Chapter 132: Ready for Test
The royal carriage arrived shortly after four in the afternoon.
By then, the Oriel Central Power Station had already been operating Unit One for nearly three hours under partial load. Arcada’s public circuits remained energized while engineers monitored every instrument with an attention that bordered on suspicion. The generator carried several government buildings, workshops, pumping stations, and a limited section of street lighting without showing any serious instability.
The true test would begin after sunset, when nearly nine hundred street lamps and hundreds of connected buildings demanded power at the same time.
Ernest waited near the station entrance as the royal carriage passed through the gates. There was no long procession, no ceremonial escort, and no crowd of officials attempting to turn the inspection into a political event. King Edward had kept his promise. He arrived only with Lord Ashford, several guards who remained outside the station grounds, and the carriage driver.
The king stepped down first and looked toward the two chimneys rising above the complex.
"So this is what one hundred sixty-eight million riels looks like."
Hollen, standing beside Ernest, cleared his throat.
"Unfortunately, yes, Your Majesty."
King Edward glanced toward him.
"You sound personally wounded."
"I watched every payment leave our accounts."
Lord Ashford descended from the carriage carrying a leather notebook beneath one arm.
"And yet you still approved the project."
Hollen sighed.
"That is because Baron Teucher has spent three years proving that refusing him only delays the inevitable."
The king laughed as Ernest bowed.
"Welcome to Oriel Central Power Station, Your Majesty."
King Edward looked past him toward the brick buildings, coal yards, water-treatment works, and heavy lines stretching outward from the transmission yard.
"I expected something smaller."
"So did Hollen."
"I expected something cheaper," Hollen corrected.
That earned another laugh before Ernest gestured toward the main building.
"We should begin inside. Unit One is already carrying Arcada’s public load. Units Two and Three are standing by for the evening test."
The king’s expression sharpened.
"You have already started?"
"Partially. I had no intention of inviting you to witness a machine we had never operated before."
Lord Ashford nodded approvingly.
"A sensible precaution."
Hollen looked toward the Prime Minister.
"He spent the entire morning checking bolts that had already been checked three times."
"Four," Ernest corrected.
"That does not make it better."
They entered the boiler house first.
The change in temperature struck the visitors immediately. Heat rolled through the chamber from the twin furnaces burning beneath the first two boilers, while workers moved along the firing floor with shovels and long-handled tools. Coal disappeared into glowing fireboxes, and the steady draft drew smoke through internal flues before carrying it toward the chimneys.
King Edward slowed as he approached the first Lancashire boiler.
The machine looked less dramatic than a locomotive or factory engine. It was simply a massive horizontal cylinder supported within brickwork, with pipes, valves, gauges, and access doors arranged around it.
Its importance remained hidden inside.
Water surrounded the furnace tubes.
Heat turned that water into steam.
Steam carried energy toward the engines.
The king studied the pressure gauge.
"One hundred twenty pounds."
Ernest nodded.
"Per square inch."
"And that is safe?"
"If maintained properly."
Hollen muttered quietly.
"Comforting."
Ernest ignored him.
"The boilers are designed with a considerable safety margin. Each possesses two independent water-level indicators, pressure relief valves, feedwater pumps, and fusible plugs above the furnace crown."
Lord Ashford looked toward him.
"Fusible plugs?"
"A final protection against low water."
Ernest pointed toward the upper section of the furnace.
"If the water level falls too far, the metal overheats. The plug melts before the boiler shell fails, allowing steam and water into the furnace and extinguishing the fire."
The king frowned.
"That sounds violent."
"Less violent than a boiler explosion."
Lord Ashford wrote that down.
Hollen stared at him.
"Why would you record that?"
"Because government buildings may have boilers someday."
"Now I feel worse."
Ernest led them toward the elevated walkway between the units.
Only two boilers were active. The third remained cold and isolated by closed steam valves.
King Edward noticed immediately.
"Why leave one unused?"
"Redundancy."
The king looked toward him.
"If every boiler operates under normal conditions, then one failure would reduce output immediately. By holding one in reserve, we can shut down another for maintenance without darkening the district."
Lord Ashford nodded.
"So the unused machine is not waste."
"It is insurance."
King Edward looked toward the third boiler with a more approving expression.
"Expensive insurance."
"Most reliable things are."
They continued through the iron fire door into the engine hall.
The difference in sound was immediate.
Unit One was operating.
The high-pressure piston moved steadily within its cylinder while the connecting rod drove the crankshaft. Steam then entered the larger low-pressure cylinder, expanding again before passing toward the condenser. The flywheel rotated with a smooth rhythm, and the shaft connecting the engine to the generator hummed beneath the load.
The machine did not roar.
It worked.
That seemed to impress the king more.
King Edward stopped several meters from the generator and watched its armature rotate within the heavy iron frame.
"This is producing the electricity currently lighting Arcada?"
"Part of Arcada," Ernest answered. "Public buildings and selected circuits."
The king moved closer.
"There are no batteries."
"No. Batteries are useful for telegraphs and experimental lamps, but a district requires continuous generation. The steam engine rotates the generator directly."
Lord Ashford looked toward the shaft.
"So mechanical motion becomes electricity."
"Exactly."
"And electricity becomes light."
"Among other things."
The Prime Minister glanced at him.
"You always add that phrase."
"Because lighting is only the beginning."
King Edward smiled slightly.
"I remember."
They moved along the generating floor while Ernest explained the compound engines. Each machine used steam twice. The high-pressure cylinder extracted the first portion of its energy, then sent the partially expanded steam into a larger cylinder where it performed additional work before condensing.
That increased efficiency without demanding materials beyond the capabilities of Helmarte Machine Works.
The king listened carefully, though his attention soon shifted toward the empty foundation at the far end of the hall.
"What belongs there?"
"A fourth unit."
Hollen sighed.
"Nothing belongs there yet."
Ernest continued as though he had not spoken.
"The foundation and steam connections were included during construction. If demand rises, we can add another engine without rebuilding the station."
King Edward looked toward the wide empty space.
"You expect demand to rise."
"Yes."
"How quickly?"
"Faster than most people think."
Lord Ashford opened his notebook again.
"What makes you so certain?"
Ernest looked toward the rotating generator.
"Because people will begin with light. Once the network exists, workshops will ask for motors. Water companies will ask for pumps. Merchants will keep stores open later. Wealthy families will add more lamps than they initially ordered."
Hollen folded his arms.
"They always do."
The king laughed.
"Experience?"
"Every noble who visited Ernest’s estate requested a small installation. None of their final orders remained small."
That made the king look toward Ernest.
"You could have warned me."
"I believed Your Majesty already understood nobles."
Lord Ashford coughed into one hand to hide a laugh.
They reached the switchboard gallery next.
The long panel remained the most unfamiliar portion of the station for both royal visitors. Heavy copper busbars ran behind polished wooden boards, supported by ceramic insulators and connected through large knife switches. Instruments measured voltage and current, while labeled handles controlled the feeders leading toward the three districts.
King Edward read each label slowly.
"So every district can be controlled from this room."
"Yes."
Ernest pointed toward the Arcada feeder.
"Unit One is currently supplying this section."
The ammeter needle held steady.
"The current rises whenever more equipment is connected. The voltmeter tells us whether electrical pressure remains within the required range."
Lord Ashford frowned.
"Electrical pressure."
"It is not actual pressure like steam or water, but the comparison is useful. Voltage pushes current through a conductor much as pressure pushes water through a pipe."
The Prime Minister looked toward the copper bars.
"And if too much current passes through?"
"The conductors heat."
"How much?"
"Enough to damage insulation or start a fire if the system is poorly designed."
King Edward looked sharply toward him.
"And how do you prevent that?"
"Fuses, sectional switches, proper conductor sizing, inspections, and trained operators."
Ernest pointed toward a row of protective devices.
"These fuses contain metal strips designed to melt before the main conductors overheat. If a circuit draws dangerous current, the fuse opens and isolates it."
The king studied the simple device.
"Something must fail to protect everything else."
"Exactly."
"Interesting."
Lord Ashford wrote again.
Hollen leaned closer to Ernest.
"At this rate, he will return to the palace and inspect every candle personally."
"That would be safer than ignoring them."
The older man did not respond.
Outside the gallery windows, sunlight had begun lowering toward the western hills. The station yard remained active beneath them. Coal wagons moved toward the storage sheds, workers patrolled the transmission lines, and messengers arrived from the district switching houses carrying final inspection slips.
Samuel Wren entered the gallery and approached Ernest.
"All three districts have reported."
"Status?"
"Arcada remains stable. Beryl is ready. Apex completed the final connection tests twenty minutes ago. Every failed street lamp has been replaced."
"Line patrols?"
"Clear."
"Weather?"
"Dry. Light wind from the east."
Ernest nodded.
The conditions were nearly ideal.
King Edward looked between them.
"So everything is ready."
"Almost."
Ernest checked the large clock mounted above the switchboard.
Sunset remained forty minutes away.
He turned toward the royal visitors.
"The most important part of the demonstration will not happen here."
King Edward raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
"No. A power station proves we can produce electricity."
Ernest gestured toward the district lines visible beyond the windows.
"The streets prove we can deliver it."
Lord Ashford closed his notebook.
"Then where do we go?"
"Arcada first."
The king looked surprised.
"Not Apex?"
"No."
"Why?"
Ernest answered without hesitation.
"Because Apex will show you luxury. Arcada will show you usefulness."
The king regarded him for several seconds.
Then nodded.
"Very well."
They left Hollen and the station engineers behind to supervise the test. Ernest climbed into the royal carriage beside King Edward and Lord Ashford, while the guards remained at the power station as instructed.
The inspection needed no ceremony.
Only witnesses.
Arthur had been given the evening off, so the royal driver handled the team as the carriage rolled through the station gates and onto the industrial road leading into Arcada.
The streets remained dim for now.
Iron lamp posts stood along the main avenues with their glass bulbs dark beneath the fading daylight. Copper lines stretched overhead, connecting one pole to the next before branching toward shops, workshops, public buildings, and modest homes.
Residents had already begun gathering near their doors.
They knew the test was coming.
Word had spread throughout Oriel despite every attempt to keep the demonstration controlled. Children pointed toward the royal carriage. Merchants stood outside their shops. Workers returning from factories slowed along the pavement and looked upward at the unfamiliar lamps.
King Edward watched them through the open window.
"They seem nervous."
"So are the engineers."
Lord Ashford looked toward Ernest.
"And you?"
"Of course."
The king smiled.
"You do not appear nervous."
"That is because appearing nervous does not improve equipment."
The carriage continued toward the central market.
Shops surrounded the public square, their windows still illuminated by oil lamps and candles. Those flames would remain available tonight as backup, though Ernest hoped they would not be needed.
At the center of the square stood six tall electric lamps mounted around a stone fountain.
Dark.
Waiting.
A messenger on horseback approached from behind and slowed beside the carriage.
"Master Ernest."
"Yes?"
"Unit Two has reached rated speed. The station is ready to add the evening load."
Ernest looked toward the sky.
The sun had almost disappeared behind the hills.
Shadows stretched across Arcada’s streets while shopkeepers began lighting their final oil lamps.
He turned toward the king.
"Your Majesty, would you prefer to give the order?"
King Edward looked toward the waiting lamps, the crowded market, and the lines running above the street.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he leaned toward the messenger.
"Tell the station to proceed."
The rider bowed from the saddle.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He turned his horse and galloped toward the nearest telegraph post, where the order would reach the station within moments.
The carriage remained beside the central square.
Residents waited.
The king waited.
Lord Ashford opened his notebook once more, though his eyes remained fixed on the lamps.
Ernest listened.
Somewhere in the distance, a factory whistle sounded.
Once.
Then twice.
The signal from the station.
Unit Two had joined the busbars.
The evening test had begun.