’t it?”
“I can’t agree more, Dorothy.” Harold answered with a laugh and a sigh.
“Harold, I was thinking about that device of yours that has all of information of the future on it. I suppose that it would impractical to be able to build something to print all of that information onto paper?”
“I’m afraid so. The amount of paper needed to print out everything would fill every building in town. Plus, the technology to build such a printer that could connect to my computer would not even exist for at least another thirty years.”
“I do have an idea for perhaps capturing a few of the images. They say that a ‘picture is worth a thousand words’. Perhaps we can take a camera and take photos of specific images from your device’s display screen? We would have to do all of our development of the photographs, of course.”
Harold smiled as he considered Dorothy’s idea.
“That is a very clever idea. We would have to be very careful so that the photograph does not show any part of my computer except for the screen itself. Obviously, all of the photos would also have to hidden away from anyone else.”
“I know, Sweetheart. I’m sure that we have more than enough space in the house to set up a darkroom to develop the photographs. You do have information on that device of yours on how to do that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. But I also have to remind you again that we must limit the use of the computer as much as possible. While I have redundant data drives, if one of the critical components of the computer itself malfunctions, all of the data will be completely inaccessible, possibly forever.”
“I understand, sweetheart. But perhaps we will still be able to save a few things on film this way.”
“Oh, yes. I agree. Thank you for suggesting it. I will have to put considerable thought into what images that we will want to try to preserve on film first. They would certainly help along with the illustrations that you are also going to do.”
“Harold, there’s something else that I wanted to tell you about that is very important.”
“What is it, Dorothy?”
“I went to see the doctor this morning. I am very pleased to announce that you are about to become a father.” Dorothy answered, a huge smile appearing on her face.
“This is incredible! When is our baby due?” An ecstatic Harold asked.
“The doctor isn’t exactly sure, but thinks that perhaps we will be sometime in September or October.” Dorothy replied, her face already glowing.
“I guess that we will be preparing one of our spare rooms to be a nursery soon. You can’t believe how happy I am right now, Dorothy. I never dreamed that I would ever become a father, especially after what happened so many years ago.” Harold said while embracing and kissing his newly expectant wife.
“Just think of this baby as God’s way of helping to create a new future for you, Sweetheart.”
“Indeed, I do.” Harold said while wiping tears from his eyes as he continued to hold Dorothy, all thoughts of a future war and its terrible path of destruction far from his mind for the moment.
“We will have to think of a name for her.”
“Are you that sure that our first child is going to be a girl, Dorothy? Even in my future, we didn’t know right away without a bunch of tests.”
”Trust me, Sweetheart. I have a feeling that I am carrying a girl. But I guess that we will know for sure in about seven months, won’t we?”
“I guess so. Do you have any ideas on what you want to name our baby if we do have a girl?”
“I was thinking maybe naming her Judith, if you didn’t mind.” Dorothy said with a smile.
Tears began to run down Harold’s face again as he kissed her.
“Thank you, Dorothy. You don’t know how much this means to me. I love you very much.”
Of course, seven months later, Dorothy turned out to be right.

Chapter Fourteen:

Harold Cavill’s Office Derby, Western Australia October 1, 1931

Dorothy had put a hold on her flying during the past couple of months as a result of her pregnancy. Now, she was spending most of her time either working at the office or back home in the secret room. In the latter case, she was always with Harold because he knew what historical events or technology to look for on the portable computer that he really felt would benefit his work in the current timeline. Dorothy still did not have Harold’s experience in the technology of the twenty-first century or the vision as to what could upset the timeline if revealed prematurely.

Dorothy’s clothing now could hardly be considered stylish, especially with her belly protruding so far out in her ninth month of pregnancy. But in Harold’s eyes, she was still as beautiful as ever as he came into their secret room shortly after noon.

“How are you feeling today, Dorothy?” “I’m getting those cramps again, but we’ve dealt with them several times already. I think that I will be alright for now.”
“OK. But if you have any other problems, I will take you to the hospital right away.” Harold said as he gave his wife a hug and kiss.
Harold started to pull up some information from his portable computer while Dorothy set up the camera to take photos of the screen when she suddenly stopped.
“Sweetheart, we need to go to the hospital. I think that the baby is coming now.”
“How do you know, Dorothy?”
“Because my water just broke.” She said while pointing to a small puddle of liquid on the floor underneath her.
Harold quickly shut down the computer, grabbed Dorothy and led her out of the room. He already had some of Dorothy’s clothing already packed in a bag and ready to go.
“How are you feeling, Dear?” He asked as he snagged the clothing bag on the way out the door with Dorothy.
“I’m OK. I guess that I am feeling real contractions now.” She said after grimacing for a moment.
“Don’t worry, it’s only a few minutes away from the hospital. We just have to get you into the truck.”
By now, Harold had purchased a Ford Model A truck to replace his old Model T truck. Now, as Harold raced down the bumpy road to the hospital with Dorothy, he realized that he would have to buy a sedan too to accommodate his growing family.
The hospital quickly came into view. It was a series of interconnected one-story buildings, some with wooden frames while a few were made on concrete and brick. The facility had started with just one room and a single doctor. Now, it had over twenty rooms, four doctors, five nurses and ten beds in addition to one of the first medical labs in Western Australia. A swamp cooler kept the hospital rooms relatively cool during the summer season in Derby.
The truck skidded to a stop in front of the hospital entrance. Harold then ran to the other side of the truck, opened the door and helped Dorothy to walk inside. They were quickly met by Doctor Phillips and escorted to a treatment room for delivery of Dorothy’s baby.
The petite, blonde-haired, hazel-eyed Doctor Angela Phillips was a recent arrival to the Derby Hospital. She had received her medical training in England, but was fascinated by news of Harold Cavill’s work with the aborigines. So she paid for her own passage to Australia. Then Angela made her way to Derby and asked to be hired as one of its doctors.
Her request was readily accepted by Harold’s hospital. Angela had now been working at the Derby hospital for more than a year.
“Hello, Mister Cavill. I guess that you and Dorothy are ready to have your baby now. Let’s get Dorothy here comfortable here. I will get her a hospital gown to wear as we get ready for the delivery.”
Harold had expected that he would be allowed in the delivery room. After all, that was frequently the case for births in the twenty-first century. But he was surprised when Doctor Phillips had other plans.
“Sorry, Mister Cavill. You need to wait out here. I will let you know when your baby has arrived and you can come visit. Alright?”
“Yes, Doctor.” Harold replied as he turned and began to walk to the hospital’s small reception area. He was disappointed but wasn’t going to press the issue. He still had a lot to learn about this point in history, obviously.
Harold waited for over an hour before a smiling Doctor Phillips finally came out.
“Mister Cavill, your wife and new baby daughter are both doing just fine. You can come with me now if you want to see them.”
Harold quickly walked to the room where Dorothy and their newborn daughter waited. Dorothy was sitting up in bed, holding their baby.
“Isn’t our daughter beautiful? It can’t believe how wonderful it is to finally be holding her in my arms.”
“Yes, Dear. She is beautiful. Of course, you were right all those months ago when you said that you were having a girl. Have you thought about a name for her now?”
“Actually, I thought of one name in particular that we could name our daughter. But I wanted to see if it would be alright with you. “
“What name is that?”
“I want to call her Judith Marie. Marie was my mother’s first name. Of course, we both know that Judith was very important to you in another life. Now, Judith will be very important to you in this life as well.”
Tears welled in Harold’s eyes as he reached out and held Dorothy’s hand.
“Thank you, Dorothy. I think that it would be a most fitting name for our firstborn daughter.”
“Well, I think that it is about time for Judith’s first feeding.” Dorothy said as she began to loosen her blouse to expose her breast.
“You are going to breastfeed?”
“Of course. If it is good enough for the aborigine women, it is certainly good enough for our daughter.” Dorothy said with a smile.
Harold immediately returned the smile. He had not been sure what Dorothy had in mind for feeding Judith. There were still a lot of women in Harold’s time that chose to use baby formula instead of breastfeeding. But Harold was quite pleased with Dorothy’s choice in any event.
“I will let you go ahead and feed Judith while I talk with Doctor Phillips for a few minutes.” Harold said before stepping out of the room with the doctor in tow.
“First, Doctor Phillips. I wanted to say ‘thank you’ for your work in delivering our daughter. Secondly, I wanted to learn how well this hospital is doing in helping the people in this area.”
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work here, Mister Cavill. I’ve already learned that ever since you started this hospital, Mister Cavill, the overall health of the people living here, especially the aborigines, has significantly improved. It also appears that the birth rate for the aborigines has also gone up quite a bit as well. From what I have heard, this is a major shift from what had been a falling Aborigine population during the previous several decades.”
“Doctor, considering that only a couple of decades earlier, the white settlers were hunting down the aborigines like they were animals, this is very good news. But for me, taking care of all of my workers, regardless of the color of their skin, is just good business. I take care of them. They take care of me in return.
But in the long run, they are all human beings. Whatever happens affects us all in the long run.” Harold explained while thinking of the nuclear holocaust that happened in his future.
“That’s pretty unusual thinking, especially around this part of the world. But I’m glad that you do think that way. Someone has to for all our sakes.”
A few minutes later, Harold returned to the private hospital room that Dorothy and Judith had been moved to. It was really the only private room available in the hospital. Most of the hospital beds were still located in larger rooms with eight to twelve beds in each room.
“Hi, Sweetheart. Our daughter was very hungry, it seemed.” A smiling Dorothy said as she continued to hold a now sleeping Judith.
“She is beautiful, isn’t she? She takes after her mother, of course.” Harold said while bending down and giving Dorothy a gentle kiss.
“Before you know it, little Judith here will be running around the house and asking for everything.” Dorothy said.
“Speaking of children running around the house; that will be something which will cause us some serious problems in the future. Eventually, our children are going to either see us going into the secret room or will discover it and its contents on their own. We will perhaps have to find some other place to relocate my materials from the future. It will have to be someplace where our children cannot get into until they are ready for us to tell them about it.” Harold quietly said.
“You’re right. We still have at least a year before that could begin to be an issue. That should give us enough time to come up with a solution like your suggestion or perhaps something else.”
“But for now, I am so very thankful that both of you are here and healthy. I love both of you very much too. We will deal with the other issues in due time.”

Harold and Dorothy’s Home Derby, Western Australia December 25, 1931

Since this was Christmas Day, Harold had given all of his employees except those who were absolutely essential like some of the workers at the electric power plant and a few local police officers. This also meant that Harold and Dorothy would get to have an entire peaceful day to themselves as well.

That was not to say that Harold wasn’t busy. He spent most of the morning working in the kitchen. He had promised Dorothy that he would make Christmas supper this year. During much of that time, Dorothy tended to Judith and reviewed some of the notes from their recent research sessions in the secret room.

“Come on out, Dorothy. Supper is ready.” Harold called out from near the kitchen.

Dorothy came into the great room which included the living room, dining room and adjoined with the kitchen. The table had already been set with a variety of wonderful-smelling dishes there, ready to eat. He was also holding a bottle of wine which surprised Dorothy.

“That all looks exquisite, Sweetheart.” Dorothy noted.

Wine was a rare treat for Harold and Dorothy although one of the area farms that Harold owned was a vineyard. But Harold had bought a bottle of wine for Christmas this year after the birth of their daughter Judith a few months earlier.

“Well, Christmas is a special time of the year. This year is even more special with the arrival of Judith this year.” Harold answered.

“Yes, it is. Anyway, I just finished nursing Judith. She is sleeping now in her crib, so we have the house all to ourselves.”
“I just finished cooking supper. So let’s say Grace and then eat. I’m starving.”
Harold and Dorothy thoroughly enjoyed their meal of roast mutton, a staple of many Australian meals. The meal also included potatoes and a variety of vegetables that Harold and Dorothy had grown in their own garden. The garden also had a small chicken coop that supplemented the Cavill’s diet with eggs and additional meat.
Harold and Dorothy chatted as they continued to eat. Later, after they finished eating, Harold and Dorothy went to the Christmas tree that Harold had specially imported for the occasion. There were several presents inside wrapped boxes waiting under the tree. The couple sat down on the sofa next to the tree and began to pick up boxes with their names on them.
Dorothy picked up a long wide box that seemed to weigh only a few pounds. She quickly opened it to find a lovely silk dress that had been made in France. Dorothy smiled as she stood up and held up the dress.
“This is gorgeous, Sweetheart.”
“I picked it up during one of my trips overseas. You can go whenever you want to have it properly fitted. But I think that you would look lovely in it.” Harold replied.
“Thank you, Sweetheart. I am looking forward to wearing it for you. Now, start opening some of your presents that I got for you.”
Harold opened a much smaller but seemingly heavier box from Dorothy. Inside was a new DWM LugerPistole08 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
“I know that you came here with that huge Webley pistol. But I thought that I would get you something a bit more modern. It took some effort, but I think that I found the perfect pistol for you. I know that it is very ironic that I bought a man from the future a pistol that would probably be an antique in his time. But it was the best pistol that I could find in this caliber. I remembered seeing on some of the computer files that the 9mm round would be very widely used in the next big war.” She explained.
Harold smiled as he examined the classic pistol. Dorothy had obviously put a lot of thought into what to buy him. But at the same time, the gift reminded Harold that the coming war would take the lives of countless millions of people, some killed by Nazis wielding this pistol. There was nothing that he could do about this war either other than to try to alter the outcome enough to prevent the conflict that would doom the human race in 2040.
They continued opening presents until there was one last small box left for Dorothy. At first, Dorothy thought that it would be a ring or some other piece of jewelry. But then she opened it and found a key inside.
“Did you buy me a new car, Sweetheart?”
“No, Dorothy. I got you something else instead.” Harold said before handing Dorothy a small pamphlet. It was a brochure for a Lockheed Orion passenger aircraft. The big single-engine passenger plane dwarfed anything that Dorothy had ever flown before.
“Oh my!” Dorothy said in amazement.
“Your Orion is sitting now in one of the hangars at the aerodrome. But I want you to be very careful with it. This is a very fast aircraft, unlike the Jenny that you learned to fly in. So you will have to hone your flying skills to the fullest to fly her safely.”
“Thank you so very much. I promise to be careful. After all, I have two people to come home to now, don’t I?” Dorothy said with tears of joy in her eyes.
“You better be. Judith and I would both be very upset if something were to happen to you.” Harold said, hoping to forestall any recklessness on Dorothy’s part.
After all of the presents were unwrapped, Dorothy went back to the nursery to check on Judith and to breastfeed her if needed. Then Dorothy returned to the great room where Harold was finishing cleaning up after supper. They then sat down together and drank more wine.
“I wonder just how many more Christmas celebrations that humanity will get to enjoy?” Dorothy asked as she sipped on a glass of wine.
“I don’t know. I guess the Lord is the only one who truly knows that answer. Hopefully, what I am doing is part of His plan for humanity to have a lot more than one hundred more such celebrations here on Earth.”
“For now, let’s make the best of the lives that we do have, Sweetheart.”
“I can’t agree more, Dorothy.” Harold said while giving her a kiss.
That night, after supper was over, Harold gave Dorothy a lot more than a kiss.
Late the next morning, Harold and Dorothy got up to prepare for their daily activities. For many of the white Australians who were of English origin, they still celebrated Boxing Day. But for most of the others, the day after Christmas was just another day back to work.
“Can we go see my new Lockheed?” Dorothy asked after feeding Judith that morning. Harold could see that she had been anxious to check out her new aircraft ever since he handed her the key.
“Yes. But let’s make sure that we get everything else taken care of today first. Remember that we planned to go to the church today to help hand out meals to some of workers who had to work during Christmas. It’s the least that we could do for them, you know.”
“I understand, Sweetheart. I know that it is very important for us to take care of the people who work for us. I’m just very excited to see my Orion in person.”
“We will get there soon enough. I promise.” Harold replied with a laugh before Dorothy went to get Judith. Then they all left in the truck to go to work at the church.
Harold and Dorothy spent nearly two hours at the church before they finally left and drove to the Derby aerodrome. When they finally stopped, they were in front of one of the larger hangars. Harold and Dorothy walked up to the large building. Then Harold unlocked it and opened the doors.
The Lockheed Orion towered over them as Harold and Dorothy walked in with Judith being carried in Dorothy’s arms.
“This is incredible. It’s so big, yet it’s powered by only one engine.” An amazed Dorothy commented as she walked around the aircraft.
“I wanted to get you something with two engines. That would make it safer plus we would have more passenger and cargo capacity. Unfortunately, those designs won’t be in production for at least a couple more years.”
“Maybe you can get one of those later, sweetheart. But I would love to fly this one right now.”
“I don’t think that it is ready yet. I want to make sure that your Orion is completely checked-out before you get into the cockpit. But don’t worry, you will be flying around in it soon enough, I’m sure.”
Harold and Dorothy spent more than two hours looking over Dorothy’s new Orion before going back home. They continued to celebrate the rest of the afternoon and evening before going to bed. It would be another early morning for both with all of the work that lay ahead of them.

Chapter Fifteen:

United Australia Party Headquarters Canberra, Australia
March 28, 1932

“Good afternoon, Mister Cavill. Thank you for coming here to meet with me.” Former Prime Minister Billy Hughes said to Harold after the latter’s arrival to Billy’s office. Harold could see that the office was filled with boxes of papers and other items. An early version of a hearing aid was visible in Billy’s right ear.

“We just moved here from Sydney, Mister Cavill.” Billy said after noticing Harold looking around at the disarray in the former’s office.
“I can tell. It must have been very important for you to have asked me to travel all the way out here while you were still in the middle of organizing your new offices here.”
“Actually, it is. I recently learned about the new telephone lines that you are running out from your headquarters in Derby.”
“Yes, Minister Hughes. We are running telephone and power lines along our railroad right of ways from Derby to Darwin in the north and to Perth in the south. We plan on connecting the telephone lines to Perth with the national telephone extension trunk line there. That will give us direct telephone connections with most of the country.”
“That is a very ambitious plan, Mister Cavill. There is just one problem. The Telecommunications Act requires that all telephone lines belong to the national government. The government here in Melbourne could simply take legal possession of all of your new telephone lines without you having any say in the matter.”
Harold grimaced for a moment. The Australian Postmaster-General had authority over all new telephone service. Unfortunately, they had not gotten around to extending service to anywhere near Derby. So Harold decided to take matters in his own hands with equipment that was designed and produced in his own electronics manufacturing division. The endeavor was initially quite expensive, but was very useful for Harold’s business. It was also beginning to turn a profit for him as more people in the area subscribed for telephone service from him.
“I see. What do you suggest that I do then, Minister Hughes? I need reliable telephone service for my business in addition to the rail line that my people are laying down. The government simply wasn’t doing anything. You know that both transportation and communications are vitally important to the economy in Western Australia. They also enhance our national security as well” Harold making sure to add that last sentence to pique Minister Hughes’ strong interest in Australian national defense.
Billy pondered over what Harold had said. The former Australian Prime Minister had been thinking along much the same lines already. Now, he had to see if Harold would be willing to accept Billy’s solution.
“Oh, I agree completely, Mister Cavill. But the government will not allow you to retain control over your telephone lines. I might be able to convince the Postmaster-General to purchase your telephone lines from you. You would be compensated at a reasonable level, of course. But we have to bear in mind that the government does not have much in the form of available discretionary funds.”
“I could take this to court and fight the government’s pending appropriation of my property. It would draw a lot of attention on my activities. It might also reflect badly upon the current Prime Minister as it would appear that was all too willing to steal from someone who has been helping keep many Australians gainfully employed. Do you see an alternative to this, Minister Hughes?”
“Possibly. I know that you need a political patron with a great deal of influence. Now, if you were to allow me to negotiate with the Postmaster-General’s office for the transfer of your telephone services to government control for the public good, I would gain a certain degree of additional influence that I could, at a future time, use on your behalf. You would still be properly compensated for your property, of course.”
Harold paused for a few moments before responding. Previously, Harold had found a way to create a mutually beneficial relationship with a powerful patron in England, Winston Churchill. Now, Harold had the opportunity create a similar relationship with one of the most influential political figures in Australia. Like Churchill, Billy Hughes was outspoken and took a variety of controversial positions. But Billy could be the key for Harold to get the Australian government to not only boost its defense spending but also to make most of its purchases from Harold’s companies.
Harold had already made arrangements with a number of other minor Australian political figures. But these were all made under Harold’s conditions. The politicians benefitted from money paid to aid their elections or by other actions that Harold had taken on their behalf. But Billy Hughes was someone that had to be approached on a much more equal basis.
It was interesting that Billy made no inquiry about Harold’s workers this time. Apparently, the subject of Harold’s telephone service and the offer of influence was much more important to Billy than asking about Harold’s aborigine workers or if there had been any interest among Harold’s employees towards forming labor unions.
With the former Prime Minister’s help, Harold would be able to then push small, but key, technological improvements to Australia’s military in time for the Pacific War. He was already starting to do this with the British military through Winston Churchill. Harold just hoped that Billy would follow through with his offer of influence when the time came.
“Minister Hughes, what you are offering appears to be fair. How soon can you tell me what sort of offer that the government is willing to offer?”
“I should be able to find out within a few days.” Billy firmly said.
“Hopefully, we can come up with an agreement shortly after that.”
“We should be able to. On another subject, I understand that you have built a factory to produce small arms and other forms of ordnance. Have you found any customers yet?”
“We have sold some small arms on the civilian market, but we have not made any significant military sales yet except for state-sponsored militias within Australia. Those were created under that state militia legislation that you supported earlier at my request.” Of course, Harold didn’t mention that some of the sales went to the state-sponsored militia that he created in and around Derby. He also did not elaborate upon just how well armed and equipped that militia would be either.
“You know that the government has ignored the issue of adequately funding the Australian military ever since the end of the Great War. I will be leaving shortly to represent Australia at the League of Nations Assembly in Geneva. After I return, I expect to begin writing a book that will show the lack of preparation by this nation for what I believe is a coming war. I am sure that it is going to upset many current politicians. But it should also create a real push for Australia to rebuild its military. I can easily see many of the military contracts coming to you, especially after I make my recommendations.
Your ordnance works is very well positioned for that, I suspect. Your shipyard would probably also be a great help in constructing warships for the Royal Australian Navy as well.”
Harold didn’t mention that he was already starting work on a new aircraft factory, nor did he mention about his new tractor factory that was already being quietly prepared to construct a new generation of armored combat vehicles. In other words, Harold was already well on his way to being able to convert virtually all of his industrial plants to produce military equipment that would be ahead of its time.
Now, he would have a powerful voice in the government that would be led by Robert Menzies just before the beginning of the war. That voice would be listening to Harold. Hopefully, that will be enough to tilt the balance towards a much more effective Australian military by the time that the Japanese first attack.
“I would certainly hope so, Minister Hughes. I have invested enough money into my shipyard as well as my other industrial facilities.
I also agree with you also about the state of the Australian military. I think that it is utterly deplorable that we were forced to purchase all of our major warships from British shipyards, including our two heavy cruisers HMASCanberraandAustralia. Those are valuable funds that should be spent putting Australians to work building our own warships.
Excessive dependence of British shipyards and factories by our military can also lead to another major problem also. If the British cannot fulfill both our orders for materiel in addition to those from the British military, our needs will surely be suborned to those of Great Britain. It is a deplorable situation that I want very much to change.”
“Somehow, I get the feeling that you still need something else from me, Mister Cavill.” Billy responded with a squint in his eye as he looked at Harold.
“Yes, Sir. I do. My businesses continue to be disrupted by certain government officials because of my extensive use of aborigines in my workforce as well as the social benefits that I provide to my workers of all races. If I am going to be able to provide the materiel needed by the Australian military in time of war, I need all of my trained workers available.
I was hoping that you could perhaps use your influence to get these meddlesome politicians off of my back. The aborigines who work for me are vital to what I am doing out in the Western Territories. They are also vital to what I will be able to do to help defend this great nation of ours.”
Billy was taken aback by Harold’s request. Like most ranking Australian politicians, Billy Hughes supported the principle of ‘White Australia’, which not only banned the immigration of any Asian or non-White people to Australia, but also strongly favored people of Western European ancestry.
But what was more important to Billy Hughes, the purity of white European culture and ethnicity in Australia or the defense of the nation that he loved so very much?
Billy could feel his stomach burning with the stress of the decision. His chronic indigestion was beginning to act up once again. He wanted to take some bicarbonate to try to ease his discomfort which was rapidly making him very irritable. He couldn’t afford to lose his temper here, so he reached into his desk, pulled out some bicarbonate powder, spooned a little into a glass of water and quickly drank it.
“Why the hell did this man have to turn a relatively easy decision into such a difficult one?” Billy thought to himself. “Australia badly needs what this Harold Cavill is offering, even if the idiotic politicians running things at Government House don’t realize it. The Japanese are practically on our doorstep now, even if a war hasn’t started yet, because they took over so many of those German possessions in the Pacific.”
In the end, Billy Hughes didn’t really have much of a choice. Harold had done everything that he could to ensure of that.
“Alright, Mister Cavill. I’ll do what I can to have a legal exception created for your businesses so that no one will bother you further. I’ll probably have it refer to your work in taking care of the health and welfare of our native Aborigine population. That is the only way that I am going to be able to get it past the majority of our representatives in the Australian Parliament. You know that most of them are strong supporters of the policy that limits what rights that non-European peoples have in Australia. But otherwise, I can make no promises.”
“That’s all that I ask for, Minister Hughes.” Harold replied, trying not to rub in his victory. Of course, any Parliament members who oppose Billy’s action here would likely find themselves facing an unexpectedly well-financed opponent in the next Parliamentary elections. But Harold needed a political point man with at least some personal goals that were compatible with his own to make all of this happen first. Billy Hughes was that man, even if it took a little arm-twisting.
As Harold walked out of Billy Hughes office, Dorothy waited outside with Judith in a baby carriage. Dorothy had flown Harold, Judith and a couple other passengers aboard her Orion to Canberra.
“How did the meeting go?” Dorothy asked.
“About as well as could be expected. I think that Minister Hughes realizes that my companies are literally dragging Australia by its bootstraps out of this worldwide economic depression even though I didn’t specifically mention that. He’s also a nationalist who wants to raise Australia’s stature in the world.
But Billy Hughes is also afraid and rightfully so. He’s seen how the Australia government has underfunded its military since even before the First World War. He has realized the threat that the Japanese Empire poses to our nation. I used that fear to leverage his influence to achieve our goals as well.”
“I suspect that he has no idea about the strength of the militia that you have created from among the aborigines.” Dorothy noted as she continued to push Judith’s baby carriage towards a waiting Hackney. Harold was walking beside her as they talked.
“No, I’m sure that he doesn’t. I don’t know which would scare Billy Hughes more, the Japanese or several thousand well-armed aborigine militiamen.”
“He just has to be convinced that the aborigines are among the good guys here. Until then, the aborigine militia troops will just have to continue portraying themselves as nothing more than local police constables. They will just happen to be better armed than most of the Australian army.”
“Will our aborigine employees continue to be harassed by the local politicians though? A concerned Dorothy then asked.
“That is the most positive outcome of my meeting with Minister Hughes. It appears that he is going to intervene to provide our people with some legal protection. Hopefully, he will follow through with his commitment. I would hate to have to start looking again for someone else to help us protect humanity’s future.”

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
April 22, 1932

“I was very impressed by the use of the mail delivery plane during a journey where I sailed on SS Brementwo years ago. Then when I read about the advanced proposal by Sir Eustace Tennyson d’Eycourt and John Harper Nerbeth for a passenger liner with a flight deck for aircraft, I decided that we should design and construct something along these lines for both civilian and potentially military purposes. Did, you know that Sir Eustace designed many of the Royal Navy’s warships including HMS Hoodand HMSRenown.”

“What exactly do you have in mind, Mister Cavill?” Harold’s in-house naval architect Alexander Portman asked. He continued to be amazed by the ‘suggestions’ that Harold had made about ship designs. Harold’s ideas often seemed to be initially very unorthodox. Yet when Alexander took a closer look, he found Harold’s proposals to be very promising. Harold also mentioned about another proposal for a flying-deck liner that had recently been made by Brown Boveri and Company for the Blue Ribbon Line. What Harold didn’t mention was that he had learned of these flying-deck liner proposals from doing research on his computer database, not from any contemporary news reports.

“I believe that we should take this basic design, enlarge it slightly and add some features that will make the vessels suitable for possible military use.” Harold said before beginning to roughly sketch out on a piece of paper an expanded version of the d’Eycourt design that would displace more than thirty-thousand tons at full load and would incorporate some features of the Blue Ribbon Line proposal as well. This vessel would have three levels of passenger cabins above the main hull on either side. Between those two rows of cabins were maintained storage for the light mail and passenger aircraft in addition to cargo, subsidiary ship’s boats and a variety of amenities for the passengers.

A large flight deck running the entire two hundred and fifty meter length of the ship was supported by the reinforced structure of these passenger cabins. Two large centerline elevators were to be used to bring aircraft back and forth from the flight deck. The ship’s bridge and funnel were located on the extreme starboard side of the flight deck in what appeared to be a traditional aircraft carrier island structure. A large hatch along the center of the port side had a heavy ramp that could be extended down to transfer vehicles and large pieces of cargo. The bow was extended upward and merged into the front of the flight deck to protect the flight deck and forward hull from heavy seas.

Harold also explained to Alexander that he wanted this ship to be able to efficiently cruise the vast expanses of the Pacific at high speeds without having to be frequently refueled.
“How much power are you going to need for this liner of yours, Sir?” Alexander asked after listening to Harold’s initial description of the vessel.
“She needs to be able to reach at least thirty knots at maximum speed. That would likely require the production of close to one hundred and twenty thousand horsepower from her propulsion plant. Of course, for the safety of the ship and its passengers, the propulsion plant machinery will have to be as highly compartmentalized as possible. We don’t want to suffer a total loss of power due to a single point of failure.
Also for the safety and comfort of the ship’s complement, the hull will need to be bulged as well. We don’t want to ever have the blood of aTitanicorLusitaniamagnitude disaster on our hands.”
“That’s a lot of power. That could require a lot of internal space to accommodate a sufficiently large power plant.”
“It might, if we used earlier generation steam turbine and boiler designs. One of my other engineers from America has some experience with high-pressure boiler and turbine designs. He is in the process of building a propulsion plant that can reliably operate at nearly seven hundred pounds per square inch pressure. It would give you a very compact and efficient propulsion system that would fulfill your needs.”
“If he can build these engines as you have described them, I can design a ship that will do the job that you want.”
“I am sure that it can be done. The Germans are building engines that run at nearly twice the pressure and at higher temperatures already. But ours will be far more reliable.”
This was not going to be an ordinary ocean liner by any means. It was very clear to Alexander that Harold wanted this design to be easily modified to become a warship or to produce new warships based on the specific features that he had already described. The specifications given would be far too costly for a mere commercial vessel to employ. Of course, there would have to be certain other features added to the design as well that Harold had left unsaid during the conversation. This included provisions for defensive weapons and light armor protection that would have to be added to the military version of the design.
“I will get working on the design immediately, Sir. How soon will you need the blueprints to be ready?” Alexander quickly answered.
“I want to be able to begin production on the first ship of the class within the next year, Mister Portman. I will have the overall specifications ready for you to work from within the month. I have been promised that the final production design engines themselves will be available for installation as soon as you have hulls ready to receive them. The prototype ship engines are already in the process of being installed into our special project at Dry Dock One. They are based on the land test unit at the power station. The land unit gave us valuable test information as well providing additional power to the town of Derby.”
It would take a lot of long arduous hours to create such a ship design. But Alexander had already learned that this Harold Cavill had a very good idea of what was possible. It almost seemed as though Harold had already seen in reality what he had been asking for based on the detailed descriptions that he always given Alexander.
“It sounds like you have almost everything well in hand. But how are you going to be able to finance all of this with everything else that you are building, Mister Cavill?”
“Don’t worry about that, Mister Portman. I will be able to pay for everything just fine. You just get your team working on the new design.”
“I will get on it right away, Sir. Do I have your permission to hire some more people to help with the design work? All of my people now are busy with the commercial freighter refits as well as the new destroyer and submarine designs that you wanted us to design. All of those projects are pretty advanced but they still need additional research and design work.”
“Yes, you can hire four more people for your design team. But I want you to put them exclusively on the freighter project. I need people that I can already trust working on the liner and the military-specific projects. Do you understand?”
“No worries, Sir. I’ll make sure that the job gets done and none of our secrets get out.” Alexander answered. Harold quietly chuckled when he heard the American engineer and naval architect using Australian slang. Alexander was becoming quite comfortable here so far from his home in America. Since Alexander’s arrival, nearly fifty more American, British and even a couple of German engineers had joined Harold’s various industrial enterprises to provide additional technical support. Their technical expertise also provided a plausible cover for the technical innovations that Harold would incorporate in the equipment that he intended to produce. He would simply make a few ‘suggestions’ drawn from his computer database to the engineers. Then he would let them take the concepts to the drawing board and beyond. The engineers never saw the computer. They only saw hand sketches and notes that Harold would periodically provide to them.
Of course, Harold would have more military-related design work coming up for Alexander and his team quite soon. Harold had been looking at his historical files for theKing George Vbattleship recently. He had always wondered what could be done to make that battleship class more effective against the aerial and surface threats that it faced in the previous timeline.
The time would soon come for Harold to present these design challenges to Alexander. After that, the real challenge would be to convince Harold’s friends like Churchill to implement those suggestions.
At the end of the day, Harold met back at the main office with Dorothy and Judith to go back home. Even though Dorothy had resumed working, she still took Judith with her everywhere that she went.
“Hello, Sweetheart. How was work today?” Dorothy asked as she carried Judith into Harold’s office.
“Pretty normal, which is to say, full of challenges. How about with you?”
“Judith has been a very good girl today. We went to the hospital so that Doctor Phillips could take a look at us.”
“Judith hasn’t been feeling good?”
“Judith has been just fine. I just happened to take her with me to the hospital rather than leave her at home with a babysitter. I have had an upset stomach the past couple of weeks. So I wanted to find out what was wrong. Doctor Phillips did a few tests on me several days ago.” Dorothy said before suddenly smiling.
“She told me today that the test results say that I am pregnant again. Isn’t that wonderful, Sweetheart?”
“That’s amazing, Dorothy. I guess that we will have to go ahead with that expansion on our house now.”
“That’s not the only place that needs to be expanded, Harold. It is obvious that with our growing population, you are also going to need to expand the school and the hospital as well. It’s only proper if you are going to take care of the people who are working for you here.”
“Dorothy, I have been planning on doing that all along. Obviously, the hospital needs to be expanded so that it can provide more services. The school expansion that I will be starting soon will increase its capabilities even more than that. I need hundreds, if not thousands of people who are not only secondary school graduates, but also have more advanced technical training to work for me as my companies continue to expand.
Some of the advanced training can be accomplished through apprenticeships and vocational training. But I need people with more advanced technical training as well. There are no universities that offer such training anywhere near here either. That means that some of my engineers will end up also being instructors for advanced technical studies here in addition to their regular work. We have been doing that almost from the beginning anyway, but at a much smaller scale.
It won’t mean that I will be able to offer university degrees to any of the students here. But we should be able to teach men and women here to be the next best thing to an engineering technician. That will help my engineers and workmen a tremendous amount in addition to the apprenticeship programs that we have already started.”
“It all sounds very expensive, Harold.”
“It could be. However, the education of our workers and their families would be an incredible investment for our businesses as well as our future. An educated workforce would be far more efficient and productive than one that merely relies upon strong backs and empty heads. In the long run, I think that this will save us a tremendous amount of money.”
“What impact will it be on the future? Will educating these people help prevent that final terrible war a hundred years from now?”
“Maybe. I would hope that they would help create a world where mass genocide would be unthinkable. Perhaps, they can even be advanced enough to be sending people to live on Mars and elsewhere in space. That way, mankind will have a much greater chance of surviving any calamity.”
“First, we have to survive the prejudices of our own times. You know that some of the politicians here will not like that you are going to educate the Aborigines alongside whites, especially with the children. Some of them realize that knowledge is power.”
“That’s true. But we are going to wield the power that comes with the knowledge of the future. This way that we will be able to change things around here.”
“I pray that we will have the wisdom to change things for the better though.”

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
May 19, 1932

A well-dressed white man in his mid-forties with long graying sideburns entered the main office for Cavill Industries and quickly asked where he might find Harold Cavill. A few minutes later, Harold came out of his office and met with the unexpected visitor.

“What is your name and business here, Sir?”

“My name is Richard Barnard. I represent a group of Commonwealth businessmen who would like to invest in your enterprises. They believe that their capital would help you further expand your business. Of course, they also believe that you would bring them a very favorable rate of return on their investment in return.”

“Where exactly are the people that you represent from? I will only consider offers from investors from countries that I deem reliable.” Harold said, fearing that some of the investors would actually be from hostile nations like Germany, Japan or the Soviet Union. They would not only be interested in profiting from Harold’s work but also would be far more inclined to try to gain access to the technology that would be used.

“Some of the people that I represent are from the United Kingdom, but the rest are from here in

Australia.” Richard explained with a smile.
“I see. Please understand that I have some very strict criteria that must be met before I will
allow anyone to become involved in my business activities. This includes any outside investors.” “What are your conditions, Mister Cavill?”
“The first is that I maintain full control of all business decisions. This includes the direction of my
corporations, all personnel actions as well as research and development. I maintain full control of all
technologies that are used or developed at my companies.
I will also need the names of all of the parties involved in this group of investors. I will let you
know later if I am willing to accept them.”
“I am willing to provide a list but it will take a few days.”
“I can wait.” Harold confidently replied.
This was the third such group that had attempted to enter into a partnership with Harold. So far,
none of them will either willing to accept his conditions or had connections with countries that Harold
did not want to be involved with. While Harold really didn’t need their funding to continue his quest, the
involvement of outside investors could broaden his financial base and divert attention from some of his
other, potentially more controversial projects as well.
Three weeks later, Richard Barnard contacted by Harold and asked to return to the latter’s office
in Derby. Harold took a couple of days before sending his acceptance of the investor’s request to visit.
When Mister Barnard arrived, Harold was waiting at his desk for him.
“Good morning, Mister Barnard. So far, it appears that your investment group would be
acceptable to me, provided that the group agrees to all of my previously stated conditions. “There was a lot of grumbling about your conditions amongst the people that I represent. But
they all agreed to your terms.” It was obvious that a lot of arm-twisting had to be done by some of
Mister Barnard’s partners to get some of the other investors to agree to Harold’s terms. “Very good. I trust that we will all find this quite profitable in the long run. How much capital do
your clients want to invest with me? I am also interested in investing myself in certain industries that
your clients own or have interests in as well for the purposes of producing some of the products that I
intend to bring to market in the shipbuilding, electronics and aviation fields.”
Richard smiled at Harold’s mention of investments. With the worldwide recession still severely
impacting many industries, the idea of Harold bringing in more of his own capital to other companies
was very appealing.
“I understand that Petter Limited is one of your clients, Mister Barnard?” Harold asked, already
knowing the answer. He then continued.
“I am interested in investing in one of their subsidiaries; Westland Aircraft Works. In fact, I want
to build a plant here in Australia to build Westland designs and other aircraft designs. This would
increase their manufacturing base as well as their market, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, Sir. I do believe that it would, Mister Cavill.”
Harold then pulled out a piece of paper with a typed list of companies and the products to hand
to Richard. Harold had prepared the list shortly after Richard’s initial visit.
“Here is a list of certain of your clients, their companies and the products that they produce. As
part of any investment arrangement, I will want to also invest capital in them as well. There could also
be technology transfers involves if the companies that I am interested in would be willing to produce
certain items for me.
How long do you think that it would take for you to communicate my request? I know that this
additional condition had not been mentioned in our previous meeting. But I believe that your clients will
find it to be mutually beneficial.” Harold calmly said while sitting back in his chair, his demeanor exuding
confidence.
“I will send telegraphs immediately to my clients. I will contact you when I receive their
responses. But I personally believe that they will agree to your latest proposal, Mister Cavill.” ‘Of course, they would.’ Harold silently said to themselves. At least half of the companies on the
list badly needed a lifeline to get themselves back into the technological lead. Their owners must have
borrowed heavily to be able to get in on the group’s investment bid in the hopes of hitching their star to
Harold’s successful business. Harold wanted very badly to be able to incorporate technological
advancements to be able to forward his agenda. But how much would be too much? Westland Aircraft was already of significant interest to Harold because of their Westland
Whirlwind fighter-bomber that they would produce during the early years of the war. Harold was certain
that this particular aircraft could be re-engined with the Pratt & Whitney Twin-Wasp that he was already
procuring the production license for. That would solve many of the Whirlwind’s flaws and give Harold an
aircraft that he could produce for both the RAF and the RAAF.
Harold had already started building a small aircraft design bureau of his own, complete with
several aeronautical and mechanical engineers. He was even building a small wind tunnel to them to use
in their work. Harold wanted to give his engineers all of the tools that they would need to design state of
the art aircraft for him. But for now, the other aircraft firms’ expertise would be invaluable. Petter LTD could also be an asset with Harold’s own plans to build an advanced line of diesel
engines for land and naval use. Petter LTD was already well established as a diesel engine manufacturer
in England. A partnership with the company would give Harold sufficient cover for incorporating
advanced diesel engine concepts into his new production engines.
Harold made a note to himself to see if any of these new investors were involved in the
manufacture of steam power plants. Such an association could provide the opportunity to offer highpressure steam turbine plants for new Royal Navy warship designs. Certainly, incorporating lighter,
more powerful and efficient power plants to the various Royal Navy classes, both old and new, would
improve the combat effectiveness of these warships. This will be needed when the Second World War
would began in less than eight more years.

Chapter Sixteen:

Derby Hospital
Derby, Western Australia December 4, 1932

Harold found himself in a familiar situation, waiting at the hospital’s front desk while Dorothy was in labor in the delivery room. Only this time, he was holding Judith while he waited. The hospital now was actually a couple of attached buildings larger since Judith’s birth. Harold had paid for them to be constructed so that there would be room for a delivery room and half a dozen more private hospital beds. Judith was back home with the babysitter.

This time, it took a lot longer before the doctor came out of the delivery room to tell Harold the news.
“Is everyone alright?” a worried Harold quickly asked.
“Yes, Mister Cavill. Your wife and daughters are all healthy.” Doctor Phillips said with a smile.
“Daughters?” A surprised Harold asked.
“Yes, of course. You and Dorothy now have a pair of new baby girls. From what I can tell, the little darlings are as identical as two infants can possibly be.”
“Can I go in and see them?”
“Of course. I will warn you that your wife is pretty tired. The delivery of twins was quite taxing upon her. For a little while, I was afraid that I was going to have to go in and do a caesarian section. But things worked out for a natural delivery for both babies.” The doctor explained.
“Thank you, Doctor.” Harold said before being led to the room where Dorothy and the babies were.
Dorothy was propped in bed with the babies when Harold walked in. Dorothy smiled wearily when she saw Harold though.
“Hi, Sweetheart. We had an unexpected extra passenger arrive today. Aren’t both of them wonderful?”
“Yes, Dear. All three of you are beautiful.” Harold said as he leaned over and gave Dorothy a kiss.
“Can I hold one of them?” Harold asked.
“Of course.”
Harold picked up one of the baby girls and held her in his arms, smiling as only a proud father can.
“I wasn’t expecting twins, much less identical twins. What are we going to name them, Dorothy?”
“We hadn’t exactly settled on a name before. As I remember, we were debating between Sarah and Beatrice.”
“Well, since we have two babies now, why don’t we use both names? Let’s name this one Sarah Elizabeth and the other one Beatrice Caroline. I seem to remember that you have some relatives with those names. What do you think?” Harold asked.
“Those names sounds perfect, Harold.” Dorothy said with a smile of delight.
“We better go let Doctor Phillips know so that she can fill out the birth certificates then. Of course, I think that we are going to spend years just trying to tell Sarah and Beatrice apart from one other, especially if they decide not to cooperate. I can’t tell them apart even now.” Harold laughed.
“It’s a good thing that we are having the house expanded. Maybe I should tell the workers to go ahead and add another couple of bedrooms just in case?”
“That’s probably a good idea. The doctor said that I was still in very good physical condition. I could easily have more babies if we want them.”
“Whoa there, Dorothy. One thing at a time. I’m still in a little bit of shock over you having twins. That will give us three girls to deal with now. I have a feeling that we are going to have our hands full before long.
For now, I better go outside and let folks know the good news. I think that we already have a couple of hundred people standing outside of the hospital waiting to hear how you and the babies are doing. I know that they will be very happy though, as am I.”
Harold walked out of the hospital front door and was shocked to see over a thousand people now standing there.
“I just wanted to let everyone know that Dorothy is doing well as are our two new baby daughters. Thank you all for your support and prayers.” Harold called out to the waiting crowd that was a mix of both whites and aborigines.
A huge cheer rang out from the crowd as tears rolled down Harold’s cheeks. He was finally having the family that he never got to have in his own time.
But Harold continued to think about the changes that he needed to make in history. What kind of a world would his and Dorothy’s children inherit after Harold was done? Will he even have any greatgrandchildren when the year 2040 arrives?
Only the future will tell.

Cavill Aeronautics
Derby, Western Australia August 4, 1933

Albert Wright was busy at his drafting table in his office when his new employer Harold Cavill walked into the headquarters building of Cavill Aeronautics, the latest of Harold’s business ventures. Albert had been working as an aeronautic engineer with Boeing less than six months earlier. But Harold had hired him in addition to several other engineers from Boeing, Douglas, Curtiss-Wright and Lockheed Aircraft Company. Now, Albert was running a brand new aircraft manufacturer for one of Australia’s wealthiest and most mysterious men.

“Hello, Albert. I trust that you are finding your new office adequate for your needs.” Harold said with a friendly smile while shaking Albert’s hand.
“Yes, Mister Cavill. Of course, we could always use more trained engineers and draftsmen. We have been working on your initial ideas for a commercial airliner. The drawings that you had provided to us have been very helpful, of course. We just started using the new wind tunnel for the first time. It is absolutely first rate.”
“I am working on getting you more people to help. First, we have to get them through the training that they needed to become draftsmen. Otherwise, I will have to recruit additional personnel from outside of the country.”
“Any additional help that you can give us will certainly be welcome.”
“I’m sure. In any event, I have a new project for you and your team, Albert. This aircraft that I want needs to be a real world beater. I have some ideas for it already.”
“What do you want us to design for you?”
“I want a very large, long-range passenger and cargo flying boat that can carry more and fly further than anything else out there. The new aircraft is to use the Pratt & Whitney Twin-Wasp radial engine since I have already purchased the manufacturing license for that engine. The aircraft needs to be able to carry as many as one hundred and twenty passengers or up to fifteen tons of cargo.
As usual, I have a few sketches.” Harold explained while opening up a large cardboard tube that he had brought with him.
Harold began to pull out a series of large-scale drawings and lay them out on a nearby table. The drawings showed a variety of images of a large six-engine seaplane with three vertical stabilizers. The fuselage of the seaplane had floatation sponsons located on the lower fuselage sides and stabilizing floats on the wings that retracted into the wingtips. One of the images even showed the front of the nose opening up to allow bulk cargo to be loaded and unloaded directly through it. In fact, the nose door looked large enough to drive an entire vehicle through it.
“That is quite a remarkable looking aircraft, Mister Cavill. You have so much detail in these drawings as well. Are you sure that you weren’t trained as an aeronautical engineer? Albert asked.
“I’ve dabbled in a lot of different disciplines over the years. Engineering skills usually apply over a fairly wide range of arenas. But I have to leave the detail work to the specialists like yourself.”
Harold then began to lay out the performance requirements for the proposed aircraft including such things as range, payload, speed and takeoff run.”
“This is going to be a very impressive aircraft if I am able to make it to do everything that you want, Mister Cavill.”
“Oh, I am quite certain that you can. There is one other thing that I want you to consider when designing this aircraft. It will have to be very adaptable for a potential military mission as well. That will require that the wings and other structures be very damage tolerant. The wings will also need to be capable of having two or three hardpoints fitted to carry and drop bombs and torpedoes under each wing. There will have to be provisions for a heavy defensive armament to protect the aircraft from enemy fighter aircraft. It would probably be a good idea for two of those hardpoints be capable of carrying drop tanks for additional fuel storage as well.” Harold explained.
“I’m definitely going to have my work cut out for me then. Mister Cavill.”
Harold smiled before responding. He knew that the aircraft depicted in the illustrations combined many of the features of the German Blohm und Voss BV 222, Consolidated PBY Catalina, Boeing 314 Clipper, Kawanishi H8K3 and other 1930’s to early 1940’s era flying boats. He was absolutely sure that such an aircraft could not only be built, but that it would achieve everything that he wanted. That belief was reflected in Harold’s final comments before leaving Albert’s office
“I have complete confidence that you will be able to accomplish all of my requirements, Albert. Good luck. I look forward to seeing your final design.”
After Harold left, an impressed and slightly frustrated Albert quietly said to himself, hands on his hips.
“It’s not like you left me all that much more to do except to draw out a couple of thousand engineering blueprints, Mister Cavill. I guess that will be keeping me and my people busy for a while until his next new idea comes along.”
Harold left the Cavill Aeronautics building and headed towards his truck. But before he got inside, Harold turned around at the rapidly growing complex. The headquarters building was rapidly being surrounded by a variety of other new buildings. A building containing wind tunnel for the testing of aircraft models and components was almost complete. Three other buildings for component design and manufacture were also rapidly nearly completion.
The real heavy manufacturing and assembly for the aircraft being designed here would occur several kilometers away inside one of the newly excavated caverns. All but the largest aircraft designs could be built in their entirety inside the cavern. Harold knew that larger designs like the proposed flying boat would have to have their final assembly done outside of the cavern. For that purpose, half a dozen large sheet metal buildings would soon be constructed.
These buildings would also serve in a second role as hangars for the new airstrip that had just started construction near the underground aircraft factory. Rock from the excavation would be incorporated into the concrete surface of the main landing strip. Harold had purchased all of the land in that area so that he would have sufficient room for expansion. This would include more than enough room for additional hangars and aircraft parking aprons.
To transport subcomponents to the underground assembly plant, another rail spur was being laid towards it. This joined the growing rail network to other facilities that Harold had under construction on the outskirts of Derby. Harold actually was projecting that the rail lines that he had started constructing along the western Australian coastline would eventually even link Derby with both Darwin in the north and Perth in the southwest.
The rail lines had already passed the towns of Lagrange and Fitzroy Crossing. Within another year, Harold hoped to reach Port Hedland and Wyndham. This would greatly facilitate the movement of personnel, raw materials and processed goods for Harold’s various enterprises. It would also allow Harold to place a lot less reliance upon ships coming into King South and its radical tides to bring in material.
Cutting down on ship traffic going through the King Sound served another purpose for Harold. This allowed for greater security for the various naval construction projects that were being undertaken there. These projects would certainly be very important during the war to come.

Cavill Shipyards Design Office Derby, Western Australia June 9, 1934

“We have had to make the design larger than the Royal Navy’s current C and D class destroyers. But with modern high-pressure steam propulsion units, this destroyer will be able to carry all of the equipment needed, be more than fast enough for fleet actions and have an adequate operational radius for escort duties.

Even though my new destroyer design will have guns that are slightly lighter in caliber than our current twelve centimeter quick-firing guns, the superior rate of fire for its guns will permit the ship exceed any existing or proposed Royal Navy destroyer in overall firepower. The design uses dualpurpose high-angle gun mounts that permit the warship to significantly increase its anti-aircraft defenses as well.

We will also have a larger number of torpedo tubes than the C and D classes or any of the proposed future Royal Navy destroyer designs. That will give us a tremendous punch against enemy surface vessels.

If necessary, we can exchange some weapons on my yard’s destroyer design for other equipment in a short period of time to adapt the ship for a particular mission. For example, we could remove some depth charge throwers in exchange for additional light anti-aircraft guns if the threat demands it for a given area of operations. In any event, the design’s standard anti-aircraft armament will be quite formidable.” Alexander explained to Harold when the latter dropped by the shipyard for a quick visit.

“Very good. I can accept that. But what about the other issues that you alluded to earlier?” Harold asked.
“I don’t know if you are going to be able to produce enough of the Mark III four point five-inch
gun twin gun mounts to be able to equip all of these other destroyers that you believe we will need to
build. The information that I just received from your ordnance works indicates that they cannot produce
the Mark III guns at all. Where else are we going to get them, Sir?
Harold thought for a few moments before responding. The British Mark XVI four inch guns and
Mark XIX twin gun mounts were designed at about this time according to history. But it would take a
couple of years before they would be in service. He would have to take a chance and prepare for their
introduction into service ahead of time. The fact that the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy both use
substantial numbers of four-inch guns already should help cover the interjection of slightly newer
technology without raising too much suspicion.
“Melbournepushed our capacity as it is to give her the full complement of guns and turrets. We
were forced to purchase the guns themselves from England for her. My Ordnance Works can build
lighter guns at a much faster rate with our current facilities, however.” Harold noted. “That still doesn’t help our people at the shipyard, I’m afraid. We can’t build these ships under
the current design without having the specified weapons available for completion, Sir.” “I want you to create a new variant of your destroyer design that uses four twin four-inch high
angle gun mounts. I believe that if we increase the number of guns available, we can overwhelm enemy
ships by sheer volume of fire. Those same guns, combined with multiple light automatic cannons and
quadruple pom-poms, will enable the ship to fend off even the most determined aerial attacks. It will be
necessary to fit two high angle gun controllers to provide adequate direction for the guns notably. We should also fit two or even three quadruple torpedo tube mounts to give the ship a
devastating torpedo salvo. This will make up for the lighter damage inflicted individually by the smaller
caliber main guns when the destroyer is engaging enemy cruisers or capital ships.“ Harold told his chief
naval architect.
“You will need a hull at least as large as aTribal, if not larger, to fit all of this in, Mister Cavill.
This will especially be the case if you continue to use a steam turbo-electric drive like with the other
destroyer class. These requirements will all force any design that I create to be even larger than your
original concept.” Alexander explained.
“Yes, you are completely right. Of course, ‘steel is cheap and air is free’. Go ahead and design
around a twenty-four hundred ton hull for this new ship, Alex. I will give you as much support as
possible, including any technical ideas that I believe will be useful. I want this ship design to also be
readily adaptable with the exchange of anti-aircraft weapons for additional anti-submarine weapons to
be accommodated for when necessary based on our yard’s previous concept.”
“A destroyer that large will violate the treaty limits on destroyer tonnage, Mister Cavill.” “I know. Just let me worry about treaty issues, Alex. You go ahead and get started with the
modifications.”
“OK. I will have my people get on it right away, Mister Cavill.”
“Good, because I have to leave right away to a meeting at my Metal Production Office in town.
Thank you for your report, Alex.” Harold replied as he put on his jacket and rushed out the door. After a short ride in his personal truck, Harold arrived at another of the many new buildings that
had been constructed in the past few years in the Derby area. Thousands of Harold’s people had been
involved in the construction of nearly all of them.
This building housed the latest expansion of Harold’s metal production and refining company,
including the new headquarters for Cavill Metal Production. Harold learned that some problems had
cropped up here. So he felt that a personal visit was called for to see what exactly was wrong and what
might be done to deal with the situation.
“Hello, Terrance. How are you doing today? I understand that you are having some problems
with the new machinery.” Harold asked after walking into the building’s main office. “I’m doing fine, Mister Cavill. But, I’m afraid that I have some bad news for you.” Explained
Terrance Walters, the manager of Cavill Metal Production. Terrance was in charge of Harold’s steel and
aluminum production facilities.
“Please explain, Mister Walters.”
“Mister Cavill, you purchased some excellent machinery for your steel manufacturing plant.
However, we have run into a significant problem concerning your requirements for that special highstrength steel.
The maximum thickness of steel that our equipment can produce while maintaining the
required metallurgical qualities is only about eight centimeters. Even that thickness is very difficult to
achieve in the large quantities that you requested.”
Harold had hoped that the steel rolling and annealing equipment that he had purchased from
Germany and America could be tweaked to produce armor plating for larger warships like cruisers in
addition to armored fighting vehicles. He had told his investors as well as everyone else that the new
equipment was for making steel to be used in premium tractors as well as the construction of
commercial shipping. That required the purchase of steel manufacturing equipment that did not exactly
have the capacity of the equipment used by the world’s military equipment manufacturers. The expense
for equipment capable of meeting those requirements would have been very difficult to justify to the
investors.
But what else would Harold be able to still do with the equipment that he had? He had to
consider the possibility that he had to alter some of his plans.
“What thickness are you able to reliably produce in quantity?” Harold asked. “Six centimeters, we can do, Mister Cavill.”
That was barely over two inches in thickness. Still, that might be enough for the deck and belt
armor on the carrier designs. Six centimeters also was thicker than the armor plating of the Russian T-34
medium tank from only a few years in the future. With the equivalent degree of sloping and perhaps
some spaced armor overlays in the form of external storage boxes on the turret. That combination
might be enough to provide sufficient protection for the medium tank design that Harold wanted to
produce.
It would be important to be able to build a tank that could turn the tide of battle if produced in
sufficient quantities, yet not raise unnecessary alarm about the technologies used.
Unfortunately, the news about the armor thickness would greatly limit the kinds of warships
that Harold’s shipyard could produce with indigenous content only. Six centimeters just wasn’t thick
enough to even really armor a light cruiser satisfactorily. It was barely thick enough to protect the new
aircraft carriers’ flight decks and other vital spaces to the degree necessary.
“Alright, Mister Walters. How about our ability to do castings?”
“We can do that just fine, Sir. But they are time and manpower-consuming as hell, especially if
you want the same qualities as for the steel plating.”
“I understand. Please let me know what you can do as soon as possible. I will have to make a
number of important decisions based on what you tell me.” Harold requested before he sent his steel
production manager back out.
It looked more and more that Harold would have to pull another slightly upgraded technology
off of his laptop computer to try to resolve this dilemma. In this case, he felt that he would have to
introduce technology to allow for the armor plates to be welded using electric arc welders while
maintaining the armor’s ability to protect the vehicle even after being subjected to the heat of the arc
welder. The welds would also be stronger and less prone to cracking under impact as well. But even the introduction of that relatively old technology had its dangers, Harold knew.
Someone else could try copying the technology and then spreading it far beyond his shipyard, causing a
series of unforeseen ripple effects such as the Axis powers obtaining it years ahead of the original
timeline. But his people were learning quickly. His steel manufacturing plant had already started
producing castings for tractor parts a couple of years earlier. It should be relatively easy to introduce
technology that was a few more years advanced without anyone noticing…hopefully.Chapter Seventeen:

Northern Reservoir
Derby, Western Australia January 14, 1935

Harold, Dorothy and the rest of their family decided to take a rare day off to go fishing at one of the nearby lakes. Dorothy was coming out with a basket lunch for everyone when she saw Harold putting his old Enfield rifle in the back of the runabout along with the fishing tackle.

“Why are you putting your rifle in there, Sweetheart? I thought that we were going fishing, not hunting.” A concerned Dorothy asked.
“I just want to be safe in case that we run into a crocodile. We do have a few of them that have moved into the lakes, I haven’t seen any there lately.” Harold answered.
“Well, then. I better get something for myself as well.” She replied before walking back into the house.
A few minutes later, Dorothy comes out with the CR-1 6.5mm automatic rifle that Harold had brought home from the first production run of the weapon. He had been storing the rifle in the house’s gun locker.
“Are you planning on starting a war, Dorothy?” A surprised Harold asked.
“No. I just wanted to have a little protection in case we do run into something large and unpleasant out there. Besides, you told me that this rifle was designed to be easily carried and operated by anyone, even a woman. What better way to test that assertion out than to have a woman carrying it around along with a basket of food and keeping an eye on three small children.”
“Yes, I suppose so. It will be enough of a challenge for you to keep track of the twins now that they are nearly three years old. But Judith is four now and gets into just about everything. But please be careful. I don’t want to lose any of you.”
“Yes, Judith does get into almost everything. But between the two of us, I’m sure that we will manage to do just fine. Besides, this rifle is a lot easier to carry than that old ‘cannon’ of yours.” Dorothy confidently answered as she slapped a twenty-five round magazine into her rifle’s magazine well.
“Alright, Dear. You better go ahead and gather up the children while I get the truck.”
“We’ll be ready in just a few minutes, Sweetheart.” Dorothy called out as she gathered up children, food and other supplies.
Harold finished with a few other tasks before getting the truck. This included picking out a small .41 caliber derringer pistol, loading it with a shotshell, picking up several more rounds and putting them all in one of his pants pockets. The pistol would come in handy if they ran across one of Australia’s venomous snakes that lived in Western Australia.
Before long, Harold and his family were driving over towards the lake. Harold had a hydroelectric dam built several years earlier across the May River that created this particular lake. The lake also provided irrigation water to the farms that Harold drove past on the way to the lake. It didn’t take Harold, Dorothy and the girls to get set up once they arrived at their favorite fishing spot.
Harold had just gotten his first cast into the water when he heard a familiar voice from behind him. He quickly put down his fishing pole and turned around to see who was there.
“Good morning, Mister Cavill. It has been a while since we last chatted. I was wondering if you might have a moment or two to talk in private with me?” William Akuna asked.
The aborigine tribal elder’s now almost snow-white hair contrasted starkly against his aged dark skin as he stood there watching Harold and his family from a nearby hillock.
“Cheers. How did you know that I would be here, William?”
“Someone told me that you like to go fishing at this time of the month. So it seemed to be the proper place to be if I wanted to meet you without anyone else around.”
“Of course, William. There is a nice stand of trees over there where we can talk at in the shade.” Harold said as he walked away from the lake and his family.
“Is everything alright, William?” Harold asked after he and William arrived at the treeline.
“There are some things that are working very well. But there are other things that could be of great concern.”
“Have I done something to wrong your people? If so, I will do all that I can to correct it.”
“No. You have treated us very well, far better than any other white man. You have also shown us the future in the skies, the land and seas as you promised. So we know that you are a man who has been blessed with much knowledge from beyond. But I fear that others of your race still want to destroy what you have created between our people and you. That is something we do not want to have happen.”
“I hope that doesn’t happen either. The consequences of that will go far beyond the fates of your people and mine as well. But that is one of the reasons that I formed our militia. The militia is to protect us from foreign enemies as well as those people from within Australia who would want to cause us harm as well.”
Both men whipped their heads around at the sound of a woman’s scream followed immediately by a rapid fusillade of gunshots being fired and the cries of several young children.
“What the hell happened? Dorothy!” Harold cried out as he immediately turned, grabbed his Enfield rifle and ran towards where his wife and children had been.
A few moments later, Harold arrived with William following close behind him. He saw Dorothy standing there with her rifle, smoke coming from its muzzle. The children were crowded behind her legs as she looked down at a three meter-long light brown crocodile on the shore about fifteen meters away. The large animal was thrashing around with at least a dozen bullet wounds while Dorothy watched with her rifle still at the ready.
Harold quickly raised his Enfield and fired three of its more powerful rounds into the crocodile’s head, finally putting the beast’s thrashing to an end.
“Sweetheart, I really think that we should pick a different place to go fishing next time.“ Dorothy wryly said in a typically understated British way as she finally put down her rifle.
“Dorothy, what happened? Are you and the children alright?” Harold quickly asked as he ran up and hugged his wife and children.
“We are a little shaken, but OK. This ugly fellow came right out of the water near where the twins were playing. I saw him first, grabbed my rifle and started shooting. The children all did very well and promptly ran behind me for protection.” A clearly relieved Dorothy explained.
“Well, I don’t think that I wouldn’t use a CR-1 to go crocodile hunting. But it certainly seems to be powerful enough to leave an impression on even a croc’s thick hide.” Harold noted after flipping over and looking closely at the dead crocodile. The girls had slowly moved forward to take a closer look at the dead animal as well.
“That was a fairly large croc for a freshwater animal, Ma’am. Even I am a bit surprised to see him here.” William said after looking for himself.
“That’s a male?” Dorothy asked.
“Oh, yes. You can tell by looking at him. Mind you, this croc is still a big one for a freshie. There are also a few other ways of telling, but I don’t want to get into that around your girls, ma’am. Actually, he probably wasn’t going to attack you or your girls here. You see, people aren’t really on the menu for these fellows. They rather prefer turtles and fish over people.
Now, we do see a few of the saltwater crocs around here too. Those crocs swim up the rivers from the King Sound, but most are stopped by the dam now from coming any further upstream. Those big crocs most certainly can be dangerous to people and can be twice as long as this croc here.” William explained.
“Sounds like some of the problems that we are facing here. Some of the problems that we face here look ferocious but are overshadowed by much larger problems.” Harold commented while turning towards William.
“I understand that, Mister Cavill. You have shown us that you have a special knowledge of the future. I cannot fault your focus on the larger problems that we will face in the future. But I want to still caution you about the other problems that we may face. They can possibly prevent you from dealing with the great problem that you know is facing us in the future.”
“William, I will take any potential threats very seriously. Any help that you and your people can provide will be vital to our success.”
Dorothy then decided to interrupt.
“While you two gentlemen talk, I and my children are getting very hungry. Obviously, we are not going to be fishing anymore today. So why don’t we all stop and eat now. Harold, you can talk to your friend some more after we finish eating. Alright?”
William and Harold both as they looked at Dorothy impatiently standing there with her arms crossed. She was now over the shock of meeting the crocodile.
“You are going to have to make up for this, Sweetheart. That croc certainly spoiled my mood here.” Dorothy declared.
“I’m sure that I can think of something for us to do later that you would enjoy, Dear. But first, let’s go ahead and eat lunch before we go back home. I would hate to waste a good meal. Besides, I think that we made enough noise already to scare away any other crocs.” Harold said before turning towards William who was still standing nearby.
“William, I appreciate everything that you and your people have done for me and continue to do for me and my family. I’m sure that we will talk again soon.”
“Fair Dinkum, my friend. My prayers will be with you.” The aborigine elder said with a smile before turning and disappearing into the nearby trees.
“So what did your friend William want? I remember seeing him at our church in Derby several times.” Dorothy asked as she ate a sandwich.
“He was concerned that we might be facing some more problems from within this country, even as we prepare for a war against the Axis powers.”
“He means those whites here who hate his people, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. But we need his people working with us alongside people of every race. So I will not abandon them, regardless of what a few racist politicians might have to say. There is just too much at stake here.”
The rest of the afternoon was peaceful with Harold and his family finishing their meal and driving back home. Later that evening as Harold and Dorothy prepared to go to bed, they continued to talk.
“I think that I have had enough excitement for today, Sweetheart.” Dorothy told Harold as she began to turn down the covers on her bed.
“Well, we could have a little more excitement before we go to sleep.” Harold said with a smile and a caress that immediately told Dorothy what he had in mind. Both of them slept in the following morning until their three little girls burst into their bedroom and woke them up.
Both Harold and Dorothy went to work a couple of hours later with smiles on their faces. It was a great night for both. They still had a tremendous amount of work waiting on them. But life was still good for this loving family, a family that would soon be growing even larger. Of course, that won’t be evident for at least a couple of months.
A lot of other important events will also be occurring over the next couple of months as well. But these had to do with Harold’s other efforts rather than those at home.

Cavill Shipyards
Derby, Western Australia March 23, 1935

A small crowd had gathered to watch the first flight of the new Cavalier flying boat. The completion of the prototype had been delayed for a variety of reasons. Few people realized that many of the delays were due to Harold himself demanding redesigns to allow for ready conversion of the transport into a maritime patrol bomber in addition to a troop transport. But Harold was extremely proud of the final result.

The huge six engine floatplane was sitting on a concrete ramp at the water’s edge. The wheels of the plane’s beaching gear were already extended from the nose and sponsons. After a signal was given to the flying boat’s four man crew, the two inboard engines were started up. The Cavalier then slowly taxied down the ramp and into the waters of King Sound. Once afloat, the beaching gear was retracted and the remaining four engines were started up. The flying boat turned out towards the South and began to slowly pick up speed. It sped past the crowd twice while still hullborne, taxing on the water at high speed.

On the third pass, the flying boat roared past the crowd at an even higher speed. Then the hull of the flying boat began to slowly lift out of the water and, to the cheers of the gathered crowd, lift off into the air. The giant aircraft flew low over the water for a couple of miles, then retracted its stabilizer floats into the wingtips and began to climb to about three thousand feet altitude.

The growing crowd watched in awe as the huge aircraft began to do a series of turns, combined with climbs and shallow dives. After nearly an hour, everyone was still watching the aerial exhibition. Finally, the flying boat prepared to land as the stabilizing floats extended downward from the wingtips and locked into place. The Cavalier’s test pilot then eased the huge aircraft down to the water’s surface and gently landed the flying boat.

The crowd was still cheering and applauding loudly when the huge flying boat taxied up to the ramp, lowered its beaching gear and slowly rolled up out of the water. The crowd continued to watch as the six engines shut down, a side hatch opened up and the flight crew stepped out of the flying boat. Several people walked up to Harold to congratulate him. Among those people, there were several reporters that had flown into Derby from newspapers elsewhere in Australia to cover the event.

“Why did you name this new flying boat, the Cavalier, Mister Cavill?” Clive Young, a journalist from Sydney asked. He had come to Derby to write for his newspaper about the new flying boat as well as the man who had created this new industrial empire out of nothing, it appeared. Clive’s editor made it very clear that he already didn’t like Harold too.

“It is obviously a play upon my last name. But it also reflects the intrepid spirit of flying out over the vastness of the world’s oceans in an aircraft, even one as large as this one.” Harold cheerfully said to the reporter.

But Harold knew exactly who Clive was. So Harold chose his words carefully. Harold wanted to give the impression to the reporter that perhaps the industrialist was just a more respectable Australian version of the American billionaire Howard Hughes.

Of course, unlike Howard, Harold did not date starlets or relish the limelight all that much when not directly conducting business. He and his wife Dorothy had three children with a fourth child on the way, making Harold a much more conventional family man as well.

“That is quite clever, Mister Cavill. What else can you tell my readers about yourself and this constantly expanding business empire of yours?” the reporter asked.
“There’s really not much to tell. I started off prospecting and got very lucky there. Then I made some smart investments and began to build a variety of factories here in Derby. I employ a great many people here and have invested significant funds back into this community.
Did you know that we are now building Derby’s first municipal water and sewer system to serve the town? The electrical power plant that I built provides electricity not only to my factories, but also to the hospital, school, church and many of the homes in the area.”
“Cricky. This bugger sounds like a damned politician pretending to be some hypocritical dogooder while he exploits his workers and rapes the land.” Clive silently said to himself as he prepared to ask his next question.
“What do you have to say about your controversial use of aborigines as slave labor, Mister Cavill?”
Harold instantly stiffened in anger. Several other people who heard Clive’s question looked in shock as well.
“At no point have I have I ever employed anyone as slave labor, much less any native Australians. All of the people in my employ are here of their own volition and are not only paid a fair day’s wage, but also have access to other benefits that most of the rest of Australia does not see fit to provide to the degree that I do. Anyone who makes such an outrageous claim is a liar and a cretin.” Harold pointedly explained while looking Clive directly in the eye.
At this point, several armed local police officers arrived and escorted Clive Young off of the premises. The police on the scene had seen the immediate change in the crowd’s attitude after Clive made his accusation and wanted to forestall any possible violence.
“It looks like I have to make a few phone calls to try to correct the record here.” Harold told the others in the audience with a quick smile. He tried to laugh off the entire incident, but Harold was still very concerned. He had thought that he had put the entire Aborigine issue behind him with the help of Billy Hughes and the election of several new members of Parliament. The latter were much friendlier to Harold’s interests, especially after the substantial campaign contributions that he had made to their campaign coffers. But someone was apparently trying to deliberately disrupt Harold’s business for reasons unknown to the time traveler.
Making phone calls to Billy Hughes and some of these friendly politicians will be just another thing to add to Harold’s ‘to do’ list as time gets closer to the beginning of the Second World War. Harold could not afford for any problems like this reporter at this point. But Harold had made sure that the debut of the new flying boat received the widest possible exposure to the international news media. He needed the news exposure for his own purposes.
A few days later, Harold went down to the Cavill Aeronautics office to visit Albert Wright and discuss the results of the first three flight tests. At least there, Harold received some welcome news.
“Good morning, Sir. It has been very hectic around here since the Cavalier first started its test flights. We have already received several telegraphs from organizations interested in our new aircraft.” Albert reported to Harold while in the company of nearly a dozen of Albert’s other engineers, test pilots and aircraft technicians. Albert’s people represented a slice of all of Harold’s employees, Australians of West European descent, immigrants from America and elsewhere in Europe as well as many native aborigines. They were all very talented and dedicated to their work.
“That’s good news. However, I want to hear what the test flights have shown. I know that your pilots put on a good show. But prototypes always show things on their first flights that were not expected. So tell me everything that the test flights have revealed, Albert.”
“The pilots all said that it was a splendid aircraft to fly. So far, the aircraft has met all of our performance parameters. Still, there are some minor adjustments to the design that need to be made. The pilots did say that they felt that the aircraft was slightly underpowered though. Of course, that was with the R-1830-45 Twin-Wasp. We will soon be receiving deliveries of the R-1830-65 from our own factory. That change alone will give the Cavalier close to a fifteen percent increase in available horsepower. The basic design also was configured to be able to use the R-2600 Twin-Cyclone that is under development at Curtiss-Wright. According to the basic specifications for that engine, it would give us at least another thirty percent increase in available horsepower as well.
If you really want a military version of the Cavalier produced, that extra horsepower is definitely going to be needed. The best that I can figure, a military version of the Cavalier with typical military features like defensive guns, self-sealing fuel tanks, armor protection for the pilots, not to mention the actual weapons carried like torpedoes, will add several thousand pounds of weight.”
“When Curtiss-Wright finishes its development program for the Twin-Cyclone, I fully intend to purchase the production rights for that engine as well, Albert. This will give us a sufficiently powerful engine for our future aircraft designs for some years to come.”
“What else do you have in mind, Mister Cavill?”
“First, I want to get the Cavalier out of the prototype stage and into series production as soon as all necessary modifications have been made. Do whatever you can to get those modifications made as soon as possible. I will also personally put the Cavalier flying boat into commercial passenger and cargo service myself even if we don’t have any additional customers. Once we have proven the quality of our work with the rest of the world’s aviation community, I expect that we will be deriving a lot of technology from the Cavalier for other new designs in a few years for other designs. This will include large aircraft like bulk cargo aircraft and long range bombers.
I also want to produce other military aircraft like fighters and light bombers as well, both land and carrier-based designs. What we will likely do in these cases will be to produce local variants of existing designs. But, if possible, I want us to be able to design and build aircraft that will be completely original as well.”
“You tell us what you need to have done, Mister Cavill. My people and I will do our best to make it into reality. I want all of our aircraft to be beauties that will knock the socks off of anyone who sees them fly!” Albert enthusiastically replied.
“Excellent! I love your confidence and enthusiasm, Albert. If everyone here acted the same way as you, there is no way that we can possibly fail. But I will certainly be putting all of you to the test in the near future. We have a lot to accomplish. So I will need your best efforts to get the job done1wwwwww.”
“Thank you, Sir. We won’t let you down.” Albert quickly said before Harold excused himself to go to a meeting at another one of his industrial facilities.

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
September 14, 1935

Harold looked at the latest letter from the Australian Admiralty with great interest. He had been using his contacts within the Australian government to push for an expansion of the RAN for more than five years now. He picked up the phone on his desk that went to his secretary, Joanna Starke.

“Joanna, please go get Mister Sykes and have him come here please.”

A few minutes later, a tall, slender man, who appeared so pale that Harold often thought that the man never went out into the sun, walked into Harold’s office.
“What can I do for you, Mister Cavill?” Alan Sykes, Harold’s corporate accountant asked.
“We have great news, Alan. The Australian Admiralty has accepted one of our bids to build four new destroyers for the RAN. I will need information on how much it will cost us to construct each vessel along with a construction schedule. It is important that I know if there will be any materiel shortfalls as well. It is vitally important that we fulfill this contract on time and under budget. However, I will accept absolutely no shortcuts that will compromise the quality of the construction.
Do you have any questions, Alan?”
“The only question that I have is which of our proposed destroyer designs does the Admiralty want us to build for them? In any event, this is great news, Sir. We were beginning to run out of work for your shipyard with the nearing of completion for the last of those two peculiar passenger liners with the flight decks built on top of them. The new transport ships are almost ready to enter service with your shipping line as well.”
“The Australian Admiralty want the newest design that I asked for last year from my design team. That is the large destroyer with the eight four-inch guns. I am actually relieved that the Admiralty chose that one over the design with the larger guns. Our ordnance factory can much more easily produce the four-inch guns and associated high-angle mounts in sufficient quantities. These ships will be far more useful in the war that is coming, I am certain.
In regards to those liners, they have proven to be quite profitable for us in the long run. I was able to find a buyer after all, in spite of your previous concerns, Alan. The construction of those vessels has also given our newest workers a tremendous amount of experience that will be badly needed soon as we increase production with the new orders.
In any event, I have a feeling that the British will soon be calling us after we get the first of these new destroyers in the water. They will be needing many more such warships in the near future, I’m afraid.” Harold noted. He already knew that the coming war would require many new warships, especially with the heavy losses suffered by both British and Australian Navies historically during the early days of the Second World War.
“I better let you get back to your work then, Alan.” Harold finally said, dismissing the accountant before calling his secretary again.
“Joanne, I need to see Mister Portman please.”
A few minutes later, Joanne opened the office door for a short stocky man in dungarees who was still wiping grease off of his hands with a rag as he walked in, but whose eyes exuded a sharp intelligence at the same time.
“Hello, Alex. How are things going at the yard?”
“We are getting things cleaned up after the launch of the second liner, Sir. All we have left to do with her is the final fitting out. I can’t believe how hard these Abo’s work for you. They’ve got the other Australians hustling hard to keep up.” The American naval architect explained.
“They are a dedicated lot, for sure. How about our ‘special project’?”
“The engines and other interior work have all been completed. The flight deck and elevators are almost done also. The only major items remaining to be done are the construction of the island and the final installation of armament. We have held off testing the turbo-generator and propulsion systems until after the island superstructure has been installed. But the land-based test steam turbo-electric unit proved itself to meet all of your requirements. The flight-deck liners’ engines used many of the same design features as well.”
“Very good, Alex. The land-based high-pressure steam plant has been providing most of the power that the residents of Derby for more than two years quite reliably, I know. So I’m sure that the engines that you have installed in her hull as well as in the flight-deck liners will work equally well. But have the latter ships have provided your team with the basis for the other variants that I asked for?”
“Yes, Sir. My team and I have completed the initial drawings for the military version of the flight deck liner. It will be using a lot of the features from our special project in Dry Dock One, but will still retain a considerable amount of commonality with the liners. Rapid production will still be a problem with the current situation, even using the modular construction that we employed with the liners and the cargo ships. Right now, we have only have two dry docks available for any vessels larger than twelve thousand tons displacement. One of those is tied up with our special project, of course. At the same time, it will be months before construction of a third dry dock will be completed.
The destroyer design that I have come up with was very strongly influenced by what you had requested. It does have a few items that are a departure from traditional designs. But that design is also almost completely finalized. The antiaircraft armament is particularly heavy on that design based on your parameters. But I suppose that is what the Admiralty wanted after all.
The submersible design that you detailed for me is quite radical to say the least. I am still working on critical details of the propulsion system. But if it all works, I wouldn’t want to be facing one of these boats in combat because it would be quite formidable.”
“Very good, Alex. Please continue with your work. Also, be sure to let the workers down at the yard know that I am very satisfied with their efforts. I know that I have not been able to visit them nearly as often as I would like. But I am fully aware of how well they have done. It has been necessary for me to conduct a lot of business-related travel. But I will get down there as soon as I can.
“I suppose that is why you spent ten million dollars to have Westland Aircraft build a factory in Sydney and another six million to develop and construct those huge flying boats of yours.”
“I have to admit that the flying boats do allow me to travel much more quickly than if I had to charter other aircraft from the outside. However, my air transport service is also proving to be quite profitable with the use of these long-range flying boats as the primary reason for its financial success.”
“Yes, these flying boats are another one of your uncanny business successes, it appears. They are certainly far superior to the Americans’ Pacific Clipper in many aspects like range and payload. They have already broken a number of records as well. That publicity alone has driven a lot of interest in travelling aboard your flying boats.”
“I have considerable faith that your efforts in the shipyards will be equally successful in the long run, Alex. Our commercial transport hulls are proving to be a great success already.”
“Half of those are going to your own shipping line though.”
“True enough, but the ships that were delivered to other customers have a very good reputation as well. That reputation will lead to additional orders that will keep our workers employed for the foreseeable future.”
Of course, Harold already knew what the markets were for these ships and aircraft. All he needed to do was to do a little research on his portable computer to see what history had to say in the matter.

Derby Hospital
Derby, Western Australia November 12, 1935

Harold had to rush from his office to the hospital after receiving a phone call. Dorothy had gone into labor and was already in route to the hospital with the aid of one of her friends, Rebecca Holmes.
When Harold arrived at the hospital, the tall, blonde-haired Rebecca was still there in the waiting area. Rebecca was the wife of one of Harold’s workers at the shipyard and had become good friends with Dorothy after meeting her at the store.
“How is Dorothy doing?” Harold quickly asked Rebecca as he rushed into the hospital.
“She’s doing fine, Mister Cavill. The doctor said that everything is going well. Dorothy is in the delivery room already.”
“Thank you, Rebecca. We just weren’t expecting for her to go into labor quite so soon.” A clearly relieved Harold responded.
“I guess for now, we just wait.”
Harold nervously waited with Rebecca for over two hours before Doctor Phillips came out with a huge smile on her face.
“I guess that everyone is doing well.” Harold said.
“Yes, mother and son are both doing very well indeed.” Angela replied.
“I have a son?” Harold asked, a sudden smile erupting on his face.
“Yes, Sir. You do. Would you like to go see him and your wife now?”
At that, Harold immediately rushed towards Dorothy’s hospital room. When he opened the door, he found a smiling Dorothy holding their new baby boy next to her breast.
“We finally have a son.” Dorothy said.
“So I heard. We certainly put enough effort into the process.” Harold replied with both he and Dorothy laughing afterwards.
“I have an idea for a name. I think that you might find it familiar. I would like to name our son James Stevenson Cavill.” Dorothy explained.
Dorothy was offering quite a special homage to the old life that Harold had. When Harold finally revealed to Dorothy years earlier about his journey from the future and who he was then, he had no idea that she would want to preserve that name. But just as she had kept Harold’s first wife’s name alive by naming their first child Judith, Dorothy wanted to show her love for Harold by reminding him of who he was before he traveled back to the past to try to save humanity.
“Are you sure that you want to name him that? It might get a little confusing at times.” Harold noted.
“I’m sure that you will manage, Sweetheart. Besides, you got to pick the names for the twins.” Dorothy said with a twinkle in her eye.
“Yes. But you always pick names that have something to do with my old life. In any event, I’m sure that Susan and Beatrice as well as their big sister Judith will all love to finally have a baby brother. We are rapidly filling up all of those extra bedrooms in the children’s wing of our house now.”
“That new addition to that cave that you call a house should be far enough away from our special area to keep the kids out from under foot until they are old enough. Then we can tell them about our little secret. Until then, they will be busy enough with schoolwork and their new playroom.”
One of the nurses then stuck her head in the door.
“Excuse me, Mister and Mrs. Cavill. There is a lady here who would like to come in and visit. She’s the person who brought Mrs. Cavill in to the hospital.” The nurse said.
“Please, go ahead and let Rebecca in to visit.” Harold answered.
“Hi, Dorothy. How are you feeling?” Rebecca Martin asked just as soon as she walked in the door. Harold was already holding little James in his arms.
“Tired and sore, but very happy.”
“I’m sure that you are. I’ve got three children of my own, two boys and a girl. They are quite enough to keep me busy even when Alfred is not busy at the shipyard working with Alexander Portman on Mister Cavill’s latest new project.”
“Which project is that?” Dorothy asked.
“They’ve got that big German speedboat of your husband’s sitting up on the shore on blocks, going over every centimeter of it so that they can build a bigger version of it.”
Dorothy looked over at Harold and nodded her head. She already knew exactly what the project spawned from. Dorothy had transcribed information, specifications and even produced a few drawings based on information on German Second World War motor torpedo boats commonly referred to as ‘EBoats’. Harold had purchased a motorboat from Lurssen several years earlier because his research indicated that the boat’s design would eventually be the basis for the E-Boat.
Only Harold intended to produce a vessel that was slightly larger than the German torpedo boat at approximately one hundred and sixty tons. That would give the motor torpedo boat from Cavill Naval Yards greater range, payload and seakeeping for operations in littoral waters in the Southwest Pacific. Harold believed that this ‘super E-Boat’ would be particularly deadly against Japanese warships in the narrow waters of the Solomon Islands and Dutch East Indies.
Only the final design had not been revealed to anyone except for Alex. As far as the rest were concerned, Harold simply wanted a larger civilian version of his German motor launch.
“It sounds like Alex and your husband have their work cut out for them, Rebecca.” Dorothy noted without revealing what she already knew.
“Well, since Harold’s here and everyone appears to be alright, I better get back home. I’ve got kids and a husband to feed.” Rebecca said with a laugh before leaving Dorothy’s hospital room.
“I guess that we have the room do ourselves now, Sweetheart.” Dorothy said to Harold as he sat down on a chair next to her bed.
“Yes, but we still have to be careful about what we say, even here. You just never know who might come in next. I am assuming that Helen has the rest of our children at home?”
Helen Moore was the Cavill’s combination governess, housekeeper and homeschool teacher for their children. Like many of the women who work for the Cavill’s, Helen’s husband Fredrick worked for one of Harold’s companies in Derby.
”Yes, she is. Don’t worry though, Sweetheart. I made sure that your study and the ‘toy room’ were both completely secured. I do not believe that she has any idea of the existence of our hidden room still.”
Harold had significantly improved the security measures for the portable computer and all of the other items that he had brought back from the future. The locking mechanism for the secure room, which Harold and Dorothy now referred to as the ‘toy room’, had been much more carefully hidden and now employed an entry code as well. This code was known only to Harold and Dorothy. The study was now kept locked as well and served as another barrier to anyone who could possibly discover access to Harold’s secrets, such as three very inquisitive young children.
“That’s a relief. I had almost forgotten about it in the rush to meet you at the hospital. But keeping that secure is also very important. Thank you for taking care of that, Dorothy. I shudder to think about what could happen if any of that fell into the wrong hands.”
“I know. But someday, we are eventually going to have to tell our children about your secrets. It is almost a certainty that they will find out for themselves, either by accident or because they managed to figure it out on their own. We have to prepare them for the incredible responsibility of that knowledge and the need to keep it secret, no matter the temptation to tell others about what is being kept in that hidden room.” Dorothy while keeping a careful eye on the door to ensure that no one comes in while they are talking.
“I agree, Dorothy. But we have to wait until we can be sure that they are ready to handle the knowledge. Hopefully, none of our children prove to be unable to be trusted with this. If one of them is, we will have to make some hard decisions at that point.”
“I hope that it never comes to that. We are going to need their help in the years to come. You are already in your mid-fifties and not getting any younger. While I have learned so much, I have had only a few years exposure to the sort of technology that you brought back with you from the future.”
“So the choice will be either to introduce them to our secrets or to protect our children from them.”
“I’m afraid so, Sweetheart. But I pray that they will all prove to be brilliant and worthy enough to carry on our work to save humanity.”Chapter Eighteen:

Cavill Airlines Cavalier Flying Boat Somewhere over the Indian Ocean December 20, 1935

Harold had been sleeping, when he woke up and found the seat next to him empty. Dorothy had been sitting there. Their four children were all still asleep as the plane flew westward away from the early morning sunrise. The flight was not scheduled to make its final stop in England for another day though.

“Excuse me. Do you know where my wife Dorothy is?” Harold quietly asked one of the flight attendants on the huge seaplane.
“Mrs. Cavill is up in the cockpit right now, Sir.”
“Thank you.” Harold answered as he wondered what Dorothy could possibly be doing up in the cockpit. So he climbed up a ladder to get onto the cockpit flight deck.
“Am I going to have to fire the pilot of this airplane?” Harold asked after seeing Dorothy sitting in the aircraft’s left-hand seat, her curly red hair sticking out from under her radio headphones.
“No, silly. I asked if I be at the controls for a while so that Doug could get a little rest. Besides, I need the flight hours on my log book so that I can earn my multiple engine rating. You know that I earned my instrument flight rating a few months ago.” A clearly delighted Dorothy said while looking over her shoulder at Harold.
“At the rate that you are going, Dorothy, you will end up becoming a flight instructor for some of our pilots.”
“Maybe even a test pilot?” Dorothy mischievously asked.
“No, I don’t think that I would go that far. Being a test pilot is a very dangerous job. You are dealing with the unknown whenever you are flying an unproven aircraft. It is far too easy for something to go terribly wrong. I do not want to lose you, certainly not that way.”
“Well, Sweetheart. I am doing just fine up here. How are the kids doing? They were all sleeping when I left them in the back.”
“They are all still asleep, even the baby. Although I don’t know how much longer he will remain that way. He’s getting due for a feeding, I do believe. That will mean that you will have to leave the cockpit, whether you like it or not, Dorothy.” Harold said with a chuckle.
“Then it is a very good thing that we have the entire first class section of this airplane all to ourselves. Better still, we have a curtain between us and the rest of the passengers so that I can nurse our son in privacy.” Dorothy said as she turned her head towards Harold. He could see that she was smiling both about the situation as well as because of her enjoyment of the opportunity of flying the huge aircraft.
“We can afford it. After all, I do own the company.” Harold laughed while still standing behind Dorothy on the cockpit flight deck.
“I see that our pilot has returned from his break and is ready to resume his duties.” Harold noted a few seconds later as the pilot entered the Cavalier’s flight deck.
“I’m just glad that you invited the kids and I along with you on this trip. We don’t get to see you very much because of all of the traveling that you do anymore.” Dorothy said as she climbed out of the pilot’s seat. The pilot sat back down in the left seat as Dorothy climbed down the ladder from the flight deck with Harold and walked back to her seat.
“I know. I am sorry about that. There is just so much to do. You alone know just how incredibly important my work is, Dorothy.”
“Yes, Harold. But your family is also important. Our children and millions more like them are who you are trying to save this world for, you know. But our children need to have you in their lives so that they understand why you are doing all of these things. They need to know the brilliant, compassionate and selfless man that I fell in love with.”
“We are going to spend some time together in England. But I will also need to visit some places by myself as well. Besides, I don’t think that we want the children carrying around the odor of Mister Churchill’s cigar smoke on their clothing, now do we?” Harold said with a slightly wry expression.
“No, of course not, Sweetheart. But if you do go to visit the aircraft factories, perhaps we can join you there. I’m sure that the children would find them interesting. I know that I would.”
“Maybe, but I would like to get to spend some time with our family together in the English countryside as well. It is so much different than the land around our home in Australia.”
“I know. It is so much greener where I grew up in England because of all of the rain that the island gets. But, I still wouldn’t change a thing about the decision that I made to come with you to Australia. Our home is quite extraordinary in its own right.”
Harold leaned over and gave Dorothy a kiss just as their baby son James woke up and began to cry.
“I have a feeling that someone is hungry.” A smiling Harold said.
“I’m sure that he is.” Dorothy answered as she picked up the baby, sat back down with James on her lap, unbuttoned her blouse and began to nurse him. At the same time, Harold pulled a small thin blanket out of one of their bags and gave it to Dorothy so that she could cover her milk-engorged breasts if needed.
Before long, Dorothy finished nursing James and closed her blouse back up. She continued to hold the baby in order to burp him before setting James back in the basket where he had been sleeping.
“While I do enjoy nursing James, I will be glad when he is ready to eat regular baby food. That way, I can get back to more activities at work.” Dorothy commented.
“You’re lucky that you are not one of the Aborigine women. They breastfeed their babies for a lot longer than we do in our ‘civilized’ Western world.” Harold laughed.
Harold and Dorothy continued to talk for a while longer before both decided to get some sleep before the Cavalier’s next stop at the port of Bombay, India. Of course, Harold had to be careful not to refer to the city by the name that it was known by in the future, Mumbai.
From there, the plane would have one more stop to Venice along the northern coast of Italy before finally reaching its final destination of London, England. He had an airplane trip from Venice to Sibiu, Romania that he needed to make first.
One of the areas that Harold wanted to try to impact was in the field of rocket design. If he could convince the German rocket developers to leave Germany to focus their efforts on their true goal of spaceflight instead of ballistic missiles, perhaps another element of the last war could be stopped. Harold had done extensive biographical research on key members of the German rocket program even before he and his family left Derby.
At Sibiu, Harold hoped to find Hermann Oberth. Hermann was one of the earliest advocates of rocketry and space exploration. Harold’s research indicated that Hermann taught physics and mathematics at the Stephan Ludwig Roth high school in Medias, Romania but that he had maintained a residence in Sibiu.
Because the Cavalier was scheduled to stay in Venice for only a couple of days, Harold decided to fly to Sibiu rather than take the train. So he left Dorothy and the children to enjoy the sights of Venice while he boarded a small airplane heading for the middle of Romania. After only a couple of days, he returned without saying anything about what he accomplished in Sibiu. Dorothy was worried because of how Harold behaved upon his return. He was distracted, perhaps even disappointed.
“Hi, Sweetheart. I’m glad to see that you are back. We are going to have to hurry if we are going to catch our flight to London on the Cavalier though.” Dorothy cheerfully noted, hoping to distract Harold from whatever was concerning him.
“Dorothy, have you ever been to Paris?” Harold quickly asked with a smile after looking through his notes.
“No, I haven’t. But I have heard that it is very romantic.” Dorothy replied while returning his smile.
“Good. Let’s tell our plane to go ahead and continue its flight to London as scheduled. We are going to take another flight from here to Paris instead. We will catch up with our Cavalier in London a little later.”
“Do you have someone else that you want to meet there in Paris, Sweetheart?” A curious Dorothy asked.
“Yes, I do. He is someone who is related to that special project that we have been working on. I am hoping that he will convince his brother to come work for us. It would be incredible if we can redirect his brother’s efforts towards something much more peaceful like perhaps the exploration of space. ” Harold answered.
Dorothy knew that Harold was referring to his plans to change the future timeline to prevent humanity’s destruction. But she still didn’t know or understand everything that Harold was doing to accomplish this goal.
During a previous business trip to Germany a few years earlier, Harold had attempted to directly contact Wernher von Braun, the engineer and rocket expert who first designed the V-2 artillery rocket for the Nazis during the Second World War before joining the American Space Program after the war. But by then, Wernher was already working with the German Army. This made it very difficult for Harold to make direct contact with him, even though Harold had developed a variety of contacts within German industry during the previous decade. With the failure to recruit Oberth, Harold’s interest turned back towards the von Braun’s.
Wernher von Braun’s brother Magnus was still far too young at this time. He was also a member of the Hitler Youth movement. Magnus was being thoroughly indoctrinated into Nazism at one of the Hitler Youth camps. There was very little chance that he could be convinced to help redirect Wernher’s work away from designing ballistic missiles.
However, Harold’s research had indicated that Wernher had another brother who could perhaps be convinced to speak to Wernher on Harold’s behalf. Sigismund von Braun was only a few years younger than Wernher and had studied for a year in Cincinnati, Ohio before entering the German Foreign Service. He would probably still hold some positive feelings towards the West as a result of that exposure. Currently, Sigismund was the personal assistant of the German ambassador in Paris.
So Harold and his family then quickly caught a plane to Paris. He went ahead and had the Cavalier continue its journey to London on schedule since there were other passengers onboard. There was no need to force them to wait. Besides, Harold did not want to raise any suspicions about his reasons for his travel destinations.
A few hours later, Harold and his family were onboard a Fiat G.18 airliner and on the way to Paris. Once they arrived at Le Bourget airport near Paris, Harold and his family traveled via taxi to a hotel near the Seine River.
Harold and Dorothy walked up to a window in their hotel room that overlooked the Seine that evening. They could see much of the Paris lights from where they stood.
“This is beautiful. Isn’t it, Dorothy?”
“Yes, it is. Now, I am very curious about who it is exactly that you want to meet here. Will you please tell me?”
“His name is Sigismund von Braun. He is Wernher von Braun’s brother. He is also working in the German embassy here in Paris. Over the past few years, I have had some business dealings with several German companies. I should be able to leverage that into meeting with Sigismund. From that point, I hope to direct the conversation towards Wernher and his love of future space travel.”
“I hope that can accomplish what you are hoping for. Before we met, I read several novels that talked about travelling in space to other worlds. The idea of it fascinates me even now after all of the incredible things that I have learned from you, Harold.”
“Well, the sooner that I can get Sigismund’s brother focused exclusively upon space travel instead of ballistic missiles, the better off this world and humanity as a whole will be. A famous scientist from my time was quoted as saying that the only change for humanity to survive would be for it to expand beyond this one world. I happen to agree wholehearted with that statement, especially after what happened in 2040.”
“Well, let me get the children. I’m sure that they will love the idea of touring through Paris, especially the girls.” Dorothy replied before giving Harold a quick kiss.
Harold then prepared to go to the German embassy. He put on a good suit and hired a local taxi to take him to the front gate of the German embassy. He then got out of the taxi, walked to the gate and asked the guard in German to speak to Sigismund von Braun by name. Harold also gave the guard a business card to give to von Braun.
What Harold did not notice was that there was a French police officer orGendarmewatching him from a nearby street corner. The police officer had been ordered to observe anyone going in or out of the German embassy, especially if they were not Germans. He would then report these people to his superiors. However, this particularGendarmedid not only report to his superiors at police headquarters. He also passed along the information to someone else who had absolutely nothing to do with the French government.
About twenty minutes later, a well-dressed man walked out to the embassy gate and spoke to Harold in English.
“Hello,HerrCavill. I was surprised to hear that you were asking to speak to me. After all, I am only the personal assistant of the Ambassador here. We seldom receive visits from wealthy foreigners here, certainly not any from outside of Germany or France.”
“My family and I happened to be traveling to Paris. I learned that the brother of Wernher von Braun was serving here and decided to come meet with you. You see, he and I share some very interesting common interests.
I had tried to talk to your brother’s mentor, Hermann Oberth, a few days ago. Unfortunately, he was not at home at the time of my visit to Romania. There were also a few issues with language there since I do not speak Romanian. However, there is still a significant German expatiate community in Sibiu that I did make contact with. What I was finally able to determine was thatHerrOberth was staying at a small room in Medias while working at his teaching job. Apparently, he only went home periodically to Sibiu periodically to see his family. But I simply did not have time to travel also to Medias.”
“My brother Wernher certainly spoke very highly of Herr Oberth and the American engineer Robert Goddard in conversations that I have had previously with him.” The German diplomat commented as the two men continued to stand there by the embassy gate. Sigismund chose not to invite Harold inside the embassy for fear of how it might be construed by the German ambassador. Sigismund insisted that the conversation be kept out in the open because of his concerns.
“I would like very much to offer your brother a position working for me. I share his desire to explore space using rockets. As you probably already know, I employ a great many people who are building very innovative products in a variety of areas. So I certainly have the resources to finance your brother’s research fully.”
“I am afraid that Wernher is otherwise employed by my government.” Sigismund replied, not mentioning that his brother was working for the German Army. The latter information was highly classified by the German Army, Sigismund knew.
“That is unfortunate. Some of the people who work for me are engineers from Germany. I have found them all to be exceptionally talented and meticulous with their work. I have also done business with several major German companies like Lurssen, Daimler-Benz and BMW. It would be very good business for your country to continue to work together with my companies.”
“There are certainly many people in your Commonwealth who do not share your opinion about Germany at all.” A surprised Sigismund replied.
“If we can maintain the peace in Europe, there is no reason at all for us not to work together in the sciences and through commercial trade.” Harold replied. Of course, he knew that the war was coming. But Harold also knew that he had no hope of reaching out to Wernher and eventually influencing him if he approached the Germans as anything other than a friend while he still could.
“I would hope so as well,HerrCavill.”
“I would appreciate it very much if you could convey my best wishes to your brother towards his quest to sending men into space. It is a most worthy goal for all of mankind.”
“Thank you,HerrCavill. I will convey your message when I speak to my brother next.” Sigismund said with a polite, but reserved, nod. He then turned around and returned to the main embassy building.
Harold stood there for a couple of moments more before, he too, turned and walked away. He had obviously hoped that Wernher von Braun’s brother would have been more enthusiastic about conveying his message and offer of employment to the rocket scientist. But Harold also understood that the situation between Nazi Germany and the rest of Europe was already on the decline.
Harold got back into the taxi that he had paid to wait on him. He then told the driver to take him back to the hotel where Harold and his family had been staying. He immediately went to their hotel room and began to look over his historical notes again. A couple of hours later, Dorothy and the children also returned to the room.
“Hello, Harold. How did that mysterious meeting of yours go?” A curious and yet concerned Dorothy asked after seeing Harold’s expression. He appeared to be disappointed, much as he had been after his journey to Romania.
“I don’t know yet. Wernher’s brother seemed friendly enough to be willing to talk to me. But I just couldn’t tell for sure if Sigismund would really talk to his brother on my behalf. But you know that I had to try.”
“All that we can do is pray for the best.” Dorothy said while giving her husband a hug and kiss.
“Thank you, Dorothy. I trust that you and the kids had a very good time touring through Paris? There is certainly a lot to see here.”
“We certainly did. The Eiffel Tower and the Arc d’Triumph were incredible to see in person. We also went and did a little Christmas shopping alongThe Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Don’t worry. We didn’t spend too much money there.” Dorothy laughed.
“That’s good. If you bought something that couldn’t be brought back on our Cavalier, you would probably not see if for months. It would have to be shipped back to Derby on a slow cargo ship.”
“I don’t think that we have to worry about that. I mostly bought clothing for our children and a few things for myself.
So what will we be doing next, Sweetheart?”
“We need to leave for London soon. I have more meetings scheduled with Churchill as well as the heads of several of the companies that we have been doing business with in England. The Cavalier will already be there waiting on us by the time that we arrive. It has a scheduled layover of three weeks in England before we fly back home aboard her.”
“Well, Sweetheart. Before we leave for England, there was this little restaurant that I saw off of thedes Champs-Élyséesthat I really want to go to dinner with you tonight.”
“Alright, Dorothy. But you know that we are going to have to bring the kids along. We don’t have anyone here to play babysitter for them, I’m afraid.” Harold said with a smile.
A few days later, Harold and his family were on a ferry leaving from Calais, France to go to England.

Chartwell House
Westerham, Kent, England January 6, 1936

“Good afternoon, Mister Churchill.” Harold told Winston Churchill after the latter opened his front door. Harold and his family had just gotten into England a few days before. But Harold was anxious to get started.

“Please, Harold. Do call me, Winston. We have known each other for years now, even if most of our conversations have been via private telegraphs that your barrister has handed to me in person.”
“Alright. Winston, it is. I have been traveling for business and thought that I would make a personal visit while I was here in England. That whole business with the National Socialists in Germany is becoming rather worrisome, I fear.”
“I know. This Hitler fellow has quite the gift for inflaming the German masses. He has already started to unilaterally abrogate the Treaty of Versailles as well. I wish that more people here would open their eyes to the threat that Hitler poses to Europe and elsewhere.”
“Yes, I am afraid that German rearmament and the reemergence of radical German militarism are also proceeding at a rapid pace as well. Of course, the Soviets are no better morally. They have brutally conquered millions of people to form their Communist state. Now, they send agents throughout the world to foment Communist revolutions. The Chinese Nationalists are being hard pressed fighting against both the Chinese Communists and the Japanese even if there is a temporary alliance in place with the Communists. I am afraid that the Japanese will soon come for the various colonies in Southeast Asia, the Southwest Pacific and even we in Australia.”
“Perhaps we should let Hitler have his way in the east? Then we let him and Stalin beat each other to a bloody pulp.”
“That would seem to be an ideal solution except for the Poles and other countries in between Germany and the Soviets. However, it is certain that Hitler also has plans in the West as well. He has certainly not forgotten the role that the French had in humiliating and crippling Germany at Versailles. Hitler and his people will want a full measure of retribution for that humiliation. I do not believe for a moment that the Maginot Line will stop the Germans if they put their mind to invading and conquering the whole of France and the Low Counties.”
“We do still have the Royal Navy. Even with those new pocket battleships like theGraf Spee, the German Navy doesn’t stand a chance against our ships.” Churchill confidently declared.
“For now, that is true, Winston. But the Germans have been known to pull a surprise or two out of their hat. You also know that the Germans have a well-earned reputation for building excellent warships. This was evidenced by the performance of German Imperial warships at Jutland during the Great War.
German raiders on the high seas can spread the Royal Navy out so thinly that you cannot possibly cover all of the trade routes with capital ships to stop them. If the Germans were to gain allies with substantial naval forces of their own, the Royal Navy’s superiority could be challenged. Then there is the issue of the U-boats. If Germany could build them before, they could certainly build new and improved submarines at this point at well.”
“Yes, Harold. I have to agree. But money is still tight at the Exchequer. Your suggestion to me at our first meeting to convert the remainingHawkinsclass cruisers into light aircraft carriers has certainly paid off for the Navy’s carrier force. They now have four more flight decks to operate their aircraft from.
It took considerable negotiations during the London Naval Conference to keep aircraft carriers under ten thousand tons from being counted against our overall treaty limits. But these carriers are working out well, although flight deck and hangar sizes continue to be a troublesome issues for the flyers. TheHawkinsconversions simply don’t support nearly as many aircraft as aCourageousor Glorious, I’m afraid. I must admit though, suggesting the conversion idea to the First Sea Lord has raised my stock considerably within the Admiralty as well as other influential circles.
The new replacement battleship program is proving to be extremely expensive however. The damned fools tried to convince everyone building new battleships into reducing the caliber of main armament to only fourteen-inch guns. Of course, no one else will adhere to such restrictions in the long run, will they?” A frustrated Churchill explained.
“Of course, they won’t. That is why I argued against it in my correspondence with you. Such restrictions would mean that you would have to design an entirely new gun and turret system. It is quite doubtful that even your naval architects would be able to squeeze the desired amount of firepower while maintaining adequate protection and speed. I am basing my opinion on the Admiralty’s continued focus on a ship design armed with twelve fourteen-inch guns. It amazes me that the Admiralty thinks that it can build a ship with that armament while maintaining an acceptable speed and level of armored protection. Of course, there is an alternative.” Harold replied.
“What do you propose as the alternative, my friend?”
“Build the new battleships, but arm them with fifteen-inch guns instead. I’m sure that your naval architects already have a number of proposed designs utilizing the fifteen-inch gun, perhaps even in triple turrets like what HMSRodneyandNelsonemploy.”
“Yes. I know what you are saying, Harold. The standard fifteen-inch gun that has been successfully used on over a dozen of our capital ships. But we will need more than eight guns if we are going to have an advantage over the ships that the French and Italians are constructing.”
“Then use three triple turrets in the same basic hull form that has already been designed for the King George Vclass. It should not be a terribly difficult proposition with the Royal Navy’s experience with triple turrets onRodneyandNelson. A derivative design could be produced for a triple fifteen-inch gun turret without too much difficulty, I’m sure. If the Americans can design a fast battleship with sixteen-inch guns in a similar configuration, we can build one using proven fifteen-inch guns on theKing George Vclass hull.”
In fact, Harold had already had available the blueprints for a perfectly viable design of a triple fifteen-inch gun turret from his own naval architects after he had requested it over a year earlier. He intended to present it to his other contacts in the Admiralty at the first opportunity, but he needed Churchill’s support to ensure acceptance of the design.
Both Harold Cavill and Winston Churchill were also fully aware of the J3 design proposal for a fast battleship armed with nine fifteen-inch guns that had recently been developed. However, Churchill was completely unaware that Harold knew so many details of this highly classified battleship design. Harold also knew about the Mark II version of the British fifteen-inch gun with lighter weight and superior performance than the original gun. It had already been developed but had never been fielded in Harold’s original timeline.
How could he? But information on the J3 design was among the millions of historical and technical data files that Harold had brought back through the temporal portal on his portable computer. If theKing George Vhull could not be quickly modified to use triple fifteen-inch guns, then it would be a relatively simple matter to use a modified version of the J3 design instead.
“So you would like for me to argue for that, Harold?” Winston asked between drinks of whisky and puffs on his Havana.
“Yes….and a few other things.”
“Such as?”
“Standardizing the secondary gun for all capital warships on the new 4.5-inch dual purpose gun.”
“You are not asking for much, are you Harold?” Churchill asked in a slightly sarcastic manner.
“Not really. You already know that aircraft are going to play a much bigger role in naval warfare than ever before, both with land-based and aircraft carrier-based craft. So our ships’ antiaircraft defenses need to be significantly improved. I know that the 4.5-inch gun has been selected to arm the new aircraft carriers as well as for the refits of HMSRenownand at least some of theQueen Elizabeth class battleships.
But England are also spending unnecessary funds developing a larger gun for the secondary armament of theKing George Vclass battleships. I propose that the Royal Navy use the same 4.5-inch high angle gun system for all of these ships. Your naval architects could easily fit five of the lighter gun turrets on each side for the same space and weight as four turrets of the larger gun as well.”
“I know that there has always been a concern with the Admiralty about having a sufficiently powerful secondary armament for our capital ships. That was why HMSTigerwas armed with six-inch secondary guns as versus the four-inch guns that previous battle cruisers used. Will the 4.5-inch gun be adequate to fend off a destroyer or light cruiser attempting to close for a torpedo attack?” Churchill noted.
“My naval architects and other experts say that it is. The weight of the individual shell fired is more than made up for by the sheer volume of fire by the more numerous and faster firing guns of the BD Mark II turrets. I happen to trust their judgement. But more importantly, it will provide a superior performance against attacking aircraft. That, my friend, is the threat of the future. Besides, how many of our current ships are armed with that proposed large caliber secondary gun? The answer is none. We already have the lighter gun under production. All that is necessary is to increase production of the existing BD Mark II gun mount design.
With the funds that the Admiralty can save through standardization with the fifteen-inch main battery guns and the Below Deck BD Mark II dual purpose gun mounts, it can afford to refit HMS Repulse, HMSHood, HMSTigerand all of the unmodifiedQueen Elizabethclass battleships with thoroughly modernized secondary armaments along with all of the newKing George Vclass battleships. I’m sure that you already are aware of the armor shortcomings onHood. Can we really afford not to fully modernize the largest capital ship in the Royal Navy?
Besides, you have to be aware that the Japanese are not going to allow themselves to be bound by the treaty for much longer. They are going to resume building battleships with sixteen-inch main guns, if not larger. The Americans will immediately follow suit with sixteen-inch guns on their own new construction battleships. While the big guns onNelsonandRodneyhave been less than ideal, the fifteen-inch guns that we have on most of our other capital ships are still outstanding. The Mark II version of the fifteen-inch gun will serve us well on our new construction ships while allowing us sufficient tonnage to ensure adequate speed, armored protection, a long radius of action and superior anti-aircraft defenses.”
“Your logic in this is impeccable, Harold. But what is reason behind your interest in the antiaircraft defenses of the Royal Navy’s warships? The Admiralty believes that it already has the best shortrange anti-aircraft weapons in the world with the two-pounder pom-pom in the multiple barrel mount. What it is most worried about by the Admiralty are torpedo-armed destroyers and light cruisers slipping in close and hitting our capital ships.” Winston noted.
“You and I both know that aircraft are the naval weapon of the future, both defensively and offensively. While large capital ships with their big guns do still have a place, they need to work with aircraft and be able to defend themselves adequately against enemy aircraft as well. This will require the combination of dual-purpose secondary guns and significant numbers of short-range automatic antiaircraft guns.
The combination of heavy antiaircraft defenses onboard our ships along with the construction of more aircraft carriers would put the Royal Navy at the forefront of combat effectiveness on either the high seas or littoral waters as needed. The Royal Navy could then base several fast battle groups around a modernized battlecruiser likeTiger,Renown,RepulseorHoodor a fast battleship like theKing George V. Then you would add to the battle group, a fleet aircraft carrier, a cruiser or two and several destroyers. Each battle group would be able to cover an immense area of ocean in the hunt for raiders, submarines or other enemy surface combat groups.
Of course, you will also need significantly more destroyers commissioned to support these combat groups as well. They will keep enemy destroyers and cruisers at bay when necessary as well as protect against enemy submarines.
Another suggestion that I would present to you would be to look at adapting anArethusaclass cruiser hull to serve as a specialized antiaircraft cruiser. Using an existing hull design will save considerable time and expense, of course.
It should be a relatively easy task for such a vessel to mount six of the same twin dual purpose BD Mark II mounts on the centerline in superfiring mounts. Since there would be no need for the four inch secondary guns, the cruiser could dispense with those in lieu of additional automatic cannons like the pom-pom and twenty-millimeter Oerlikon. The cruiser could still retain torpedo tubes for fleet actions. Finally, the hull would also allow the cruiser to serve as a destroyer flotilla flagship with adequate space for command staff.
Groupings of multiple integrated battlegroups could be used in fleet actions to destroy massed enemy surface forces through a combination of aerial attack and heavy gun bombardment. The aircraft of the carriers and the heavy guns of the capital ships can be used in support of expeditionary ground forces along an adversary’s coastline. These battlegroups would be uniquely suited to defend themselves against a variety of threats when necessary. Having specialized anti-aircraft ships in support of these battlegroups only enhances their capabilities and survivability.”
Harold could see the intense look on Churchill’s face as he sought to envision the full implications of the far-reaching concept that Harold had proposed. Little did Churchill know that this exact operational concept was eventually going to be put into practice during the Second World War. But, Churchill was clearly intrigued by the vision that Harold had described.
“What will you do to be able to help me convince the First Lord of the Admiralty and the others who make these decisions? I do have some highly placed friends there. The Controller, Rear Admiral Reginald Henderson and I have known each other for years. He has been involved in many of our most important ship design concepts. But even that may not be enough to sway the design board, much less the politicians that ultimately tell us how much the Royal Navy can spend on ship construction.”
Harold refrained from mentioning that he had already spent nearly a quarter million Pounds Sterling ‘convincing’ dozens of members of Parliament to support the very same proposals that he had presented to Churchill. But the recipients of those payments were merely paid politicians. Winston Churchill was a friend with many of the same viewpoints. They would disagree on a few subjects, but largely Harold and Winston were like brothers in their shared view of the world.
What Winston would never learn was the secret behind Harold’s uncanny predictions of events nor the deeper agenda that Harold continued to pursue.
“I will do what I can. After all, I am a wealthy, influential, tax-paying citizen of the Commonwealth. I’m sure that I can get a few people out there to listen to what I have to say.” Harold laughed.
“I’m sure that you will, my friend. You’ve already proven to be quite capable at that.” Churchill answered.
“In fact, I have already heard from my steam propulsion subsidiary in England that the British Admiralty has been inquiring about my high-pressure steam units. I strongly suspect that you might have had something to do with that.”
“Yes, I did discuss the matter with a few senior officers that I know. They were very interested in the performance numbers that you claimed. It will still be a challenge however because of the usual concerns about reliability.”
“My land-based test unit as well as several ships that have been produced at my Derby shipyards have already verified the reliability of the design as well as its other attributes. If the design is used on the Royal Navy’s new capital ship designs and possibly also the upgrades to its battlecruiser fleet, it would make it possible for other improvements to be incorporated into those ships as well.”
“I will continue to make your case with the Admiralty in the matter, Harold. You and I are both interested in achieving the same goals here, I am certain.” Churchill replied.
“Yes, we are. Well, I must be going. I have to go visit a company tomorrow that I want to offer some work to. They have some unique ideas that I want to take advantage of.”
“What sort of ideas?”
“Well, the company produces aircraft. I think that they will be very receptive to perhaps building some for me.” Harold said with a knowing smile.
“Yes, indeed. They should be quite receptive to you, especially after the success of that new flying boat of yours. I shall have to come down to take a look at your aircraft before you leave to go back to Australia, Harold.”
“I look forward to it, Winston.” Harold replied before finally picking up his coat and hat and leaving the Churchill residence. He already had a hired Hackney waiting on him to take him to his next destination.
In the course of the day, Harold visited several factories, mostly in the defense industry. But Harold also visited his steam engine production subsidiary that was located just off of the Thames River estuary as well. By the end of the day, he had agreed to business deals worth more than a million Pounds Sterling.
After completing his business for the day, Harold rode back to the hotel in London where Dorothy and the children had already settled into.
“Any luck, Sweetheart?” Dorothy asked.
“I think so. I was able to sign several contracts that my representatives here had been working on for some months now. We will to wait and see what happens with the rest of what happens. I do have more work to do tomorrow, of course.
But for now, I just want to get out of these clothes and get into a nice warm bed with you.”
Dorothy quickly smiled, “I like that idea too. But we will have to make sure to lock the door between our room and the children’s room first.”
The time traveler had arrived at the Woodley, Berkshire headquarters of Miles Aircraft Limited that next morning after a very pleasant night. Harold then got out of his car, walked up to the front door and knocked. Two men, obviously related in addition to a woman who stood back a couple of feet, answered the door.
“Good morning, Gentlemen. My name is Harold Cavill.” The time traveler said.
“Hello, Sir. I’m Fredrick Miles. This is my wife Blossom and my brother George. I must say that we have been expecting you. We have heard through our contacts with certain influential people in the Air Ministry that you have been looking for new aircraft designs. How can we help you?”
“I know that you have been terribly busy preparing for the production of the Miles Master trainer aircraft. However, it is also my understanding that you also have a penchant for exploring new design concepts to develop. I have a particular project that I believe might be perfect for you.” Harold told his hosts.
“Please do continue, Sir. I know that you have travelled a long way from Australia. We will do our best to ensure that it was not a waste of time.” Frederick politely said.
Of course, the Miles family had no idea of the secret meetings that Harold Cavill had been having with certain high-ranking officials, especially those with Winston Churchill. None of Harold’s business trips were ever a waste of time.
“What I am looking for is an aircraft design that can serve as a fighter onboard a relatively small vessel’s flight deck. There is interest in conducting flight operations on a ship that is no larger in size than one of theCountyclass cruisers. This way, we can produce a relatively large number of ships. However, with such a small flight deck, it is vitally important that the aircraft be very easy to operate safely while at sea. Because the ship design is much smaller than that of HMSCourageousor the other Royal Navy fleet carriers currently in commission, each aircraft operating from it would have to fit in a very small area in the hangar.”
“You are talking about those aircraft carrier conversions of theHawkinsclass cruisers that we have heard about. They were supposed to allow the Royal Navy to avoid certain onerous aspects of the Washington Naval treaties.”
“That could possibly be an application of this proposal, although I believe that the Admiralty currently plans on flying Fairey Swordfish and Gloster Sea Gladiators from those particular vessels at this point. I would like to be able to provide the Royal Navy with a better option.” Harold admitted before continuing.
“Getting back to the original subject, I am already aware that the Gloster Gladiator is currently the fighter being used by our Fleet Air Arm. I fear that if we were to rely solely upon our current aircraft producers like Gloster, there may not be enough production capacity available to supply the needs of the Royal Navy’s carrier air arm. We also have to bear in mind that the aircraft on our carriers will probably have to face adversaries that are far faster and more heavily armed than the Gladiator in the foreseeable future. Any new combat aircraft would have to be a significant improvement over our current designs.”
“What you want us to do would be quite a challenge. We know that the new monoplanes will soon greatly outperform traditional biplane aircraft like the Gladiator. The difficulty will be in creating a design that can keep up with its shore-based counterparts in terms of performance while still operating from the limited space of a carrier’s flight deck. But George and I do like a challenge, don’t we? Are there any particular parameters that you would like for this new aircraft design?”
Harold smiled for a moment. He had already hooked the Miles’ brothers’ interest. Now, to lead them to design the sort of aircraft that they wouldn’t build a prototype of for another few years. Harold was certain still that the Miles Brothers had already been considering what he was about to suggest.
“I had read something about tandem wing aircraft. It would seem to me that they would be quite ideal since both wings would be producing lift, rather like what the Wright Brothers did with their first aircraft. That would logically make landing speeds lower and allow for smaller wings to be needed. That, in turn, would lead to a smaller airframe to store on the ship. Therefore, I would like for you to incorporate a tandem wing configuration for this aircraft if at all possible.”
“That sounds quite interesting, Mister Cavill. That is very insightful on your part as well concerning the effects of multiple lifting surfaces. We have been investigating just such an arrangement ourselves, in fact. But so far, all of our ideas have only been on paper.”
“This would give you an opportunity to take this off of the drawing board then. Since I will want this to be a combat aircraft, the armament that it would carry is very important. I would like for the aircraft to have at least four heavy machine guns in the nose firing at their maximum rate of fire. This would give the fighter a very heavy punch against both enemy aircraft and surface targets as well. The guns would have to be larger than our standard Browning .303’s, perhaps some of the American fiftycaliber Browning heavy machine guns.”
“If you want them in the nose, either they would have to be fitted with interrupter gear to allow the projectiles to be fired between the propeller blades or we would have to adopt a pusher propeller design. The arrestor gear would significantly slow down the each weapon’s rate of fire to avoid hitting the propeller. Plus, it would be very difficult to mount four heavy machine guns firing forward with a tractor propeller aircraft without putting at least half of them in the wings.” Frederick said after thinking for a few moments.
“I can accept the use of a pusher configuration. Achieving the maximum rate of fire and effective range is very important for this aircraft. You will have to come up with a means for the pilot to escape the aircraft if it is disabled without him being struck by its propeller, of course.”
“I’m sure that we will come up with something to solve that particular problem. Now, you haven’t said anything about performance requirements beyond a desire to be superior to the Blackburn Skua, Sir.”
“That is true, Mister Miles. The new aircraft would have to be capable of flying at least three hundred and fifty knots in level flight at sea level. The fighter would require an operational radius and maneuverability superior to that of the Hawker Hurricane. Let’s not also forget to give the pilot some reasonable protection against enemy fire as well as self-sealing fuel tanks. I already have the production license for the American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin-Wasp twelve hundred and fifty horsepower fourteen-cylinder radial engine with a supercharger. I believe that this engine would be quite suitable for our purposes. I also plan on obtaining the license for the Wright Twin-Cyclone engine as well. This engine could be used to increase the aircraft’s speed and payload in later versions. The proposed fighter would also have hardpoints under the wings or fuselage to carry extra fuel in expendable drop tanks or a pair of two-hundred and fifty kilogram bombs.
If it is possible without degrading its maneuverability, I would like for the fighter to also be able to operate as a dive bomber. This would reduce the number of aircraft types that these small carriers would be required to operate.”
The two brothers turned and talked quietly with each other for a few moments. Then they turned back towards Harold with confident smiles.
“We do like a challenge I must admit, Mr. Cavill. The design will have to be very compact to meet your requirements, but I believe it is doable. How soon do you need the first prototype ready to fly?” Frederick quickly asked.
Harold thought for a few moments. How long did he really have before he needed those aircraft in operation? He considered about how long it would be before the war in Europe would begin and eventually the war in the Pacific before deciding on a timeline.
“I’d like to see your initial design concepts within ninety days, with the first full-scale prototype flying eighteen months from now. I am willing to finance a smaller prototype aircraft to provide a proof of concept as long as it can be constructed and flown within nine months. I would also like for the proof of concept design to potentially have some utility in its own right for possible production as well. I will arrange for a half-dozen R-1830 engines to be shipped to you along with the Browning machine guns for the full-scale prototype’s armament. Will that be satisfactory?”
“Yes. All that will be left will be to arrange payment. Obviously, we can’t work for free even though we do love the work.”
“I will have my barrister contact you for an initial contract for development. If I am satisfied with what you have created, then we will decide on additional contracts, either for license production or for your company to produce the new fighter.”
“Thank you, Sir. We look forward to working with you.” A surprised and very pleased Frederick Miles responded.

Seaplane Docks
Port of London, England January 7, 1936

Harold had received the message from a courier that Winston Churchill wanted to visit Harold’s Cavalier flying boat that morning. Churchill was already standing there in a dark, pin-striped suit and a bowler hat looking up at the Cavalier when Harold walked up.

“Good morning, Harold. I was just looking at this very impressive flying machine of yours. I had read about it in the newspapers. But that is nothing like seeing it in person.”
“I am very pleased with what my designers have been able to accomplish with the Cavalier. They were able exceed my requirements for range, speed and payload.”
“Where is your lovely wife and children? I had hoped to be able to finally meet all of them.” Churchill asked.
“Dorothy and the children took a train to go visit the English countryside today. Since we only have a few more days before beginning the flight back, Dorothy wanted to give them the opportunity to see more of the land where she came from.” Harold said, not mentioning Dorothy’s wish to not have to expose the children to Churchill’s cigar smoke. Harold then continued with an idea that he had been thinking about after reviewing records of the early months of the Second World War.
“Winston, I was thinking about something during the flight here. My flying boat service could be very useful to the British government in a lot of ways. We’ve already started carrying mail on all of my Cavalier flights. In fact, the flight that I came in on transported nearly a ton of mail for the Australian Postmaster General in addition to some high value parcels. I would like to offer my service to Her Majesty’s Government for the clandestine transportation of important documents and parcels.
I would imagine that the government typically uses ships to send documents to the various parts of the British Empire, correct?”
“Yes, that is true. Of course, we don’t announce which ships are carrying special documents. But the ship’s lockbox is usually quite secure.”
“In peacetime, I’m sure that it is. Wartime would be a completely different matter though. Of course, a ship would take far longer to get to India or Singapore than one of my flying boats. There are certainly occasions where a document that cannot be transmitted via telegraph for a variety of reasons due to its sensitive nature. But that document needs to arrive at its destination in a rapid and secure manner.
This is where my flying boats would solve certain problems. They are able to reach their destination quickly. They would also be very difficult to intercept. I also have a lightweight strongbox incorporated in each aircraft for high-value items to be stored inside of.”
“Could an adversary be able to engage one of your flying boats with an armed aircraft?” Churchill asked after lighting a cigar.
“They could try. But I have incorporated certainly features to make that more difficult. This includes accommodations for twin Lewis machine guns in flexible mounts on either side of the Cavalier’s fuselage in my current production aircraft. Additional machine guns could be added in time of war as needed.”
“So you have designed the Cavalier to have a wartime mission in addition to its current civilian purpose?”
“Yes. The existing Cavaliers can easily be modified for missions like submarine hunting or the transport of raiding parties behind enemy lines. The design can be modified so that new production aircraft can have additional defensive and offensive armaments as well as other military-related equipment installed on the production line. The Cavalier design will also soon be built with more powerful Wright Cyclone radial engines to give the aircraft even more payload capability.”
“This is all very interesting. I have read that Short Brothers is also building a large flying boat for much the same civilian purposes in order to meet an Air Ministry requirement. But the Short design is not nearly as large and long-ranged as your aircraft. I will certainly bear in mind what you have proposed. I’m sure that I know someone in the Home Office or with the War Ministry who would be very interested in contracting your services, Harold.”
“Thank you. I’m sure that the use of my flying boats will save the British government a considerable amount of problems in the long run. By their very nature, they are more secure than sending sensitive documents on a ship because of an airplane’s speed and difficulty in interception. ”
Harold knew that if the British government did use his services that it would change quite a few things in the future. Simply avoiding the debacle of the cargo ship SSAutomedon’scapture by the disguised German raiderAtlantisin November 1940 alone would be critical to a string of historical events. That ill-fated British cargo ship contained numerous sensitive War Ministry documents that told the Axis the strengths and weaknesses of Commonwealth defenses in Southeast Asia. The revelation of this information would lead to some very profound changes in history. These changes included preventing the loss of the British base at Singapore as well as the Japanese surprise carrier strike on Pearl Harbor.
“I can certainly see the possibilities, Harold. The only problem that I can readily foresee would be a reluctance to allow a non-British aircraft to transport such materiel, even if it belonged to a Commonwealth nation. But I will certainly argue that your aircraft is far superior for the mission already.”
“Thank you, Winston. Do you want to see the inside of the Cavalier?”
“Of course.” Churchill said before quickly extinguishing his cigar and walking up the walkway from the pier into the massive flying boat. They spent the next two hours walking through the aircraft while Harold described every detail of the Cavalier. Finally, Churchill took his leave and headed back to his residence while Harold rode back in a rented Hackney to his hotel where Dorothy and the children were already waiting.
“I’m glad to see that you and the children are back, Dorothy. I trust that your trip went well?” Harold asked with a tired smile.
“Yes. We had an excellent time although the children started to get tired after a few hours. We took an earlier train back here. They are all in the other room fast asleep now. How did things go with Mister Churchill?”
“I believe that they went quite well. The suggestions that I made through him have certainly reached the right people and are making some considerable effect. I hope and pray that it will be enough to counter the Germans and the rest of the Axis powers in a few years.”
“What if it isn’t, Harold?”
“That is why we are doing so much work back in Australia. We will have to be able to hold back the Japanese for at least a while until we can get more support from England. The Americans will be fighting in the Pacific too. But they probably won’t be as motivated as before to resort to extreme measures. The last thing that humanity needs is for the Americans or anyone else to begin a nuclear weapons program as a result of this conflict.
It would be far better for the war to last a bit longer and the Japanese strangled into submission by a blockade than to have those damned bombs built and used against them or anyone else.” Harold said with an anger that Dorothy could clearly feel.”
“What about the Germans? Could they build these terrible bombs also?” Dorothy asked.
“They were unable to successfully build an atomic bomb before. But we can also take certain measures to ensure that either the necessary materials or the technical expertise will be denied to the Nazis this time as well. Mister Churchill does have quite a passion for unconventional measures, even including assassinations, if necessary. The deaths of certain key scientific personnel can destroy a highly technical project just as surely as a thousand bombs on a factory.”
“I hope that we can be successful without any more bloodshed than absolutely necessary. I saw many of the men who had returned from the Great War. Even many of them who had never been wounded had this terrible haunted look in their eyes. It was painful to see that in those gallant men.”
“I know. That is what war has always done to people throughout history. All of our technological marvels didn’t save the young men and women who fought in my future from those same horrors either.” Harold sadly replied.
“Well, on a much lighter note. How long before we head back home to Australia, Sweetheart? I think that the kids are ready to get back home to some sunshine. I have to admit that I rather prefer the warmer weather myself even though I grew up here in England and Scotland.” Dorothy asked after pausing for a moment.
“Our plane is due to leave London in three days. Within a week, we will be back home doing what we love most, my dear.”
The trip back to Derby was uneventful for Harold and his family after a final few days in England. They were all exhausted and slept through most of the flight onboard the huge Cavalier flying boat. Even Dorothy chose not to spend any time at the controls of the Cavalier on the way home.
The badly needed rest that Harold got immediately proved to be a benefit for him. He had to immediately go back to work upon his arrival at his office. There was already a stack of reports and other documents waiting on his desk for review.
“Oh, how I hate paperwork.” Harold groaned, longing for the days of email correspondence and electronic spreadsheets as he poured over each sheet of paper.
But not everything was bad news for Harold. Not only had construction work been completed upon the two flight-deck liners, but there was already an American shipping company, the Alaska Steamship Company, that had offered a bid for both of the vessels. They could not use the ships for the routes between Alaska and the lower 48 states due to the 1920 Jones Act. But the Alaska Syndicate, that owned the shipping line, wanted to branch out into transpacific routes in addition to their domestic shipping routes. With the failing fortunes of the Dollar Steamship Line, the Alaska Syndicate saw an opportunity to take over the other firm’s routes as well as establish routes between Alaska, Canada and Mexico. In spite of the restrictions of the Jones Act, the Alaska Syndicate wanted Harold’s ships.
The Jones Act prohibited shipping between American ports on foreign-built hulls. The aircraft onboard the liners would allow the transfer of limited numbers of passengers and cargo from American coastal cities in route while still remaining compliant with the Jones Act. The Alaska Syndicate had requested information on the two liners months before Harold and his family left for England. Obviously, the Syndicate was very impressed by how fast, safe, fuel efficient and cost competitive, Harold’s ships were.
The Alaska Syndicate’s bid for the two liners was more than acceptable. It also came at a time where Harold’s companies badly needed additional cash income for his expansion plans. It was an incredible gamble on Harold’s part to build the liners without having a customer already for them. But it proved to be worthwhile in the long run.
In designing and building the flight deck liners, the groundwork had been laid for the construction of new aircraft carriers based heavily upon the flight deck liner. That had been Harold’s intent from the beginning as well.
Harold also saw another trend that pleased him. There were continued improvements in production and productivity. This meant that he could afford to pay higher wages to his employees and continue with the other work that was benefiting the community. These same improvements meant that Harold would be able to produce more materiel from his factories when it would be most needed in a few years.
Harold thought of the well-stocked storefronts in Derby’s produce stores that he saw as he drove in from the port. The bounty from the farms that Harold created not only added to his financial bottom line, but also assured that no one in the area would go hungry. The farms continued to produce more each year, especially as the irrigation system was expanded. The water going to the farms came from the reservoirs created by a pair of small hydroelectric dams.
Much of Harold’s work has been extraordinarily fruitful, including in ways that he would have never anticipated when he stepped through the time portal eighteen years earlier.
The good news for Harold continued as the first drawings from the Miles brothers arrived via airmail at Harold’s shipyard office about two weeks after Harold returned to Australia. As soon as Harold saw them, he closely inspected them and the accompanying documents. An excited smile quickly appeared on his face.
He quickly ran out of the office, got into his motor car and sped to the local telegraph office. Once there, he immediately composed a message to the Miles brothers and had it sent.
The message read: ‘Have received your package. Design approved. Begin immediate production of prototype. Please advise when your first successful test flight has been completed and document the results. I would like for the new fighter aircraft to be named the Dragonfly. Many thanks, Harold Cavill.’.Chapter Nineteen:

Royal Navy Admiralty Headquarters Portsmouth, UK
May 19, 1936

“Even when Winston Churchill isn’t the First Lord of the Admiralty, he continues to meddle in naval affairs.” First Sea Lord Admiral Ernle Chatfield complained to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet; Admiral Roger Backhouse.

“Perhaps so, but he has consistently supported us throughout the years. I have talked with him several times myself over the past few months regarding naval matters.” Admiral Backhouse replied.
“So what has the former First Lord of the Admiralty told you? I know that has always been infatuated with whatever latest technological wonder that presents itself.” The First Sea Lord growled.
“Mister Churchill is convinced that the Japanese are not going to stay with the fourteen-inch limit for new battleship main caliber guns. Of course, if the Japanese invoke the escalator clause, the Americans will immediately follow suit and mount sixteen-inch guns on their new battleships. So, any work that we do now developing battleships armed only with the smaller caliber guns will either be a waste of valuable funding and time or will leave us with ships that are significantly less powerful than their contemporaries.”
“We already have sixteen-inch guns in service withRodneyandNelson. Why not just use those?” Admiral Chatfield noted.
“You have seen the results of those guns in service. Mister Churchill somehow got ahold of the official reports on the performance ofNelson’smain battery. Her guns performed significantly under expectations and have a far shorter barrel life than what was predicted as well.
Mister Churchill is pushing for us to go back to our standard fifteen-inch Mark I gun or preferably the lighter Mark II that has already been designed by our ordnance people but not put into production. He believes that if we used those guns in three triple turrets, we would have more than adequate firepower while saving significant tonnage that could be applied to protection, speed and antiaircraft defenses.
He is also proposing that we abandon the new Mark I dual-purpose gun that is under development for the new battleship class. Churchill also is strongly urging that we also use the same secondary battery for the new battleships that is planned to be installed onRenownand several of the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships. In fact, he wants the same secondary battery to be standardized on all of our capital ships includingTiger.”
“That will cost us a tremendous amount of funding.”
“Mister Churchill seems to have a solution for that as well. He had accountants look at the costs of the new ships and guns. He presented the results of their research. It appears that the funding saved by the elimination of further development of the fourteen-inch gun and the new dual-purpose Mark I secondary battery gun would save several million pounds. Churchill then brought up how the logistical savings with standardization around the fifteen-inch Mark II gun and the secondary battery of BD Mark II mounts planned forRenownand theQueen Elizabeth-class refits would pay for all of his proposals.”
“Yes, funding is always a major concern. If Churchill has managed to find a way to pay for all this, money isn’t the only concern. What about the threat from enemy cruisers and destroyers attempting to close in for torpedo attacks? Will those lighter guns be adequate? That is why we moved from four-inch to six-inch secondary guns in the first place, as I recall.”
“Churchill is convinced that air attack will be a far greater threat to our warships in the nearfuture. He specifically noted how the Americans’ Billy Mitchell had already shown that aircraft can even sink a dreadnought. ”
The First Sea Lord snorted indignantly.
“Yes, they sank an old German dreadnought at anchor. But it wasn’t manned, didn’t have its watertight doors closed and wasn’t maneuvering like a warship in a real battle would, not to mention no one was shooting at those American bombers when they came in to drop their bombs.”
“Ernle, I think that you just made a large part of Churchill’s point for him, I’m afraid. He wants us to significantly improve our ships’ antiaircraft defenses. With better antiaircraft guns, it would be much harder for an enemy bomber to hit our ships with bombs or aerial-launched torpedoes because of our ships being able to shoot back more effectively. Churchill is asserting that the new Mark I’s with their heavier guns will simply not be able to achieve the rate of fire needed to drive off enemy air attacks, much less what the designers have claimed.
Churchill also has recommended that we sell one or more of ourRevengeclass to the Chilean Navy to help pay for all of these programs. He believes that they will not be particularly useful in a future war due to their slow speed. He has also suggested that we transfer two of the remaining Revengeclass ships to replace HMSCenturionand HMSIron Dukeas our target ship and training ship respectively.”
“That would mean giving up ships armed with fifteen-inch guns though.”
“Old ships, yes. But if we give Churchill everything that he is recommending, we will end up with a lot more fifteen-inch guns in the fleet on much more modern platforms. We can also take the turrets from the oldRevengeclass vessels and put them on monitors to supplement our shore bombardment capabilities.”
“You do have a point there, Roger. What are you going to do?”
“I recommend that the Royal Navy go forward with Churchill’s proposals. This includes his idea to build at least eight dedicated antiaircraft cruisers based on theArethusahull. These ships would be primarily armed with six of the same BD Mark II mounts that are going onto the reconstructed capital ships. These new cruisers would provide additional antiaircraft fire in support of the fleet as well as serving as flotilla leaders for destroyer formations.”
“They won’t be much help against enemy cruisers with such light caliber main guns.”
“Hopefully, they won’t ever have to face an enemy cruiser by themselves. The intent is they will always be working in conjunction with other Royal Navy or Commonwealth warships. The other warships with their larger caliber main guns will be dealing with the enemy warships while these antiaircraft cruisers fend off the bombers. However, these anti-aircraft cruisers will also be armed with torpedoes for fleet actions if necessary.
Churchill has also endorsed our call for more cruiser construction as well. These would be an additional six ships armed with six-inch guns of theEdinburgh-class. They would help us greatly in covering our trade routes and convoys against raiders.”
“Churchill is asking us to implement some risky ideas though. Not just with the guns, but also the engines that he wants to use.”
“Those new engines that Churchill wants us to use would allow us to build capital ships that can stand up to virtually anything in the world. The engines themselves would be built here in England and have already been successfully used in several commercial ships built in Australia.”
“I worry about using high-pressure steam boilers and turbines. The Germans have also been building them. But I understand that their reliability leaves much to be desired.”
“I know. But this company that has proposed incorporating these engines into our new battleships says that their reliability is much higher than the German designs. The proposed power plants are running slightly lower pressures and temperatures than the Germans so that they will be much more reliable. This company also claims that these engines are far more fuel efficient than our existing designs.
They are also offering to produce the engines at a cost that is very close to the price of our existing capital ship engine designs.”
“The cost of the engines may very well be the deciding factor, Roger. You know about our continuing issues with funding.”
“I’m afraid that you are right, Ernle. But these engines perform as promised, we may actually receive the best of both worlds.”
“I certainly hope so.RodneyandNelsoncertainly did not turn out nearly as well as had been planned.”
“Perhaps these newfangled aircraft carriers will be useful as the aviation advocates claim that they will be. That is another one of Churchill’s pet projects as well, you know.”
The two senior officers continued to discuss the situation about the future of the Royal Navy. But they had no idea of what was really happening to alter the direction of future events. Even if they did know, they could not believe it.Chapter Twenty:

The Kremlin Moscow, USSR May 1, 1937

Josef Stalin sat at the head of a long table at one of the great halls of the Kremlin. Seated along the sides of that table were the other members of the Soviet Politburo, the supreme body of ministers that governed the Soviet Union. But Josef Stalin was the unquestioned leader of that vast nation as the Premier of the Soviet Union. Among the people present were the People’s Commissar for Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Voroshilov, Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars Vyacheslav Molotov, Procurator General Andrey Vyshinsky, Foreign Secretary Maxim Litvinov and Deputy Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars, Janis Rudzutaks.

Even though Molotov was officially the premier and held considerable influence, Stalin was the real power in the Politburo.
“Comrade Litvinov, your efforts in gaining influence for the Soviet Union in England and the United States have been very successful. It was very amusing when the Americans sent their comic Harpo Marx to visit us.”
“I enjoyed his visit as well. It was also very ironic that the American comic’s last name was Marx considering who we received our ultimate philosophy from. Getting back to our successes, Roosevelt is far more willing to accept the power of the State being superior to that of the capitalistic individual. That gives us much common ground. The same is true of the politicians of the British Labor Party. There is still strong conservative proletariat movements in both countries that strongly oppose the collective peoples’ movement that we espouse, unfortunately.”
“What about your diplomatic overtures with the Germans? We need an ally in Western Europe, even if only for a few years while we get our own house in order. There are many sympathizers for the Bolshevik cause in France, but they have proven to be ineffective in overthrowing the government there.” Molotov asked.
“So far, the Nazis have shown little interest in reaching an accommodation with us. If anything, their leader Adolf Hitler has been publicly attacking us in his speeches to the German people. I don’t know if we will be able to convince Hitler to work with us on anything.” Litvinov explained while Stalin intently watched while chain-smoking cigarettes. His eyes were squinted as he also looked at the others around the table through a cloud of cigarette smoke.
Finally, Stalin spoke up, “I have little trust in that snake Hitler, even if I share his hatred for the Jews.” ignoring the fact that his own foreign minister was Jewish. “That rabble rouser cannot bring back his despicable little country of militarists and capitalists from bankruptcy, much less arm it sufficiently to threaten us. But they do hold a strategic position that we someday wish to control.
Comrade Litvinov, you are to continue to pursue a temporary alliance with the Germans, perhaps even offering to share control of Poland in order to gain acceptance. Germany’s technology and industrial prowess are also certainly of great importance to the Soviet Union.
In any event, Germany is a concern for another day. Even if Hitler wishes to resist our Revolution, he will find us at his doorstep far sooner than he expects. However, we still face a greater threat from the counter-revolutionaries here within the Motherland.”
There was little doubt in anyone’s mind at the table that Stalin would continue ruthlessly purging all who he even remotely suspected of being a threat to his power. His paranoia concerning threats to his regime had already become legendary. At the same time, Stalin continued to push for the Bolshevik revolution to be spread throughout the world.
“What of our efforts by our foreign operatives to recruit more revolutionaries and destabilize more of the capitalist governments?” Stalin asked
“We are continuing to have considerable success in many European, Asian and South American countries in the creation and expansion of revolutionary cells and movements. This also includes scientists, politicians and even military officers in England, France, Germany and America.
There have been several notable exceptions to our worldwide progress however,Tovarich.”
“Well, don’t make me wait, Comrade Litvinov. Tell me about where our efforts have been falling the most short of the party’s expectations. You know that failure is not acceptable.” Molotov pressed while Stalin looked on closely, his eyes squinting while he smoked a cigarette.
“We have been making numerous attempts to gain influence in Australia, particularly through their Liberal and Labor political parties. For more than a decade, it appeared that we were succeeding. However, our agents in that country have reported a series of setbacks.”
“What sort of setbacks?” an irritated Stalin interrupted.
“Someone is pouring money behind the scenes in support of conservative candidates, at least conservative in terms of military spending and most social programs. He has directly or indirectly caused the defeat of at least seven regional candidates who had supported our Bolshevik Revolution and favored collectivist policies as well as a more friendly relationship with us.”
“Do we know who this person is?”
“Our agents say that his name is Harold Cavill. We know little about his background before the end of the war against Imperial Germany. Supposedly, he was a mining prospector who was incredibly fortunate and became wealthy discovering very productive mineral deposits. After that, he chose to exploit the people around him like a traditional capitalist to become even wealthier. Now, he is taking that wealth and buying political influence. Harold Cavill pretends to help the workers with schools, hospitals and wages. But he is gaining wealth far faster than any of the people who toil for him.
He has also been influencing affairs in England and possibly even in America. He has made several visits to both countries, meeting with industrial and political leaders frequently. He has returned to Australia with skilled workers like engineers from America, England and even Germany to assist him with building factories and thus accumulating even more capital from the sweat of his workers’ toil.”
“We must watch this man carefully. He is obviously an enemy of the proletariat as one of the greedybourgeoiscapitalists. If he continues to exploit the workers and interfere with our efforts to free them, we must consider eliminating him. I am sure that we have agents in the area who can accomplish this if necessary.” Stalin grimly told the rest of the Politburo.
The others in the room all nodded in agreement. Many had died over the course of the Bolshevik Revolution, both inside and outside of the Soviet Union, with as little discussion.
Stalin had already decided that more aggressive action would need to be taken to deal with the situation in Australia. After the meeting of the Politburo, Stalin asked for his People’s Commissar for State Security or NKVD, Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov, for a private meeting.
The diminutive Yezhov arrived at Stalin’s office only a couple of hours later. Initially, Yezhov stood at attention in front of Stalin’s desk.
“Sit down,Tovarich. I have a concern that I want you to take care of. This is going to be different than most of the tasks you have undertaken for me. This involves a person outside of the Soviet Union who was never part of our people. He is a wealthy capitalist in the country of Australia. I know that it is far from our Motherland, but I have a strong feeling that he is a far greater threat to us than he appears.” Stalin calmly said.
“What measures so you need to be taken against this threat to the State and the Revolution, Comrade Stalin?”
“Do whatever you must to eliminate this threat. That will include summary execution of this capitalist exploiter of the Proletariat. However, you must take care that your efforts must not be traced back to the Motherland.”
“Yes, Comrade Stalin. I will begin at once.” Yezhov declared.
Stalin then sent Yezhov off to perform the ruthless tasks that the latter was already infamous for. The sadistic head of NKVD had come in from outside of the previous organs of state security, but quickly earned a reputation for torture and terror as he pursued Stalin’s real or imagined opponents. The ‘Poison Dwarf’ even personally tortured his predecessor Genrikh Yagoda and Marshall Mikhail Tukhachevsky to obtain their confessions.
Stalin expected that Yezhov would be no less ruthless in dealing with this Harold Cavill. But the task would be much more difficult with the conditions that Stalin set though.Chapter Twenty-One:

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
September 14, 1937

Courtney Martin, Harold’s most recent recruit from America was visiting the main office in Derby. He was an electrical engineer that Harold brought over right after the former had graduated from a major American university.

“Good morning, Mister Sykes. I came over to see how much funding remains available for the new expansion at the electrical power plant.”
“You still have a sufficient amount of project funds available, Mister Martin. What I am attempting to determine is what Mister Cavill up to this time? Sometimes, he drives me nearly to insanity with all of these projects of his.” Alan Sykes, his corporate accountant asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Harold Cavill is a man who is obviously brilliant and clearly also unnaturally fortunate as well. First, he becomes quite wealthy with the gold, silver and other mines that he discovers in addition to a variety of investments. Then he invests in constructing a shipyard in an obscure location and spends nearly every penny that he has upgrading it while buying old warships for scrap. At the same time, he takes what funds that he still has and invests them in even more obscure stocks and commodities, redoubling his fortune. He’s even built a steel mill right next to his new electric plant, both of which spew coal smoke all day and night but generate considerable profits for Mister Cavill and plenty of jobs for the people around here.
He doesn’t flaunt his wealth, mind you. He lives on a small farm with his wife and children not far from that shipyard of his. If you didn’t know him when he walked past you, you wouldn’t have guessed that Mister Cavill was so wealthy. He dresses in ordinary workman’s clothes like everyone else around here. The only time that he wears fancy clothing is when he is traveling overseas. About the only extravagant things that he owns are that large German speedboat that he had shipped here last year and the big horse farm that he set up northeast of here.
It is remarkable how he travels all over the world, spending money almost as prolifically as he makes it. He’s even built a couple of ocean liners that small aircraft can take off and land on. He did that without even having a customer ready for them.
Fortunately, he sold those ships to an American shipping company shortly after their completion. Now, he is making plans to build a new aircraft factory next to his current facility that produces rifles and cannons. This is in addition to the aircraft factory in Sydney that he set up with Westland Aircraft that is building his new flying boats and the new facility to make radio equipment.
Mister Cavill also wants to expand his engine factory to produce diesel motors in addition to the steamship and aircraft engines already made there. I now have invoices here for the purchase of ten thousand military uniforms from a textile factory in America. That’s enough to clothe half the town.
He also owns nearly a dozen other industrial factories outside of Derby that he purchased in the past few years as well. Who knows what else he wants to purchase next? But I am afraid that even his funds have limits.”
“What is wrong with Mister Cavill building and buying factories? He’s giving people real jobs. How many others are doing that right now? Since he started the militia to protect Derby and the surrounding area, it makes sense that he would want them to have uniforms so that people can tell the difference between the militiamen and an armed thug.”
“Nothing is wrong with those things at all, I suppose. There are some people who say that Mister Cavill is single-handedly bringing this entire country out of the economic depression that has paralyzed most of the world’s economies. I certainly hope that he is making that kind of effect. But I worry about him devoting so much of his fortune in what appears to be a reckless manner.” Alan shook his head before continuing.
“In any event, Mister Cavill says that the new engines that he is going to build are going to be used for tractors and perhaps even railroad locomotives. But these motors appear to be too powerful to be useful on any kind of tractor that I have ever heard of.”
“Why do you say that, Mister Sykes?”
“It is because of the specifications that I just received from Mister Cavill. He has had an engineer from America design the motors that he wants the factory to build. The specifications say that the motor is to be an in-line eight-cylinder diesel engine displacing approximately eleven liters. The motor is supposed to be capable of producing over five-hundred brake horsepower with the boost of a turbosupercharger.”
“That would be a very powerful motor indeed. Perhaps those will be for the railroad locomotives though? He has contracted to build several new rail lines along the western coast and into the interior with the support of the state of Western Australia. Do the specifications that you saw describe anything else?”
“The specifications for the designs mention the development of four, six and ten cylinder versions of the motor block. Subsequent development would involve pairs of the base motor blocks in a V-configuration or even a sort of parallel radial configuration for even more horsepower. The V-Twenty motor that they are proposing would generate over two thousand horsepower. The designer of the engines replied in his correspondence that the motors would be very suitable for marine use as well.”
“Well, Mister Sykes. It is his money. So he can spend it as he pleases. If he is building factories, those new factories mean more jobs for the rest of us. Besides, he has treated all of us very well, even from the very beginning. It doesn’t seem to matter where we are a native-born Australian from the Outback or if we are someone from another part of the world. I suppose that we owe him more than a little, especially with how generous he has been.”
“Some of his new investors are not completely happy about that, or about a number of other things that Mister Cavill has insisted upon. His absolute demand on total control of product development and the retention of technology has angered a number of potential investors.”
“Yet, they continue to approach him with offers, don’t they? Whatever they make not like about his methods, they obviously see how successful and profitable his initiatives are.”
“I have to admit, that is true. Mister Cavill certainly made enough money on the sale of those two big ocean liners with the flight decks on top of them. They are being used all along the American West Coast from Baja, Mexico all the way up to Anchorage, Alaska. They use the aircraft primarily to deliver mail, people and light cargo along their routes. But I understand that part of the appeal is that some of the passengers also take flights over the ocean for fun.”
“I heard that these new ships also deliver some bulk cargo as well.”
“That is true. But mostly, the liners transport people. I’m frankly surprised that no one else has tried out such an idea.”
“It was certainly a gamble on Mister Cavill’s part. He did not have any customers for those ships when he started constructing them. I guess that he just did it on faith.”
“Sometimes, doing things on faith alone is a very scary proposition.”
“Maybe that is why he and his family are always in Sunday worship services. He has to be getting such faith from somewhere, not to mention his success. Maybe it is a ‘God thing’. I don’t know.”
“At least the newspapers in Australia have stopped referring to Mister Cavill as one of those ‘merchants of death’ that the liberals are frequently crying about. He does build a lot of military equipment at his factories. But Mister Cavill also manufactures a lot of civilian products like cargo ships, aircraft and trucks as well. We certainly see a lot of them being advertised about in the newspapers.” Courtney noted.
Of course, few people realized that Harold had actually purchased those newspapers. Now, they only printed stories about him that he approved of. Not even Dorothy knew just how much effort Harold had expended to keep the rest of the world ignorant of their secrets and of his plans for the future.

Cavill Ordnance Works Derby, Western Australia September 29, 1937

Harold drove up to the small administration building of his ordnance production facility. The Ordnance Works complex consisted of only four buildings on the outskirts of Derby. This didn’t count the half-dozen earth-covered concrete bunkers where shells and other ammunition were stored about five hundred meters away.

“Good afternoon, Eric. How are your various projects here progressing?”
“You’ve already heard about our problems trying to make barrels for the Below Decks Mark II mount. I’m afraid we are still unable to do that. We are producing the other cannons and mounts that have been ordered. The new four-inch guns are now beginning to come off of the production lines and are meeting all performance expectations fortunately. However, we are still struggling to meet delivery deadlines.” Eric Carter, the Ordnance Works production and design chief explained.
“Just make sure that quality doesn’t suffer. We must not compromise our reputation of delivering reliable and durable products, no matter what.”
“That is going to be difficult, Sir. I’m still very short of skilled personnel.”
“I am working on solving that problem. I am pushing people through schools as quickly as I can. I am also recruiting experienced workers from anywhere that I can find them as well.”
“That’s great, Sir. But we can’t get them soon enough. That’s for certain.” A clearly frustrated Eric responded.
“There are a few other issues that I wanted to discuss with you also, Eric. The first thing that I want to learn about is how we are doing with the production of the new CR-1 automatic rifles.”
“We have the machinery and trained manpower to produce fifty rifles a month currently.”
“Good. I want to increase that capacity to five hundred rifles a month by next June. Now, we have the ability to produce some of our own manufacturing machinery. I already have our machine shop working to build additional manufacturing hardware for you. Just let me know how many more workers that you need, Eric.
There will also be additional machinery produced for a variety of other small arms production from pistols up to twenty-five millimeter automatic cannons, as well. I want to be able to compete with other major small arms manufacturers on the world market.
As it is, I have some good news for you. We have our first order from the Australian military for fifty of the British twenty-five pounder field guns. We already have the design drawings for the Ordnance QF gun so that will require little work from your weapons design team.
I want to also market that new 105mm field gun that you designed as well. It is a very capable weapon would also work well as a howitzer with the proper mount. We may be able to sell that cannon to more than just the Australian army as well.”
“In any event, you will definitely need to get us more workers, Mister Cavill. They will be necessary if we are going to be able to produce those guns that you have promised. I have already explained to you before about our workload situation.”
“You will get them, I promise. But I have another job or two for you and your design team as well.”
Harold could already see the sigh of frustration coming from Eric at the idea of even more work being added to his agenda.
“You know that I have had you working on a new sixty-caliber six-pounder high velocity gun for the new medium tank. Well, I want you to take that same gun and adapt it for anti-aircraft use. I expect that we are going to need a heavier punch and reach for our automatic anti-aircraft fire to deal with future aerial threats”
“Are there any particular specifications that you need for this new gun, Sir?” Eric asked.
“I want the gun to be capable of sustained automatic fire from a fifty round hopper of ammunition. It can’t be too heavy since it will need to be installed in the same space and weight as a twin Bofors forty-millimeter mount. I would like for the gun to be capable of firing at least one hundred and twenty rounds per minute for its sustained cyclic rate. The latter will probably mean that you will have to add a water cooling jacket to the gun barrel.
These are only general parameters though. I will give you more specific guidelines shortly.”
“I will get my design team working on the new project as quickly as I can, Sir.”
“Very good. Are you familiar with the old Gatling gun design, Eric?”
“Yes. That was one of the earliest machine gun designs with the rotating multiple barrel assembly. The Maxim and Browning machine guns eventually replaced the Gatling on the battlefield because they were so much lighter. It was a lot easier to move them around on the battlefield because the Gatling required a wheeled carriage like an artillery piece.”
“That wouldn’t be nearly as much of a problem on a shipboard mount or even on an armored truck, would it?”
“No, Sir. What do you have in mind?” Eric cautiously asked.
“The greatest strength of the Gatling has always been its high rate of fire. For an anti-aircraft gun, this would be extremely useful. I would like for you to look into the possibility to designing and building a modern version of the Gatling gun in a high angle mount using something between a twenty to thirty millimeter high-explosive round. I would prefer using an existing high velocity round that has a good effective range and punch, if possible. It is important that the mount rely as little as possible on external power so that it can operate independently if necessary. There is one other requirement for this weapon. It has to fit in the same space as a single-barrel forty-millimeter Bofors cannon with the same or lower mass. ”
Eric was immediately intrigued by what Harold had described. It certainly was different than any weapon being currently developed that he was aware of.
“I’ll see what I can do, Mister Cavill. But I’m not going to make any promises at this point. I just have too much that I have to do with the limited resources that I have available.”
“I know. I will be doing all that I can to provide you with the additional resources that you need. Don’t be surprised if a bunch of new apprentices show up at your door soon.”
“Right now, I could use a surprise like that. My wife would like to see me come home at a decent hour once in a while.”
“Don’t get too comfortable even with the prospect of additional help arriving soon. All of you will certainly be kept busy. I will be coming to you with more projects in the future. This ordnance works will be branching out into other areas like constructing rockets and torpedoes, for example.”
Harold knew that it would take Eric a while to get through all of the projects that had been assigned to him. But Harold could afford to wait for a little while longer. The concepts for the sixpounder automatic gun and the Gatling gun rotary cannon were only slightly more advanced than the state of the art for 1937. But the weapons would most certainly be needed by 1942 to counter the Japanese carrier wings and eventually, their kamikaze suicide attacks as well.
Soon, Harold’s focus would return to the air after spending so much focus lately on the ground and naval arenas. Beyond that, he still had multiple civilian businesses to run and a growing family to raise.
A few days later, one of Eric’s shop foremen rushes up to Eric shortly after the beginning of the Ordnance Works first work shift.
“Mister Carter, we’ve got a crowd of people standing outside of the factory. They say that they are here to begin working here.” The foreman quickly explained.
Eric immediately walked out and saw more than one hundred people standing there. They were a mix of whites and aborigines. But perhaps the most surprising thing to Eric was that about two-thirds of the job seekers were women.
A thin, brown-haired man who appeared to be in his early thirties walked up and reached his hand out.
“You must be Mister Carter. I’m Sam Paulson. I’m here to start working for you here.” The newcomer said.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Sam. I must say that I am a little surprised to see all of you here. Can you tell me who sent all of you here?” Eric asked the crowd.
“Mister Cavill sent us. We heard that he was looking for more workers. So we all went to his office in town. The next thing that we know, he’s given us all jobs and told us to come here this morning to get started.” Sam answered with many of the others nodding their heads in agreement.
“Alright everyone. I need for all of you to come inside, six at a time. We are going to get your names and information on what sort of experience that you have. Then I am going to assign you to one of my foremen to begin apprentice training based on what we think you would be best suited at. I’m assuming that all of you can read and write?”
“Yes, Sir. We can.”
“Very good. Go ahead and start up a queue while I make a phone call.”
Eric then went to his office, closed the door and called Harold’s office. Harold’s assistant then got Harold on the phone.
“Hello, Mister Cavill. I guess that you sent me a bunch of new workers today.”
“I’m glad that they were able to find their way to you alright. I’m sure that you will be able to put them to work fairly quickly.” Harold answered.
“Maybe. It looked like about two-thirds of them were women though. I doubt that any of them have had any manufacturing experience.”
“I know. But these people all need jobs just as you need more workers to complete the orders that we have taken. We have more than enough people tending the farms already. I’m sure that the women will do just fine with any task except for the few that require the greatest physical strength once you have trained them. You should have enough capable men for those specific jobs. I expect that the women will work out exceptionally well in those tasks that require fine detail work however.
In any event, if you need more people than this, just let me know.” Harold promised.
“It’s going to take at least some of my most experienced workers away from their jobs just to train these new employees.”
“I am aware of this. But I’m sure that you can manage your people in order to train your new employees and continue to produce products. In the long run, you will be able to produce far more than ever before. I have faith in your ability to accomplish this, Eric. Again, if you need anything else, please let me know.” Harold replied before hanging up.
“I guess that I should be thankful.” Eric said to himself before going back out to meet with the first dozen new workers. This wasn’t going to be easy, but Eric was determined to make the best of the situation.Chapter Twenty-Two:

Miles Aircraft Limited Woodley, Berkshire October 7, 1937

Harold had received word from the Miles brothers that the first of the pre-production Dragonfly tandem-wing fighters had flown successfully a few weeks earlier. He immediately made arrangements for a seat on one of his Cavalier flying boats to fly to England. Harold wanted to see with his own eyes if the Miles Brothers’ claims in their telegraph were for real. While Harold was gone, Dorothy was running normal day to day operations. This was now possible since their son James was old enough to not demand quite so much of Dorothy’s time and attention.

The Miles Brothers’ prototype tandem wing aircraft apparently had flown well in its debut over six months earlier. The Miles Brothers had even arranged to have some of its test flights filmed. The movie films were then sent to Harold for his viewing. Now, Harold rode up in a rented vehicle to the aerodrome for the demonstration. This was the first day in nearly a week where the weather was sufficiently clear for the flight demonstration to begin. Fredrick and George Miles were already waiting for Harold at the aerodrome.

“Good morning, gentlemen. It is great to see a bright blue sky out today. That is one of the things that I miss the most when I am traveling here, I’m afraid.” Harold said while shaking hands with the Miles brothers.

“Mister Cavill, I’m sure that you will find all of this worth waiting for. This is a fully production standard Dragonfly, complete with the four fifty-caliber heavy machine guns that you specified. There is enough weight and space available to upgrade the Dragonfly’s guns if necessary.

We have some targets set up for our test pilot to do strafing runs on in addition to the regular flight demonstration maneuvers. They would give you an excellent opportunity to see this aircraft’s capabilities.”

“Excellent. I have another question. Is this aircraft set up to carry bombs or extra fuel drop tanks?”
“Yes, Sir. Just as you specified. There is one hardpoint under each wing and one under the center fuselage. The wing hardpoints are capable of carrying up to three hundred kilograms of ordnance while the centerline hardpoint can carry up to five hundred kilograms. All three of the hardpoints are plumbed for external fuel drop tanks.”
“Very good. I’d like to give our new aircraft a close personal inspection, please. ”
“Of course, Sir. Please follow me.” Fredrick replied.
The three men walked out to the aerodrome where the Dragonfly and its test pilot. The pilot was a compact, stocky man in his late twenties with blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing a leather jacket and appeared to as excited as Harold about the aircraft.
The unusual looking aircraft with its large foreplane, low mounted main wing with its vertical stabilizers and rudders mounted on the wingtips of the main wing sat on a relatively tall tricycle landing gear. The powerful Pratt & Whitney R-1830-35 supercharged radial engine was set up in the rear fuselage, driving a large four-blade constant-speed pusher propeller. The large bubble canopy was located just forward of the aircraft’s foreplane, giving the pilot exceptional visibility. Protruding from the lower surface of the nose were the muzzles of the Dragonfly’s four fifty-caliber heavy machine guns. Finally, the aircraft was painted in dark green and dark earth camouflage paint with light blue undersides. There was a small blue practice bomb attached to each of the wing hardpoints.
“This is our test pilot for this flight, Mister Cavill. His name isLeftenantAlfred Smith. We borrowed him from the local Royal Navy base because of his experience with flying from aircraft carrier flight decks. We have a reviewing stand set up over here so that we can watch everything. There are several gunnery targets set up. We also have a target set up to drop bombs upon as well.” Fredrick said as the pilot shook hands with Harold.
“Great. Let’s get to the reviewing stand then. I’m looking forward to the demonstration.” Harold said.
The pilot quickly climbed into the cockpit, was strapped in with the aid of a nearby mechanic and then started the Dragonfly’s big radial engine. He taxied the compact fighter-bomber to the edge of the runway. Running up the engine to maximum power, the pilot released the brakes and quickly accelerated. In an astoundingly short distance, the Dragonfly was airborne and rapidly climbing into the sky.
They were all enraptured with the exhibition that lasted nearly an hour. Multiple targets were quickly chewed to pieces by the Dragonfly’s heavy machine guns during strafing runs while a pair of targets were also hit by the practice bombs as well. The fighter-bomber was obviously highly maneuverable based on the aerobatics thatLeftenantSmith was putting it through. Finally, the Dragonfly came in for a remarkably short landing. It appeared that the Dragonfly’s pilot had simulated landing the aircraft on the small flight deck of an aircraft carrier with his final maneuver.
“Excellent work, gentlemen. How soon can you begin production of the Dragonfly?” an immensely pleased Harold Cavill quickly asked after seeing the Dragonfly’s dramatic performance.
“With sufficient orders and financing, we can perhaps have the first production aircraft in the air within six to eight months.”
“Excellent! I will be putting in an immediate order for twenty airframes. I believe that the Australian military will be very interested in those aircraft once they are fully outfitted at my base of operations. I will also be using my contacts here in England to see if perhaps the Fleet Air Arm would also be interested in purchasing some of your aircraft as well.”
“We will try to get your order in production as quickly as possible. However, we have just received a rather substantial order from the Air Ministry for our Master trainer aircraft. The Master would have to be ahead of yours on the production queue. We will only be able to devote a limited amount of our production resources to your Dragonfly order. We simply do not have the resources here to produce it more quickly, I’m afraid.”
“How low would the production rate be for the Dragonfly?”
“We would not be able to make more than one per month, unfortunately.”
Harold silently thought for a few moments at the news. He really needed to get those aircraft ready a lot sooner than that. At that production rate, the last of that small batch would not be completed until after the beginning of the war.
But Harold had another solution in mind.
“Gentlemen, I would certainly like to receive quantities of this aircraft much sooner than that. I propose that we license production for the majority of my order to production facilities that I own or control in Australia. This way, we can quickly increase the production rate for the Dragonfly as needed. The research and development for the Dragonfly would still be based here with you at Woodley though. We would all benefit as a result.” He explained.
“That would work. But it would require you to create an entire duplicate set of tooling for your factory in Australia. That would add considerable costs for you, Mister Cavill.” George explained.
“I will accept that expense as being necessary. We need to get these planes built soon, I’m afraid. You have been watching what the Nazis have been doing in Germany, haven’t you?”
“Yes. That Hitler fellow is certainly very disconcerting, isn’t he? But he has united the German people after a dismal post-war economic period.” Frederick noted.
“Yes, but for what purpose? German industry can be very impressive when mobilized as is currently happening. I fear that Hitler will be starting a war in the near future, the likes of which we have never seen before. We must be ready for that or we will see many thousands of our countrymen die unnecessarily, much like what happened in the previous war.”
“We will do whatever we can to help you, Mister Cavill. You can be assured of that, Sir.”
“Thank you. I have another meeting to prepare for now. I will contact you again for copies of all of the production drawings and technical data. I will take them back with me to Australia so that we can get started on production there. Of course, your company will receive the appropriate licensing fees for each aircraft that we produce here.”
“Thank you. It will take us a couple of weeks to make the copies, but we will have them ready for you, Mister Cavill.”
“I am certainly looking forward to it, gentlemen.” A pleased Harold replied before continuing.
“One other thing, I would also like production drawings for the smaller two-seat version that I had requested as well. I intend to produce this as a combat-capable trainer. The appropriate licensing fees would be paid for those aircraft as well. I intend to call this trainer version the ‘Damselfly.’”
While Harold was in England, there were events unfolding in Australia at the same time that could threaten all that he was planning.
In a small house on the outskirts of Brisbane, a group of men were meeting in secret. They were mostly a combination of upper-class youth who had never worked a day in their lives, middle-class merchants and rough-looking factory workers. The few exceptions were a handful of men in their latethirties or early forties who dressed like the factory workers but talked more like people who had some degree of higher education. What had started with quiet discussions about politics and economics now flared into a series of passionate arguments.
“We must do something to reclaim the fruits of our labor from the thieves of the ruling class.” One young man loudly exclaimed, not mentioning that his father was one of the more successful businessmen in Brisbane.
“But we have no say in the current economic situation, much less the government in Canberra.” Another man angrily answered back.
“Gentlemen, we can still act to redress the inequities in this nation of ours. TheBourgeoisiemay currently possess the lion’s share of this nation’s wealth. But we of theProletariathave the hands and strong backs that produce that wealth for them. Those same hands and strong backs also have the means to take that wealth back and share it and the power among the people equitably.” One of the educated-sounding men explained to the others.
“Are you saying that we would have to start an insurrection and seize power by force from the government?” The wealthy businessman’s son quickly asked.
“No, at least, not right away. But we can move against certain of the capitalistBourgeoisiewho had been raping your land and enslaving your people.” Alexander Chapin, the most articulate man, told the others.
“Do you have anyone in particular in mind?” Alan Broadside, the businessman’s foppish son asked.
“Yes, there are several wealthyBourgeoisiewho we have been looking at as a focus for our wrath. But I feel that we must focus our efforts on just one of these capitalist parasites at this time. There is a man in the state of Western Australia who has grown obscenely wealthy exploiting the land and forcing the ignorant natives to work for him. He pays wages that are far less than his workers deserve and even forces them to buy their food from only his company stores. His name is Harold Cavill.”
“Who cares if a bloke is working the damned Abos to death? I certainly don’t. It just means fewer of them sucking off of the government’s teat and our wallets.” One of the factory workers growled impatiently.
“We need to stop this so that the natives can go back to their natural way of living. They need not be a burden to the state if they are allowed to resume their former way of life.”
“You still haven’t told me why this really matters to me if a bunch of darkies are being made to work, Mister. Seems to me that would be a good thing, especially out there far away from us in the civilized part of our country.”
“I see. But the natives are not the only ones being sucked dry by this greedy capitalist Bourgeoisie.There are many men and even women who are just like you being forced to work like slaves for this man. He even has bloody Germans working for him who are in charge over your fellow countrymen.
I have even heard that he swore allegiance to the Nazis while visiting the German embassy in Paris.” Alexander declared to the shock of the others in the room.
“Where did you hear this?” One of the other Australian men in the crowd. The mere thought of an Australian being involved with Germany after so many Australian men died in combat during the Great War was still very offensive to the people in this meeting.
“I have a friend of mine who saw Harold Cavill talking to the assistant of the Nazi Ambassador to France a year and a half ago. It took a while for us to learn about this connection though. Who knows what treason that he and his German compatriots are planning now? We have to do something to stop this man before he can do even more harm to the workers of our country.” Alexander told the others in the room. He actually almost accidentally said ‘your country’ though but caught himself before making such a mistake.
This was because Australia wasn’t Alexander’s country. In fact, Alexander’s real name was Aleksandr Shapkin, a Bolshevik revolutionary born in what was originally known as Saint Petersburg, Russia. Aleksandr had come to Australia from the Soviet Union over ten years earlier under the guise of an immigrant worker from Prague. During his time in Australia, Aleksandr assumed several different identities as a laborer, a teacher as well as others.
To most of the people around him, Alexander Chapin was a working man by day and rabble rouser at night. But Aleksandr Shapkin’s actual mission since leaving the Soviet Union was to forment uprisings against capitalist governments and recruit people into the international Bolshevik movement.
The crowd immediately got even angrier. Alexander recognized this and quickly sought to exploit their anger.
“We must gather as many people as possible and go out to Harold Cavill’s center of power on the western coast of our nation. There, we will confront him and expose him to everyone as the greedy exploiter of the people that he is.”
“What if he hires people to try to stop us?” Alan asked.
“We will need to ensure that we are all armed when we arrive in Derby. That way, no one will be able to stand in our way. If there is a fight, we will ensure that the blood of the peoples’ enemy and his hirelings will freely flow on his streets.” Alexander quickly explained.
The furious cheers were quickly joined by calls for Harold’s death from within the crowd. The latter had been started by other men who were fellow Bolsheviks scattered among the crowd by prior arrangement with Alexander.
Once the noise had quieted down some, Alexander spoke again, only this time, much more quietly.
“Now, my fellow workers. Here is the plan.”Chapter Twenty-Three:

Chartwell House
Westerham, Kent, England October 8, 1937

Harold was warmly welcomed by Winston Churchill at the door of Churchill’s home that morning. Harold had called ahead from his hotel room to let Mister Churchill know of the former’s arrival. Harold had spent the last few days flying from Derby to England after receiving an invitation from Churchill. Harold had wanted to visit some of his business ventures in England anyway, though he hated to leave his family once again.

“Good morning, Harold. I have been looking forward to having another chat with you. Let us go to my study for some privacy before we talk though.” Churchill suggested.
Harold nodded in quiet agreement and then followed Churchill into the latter’s home. The two men walked a short distance before entering a room that was literally lined with shelves of books. An easel and a palette of paints sat in one corner of the study as well.
“Harold, please sit down.” Churchill said, pointing to a comfortable leather chair.
“Thank you.” Harold replied as he took the offered chair while Churchill sat in an identical chair across from Harold. Churchill poured himself a glass of sherry and offered one to Harold as well before beginning to talk about the subject at hand.
“First, Harold. I wanted you to know that the suggestions that you made earlier concerning the replacement battleship class have virtually all been adopted by the Admiralty. The keels for the two ships,King George VandPrince of Wales, were laid down nearly a year ago. The construction of the other three ships in the class,Duke of York,AnsonandHowe, started later this year. The only element that the Admiralty did not adapt was your suggestion for the pom-pom anti-aircraft gun to be replaced by the Bofors cannon. The leaders of the Admiralty were unwilling to complicate the Royal Navy’s logistics at this point with the addition of a new gun type.”
“Thank you, Winston. I have tried to help the Commonwealth in any way that I can. It is unfortunate that the Royal Navy chose not to purchase the Bofors. They will end up dearly regretting that decision, I’m afraid. With the increasing speed and size of military aircraft, we need automatic cannons that will reach out further and hit harder than ever before in order to effectively engage them. The Bofors 40mm cannon certainly outperforms the pom-pom by a wide margin.”
“I hope that we do not pay too heavy of a price in ships and blood before the Admiralty changes its mind. I also wanted to mention that I had been previously pushing for additional battleships to be constructed as well, Harold. But your vision for the use of capital ships in conjunction with aircraft carriers was something that I found utterly compelling, I must admit. So, I have been using my influence to encourage the Admiralty to focus more on aircraft carriers and smaller combatants lately. I’m sure that it came as a shock to the people at Portsmouth when I told them that I felt that we needed more cruisers and destroyers in addition to aircraft carriers instead of pushing for the big guns.” Churchill said with a twinkle in his eye.
“I’m sure that it did, Winston.” Harold chuckled before continuing.
“Did you have any success with the new antiaircraft cruiser proposal? It would certainly provide Royal Navy formations with substantially increased anti-aircraft coverage.”
“Ten of the ships that you so strongly recommended are being constructed even as we speak, Harold. I must admit that I am very pleased with the design that the Admiralty settled on. The ship has six twin BD Mark II mounts on a modifiedArethusa-class light cruiser hull. The superfiring gun mounts are all mounted on the centerline for the maximum amount of firepower, both fore and aft as well as on the broadside. The design has two triple torpedo launchers, one on each beam. The Admiralty would not have accepted the design if it did not have any real ship-killing capability. The torpedo tubes give it that, of course.” Churchill said with a satisfied smile before continuing.
The short range anti-aircraft battery is as impressive as the main armament. The ships will carry four quadruple pom-pom mounts and a pair of quadruple Vickers heavy machine gun mounts. I dare say that any enemy pilot would find this ship very unpleasant to approach.”
Harold knew that the machine gun mounts would quickly be replaced by Oerlikon twentymillimeter automatic cannons once the conflict started and the shortcomings of the machine guns were exposed. The machine guns had neither the range nor the hitting power necessary. The short range of the pom-poms would plague all of the Royal Navy ships that carried them throughout the war however. But the ships’ main armament was exactly what would be needed in the coming war.
“This ship is indeed very impressive, Winston. There was another subject that I wanted to ask you about though.” Harold noted before continuing.
“What do you know about using radio waves to detect objects at sea or in the air? It would seem to be a very effective way of extending our ability to find enemy ships and aircraft, perhaps even allowing us to fire upon them in total darkness.” Harold very carefully stated this in the language of the day. The term RADAR had not yet been invented by the Americans.
For a moment, Churchill looked slightly concerned.
“There has been some work done on that very idea. It is in the earliest stages of research and development. So it is all ‘hush-hush’. I shouldn’t even really be talking with you about it, of course.”
“I understand completely, Winston. But it is my understanding that England isn’t the only country working on radio wave detection devices. My sources tell me that the Germans and Americans both are also working on similar systems along with perhaps several other nations like the Soviets. The electronics company that I own has done some investigation into the potential of this as well. I hope that perhaps we could work together with British researchers so that Australia could also benefit. Our cruisers would be far more effective in their trade protection role if they could detect enemy raiders at long distances in any weather or light conditions obviously. Scout planes are helpful, but under adverse weather conditions, they will have difficulty spotting the enemy.”
Harold had derived some information from his computer database on early radars already. But in order to obscure his sources, Harold’s electronics company had established relationships with the German electronics manufacturerStandard Elektrik Lorenz, one of the first German developers of radar historically in addition to the German electronics companyTelefunkenand the American firm RCA. These business relationships would give Harold a believable cover story on how he was able to obtain radar technology.
“I do understand the need for security. I was able to obtain some information through the connections that one of my companies has with several German and American radio manufacturers. Obviously, I want to design and produce such radio based detection equipment for Australia as well.”
“That appears to be a very wise idea. We need to have a technological edge whenever possible. It also helps if we can have more than one manufacturer available.
I will recommend that our people working on radio detection contact you about sharing information so that we can diversify our research and production base. It would behoove us not to have ‘all of our eggs in one basket’. I’m sure that you would agree, Mister Cavill.”
“Of course. Who knows what sort of innovations we might also come up with at my research laboratories as well?
On another note, I understand that your political fortunes seem to be on the rise. Even though Neville Chamberlain was recently named Prime Minister, you have been regaining considerable influence. I’m sure that your rivals are seething at your success in spite of the fact that officially you remain on the back bench in Parliament.”
“Somehow, I think that success of mine is again, in no small measure, due to your assistance, Harold. I have gained also several additional Conservative allies in Parliament whose political campaigns received a great deal of funding from you, I believe.
There is also the matter of all of the ‘suggestions’ of yours that I had the wisdom to pass along to the Admiralty. They have largely been implemented with considerable acclaim. That success has raised my stature within the War Ministry in general and the Admiralty in particular.
Of course, they shouldn’t really be all that surprised that I would make those recommendations. They all correspond quite closely to Jackie Fisher’s original ideas for the Royal Navy, only updated to incorporate naval aviation to extend the reach and firepower of Royal Navy formations.”
“Do not forget the need to expand the Royal Navy’s escort forces, Winston. I seriously doubt that Hitler fellow will comply with the Versailles Treaty concerning U-Boats. The German submarines were terribly effective in the first war against our mercantile fleet. Doubtlessly, the German U-Boat force will be reconstituted to be used against England once again if war erupts. The Royal Navy will need as many new destroyers as possible, both for fleet action as well as merchant convoy escort duties.
But new destroyers and other anti-submarine escorts must also be able to defend themselves against enemy aircraft as well. Too many destroyers in both the British and Australian navies have very little defense against aircraft, I’m afraid. The German’s newLuftwaffealready appears to be one of the most formidable air forces on the continent. That force will only increase in strength if Hitler is truly determined to go to war.”
“I will be sure to impress that too upon the admirals at Portsmouth as well during my future discussions with them, Harold. If I have the opportunity, I will also speak to the commanders of the Royal Air Force as well.” Churchill solemnly replied.
“I will try to do the same with the leaders in Australia’s military establishment as well. I do have a few friends there as well as with the politicians.”
“I would be very surprised if you hadn’t done so, Harold.” Churchill said with a knowing twinkle in his eye as he lit up a cigar and looked off through the window of his study.
Certainly Harold had been doing just that for more than a decade after coming back through the time portal and establishing his financial base. But some people in power saw Harold more as a threat than as a potential asset. Harold already knew about some of them. But there were others who kept their opinions and their activities against Harold far less obvious.
Harold had to continue to cultivate his friendships and alliances with those people who could and would help him. At the same time, he had to be very watchful about the activities of his opponents, whether they were foreign or domestic. At this point, Harold wasn’t sure which would be the greater threat.
Soon, Harold knew that he would have to fly back to Australia. There, he would have to deal with the various issues that his businesses faced as well as those enemies in Australia. Some were simply business competitors. But others hated Harold for other reasons.
Harold made a mental note that he would have to invite Billy Hughes to visit Derby after Harold’s return from England. Harold hoped that by showing the former Australian prime minister all of the progress that Harold had made, he would solidify his relationship with the still influential politician.
Harold still didn’t know how easy or hard that it would be to sell Minister Hughes on what Harold’s industries had to offer. Harold just knew that he had to succeed.
Now, Harold just had to prepare to put on a convincing enough show.

Cavill Tractor Factory Derby, Western Australia March 19, 1938

Billy Hughes flew into Derby aboard one of Harold’s growing fleet of small airliners at Harold’s request early that afternoon. An Australian-built Ford Model 48 Roadster Utility was waiting to take the former Prime Minister out to the Cavill Tractor Factory’s main warehouse.

Harold and Dorothy were already waiting outside the building with a small army of employees from the factory. The employees from the Tractor Factory were all busy working on or driving a variety of vehicles.

“Welcome to Derby, Minister Hughes. We are all very pleased to see that you were able to come here. We have something to show you that we are all very proud of.” Harold told the former Australian prime minister immediately after Billy got out of the roadster while at the same time shaking the latter’s hand.

“So you make farm tractors here?” Billy asked, wondering what was so special about such an ordinary industry that he would be asked to fly over halfway across a continent to see it.
“Yes, among other vehicles, large trucks being the most noteworthy example. But we have been branching out into other products as well. We will show you some new examples if you will please wait here for a few minutes, Minister Hughes.” Harold requested.
Shortly afterwards, the sliding door on one of the buildings opened to allow a small tracked vehicle to drive out. The vehicle appeared to have its engine mounted in the front of the vehicle to the right side of a heavily sloped forward glacis plate. The driver’s head protruded up out of a hatch on the left upper hull next to the engine. Towards the rear of the vehicle, there was a small two-man turret with a machine gun and a long-barreled automatic cannon mounted in it.
“So this is supposed to be a tractor?” Billy Hughes incredulously asked.
“Actually, it does have a tow pintle on the back of the vehicle so that it can tow trailers.” Harold said with a sly smile.
“It also appears to have a turret containing a machine gun and a cannon on it. That makes it look a lot more like a tank to me.”
“This is also true. But the basic chassis is still also a tractor that can be used for commercial and farming uses.”
“OK. Tell me more about this ‘tractor’, please.” Billy said with a serious look on his face.
“This ‘tractor’ weighs five and a half tons. It is powered by a one hundred and fifty horsepower diesel engine and can travel at speeds up to sixty kilometers per hour. The vehicle’s hull is constructed of high strength steel and varies in thickness from ten to twenty millimeters. As many surfaces as possible are angled to make the armor steel even more effective in deflecting projectiles. This offers excellent protection against machine gun fire and artillery fragments for the crew.”
“Well, Mister Cavill. This still looks to me very much like a small tank. But I am quite interested in this ‘tractor’ of yours. So tell me about the other features of this vehicle, if you would.”
“Alright, you can see the three large road wheels on each side along with the drive sprocket at the front of the vehicle and an idler wheel at the rear. The main road wheels are attached to the vehicle by torsion bars. Our designers have borrowed heavily from John Christie’s basic design. He is an American engineer who has done a considerable amount of work on armored vehicle design. The Christie-pattern chassis is being incorporated in vehicles being built by both the British Army and the Red Army already.
As you can see, this is a light scout vehicle that is slightly larger than the new Vickers Mark IV light tank. But instead of using a heavy machine gun as its main armament, this vehicle uses a modified Hotchkiss twenty-five millimeter automatic cannon and a co-axial .303 Vickers machine gun. The cannon fires using a five-round ammunition clip and will be able to punch through the armor of any existing Japanese tank. It can also penetrate the sides and rear of most other tanks in existence currently.”
“It can’t possibly carry very many soldiers inside with such a small size.”
“The vehicle doesn’t need a large crew. It has a driver that sits in the forward hull beside the engine. The rest of the crew consists of the tank commander and the gunner. They sit in the turret along with the radio. The gunner also serves as the loader for the cannon and machine gun.”
Harold then showed Billy around to the rear of the tank. There was an armored door in the center of the sloped rear hull. On either side of the door, there was an armored twenty gallon fuel tank mounted outside of the hull. One of the tank’s crewmen opened to back door so that Billy could look inside. Looking inside, Billy could see the guns, the radio and a large battery sitting in the turret bustle as well as racks for ammunition on the vehicle floor and along the sides of the turret.
“I had no idea that it was so cramped inside of one of these vehicles.” Billy said after pulling his head out from within the vehicle.
“The interior has to be small so that the overall size of the vehicle is reduced. A small vehicle is much harder to spot. It also means that we can provide better protection with the same weight of armor. We do have external storage bins located on the vehicle’s hull and turret for the crew’s kit. These bins are also made of thin armor steel to add to the overall protection of the vehicle.”
“This is all very interesting. I am assuming that this is the only copy of this design?” Billy asked.
“Actually, no. We have twelve more under construction presently.”
“What were you planning on doing with a baker’s dozen of tanks, Mister Cavill? Start your own war?”
“No, Minister Hughes. We were hoping that you would convince the Australian Army to purchase these vehicles and then order more in order to create the beginning of a real armored corps. It will also be the first of several new armored vehicle designs that we are in the process of designing and building. Of course, if the Army declines to purchase our tanks, I’m sure that we can find other customers for them like perhaps the French. With the growth in importance of their colony in Indochina, the French could certainly use some armored support there.”
“I hope that selling your first tanks to the French doesn’t become necessary at this point. So, what are you going to call this armored vehicle of yours?”
“For now, we are calling this the ‘CAT’ for Cavill Armored Tractor. This name keeps our armored vehicle design program somewhat less obvious to the rest of the world.”
“I will see what I can do. Is there anything else that you would like to show me while I am here?” The diminutive former prime minister asked.
“Of course, we have a great many things to show you.” Harold remarked before beginning to take Billy on a tour of some of the heavy trucks that were also being built at the assembly plant. Then Harold drove his truck to take Billy to visit the shipyard facilities. Finally they ended up at the new aircraft assembly plant that was located in one of the underground buildings. Of course, Harold didn’t show the former prime minister the ordnance works and especially not the ‘special project’ behind the berm and trees at the far side of the shipyard.
Some things needed to be kept hidden even from ‘allies’ until the time was right to reveal them. This included the new CR-1 assault rifles that were already filling one of the underground warehouses. They were being stockpiled there in preparation for use by the new militia that Harold had organized under the legislation sponsored by his allies in the Australian legislature. Only a few CR-1’s were readily visible to the public so far. That’s the way that Harold wanted. But increasing numbers of the militia were being trained to fire the CR-1. It would not be long before all of the militia would be trained and equipped with the new rifle.
Harold did not want Australia’s adversaries to be able to counter what he had created. Sometimes politicians with the best of intentions can say the wrong thing to the wrong people. Harold also wanted to minimize any other unintended consequences to the new timeline as well. But he needed for Minister Hughes to see at least some of the preparations that were already being made to produce ships and other tools of war for the defense of Australia.
One of the first areas that Harold took Billy Hughes to was the site along the King Sound shore where excavation for four additional dry docks was underway. There were also an additional half-dozen covered slipways for the production of lighter vessels under construction as well.
“Mister Cavill, do you really anticipate having enough orders to keep all of these slips working?” Billy asked.
“I certainly do, Sir. We have had success with several of our civilian merchant ship designs already. I have no reason to believe that success will not continue. However, all of these facilities can easily be utilized for military construction purposes if the need were to arise. They are as modern as anything afloat in the world. As you already know, we have already been contracted to build several destroyers for the Royal Australian Navy. The new slipways will allow us to expand production quickly if necessary.”
“You obviously anticipate the need for that increased production, Mister Cavill. I wonder what you know that I am not already aware of.” A very curious Billy Hughes noted.
“I have simply been paying close attention to world events, Minister Hughes. With everything that is happening in China and Europe, the winds of war are certainly blowing. I fear that they will be arriving here soon. In any event, I will still need your help as well as that of others in Australia’s military and political leadership.
“I know. You want me to keep the bureaucrats off of your back because of your dealing with the aborigines and to continue to encourage the government to purchase military equipment from you.” Billy growled as he turned from being curious to being rather annoyed.
“You could say that, Sir. But I would like to think that we continue to have common interests here.”
“We do have some common interests, Mister Cavill. But I hate it when some rich bloke tries to twist my arm in order to get something from me.”
“I do understand, Minister Hughes. I am not terribly fond of those sorts of coercion either. I just don’t know any other way under the circumstances. Still, Sir. Will you help?” A sympathetic sounding Harold asked.
“Of course, I will. I can’t say that I am all that fond of the Abos. But if you need the extra bodies to do all of this work, then I don’t have a hell of a lot of choice then, do I?” A still testy Billy Hughes responded.
“No, Sir. I’m afraid that neither of us has much of a choice. But we both know what needs to be done as well.” Harold grimly said.
“Alright then, Mister Cavill. You have shown me all of the things that you wanted to show me. Now, I need to get back to Sydney to resume my work. Thank you for the tour.” Billy said before turning and heading back to the waiting Ford Model 48.
“Well, that went well.” Harold sarcastically said to himself as he watched the Ford roadster utility drive away.
Harold’s aborigine assistant Thomas had been standing nearby during the entire time that Harold had been showing Billy around that day.
“Do not worry, Mister Cavill. He will do as you have asked. As Mister Hughes himself said, you really gave him no other choice.”
“I hope that he will do the right thing then. Otherwise, we will have to use our new militia for purposes other than what we had originally intended.”Chapter Twenty-Four:

O’Malley’s Tavern Sydney, Australia May 30, 1938

In the back room of a local beer hall, a large group of men, fueled by beer, liquor and anger, were listening to a man named Tony Mallen talk about how unfair the situation in the country was to working-class men.

“We need to do something about all of these rich blokes stealing from our mates. The last twenty years have been very rough for all of us except the wealthy.” Tony told the crowd.
“What can we do about this though?” Someone yelled out.
“I saw that we take the fight to these greedy blokes and demand that they give us jobs with decent wages that we can raise a family on.”
“That sounds all well and good, mate. But unless the people that you want us to confront are close enough for us to ride a horse to, we aren’t going to be able to do very much.”
“I have a few friends who might be able to help if you blokes are willing. They have a few coastal steamers that can bring a lot of you over to Western Australia. I can also arrange for some of you to go there by rail. There’s a mate of mine working at the railroad who owes me a couple of favors too.” Tony explained.
“Western Australia? What’s over there that’s worth a damn?”
“There are a bunch of mines, factories and farms out there….and they are all owned by just one man, a greedy little parasite by the name of Harold Cavill.”
“And what do you propose that we do once we meet this Cavill fellow?”
“We demand that he share some of his ill-gotten wealth.”
“What if he refuses?”
“Well, then we have to be a lot more convincing. Most of you blokes own a gun, don’t you?”
Most of the men nodded in agreement, while a few opened up their coats to reveal a hidden pistol or two on their person.
“Very good. Now, if you don’t have a pistol or other firearm, I will bring along some extras that I will share with those who need something to help ‘convince’ this Mister Cavill. Now, are you with me, mates?”
One of the men burst to his feet and shouted out.
“Hell, yea. I’m with you. I used to work for that bastard but he fired me. He is always putting the darkies ahead of the white men that worked there at his factories. I have been waiting for a long time to get some payback from Harold Cavill.” Billy McGuire told the other men there.
Clearly, Billy had more than a little to drink as had many of the men there. But his outburst was quickly echoed by a growing number of the men there until they were all shouting. Some were even calling for Harold Cavill to be lynched.
Tony Mallen was very pleased to see how things were developing. He had received messages from Alexander Chapin with instructions to recruit as many disaffected Australian men to go to Derby and attack Harold Cavill’s base of operations. What these recruits did not know was that Tony’s real name was Anton Mallenovich. Anton was an agent provocateur that had been sent by Stalin’s secret police along with Aleksandr, two other men and a woman more than a decade earlier to Australia to stir up unrest in that nation. This unrest was meant to weaken Australia’s ability to defend itself against the Bolshevik revolution that they want to instigate at the direction of the Soviet Politburo.
New instructions had been received by the Bolshevik agents from Moscow. They needed to act now against this Harold Cavill.
The various groups were being coordinated without any of them being aware that agents from the Soviet Union were behind the movement. While some used classic Marxist rhetoric, others had joined purely due to racist motivations. In any event, it would not be long before all of the groups travelled to Derby for a final confrontation with Harold Cavill. The countdown to conflict had now begun.

Cavill Industries Manufacturing Plant #3 Derby, Western Australia
July 15, 1938

The problems that day started nearly two weeks earlier. Few people had noticed the small groups of men coming into Derby. Some of them arrived on the usual steamers that brought supplies and people into town and left with products manufactured by Harold’s various enterprises. Others had arrived via train. Most people thought that the newcomers were simply people coming in for the plentiful supply of jobs available at Harold’s various industries.

By the time that the incident occurred, these men had occupied every spare lodging house room in town. Things started early in the morning with individuals quickly moving from one lodging house to another. Others made their way to the port to a ship that had arrived two days before.

Shortly after this, scores of men began to come out into the streets. Within an hour, a crowd of at least two hundred men was formed in front of Harold’s office adjacent to Manufacturing Plant Number Three. Most, if not all of them, were armed with a variety of firearms that they readily brandished in public. One of the Australian men that had been recruited by Tony Mallen, Terry Cowell, was standing at the front of the crowd and started calling out for Harold to step outside. Terry had brought in a group of toughs from the city of Perth at the direction of Tony. But Tony and Alex both stayed in the background. They wanted to ensure that the crowd had an ‘Australian’ face to it.

Harold’s assistant Thomas heard a commotion from his desk and looked out the window at what appeared to be a mob outside of the building. Thomas then knocked on Harold’s door, walked in and explained.

“Mister Cavill, there’s a problem happening in town right now.” Harold quickly looked out of the window at the armed crowd of men massed outside the building.
“Thomas, please call the police station to let them know what is happening. Please also call the militia station and let them know that we need to call up all of our local militia personnel here in uniform as quickly as possible. They will also need to draw weapons, ammunition and equipment.” Harold said after a few moments.
Terry Cowell stood up in front of Harold’s main office at the head of the mob.
“We just want to have a little chat with Mister Cavill here. We have some grievances that we want to discuss with him.” He called out.
Harold started to walk towards the door when Thomas tried to stop him.
“Mister Cavill, you should wait at least until the police arrive. We do not want anything to happen to you.” Harold’s assistant told him.
“Alright, but I can’t hide in here forever. I am also worried about Dorothy and my children. They are out there somewhere.”
“Don’t worry, Sir. I’m sure that our people will take care of them.”
“Thank you, Thomas. It looks like a few of our police are beginning to arrive now. That should convince these blokes to keep their tempers under control. I better go out now and see what these people want.” Harold said.
But before Harold walked out the door to meet with Terry Cowell, Harold slipped his Browning Hi-Power pistol into one of his pockets, just in case.
“Good morning, gentlemen. How can I help you today? We are always in the market for good workers.” Harold said while smiling at the group of men in front of him.
“We are here to demand that you give the men that work for you their fair share of the wealth that you have received as a result of their toil, Mister Cavill.” Terry demanded.
“I already pay wages that are much more than fair to all of my employees. They and their families live better here than anywhere else in Australia. The vast majority of the funds that my companies have earned gets reinvested back into building more factories and upgrading existing facilities. That is completely normal for any business.” Harold tried to explain.
“Harold Cavill, you are just another parasite, feeding off of the labor of others. You deserve none of this.”
Harold tried to explain the situation without revealing his history, but the voices of the mob kept drowning his voice out. So Harold started to turn and walk back into the building. But he stopped when heard a particularly vile claim.
“You are nothing more than a traitor who supports the Nazis in Germany, rather than the good white men here in Australia.” Terry accused loudly.
Harold thought for a moment about the irony in Terry’s statement, especially since Terry’s views were much closer to the Nazis than Harold’s had ever been. The mob’s vocal approval of many Australian’s beloved ‘White Australia’ policy actually fit right in with the Nazis’ belief in Aryan racial purity.
“No, Sir. That is not true at all. I am looking out for the best interests of all of the Australian people. I hate the Fascists as much as anyone here.” Harold said after turning back around.
“But yet you give jobs to the Abos that should be going to white men. We are the real Australians who deserve the work, not those animals.” Terry asserted.
Harold stood there, furious at the mob’s claim. But he was not nearly as angry as a tribal leader of the aborigines who had arrived in time to hear the racist rants of the mob. With the tribal leader, a squad of armed and uniformed militiamen also arrived. Harold recognized the tall dark-skinned chief as someone whose name he could never pronounce properly because of its length and complexity.
“We are men, not animals. This man that you complain about has given us back our lives, our pride and our future. We will not give up that for the likes of fools like you. Don’t you see that he treats all of the people that work for him equally well regardless of the color of their skin?” The leader of the tribe loudly and firmly declared while his dark eyes glared at the mob.
“I don’t care what you say. You are not our equals. It wasn’t all that long ago that all of you lived in caves and were dressed in little more than loincloths.” Terry continued to insist.
“If we behave in a civilized manner, we are most certainly your equals. If we do the same job as well or better than you, we are most certainly your equals as well. We do all of these things and more. We now want to be treated as equals as well.” The elder countered.
For several minutes, the two men argued while the mob anxiously waited, as did Harold. He was worried not only about himself and his employees, but also about his family who was supposed to be traveling into town at this time. Harold really wished that he had a mobile phone that he could use to warn Dorothy of the threat. But those wouldn’t be invented for many decades unfortunately.
As Dorothy and her children were driving into town in the family truck, she saw the edge of the mob. It was clear that this was not a good place to be, Dorothy decided to immediately leave the area. Just as she was turning the truck around, she heard one of the members of the mob call out.
“Hey, mates. That’s Cavill’s wife and kids! We can use them for leverage against him if we can catch them.”
For a few moments, Dorothy and her children found themselves being boxed in and trapped on one small street. But the mob came to a sudden halt when it faced more than two hundred more militiamen armed with CR-1 assault rifles. The militiamen began to flood into the area and were even outnumbering the group of men who had been pursuing Deborah’s truck. The militiamen quickly surrounded Dorothy’s truck with a protective cordon before escorting her away from the mob.
But there was another small group of rioters that was primarily composed of men who had previously worked for Harold’s companies in Derby. Chief among them was Billy McGuire, who still felt that he had a score to settle with Harold. All of the members of this group were armed with pistols and rifles.
These men entered one of the nearby buildings and worked their way up to one of the windows overlooking the street where Harold and the others were standing. They could see from their vantage point that hundreds of militiamen, both white and aborigine, were pouring in. Most were armed and in uniform, but there were also just as many aborigines in civilian clothes coming into town either totally unarmed or carrying traditional aborigine weapons.
Soon, the mob of interlopers found themselves both greatly outnumbered and outgunned. The expressions of rage on their faces were quickly turning to looks of horror. They were now the prey instead of the predators. This angered Billy even more as he looked upon the street.
“I’m going to kill that greedy abo-loving bastard.” Billy bitterly said as he raised his rifle and pushed its muzzle out over the window sill.
Billy fired his rifle at Harold and missed. Harold quickly dove for cover while everyone looked for where the shot came from. Before Billy could fire again, a fusillade of rifle fire from more than a dozen assault rifles rained in upon Billy and his compatriots.
“Please stop firing for Heaven’s sake. We surrender. We surrender.” Was quickly heard coming from behind the window along with the screams of wounded men.
A squad of heavily armed militiamen rushed into the building. A few minutes later, they started coming out carrying wounded rioters. Finally, a pair of militiamen carried out one last man. It was Billy McGuire, who had died almost instantly from several rifle rounds to the chest and head.
“Oh, hell.” Harold grimly said when he saw the dead body being carried out of the building. The last thing that he needed was for someone to be killed here, especially at this time. He could already imagine the headlines of the newspapers in Sydney, especially after they learn that a white man was killed by an aborigine militiaman.
After seeing the dead and wounded coming out of the building, the rest of the mob began to silently put up their hands in surrender.
The next couple of hours saw the militiamen, both white and aborigine, herding the rioters out of Derby after disarming them. Then the members of the mob were forced back onto the ships that most of them had arrived on. Even the men who had arrived by train were also forced to board the ships. To ensure that the rioters would not attempt anything, the militiamen had the support of a platoon of newly built armored trucks armed with machine guns and six-pounder cannons. The chief figures in this attempt to disrupt Harold’s activities, Alexander, Tony and Terry, quietly hid themselves in the crowd. They did not want to be pointed out, especially not Alexander and Tony. They did not want their real origins to be discovered by Australian authorities.
Dorothy and the kids were finally able to make it to Harold’s office. But this time, their truck was escorted by a squad of armed militiamen.
“Thank God. Are all of you alright?” Harold quickly asked while hugging Dorothy.
“Yes. It was pretty scary for a few moments. But we got to safety with the aid of some of our militiamen. I am so very thankful that they were around to help.”
“I’m very glad to that all of you are safe, dear. I guess that we are going to have to increase our security here in Derby. Whoever started this may try again. We need to be ready for that.
But we have another, bigger concern as well. Obviously, there are others out there who support what these men were doing here. Some of them may even be politicians in our government. That man who died could end up becoming a martyr, even though he tried to kill me first.”
“Do you think that you are going to need to talk to Minister Hughes, Sweetheart?” Dorothy asked.
“I am hoping that all of this will be quickly forgotten. But you’re right, I may need Billy’s help in dealing with the aftermath of today’s events.”
“Are you going to telephone him first, or are you only going to call him in the event that this problem begins to get more attention outside of Derby?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t want to bother Minister Hughes about this if we don’t have to. But we do need to learn who exactly was behind this.”
“Can he help?” Dorothy asked.
“Maybe. But I would like to see if I can find some other sources of information first.”
“You are going to look in your database?” Dorothy quietly asked.
“I don’t think that it would help in this instance. We will have to find out additional information the old fashioned way. That means hiring some spies of our own, I think. We will also have to redouble our efforts with the politicians that we have sponsored. We will probably need all of the political cover that we can get before the war starts.”Chapter Twenty-Five:

Chancellor’s Office, Reichstag Berlin, Germany
September 21, 1938

“I want you to immediately accelerate warship construction. We must be able to counter the Englander’s Navy.” Hitler toldGroßadmiralErich Raeder.
“Herr Fuhrer, I am already drawing up plans for theKriegsmarine’sexpansion into a force that
will rival any nation’s navy. I do have some significant concerns however. TheEnglander’shave made
some unexpected moves with their own naval construction projects in the past few years. For several years, their politicians had been trying to induce the Americans and the Japanese to
restrict the caliber of their new battleships to 356 millimeters. TheEnglanderpoliticians had done this to
convince the other naval powers by planning to construct the newest generation of battleships with the
smaller guns as a way to save money for the Royal Navy primarily.
However, their Admiralty has significantly changed the design of what they call theirKing
George the Fifthclass battleship. The first ship in that class now appears to be armed with nine 381
millimeter guns in three triple turrets. These guns also appear to possibly be improved versions of the
381 millimeter guns that are currently in use by most of their older capital ships.
In addition, the new battleship design has a large number of medium-caliber secondary guns
that appear to be capable of use against both surface ships and aircraft. This is different than the normal
practice of most navies, including our own. This could cause significant problems for attacking aircraft.” “How far along are theEnglanderswith their construction of these battleships that worry you so
much, Admiral?”
“Herr Fuhrer, they must have already had plans for a ship with this arrangement of armament
and characteristics. The lead ship in the class is projected to be commissioned in less than a year, with as
many as four other ships in the class under construction currently.
Admiral Canaris has told me that hisAbwehrintelligence operatives have put considerable
efforts in determining the capabilities of these new battleships. They are also examining other disturbing
aspects of what theEnglandersare doing to modernize their military, especially their navy. This includes
the reconstruction of all of their faster capital ships. They are even retaining and modernizing the battle
cruiser HMSTigerthat had been originally scheduled for scrapping. This could cause significant
problems for our surface raiders, even thePanzerschiff. The English navy could then chase down and
destroy even thePanzershiff Graf Speewith their growing fleet of fast capital ships.” “TheEnglandersare led by sheep who have little stomach for renewed conflict and even fewer
resources after the financial collapse that has devastated so many European economies during the past
decade. Obviously, someone else is involved in what they are doing here.
“Admiral Canaris believes that former First Sea Lord Churchill is somehow involved. He has
received direct reports from his sources in England that Churchill had arranged for the sale of one of the
Englanders’overage slow battleships to Chile, then convinced the naval leadership to use the proceeds
from the sale to finance the capital ship reconstructions.”
“Churchill is certainly a ram amongst England’s many sheep there. But my understanding is that
his prestige is rather lacking among many of his fellowEnglanders. He has made some very unpopular
political decisions among their political elite during the past few years.” Hitler mused out loud. “Admiral Canaris believes that Churchill has now found a powerful patron named Harold Cavill.
This man helping Churchill is quite wealthy and powerful. But this man is not from England. Instead,
Churchill’s new patron is from Australia, one of the other nations of the British Commonwealth. There
has certainly been a shift in England’s national politics as a result of this man’s influence. He has helped
several politicians, with views similar to Churchill’s, be elected to their House of Commons. As a result,
England is spending more money on rearmament, much like we are. They also appear to be spending it
more effectively as well.”
“Do we know anything else about Churchill’s patron?”
“Like you and I, Harold Cavill appears to have no love for the Bolsheviks. On the other hand, I
don’t believe that he likes the National Socialists much better. So I do not believe that he would help us
with Churchill. In fact, his association with Churchill would indicate that this new patron would likely be
quite hostile to National Socialism.
He is not necessarily hostile to the German people though. He has hired dozens of Germans to
work at his factories in Australia as engineers and technicians. This is in addition to the Americans,
Englandersand other Europeans that work alongside his indigenous workers. This has causedHerrCavill
some problems in the past few months because of the racism of many Anglo-Australians.” “Have Admiral Canaris keep a close eye on this new friend of Churchill. Perhaps he may be of
use to us in some way. If not, it may be necessary for us to eliminate him.”
“Jawohl, Herr Fuhrer. I will inform Admiral Canaris of your instructions. In any event, I will still
need more resources to be able build a navy capable of threatening theEnglanders, especially after
what has been learned about their new ships and other rearmament programs.”
“I assure you, sufficient resources will be made available to theKriegsmarineafter you show me
your plans for making it the most powerful navy in the world. Until then, theWehrmachtandLuftwaffe
will continue to have priority over production. They already have shown me what they are going to do to
demonstrate superior German power on the land and in the air.”
“Jawohl, Herr Fuhrer. But I must advise you that even with the necessary resources, the
Kriegsmarinewill not be able to field a proper force that can truly face theEnglandersprior to 1946.” “You will have the time that you need to build your ships,Großadmiral, I promise.” Hitler
replied.
Of course, Hitler had no intention of honoring that promise. He would strike at his enemies at a
time and place of his own choosing, regardless of any promises made to his subordinates. But for now,
he has been quite successful in following his own instincts and ignoring the advice of the ‘old guard’. For Hitler, it was all about the land battle. He looked upon a large map on the wall depicting all
of Europe and the Soviet Union. In Hitler’s grand vision, the Wehrmacht would be sweeping over the
vast plains of the Ukraine and eastern Russia, crushing its opponents at will while the Luftwaffe struck
from the air to devastate the enemy’s reserves. The German Navy would be of little use in the war that
Hitler envisioned.
Hitler still remembered how the Imperial German Navy mutinied near the end of the First World
War when ordered to sortie against the British Royal Navy. In Hitler’s mind, that stain of cowardice
meant that the Navy could not be completely trusted to do its part for the Fatherland and the German
people in the coming struggle against the Bolsheviks, the Jews and the rest of the enemies of the Aryan
race. In fact, theKriegsmarinewas so full of Jewish officers that they zealously protected their own,
Hitler noted with anger.
The vast amount of resources needed to build even one battleship could build hundreds of tanks
and artillery pieces. Hitler had already seen what modern armor could do on the ground with the
German contribution to the Spanish Civil War. Similarly, the Condor Legion, a heavy contribution of
forces from theLuftwaffe, had provided valuable support to Republican forces and their allies. “No.” Hitler thought to himself. “TheKriegsmarinewill have to make do with the resources that
I grant it. The admirals will have to prove to me that their grand ships are worth the treasure that we
have already spent on them.”
Now Harold has another potential threat to his life that he may have to deal with in addition to
Stalin’s operatives.Chapter Twenty-Six:

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
November 14, 1938

“We just received a confidential telegraph from the Admiralty in Melbourne, Mister Cavill.”

Harold’s assistant Thomas said as he opened the door to Harold’s office.
“Bring it here, please.”
Harold opened up the envelope containing the telegraph and quickly read the document. He
then thought silently for a moment before speaking.
“Thomas, I need for you to call up Alexander Portman and have him come here please. It looks
like things are going to get very busy here.”
“What happened, Mister Cavill?”
“The Australian Admiralty wants us to build another six destroyers for them. It seems that they
are very pleased with our destroyers that carry the four twin dual-purpose gun mounts. This, in
combination with last week’s order by that British shipping firm for two more of our flight deck liners
and our other existing commercial ship production contracts, we are going to be working at maximum
capacity there very soon.
It will also mean that I will need to quickly hire and train additional workers as well. I suppose
that the government has decided that they need us after all. I was very concerned after the incident that
we would not receive any more contracts from the Australian government.” Harold replied while
wondering if Churchill had anything to do with the British Cunard Line’s order for the two flight deck
liners.
Churchill had mentioned in one of their conversations on how Harold’s design could work very
nicely as an auxiliary warship for the Royal Navy in time of war. The liners could carry at least half a
dozen Swordfish for anti-submarine duties each with practically no modifications at all. A full
reconstruction of each of the flight deck liners could turn each ship into a full-fledged light fleet carrier.
It would take a lot of effort to construct the two liners prior to the beginning of the future Second World
War though, not to mention the six destroyers that had just been ordered by the RAN. “I am pleased that your worries were unwarranted. The new work will be a very good thing for
all of us, Mister Cavill.”
“Yes, it will be. I just wish that the Australian Air Ministry was as interested in our proposals.
They are still deliberating on possibly purchasing our Twin-Wasp powered Whirlwinds as well as the
military version of our large flying boats and our Dragonfly fighter-bombers. I know that we are building
aircraft that are better than anything else being offered. We also have the necessary production
facilities to build all components for an aircraft, including its engines. No one else in Australia can do
that, including the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation.”
“Perhaps the head of the Department of Aircraft Production still is holding a grudge on how you
continued to use people like me in your workforce in spite of his objections?” Thomas suggested. “Alexander Forrester certainly is a racist bastard, isn’t he? Maybe you are right. It is certainly
possible that he is one of those dipsticks who sympathized with those ‘hoons’ that invaded our home a
few months ago. But when the war comes, he won’t have any choice then. He will have to order our
aircraft because we will be able to produce the aircraft that he needs a hell of a lot better than anything
that their bloody CAC can design and build.
Sure the people at CAC can design trainers, but it will be a far greater challenge for them to real
a real warplane that is competitive with anything that our adversaries will field. I want to be ready to do
just that when the need arises.”
“That is the purpose for your ‘special projects’, Sir?”
“Yes, Thomas. Of course, I also wish to keep as many of you gainfully employed as well as earn a
reasonable profit.”
The two men then heard a knock on Harold’s office door. Thomas walked outside to the main
office area to see who was there.
“Mister Cavill, Eric Carter is here to see you. He says that it is very important.” Thomas explained
after walking back into Harold’s office.
“Go ahead and ask Eric to come in please.”
A minute later, a tall, slender blonde-haired man who appeared to be in his late twenties walked
in with an armful of rolled up blueprints and other paperwork.
“I hate to bother you, Sir. But, we have a problem with the armament onMelbourneand one of
the large destroyer designs, Mister Cavill.” Harold’s head manager for Cavill Ordnance Works quickly
explained.
“What is it?”
“We still cannot manufacture the heavy antiaircraft battery guns for the carrier. This also means
that we cannot build our own guns for one of our proposed heavy destroyer designs since it uses the
same weapons as theMelbourne’sBD Mark II mounts.
Our barrel manufacturing equipment is suitable for weapons up to 105mm in bore diameter.
This is just over a four inch diameter bore. However, the weapons that you have designated for these
vessels have a 115mm bore which is a four and a half inch bore.”
“Is there nothing that you can do to modify the equipment to produce the larger weapons?” “No, Sir. I’m afraid not. We are actually pushing the dimensional limits of the machinery to
produce the 102mm guns for the other destroyers already. It would require complete replacement of at
least sixty percent of our equipment. We would be shut down for several months for the retooling and
other modifications as well.”
Harold had not counted on this for the carrier’s armament. The French company that sold him
the gun barrel production equipment had assured him that it was capable of producing larger barrels.
He could not afford to shut down the factory nor was he willing to make the investment in larger
machinery at this point.
“I want you to go ahead and continue producing the 102mm guns with our existing equipment.
We will still need to fabricate the Below Deck Mark II mounts forMelbourne. I will simply have to find an
alternate source for the barrels. In the meanwhile, you will need to be ready to make more 102mm guns
than what we had originally planned for. We are going to have to focus on the destroyer design with the
twin four-inch, forty-five caliber, quick-firing Mark XIX mounts. Fortunately, the Australian Admiralty has
committed to purchasing that destroyer design for now.”
“Yes, Sir. I will work with our supply people on that. There is one thing that we can do to
improve the firepower of our destroyers while still using the 102mm bore.”
”What is that, Eric?”
“While we can’t readily make guns with a much larger bore diameter with our current
equipment, we can make the barrels longer. It will be a relatively simple process to design and
manufacture a four-inch high angle gun with a sixty-caliber barrel. That would significantly increase the
velocity, effective range and armor-penetration of the weapon with the standard five kilogram
propellant charge. Of course, we can improve the characteristics even more with a seven kilogram
propellant charge like the Americans use.” Eric said as he rolled out some of the blueprints that he
brought onto a nearby table.
“It looks like you already have your new gun already designed, Eric.” Harold said as he looked
over the drawings.
“Yes, Sir. I went ahead and had my draftsmen create the blueprints for the gun and mount
before I came to you. I am sure that I can build the gun and the required mount without any significant
problems. I also believe that I can still keep the rate of fire the same as with the Mark XIX. The mount
would be slightly heavier than the Mark XIX, but well within limits.”
“Very good initiative, Eric. Thank you. I think that we will have to stick with the British
ammunition though if you can design the weapon to use both British and American rounds, please do
so. You have the go ahead to design and produce four prototype mounts. If they work out, then we will
go ahead and go to full production for it.”
“Thank you, Sir. I also wanted to let you know that the development of the six-pounder
antiaircraft gun is going well. The production of the twenty-five pounder field guns for the Australian
Army has been recently completed. The extra workmen and production equipment that you obtained
for me certainly made a difference, even if half of them were ‘Sheilas’. They must have picked up very
quickly on the new electric arc welding methods that you had us adopt.”
“I’m glad, Eric. I knew that even the women would provide you with the help that you needed
when employed properly. We also use them at the aircraft assembly plant to help building aircraft there.
Now I have to talk to Alexander at the shipyard.” Harold replied.
He had found on the computer database some of the American welding methods used by their
shipyards and other heavy industries in the early and mid-nineteen forties. Harold then quietly
introduced the technology into his shipyards and vehicle factories over the past few years. The new
methods greatly improved the quality of the work and the facilities’ productivity without risking a great
change in the overall technology level. It also minimized any chance of someone noticing anything that
appeared to be out of place. The training of the new female workers in the improved welding
techniques first helped to integrate both the new workers and the technology at the same time. Harold then called up his chief naval architect, Alexander Portman on the phone. “Hello, Alexander. I know that you are busy but I need for you to work on something for me. An
alternate weapons configuration for the new light fleet carrier design will have to be drawn up. It
appears that the ship will need to be armed with either six or eight of the twin four-inch high angle
mounts instead of the six BD Mark II mounts that we had originally proposed using. It appears that the
British do not have enough mounts available to sell to us. The Royal Navy’s new anti-aircraft cruisers are
taking up all of the available supply of the BD Mark II’s according to my supply sources.” “I understand. Do you want these guns mounted on the deck edge like before, Mister Cavill?” “Yes, that would be ideal. Will there be enough space and still maintain the number of lighter
antiaircraft guns?”
“Yes, Sir. I believe so. Each four-inch mount will probably take up less space, have a less massive
support structure and be lighter overall than a BD Mark II mount. The four-inch guns will also use a
smaller gun crew to operate them. That is how we are able to fit four mounts on the same destroyer hull
that would only mount three of the BD Mark II mounts on.”
“Then let’s plan on using the four-inch mounts then. Eric from my Ordnance Works has a new
four-inch gun and mount that we are going to use on both the carriers and our new destroyers. They
promise to be more effective than the existing Mark XIX mounts. Eric is getting ready to come visit you
to show you the details on the mounts. I just hope that the Australian Admiralty will see fit to ensure
that enough escort vessels are available to protect these carriers from facing any marauding cruisers or
destroyers by themselves.”
“I’ll be waiting on him. Once I see what he has, I can get started with the redesign. Thank you,
Mister Cavill. This will certainly solve at least one of the remaining major issues with the new carrier.” “You’re welcome, Alex. Please let me know if there are any problems with the use of this new
gun mount. Right now, I have to start planning for another overseas trip. But, it will be a lot easier for
me to travel to conduct needed business while knowing that issues like these have been resolved.” Harold makes a mental note to have his engineers draw up plans to build new machinery that is
capable to making cannon tubes of up to 155mm. His machine shops could theoretically fabricate such
upgraded machinery using blueprints derived from existing equipment and with selected information
from his computer database. Of course, the source of the information from the computer had to be
carefully disguised before it could be given to Harold’s mechanical engineers.
But it will take time to produce the machinery, perhaps more than two years before it would be
ready to begin production. That would mean that Harold’s companies could not build heavier weapons
for the Allies before the beginning of the Second World War, perhaps even not before the Japanese
attack the Americans.
Harold sighed as he put down the phone. Things happened far more slowly in the 1930’s than
what Harold was accustomed to in his previous life. In the twenty-first century; rapid prototyping, 3-D
printing and machining and computerized design would have allowed an engineer to design and
manufacture such machinery in only a few months. But now, he had to wait for much slower and more
tedious processes to take their course.
But now, Harold had another trip to plan. The next Cavalier flight going to England was
scheduled a little over two weeks from now.

Vickers-Armstrong Shipyard Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
December 14, 1938

Harold got out of his hired Hackney at the entrance to the Vickers-Armstrong Shipyard. There, he was escorted by a pair of waiting Royal Marines to one of the building slips where a small crowd of dignitaries were waiting. As Harold approached the slip, he saw a smiling Winston Churchill waving.

Churchill had invited Harold to come visit England once again, this time under the auspices of discussing possible industrial contracts and observing a military exercise. Harold had readily accepted because he needed to visit Miles Aviation and Westland Aviation for consultations on the new aircraft that they were building. This would also give Harold an opportunity to visit his other business interests in England as well. Harold then took the next scheduled Cavalier flight to London. From there, he rode via Hackney to Newcastle to meet with Churchill.

“I am immensely pleased that you were able to make it here in time.” Winston said as he vigorously shook Harold’s hand in front of a group of high-ranking Royal Navy officers and other political figures.

In front of the crowd was the massive form of a new battleship. While Harold recognized the ship’s general form as that of aKing George Vclass battleship, he also saw some very significant differences as well.

The original King George Vhad been armed with ten fourteen-inch guns in its main armament arranged with quadruple gun turrets fore and aft and a twin gun turret superfiring over the forward quad turret. This battleship had nine main battery guns in three triple turrets, two forward and one aft, but arranged similar to that of the US Navy’s battleship USSNorth Carolina. The original secondary armament of theKing George Vconsisted of sixteen 5.25-inch dual-purpose guns arranged with four turrets on each side. This ship had ten of the lighter BD Mark II mounts arranged just like what the battlecruiser HMSRenownand the reconstructedQueen Elizabethclass battleships would have.

Eight octuple forty-millimeter ‘pom-pom’ mounts were located on various locations on the main and upper decks. They were supplemented by a few heavy machine gun mounts visible on the upper decks as well. But there was still certainly enough additional deck space available for additional lightantiaircraft guns to be installed. Harold knew from his history that those guns would certainly be needed once the war began, especially when the shortcomings of the ‘pom-pom’ and machine guns would become evident. On the bows, anti-spray strakes had already been added to prevent heavy seas from washing over the bows and impairing the use of the forward turrets.

“This is the lead ship of the new King George Vclass battleship, Harold. I wanted you to be here for her commissioning because of your vast contributions to her and the other four ships of her class.” Winston proudly said.

“I really didn’t do anything beyond making a few suggestions, Minister.” Harold replied. “Well, you did a bit more than that, my friend. First, those suggestions helped make this ship far superior to what it would have been if the Labour Party politicians had their way. Those are fifteen-inch Mark II guns inKing George V’s main turrets. The Mark II gun will make theKing George Vsuperior to anything that our potential adversaries might have.”
“….except for the Yamato.” Harold silently said to himself. Churchill, like everyone else in the West, knew nothing about the massiveYamatoclass battleships that the Japanese were constructing. Of course, theYamatoand her sister shipMusashiwould be eventually dealt with by carrier-based airpower, not battleship guns.
Churchill continued, “The suggestions of using this as well as the 4.5 inch dual-purpose guns have saved the Admiralty several million pounds in research and development costs alone, not to mention the savings due to the use of common guns and ammunition. You were completely right with your numbers, my friend.
At my suggestion, the Admiralty invested some of that savings into improving the engines for this vessel. Naturally, I thought of your steam turbine plant that you had purchased here in England. The technology that you were adopting was quite innovative with the use of higher-pressure, yet reliable and efficient boilers and turbines.
Convincing the Admiralty to adopt higher pressure boilers and turbines was probably the most difficult task that I had to overcome. They have traditionally been quite conservative concerning their ships’ propulsion. But theKing George Vclass was able to take full advantage of my success there. I’m sure that you knew about this already since the power plant for this ship was manufactured in your factory, Harold.”
“Yes, I did. What did the designers of this powerful warship do with the savings in weight that resulted from the use of my engines, Sir?”
“It is my understanding from talking to the designers of this new battleship that they took the tonnage that was saved from using your engines and put it into additional armor protection, more electrical generators as well as supplemental fuel storage. The latter, in combination with the improved fuel efficiency of your engines will give theKing George Vand her sister ships a considerably greater radius of operation than originally projected. That will be very important while hunting German raiders.
The designers also left available additional weight and space for two pairs of heavy torpedo launchers onKing George V’s deck near the aft main battery turret. These torpedo launchers would use the same heavy 24.5-inch torpedoes thatRodneyandNelsonemploy in their underwater torpedo launchers. The deck armor at the locations where those torpedo tubes would be located has been specially reinforced to reduce damage in the event of a hit detonating the torpedo warheads.
The provision for the torpedo tubes was made because a few commanders still have reservations about the ability of the BD Mark II mounts to fend off a cruiser attack. It was also felt that the torpedo tubes would be helpful in a close quarter attack against an enemy capital ship.”
“Is this ship the only battleship being constructed at this yard, Winston?” Harold asked while changing the subject. He knew from the historical accounts of all of the capital ship battles of the Second World War that the concerns that Churchill had mentioned never proved to be a major factor. It was much more likely that the weight and space for the torpedo tubes would end up being used for additional antiaircraft guns eventually.
“Yes, the other four ships in the class are each being built in a separate shipyard. The Admiralty wanted to speed up the rate of completion and also spread out the workload. The shipbuilders all needed the work to stay in business. We will need every one of them if the war that we anticipate does erupt.”
The group of men stood there watching the commissioning ceremony of the new battleship for nearly an hour before Churchill pulled Harold to the side.
“Please come with me, Harold. I have a couple of other things that I want to show you. I’m sure that you will appreciate them.”
They walked over to another part of the shipyard while Churchill smoked one of his trademark cigars. They stopped at another construction slip where a pair of relatively small cruiser-sized hulls were in their final stages of completion.
“Come look at the first two ships of the newDido-class anti-aircraft light cruiser. They are very close to the concept that you had originally described to me.” Winston explained.
In many ways, these two ships resembled the AmericanAtlanta-class anti-aircraft light cruisers, Harold noticed. Like theAtlanta’s, theDido’swere armed with twelve dual-purpose guns in twin, superfiring turrets on the centerline. Only theDidoused the same BD Mark II 4.5-inch gun turrets as King George Vinstead. The resulting ship had a somewhat lower profile than anAtlantabecause the BD Mark II turrets were not as tall as the 5’/38 mounts that theAtlantaused. TheDido’salso only had a single trunked funnel, unlike the two funnels of theAtlanta.
On theDidothat Harold saw was closest to completion, he noticed also that the cruiser was armed with a triple 21-inch torpedo tube mount on either side amidships in addition to six quadruple ‘pom-pom’ mounts and several multiple heavy machine gun mounts.
“These ships here will not only be providing for the fleet against enemy aircraft, they will also serve as squadron leaders for destroyer flotillas. They are also using higher-pressure steam propulsion units so that the space and weight saved can be put into expanded command facilities, more fuel for longer range as well as the latest in radio detection technology.” Churchill proudly explained.
“What about the construction of more aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy? You know how important that they will be in future battles.” Harold asked.
“I know, Harold. All four of theHawkins-class cruisers have now been converted and placed into service as light fleet carriers. Mind you, not everyone in the Royal Navy is happy about that. I’ve heard a few complaints about the size of the flight deck. But we have four more aircraft carriers now to work with our other ships in the fleet. In addition, the treaty tonnage that was made available by the reconstruction of theHawkins’from cruisers to light aircraft carriers made it possible for the Admiralty to increase the number ofDido’sby another six ships. That will give us a total of twelveDido’swhen they are all completed. I am told that all of theDido’swill be commissioned by 1940.
We are continuing to construct additional units of theIllustrious-class of aircraft carriers with armored flight decks. However, I am concerned that we will not be able to produce enough steel armor to be able to complete several of them at this time.
But I have convinced the Royal Navy to purchase forty of your Dragonfly fighter aircraft from your partners at Miles Aircraft Limited. These aircraft will be operated in detachments aboard the Hawkins-class carriers alongside their Swordfish torpedo bombers. The others will be flown from some of our other aircraft carriers likeArgusandEagle.”
Harold was very pleased to hear that the Dragonfly would be used by the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. The fighter would be substantially superior to the Blackburn Skua that had been used as both a shipboard fighter and dive bomber. The net result would be that the carriers would be more survivable as would the naval formations that the carriers would be protecting. Harold imagined that the Mills Brothers would have to quickly upgrade their production facilities and staff to accommodate this order of aircraft also.
Harold knew that he had played a major role in all of the historical changes here as Churchill resumed talking about the new cruisers in front of them. But Harold was still far from certain about how it would all end up. Harold believed that the Royal Navy, at least, was going to be in better shape to face the Germans when the war begins. There was still the issue of escort vessels. There didn’t appear to be a lot of additional work being done to construct any destroyers at the Vickers-Armstrong yard. Possibly there were other ships being produced at other British shipyards, but Harold couldn’t be sure. Information simply wasn’t as readily available in 1938 as it had been in the early twenty-first century.
If the Royal Navy did not soon step up the construction of escort ships, it would once again pay a very heavy price in both transports and warships sunk by German U-Boats. That much was certain. There were also the issues of the readiness of the British Army and Royal Air Force. Churchill had less involvement with those services than he had with the Royal Navy where he had previously been First Lord of the Admiralty. So Harold could not influence changes as easily there.
Harold knew that he would have to continue to work, observe and adapt as necessary. He could not be sure what America would do or that his own country would take all of the necessary steps. There were just too many variables to rely upon a single act or a single solution to prevent the future war that would end humanity.
Harold was still thinking this when he heard Winston ask.
“How is your lovely wife and the rest of your family doing, Harold?”
Immediately, Harold’s thoughts went to Dorothy and their children. His entire family had accompanied Harold this time to England. While Harold went to the shipyard and various other industrial sites, the rest of his family had traveled out to the English countryside.
“They are all doing very well, thank you Winston. They are taking advantage of a vacation from the summer heat back home.”
Churchill chuckled for a moment.
“That’s right, your seasons are reversed from ours here in the Northern Hemisphere. With as much travelling that you do, you probably don’t get to see your family as much as you would like, Harold.”
“I’m afraid that is all too true. That is another one of the reasons why I brought them with me on this trip.” Harold replied, thinking about how correct Churchill was about the lack of time that Harold got to see his family, except for one thing. That was Dorothy’s unsung involvement in extracting critical information from Harold’s portable computer. Harold and Dorothy spent a lot of hours together in the secret room as a result of that work.
“How long do you plan to be here? I know that I had dragged you out here to see the shipyard. But you probably are going to take care of some other business while you are here in England, I would imagine.”
“We will be spending a couple more days here in England. But after that, we will have to travel back home to get back to work. But then we will be flying back home to spend Christmas and New Years.”
“As much as I love it here in England, I have to admit that I am looking forward to getting back to our home is Australia. I have gotten very accustomed to our life there. There is also the fact that you will also be smelling much better when back home.
I can always tell whenever you have been visiting Mister Churchill, Harold. Your clothes smell like you have been standing over the top of a chimney because of those awful cigars of his. I am certainly glad that you never partook of that particular habit.
Let’s get you out of these clothes and into something fresh so that I can take these filthy things to be laundered.” Dorothy said as she wrinkled her nose at the odor.

Harold and Dorothy’s Home Derby, Western Australia December 31, 1938

Harold and Dorothy’s children had all already gone to bed as the clock neared midnight and the beginning of the year 1939. Harold’s family had all gotten back home to Derby aboard a Cavalier flying boat little more than a week earlier.

“Do you realize that I am already fifty-seven years old now, Dorothy. I would have never imagined that I would be in this position, much less someplace back in history. I just have so much to do, but I don’t know how long I have left to set things on the right course.” Harold said morosely as he looked at the clock.

“Well, you don’t look a day past forty, Sweetheart.” Dorothy said while giving Harold a light kiss on the cheek.
“I do worry still. My father and mother both died in an aircraft accident when I was in my early twenties. So I don’t know how long they would have lived otherwise. My grandparents lived until their mid-seventies. But the medical care was far better than what is available now and will be available for the next forty years or more. So I might have another ten to twenty years left if I am fortunate enough.”
“That is a bit of a morbid thought for just prior to the beginning of a new year, Harold.”
“I know. I apologize. It’s just knowing what is to come has me thinking very introspectively at the moment.”
“Let’s think more pleasant thoughts for the moment, shall we?”
“Indeed.” Harold agreed.
Harold and Dorothy then opened up a bottle of champagne that Harold had specially shipped from France on the most recent Cavalier flight from Europe. Harold poured a glass for each of them before proposing a toast.
“To a happy and peaceful New Year, for as long as we can enjoy the peace that we have.” Harold said. The couple touched glasses for a moment then drank from them just as the clock struck midnight.
“You know, I do understand how these times can lead to some dark thoughts. If I remember correctly, the war is going to begin soon, isn’t it?” Dorothy asked after putting her glass down.
“Sometime later this year, I’m afraid. I don’t know if it will happen on exactly the same date in September as before. But yes, all of the signs remain pretty much the same. The start of the Pacific war will be less certain though. If we can keep that report about Singapore’s defenses out of Japanese hands, that will certainly change things. But it won’t prevent the Japanese from attacking us or the Americans eventually, I am certain.”
“What about in Europe? Will they go to war just like they did in your original time?”
“Everything there is happening pretty much like what happened in my history. I dare say that France and the Low Countries are going to fall to the Nazis just about as quickly as before. Then the British and French armies will find themselves trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk at the mercy of the Germans’WehrmachtandLuftwaffe. By a miracle on those beaches, thousands of those troops were able to escape to England. But tens of thousands more were either killed or captured because we lacked the means of getting large numbers of personnel and vehicles off of a beachhead.
The French fleet will be neutralized at port, partially at great political cost by the Royal Navy. Eventually, the French themselves will have to scuttle their own ships. I just wish that we could somehow save more of the French fleet to help us out in the Pacific.”
“That sounds like a terrible fate for all of those soldiers and sailors. I wonder if we could come up with a solution to help them and their ships escape. Maybe your friend Mister Churchill can help with the French?”
“Maybe so. I will have to contact him and ask. I do have a few ‘suggestions’ that he might consider.”
“I imagine that you do, Sweetheart.” Dorothy said with a sly smile.
“How is your little project going, my dear?”
Dorothy had gone from being an occasional relief pilot of Harold’s flying boats to becoming an instructor pilot for dozens of Harold’s own neophyte aviators.
“It’s going a lot better since you got those new aircraft. I could get the pilots through the basics with our Gypsy Moth trainer. But to get them ready for larger, more powerful military aircraft, I needed some planes a lot closer in performance.
I don’t know how or where you got those four Swordfish torpedo bombers, but they have been incredibly helpful, not to mention the other aircraft that you bought.”
“One of our British partners is affiliated with Fairey Aviation Company. So I worked out a deal with him to obtain the Swordfish.”
“What about the other aircraft? I have been wondering where you got the others. Most of them have only one aircraft of the type, but they seem to have come from all over the world.”
“They actually only come from England, America and the Netherlands. But the aircraft were from a variety of different manufacturers. The Skua dive-bomber was produced by Blackburn and can also serve as a fighter. The Fokker Mark XXI fighter was produced in the Netherlands. The two P-36 Hawks were produced in America by Curtiss. As you are also well aware, I was able to get a single example of a Bristol Blenheim bomber as well as one of a Hawker Hurricane fighter.
I was able to obtain the majority of the aircraft as demonstrators for possible purchase by the Australian military with a little help from Billy Hughes. We might be able to purchase more if necessary. I am already making arrangements to purchase a pair of the new Whirlwind heavy fighters from Westland. They are being shipped here in a partially-assembled condition since I am going to have our aeronautical engineers modify the aircraft to use the Twin-Wasp radial engines that we produce here in Australia. The wings on these aircraft will have to be substantially modified for the new engines, to add additional fuel storage and reduce landing speeds. The Whirlwind is still undergoing flight testing in England, but I believe that we will end up with a better aircraft in the long run.
This is what we told the leaders of the Royal Australian Air Force when we proposed the modified Whirlwind to them earlier as well. But the generals have not yet made up their mind still. ”
“Those aircraft are all going to be very interesting to fly. There are, of course, those wonderful Dragonfly tandem-wing fighters of ours and those little Damselfly two-seat tandem-wing trainers. I already enjoy flying in both types very much.” Dorothy said with a smile of pure delight on her face.
“The Dragonflies and Damselflies were a lot easier for us to get since we paid for their development in the first place. I had the Miles Brothers license the production of the smaller aircraft to us in addition to the Dragonfly. Of course, the Damselfly was based on the original tandem-wing prototype that we had contracted for. I simply asked that Miles Brothers rename the smaller aircraft, the Damselfly, to differentiate it from the Dragonfly fighter.” Harold explained.
“Well, Sweetheart. They are incredible, both the Damselflies and the Dragonflies. After only a few hours in the Damselfly, I was able to not only fly a Dragonfly, but also perform extraordinary aerobatics in it.”
The thought of Dorothy flying aerobatics in a brand new high-performance fighter that had barely gotten out of the factory wasn’t exactly comforting to Harold. On the other hand, the Damselfly that she had flown earlier was smaller, somewhat slower and had a less powerful Bristol Perseus sleeve valve radial engine powering it. But the Damselfly was still quite capable in multiple realms as well as being extremely agile.
Since the Damselfly was also intended to be a combat trainer capable of light attack missions of its own, it was armed with a pair of .303 machine guns in the nose. It could also carry over three hundred kilograms of ordnance on its belly and wing hardpoints.
“Please, let’s leave the aerobatics to our test pilots for now. They are still exploring the Dragonfly’s operational capabilities and flight parameters. What I am interested in at the moment is how your trainee pilots are doing right now?”
“Oh, they are doing splendidly, Sweetheart.” A smiling Dorothy answered.
“Now, how are they feeling about taking flight instructions from a woman? You and I both know that there are very few female flight instructors at this time. ” Harold asked.
“Well, most of my students don’t seem to have a problem with it, especially after I have taken them through a few aerobatic maneuvers to show them what the aircraft and I are capable of.”
“You made a few of them airsick, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so.” Dorothy admitted with a laugh.
“How many of them came back afterwards?”
“Actually, almost all of them. I think that their pride wouldn’t let them give up over a simple case of nausea, especially with the others who didn’t get sick. Of course, the ones who had some difficulty with me being the instructor tended not to return after losing their breakfast during the lesson.”
“How about our aborigine recruits? Are they sticking it out?”
“They have been getting sick more frequently on their first flights than our white recruits. But the aborigines have been all coming back for more. Once they figure out how to handle the maneuvering, the aborigines do very well though.”
“How long before you start training them on the short field operations, Dorothy?”
“I have six pilots who have already started. That is why the Swordfish have been so useful. They have incredible controllability at landing and takeoff with their low stall speed.”
“Your students are going to need to learn flying from very short fields quite soon. We will soon be unveiling HMASMelbourneand beginning the final phases of completion and fitting out. We will need pilots that are ready to fly from her soon.”
“Sweetheart, I’m not so sure that I am ready to try landing on the deck of a moving ship myself.” Dorothy wryly noted.
“I wouldn’t want you to do it either. That is why I am going to talk to Minister Hughes and Mister Churchill to arrange for some experienced Royal Navy naval aviators to be seconded to the RAN to not only fly fromMelbournebut to also finish instructing your students for the final phases of their training.”
“I hate not being able to see their training to the end, Harold.”
“The fact that you have already given them all a very good head start is the most important thing. I would much rather let others who have real world experience in operating from an aircraft carrier flight deck handle the rest of the training.
Of course, even they are in for a bit of a surprise when they seeMelbournefor the first time. She is unlike any ship that they have ever seen.”
“I have been having my students practice with all of the aircraft that we could possibly be flying fromMelbourneincluding the Swordfish, Skua and Martlet as well as the Damselfly. I know that you have wanted to continue flight tests on the Dragonflies before we start training pilots on them.”
“I know. I hope that those flight tests will soon be completed. In the meanwhile, why don’t we finish this bottle of wine and then go to bed. The children are still asleep for now. It would be a grand idea if we could continue our celebration of the New Year in our bedroom before one of the children wakes up.” Harold said with a sly smile.
“Funny, Harold. You are not acting like any fifty-seven year old man that I have ever known.” Dorothy laughed as they walked, hand in hand, towards their bedroom.
“I should hope not!”Chapter Twenty-Seven:

Cavill Air Services Hangar Derby, Western Australia January 5, 1939

Harold had found out that Billy Hughes was aboard the incoming DC-3 less than an hour before the airliner’s arrival. Harold and Dorothy had to quickly rush from the office to meet the arriving flight.
Just as Minister Hughes got out from inside of the aircraft, Harold greeted him with a smile.
“Good afternoon, Minister. I have to say that it is an unexpected pleasure to have you come visit us today.”
“I wish that this visit was under better circumstances, Harold. That incident here last year with those protesters has stirred up quite a firestorm in Canberra.”
“I would hardly call several hundred armed men showing up here uninvited and demanding that I fire all of my aborigine workers mere ‘protestors’. It looked a lot more like a lynch mob than anything else.”
“Those men told a far different story to the members of Parliament. They made it appear that you attacked them with a whole damned army. They also said that you fired machine guns into the crowd and killed several peaceful protestors. You know damned well that this was not at all what I imagined when I let you talk me into supporting you forming a militia, Harold.” An angry Billy Hughes said.
Harold stopped and thought for a few moments before responding. He had been worrying for months that this was going to happen as well. Now, Harold had to find a way to protect what he had built.
“Minister Hughes, please let me clarify a few things first. Those men came here trying to start a riot. If I didn’t have a protective force here that was large enough to stop them in their tracks, those men might very well have burned down this entire town. They also fired the first shots and almost killed me in the course of doing so. Fortunately, the only man that died was the very one who tried to kill me. There were a few others who had been wounded, but they all received the necessary medical treatment at my hospital here and recovered well enough to be escorted out of Derby.”
“Well, Harold. You still have a problem here because there have been calls for your militia to be totally disbanded and for their equipment to be confiscated by the Australian government. Some have also called for the aborigines here to be disarmed as well. The politicians in Canberra have never heard this story of yours. They are just terrified that you might start an insurrection of some sort out here. They are especially nervous after the reports that you have had recent contacts with the Nazis.” Billy tersely explained.
“Minister Hughes, it is very important that you understand that we are not a threat to anyone except to the enemies of our nation. I ask that you do everything that you can to calm down the situation with the government. I fear that events are coming that will require everything that we can muster to defend Australia and the Commonwealth as a whole. This includes the militia here. Now is definitely not the time to dismantle what I have built here.” Harold explained. Of course, he could not say anything about the timing of the coming war to Billy. That would lead to some very awkward questions as well. But Harold still had to address the last accusation.
“As to your last point, Minister Hughes. I do have some business interests in Germany. In fact, I am very worried that Adolf Hitler could nationalize my holdings there and cost me a great deal of money. Some of my best engineers and technicians came here from Germany as well. But we are all completely loyal to Australia, including my German workers who have all requested and received Australian citizenship. Remember that many of my German workers are Jewish. You have heard the news reports about what the Nazis have been doing to the Jews in Germany, haven’t you?”
Billy looked at Harold for a few moments and shrugged his aging shoulders before responding.
“It would have been a lot easier to believe you if I didn’t already know that you were building tanks and other military equipment here. But, I have to admit that you are right about the need to keep your militia force together. The reports out of Germany, Italy and Japan scare the hell out of me. I will do what I can to fend off these charges when I get back to Canberra.
I’m already scheduled for a flight back tomorrow. I just need to find transportation to one of your boarding houses here for the night.”
“I’ll have one of my people take care of everything for you, Minister Hughes. Thank you for the warning and your continued assistance in this matter.”
As Billy walked away to a waiting sedan, Dorothy stepped up to Harold. She had been standing in the background, waiting and listening to Harold’s conversation with the former Australian prime minister.
“It sounds like you were right to be concerned about that aftermath of that riot, Sweetheart.”
“I know. We’ve already doubled the number of security personnel at Derby in the past few months. Since the security force personnel are all members of the militia, they will give us a ready force to deal with any enemy force, whether foreign or domestic. Now, if Billy Hughes can manage to hold off our opponents in Canberra for a while longer. Eight months is all that we need. After that, world events will trump anything that the politicians in Canberra have to say.” Harold quietly told Dorothy.

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
March 7, 1939

Harold’s accountant presented the latest figures for the trade that Harold’s various companies had been doing with French Indochina. The numbers had substantially increased over the past five years.

Harold had made a deliberate decision to promote industrial trade between his companies and the French colony, especially after he had used his influence to have certain import tariffs lifted. He had been purchasing substantial amounts of rubber and timber from Indochina as well as other raw materials that Harold used in his various factories. The rubber was being used mostly to produce vehicle times while the timber went into a variety of products including more than a thousand homes in the Derby area.

As a result of the increased trade, the French were already beginning to worry about the potential threat of Japanese expansionism to their interests in Indochina. The French government had made some small improvements in their military forces in Indochina in the past year or so. However, these improvements in their defense would not nearly enough to deter the Japanese in the long run.

Shortly before, Harold had decided that it was time to ask an old friend to help nudge the French into putting more substantial military assets into protecting their colony in Indochina. Harold dispatched a message to Winston Churchill and sent it via airmail. Harold and Winston had discussed the need for greater French military involvement in the Western Pacific before. Winston had since then started the groundwork for achieving their goal.

Of course, Winston did not know that it was Harold’s goal that the Japanese be diverted from launching the attack on Pearl Harbor. A determined and strengthened French military presence in the region would give the Japanese additional reason for concern. The French would have to be dealt with first or at least confronted with Japanese warships, aircraft and troops that would otherwise have been necessary for the strikes on Hawaii and Alaska.

If Harold was very fortunate, the Japanese would be deterred and choose not to attack American and other Western forces at all. But in the event that war in the Pacific was inevitable, Harold’s preparations will have bought the Western allies the time and means to stop the Japanese war machine without having to resort to drastic measures like the Manhattan Project.

But Harold had to refrain from saying anything about deterring the Japanese from attacking American forces. He knew that Churchill would badly want America in the war against the Axis, especially the Germans. If Churchill suspected that Harold was trying to keep America out of the war or at least minimize its role, then he might not take Harold’s suggestions so enthusiastically this time.

However, Churchill’s responding telegram was quite positive in a variety of ways, much to Harold’s relief. He was taking a trip to France that he was confident would bring needed support to the Pacific.

But the French garrison was still woefully undermanned. The weapons available to the troops largely dated back to the previous war as well. Harold knew all of this from his business trips to Haiphong and Hanoi. Now, Harold needed to determine what else he could do to help the French improve their ability to resist the Japanese forces that would be pushing down from China.

At least Churchill had already managed to accomplish another request of Harold’s. In two weeks, twenty Fleet Air Arm pilots would be arriving at Derby on the next returning Cavalier flight to take over training of Dorothy’s student pilots. The new arrivals would be as surprised as everyone else when they see the new aircraft carrier for the first time.

Toulon Naval Base, Marine nationale Toulon, France
March 15, 1939

Winston Churchill took a flight across the English Channel to visit an old friend at the French naval base at Toulon. There he met French Fleet Admiral Jean Louis Xavier Francois Darlan at the latter’s office along France’s southern coast. There had been some tension during a private meeting with several other French military officials a couple of months earlier. Churchill had made a tacit suggestion that the Maginot Line might not stop the Germans if the latter decided to invade France again. This idea did not go over well with the French who had boasted that their border fortifications were impenetrable. The visit now with Darlan was amiable enough though.

“Good morning, Admiral Darlan.” A cheerful Churchill said as the two embraced. “Good morning to you also, Mister Churchill.” The commander of the French Navy said in recognition of Churchill’s previous positions as First Lord of the Royal Navy and elsewhere in previous British governments.
“Thank you, Sir. I saw that your newest battleshipRichelieuwas recently launched. It appears to be a fine warship. I expect that her sister ship will soon be launched as well.”
“Yes, Mister Churchill.Richelieuhas given us a commanding superiority over the Fascists in the Mediterranean.Jean Bartwill certainly add to that superiority soon. It is my hope to be able to retire the oldest of our battleships,ParisandCourbet, when all three ships of theRichelieuclass are completed.”
“The Germans are becoming a significant concern, I’m afraid as are the Japanese. Your colonies in Indochina could likely find themselves under significant threat from either Japanese capital ships or German pocket battleships. Either one could heavily damage commercial shipping and bombard shore installations that are becoming very important to your nation.”
“Yes, I know. The Japanese continue to capture more Chinese territory southward towards our colony. Are you trying to suggest that I should sendRichelieuto Indochina? It will be at least another year before she is commissioned.Jean Bartwill not be ready for at least another year beyond that. The French people would insist that their largest battleships remain based at a French port to counter the Bocheand Fascists.”
“No, of course not, Admiral. The presence ofRichelieuat home will be a powerful deterrent to both the Germans and the Italians. However, a powerful squadron based out of the port at Haiphong would also be a deterrent to the Japanese as well. Since it would have to be able to patrol a large area of water in both the Indian and Pacific oceans, it will have to have considerable speed.”
“You bring up very good points,Monsieur. I have already had a number of discussions with French government officials about the need to better defend our possessions in Indochina. The rapid expansion of commerce between our colony there and the Commonwealth of Australia seems to be driving our government’s desire in that regards.”
Churchill immediately thought about an earlier discussion with Harold Cavill where the latter admitted that he was deliberately seeking an expansion of trade with French Indochina as well as the Dutch West Indies. It seemed as though Harold was manipulating the situation in order to obtain a greater military commitment from the French. Even Churchill was surprised by how successful Harold’s machinations had been.
The bait had been put out. Now it was time to set the hook.
“Based on my knowledge of the potential threats that your colony might face, I would suggest sending a squadron centered on the battlecruisersDunkerqueandStrasbourgalong with supporting cruisers and destroyers. Obviously, your older battleships would be far too slow and short-ranged to be able to operate effectively against a JapaneseKongoor one of Hitler’sDeutschlandsin the open ocean. This deployment will also give you an opportunity to demonstrate French naval power outside of Atlantic or Mediterranean waters.
I can also say with some assurance that the Royal Navy will also have at least two fast capital ships based in the area as well, probably out of Singapore. We will be supporting them with at least two aircraft carriers as well. If our navies worked together, it would be mutually beneficial for both of our nations in the event that we have to fight another formidable foe like the Japanese Empire.
I can say with considerable confidence, that if you were to deploy your two battlecruisers to Indochina, that the Royal Navy would adjust its capital ship dispositions to help support the French Navy in the Mediterranean.”
“What do you have in mind, Mister Churchill?”
“We were able to fund the full modernization of all five of ourQueen Elizabethclass battleships in addition to that of our four battlecruisers;Hood,Tiger,RenownandRepulse, after the sale of HMS Resolutionto Chile two years ago and some other revisions to our naval spending priorities. TheQueen Elizabeth’scould all be deployed to our base in Alexandria, Egypt. With our new battleships quickly coming into service, we can afford to deploy all of theQE’s to the Mediterranean. That decision would put them in an excellent position to support your ships there.
Together, we would be much more than a match for anything that the Italians can muster.” Churchill confidently said.
“This would certainly help us, Mister Churchill. I believe such a commitment would be very convincing to our leadership. We would perhaps need to accelerate the completion ofRichelieuand Jean Bartto ensure that they are ready.”
“That would be a wise move, Admiral. Of course, if something truly horrific happened that required your capital ships to return back to France to support operations in the Atlantic or Mediterranean, thenDunkerqueandStrasbourgwould be able to return home faster than any of your other battleships.”
Darlan thought silently for a few moments.
“What you are proposing does appear to make a great deal of sense. I have been quite concerned about the Japanese for a long time, especially after their moves into China. What other allied forces might also be in the area to support my ships besides the ones that you had mentioned earlier?”
“I can’t speak for the Americans although they do certainly have interests in the area with their colony at the Philippine Islands. If they were brought into the war against the Japanese, the American Pacific Fleet would dwarf anything that we could contribute. Separate from that, I would imagine that the Royal Navy would also send several light and heavy cruisers in addition to our capital ships and aircraft carriers. Australia and New Zealand also have several cruisers and destroyers as well. The Dutch would likely contribute several light cruisers, destroyers and submarines in defense of their oil fields in Sumatra. The US Asiatic Fleet could potentially contribute two cruisers and a fairly large number of destroyers and submarines. However, most of the American warships in that particular force are of aging designs unfortunately.
Altogether, we would be able to field a fairly substantial force. Without the Americans, the naval force won’t be as large as the entire Japanese Imperial Navy, but it could serve as a deterrent to potentially prevent the Japanese from being overly adventurous. If war does come, we can make the Japanese pay a very heavy price.
But, let us hope that with some prior planning, that we will not have to fight at all.” Churchill concluded. He did not mention about the preparations that Harold Cavill had already been making to ensure that Australia’s military would be far more capable than any would have anticipated.
“Agreed,MonsieurChurchill. But it is much better to be safe than caught unprepared by one’s enemies. It will take some months of preparation to accomplish this. But I believe that this would be a good move for France. Perhaps, I will even send a detachment of French Marines with this naval force just in case we will need to conduct raiding missions against any unwelcome Japanese encampments.” Darlan laughed.
“Now, if I can convince the commander of the French Air Force to send a few squadrons of modern aircraft to support you, that would make things even better. I’m sure that you would not want to send your only aircraft carrier off to Indochina.”
“Yes, it would be. Perhaps I will talk with them instead, Mister Churchill. I might have a little more influence with them.”
“Very good, Sir. Well, I must go now. Thank you for your time, Admiral.” Churchill politely said before taking his leave.
Churchill smiled as he walked out of Darlan’s office though. He was confident now that the French Admiral would follow through with his commitment to reinforce the French forces in French Indochina. Churchill would soon send a telegraph message to Harold to let the latter know of the successful agreement with Darlan.Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
June 30, 1939

“Mister Cavill, I have some new parcels for you. They just came in on the Cavalier flight that landed this morning.” Thomas, Harold’s long-time aborigine assistant said as he walked in the door of Harold’s office.

“Thank you, Thomas. Just set them down on the table by the door.” Harold replied while reviewing some documents from his engine factory.
After Thomas had left, Harold walked over and looked through the parcels until he found the one that he had been waiting on. One of the arrangements that Harold had made with the newspapers that he had purchased years earlier was that he would receive copies of all of the raw news reports from domestic and foreign news services. Harold wanted to quickly compare them to his historical files to see if there were any significant changes in the timeline.
“Hmmm.” Harold quietly said to himself as he pondered over the news reports. They extended to events that happened over the past three months. While events in Europe like the Nazi takeover of the Czech Republic on March 15 and the end of the fighting in Spain at the end of the civil war there were covered fairly extensively, there were a few other news items that caught Harold’s eye.
“It’s a shame that the Soviets and Japanese didn’t keep fighting along the Mongolian Border. It might have kept both of them busy enough. Those East Asian divisions wouldn’t have had a chance to move west to save Moscow from theWehrmacht.” Harold thought as he read the news report on the Japanese attack on the Soviet air base at Tamsak-Bulak.
Harold wanted the Bolsheviks to be utterly destroyed along with their fellow Marxist-Leninists elsewhere in the world like Mao Tse-tung and Ho Chi Minh. The descendants of these communist leaders would start the war in 2040 that ultimately brings the end of humanity.
The Soviet Union and its Bolshevik leaders had already committed mass murder even before the beginning of the Second World War. Deliberate famines and forced relocations lost the lives of tens of millions of people within the Soviet Union during the first two decades of Soviet rule. Josef Stalin had his own plans to invade Poland and then Germany. Stalin also had his own ideas on eliminating the ‘Jewish problem’ just as Hitler wanted. Stalin’s evil and that of those Communists that followed him would have to be stamped out. Then the oppressed masses in places like the Ukraine and the Baltic States could take back their land and their freedom.
Of course, Harold never considered himself a fan of the Nazis either. They would start a war that would cost the lives of tens of millions of people. But he knew that sooner or later, Hitler himself would be his own worst enemy. He would either overextend his own military forces and be defeated by the Allies or that the generals of theWehrmachtwould eliminate Hitler themselves. The most likely case would be the latter, Harold felt.
Without Hitler and his personality cult, the Nazi Party would quickly fall apart. Then, in all likelihood, a much more pragmatic leadership would take over Germany. At least, that is what Harold hoped would happen.
But the Japanese will to fight was a completely different situation. Their fanaticism was souldeep. In Harold’s original timeline, it took the use of two atomic bombs and many months of Japanese cities being firebombed into ashes from the air to convince Japan’s leadership to capitulate. One of the most perplexing problems that Harold struggled to find a solution for was how to defeat the Japanese without having to resort to such drastic measures such as weapons of mass destruction. So far, he had not been able to find a solution. But Harold needed to deal with other, more immediate, issues at this point.
The news reports that Harold continued to read still showed that the vast majority of events were still happening exactly as they had occurred in the previous timeline. Harold fully expected to hear of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact within a few months based on the trend of events that were happening. That would secure Hitler’s eastern flank so that he would soon be able to attack Western Europe with Germany’s entire military might.
England and the Commonwealth would soon be at war with the Axis powers. Harold knew that he could do little about it now. He had hoped that perhaps the improvements in the Royal Navy would have had at least some small measure of deterrence against the resurgent Germans. But that obviously failed to change Hitler’s ambitions.
There would just have to be war. Hopefully, Harold’s influence will have prepared England sufficiently to be able to defeat the Nazis in time, even with the loss of France and the rest of Western Europe being virtually inevitable. But history is a tricky thing to play with. It could take directions that Harold never remotely intended or wanted. That is what Harold feared most of all would happen as a result of his efforts. But this world was all that he had left now. He desperately did not want it to have the same fate as the one that he left.
There continued to be so many things that needed to be done before the war started. Harold knew that he would have to very soon leave on another trip overseas to try to accomplish one of those very important things. This time, Harold’s destination will be America. As with his most recent journeys, Dorothy and the children will be coming with him.

Institute for Advanced Study Princeton, New Jersey
July 7, 1939

Harold’s flight had landed near New York without too much fanfare. This was exactly what he wanted because of the person that he wanted to meet with on this trip. Like with the latest trip to England, Dorothy and the children also came along on the flight to America. However, Dorothy knew that Harold did not need the distraction of children underfoot for this particular meeting. So Dorothy took the children to visit Coney Island and other attractions, while Harold left for Princeton.

It was quite easy for Harold to then hire a car and driver to take him towards Princeton. After staying overnight at a nearby hotel, Harold rode the hired vehicle onto Princeton’s campus. The university was bustling with activity with students and professors walking or riding bicycles to and from classes.

Finally, Harold saw the building that he was looking for. He had seen an old photo of the Institute’s center from his computer’s historical database. After paying the driver and asking him to wait for Harold’s return, Harold got out and walked into the building. A directory posted on the wall inside the main hallway showed Harold where Albert Einstein’s office was located.

Few people notice Harold as he walked up the stairs and then to Einstein’s office. Harold was dressed in normal business attire for the period. It was not the usual comfortable work clothing that he wore most days in Derby. But Harold had also taken great pains not to appear nearly as wealthy as he actually was. He did not want his identity to be prematurely revealed while there.

When Harold arrived at Einstein’s office, he found an older woman with a stern expression sitting at a desk in the administrative office outside the offices of several professors, including Einstein’s. She appeared to be a secretary or some sort of administrative assistant.

“Excuse me, Ma’am. Can you tell me where I might find Professor Einstein, please?” Harold politely asked.
“He has stepped out for a short while to meet with some other professors, Sir. May I ask your name, please?”
“I’m Mister Cavill. I would like very much to chat with Professor Einstein. This is very important, Ma’am.”
“Many people want to see the Professor. Every time that he publishes another paper, there is a line of people outside of the door here.” The woman explained.
“Trust me, Ma’am. He will want to talk to me.” Harold confidently replied.
“Well, Mister Cavill. You will just have to take a seat and wait then. But I still cannot guarantee that he will want talk with you.
Harold sat there waiting for nearly an hour before the door opened. Albert Einstein walked into the office. He was smoking a pipe as Harold caught his eye.
“FrauFields, who is this fellow sitting here?” Einstein asked in a still thick German accent.
“This is Mister Cavill. He says that it is very important that he talk with you.” She explained.
“Yes, Professor. I have travelled all the way from Australia to speak with you on a matter of the utmost importance.”
“On what subject?” A curious Einstein asked.
“The future of humanity and your role in it. This is something that I have a very unique perspective upon, Professor Einstein.”
Something about the way that Harold spoke intrigued Einstein. Ever since Albert Einstein had started publishing papers on relativity and the relationship between matter, energy and light, he had been deluged with critics, frauds and people who simply wanted a piece of Einstein’s fame. But the manner in which Harold spoke and the look on his face, particularly the intensity in Harold’s eyes, told Einstein that perhaps this man was something completely different.
“FrauFields, I think that I can spare a few minutes to talk toHerrCavill. Please tell everyone that I will be busy in my office for a short while.” Einstein suddenly told his secretary while still looking directly at Harold.
The two men walked into Einstein’s office with the latter closing the door behind them.
“Please take a seat, Herr Cavill. I am very curious about what was so important that you traveled halfway around the world just to talk with me. You mentioned something about my role in the future of humanity, I believe.”
“Yes, Professor. You have such an incredible impact upon the science of the future. There are things that you theorized concerning the relationships of matter, energy and the nature of the universe that will be expanded upon and validated a hundred years from now.”
“You talk about this, Herr Cavill, in a very curious manner. It’s almost as though you already know this future.”
Harold squirmed in his chair for a few moments while trying to decide what to tell the great scientist and theorist. At the same time, he was feeling the lump on his left wrist concealed under his shirt sleeve that was the digital data device that he brought from home for the first time since arriving in this timeline. Harold had not dared take a chance on anyone else in this timeline seeing this glaringly obvious piece of future technology.
“Well, Sir. I know that you have a very unique role in the future of this world. But part of that role will lead to a terrible fate for it little more than a century from now.”
“You talk in such riddles,HerrCavill. Can you be any clearer than that? It is just you and I here at this moment.”
“I have come from the future, Professor Einstein in the hope of changing history and possibly saving humanity from its own destruction in the year 2040.” Harold finally explained.
For a few moments, Einstein just silently sat there with an incredulous expression on his face. Then he finally spoke.
“You must be joking,HerrCavill. There is no such thing as time travel in spite of the fanciful writings of some of more creative authors. The physical laws of the universe simply do not permit such a thing.”
“No, Sir. I’m afraid that I am not joking. In fact, in a few months, you will be approached by several of your fellow scientists to sign a letter that is to be given to President Roosevelt. This letter warns of the dangers of the Nazi regime in Germany developing a terrible weapon that utilizes the incredible energies of atomic fission.”
Einstein sat up intently at the mention of the Nazis and atomic fission. Very few people in the world even knew of the recent discovery of atomic fission, much less that it theoretically could be used as a weapon.
“Are you a foreign spy or perhaps an agent for the American Government,HerrCavill?” He cautiously asked.
“No, Professor. I am, as I said before, someone who has come back from the future. Unfortunately, it is a future that has ended for humanity because of those damned bombs that were developed and built in the tens of thousands. Some of these weapons were as powerful as five million tons of TNT assembled together and detonated all at once.
For nearly one hundred years after the end of the Second World War, no one used these terrible weapons in anger. Everyone was too afraid of the consequences. Everyone that was sane, that is. Unfortunately, not all nations were led by sane people.” Harold grimly said.
“How did you come back here,HerrCavill, assuming that you are telling me the truth?” Einstein asked, leaning closer over his desk and having put down his pipe that he had been smoking.
“To be honest, I am not entirely sure. It was an accident that involved a scientific experiment that resulted in an unexpected interaction between a pair of powerful electromagnetic fields. It opened a portal of sorts between my time in 2040 and the year 1918.”
“What proof do you have of this incredible claim of yours,HerrCavill? Surely, I cannot accept what you have told me on the basis of your words alone.”
“I have this.” Harold said, rolling up his left sleeve and exposing the digital data device that was strapped to his wrist. Einstein was immediately drawn to the digital time display on the device’s face.
“As you can see, nothing like this ever existed in your lifetime. At first, these were merely electronic timepieces that were powered by an internal battery. By the year 2040, these had evolved into something much more. We had entire wireless electronic data networks that allowed people to see and talk to each other via these devices. We could also access data from massive electronic information storage sites through devices just like this one.” Harold explained.
“What about your claims about the power of a nuclear fission bomb? I know from the mathematics that such a device would be quite powerful, but probably not as powerful as you have described.”
“Let me show you something, Professor.” Harold replied before bringing the device up and speaking a few simple verbal commands. Before he had left for this trip, Harold had downloaded a few short video clips onto a flash memory chip that he had inserted into the device. Now, he extended his arm once again so that Einstein could see what was being displayed on the small screen. First, video footage of the Trinity nuclear test was played. Then a variety of other clips of nuclear test detonations were shown, finally ending with footage of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after these cities were hit by atomic bombs. The brilliant flashes and giant mushroom clouds left Einstein staring at the tiny video screen with his mouth agape in awe.
“This is amazing and terrifying at the same time. But why come to me with this? You should be showing this to President Roosevelt instead.” The great physicist and theoretician asked.
“Because I need your help here, Professor. We need to prevent the development and deployment of nuclear weapons. Your endorsement of the letter to FDR will prompt one of the largest scientific development projects of the Second World War. This will create the fission bombs that will destroy two cities in Japan a few years from now and lead to a massive arms race that will eventually destroy all of humanity. I know because I was there when the latter conflict happened.”
“But I have had nothing to do with any sort of letter like this, Herr Cavill.”
“I know. But in a few days, Leó Szilárd is going to come to you and ask you to sign a letter to FDR. This letter is a warning to the American President of possible German work in this technology and recommending that America begin its own nuclear weapons program as a counter.”
“You want me to not be a part of this letter?” Einstein asked.
“That is correct, Professor Einstein. Mind you, nuclear technology can be very beneficial to humanity as a whole, providing it with much of the energy needed to maintain a technological society. I was working on nuclear power technology that used both thorium and uranium in a manner that could not be used to later create weapons materials.
Nuclear energy will even be vital for mankind to travel to other worlds to settle. But we need time for humanity to mature before it has access to these terrible weapons of mass destruction.”
“I understand,HerrCavill. But what about the scientists in Nazi Germany who may already be working on such weapons technology? Surely we cannot allow that madman Adolf Hitler to have sole access to these terrible weapons.”
“Obviously, I already know who the key German scientists are for the Nazi fission bomb device as well as the locations of the necessary industrial facilities. I will be working with the British to convince these scientists that they need to end their work in Germany. They will be given the opportunity to leave Germany and continue their research, only focused now on the peaceful use of nuclear power.”
“What if they choose to continue to work on the program for the Nazis,HerrCavill? I probably know at least some of these men.”
“One way or another, they cannot and will not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. I am certain that the British will do whatever is necessary to stop such a dangerous program from continuing in Nazi Germany once the war begins.” Harold grimly replied, knowing that it could mean the deaths of some of the German scientists that Einstein personally knew.
“You are absolutely certain that there will be war between Germany and England?” A worried Einstein asked.
Harold paused for a few moments. Just how much could he afford to reveal to Albert Einstein about events of the Second World War? Harold had to be very cautious because even the mention of more future events could change them for the worse.
“Yes, there will be war once again in Europe. The path to war is clearly being followed as before. But the rest of the future is uncertain at this point, Professor. I hope that perhaps I can do something that will save as many innocent lives as possible though.”
“Herr Cavill, I will do whatever I can to help you in your quest. It is very important to me that humanity is saved as well. Is there anything else that you can tell me about the future?”
“There is so much that I know of the future. But, I must not tell you any more of it. The future is a very delicate thing. Even the smallest change or revelation can have far-reaching effects in ways that perhaps we cannot predict. It is better that you not know any more than this, Professor. I will say that your scientific research will shape so very much of our understanding of the universe. Please, do not let anything get in the way of your work.
I must ask you one other favor, Professor.”
“What do you need,HerrCavill?”
“You must never tell anyone else of this meeting and especially about what I have revealed to you. As far as your assistant is concerned, I was just another admirer who wanted to express his appreciation for your work.”
“Of course,HerrCavill. I understand completely. Thank you for what you are doing. My prayers are with you. Peace is what all reasonable human beings should be seeking, not death and destruction.”
Harold silently nodded as he stood up and turned to leave. Einstein’s assistant stared at Harold as he quietly left the office and headed out of the building.
The taxi was still waiting on Harold when he left the building. Harold got in and told the driver to drive to where Dorothy and the children would be waiting. The taxi trip took over an hour before Harold finally arrived.
Dorothy and the children were there, delighted to see Harold. After the kids told their father about the fun they had, they all piled into the taxi and rode to their hotel room.
The children were all in one room while Harold and Dorothy sat down on the bed in the next room.
“How did your meeting go with Professor Einstein, Sweetheart?” Dorothy quietly asked.
“Much better than the earlier ones that I had with Von Braun and my attempt to meet Hermann Oberth, I have to admit. I am convinced that Einstein is now not going to endorse that letter to President Roosevelt calling for the American development of an atomic bomb.”
“That’s good news, I hope.”
“I hope so too. But I worry constantly about how this will change the world in other ways that I cannot anticipate.”
Dorothy came up and put her arms around Harold while facing him.
“You know, Sweetheart. You might also have just set the world on a course for a far better fate than merely avoiding humanity blowing itself to kingdom come. Let’s look at that possibility as well.”
“I can only pray that is true. But I must take action in any case. That door to the past was not opened for me just to sit complacently back and wait for history to pass. That much is absolutely certain.”Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Billy Hughes’ Office
North Sydney, New South Wales September 4, 1939

Harold had flown via Cavalier towards New South Wales on the southeast coast of Australia before catching a train to North Sydney. Then he quickly hired an automobile to take him to Billy Hughes’ office. The trip was the result of a telephone call from former Prime Minister Hughes a few days earlier.

“Good afternoon, Mister Cavill. I trust that your flight here went well. We don’t often get to see those huge Cavalier flying boats here on this side of Australia.” Billy said after shaking hands with Harold.

“Yes, it did. The planning was a bit hasty. I had to reschedule my spare Cavalier flying boat to fly me here under the guise of being a trip to showcase the Cavalier to the rest of Australia. You had indicated in your phone call that you had an urgent matter to discuss that you didn’t want to explain on the telephone.”

“Actually, there are now multiple things to discuss. Australia, as part of the Commonwealth, is now in a state of war with Germany and the other Axis powers. This is the result of Nazi Germany invading Poland a couple of days ago. I’ve also been asked by Prime Minister Menzies to be part of his special War Cabinet.” Billy told Harold.

“I can’t say that I am surprised that we are once again at war. We will have to do everything possible to prepare Australia for what is to come.” Harold replied.
“I know. I want to thank you for your efforts so far, Mister Cavill. I don’t think that you have to worry about your critics in Canberra now that we are at war. But this is not the original reason why I asked you to come here. I have heard some very disquieting things over the past few weeks from my friends in Canberra.
You have obviously made some very powerful enemies inside and outside of Australia, I’m afraid. We have recently learned that there are people out there who appear to be planning to assassinate you.”
“Do you have any idea who these people are?” Harold quickly asked, a chill running down his spine.
“I don’t know for certain who is targeting you. It could be one of those damned anarchists who sees you only as an arms merchant, profiting on death and devastation. They may have also been part of that mob of hooligans that attacked you last year. But I personally think that the people who want you dead are probably associated with the Bolsheviks. I have had some experience with them in the course of the various political parties that I have been a member of. You have also been very vocal in your opposition to the Soviets and their allies, even the Socialists here in Australia. That will have certainly drawn their notice of you, I’m sure.
Stalin and his people have not been shy about killing their opponents, even those outside of the Soviet Union. You need to make sure that you and your family are protected just in case the rumors prove to be true.”
“I will do that. Thank you for informing me of this threat. Have the Federal Police been looking for these possible assassins?” Harold replied.
“Yes, but I do not know how their investigation had progressed. I suggest that you hire some people to protect you and your family. I know that for many men in the Outback, they prefer to provide their own protection. But that might not be enough.”
Harold already travelled while carrying either the Luger that Dorothy had given him or a Browning Hi-Power semi-automatic pistol. But now, he knew that he would have to ask the aborigines if they could help as well. But he needed to focus on other matters for the moment.
“Minister Hughes, I hope that you will continue in your efforts to keep certain government officials from interfering with my work as well. It is even more vital than ever before in view of the threats that we all face. I am sure that the War Cabinet will soon be contacting me to help provide materiel to our soldiers, sailors and airmen. I will, of course, provide all that I can at the most fair price possible. I have no desire to gouge the Australian people at such a time of crisis.”
“I would hope not, Mister Cavill. But I would also like to talk with you on another matter if you don’t mind.”
“What is it that you wish to talk about, Minister Hughes?” A curious Harold asked.
“I understand that you have been working with Winston Churchill quite a bit over the past few years.”
“That is true. Mister Churchill and I have accomplished quite a bit, both for England and for Australia.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I am certain that the arrangement that you had with Mister Churchill didn’t hurt your purse either, Mister Cavill. But in any event, I give you this word of warning. Be very careful of the commitments that you make with Winston Churchill. He has quite the history of turning upon his friends and abandoning them at their time of greatest need. There are more than a few Australians who still harbor ill feelings towards him as a result of the operation at Gallipoli during the Great War for example. I would not have Mister Churchill see you or Australia as merely assets to be expended at whatever opportunity is convenient to him.”
Harold was already aware of many of Winston Churchill’s more controversial decisions and the groups that were often hurt by Churchill’s decisions. But Harold also knew the Churchill was the focal point of many of the Second World War’s most critical moments. Working with Churchill certainly was a gamble in certain ways, but one that Harold felt that he needed to make.
“Thank you, Minister Hughes, for your words of caution, both concerning the possible threat to my family and I as well as your views of Mister Churchill. I will certainly bear them all in mind. The possibility that England would not be able to provide us with all of the help that we might need against the Japanese is something that I fear as well. This is the principle reason why I have been working so hard to develop the industries necessary for our own self-sufficiency.”
Harold tried to redirect the subject from Churchill himself to the idea that England may not be able to spare the resources to help Australia. But with the right mix of forces and technology, Australia and the other allies in the area could fend off the Japanese, Harold strongly felt. Japan had a strong but brittle military that was focused on a quick victorious war. A long, drawn-out campaign would be much more difficult for the Japanese, as would also be the case for the Nazis.
But even though Australia was a vast nation that was rich with natural resources, it lacked one resource that was vitally important in war. Australia simply did not have enough people to raise the vast armies that so many other nations already had. So it was far more sensitive to casualties than the Japanese or even the English were.
“What do you think that the government in Canberra will want from me first, Minister Hughes?” Harold asked.
“I would imagine that those armored ‘tractors’ of yours will be very badly needed by our troops on the front lines. Right now, our troops have little more than a handful of elderly Mark II light tanks that are armed only with machine guns. They won’t be of any use against any real tanks that the Nazis might have, I’m afraid.”
“I should be able to outfit whatever our military requires within a reasonable amount of time. I won’t be able to give this materiel away, but I will not significantly profit from this situation either.”
“I greatly appreciate that. We certainly need you and the products that your factories can produce. I do not want anything to happen to you, Mister Cavill.”
“I will not wrap myself up in a cocoon and hide though. I have many things to do. Please do what you can to stop these people. But I will continue to travel both here in Australia and elsewhere in the world conducting necessary business and personal meetings. In fact, I just returned from a trip to America recently. It may be necessary for me to return there in the near future as well.”
“Are you going back to Derby now?”
“Yes. I’m flying back in a couple of days. I have a great deal to do with several of my new business ventures as well as some of my research and development projects.”
“Then I wish you Godspeed then, Mister Cavill.”
It was the middle of the morning on the Sixth of September when Harold arrived at the dock where the Cavalier was waiting. He was just about to board the flying board when a car came racing up to the dock. Harold turned around to see Billy Hughes quickly jump out of the car and run towards him.
“Mister Cavill, I’ve just received some very important news from England. The Soviet Union has attacked Poland from the east in addition to the invasion of the Germans from the west.”
“This event makes it even more important that I get back home to Derby quickly. Thank you for the news, Minister Hughes.” Harold said as he remembered that the invasion of Poland had historically been preceded only days earlier by the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The Pact was a neutrality agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that both Hitler and Stalin fully intended to break at the first opportunity. Of course, Hitler beat Stalin to the punch with Operation Barbarossa, a massive invasion of the Soviet Union.
Billy continued to watch as Harold turned and quickly entered the waiting flying boat. Within a few minutes, the flying boat’s six powerful Twin-Wasp radial engines were roaring to life. The huge Cavalier was soon racing over the water and up into the sky back towards Derby.
The world was at war, just as it had been in Harold’s earlier timeline. But he had already set into motion some critical changes. The end result of those changes was yet to be determined, for better or for worse.
Harold also knew that he would have to continue to actively intervene when necessary to change events as they develop. He fervently prayed that the changes would make things better, not worse, in the long run though.Cast of Characters:

James Stevenson/Harold Cavill: A 21stCentury Australian industrialist who traveled back in time to 1918 to attempt to prevent the nuclear war in 2040. He assumed the identity of a dead prospector after his arrival in 1918.

Andrea Townsend: Engineer on the Particle Accelerator Project in 2040

Jonathan Adams: James Stevenson’s executive assistant in 2040

Judith Stevenson: James Stevenson’s first wife. She was Jewish, a dedicated supporter of the State of Israel and had died in 2038 as the result of a Palestinian terrorist attack.

Clarence Whittaker: Chief Communications Officer for the Stevenson Corporation.

Samuel Upton: Senior Project Manager for the particle accelerator project

Johnny: The first aborigine that James Stevenson meets after passing through the temporal portal. Eventually, he ends up coming to Derby and working for Harold at the shipyard there.

Albert: The man who sold James Stevenson a used Ford Model T stakebed truck shortly after James arrived in 1918.

Harold Cavill*: A deceased prospector whose body James Stevenson finds and whose identity that James assumes shortly after arriving in the year 1918.

William Akuna: An elder in the Anagu tribe of aborigines that Harold Cavill met near Perth.

Eric Hanford: hired by Harold and originally from Bristol, England.

Billy McGuire: A construction worker who was fired by Harold after causing racial problems at a Derby worksite.

Simon Collins: A construction worker at one of Harold’s Derby worksite.

Melvin Hunter: Australian Conservative Party political official

Nigel Toland: Australian Conservative Party political official

Ezekiel: A Jewish man that Harold met at a local kosher shop in Sydney

Thomas: Harold’s aborigine assistant

Allen Summersby: Austrialian Government official who came to visit Harold concerning his unconventional treatment of the aborigines who worked for Harold.

Freddie: One of Harold’s aborigine workers at the King Sound shipyard construction site.

Alexander Portman: He is an American mechanical engineer and naval architect that Harold hired to design ships for him.

Winston Churchill: Former First Lord of the Royal Navy, member of Parliament and future Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Dorothy Wilson: She had been the receptionist for the London stockbroker Darren Bentley before meeting and eventually marrying Harold Cavill.

Judith Marie Cavill: daughter born on October 1, 1931

Sarah Elizabeth Cavill: daughter born on December 4, 1932

Beatrice Caroline Cavill: daughter born on December 4, 1932 James Stevenson Cavill: son born on November 12, 1935

Darren Bentley: Harold’s former London stockbroker. Harold severed business dealings with Darren after learning of Darren’s interest in sharing Harold’s purchasing suggestions with others of Darren’s clients.

George Cartwright: Manager of Cavill Propulsion Systems. George is another one of Harold’s American imports.

Richard Barnard: Richard is a lawyer representing a group of businessmen who want to invest in Harold’s various enterprises in the hope of benefitting from Harold’s success.

Richard Tindale: Harold’s manager for Cavill Ordnance Works.

Keith Murdock: Journalist

Terrence Walters: Terrence is the manager for Harold’s steel and aluminum refining and manufacturing facilities.

Joanna Starke: Harold’s secretary in 1935

Alan Sykes: Harold’s corporate accountant in 1935

Frederick Miles: One of the heads of Miles Aircraft Limited.

Blossom Miles: Frederick Miles’ wife

George Miles: Fredrick Miles’ brother and co-head of Miles Aircraft Limited. Admiral Ernle Chatfield: First Sea Lord in 1936

Admiral Roger Backhouse: Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, Royal Navy

Brigadier General Willem Clarke, commander of procurement for the RAAF.

Josef Stalin: Chairman of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

People’s Commissar for Defence, Kliment Voroshilov, who also had the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Deputy Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars; Janis Rudzutaks

Courtney Martin:

Ashton Clarke:

Adolf Hitler: Leader of Nazi Germany

GroßadmiralErich Raeder: Commander of the GermanKriegsmarine.

Admiral Wilhelm Canaris: Commander of Germany’s intelligence service, the Abwehr.

French Fleet Admiral Jean Louis Xavier Francois Darlan

Assistant Ambassador William Blevins

Captain Nigel Wilkes. RAN

Commander Edwin Sampson, RAN

Table of Contents

- Chapter One: Stevenson Industries Test Site Number Four Halls Creek, Western Australia December 14, 2040

- Chapter Two: Stevenson Industries Test Site Number Four Halls Creek, Western Australia December 15, 2040

- Chapter Three: Port of Perth Perth, Australia December 19, 1919

- Chapter Four: Derby Aerodrome Derby, Western Australia May 14, 1922

- Chapter Five: Nationalist Party Headquarters Sydney, Australia February 19, 1923

- Chapter Six: Derby Township Western Territories, Australia March 19, 1923

- Chapter Seven: Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia October 1, 1924

- Chapter Eight: Chartwell House Westerham, Kent, England March 11, 1925

- Chapter Nine: Cavill Industrial Site #4 Derby, Western Australia May 14, 1925

- Chapter Ten: Ocean Liner SS Bremen Southeast of the Gulf of Aden November 5, 1929

- Chapter Eleven: Derby Aerodrome Derby, Western Australia June 5, 1930

- Chapter Twelve: Harold Cavill’s Home Derby, Western Australia September 22, 1930

- Chapter Thirteen: Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia October 21, 1930

- Chapter Fourteen: Harold Cavill’s Office Derby, Western Australia October 1, 1931

- Chapter Fifteen: United Australia Party Headquarters Canberra, Australia March 28, 1932

- Chapter Sixteen: Derby Hospital Derby, Western Australia December 4, 1932

- Chapter Seventeen: Northern Reservoir Derby, Western Australia January 14, 1935

- Chapter Eighteen: Cavill Airlines Cavalier Flying Boat Somewhere over the Indian Ocean December 20, 1935

- Chapter Nineteen: Royal Navy Admiralty Headquarters Portsmouth, UK May 19, 1936

- Chapter Twenty: The Kremlin Moscow, USSR May 1, 1937

- Chapter Twenty-One: Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia September 14, 1937

- Chapter Twenty-Two: Miles Aircraft Limited Woodley, Berkshire October 7, 1937

- Chapter Twenty-Three: Chartwell House Westerham, Kent, England October 8, 1937

- Chapter Twenty-Four: O’Malley’s Tavern Sydney, Australia May 30, 1938

- Chapter Twenty-Five: Chancellor’s Office, Reichstag Berlin, Germany September 21, 1938

- Chapter Twenty-Six: Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia November 14, 1938

- Chapter Twenty-Seven: Cavill Air Services Hangar Derby, Western Australia January 5, 1939

- Chapter Twenty-Eight: Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia June 30, 1939

- Chapter Twenty-Nine: Billy Hughes’ Office North Sydney, New South Wales September 4, 1939