Бруно Травен - Aslan Norval

“You are absolutely right, Mr. Senator. However, I do not intend to build bridges across the canal.”

“The government will not issue you a permit to build your canal if you cut off connecting traffic routes.”

“I will not cut off a single connecting route between the north and south side of the canal. I do not have the details yet, but several of my engineers think that tunneling is less expensive than any kind of bridge because it occurs during excavation for the canal, that is, before the canal is filled with water.”

“Miss Norval, congratulations on this idea. Such a simple solution would have never occurred to me, unless maybe while driving through the Hudson tunnel or during my vacation trip from Detroit to Windsor for several weeks of fishing in Canada.”

As soon as he had said this, the chairman began to daydream, most likely about his summer vacations in Canada. Then he began looking through his papers, not intending to search for something but rather vaguely hoping he would come up with a new question, maybe the one last question to complete his report. Then he could submit the report to the Senate and the House, since both houses would have to approve construction of the canal at the end of the day. Their approval was necessary, since the canal traversed four different states and therefore would become a federal project.

Senator Clifford gave a slight nod to the cameramen. At once, half of the cameras were pointing to his face while the other half focused on Aslan and her assistants.

“Miss Norval, let us assume that for whatever reason, the government is forced to deny you the permit for the canal’s construction. What happens to your company then? Would you dissolve it, or would you concentrate the company’s capital and efforts on a different project, and if so, what project would that be? I would like to add that you are not required to answer this question.”

“I do not see any reason, Mr. Chairman, not to answer your question. In one of our last board meetings, this question came up, and I will give you the same answer I gave the board. If the government denies us the construction permit for the canal, we will build a train track from Galveston, Texas, to the Pacific Ocean with a terminal station somewhere between Los Angeles and San Diego.”

“If I am not mistaken, Miss Norval, there are already several train routes that connect the east coast of Texas with the west coast of Southern California.”

“Yes, but those are not rail connections of the kind we would create. We will build two rail lines, one from East to West and a second one from West to East. Instead of building two rail lines with two tracks each, we will build two lines with sixteen tracks each, and if that is not enough, with twenty-four tracks. Instead of regular freight cars or open wagons, we will use train cars with mounted steel frameworks that can be widened or narrowed depending on what is needed. In Galveston or Houston, depending on where it is more convenient, ships will sail into a sluice. The sluice will lift the ship to the level of our railway tracks, where it will sail into the next lock chamber. The steel framework will welcome the ship in this chamber. Steel cables powered by electrical winches will carefully maneuver the ship—which is still afloat at this point—above the steel structure. Then, while the water drains from the lock chamber, the steel arms of the structure tighten their grip around the hull of the ship. As soon as the ship is satisfactorily secured, the door of the lock chamber opens, and gigantic diesel- or nuclear-powered engines begin to work. The ship travels to the Pacific Coast held by the steel structure mounted on the train cars on sixteen rail tracks.

“While this ship would sail at thirty-five knots in good condition, it is now the job of the rail track quality and the engines’ power to increase the transportation speed to sixty knots or even more. Which mountain ranges the train can cross will depend entirely on the power of the engine. We would not rely on sluices or deep cuts through mountains as we would with a canal. After arriving at the West Coast, the ship is taken into a lock chamber. Once the water in the chamber has reached a level sufficient to float the ship, the steel arms around its hull loosen and free the vessel. A cable maneuvers it into the next lock chamber, where it will slowly be lowered to the level of the ocean. As soon as it has reached that level, the chamber opens. Pulled by tugboats, the boat sails into the open ocean.”

The senators listened as if Aslan were telling the story of a miracle. When she finally fell silent, Senator Clifford said: “Miss Norval, that is the most fantastical of all the quixotic ideas I have heard from you in this room. However, when I think about it calmly, it does not seem as infeasible as at first glance. Actually, Miss Norval, I think that transporting a ship by train from one ocean to the other would be easier to realize and cost significantly less than the construction of the canal, which we have looked at so carefully here.” He then turned to his colleagues: “What do you think about this new idea, gentlemen?”

The senators looked at one another as if to guess what the others were thinking. Since they knew that the cameras were trained on their faces, they shrugged indifferently and kept their expressions blank so as not to indict themselves. Two senators had an especially easy time with this since they never said anything, and in the Senate, only ever said yes.

“It seems important”—Aslan interrupted the indecision of the senators—“to bring up a few points here. The size of the ship—its length, width, height, and tonnage—do not matter at all. The possible weight of its load at maximum speed depends entirely on the resistance of the railbed. We can determine the required strength, durability, and resistance of the railbed by calculating the pressure exerted per square meter. It also depends on the engine’s horsepower, which is limitless given today’s technological advances.

“Based on our still-superficial estimates, excavating the railbed will take less than a fifth of the time needed for the construction of a canal. In serious national emergencies, transporting ships by rail rather than by canal is more than ten times faster. In addition, we could fix any damage to the railbed quicker and more easily than we could the canal.”

“Miss Norval, as far as I can tell, both the canal project as well as the railway project only exist in your head.”

“That is absolutely correct, sir. Every project, no matter what it is, first exists in someone’s head before it can be realized.”

“I will concede that point, Miss Norval. Do you think you can find engineers who can make either of your projects a reality?”

“Mr. Senator, the dictionary of an American engineer or architect does not contain the word ‘impossible.’ If Russian engineers and architects are planning to build a tower of two hundred ten kilometers in height, no matter for what purpose, American engineers can build one three hundred kilometers higher, in much less time and without the help of slaves. All that appears to be necessary is to give an American engineer or architect the opportunity to realize a project that has at that moment only existed in someone’s head.”

“Yes, the opportunity and the necessary funding. Especially the necessary funding. Don’t you agree, Miss Norval?”

“Of course, the necessary funding is an essential aspect, Mr. Senator.”

“Everything you say, Miss Norval, and everything you concede sounds so simple. It sounds as simple as if God were to say: ‘Let there be a canal!’ or ‘Let there be a ship-transporting railway system of outrageous dimensions!’ But you have to admit, Miss Norval, all this is easier said than done.”