Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 38 Does Alice want to be a lighthouse?

In the following time, Alice ushered in a dull daily life.

At six o'clock every morning, Lingge would pull her out of bed on time, yawning as she prepared breakfast and improved her cooking skills - although most of the time she just helped Lingge by handing him pots, pans, and seasonings. But she firmly believed that as long as she worked hard enough, she would be able to grow into a perfect maid one day and surprise everyone!
At seven o'clock, Metien also got up. After the brother and sister finished a simple morning ritual, the three of them ate breakfast together at the dining table, while flipping through the newspapers that the pink-haired little girl borrowed from the neighbors, closely following the progress of the negotiations. Metien believed in the reports advocating freedom of religion and was hopeful, while Alice always stood up and spoke out and made suggestions. Only Lingge didn't care, as if he really didn't care.

After breakfast, if there are classes, Lingge will go to St. Lowood National School to teach those younger naughty children, and Alice, the older naughty child, will follow him.

After more than a week of study, Lingge had no idea what she had learned. He only knew that she had successfully become friends with the naughty kids around her and even vaguely became their leader. During each break between classes, she would take a group of naughty kids to parade around, play war games with the class next door, or tell them stories about Harry Potter, looking like a real king of kids.

Another time, this guy somehow gathered three classes of children, arranged them in a square formation on the playground, and taught them to do a set of weird movements called "The Seventh Radio Gymnastics". The noise was so loud that even the principal, Mrs. Scarlett, was alarmed. Although she didn't mind and said with a smile that it was a good thing for the children to be energetic, Ling Ge was still exhausted and felt that if he left the school one day, it would definitely not be because he was fired, but because he was pissed off by Alice.

When there are no classes, Linger's life is relatively monotonous. He usually stays in his room reading books and sometimes tutors Metien. There is less than a month left before the pharmacist qualification examination. For Metien, this is a very important exam because it is related to her wishes and ideals.

The exam was not difficult, and Metine had a good chance of passing it with her hard work and learning talent, but the religious decree incident distracted her attention. In order to let her sister focus on her studies, Linger remained highly vigilant and strictly prohibited any messy things - such as Alice - from approaching her.

Although the example he cited was not appropriate, causing the client to express strong dissatisfaction, Lingge turned a deaf ear and continued to do his own thing. This cold reaction once chilled the maid's heart and made her think about resigning. However, after Lingge pointed out that her professionalism and work attitude had certain flaws, the idea of ​​resigning immediately disappeared without a trace.

She said this was for Metien's sake. If she resigned and left, the pink-haired girl would definitely be so sad that she would cry, right?

In the beginning, it was fine. Apart from the 20-year Steam War, other major historical events such as the Hundred Years' War, the Age of Discovery, maritime trade and the colonial era all had similar comparisons, which were consistent with the basic process of human civilization development. But starting from the th century on Earth, the situation changed subtly.

"Although there are so-called new energy sources, such as solar energy, nuclear energy, and star energy, they still have to be converted into electricity for use. Fossil fuels such as oil are non-renewable energy sources, highly polluting, and too limited. We eliminated them as early as the 26th century. According to scientists' optimistic estimates, if Earth civilization wants to find a new energy source to replace electricity, it will have to wait until the 30th century and enter the interstellar era."

"of course can."

"So, it's no exaggeration to say that electricity is the oxygen of human civilization. If people lack oxygen, they will die. Do you understand?"

When Alice said this, she raised her head proudly, revealing a smooth neck under the golden ponytail, and her expression was as proud as if electricity was discovered by her.

"electricity……"

Alice, without any sense of shame as a lady, lay on Ling'er's bed, her raised feet tapping the sheets from time to time, one hand supporting her cheek, the other hand flipping through the book in front of her, and casually replied: "It is precisely because of the development of electricity that human civilization has greater possibilities. This is a pollution-free and more efficient energy source. The computers, televisions, mobile phones, electric lights that I mentioned to you...all aspects of life on Earth are driven by electricity."

Sitting at the desk, Lingge looked at the contents recorded in his notebook and fell into deep thought. Only when thinking about this kind of question would he unconsciously murmur, revealing his true thoughts: "Can the thunder that destroys everything in the sky really replace steam engines and coal and become the energy of the new era?"

"It's hard for me to imagine, and I've never heard of it." Linger shook his head. "If electrical energy is really as important as you say, scholars from the Royal Academy of Sciences should have started researching it a long time ago. But until now, there is still no news."

Maid Alice who never allows little girls to cry! You are so gentle!

Ah, you ask what Metien said?
Metien is studying in the room.

In addition, Lingge did not forget the incident mentioned last time. He would occasionally take some time to listen to Alice's stories about the history of the Earth world, and then compare it with the knowledge he had mastered to study the similarities between the two worlds.

"That's why I say that the development of civilization in your world is so strange." Alice snorted, "It clearly entered the steam age in the 12th century, but in the whole years, it has neither developed steam technology to the extreme nor researched new energy to replace steam engines and coal. What exactly do scientists in your world usually study?"

Ling did not answer, or rather, he could not answer because he was just a college student majoring in history, neither a great scientist nor a great inventor.

Alice did not expect to get his answer, but she was very pleased with herself for making Lingge speechless, as if she had won a great victory. She hummed a tuneless little song and happily turned to the next page of the borrowed book. Then, among the endless records, she saw a familiar name.

"Hey, another one."

She took the notebook and pen from the side, stubbornly lay on the bed, and wrote down the name and deeds of another old friend in her ugly handwriting, muttering as she wrote: "Freud...a famous psychologist...wrote many masterpieces on psychology, which had a wide influence...helped psychology become a specialized subject, and made a huge contribution..."

Looking at her notebook more carefully, you can find that it is almost full. The names and deeds on it include, but are not limited to: Dante, one of the four philosophers of the Renaissance, who established the classical literature seminar and brought about the first literary reform; Plato, one of the four philosophers of the Renaissance, who established the Council of Sages and triggered the first philosophical thought.

……

Galileo, also one of the four great philosophers of the Renaissance, established the Society for the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, named the planet beneath his feet "mirror star", observed the orbits of the sun, moon and stars, drew star maps, and based on this, compiled the first universal calendar in the history of civilization, the "Celestial Calendar", also known as the Continental Gregorian Calendar, which is still in use today. Since then, the year when the celestial calendar was born has been regarded as the first year of the Common Era.

……

Montesquieu compiled the first written constitution in the history of civilization, standardized the rules of legislation, judicial and law enforcement, and made law a specialized discipline; Nobel reformed science and technology, brought about many innovative inventions, and objectively enhanced the historical status of craftsmen (but did not establish the Nobel Prize).

……

Joan of Arc formed the Holy Alliance, pursued a social politics of equality and justice, launched a revolution, overthrew the monarchy, established the White City-State Republic, and was appointed the first general of the Republic; she advocated treating all living things kindly and proposed the "Eight Virtues of Chivalry", which transformed knights from a social class into a symbol of identity, and were respected and worshipped.

……

These are what Alice found out from Ling'er's history book. If you just look at this list, you might find it very confusing. Some historical figures from different eras on Earth exist at the same time on this planet called "Mirror Star"; some historical figures from the same era are separated by hundreds or even thousands of years.

No matter how hard you rack your brains, you can't find a reasonable explanation. It can only be attributed to the differences between the two worlds.

"Ugh."

After finishing writing, Alice suddenly sighed with a sad expression: "My fellow countrymen have achieved as much in the other world as they have on Earth. I don't know if I can keep up with them."

Ling Ge was surprised when he heard this: "What does this have to do with you?"

"Because I am also an Earthling." Alice has a simple sense of pride in her hometown. She straightened her nonexistent chest and said, "Since my fellow villagers are so amazing, I certainly can't fall behind. I must inherit their legacy, shine and become a beacon of the new era!"

Just you?
Linger glanced at her: "I believe you can do it..."

"Really!?"

"fake."

"whispering sound!"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)